From The Crowd

OPINION: Praised, then abolished

The creation of the Office of Development Effectiveness was announced in Foreign Minister Alexander Downer’s 2006 Aid White Paper. It symbolised the hope and mood of the time: more aid, better aid. Its job was, and remained, to lead on...

28th September

Taking a hit

Australia leaves Fiji to flounder Fiji’s fiscal year begins in August, and the government brought down its 2020- 21 budget in July. The most striking feature of that budget is that total expenditure in the coming year is budgeted to be virtually unchanged compared with the preceding two years. Adjusting for (mild) inflation, expenditure in...

27th September

Pet Life – Who is SPCA?

SPCA stands for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Some know the sign, others may just notice it now with this article – but here is some of what happens behind that sign and that bamboo wall. SPCA and humane societies of various sorts, and under various names all originated as a place...

Appreciating life in a pandemic

There’s nothing like a near death experience to make you appreciate life, even in the time of pandemic. My brush with mortality came a few weeks ago, with double vision, extreme headache, unsightly facial swelling and a spot of blindness. Obviously not a good look but don’t panic, it is a condition that mostly afflicts...

26th September

A beloved son of Fiji

Bula readers, this week I thought I would interview a man known to many of us for his excellence in many fields. He was a former captain of the 15s Fiji national rugby team and also captain of the Fiji national volleyball team. In public office he served as director of Town and Country Planning...

Change in prices – Effectiveness of our monitoring regime

Now that the dust has settled on the much debated 2020-2021 Budget we need to move on and focus our attention on its implementation. A lot has been spoken, written and heard about the budget, some in favour and some against. But it is imperative to acknowledge this budget is unique in that it is...

Drowning a concern

The Global report on drowning states it is among the ten leading causes of death of children and young people in every region of the world with over half the casualties under the age of 25 years. Children under five years are disproportionately at a greater risk with males twice as likely to drown than...

‘Preferential support for some media’

All good governments try to ensure that markets for products and producers in their jurisdiction are competitive. This ensures not just efficient allocation of resources, but also some degree of fairness to consumers and firms. Fiji has had over the years many organisations formally charged with that duty. The latest is the Fijian Competition and...

In whose interest

We all breathed a sigh of relief a month ago when the saga at USP appeared over and good governance and common sense had prevailed. But now, instead of respecting the council’s decision to move on to allow the university to carry out its core mandate of quality education to our people, the Fiji Government...

Is all above board

There is considerable controversy over the multi-million dollar state-of-the-art office complex for the Prime Minister, at a time when thousands of our working families are suffering through job losses, paycuts and reduced working hours as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. In his usual garbled style, Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum justified this “extravagance” thus in...

Islanders to the rescue

This is the second time in less than a year that Pacific Islanders have come to Australia’s aid. When the bushfires gutted Australia’s east coast last summer, devastated Australians were incredibly thankful for the support from our Pacific friends. Papua New Guinea sent 100 soldiers to help fight the flames. Fire-ravaged towns such as Merimbula...

25th September

A champion of the poor – A tribute to Father Kevin Barr

GOD called Father Kevin Barr on Thursday, September 17 to eternal rest. Father Barr is a strong believer in God who hears the cry of the poor and wants to transform the world. Father Barr’s life can be summed up in a commitment to the God of the poor, justice, love and peace. He radically...