ariff ali : updates on fiji ’ s economy and monetary policy objectives address by mr ariff ali, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, at the ground breaking ceremony for bsp life ’ s voivoi warehouse development, suva, 30 october 2020. * * * salutations mr michael nacola ; managing director, bsp life limited the bsp life board, management and staff ; invited guests ; ladies and gentlemen. opening remarks bula vinaka and a good morning to you all. thank you very much for the invitation to officiate at this ground breaking ceremony for bsp life ’ s voivoi warehouse development. for those who know me well, you would know of my preference to sit amongst you as a guest rather than officiate as chief guest. i however accepted the invitation as it gives me an opportunity to provide an update on our economy in line with the significance of the timing of this occasion, as well as convey my sincere appreciation to the board of bsp life, michael and your team, for making this bold business decision to invest in the current environment. i wish to applaud your confidence in fiji and i sincerely hope this will encourage others who are currently adopting a “ wait and see approach ” to invest sooner rather than later. this investment is a reminder to all of us of the important role that the private sector plays in contributing towards fiji ’ s economic development, while meeting the needs of our communities. it is indeed out of the ordinary to witness an event such as this take place in the midst of the current pandemic. however, i am not so surprised that an institution like bsp life is bringing us together today, for exactly that – to be extraordinary during what is now being referred to as the new normal. bsp life has become a household name and over the years has built a strong track record, reputation and brand amongst our people. their tagline of “ with you for life ” is in my view, very fitting, as they have continued to demonstrate their commitment to serving the fijian people for life. today ’ s ceremony marks an important milestone in bsp life ’ s career as this new development will support business in nadi by catering to the growing demand for office space and contribute towards stimulating economic activity, which is particularly important in the current climate. ladies and gentleman, as you are all aware the world is sailing in uncharted waters, and the seas are rough. the coronavirus has inflicted severe

the most common one i have come across is that this is what we have been doing for years. only when they are out of their comfort zone would they be inspired. inspiration is the pinnacle of personal victory. i fully subscribe to a quote by a richard florida that says : “ people do not need to be managed, they need to be unleashed ”. related to this stretch targets is the situational leaders that i mentioned earlier. sometimes it is relatively easier to lead when things are rosy. but leaders are challenged most when things are tough. the saying that “ when the going get tough, the leaders get going ” is very appropriate. when the situation is tough, tough decisions needs to be made and there is a high premium on being level - headed, keeping emotions under control and being an optimist. for instance in this current crisis, i have been stressing to team rbf that we need to stay sharply focused on our vision and to be absolutely professional on how we approach our work. times are obviously tough in fiji now. our biggest economic challenge is to maintain external financial stability at a time when the economy is declining. without financial stability, the country will be in a much precarious position. i always stress to my colleagues that we have an important national mandate to keep at the reserve bank. therefore, the bank had to take decisive and proactive steps to protect our financial position. over the last four years, the bank had raised interest rates, reduced liquidity and tightened exchange controls. one thing we can be sure about is that raising interest rates and tightening exchange controls are never going to be popular. but unfortunately they are necessary. long term stability is always superior to unsustainable short term gains. we try as much as we can to tell the public why we do the things we do and i am pleased to say that our policies appear to be taking effect. foreign reserves are holding up well. another book on leadership emphasises that good leaders are those that teach others to lead themselves. at the end of it all, the team itself says that they did it themselves. i am a firm believer of this principle. danny cox in his employees handbook on leadership quotes “ the ultimate reward for a leader of people is to be able to say, “ i saw someone grow today, and i helped. ” i believe that the ultimate challenge for us leaders is to be able to effectively grow our people and being able to say, i helped someone grow today. when a