With the 2014 election coming up, it is the everyday person who matters most — their needs, wants, hopes and
aspirations for a better
tomorrow. The government of the day exists to serve the people of the nation.
SALESMAN Bir Vijay Anand, more than anything else, wants stability from the government which will be in power after our September 17 general election.
“I just want a stable government which looks after its people as a whole family, where there is no discrimination,” he said from the stall he was looking after at the Suva Handicraft Centre.
The 30-year-old said stability would greatly help in our collective effort to move the country forward because all our development partners would be confident in investing in Fiji. Investor confidence founded on stability, Bir said, would translate into a lot of economic activity which would benefit everyone.
Despite people rushing around on Friday, Saimoni Koroiewai looked very content as he relaxed in his wheelbarrow at one of the traffic lights near the Suva market on an overcast day.
The 21-year-old from the village of Vunuku in Rewa said good leadership was the most important thing which everyone had a right to ask of any government.
Saimoni says he, who from time to time also works on landscaping projects on Laucala Island, thinks good leadership is very important because it will be the basis for effective and efficient delivery of government’s services to the people.
With one positive leading to the next, Saimoni said there would then be more jobs to go around.
A juice seller for the past eight years, Vaciseva Draunidalo, said it was very important that we have leaders who will give us good leadership focusing on being fair and just.
“When we have this type of leadership, we will see a lot of good,” the resident of Nadonumai in Lami said.
Originally from Mua Village on the island of Batiki in the Lomaiviti Group, Vaciseva further explained: “You will see that there will be a lot of harmony between people of different ethnic groups. When this is the case, people will be willing to work together, there will be unity among everybody.”
Over at the western bus stand, 40-year-old Shashi Karan was willing to spend a few moments in a friendly chat as he waited for customers at his sweets cart. He stated as a matter of fact that everyone had to eat and so a good government, in his opinion, was one which would be able to tackle and bring down the high cost of living.
Groceries, or more exactly the prices, he said was an area in which the next government could bring some relief to people who were struggling on a day-to-day basis.
Given that quality education is often touted as means to help people out of poverty, it is no wonder that there is a call for better schools. Over in the North, Kalisiana Waqa said she would want to see rural schools developed.
It just might be that such a focus will help convince people that a good standard of living is possible even in outlying areas contrary to popular belief that one had to move to town for a good life.
Schools are just one, albeit important, aspect of development. A learned community has got to engage with members of other groups, whether they be religious, cultural or ethnic, among other divisions, for the free flow and meaningful exchange of ideas.
With technological advances, a good deal of this exchange can be done using several media, chief among them the internet. However, there must be a certain interaction between people to facilitate the exchange of ideas, and also goods and services which is why we should have good roads. And for development to be uniform, widespread and its benefits felt throughout the country, Amitesh Kumar says roads should be one of the focus areas of the next government. The northerner said rural roads could do with a whole lot more of development.
Given that viewpoints are always changing, Aminio Vesikula says there should be more development focusing on sports and youths in rural areas. Maybe not so important to others, but definitely it is for this Bua man.
Traditionally viewed only as a form of exercise and/or leisure, it is now common knowledge that some sportspeople earn lots of money and a comfortable life they otherwise would not have if not for sports, and of course television.
