Decide Now! New norm will bring out more resilient Fijians to help revamp our economy

It’s time to let go and move on with the new norm. That is the reality of today’s situation. The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us out of our comfort zone.

There’s nothing we can do unless we decide to move forward with the new and turn our back on the old.

The increasing number of people testing positive to this ‘killer virus’ on a daily basis coupled with the high number of people being arrested for breaching the curfew hours, indicate that most Fijians are finding it hard to accept the new norm.

They are undecided on whether to adhere to all these health protocols.

That is why they are not following these simple rules of washing their hands with soap regularly, wearing a mask at all times, practicing social distancing, staying home (or within their bubble) and to get their COVID vaccination.

Not only that, the need for them to act on all other restrictions like funeral gatherings or grog drinking as stipulated by Dr Ifereimi Waqanabete and the Ministry of Health.

Why is it hard for people to comply with these requirements? The people’s indecisiveness has resulted in the delay of our progress as a nation and this could see many disgruntled Fijians being left behind.

We understand that life is tough since the pandemic has affected our economy.

Almost 80 per cent of the country’s businesses had either closed or minimised their operations in order to stay afloat. As a result, people have become unemployed and those who have managed to hold on to their jobs are only working on reduced hours.

Financial assistance has come in from the Government and Fiji National Provident Fund have helped people stay afloat during the pandemic.

Although the money received may not be enough to keep them going, at least it’s better to have something instead of nothing at all.

We also got to remember the middle class working Fijians who took home and car loans and are having sleepless nights as they worry of how they will keep up with their repayments.

It’s now a do-or-die situation for most Fijians. Everyone must act fast in embracing these new changes and turn their back on what life used to be like in the past. The new norm will definitely bring new challenges especially when we’ve to kick start our life from whatever we’ve managed to save.

It’s going to be tough but the experience of doing it on our own will make us more resilient as ever.

The will to survive, will surely push many of us to think outside the box and become more innovative.

This could see a rise in new business ventures, more people turning to commercial agriculture and fisheries. The quick reopening of our borders could help revamp our tourism industry hence resulting in more jobs being created.

This is our reality and we cannot afford to look back. We’ve got to take the challenge of steering our nation towards a healthier and prosperous future.

LEONE CABENATABUA

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