Bula FC training GEOFFREY CHAND LAUTOKA JUST a handful of spectators turned up for the Bula FC first public training run at the 4R Stadium in Ba. Hopefully the soccer loving public will back the Bula FC for the professional league. One thing I fail to understand is why some of the Bula FC players were not allowed to participate in the club championship last year but I am told that all these professional players will go back and play for their districts after the professional league is over? Do these players play professional league and amateur games within a year? How much were districts paid for these players’ service before they turned professional? I know in boxing a boxer can either be professional or amateur. Hopefully those in Fiji FA are not just using these players for personal gain like how some district officials do.
Usual cycle JUKI FONG CHEW NADAWA, NASINU EVERY year the month of December is usually for events such as family gathering, end-of-year parties, celebrating achievements, excessive eating, excessive drinking, merrymaking, planned events and unfortunate incidents. The month of January is followed by new year celebrations with a lot of resolutions made and broken within the same time. Celebrations continue with water splashing on any moving object whether breathing or not, certain youths gather at certain locations to beat tins, buckets and drums with continued merry-making for the new year. January is the preparatory month for the beginning of another school year, whereby parents and guardians ensure relevant essential needs for their school children are met. If one is not prepared for this usual annual cycle he/she may fall short in fulfilling the needs/wants during these two months. Happy New Year and happy new school year.
Winning the series! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM NADAWA, NASINU I’M sure Fiji Airways Fiji men’s 7s team head coach Osea Kolinisau will stand by his words, “Our goal is to try and win the series this year, and that’s why we’ve been working hard after the leg, before Christmas and before New Year’s”, (FT 07/01) when the 2025/25 HSBC SVNS WRSS concludes. As the boys’ eye the Singapore 7s, having won bronze medals in Dubai and Cape Town, they exerted force, strength and energy into refining their craft. Kolinisau will name the final 13-member squad after the Coral Coast 7s, and I’m pleading with him to pick players on performances and not past reputation. We need fresh legs in Singapore. A win will take us to the top of the table, but then with no quarterfinals, it will be tough and we need the toughest and most resilient players who will not coach when real pressure mounts in Singapore. To the boys, keep striving. Your hard work will be rewarded!
Confused Trump RAKESH CHAND SHARMA NADI DAY before yesterday Trump said: “Modi is trying to please me by not buying Russian oil.” Yesterday Trump said: “Modi is not pleased with me because I imposed 50% tariffs on India.” In a Hindi film scene an old man says to a young man, “akhir tum kahna kya chahate ho”. Meaning – what exactly are you trying to say! What nonsense!
Fatal accident JUKI FONG CHEW NADAWA, NASINU WE are just seven days into the new year and Fiji has recorded its first fatal accident of a four-year-old child. The school has not yet begun and we, as responsible citizens, must at all times be vigilant. We all must think safety, act safety, ensure safety especially when using our roads. Let’s all work together to keep the road fatalities for 2026 to a minimum level.
Dollars for EFL SUKHA SINGH LABASA COULD the management or the EFL board let us know how they used the $1.25billion from the Japanese company? Isn’t this amount enough to install your renewable energy? By the way, why don’t you buy your head office back? As for the consultations, is there anybody in Fiji who wants to pay more for the electricity?
Stationery game AMINISITAI TORA NADERA, NASINU AN article in The Fiji Times says “when the $200 comes in, bookshop owners usually increase the prices of stationery”. The article caught my attention. That makes one wonder if the same is happening to school uniforms. Relevant authorities better wake up and start checking around. Just to make sure the retailers are not playing games with shoppers. We shoppers are spending hard honest earned money. The price increasing games must stop.
New year’s resolution DINESH KUMAR BA THIS year’s New Year’s resolution for the Fiji Airways men’s 7s team is apparently to win the HSBC SVNS Series (FT 07/01). Perhaps start small, by winning a Cup semi-final, then a final, maybe even a tournament, before asking us, the fans, to take that lofty resolution seriously. Best of luck, you will definitely need it!
Katarina’s message SARITA LAL MALOLO ST, LAUTOKA ALL the way from Nasoqo Village in Naitasiri to Lautoka for early back-to-school shopping, concerned parent Katarina Bubu urged families not to depend on the $200 back-to-school grant to be disbursed in mid-January. Katarina’s message was captivating; the grant could be disbursed late, instead she encouraged Fijians to use their hard-earned cash to support their children and also work hard, not to rely on the grant.
Slaves to mobiles WISE MUAVONO BALAWA, LAUTOKA IN my view, we have become slaves to mobile phones. We are spending an excessive amount of time on our phones and it is detracting from our experiences in life. Even more devastating is the fact that the internet and social media platforms which we access through our phones have given us the freedom to apply this cyber make-up, where we are able to misrepresent ourselves in order to be considered one of the socially beautiful. Social monsters more like (roll eyes). So what is the endgame? I call for us to simply put down our phones for a minute, log out of the social networks, and unplug ourselves. You will be surprised how much time you will have to enjoy the company of your family and friends. Do not be someone who is stoned on headlines, tweets and reels. Aralai noqu marama tau, enough late-night browsing and waking up in the morning eyes bulging resembling a sabutu that’s just been caught. Sobo!
Leak contained! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM NADAWA, NASINU PRIME Minister Sitiveni Rabuka confirmed to The Fiji Times (07/01) that the Coalition Government moved swiftly to calm fears of an environmental disaster after a fuel leak at Walu Bay. PM Rabuka insisted that the spill was contained, controlled and never reached the sea. He said joint investigations confirmed the facility’s engineered containment systems worked as designed, preventing fuel from entering marine waters or impacting fisheries despite traces of overflow being found within the industrial site and nearby drains. While clean-up is underway at the expense of Petro Oceania Ltd, I urge PM Rabuka to work with the Department of Environment to tighten legislations and come hard on industries that are involved in such leakage. The safety of the environment and people’s health must never be compromised for anything. Littering is an eyesore and now leaks have become a nemesis. This is a wake-up call to industries located in Walu Bay and around the sea as their actions and negligence can be catastrophic and have detrimental consequences on people and the marine waters, putting marine life at stake. Thank you, PM Rabuka, for assuring the nation that the Government will focus on ageing infrastructure, regulatory compliance and tougher oversight, including enhanced inspections, mandatory maintenance requirements, and infrastructure integrity checks for fuel storage and transfer systems. With every environmental leak, lessons must be learned.
Additions to entities EDWARD BLAKELOCK ADMIRALS CIRCLE, PACIFIC HARBOUR THERE were talks some time ago now, to bring the salary determinations of all the Government-funded entities, under the management and control of a new Higher Salaries Commission (HSC) — like it was back in the day. Lopsided, over the top and basically uncompetitive rates, have resulted from the determination being left entirely to the direction of the boards of these entities. While independence and the ability to set their own rates, is a plus, basic affordability in a small emerging economy and creating unevenness, are the bottomline considerations for centralising salary control. It’s high time all these CEO salaries were standardised, and brought back to reasonable affordability and under a centralised control. It’s good to know that eight government entities, will be added to those listed in the Schedule of the HSC Act 2023, so that their CEO salaries, can be centrally determined and controlled by the HSC. But why did it take this long and now so close to the next GE? But while these salaries may not be as attractive to the overseas applicants, more openings may now be opened for our local applicants!
EFL tariff NARAYAN REDDY LAUTOKA THE People’s Alliance party is blaming the old FijiFirst and former attorneygeneral Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum for the possible EFL tariffs that will affect everyone. Cost of doing business will go up so the business community will pass it on to the ordinary people who live pay cheque to pay cheque. The Government has been in power for more than three years now and just like the previous FijiFirst government they are blaming the previous government for everything that goes wrong. People already know who did the wrong, be it the former government minister, attorney-general and even former prime minister. What the ordinary people want to know is what the current Government, ministers, Finance Minister and Prime Minister can do for the people by not increasing the EFL tariffs and the cost of living. That’s why people voted for the current government. People want solutions not blame!
EFL’s proposed tariff increase DINESH KUMAR BA ENERGY Fiji Limited (EFL) claims it needs billions to modernise its ageing electricity infrastructure. Their proposed solution? Raise tariffs and make customers foot the bill. The People’s Alliance party (PAP) is blaming FijiFirst party and the former A-G for the current pressure to increase electricity prices. (FT 07/01) Clearly, the 2018 corporatisation and foreign sale of shares cannot be undone. EFL is 51 per cent government-owned and 44 per cent held by Chugoku Electric and partners, both earning profits. It is neither fair nor sensible to burden households and businesses, already paying Fiji’s highest electricity rates. Rather than engaging in a blame game or increasing tariffs, the Government ought to assume responsibility for safeguarding consumers. Both the Government and the foreign investors should contribute to financing the necessary structural and infrastructural upgrades. Ultimately, essential services such as electricity should serve the public interest first, rather than functioning as a convenient conduit for private profit.
