Special day for Christians
Fiji is indeed a special country when it comes to multiracial living as The Fiji Times editorial of April 14 so eloquently articulates. But are there threats to multiracialism and democracy in contemporary Fiji society? What are the threats? Are all the people regarded, respected and treated as equal citizens with equal rights and opportunities? We must not lose sight of these questions and challenges as we strive to shape a better Fiji for the future. Rajend Naidu, Sydney, Australia
Budget consultations
I would like to share my thoughts on how budget consultations were done in the past compared with now. Under the FijiFirst government, budget consultations were done in a very open and people-friendly way. There was always a large number of people attending these sessions — elderly people, middle-aged citizens, and even young people. People felt confident to speak up and share their views. It was not just about the budget. Many people also raised other community concerns, and the team that travelled around with the minister would take note and help solve those problems quickly. This gave people hope and trust in the process. But now, with the current Coalition Government, even though consultations are still happening, very few people are turning up. The low turnout clearly shows that people are not interested or willing to come forward. One reason for this is that people feel their voices will not be heard, and nothing will come out of it. Public consultation should be meaningful. It should give people the confidence that their ideas and concerns matter. Ravneel Sharma, Navua
Women in Parliament
I am very concerned to see the push for special representation for women in Parliament displayed in the submissions to the Electoral Law Reform Commission. This is certainly not the way to go. Like any other group of people who feel marginalised, the pathway to Parliament is through the political parties. Offer the parties suitable candidates and support them in the build-up to polling day. Women’s groups need to look at themselves, choose women with broad vision, who are good decision-makers, and offer them to the political parties. Sometimes women can be their own worst enemy, and maybe it’s no surprise they do not find themselves to be popular choices. I sincerely hope the commission will not give way to what may seem a suitable solution to the lack of women in Parliament. Tessa Mackenzie, Suva
Public consultations
I feel so proud that we have a country that allows for public consultations. I have always confined myself to writing letters to the editor to voice my opinions on matters I deem relevant but never before have I appeared at a public consultation. I realised it’s not only for political parties but for us all as citizens of our beautiful country Fiji. Aside from representatives of political parties, there was the voice of our learned scholars, the youths and ordinary people like myself who got the opportunity to speak out. There are so many citizens who share our views and so many citizens who have very enlightening views and they open our minds to a larger picture on just how our individual voices matter in our Fiji. I thank you the Electoral Reform Commission for giving out the guidelines for topics of discussion. However, I must point out that there was no restrictions placed on what topics participants wanted to raise. I thank you for publishing these guidelines for those of us who would like to make written submissions. I would like to encourage everyone to participate. They are very basic topics but they pertain to how we will contribute to the progress of our nation. Tai Smith, Kinoya, Nasinu
Foreign workers
Felix Anthony has reportedly raised alarm on foreign workers coming in to take up jobs that could be done easily by locals. Good that he has said “could” rather than “can”. “Could” is rather hypothetical. I believe Felix has raised a false alarm, but unionists have to remain relevant, and pretty much not be attached to reality. Felix doesn’t know that our people don’t want to work for a living. Felix can ask major construction company bosses about the torrid times they endure just trying to get local workers to turn up at work five days a week. Felix can also find out about efficiency in our local workers, commitment to work and about the wele attitude and malua fever. It is unfortunate, but as Trump said, to everyone’s detriment, it’s necessary to take the medicine. Our medicine is to get more foreign workers. Donald Singh, Suva
