Not surprising

IT is hardly surprising that Simon Hazelman (FT 27 March) is unable to grasp “the rationale” behind my call for government to assist workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis from State resources.

Mr Hazelman questions: What State resources I am talking about. If he doesn’t know that, he may want to go back to school. He also goes on to claim that Fiji is a developing country strapped for cash.

I ask him: Why is Fiji still a developing country after 50 years of independence considering how richly endowed we are with natural resources? As for being “cash strapped”, I believe he can thank his FijiFirst government for a decade or more of financial mismanagement and irresponsible spending for the precarious plight the nation is in today.

The FNPF is a retirement fund, Mr Hazelman. Its fundamental objective is to enable workers to retire with dignity from savings made over the years. It is not a cash cow that the Government can draw on every time a crisis hits the country, as this government has been doing.

I reiterate that it is the State’s responsibility to look after the welfare of the workers in times of trouble. There is nothing political about it. One needs to have enough sense to understand this.

If a government cannot help its people in times of genuine need, it is a government not worth having. MAHENDRA P. CHAUDHRY

Leader - Fiji Labour Party, Suva

More letters on PAGES 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30.