YOUR SAY
A weekend of football fiesta
AS the dust settled at Govind Park, hosts Ba and the three Southern teams Rewa, Suva and the surprise package Nasinu secured a spot each in the semi-finals of this year’s Extra Supermarket Battle of the Giants (BOG) tournament. Rewa was dominant beating Western giants Lautoka and Ba. Suva thrashed Navua and defending champions Labasa. Underdogs Nasinu beat Navua and Suva to claim a hard-earned spot. Ba mesmerised after the hammering by Rewa, beating Lautoka to sneak through. The traditional giants of Fiji soccer won the Fiji FACT and league titles. Their victories brought back memories when the men in black dominated local football. Once a football powerhouse, Ba’s form and performances had broken hearts of ardent Ba fans here and overseas. From winning tournaments, Ba slumped to an extent where they bowed out of tournaments from pool play. From winning the league, Ba finished below the top three. However, things have changed. Fans in Ba enjoyed the festivities surrounding the BOG tournament. Local commentators Raymond Stoddart, Irfaan Khan and Nadeem Mohammed deserve a round of applause for the beautiful commentaries. To our own, Anasilini Natoga and Reinal Chand, thank you for the stories and pictures from Govind Park! To the Babasiga Lions, win or lose, we will continue supporting the team! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Nadawa, Nasinu
UK visit
THERE were plans earlier for the Great Council of Chiefs to visit the UK, meet King Charles III and discuss constitutional matters and iTaukei empowerment. At first, there was confusion over whether a formal invitation from the King had actually been issued. I believe that this has since been clarified, the Prime Minister said in February 2026 that the invitation was initiated by King Charles himself. Yet, rather ironically, the GCC subsequently put the proposed visit on hold, saying that issues at home should take priority. But perhaps an even more interesting question concerns another overseas trip. In December 2023, a large GCC delegation, led by the Minister for iTaukei Affairs, Ifereimi Vasu, travelled to China on an eight-day, Chinese-funded “strategic visit”. The stated purpose was not merely tourism. The delegation was specifically there to study China’s successful poverty-alleviation and rural-development strategies and determine how these lessons could be applied to the socio-economic development of iTaukei villages. Well, it is now 2026. So, what exactly came out of that trip? What Chinese rural-development models were actually adopted in Fiji? How many iTaukei villages have benefited? How many sustainable businesses, agricultural projects, employment opportunities or income-generating initiatives were established as a direct result of the lessons supposedly “learnt” in China? What did the delegation actually bring home from China apart from memories, photographs and Chinese hospitality? And most importantly, has iTaukei poverty actually decreased? Perhaps the GCC and the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs should publish a proper post-China-trip assessment. After all, Fiji is blessed to have such dedicated guardians (the GCC) of iTaukei socio-economic advancement looking after its people. NISHANT SINGH Lautoka
Democratic handicap
MOST of our politicians’ knowledge are just repeated opinions they never examined, in my view. It is “false knowledge” and I think, the illusion of understanding, without actual comprehension. How many looked more like performers on a stage, than an architect of the future? How many truly inspire confidence? They claim to understand justice because they have just become MPs. Never examined their belief, just absorbed cultural narratives and I am certain, mistaken familiarity, for understanding. Unfortunately, in my view, we always reward comfort over competence. We prefer “false knowledge”, to the discomfort of genuine inquiry. As such, I think “stupidity” becomes the default state and intelligence, the costly exception. The chosen were rarely the most brilliant, capable and I am certain, almost never, the visionary. In fact, with our current “party politics”, the majority of politicians don’t question, just follow orders without examining, in my opinion. Socially, they are valuable, loyal and trustworthy, but produce mediocrity because I believe, excellence requires deviation, innovation requires questioning and progress requires challenging. A political party’s “collective intelligence”, I think, drops below the average individual intelligence, but rewards emotional conformity. And in my view, collective stupidity emerges and individual intelligence evaporates. Choosing comfort over challenge and the familiar over extraordinary. The “visionary” dismissed and the truth teller silenced, whilst someone more “palatable”, in my opinion, takes the stage. We don’t run on reason, but emotion for that matter. And if we think education is expensive, try ignorance. These, I am certain, have been democracy’s handicap, all along. SAMU SILATOLU Nakasi, Nausori
FICAC’s priorities
THE Auditor-General repeatedly exposes serious financial discrepancies, weaknesses and potential wrongdoing within Government. Yet we see little meaningful accountability. Where are the prosecutions? Instead, FICAC has spent years pursuing a case dating back to 2016 over the non-disclosure of a directorship. Seriously – where is the public harm? Did it change the election result? Did voters lose money? Were taxpayers defrauded? While Fiji’s public finances are potentially being drained by fraud, corruption and financial mismanagement, FICAC is spending precious public resources chasing technical breaches that have no consequence to the public. This is what happens when an anti-corruption agency loses sight of what actually matters. Go after the people stealing or misusing public money. Go after the serious corruption. Go after the conduct that actually harms taxpayers. Don’t spend a decade turning minor disclosure issues into major prosecutions while the real financial bleeding continues. FICAC should be fighting corruption — not trying to make the news with high-profile worthless cases while the biggest problems remain untouched. KIRAN KHATRI Samabula, Suva
b
THE Fiji Times has rightly highlighted the shocking reality that between 200 and 400 women in Fiji are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, most at late stages when our hospitals lack the radiation treatment needed. As Dr Nanise Sikiti has warned, “most of the stages of cervical cancer that women come in needs radiation treatment which we don’t have in Fiji.” This is not just a medical crisis — it is a national shame. Yet where is the Ministry for Women? Too often, its public voice is consumed by statistics on gender violence, rape, and incest — all critical issues, yes — but the same urgency is absent when women are dying from preventable diseases. Cervical cancer is a family issue, a women’s issue, and a rights issue. Neglecting it is neglecting women’s lives. Australia can sign military agreements with Fiji to keep China out of the Pacific. Why then can’t Fiji leverage that same relationship to secure access to Australia’s advanced oncology services for our women? Health security is as vital as geopolitical security. Development partners and the WHO should be engaged not for endless symposiums and talkfests, but for tangible plans that save lives. We need systemic reform. Every woman from sexual maturity through childbearing age should be automatically recalled for cervical and breast cancer screenings under her medical registration number, just as routine immunisations are scheduled. Screening must also extend to sexually transmitted diseases such as Hepatitis C, which silently afflict women who may never know they carry them. The HPV vaccination program introduced in 2013 was a step forward, protecting young girls in schools. But vaccination alone is not enough. Women must still be screened regularly, and the new self conducted HPV tests are a breakthrough that should be rolled out nationwide with urgency. Two screenings in a woman’s lifetime can be enough to save her life — yet too many women are never reached. This is ultimately about accountability. Politicians cannot continue to posture as global climate warriors while failing to protect their own citizens at home. Real leadership begins in the clinics, not the conference halls. If ministers are absent on overseas trips, then scientists and health professionals must be given the lead to deliver results. If we are serious about women’s rights, then we must be serious about women’s health. Anything less is hypocrisy. DR SUSHIL K SHARMA Lautoka
Ocean champions
CHRISTOPHER Griffin of Perth wants to know “Where are our ocean champions” (FT 8/9) as do many other Pacific island people in light of US plans for sea bed mining for critical minerals in the Cook Islands. In the local Fijian parlance, the answer is our ocean champions are “yali”, meaning missing in action, when action is what is required from them. Makes one wonder just what kind of official ocean champions we have? RAJEND NAIDU Sydney, Australia
QUICK VIEWS
Pothole repairs
I HAVE noted that pothole gangs are now at certain locations of our roads trying to repair all damaged roads that have generated old or new potholes during the rainy season. Just hoping these repairs can last until the next general election but do not gravel the tarseal road. JUKI FONG CHEW Nadawa, Nasinu
Christian state
WHILE it is still undecided whether Fiji should be declared a Christian state, two things are often overlooked by Christians and non-Christians alike. Christianity takes diverse forms. Fiji’s Christian faith community isn’t a single-minded community. It counts multiple denominations with different faith practices. And within denominations are differences of opinion. One tradition – or section of it – doesn’t own the Christian narrative. One tradition does not mean uniformity. And therefore the current discourse – such that is – shouldn’t be read to mean all Christians – or all denominations – lean towards annulling Fiji’s secular state status: they don’t. CHRISTOPHER GRIFFIN Perth
Vaccine is the answer
REPEKA Nasiko’s article (FT 08/09) on the worrying incidence of cervical cancer if Fiji ignores the elephant in the room. There is a vaccine effective against most forms of cervical cancer. Australia is working on a target of 2035 to eliminate this disease. The HPV vaccination is offered free to girls and boys and is usually a part of the school vaccination program. It works. It is not rocket science. TERRY HULME NSW, Australia
Teachers’ salaries
RECENT newspaper reports advise us that about 134 teachers are not being paid their salaries on time. How is this possible in this digital age? On the other hand, if any private corporate organisation does not pay salaries to its employees for more than a couple of weeks, the employees will report to the Ministry of Labour to intervene to have their salaries paid. I wonder if any teacher has approached the Ministry of Labour to have his/her salary paid. BHARAT MORRIS Gold Coast, Australia
