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Showing posts from April 8, 2012

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

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Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in Fiji. I thank Allen for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.
Hospital Reception Desk
I was at the Lautoka Hospital and saw that many people came in and asked nurses, cleaners and other staff about relatives or friends who had been admitted. Unfortunately, they have no way of telling the visitor about new or old admissions. The people then wander all over the hospital looking and asking and disturbing staff. Why I say disturbing is that they start to insist that the person call the wards and then an employee has to leave his or her work and make a call.

If the hospital had a reception/help desk, everyone coming to the hospital could be directed there to facilitate/inform  visitors about patients or any other thing that they may want to ask.

I have seen peop…
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Paramount Chief Deals the Race Card

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NOTE. My piece on Ro Teimumu's letter will be published later in the weekend.  Croz

By Graham Davis in Grubsheet

A titanic struggle looms between the old and new orders in Fiji for the hearts and minds of the indigenous majority – the i’taukei. It’s a struggle that will determine the future for all Fiji citizens and on present indications, the portents don’t look good. Because the old order – the i’taukei chiefs – seem determined to make race the centerpiece of their campaign, to mine all the old prejudices that have retarded independent Fiji’s development right from the start. The evidence for this is an astonishing letter to the self-proclaimed leader of the “New Order” – Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama – from one of the country’s paramount chiefs –Ro Teimumu Kepa – in which she raises the spectre of “racial calamity” in Fiji. The phrase has sent a chill through the ranks of non-indigenous Fijians, which comprise 40 per cent of the population. Because however much Bainim…
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A Simplistic Reduction of MFAT Will Solve Nothing

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By Gerald McGhie
Gerald McGhie is a former career diplomat who served as ambassador to Moscow and Seoul, High Commissioner to Port Moresby and Commissioner in Hong Kong. Now retired, he is a past director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and was chairman of the New Zealand chapter of Transparency International. Background. NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully has signalled the closure of several overseas posts and other measures as a means of saving money. In this letter to the NZ Herald Gerald McGhie questions the proposal.
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A Personal Profile of Professor Wadan Narsey

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Crosbie Walsh7:46pm Apr 9Rishab, This is an excellent piece on Wadan, if only to dispel the racist notion that all Indo-Fijians are born with spoons in their mouths. It also told me many things about Wadan (and Joan) I did not know. If it is okay with you, I’d like to publish with my Weekend Readings this coming Saturday.
I no longer have Wadan’s email address. If you have it, please pass it on.


Best wishes. You are doing a fine job on Facebook.


Croz


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Weekend Reading

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• Allen Lockington Column • A Simplictic Reduction of MFAT Will Produce Nothing by Gerald McGhie • Profile of Wadan Narsey • Paramount Chief Deals the Race Card by Graham Davis  • Ro Teimumu's Latest Letter to the PM by Crosbie Walsh
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News and Comments Thursday 12 April 2012

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FLOOD UPDATE. Some 30 to 40,000 people are still receiving rations and 1800 are still in evacuations centres. Approximately 12,000 have now gone home. Overseas Fjians have formed an organisation, Yaadein Vision International, that has collected around 15,000 tonnes of food rations for flood victims that will be distributed today.

ELECTIONS: South African Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law Christina Murray is the second international member of the five-member Constitutional Commission. The first, who will chair the Commission, was constitutional scholar Professor Yash Ghai.Two Fijian members are Taufa Vakatale, the first female deputy Prime Minister in Fiji, and Dr Satendra Nandan, an academic, writer and former MP. The final Fijian member will be announced shortly.

ELECTIONS: A UN NEEDS ASSESSMENT TEAMarrived in Nadi over the weekend to work on a technical needs assessment for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The team was invited by government.

ELECTIONS: VOTER REGIST…
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FijiToday Still the Most Moderate. Vinaka, Peter

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New post on Fiji Today FijiTodays Open Forum BlogPraise where it is due.by fijitodayPraise where it is due.Commissioner Western Commander Joeli Cawaki deserves praise for his actions in the response to the recent floods. I had the privilege to be present when he lost his temper with a collection of government officials that were causing the normal bureaucratic holdup in the aid. He told them to ignore all the rules and concentrate on getting the aid to those who they served. He told them that anyone he found causing an obstruction to the aid would be dealt with severely. While in normal times this might seem overly authoritarian he is operating under a declared emergency so has full control. He has been working long hard hours and looks very ragged  and tired. He is the right man in the right job and deserves our praise and support. Peter Firkin fijitoday | April 9, 2012 at 12:20 pm | Tags: Fiji, flood | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pp6qP-2wl Comment
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PM's Easter Message

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EASTER MESSAGE  BY COMMODORE JOSAIA VOREQE BAINIMARAMA
My Fellow Fijians
Easter is a celebration of renewal, manifested by love and compassion for others, which makes this holiday especially meaningful for Fiji this year. Fijians have shown great unity during this past week--just as we did in January--to care for and look after our families, our friends our neighbors - our fellow Fijians.
Our collective unity in the face of national adversity will uphold the meaning of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for humanity as an individual. Our lives too will return, and we shall strive to practice daily the tenets of love and harmony that he espoused.
Indeed, it is also important to acknowledge that Easter is a time to give thanks to those who have sacrificed for us. To those selfless individuals, business houses and non-government organisations that have shown great support for Fiji and flood-affected Fijians, we thank you.
During Easter we pause to celebrate; however, our work con…
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