Former New Zealand Minister of State-owned Enterprises Richard Prebble

Former New Zealand Minister of State-owned Enterprises Richard Prebble suggested that privatization of state-owned enterprises could address Fiji’s debt crisis.

Prebble was a guest speaker at the launch of Finding Balance 2023 last night.

The report benchmarks performance and builds climate resilience in Pacific state-owned enterprises.

Prebble, who was Minister in 1987, says privatization of SOE worked for New Zealand and can also work for Fiji.

He says New Zealand was in huge debt, but after the privatization of 22 SOEs that were under his watch, all became profitable and were generating more income than when they were public enterprises.

“Fiji’s got a bit of a debt problem; we had a huge debt problem, but had it not been for the reforms of state-owned enterprises, we wouldn’t have gotten ourselves out of the hall, so the people in this room can actually help the government get out of its financial difficulties, and you can do it very quickly.”

Prebble says the method has not only worked for New Zealand but also for many other countries, including the Solomon Islands.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism Viliame Gavoka, who was the chief guest, says what Prebble highlighted is illuminating and something the government can look into.

“It’s something that we can really take very seriously in Fiji. As you know, we are four months into the administration. These are lessons that we need to learn to emulate what happened in New Zealand, but I still have my reservations that it is not the be all there are some strategic assets that we still need to control as they are today.”

Gavoka says big players like Energy Fiji Limited are already going through some privatization processes and can be made to diversify a bit more.

The minister says the small ones, like Fiji Rice Limited, still need the full support of the government.