WE will cross the threshold to a New Year in a few days. At my age, the years seem to go by rapidly. But one thing I remind myself regularly is that I should not forget to thank the Lord Jesus for all that happens to me in a year.
Thank you, God, for your wonderful blessings and grace in my life and those of my family.
After a flurry of negotiations, I thank the three political parties in the Coalition Government for coming together in December 2022 to remove the People were eagerly and thankfully looking forward to the restoration of democracy and freedom.
As 2024 progressed, our eagerness quickly turned into dismay as the government paid themselves huge pay rises when most people were struggling to buy food and other essential items. Drugs are taking over our streets.
The cost of living continues to rise. Poverty is rising.
These are some of the national challenges that we faced throughout 2024.
But we also had our moments of triumphs and growth.
Our sevens a side men’s team returned to the victory podium in the world tournament.
We are politically stable.
What I like about the New Year is the opportunity for us to embrace fresh opportunities and start anew.
As the saying goes, we will not succeed in the future if we do not look back at the past.
One thing is for sure, we are far short of our aspirations.
These aspirations are on multiple levels.
On the national level, the country must rise out of deepening poverty in the rural and urban areas.
We know our leadership and economic weaknesses. These are not new. But I am saddened that we cannot consistently find sustainable solutions to them.
Many times, we do not even try.
Let us renew our efforts to face our challenges head-on in 2025. We can triumph with a clear collective vision, people-centered leadership, courage, and hope. We must wisely identify our national priorities. We must be inclusive in our approach.
In my view, we cannot simply bump along as we have done in the past. 2025 must be a watershed year. It must be the year of reinvention, transformation, and reforms. Let us throw away what continues to weigh us down.
In my assessment, Fiji must take the highway to prosperity and get off the winding side roads and narrow streets that we are fond of travelling on.
What should catapult us to this new highway? Our propeller is our people. We must get the 50 per cent of our people who are underemployed and unemployed to start producing more. We must be innovative in finding the right model to get the propeller going full throttle. I believe that the fuel for our journey of financial capital will not be a constraint if we adopt the right approach.
On the family and personal level, we must continue to pursue our dreams and goals in life. We must never give up.
No matter what 2024 brought to us — whether it was one of personal achievement or struggle — the new year is a blank canvas. You can draw anything you want on this canvas. It is up to us.
I am therefore asking that we challenge ourselves to grow, learn, and evolve, both personally and professionally.
Take one step at a time. We may not succeed all the time.
But it is important to remember that life is not always fair.
What matters is how we rise from the difficulties, how we choose to learn from them, and how we continue to push forward.
May 2025 bring you the joy, growth, happiness, and success you deserve.
Happy New Year!
