February
THE Wuhan coronavirus was declared “an infectious disease in Fiji” but it was New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who captured headlines and won the hearts of Fijians in February. She left an indelible impression of a national leader who was truly in-step with the needs, aspirations and challenges faced by Pacific people. Even the Opposition walking out of Parliament because of a failed petition bid played second fiddle to Ms Ardern during her brief but impressionable visit to the country.
FEBRUARY 1
■ HEALTH Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete declares the novel coronavirus “an infectious disease in Fiji” by amending the Public Health Act. World Health Organization declares the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak “a global health emergency” after 213 deaths and about 9600 infected by the deadly virus.
FEBRUARY 2
■ TWO Chinese nationals who were feeling ill brought the Lautoka Hospital’s emergency room to a complete stop for a few hours on Friday morning after they were admitted for suspected novel coronavirus.
FEBRUARY 3
■ FIJI’S borders were closed to all foreign nationals who have been in mainland China within 14 days of their intended travel to Fiji.
FEBRUARY 4
■ OPPOSITION Leader Sitiveni Rabuka’s complaint against Government about the awarding of a $500,000 consultancy contract to Aliz Pacific has “no merit”, says Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption acting deputy commissioner Rashmi Aslam.
FEBRUARY 5
■ TWO Fijians who arrived from Guandong, China, were quarantined after they displayed coronavirus-like symptoms.
FEBRUARY 6
■ NATIONAL Federation Party leader Prof Biman Prasad says Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is deliberately hiding the reality, hardship and suffering of the ordinary people because of the $1 billion reduction in the 2019/2020 National Budget with every ministry and department suffering budget cuts.
FEBRUARY 7
■ FIJI was expecting blood test results for two Fijians sent to Australia. They were given the all clear later that day.
FEBRUARY 10
■ A FOUNDING member of the Fiji Labour Party and the party’s first Lord Mayor of Suva, Bob Kumar, passed away in Australia.
FEBRUARY 11
■ THE iTaukei Trust Fund Board said the charred shell of the former Great Council of Chiefs complex would remain as it was until insurance payments were received.
FEBRUARY 14
■ SUPERVISOR of Elections Mohammed Saneem says The Fiji Times “incorrectly stated that people have to ‘re-register’ for voter identification cards”. He said the process was not a re-registration but an upgrade from the green coloured VoterCard to the blue VoterCard. The
Fiji Times editor-in-chief Fred Wesley said the front page article reported the people’s frustration over the need to produce birth certificates because of the costs involved and widespread criticism of the requirement that married women be registered on the electoral roll in their birth names.
■ FIJI Revenue and Customs
Service CEO Visvanath Das resigns
FEBRUARY 15
■ FIJI Women’s Rights Movement and Opposition Leader Sitiveni Rabuka show support for a recommendation by the United Nations Human Rights Council for Government to respect the rights of journalists and remove or change legislation which stifled press freedom.
FEBRUARY 16
■ THE new Navua Hospital would not be used as a quarantine facility for suspected coronavirus cases, Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete said.
FEBRUARY 18
■ THE Fiji National Provident Fund bought a 20 per cent stake in Energy Fiji Ltd for $80 million, AttorneyGeneral and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum told Parliament.
FEBRUARY 19
■ THE Opposition walked out of Parliament mid-morning after Speaker Ratu Epeli Nailatikau rejected a petition by the tikina Nasigatoka against magnetite mining at the Sigatoka River mouth. The next day
village headman Alipate Qaraniqio said his people were “extremely disappointed” as the petition was signed by 900 people.
FEBRUARY 20
■ ATTORNEY-GENERAL Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji Airways had so far paid $92 million of its $146m loan from the Fiji National Provident Fund for pre-delivery payment funding of three Airbus A330 aircraft acquired in 2013. He said the loan was under a 12-year repayment period and FNPF had earned $34m in interest alone from the repayments.
FEBRUARY 22
■ BANNING access to pornography will not change people’s attitudes towards sex or men’s attitudes towards women, Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Minister Mereseini Vuniwaqa said. She made the comment in response to Opposition Whip Lynda Tabuya’s bid to launch the Free Fiji From Porn Initiative.
FEBRUARY 24
■ FIJI recorded 715 leptospirosis cases with five deaths and 3000 dengue fever cases in the first six months of last year.
FEBRUARY 25
■ NEW Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrived into the country and was received by Foreign Affairs Minister Inia Seruiratu at the Nausori International Airport.
FEBRUARY 26
■ NEW Zealand makes a $11 million commitment to help Fiji and the Pacific tackle drug trafficking, including technical expertise.
FEBRUARY 27
■ NEW ZEALAND Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won the hearts of ordinary Fijians when she removed herself from a high podium and took herself to the floor to sit with women from Tamavua-i-wai settlement.
■ FIJI is New Zealand’s most important trading partner in the Pacific with a staggering $1 billion in diverse two-way trade between the two countries and more than 200,000 New Zealanders opting to holiday in Fiji annually, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said during a state dinner.
FEBRUARY 28
■ JACINDA Ardern’s persona once again eclipsed her position as New Zealand’s Prime Minister when she took it upon herself to serve tea to a group of “shy” women who attended the opening of the new Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre office in Nadi.
FEBRUARY 29
■ HEALTH Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete apologises to nurses in Serua who were sometimes not paid for up to three months.