Race to stop community division
Some might say, it takes time to reconfigure the system correctly so that it operates without any glitches.
There is little arguing that we did manage to whittle down potential contractors to a small number of trusted ones. Once this happened, there was a deafening silence on the issue of services provided. It appeared almost as if these contractors could do no wrong because they had gone through a vigorous selection process. Another miracle and another feather in the FFP cap. The reality, however, was obviously very different. It was the same with many other government contracts – roadworks became a headache and an eyesore because it never ended. Potholes appeared miraculously after works had been completed and the whole process resumed for further monies. The work done by the contractor at CWM Hospital did not appear to achieve the required standard and yet it appeared not to be worried about repercussions. In a robust set-up, these repercussions would normally follow as a matter of course.
Not here. What was happening? Why was a government that was so particular about everything else, appear not to notice the obvious when it came to unsatisfactory results from work carried out by a government contract holder at CWM Hospital? Was this a case of that age of the structure and a poor maintenance program or deliberate incompetence or maybe, selectively turning a blind eye?
I will elaborate on this in my next article because through these seasoned eyes of a researcher in this field it appears like we had set up a new model of management in the public sector. What is of relevance to this series is that at the helm of these public works was an Indo-Fijian.
There is no arguing that Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum was the driver of the FF Party and consequently, its policies. He, therefore, presented the most dominant IndoFijian face to the public both here and abroad for a sustained period of time. Whatever he did on the national stage was viewed by all the people in Fiji. And all of these actions were being interpreted with judgements. The sad thing is that these judgements were not being made about one man alone. In my view, they were being made about an entire community that he was taken to represent. The longer term implications of this will have to be dire unless whatever I have been raising in this series about race relations and acceptance in a multi-cultural context is given serious thought.
I will talk about the new model of management in my next article.
DR SUBHASH APPANNA has been writing on issues of historical and national significance. The views expressed here are his alone and not necessarily shared by this newspaper or his employers subhash.appana@usp.ac.fj
DONALD Singh’s Opinion piece, published in last Saturday’s (4/3) The Fiji Times contains some interesting perspectives.
Among them is: “fisheries
is one sector where Fiji could become a world leader”.
Mr Singh’s piece is centered on the concept of Fiji creating a platform for a dedicated fishing port with appropriate facilities and support.
It may be, yes, that Fiji’s port charges are high, causing some fishing vessels to unload their catches at other regional ports.
But Fiji has already two good processing companies – PAFCO and Golden Ocean – both with capacity and international connections very capable of handling fish at high standards to meet international markets.
And when choosing what port to offload their catches, (foreign) fishing companies evaluate factors such as:
■ time and cost of fuel to get to alternative ports based on their vessel’s location;
■ the quality of the fish processing in Fiji;
■ the access to support items and infrastructure; and
■ the ready air and sea services in Fiji which deliver their fish to markets (among other matters).
Predictably, Mr Singh’s and many earlier piece writers on Fiji’s fisheries sector ignore the reality that vessels cannot fish without crew.
Fishing vessels - and also merchant and roll-on-rolloff vessels - would remain dead in the water if they did not have crew to run them.
And crew on vessels fishing for tuna are a level apart from crew of other vessels because the crew (captain, engineers, mate) not only make the vessel “go” but they - captain, mate, bosun, cook, deckhands - manage the catching and processing of fish. Fish.
It is fish that contribute directly to Fiji’s economy, and the amount of fish caught, washed, gutted, and well-stored in either ice or slurry to retain their quality.
HAS ANYONE NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE (TUNA) FISHERIES SECTOR EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THIS? IF THEY HAVE, DID THEY EVER TALK TO A CREWMAN
The Fijian men fulfilling those positions – and on which the industry depends for catching, cleaning, gutting, and storing catch to retain good quality – mostly live in settlements; at least 150 men in the SuvaNausori area alone did or do work as deckhands in the fishery.
They are hired without written contracts, and the wages promised at the beginning of a voyage may be downgraded while they are at sea.
They are given poor quality meals (senior crew get much better), sometimes dirty drinking water (senior crew get bottled water), sleep on bug-infested mattresses, have no insurance, are shouted at, and (because the Fiji fishery is a longline one) work seven days a week between 14 and 20 hours every day, and they have to pay for the raincoat, hood and boots they use even though Fiji law says they should be freely given.
When the vessel returns to port the men offload the catch before they receive their wages, which sometimes have had unauthorised deductions.
Yes, fisheries is one sector where Fiji could become a world leader.
Many regional longline fishing companies have a mixture of migrant (meaning non-Pacific Islander) crew and Pacific Islanders.
Generally, but not always, the migrant crew are not comfortable being on a fishing vessel.
They are men who were looking for (any) work and went to a recruiting agent in their home city, then found themselves with a two-year contract, on a plane, and finally a fishing vessel in an unfamiliar world. While some migrant crew may clean and store the tuna, generally it is the Pacific Islanders who carry out the heavy work.
It is mandatory that all crew on any vessel have a safety certificate.
This rule is sourced in the International Maritime Convention (IMO) to which Fiji is a party, and followed in Fiji’s Maritime Regulations 2014 and the Fiji Maritime (STCW Convention) Regulations 2014: everyone working on a fishing vessel must be certified to ensure organised actions in the event of a vessel foundering or some malfunction, for fire control, and for basic first aid in case of injuries.
Whereas migrant fishing crew can spot a safety certificate (the certificate’s credentials are open to scrutiny) very few Fijian (and probably few other Pacific Islander longline crew) can do so.
Since about 2019 our organisation, Human Dignity Group (HDG), has worked with World Wise Foods Co. in the United Kingdom to ensure the safety of crew on Fiji fishing vessels, concur with the IMO convention, and to perhaps cause holders of a safety certificate to secure a slightly higher wage by supporting Fijian crewmen’s attendance at FNU’s Maritime Academy where they study for their Basic Sea Safety certificate.
The support comes from the Sustainable Fisheries and Communities Trust of World Wise Foods Co. UK (director John Burton), supplemented by HDG which carries out the administrative tasks of getting the men to school.
So far, 21 men have completed and 12 others are in process; each longline vessel requires on average, five or six deckhands.
The course comprises four, threeday units: personal safety, safety and social responsibility, basic first aid, firefighting.
Upon successful completion of those units, applicants undertake medical and eye tests before submitting their results to the MSAF (Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji) which then provides them with a Seaman’s Employment Record Book, or “SERB”.
A SERB is a logbook and is used to record the sea-going experience of seafarers.
Many Fijian deckhand crew desire to have a SERB, but have never been able to find the money for course fees.
It is only through World Wise Foods’ trust fund that the men can set their sights higher, and “be legal”.
The total cost for each man is plus/ minus $780 (not including administrative costs).
“Fisheries is one sector where Fiji could become a world leader”.
HOW ABOUT BEING A REGIONAL LEADER BY ENSURING THAT EVERY DECKHAND (AND OTHER CREWMAN) IS CERTIFIED SO THAT THE FISHERY IS LEGAL?
HDG and World Wise Foods in the past have had published articles (Fiji Sun, Islands Business magazine) spruiking for sponsors for the crewmen’s certification, but not one Fiji fishing company has stepped up. Not one.
WHAT IS THEIR STANDARD?
On the one hand, the tuna brought on board are washed, gutted and stored carefully to achieve the best prices by underprivileged and poorly considered men who have no idea how much the companies are paid for the tuna thus processed. And on the other hand, the companies don’t care to follow the Fiji Government’s agreement with the IMO and Fiji’s own regulations, that all crew must be certified. HDG and World Wise Foods are doing that for them, for free. And nor has the Fiji Ministry of Fisheries nor the MSAF chided the companies for their disinterest. Come to think of it, there is considerable irony in a company half a world away committing to assist crewmen in Fiji to be certified while local companies and Fiji Government agencies don’t lift a finger.
In the highly competitive tuna fishing industry of the Western and Central Pacific, any edge one company can achieve over another, no matter how fine, can be financially advantageous when it comes to marketing.
So yes, “fisheries is one sector where Fiji could become a world leader” (at least, a regional one) by all of its crew being fully certified.
What a boost it would be! – for the crewmen, the companies, the nation.
DR PATRICIA KAILOLA