Bula
Three stories make the front page of the Fiji Times for Monday, December 2.
WHEN will it end? This is the question from Suva residents who are growing frustrated by ongoing water woes that have dragged on for months. In response, Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) CEO Dr Amit Chanan said the pipeline from Sawani to Colo-i-Suva was the “real solution”, and by next year, once the project was completed, water supply issues would be a thing of the past.
PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says the Opposition should not complain about his portfolios as the previous administration had a “Minister for Everything” during their term. Opposition Parliamentarian Premila Kumar said Mr Rabuka risked “spreading himself too thin” after taking the Immigration Department and Fiji Police Force under his portfolio. Ms Kumar questioned why so much power was being concentrated in one office if the Government was confident in its collective talent. “It’s only for the time when Pio Tikoduadua has stepped aside,” Mr Rabuka said. “And she should not be complaining. They had one ‘Minister for Everything’ during their term.”
ABOUT 100 Bangladeshi labourers resorted to airing their grievances with the media after claiming they were mistreated by their employer, a Suva-based construction company. A worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed they were being denied the $8-per-hour wage rate they were promised in accordance with their contract. In response to queries from The Fiji Times, the company’s human resources manager said all the issues the Bangladeshis complained about had been resolved following meetings between management and the workers last Thursday night and on Friday morning.
Synopsis
Inter-island travel, how safe is it?
Now that 245 passengers from the Lomaiviti Princess 7 have been safely taken off the vessel which ran aground in waters in the Lau Group this week, we should be asking questions about what is going to happen now.
The company has been at the centre of two similar incidents in just two months.
Last month, one of its vessels ran aground in Lomaiviti waters, near Levuka.
In the latest incident, the Lomaiviti Princess 7 got stuck on a reef south of Moala in Lau.
The vessel also carried 33 crew members when it ran aground.
In the incident in October, the vessel carried 40 passengers onboard the Lomaiviti Princess 11.
The vessel hit a reef that day and got stuck.
MSAF CEO Joeli Cawaki told The Fiji Times at the time that a ship was sent to assist the passengers and the stranded vessel.
So now in the wake of this latest incident, we ask some questions.
What are we doing about this state of affairs?
How do we move from this event?
And what processes are in place to ensure there is no repetition moving forward?
There are challenges we must face up to and they include being able to travel safely onboard vessels in Fiji and being able to travel anywhere with safety high on our priority list, or that of vessel owners.
The challenge is also going to be on the powers that be to ensure that all laws and safety measures are adhered to and there are experienced crew manning our inter-island vessels.
Lives are at stake.
Then there are the questions focused on how is this happening in the first place?
And why are we allowing them to happen?
Surely all vessels now operating around the country are equipped with the latest in terms of technology and advanced navigation systems. Surely we have consistent weather and tide reports that keep crew informed about what’s happening around them! Surely our reef systems are mapped out, and vessel crew must be aware of them, and how to navigate them safely.
Surely, there are captains highly skilled in the ways of the sea.
Surely with the amount of time captains and crew have been travelling the route to Lau, and around Lomaiviti, they would be familiar with danger spots and would be experienced and exposed to averting such incidents.
Surely passengers have a right to feel safe when travelling on licensed vessels that operate around our islands.
Surely, vessel owners also have a duty to ensure passengers are safe and feel safe when travelling to our outer islands, and there is confidence in this service.
We accept there are chances that accidents may happen. We accept mother nature can also play a key role in determining decisions on the move! It comes with the territory and captains are highly trained to remain calm in the face of great challenges, and remain composed to make important decisions under great stress! We accept that this a fact of life.
But surely, we must also accept that accidents happen because we allow them.
So now that we have had two accidents in recent times, the question now is what are the powers that be doing about them?
Passengers have a right to know what happened! This must be revealed and those tasked to investigate this latest incident have a duty to inform the travelling public about the result of the probe.
We still don’t know what caused the accident near Levuka.
Someone needs to lift his or her finger off the keyboard or writing note pad and get things moving.
This is serious and must be treated with some urgency. We can only imagine what ran through the minds of all those passengers who were onboard when the two vessels ran aground! We are happy no lives were lost and there were no reports of injuries! Remember the Republic of Fiji Navy Ship RFNS Puamau which ran aground on Fulaga Reef in Lau on its maiden voyage in June?
So we say, out with the culture of silence! This bit about vessels carrying passengers is serious! They are licensed to carry passengers and cargo! They have a duty to carry them safely to their destinations! So we ask, what is happening? Who is responsible now? Who will be held accountable? Can we bring back some order, and reassure the travelling public?
