Contestants on the move
THE wet, rainy Suva weather has failed to dampen the spirits of this year’s Hibiscus Festival contestants as they took centre stage, displaying their best Indian outfits. The contestants looked elegant in their outfits, portraying a multicultural Fiji. Their appearance on the stage brought out cheers, adding colour, beauty, grace, glamour and an electrifying atmosphere. Our Queen contestants are on the move. They have been visiting organisations and business houses, mingling freely with ordinary people who have been thrilled by their presence, etiquette and confidence. One Queen will be crowned Miss Hibiscus tomorrow. Let’s see who takes the crown from last year’s winner Miss National Fire Authority, Rhyelle Aisea, who was loudly cheered as she was crowned Miss Hibiscus 2025. During the week-long festival, Aisea proudly showcased her Rotuman cultural links and stood out. As we count hours to the climax, I wish the contestants all the best, and I thank them for being brave in taking up the enormous challenge of being a contestant! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Balgovind Rd, Nadawa, Nasinu
Fixing the poverty crisis
WE are told that up to 75 per cent of Fijians live in poverty. I suspect that has been the case for decades. If those living in poverty do the same things repeatedly and expect things to change, then it will never work. If you elect the same old people, recycled in different political colours repeatedly, nothing will change. If you change the Constitution over and over again with a great deal of enthusiasm and exuberance, which has already been tried and is in the process of being tried again, nothing will change. Praying and fasting and living in hope will not change anything. It is not rocket science. But one thing remains unchanged, the people of Fiji are truly blessed. JAN NISSAR Sydney Australia
Tourism Talanoa
THE so – called “Tourism Talanoa” has become less about dialogue and more about giving the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) CEO a weekly, unvetted platform to defend hotelier margins. Fantasha Lockington’s latest column on wages is a wasted exercise in economic distortion. It asks us to sympathize with resorts while ignoring the lived reality of ordinary Fijians. How can FHTA reconcile the fact that a housemaid cleaning a room for an hour earns $5, while the occupant of that room has paid between $600 and $1500 for the privilege? This is not a balancing act — it is exploitation. The industry’s own CEO has already conceded that 70 per cent of tourism earnings leak overseas, leaving Fiji reliant mainly on VAT for revenue. VAT is paid by consumers, not hoteliers. To parade this leakage as sustainable while resisting a living wage is indefensible. Lockington warns that a move to $8 an hour is “unsustainable.” Yet the unsustainable reality is that Fiji’s largest industry extracts immense surplus value from its workers while sending profits offshore. Tourists pay global luxury rates, but Fijian workers remain trapped in poverty wages. Villages near resort corridors suffer water cuts and blackouts while resorts run backup generators. Cultural rituals are degraded into nightly entertainment, stripping heritage of meaning. This is the imbalance her column refuses to confront. The megaphone she enjoys is not talanoa. True talanoa requires accountability, peer review, and multiple voices. Why are we not hearing from other stakeholders — union leaders, landowners, academics, or commentators like Felix Anthony — in full, unfiltered form? If this is genuinely a talanoa, then the FHTA CEO cannot own the entire weekly page. The truth is stark: Tourism is not paying its way. It drains Fiji’s utilities, erodes culture, and pays poverty wages while demanding sympathy for its profit margins. Giving one lobbyist a monopoly over the conversation is not dialogue; it is propaganda. Fiji deserves a real talanoa — one where workers, landowners, and communities have equal voice, and where industry spin is tested against facts. Until then, these weekly columns remain a one–sided exercise in self–interest, not national debate. DR SUSHIL K SHARMA Lautoka
Stop wasting time
TEACHERS who have done a good job relieving all these past years should just be confirmed in those positions. Period! Why reapply? It’s completely time-wasting vetting thousands of applications. These teachers have not been remunerated for the acting positions they performed so why go into all the trouble of applying for those positions again. They have performed well, but not paid, so the only solution is confirmation of the post which with a few extra dollars in their pockets, the teachers would be grateful. Such a simple solution, isn’t Mr Minister! SAM YOUNG Norma’s Place, Nadi
Messi missed
HIS sudden announcement of retirement after his unexpected loss shocked the world. Was he really a great sportsman? TAHIR ALI Hamilton, New Zealand
Contract jackpot
ONE has to ask, are pothole repairs becoming a jackpot for road contractors? Every time the same potholes return, another repair is required, another bill is paid, and the cycle continues. Is this really road maintenance, or have potholes become a never-ending source of income for contractors? I reckon it seems like a never-ending story. SHAMAL CHAND Kuku Village, Nausori
Top shelf beef
HIGH-QUALITY popular cuts of beef is so pricey at local butcheries. They must be grazing on top notch grass. Sobo!
WISE MUAVONO Headstrom Pl, Lautoka
Climate talkfest
MINISTER for Environment and Climate Change Lynda Tabuya says “Fiji is expecting to host about 3000 people at the pre-COP in Nadi next month”. Now I better understand why critics says this COP business is just a talkfest which has failed to turn things around, and hence planet Earth and humanity has now reached the tipping point. RAJEND NAIDU Sydney, NSW, Australia
Great minds, big growth
INDIA’S real GDP grew by 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 (April-June 2026), beating expectations. Even IMF, Bloomberg and Reuters when reporting this were left in shock and paralysis. US, UK and many EU countries had growth from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent. To India’s detractors I say: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” RAKESH CHAND SHARMA Nadi
Democratic process
MAHENDRA Chaudhry is at it again barking as usual. Please Mr Chaudhry, be patient and wait for the constitutional process to take place. The constitution shall be by the people for the people and not by one or two persons for the people. Please be reminded, in a democracy, it’s the majority voice that counts and not the voices of the minority and when the voice of the majority is determined please accept the constitutional changes that comes with it. MALAKAI NADUVA Korociriciri, Nausori
Constitution, let them read it
FIJI has reached an important milestone with the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) handing its report and proposed Constitution to President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu. But this is not yet a new Constitution. It is a proposal — and proposals must be tested in the full light of public scrutiny. The President himself said the Constitution belongs to the people. If that is true, then citizens must be allowed to read, examine, and debate what has been drafted in their name. Consultation is not consent. The CRC heard from thousands of Fijians, but those voices have now been filtered into a document the public has not seen. People deserve to know how their submissions became constitutional proposals. They must be able to ask: Is this what we said? Is this what we meant? Is this what Fiji now needs? Government has a legitimate role in examining the report, and Cabinet must do its due diligence. But Cabinet cannot become the gatekeeper of public knowledge. If ministers are reading the document, so too should citizens, lawyers, academics, civil society, and communities. Transparency is not an impediment to reform; it is the minimum standard of responsible reform. There is also a practical danger in secrecy. Once Cabinet and political parties take positions, public debate risks becoming a contest of political narratives rather than an informed discussion of the constitutional text. Citizens should encounter the proposal as citizens, not through the interpretations of politicians. Publishing the document now would guarantee informed disagreement — supporters could defend it, critics could challenge it, and communities could weigh its consequences. That is democracy at work. Parliament must also have time. A constitution is not ordinary legislation; its language can reshape institutions and rights for decades. Speed is not a virtue if it comes at the expense of scrutiny. Fiji’s history of coups, abrogations, and imposed settlements should remind us that legitimacy matters as much as content. The referendum framework itself remains unfinished. Citizens cannot be asked to vote on constitutional change without first understanding the text and the process. A referendum is meaningful only when voters have had a genuine opportunity to study what they are being asked to decide. The answer is simple: Publish the full Review Report and proposed constitution now. Let the people read it. Let experts test it. Let communities debate it. Only then can Fiji claim that its constitution truly belongs to the people. DR SUSHIL K SHARMA Lautoka
A test for MPs
BEFORE any voting on the new amended constitution begins, every member of Parliament should first sit a full three-hour examination to demonstrate that they understand the Constitution they are being asked to debate and vote on. Let Richard Naidu or John Apted set the paper, and Justice Salesi Temo independently mark it. Only when every MP has passed should Parliament proceed to vote. Our lawmakers are entrusted with shaping the nation’s future. The least we should expect is that they understand the constitution they are voting on. Education must start in Parliament. KIRAN KHATRI Samabula, Suva
How can we address the illegal dumping of rubbish in the country?
SPOT fines, display more rubbish bins around the country.
SHIKANT CHAND Lautoka
THE onus is on us to keep our country clean, so we need to increase the
fines for offenders. SEREMAIA NABULE Suva
INCREASE the fines if people are caught illegally dumping their rubbish.
ANANAIASA RADRODRO Suva
PEOPLE should take responsibility of their own rubbish and have civic
pride for Fiji to keep it clean. PETAIA LOMAWAI Nadi
INSTALL cameras at known dumping hotspots. ADI SALUSALU Labasa
WE won’t have a society if we destroy the environment. MARGARET MEAD
