but also in the region and beyond. reserve bank of fiji today i thought of sharing some of my personal experiences with siwa. i first met siwa at the central monetary authority in dominion house in late 1980 when he took over from mr. tomkins as general manager after his return from the imf. he was the first local at the position. so naturally there was a lot of interest on how a local was going to perform in one of the last key national positions to be localized in fiji. very quickly, siwa dispelled any concerns on his ability to lead the central monetary authority. siwa became the first governor of the reserve bank of fiji when the transition occurred in 1984. we honor siwa for his humility, caring and down to earth qualities. but in my assessment, underneath all that was a firm and strong leader. for us that worked under him, we came face to face with his strong leadership qualities in our work. while he mixed easily amongst us, he applied the rules very strictly. i remember the strike that i led when i was a trade union representative at the bank in 1983. at the end of the two week strike, while the union did not get all that we wanted, everyone acknowledged that the resolution was a fair one and was made possible by siwa ’ s compassion and goodwill to the workers. during this rather difficult negotiation and tension, siwa was very calm as he always was in any kind of situation. i could clearly witness the clarity of his thinking and his strong belief in fairness and consistency. siwa was our boss and also our father. i recall one day when he called me into his office. i had applied for a loan for my first car, a small honda civic. you know, siwa adopted a slow drawl when he told people off. when you heard that drawl you knew you were in trouble. in that telling off voice he said “ savenaca, why are you buying a car when you don ’ t have a house. you should buy a house first when you are still young. ” this signified the caring personality that siwa had for everyone. he was strict but ever concerned about our welfare! by the way i got the loan but with the condition that i buy a house within five years which i did. siwa rose in the public limelight as the governor of the reserve bank, a position that he held for 7 years. at that time, the reserve bank was a new

##1 / q2. farm income grew 10. 7 % / 16. 4 % in q1 / q2 • unemployment / underemployment = 0. 5 mill / 2. 4 mill ( q2 / 22 ) vs. 0. 4 mill / 2. 5 mill pre - covid ( q4 / 19 ) • tourist numbers = 3. 2 mill ytd, 8. 5 / 21 mill for 22 / 23 vs. 40 mill pre - covid b. the recovery should also be resilient to potential slowdown in world economic growth given that the initial pick up this year is mostly driven by domestic demand while growth momentum next year mostly reflects the continued rebound in tourists from abroad, which tend not to be sensitive to global economic activity. bilateral inbound tourist flows in the past are relatively resilient to home economic conditions. this reflected the fact that there is a lot of pent - up demand and thailand is a cost - effective value for money destination. 2. balance of risk has tilted towards inflation headline inflation is expected to peak in q3 / 22 and gradually return to target range next year, but what ’ s concerning is that core inflation is increasing. a. headline inflation is uncomfortably high and above the target range. it has been around 7. 6 % in june and july, the highest in 14 years. the rise of headline inflation has been supply - side driven and largely concentrated in food and energy - related categories. there has not been any sign of demandside pressure unlike in the us and uk. however, the risks are titled to the upside given possibilities of broader and faster cost pass - through and rising demand pressures as the economy gains strength. b. core inflation has continued increasing for 4 consecutive months mainly due to faster cost passthrough such as from raw foods to prepared food prices. this is a sign or an indication that inflation engine might get fully started. if the mpc does not take any action, there is then a danger of moving from a low inflation regime to a high inflation regime. given that core inflation tends to be more persistent, we need to be watchful of any further sustained pickup in momentum. 3. financial stability remains sound overall but there remain pockets of vulnerability. a. financial institutions remain sound with robust capital positions and high liquidity, while npl ratios remain low. b. debt serviceability of households and businesses has improved in line with the economic recovery and with support from financial measures implemented since