Soccer standards
ANOTHER soccer calendar came to an end and yet Fiji FA is yet to arrange any international friendly or improve its ranking.
Many said 90-minute football is so boring to watch.
It would be boring if there is no constructive soccer at all.
May I suggest to Fiji Fa to invite club teams from Australia and New Zealand to compete in local tournaments.
Also I want to seek clarification why Gurjeet Singh is not given any national appointment when he has proved to be the best at whatever team he coaches.
Is the politics still killing Fiji soccer.
MOSES MANI, Auckland, NZ
Gravel extraction
THE chief of Kavula Village in Lekutu, Bua, has raised concerns about something that is threatening their future.
Responding to these concerns, Fiji Roads Authority CEO Neil Cook in a statement said (14/10) “the proper resource for these issues was for village elders to contact their office and state their concerns”.
I kindly ask you, sir, Mr Cook, to go up to Kavula Village and see for yourself whether your contractors are following the EIA or not.
It would have been better for you to be present at their district meeting to listen to their concerns and answer most of their questions.
JOHN WILLIAM TAMANI, Nausori
Ba museum
IT is a pity the iconic museum in Ba that was built last year with thousands of dollars poured in for its development, then shifting to a new location, to a grand opening ceremony by the PM now only sits in closed doors.
My four-year-old keeps asking me when will the Ba museum reopen.
The little boy is unable to understand why all the animals are caged inside the market complex away from public viewing.
Every time we go pass the museum, I have to keep assuring him it will open.
When, is a question.
MANPREET KAUR, Ba
Elderly drivers
OLDER drivers in their 50s and above should have to retake the driving test, both written and practical, and also to be medically examined every three or six months.
I believe some of them are a risk to the public at large.
On Monday (14/10), I witnessed a cab driver suffering either a heart attack or a stroke at the Suva market taxi base.
It is true that they are working for a living, but accidents happen all the time.
I think senior drivers, especially public service vehicle drivers, need to carry with them a certificate of being fit to drive.
PAT VULI, Suva
Daylight saving
CAN we please have daylight saving back?
For the past few years, we have enjoyed daylight saving as it provides us with an additional hour to do household chores, do gardening or go for an afternoon walk.
Not only this, it will give us time to do shopping in the evenings during the busy festive period.
Requesting authorities to bring back daylight saving.
ANSHU KUMAR, Nasinu
Clean Fiji
I AGREE with Avitesh Kumar (FT 11/10), that we all must work at our litter free initiatives, and waste management programs to keep Fiji clean.
The Coral Coast area did a “no plastic, that’s fantastic” campaign, but we still have plastic rubbish along the road from Sigatoka to Nadi.
I have three suggestions – education; exposure; and heavy fines – to be administered by relevant stakeholders and all Fijians to ensure we achieve clean, beautiful and litter-free villages and towns.
If everyone had the mindset of leaving work, school, public transport and towns cleaner and better than they found it, these would be half the problem solved.
FINAU NAIGULEVU TURAGA, Nadi
Deadly Ebola
OVER the past few weeks we have notice the risk and dangers of the deadly virus called Ebola.
Developed nations with the best possible equipment and resources where unable to prevent Ebola entering their borders.
What chance does our beloved nation have to fight against it?
Ebola is also a risk to Fiji as we are a favourable tourist destination. As many tourist enter our country, do we have a system/plan in place that could at least identify possible symptoms of Ebola?
I don’t think we have the means to control the spread of Ebola if it enters Fiji.
ARUJ DEVIA, Nadi
Diwali noise
ALTHOUGH Diwali is still a week away, we already have firecrackers and fireworks, or anything with a loud bang being fired off at random, just giving us a taste of the nightmare of noise to expect when Diwali actually does arrive and then we can expect it to continue, weeks after Diwali has come and gone.
My animals are already going into hyperventilate mode. There is even a radio advertisement from one of the supermarkets advertising some type of firecracker “guaranteed to go off with a bang”.
Don’t they all? And why would anyone want to do that to themselves and others? Diwali is supposed to be a festival of lights, to celebrate victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance as well as honouring various Indian gods and goddesses.
How, when and why did it morph into a war zone and why have the authorities allowed it to? It’s not just the unbelievable cacophony of noise, but the thick black smoke as well.
Perhaps the relevant ministry in our democratically newly-elected government could look into changing the status quo by banning the “bangs” and bringing back the peaceful, wonderful Diwali we once used to have, with all those beautiful diya, lamps, coloured lights and decorations, rangoli, and exchanging of gifts.
Peace, love and light – what a wonderful thought.
TALEI BURNESS, Suva
Tui Cakau’s matanigasau
THIS is in regard to the claim for land (Dreketi, Koroqele etc) made by Akuila Turagabeci’s kin of the vanua of Tokaimalo in Ra, which had been appearing in The Fiji Times every Monday for the past eight-nine weeks.
I have been eagerly following this series, whose subject matter is delicate to us, the Lewenilovo family, and request for documentary evidence of the claim to the portions of land mentioned in the articles.
The matanigasau ceremony in which the Tui Cakau sought forgiveness for qusi ni loaloa land claimed to have been taken back from them, was never discussed nor agreed to by members of the mataqali Valelevu. As such the purpose and motive of the matanigasau is only known by its architect. There are proper traditional ways to discuss this matter with us.
By ignoring traditional protocol before publicly claiming portions of land that do not traditionally belong to them, borders on defaming the Lewenilovo family.
RATU JEKESONI YAVALAVANUA, Taveuni
Labour tribunal
CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to the new Minister for Labour. Workers hope and pray that under the new Government, sufficient budget is allocated for the appointment of at least four new Employment Relations Tribunal to clear the backlog of cases on unfair termination existing in the Tribunal since 2010.
DAN URAI, Lautoka
Indian affairs
IN reference to Suka Singh’s view (FT13/10), there is no need for an Indian Affairs Ministry, as people of Indian origin are largely-dependent and have always bounced back from any setback. Since 1879, persons of Indian origins have toiled and sacrificed in their adopted lands and see where their prodigies have reigned.
DR SARVESHWAR PANDE, Lucknow, India
Junk stock
ONE of Fiji’s major food retailers continues to be unable or unwilling to serve its customers. They continue to dump their unwanted stock on Ovalau and Taveuni. The store in Levuka has more than enough room to provide the same selections and quality as Suva if they got rid of the unwanted junk on their shelves. It comes down to mismanagement and or indifference on their part.
MIKE REID, Ovalau
Parental care
AFTER school hours, I have noticed children flying kites at home and they end up on the road after sometime near Omkar Rd and Kalokalo Circle, Nasinu. Dear parents, please see where your children are. Prevention is better than cure. Save our future leaders.
ARISHMA SHIVANI NADAN
Nasinu
What if
FIRST, there were campaigns and mudslinging, then the lull and election. Now it’s the MPs’ salaries. What if our country calls an election and one of the criteria is that MPs will not be eligible for any salaries, perks and privileges? I wonder how many aspiring candidates will show interest.
SATISH CHAND, Nadi
Top sevens
WATCHING the Fiji sevens team playing over the weekend was just awesome. Thanks to the hard work of all players, team members and our super hero coach. Guess the New Zealand sevens team was lacking “Fijian” firepower.
SHAMAL CHAND, Nausori
Market vendors
WITH all the thousands spent on the construction of the new places for the women market vendors to stay in, I’m wondering why the women are still sleeping beside the market.
HARRY RAM PRASAD, Lautoka
For the better
WITH the publication of the “jaw-dropping and eye-popping salaries”, as one letter writer put it, for parliamentarians in their different positions, there will be a lot of different opinions for sure.
Considering the responsibilities which come with each position, with the idea to attract knowledgeable and able people who otherwise would seek employment in the open market, becoming a professional politician now is a career move to look into.
On the other hand, it shows how wide the gap of income is in this country and that has to be worked on as well and is a big challenge and task for the Government.
The Government has, during its time as interim government, raised the minimum rate for unskilled workers to currently $2/hour and will raise this to $ 2.32/hour from next year on. One might wonder how it will supervise the implementation though.
This can also be a hint that Government should look into the entry wages for skilled workers and entry salaries for graduates.
Government should be interested in a workforce that pays taxes and if the current tax-free threshold is the yardstick so to speak, the minimum/entry wages for skilled workers should hover around that mark. Never mind the skill has been obtained by tertiary education or yearly measured experience.
Sure, this bar is raised high and will take time and effort of all concerned but an aim worth working on.
In the end, it’s for the betterment of Fiji.
HANS BERND BOERNKLE, Savusavu
Interest of the people
TIMOCI Gaunavinaka (FT 12/10) tried to justify the new remuneration levels for our parliamentarians and ministers, comparing these to those paid by CROP in the Pacific region.
He, however, misses the point that salaries and benefits for our politicians are structured in such a way that it is always related to the economy of the nation and to the remuneration structure of Government in general.
That is not necessarily the case for CROP agencies which are focused mainly on technical capability.
It would also not be correct to suggest that the pay levels of politicians should be compared to the private sector.
While the private sector is driven by its objective to earn maximum profit, our elected members and ministers must have the interest of the people of Fiji as their main focus. These are diverse objectives.
Parliamentarians offer themselves to be elected to serve the people of Fiji.
This must be paramount and financial rewards secondary to this.
EMOSI BALEI, Suva
Too many expatriates
MANY people I knew who listened to the parliamentary speeches on TV, Monday, October 13, welcomed the maiden speech by Viliame Gavoka.
In his outline, he mentioned about too many expatriates in the country, holding on to many jobs in high places such as offices, hotels, pilots etc etc.
He further commented that it could very much be handled by our highly-trained locals.
Apparently in conjunction with thousands of our graduates coming out of tertiary studies each year, and in many ways, contributing to our current unemployment problems.
Come to think of it, it’s quite a serious issue.
EPELI QUMIVUTIA, Suva
PM’s speech
THE PM’s opening address in Parliament speaks volume of a great man’s vision about his country.
It is a unique speech because never in our Parliament has anyone spoke of the need to look into the plight of the poor and the youths of our country.
It is also unique because he intends to put aside political differences by inviting the Opposition to work with his government and humbly reaffirming them of their right to criticise without getting into mudslinging politics.
I believe he has changed the direction of Fijian politics from the version of cheap, dirty politics to one of a more viable, liberating and successful politics. And one thing is for certain, our honourable PM is a man of great vision for Fiji.
TIMOCI BURE, Taveuni
