Plans to improve service
GOVERNMENT plans to improve shipping services to outer islanders and this will be a priority for the Marine Development, says Minister of State for Maritime Viliame Saulekaleka.
This was reported by The Fiji Times on November 18, 1992 where Mr Saulekaleka said before anything could be done to the public service way of thinking, the marine department would have to change first.
He said the public service mentality meant that one worked eight hours a day.
He said if ships were to be built; the whole structure of the industry would have to change.
“A worker can only give according to what he has, as an athlete can only produce if he has been well trained and that is why good machinery is necessary.” Mr Saulekaleka said.
“We are strategically situated and we should make the most of that as the region grows.
“We will also be working closely with the Ports Authority of Fiji in terms of shipping and if the laws will need changing, we’ll change them.”
More on the immediate problems of inter-islands shipping, Mr Saulekaleka said in an interview on Friday the previous week that a shipping service to the outlying island would be issued soon.
“We plan to have two shipping service a month to the outlying islands using our government vessels.” He said four vessels, the Daunivosa, Degei, Tabusoro, and the Dausoko would be used to service islands in the Lau, Lomaiviti, Kadavu, Vanua Levu and the Yasawa group.
“This will not fill the gap that commercial ship does because it is uneconomical for them to run to these places.”
He said subsidies would have to be sought.
“If we’re going to make use of private vessels, the trip will have to be subsidised so as to encourage them to run on these routes.
“So if we have say a nineday trip to the islands in the Lau Group, it will take about nine days and if we multiply that by the cost of running a boat every day it will amount to almost $30,000.”
Many of the three government vessels operating were going to be used for trips to the outer islands during surveys and charters.
He said the size of the boat would be similar to that of the Kaunitoni.
The government had already signed the new agreement with Captain Cook Islands for the completion of the vessel.
He said the Captain Cook Tour was expected to finalise the agreement sometime this week.
Mr Saulekaleka said while this was being finalised, government would continue to service the outer islands.
He also said one of the main problems affecting those in the outer islanders was water.
Transporting water was very expensive because of the running fuel of the vessel.
“The problem will have to be addressed on the spot and we will have to find ways of doing that instead of transporting water by barge.”