SALUTATIONS
Ni sa bula vinaka and a very good morning to you all.
It is a great honour to join you this morning at the 50th Annual Congress of the Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants. I extend my warmest congratulations to the Institute — not only for reaching your 50th Congress but for over five decades of service since your founding in 1972.
For 53 years, FICA has played a defining role in Fiji’s national development — building not only a profession, but a community of trusted professionals who have helped shape institutions, policy, and public confidence in financial governance.
This morning, we are not simply marking an event. We are honouring a legacy — one that has contributed to the architecture of modern Fiji.
FICA today represents a powerful network of professionals whose expertise is evident at all levels of our national life — from boardrooms to classrooms and from public enterprises to private innovation.
Indeed, two members of your very own Institute now serve in my Cabinet — the Honourable Manoa Kamikamica, whose also one of my Deputy Prime Ministers, and the Honourable Aseri Radrodro, our Minister for Education.
Your members also serve on the Boards – many as Chairpersons – of a significant number of large public companies and state-owned enterprises, helping to guide strategy, oversee compliance, and reinforce transparency and good governance.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This year’s theme — “Shaping Fiji for Tomorrow’s Challenges and Opportunities” — is not only timely, but also a call to action.
Fiji is at a critical juncture. Your Coalition Government assumed office during one of the most complex economic periods in our recent history — marked by the impacts of the pandemic, global inflation, supply chain disruptions, and rising climate vulnerability.
But we also saw this as an opportunity for transformation.
Through the Fiscal Review Committee, chaired by Honourable Professor Biman Prasad, we have initiated critical work to repair our public finances, strengthen revenue systems, and restore investor confidence.
We are actively addressing debt sustainability, prioritising investment in high-impact infrastructure, and focusing on inclusive economic growth — growth that reaches every province, every business, and every household.
Our collaboration with the private sector is central to this mission.
That is why the role of F-I-C-A and its members is more important than ever. You are the bridge between policy and practice, between economic objectives and execution.
Our Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (M-S-M-E) sector, the backbone of employment and local enterprise, has received renewed focus. Government support is being complemented by professional bodies like F-I-C-A, whose participation in the inaugural M-S-M-E Conference was both strategic and visionary.
You brought professional insights to the grassroots. You helped translate policy into practical tools. And this is exactly the kind of national partnership we must deepen.
We are also entering an era where Environmental, Social and Governance (E-S-G) principles are not optional — they are essential.
Climate change is already disrupting lives and livelihoods in our maritime communities. As a nation on the frontlines of this global crisis, we need financial professionals who understand climate risk, who can advise on sustainable resource use, and who can support green financing frameworks.
F-I-C-A can and must lead the way in E-S-G reporting, sustainability disclosures, and capacity-building in climate finance.
This transformation must also include the digital frontier. From artificial intelligence to blockchain, we are seeing shifts that will redefine the accounting profession — and indeed, how economies operate.
The question before us is: Will we intentionally prepare for the future, or stand back and wait for it to shape us?
F-I-C-A’s investment in continuing professional education, developing women in leadership, financial literacy, and digital adaptation is encouraging. I urge you to continue this work — especially with outreach to our rural, remote, and maritime regions.
That is how we build a Fiji that is financially empowered.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Global trends will continue to challenge us — geopolitics, inflation, energy costs, and digital transformation among them.
But in these challenges, we also find opportunities:
Government is doing its part to harness these opportunities. But no government can do this alone.
We need partners who understand scale and sustainability. We need trusted advisors — like the professionals in this room — who will hold the line on ethics and champion transparency in every ledger, every audit and every boardroom.
To the young professionals attending this Congress for the first time: you are the present and future of the profession. Your ideas, energy, and values will define the next 50 years.
Be bold. Be ethical. Be curious.
And always remember — you are more than accountants. You are nation-builders.
As we mark this 50th Annual Congress, I commend the F-I-C-A leadership, your Council, and Secretariat for their stewardship over the decades. You have upheld a vision of trust, excellence, and service — and Fiji is better for it.
As Prime Minister, I reaffirm Government’s commitment to working alongside you — to shape a future that is fair, resilient, and full of opportunity.
On that note, it now gives me great pleasure and honour to declare the 50th Annual Congress of the Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants officially open.
Vinaka vakalevu. May God bless you all, and may God bless Fiji.