Uniting parties
INTRESTING that the Fiji Labour Party, Unity Fiji party, and the Freedom Alliance party have signed a memorandum of understanding setting a platform uniting the Opposition in the lead-up to the 2022 polls (FT 02/10).
Between them they say that they have come together in response to a growing call from Fijians for a united front to fight the next election. They claim that the past 15 years Fiji has been converted into a dictatorship which has taken absolute control of Parliament. They claim that there has been manipulation of Standing Orders to deny the Opposition its rightful role.
They also say that there was harassment, intimidation and unlawful arrests of Opposition leaders and government critics. And they claim nepotism is rife and there are allegations of endemic corruption.
So what is wrong with all the above if by the end of each day it works for Fiji? Considering our coup culture problem we need to understand why our Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has taken such a stance in order to keep the peace and any possible disruption at bay.
We really needed such a hardline tough leader like PM Bainimarama to set things straight and guide Fiji through and out of the many disruptions to our nation’s economy and its people.
It’s no overnight fix and may take one to two decades for things to get back to a much more democratic situation. For now we still need a hard grip on everything and such tight control by the FijiFirst Government is not only understandable, but is required for now.
The very thought of these three parties getting into power already smells coup!
Mahendra Chaudhry talking nepotism is amusing. Our economy is in such a state for many explainable and clear reasons. How this united opposition party will go about fixing what they term our “unmanageable dept crisis” is what I want to know? To say that half of our people are living in poverty is fallacy, in such a tropical country with easily available food resources, no Fijians should be in poverty, except for people who expect to be spoon fed.
Fiji needs to toughen up and while COVID-19 has caused an economic disaster and a great disruption to our lives I hope it has taught us Fijians never to rest on our laurels and be much more careful with the way in which we live our lives.
Be productive, cultivate the land with fruits and vegetables, raise livestock where possible, go catch your own fish, and try to live a life that’ll sustain your family.
COVID-19 is a warning of more to come so prepare yourselves to be able to survive with such adversity. No government can do any better than how the FijiFirst Government has dealt with it.
At such a time when we are just coming out of great adversity and struggles, it’s just way much better for us Fijians to be dealing with a government that is on a roll instead of a new one that’ll create further disruption.
I personally feel we are not ready for a change as it’ll only set us back further.
The next four years will be telling for FijiFirst, without any disruptions, we should see and experience great things.
The timing for change is premature! SIMON HAZELMAN
Rava Estate, Savusavu