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Sevens Golf World Cup Pramesh P Sharma, Suva
The first Fiji Golf World Cup will be held a day prior to the Rugby Sevens World Cup at San Leonardo in California across the bay from the Rugby Sevens World Cup at Monarch Bay Golf Club Tony Lema Course on July 19. A strong field of 40 players will compete for the Open Title in the Gross and Net Championship. Players are travelling from Fiji and Australia to play in the event with Fijians from USA also participating. Narendra Prasad, just two weeks ago, won the Fiji event on the same course and is the favourite to win while Pradip Singh, who lost via a tie breaker, will be out to prove that he is one of the elite players. Both players have dominated the Fijian golf events in North America in the past decade. Both have won a combined total of 20 championships since 2004. Players such as Sanjay Narayan from Salinas, California, will have a say on who will win with notables such as Brian Lal, Charlie Joseph, Satish Karan and William Naisara. Information on the event can be seen at the official website www.fijigolftour.com, which will also have a live leaderboard. This event is under the supervision of the North American Fiji Golf Association. The best gross score will be crowned the Fiji Golf World Cup Champion and the best Net score will be crowned Fiji Golf World Cup Net Champion. After that there will be five flights: Viti, Vanua Levu, Kadavu, Lau, and Yasawa, with each having a gross and net champion.
On Time Performance Julius Kamali, Suva
The notable increase in Police presence is commendable, especially with their new fleet of vehicles just released together with the recent stringent measures in place to curb negligence of these state assets. The monitoring of crime trends is a good measure to ensure efficiency and also acknowledge good performance. Another measure that could be considered is OTP or On-Time Performance used by airlines to improve efficiency and enhance customer confidence. This could be measured from the time a call is made to Police or fire operations and the time that first help arrives. The inclusion of these trends on a weekly or monthly basis would not only improve productivity, but also boost the confidence of the public.
Bus fire extinguishers Satish Nakched, Suva
I was travelling in a bus early one cold morning and decided to take the seat behind the driver because it was more comfortable due to the engine warmth. But during the journey a portable medium size fire extinguisher kept rolling due to the movement of the bus and kept on hitting my feet. Just on the driver's side was a bracket that it was detached from, but the equipment was in a poor condition with scratches and dirt. There was no attempt by the driver to place it back and the risk was that it could roll out through the door and probably hit another vehicle or any person on the road. Such equipment are kept there for a reason and fires normally start from the engine compartment. Upon checking the servicing date on the fire extinguishers it was overdue by 24 months. Such equipment should not be intentionally or recklessly interfered with or misused. It is a requirement by law that new buses, when registering for the first time, must have fire equipment and a First Aid Box located at a very accessible point. I believe when the buses go for the annual inspection there are no checks done by the concerned authorities before issuing the licence to be on the road for another year. This is a vital point that should never be missed and always insisted on due to the fact that it can save lives should a fire occur in a bus. But having the fire extinguishers and not knowing how to operate it is another serious matter. I had a talk with a few bus drivers and inquired whether they had been through any firefighting and first aid training. I was surprised to learn that they had no knowledge on both subjects. One of them said to me that he heard that such an important training may be implemented later on, but currently it was not a requirement. The buses carry on average about 70 passengers from all walks of life. We had a few bus fatalities in Fiji and chances are they could happen again. There must be stringent measures taken by the authorities as a proactive approach to train the drivers to minimise or eliminate the threat in its early stages. The bus drivers must also go through a First Aid and a fire fighting course and must have proper certification when the renewal of the PSV driving licence is sorted. This needs to be legislated first with enforcement powers for the safety of the general public.
Ideology Amenatave Yaconisau, Delainavesi
I fully agree with Nemani Delaibatiki in his analysis that the Opposition focuses on ideologies(FS 12/7) whether it emphasises populism, nationalism or revolution and radical changes including the closure of separate administrations such as the GCC is another thing most are receptive to. Ideologies that concern itself with the existing structure of the poor and the associated social change improvement are most welcomed. To say we don't have values is facetious and irrelevant.
SODELPA bickering Dharmendra Kumar, Suva
The persistent internal bickering in the SODELPA Party will no doubt affect their already slim chances in the fast approaching 2018 General Election. Power struggle and factions within the party are clearly showing cracks. “And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25). Unfortunately most leaders assume that they will deal with disagreements as they come. History has shown the more internal bickering that takes place the less time and room for constructive thinking. When we bicker and bicker sometimes it feels like old married couples who occasionally have conflicts but never divorce, hence there is no happiness and progress. Leadership is about vision, responsibility, fairness and credibility, absolutely no internal bickering needed.