FLP Leader Mahendra Chaudhry.

Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry says the World Bank’s recommendations must be rejected and a more acceptable and realistic solution explored.

Chaudhry says the World Bank’s recommendation to fix the government’s balance sheet if accepted, will bring untold hardship and suffering to at least 70% of the Fijian people.

Chaudhry states it will add thousands more to the poverty queue, fuel excessive inflation impacting negatively on people and businesses, and lead to social disorder, chaos and instability.

He stressed the impact of the report’s recommendations on the nation as a whole, will be disastrous.

The FLP Leader says it will further accelerate the exodus of skilled workers and professionals to foreign countries.

He adds the removal of subsidies will lead to the demise of the sugar industry with grave consequences for landowners, cane growers and the rural economy as a whole.

Chaudhry also states increasing the VAT rate to 15% and reinstating it on basic food items while reducing the tax threshold from $30,000 to $16,000 will hit low and middle-income families the hardest.

He says women and children will bear the brunt of this inhumane recommendation.