Nerves of steel!
READING Ledua Cagilevu’s story (FT 14/09) sent shivers up the spine.
Indeed, Ledua’s job, as highlighted by reporter Jale Daucakacaka, is not for the faint of heart and it is a job that requires nerves of steel as it involves dangling from the side of high-rising buildings.
Ledua shared that his job was risky as a mistake could lead to either severe injury or death but the lionheart, Ledua, took the risk and he enjoys his work.
Our reporter, Jale Daucakacaka, and camera man Jonacani Lalakobau did a great job in covering Ledua’s story and capturing it on the front page.
The story drove fear and excitement at the same time. Such credible stories deserve the front page of The Fiji Times.
Vinaka vakalevu Jale and Jo for the piece! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM Nadawa, Nasinu
International Day of Democracy
DEMOCRACY is a universal value based on the freely spoken and expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems in all aspects of their lives.
Evolved over centuries, democracies share many common features but cannot be reduced to a single model.
In short, democracy pertains to the idea that everyone has the right to have their own beliefs and to say and write what they think.
Not least, the costly retreat from Afghanistan has questioned the role of the West in promoting liberal democracy around the world, what are we learning from this COVID-19 pandemic?
Does it come with all the rights within constitutions or imposing of freedom with the UN? This September 15, observed democracy is an opportunity to look for ways to invigorate democracy and seek answers to the systemic challenges it faces.
This includes tackling economic and political inequalities, making democracies more inclusive by bringing the young and marginalised into the political system and making democracies more innovative and responsive to emerging challenges such as migration, climate change and global warming.
While also celebrating the positive values of democracy, the International Day of Democracy will also offer an opportunity for a review of democracy in the modern world. NEELZ SINGH Lami
Prices go up
PRICE of vegetable oil has increased recently from $12.95 for 5L Canola oil to $18.95.
I believe this is because of freight cost. So, why has the price of corrugated roofing iron increased from $2.10 and $2.40/ ft to $3.95/ft?
This is 90 per cent increment after March 2021. I believe this means a 20- foot sheet of roofing iron costs $79 to $80 now.
I feel sorry for Vanua Levu and outer maritime islands. It will be around $86 for them. Roofing iron is made locally and 20-foot sheets of corrugated roofing iron were $55 before March 2021.
In just six months, an increment of $24.
I believe the FCCC and CCOF are entertaining such price hikes but when landlords charge extra rent for newly built houses, the FCCC and CCOF run after them, traumatising poor landlords who fork out their fortune to build houses for retirement plans.
I believe freight costs are at an all time low in Fiji as per our Budget announcement.
I believe companies are paying less tax because of the Budget, while poor Fijians continue to sell their blood and sweat to buy building materials. AMRIT SINGH Nausori
Border security
I WRITE to warmly congratulate and commend our border enforcement agencies (the Fiji Police Force, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service and Immigration Department, Fiji Navy) for their vigilance on border security.
Recently, they nabbed some individuals indulging in illegal activities such as transfer of illegal foreign passports, human trafficking, drug trafficking and illegal fishing in our territorial waters.
Fiji is vulnerable because of its central location in the South West Pacific as it falls on major international sea port routes and international airports.
Also it is surrounded by vast expanses of the open seas. Fiji is susceptible to all the above illegal activities.
We cannot simply allow criminals to use Fiji as a transit point for their global illegal operations.
Our frontliners must know that their sacrifices, dedication and commitment are deeply appreciated. DEWAN CHAND Namadi Heights, Suva
Oldest living Fijian
THE FT 13/09 printed a story on a 106-year-old Jone Valugivaki originally of Sawaieke, Gau.
I believe he should be awarded the local Guiness Book of Records for the oldest living person in Fiji.
Any idea, fellow writers, how can Mr Valugivaki be awarded that title? JIOJI MASIVESI Votualevu, Nadi
Savusavu water
WHEN I lived and worked in Savusavu for five and a half years in the 1980s, Savusavu had a problem with the quality of its water supply.
From Sharif Shah’s letter (FT 12/9), Savusavu apparently still has a problem with the water “coming straight out of the reservoir”.
I wonder how many coups and how many governments have come and gone without fixing the problem in that period? I feel for the long-suffering people of Savusavu.
Sam Cooke sang: ‘A change is gonna come’. The people of Savusavu are still waiting for the change on the water supply front. RAJEND NAIDU Sydney, Australia
Clear receipts
TO avoid any confusion and unnecessary inconvenience, all receipts must be clear and easily legible.
In recent days, supermarkets and chemist receipts, I have encountered receipts which are just not readable.
This must change. All businesses have a duty of care to all customers.
Will all authorities concerned please carry out an immediate survey to protect both, the customer and business operator?
These printouts, clearly legible, will save all arguments.
No one likes to be ripped off. Laxity is inexcusable. RONNIE CHANG Martintar, Nadi
Poverty analysis
THE bombshell of the ethnic and religious poverty analysis is not only troubling, but it also paints a pitiful and disturbing picture.
Tragically, it’s also symptomatic of many other underlying and related issues and causes.
While the rich have been getting richer, the poor have been struggling to make ends meet.
The glaring disparity between the haves and the have nots is growing at an alarming rate.
Disproportionate economics requires urgent and rapid correction. Numerous letters and articles have been written over the years about this issue.
But it seems wisdom and advice coming from many highly credential-led individuals, including people like Prof Wadan Narsey and the late Father Kevin Barr, have been falling on deaf ears.
“We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them!” Albert Einstein COLIN DEOKI Australia
What went wrong?
IF five decades after Independence 258,000 out of a total population of 864,132 are living in poverty in a resource rich country like Fiji we need to ask why? (FT 14/9).
What have we been doing wrong since taking control of our own national affairs?
How much has our coup culture set us back from becoming a prosperous country for all its people? How are we doing in terms of creating a just and equitable society?
What is lacking in the pursuit of that societal vision? Is it the lack of political will? RAJEND NAIDU Sydney, Australia
Shocking revelations
SHOCKING revelations that 30 per cent of Fijians are living in poverty.
What is saddening is that over 70 per cent of those are iTaukei or the indigenous Fijians, mainly those in rural areas.
What’s interesting is the national poverty line that was calculated by the survey conducted for the year 2019-2020 with an earning set at $41.91 per week.
With the increase of basic food items now, the numbers will surely double.
Forget the parliamentarians, we the citizens of Fiji need to come together as one and focus on moving this nation forward.
Let’s support our brothers and sisters in the rural sector.
In the famous words of John F Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. EDWARD KUMAR Lautoka
FBS survey
THE Fiji Bureau of Statistics 2019- 20 Household Income and Expenditure Survey which was printed in FT 14/09/21, produced real evidence based on the reality on the ground.
As an iTaukei and of the Christian religion, I’m quite shocked to see that the iTaukei population who are mostly Christians by religion have topped the list for poverty.
Our vanua, church leaders and iTaukei population need to do some real soul searching for a solution because this has come from bad to worse after 51 years of independence. JIOJI MASIVESI CAKACAKA Tadra-Votualevu,Nadi
