Your views
‘A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself’
No show Tukai Lagonilakeba, Nadi
The trend of boycotting in Parliament is unpatriotic and childish, whatever the reasons are.
But it is sad that the current Opposition are following the culture of boycott, made famous by SODELPA and NFP since 2014, when in Opposition.
And even when Sitiveni Rabuka joined in 2018 as SODELPA Opposition leader before he resigned in 2021 saying, “l’m retired and no more politics”, but he lied and formed The People’s Alliance. Wow! The rest is history.
The FijiFirst party must show restrain with maturity and rise above petty issues by putting the country first when they were invited to the National Economic Summit as they stand to gain nothing by abstaining.
Now, the forum moves on, and they have missed a golden opportunity to contribute meaningfully as the country is in dire straits. Meanwhile, loosing Fiji Labour Party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry, is still barking aimlessly from the outside. l feel Mr Chaudhry loves to listen to himself when he is no longer relevant.
I do hope smart solutions will be identified by our coalition Government in moving the country forward with the invited participants.
Kings Rd, Nausori Satish Nakched, Suva
It is with great disappointment to note the stretch of road dividers from the Nausori bridge end up to nine miles, covered in weed and ‘vaivai’ plants that have grown into trees due to non-action by the municipality concerned. When the road improvements some years ago were completed, there were flowery garden plants seen along the five-kilometre drive and maintained well.
Now, the metal road divider, which is about five feet high, is totally covered by the creeping weeds, in some places. Driving along that stretch is like driving into a rural farm area and reflects poorly on the organisation concerned.
If this was not a major artery route into the city from the Nausori International Airport, it may not matter much but visitors arriving into the Central Division are exposed to the council’s operations which is rapidly disintegrating. Apart from the poor garden maintenance, it is a biological hazard as well that breeds mosquitoes and other pests.
I believe that the person in charge, who looks after both the Nasinu and Nausori municipality travels, almost daily between the two destinations and has created a grey area in her observation.
The overdue garden beautification makes it imperceptible.
Health care delivery Ronnie Chang, Nadi
I thank Dr McCaig for his views on health care delivery.
I could not agree more.
This week, I saw for myself firsthand, in the Nadi Hospital women’s medical ward, that doctor-patient relationship, as practised in the past, during doctors’ rounds, with his support staff, between 9am to 10am, is definitely and glaringly, missed.
I tried my best to get an audience with the doctor-in-charge, it did not happen.
I was told he would see me at 2:30pm Wednesday, April 19, 2023. It failed to materialise, despite my four attempts between 8:30am and 4:50pm. Patients’ bedside folders are no longer there. Trainees take vitals recorded on little pieces of paper to be later transcribed to personal folders.
The sign of the new generation health care is deeply troubling, in my view.
Police revenue Shailesh Kumar, Tavua
It is time that the police cashiers who receive fees for various transactions should keep change.
It has been noticed that notice is placed to tender the correct amount. The transactions are for accident reports, copy of disclosures and other transactions, where money is involved. I do not think police officers should be afraid of being robbed at a police station?
The other reason is the higher hierarchy not trusting the station cashiers. If they do not feel safe, how can we citizens, who carry or are in possession of money or valuables, feel safe?
May the Acting Police Commissioner issue some dollars to the station cashiers who can use it as change?
There is also no m-Paisa, nor ETPOS machines as well!
Summit critics Rajend Naidu, Sydney
Critics of the National Economic Summit “have their heads buried in the sand.”
I hope the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister does not have his head in the cloud by ignoring the critics?
Drua-Chiefs match Floyd Robinson, FS Micronesia
The Chiefs are out to shred the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua to pieces in Hamilton. In wanting to maintain its unbeaten record, the Chiefs will adopt a no mercy approach.
For the Drua, it is also an opportunity for aspiring players to impress the selectors of the Flying Fijians, especially given that the Rugby World Cup is only months away. More importantly, this is a defining moment as they have a golden opportunity to showcase their class against the Chiefs team, laced with All Blacks stars and much firepower, possessing the ability to attack from anywhere on the field. The Chiefs will be playing at home, but the Drua have the backing of a big Fijian community in Hamilton and surrounding areas. At home, many will be glued to their television sets. All in all, I am expecting fireworks until the last second of the match.
Women focus Meli Matanatoto, Nadi
Critics of the National Economic What’s with the recent focus on women empowerment?
In all spheres of life here in Fiji, we have women representation. The civil service has women in majority up and down the ladder of hierarchy.
One of the three native confederacies is led by a woman.
People, including women, vote for whoever they think is the best person to be sitting in Parliament, even if there is more males in that august decision-making body. A regression of a society is when it start to highlight differences, which leads to marginalisation and bring differences.
Maybe all these focuses is to glean more foreign aid as part of the gender social inclusive agenda, promoted by leading international lenders.
There should be more push for women to take up construction and engineering courses because we are seriously lacking female representation in those fields.
The heavily foreign donor funded women’s right’s movements should do a study and voice their grievances on why there is a lack of feminine representation in the engineering sector.
Unfortunately, that is a worldwide trend, even in heavily egalitarian societies like Scandinavian countries that social scientists and psychologists cannot put a figure to on why women do not go in large numbers to become engineers.
Fiji Football Shariff Shah, Savusavu
For the super premier players, in both men’s and women’s category, when you perform you get selected for the national team.
The same happens to the Under16s, right up to the U20s and even futsal.
The biggest and hardest question here is, what is in store for the premier division players for all categories mentioned above?
What are they training and playing so hard for?
Is there any senior division men’s and women’s national teams, like Fiji Rugby and Drua teams?
I have asked this repeatedly but still there has been no answer.
The last a senior player who made it to the national team was in 1988 – Kaverieli Salesi, from Levuka, Ovalau. That’s it!
So, what are the current players playing for? Can the president and the good chief executive officer of the Fiji Football Association, please answer? It is warranted!
I feel that the premier division teams and its players are only there to use up the voids and votes.
After all, football is as bad as Fiji politics.
Water machines Arizona
Taitusi Sokiveta,
We must get water machines from the Americans that converts salt water into fresh water.
Fiji is surrounded by the largest ocean in the world – the Pacific Ocean. We don’t have to look for water, it’s right there!
We don’t need to travel hundreds of miles to find water, we can literally smell our ocean water every day. We only need the American machines that converts ocean water into fresh water, and our water shortage is solved overnight.
Rich country Lautoka
Wise Muavono,
As I’ve said before, we must be a rich country after the three-legged Government planned to forgive the $610 million in TELS debt.
We must be an economically advanced country!
News closure Nadi
Ajai Kumar,
Investigative journalism seems to be sorely missing in Fiji.
There are no closures to the many news items in the local media.
For example, the last we read about the Prime Minister’s official quarters was that it was vacated by the previous tenant one month after it should have been.
We were also told about expensive non-standard furniture and fit-outs and electronic window blinds.
So, where are we on that issue? I pray that the mainstream media tell us, otherwise speculations will abound.
Secondly, what happened to the vehicle of the previous chief executive of the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC)? Please, complete the stories?