Bula
We hope the weekend has been good to you so far.
Here are some headlines for The Sunday Times’ edition of March 21.
The big one on Page 1 is:
Electoral Act
Under new proposed laws, the Supervisor of Election will be required to destroy election records within six months after an election. This is being proposed in Bill Number 50 of 2020 that will amend the Electoral Act 2014 if passed by Parliament. Under the Electoral Act 2014, the time-frame for destruction of records was one year.
Page 2:
Fiji Driving School
As part of concerns raised at its annual general meeting, the Fiji Driving School Association received submissions on the extension of driving instructors permit to three years.
Grant for sporting organisations
Government will ensure that the grant submissions requested by the sporting organisations are based on needs and not on wants, says Ministry of Youth and Sports permanent secretary Rovereto Nayacalevu.
National Sports Conference
The way forward for sports requires government and other stakeholders to support safe reopening of sporting events. This was the comment made by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services representative Ana Maisema at the 2021 National Sports Conference.
PAGE 3:
Fijian Elections office
Service providers working for the Fijian Elections Office will also be allowed to vote at a polling station where they will be located. This will become law if Bill number 50 of 2020, which will amend the Electoral Act of 2014, becomes law.
Presiding officer
A Presiding officer will only be allowed to leave his or her polling station to assist a voter at home after all voters have finished casting their ballots and there is no one else in the queue.
Vote casting
A person who is blind or incapacitated can bring “a person of their own choice” to assist in casting their vote.
WOWS Kids
Walk on Walk Strong (WOWS) Kids Fiji hosted its first central family fun day for children in Suva yesterday. The event was organised to provide fun activities for children and to celebrate the birthday of children born in the first quarter of the year.
Body find
The body of a 32-year-old fisherman was discovered floating in waters near Vatudamu settlement in Savusavu on Friday.
BEHIND THE NEWS with JOHN KAMEA – PAGE 7:
Draft Police Bill
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama dropped a bombshell this week when he decided to stop all public consultations on the controversial draft Police Bill 2020, ending two weeks of strong public disapproval. We are told the focus now shifts to reviewing the Police Act of 1965.
TODAY IN HISTORY:
The chances of finding true love at the hospital while being admitted as a patient is quite rare. This was the reality for couple Filipe Kuruvoli and Peceli Qasevakatini of Kadavu who fell in love while being treated at the Tamavua Hospital in 1991.
FROM THE CROWD with SEONA SMILES:
Of course, why didn’t I see it before – the goings-on at Buckingham Palace and other British royal residences is full-on just like a Bollywood family drama. My family, which also goes through the occasional Bollywood phase, drew it to my attention this week with a picture circulating online.
DISCOVERING FIJI:
At 8am, while the sun’s rays were still tolerable and kind, we began a slow ascension to Yacata Island’s highest peak – Korolevu. Here, centuries before the arrival of the white man, tribes set up their first village fortress called Kakabale. Like other stone forts at the time, it looked formidable and menacing. Kaibu and Vatuvara drifted close by, while Naitauba looked like a pixilated picture on the horizon. Several generations later, marking one of Fiji’s well documented wars, one of Korolevu’s caves became the permanent resting place of a huge stock of human bones.
COOKING with LANCE SEETO:
With the Fijian “winter” approaching in a few months, nature is once again signalling that her food medicines are coming into the season, especially the citrus fruits.
SPORTS:
Super 7s series
There’s a lot in Sports. The big one though is from the Super 7s at Ganilau Park in Savusavu. There are also reports and pictures from schools athletics.
There’s a lot to read on a Sunday.
We have interesting features, entertainment, local news, opinions, international news, and sports. Happy reading!
