Wake Up Frank, Wake Up NOW

Wake up before it is too late Frank, your most favoured Minister is on a rampage to satisfy his addiction to power and greed. You have allowed him too much rope Frank, he has already driven a wedge between yourself and your former supporters, indeed even your comrades in arms are appalled by the latest maneuvers of this Minister.

Your hatchet man is no longer satisfied with crumbs from the table, he wants the whole cake, and the truth is he already has most of it.

People are saying you are no longer in control Frank, they are saying that your most favoured Minister is running Fiji. making all the decisions and they no longer feel that they can vote for you if there is an election… Frank please wake up.

People are saying that your most favoured Minister is a cold, calculating, compassionless vindictive individual, who is handing out special favours to his friends at the expense of the nation, they are saying this man will bring you down because you continue to allow him to manipulate you…… Frank please, please wake up.

Look to history Frank, Caesar trusted Brutus above all others and Brutus lured him to his death.

Caesar should have listened to his wife, for she begged him not to go when Brutus called.

Please wake up Frank, there is still much that needs to be done, there is still much you must do for Fiji….

Once again we have government vehicle GP 256, driving down Bau Street this morning at approximately 10.00 AM (4/7/13) at great speed, so that we other road users had to literally veer off the road whilst he screamed down it, blinking lights, tinted windows and all!

I have complained previously on 12/4/13 about the driver of this same vehicle, doing exactly the same thing down the same road at approximately the same time.

I don’t know who the hell he thinks he is, or who the hell the ‘important’ person he is driving for thinks he is, but it is high time something was done about both of them, before someone gets hurt or killed.  

He and his passenger also need to be reminded that the vehicle he continues to drive so recklessly and so dangerously, without consideration or thought for other road users is paid for by  us, the taxpayers.  As well, his salary as well as the salary of his ‘important’ passenger is also paid for by us, the taxpayers.  Just in case their heads are so swollen, they have forgotten!

Talei Burness

Suva

I think what a lot of people who are anti Frank are missing is he has already changed Fiji – whoever wins the election, whether its him or someone else will have a different Fiji to deal with.
Talk of going back is just delusionary, and as so far it doesent appear that anyone in opposition has realised that and mounted any sort of ‘tommorrow’ instead of ‘yesterday’ campaign, which is not a great commmentary on the standard of politicians or Chiefs in Fiji at the moment, the odds appear to be in Franks favour.
Even I can think of a campaign strategy that would put pressure on Frank, mightnt win but would put more credible pressure on him without attacking him personally, which I think is just counterproductive, than we are currently seeing.
Think of the ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen ….so were they all honourable men’ speech in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by Brutus as the template of a clever strategy focusing not on the past, or even the most recent past i.e. Franks time, but tomorrow as the template.
Sort of a thanks Frank you have done a great job getting us to here now its time for a mature democracy to take over.
Trouble is there isnt a Brutus in Fiji.

So looks like he will win which then takes us to your adage re power and the point to be taken there is as far as I know only one person has successfully made the transition from nation healer to PM without becoming a Dictator and that was Lee of Singapore.
So to sum the odds are with Frank to win the election, but looking at history the odds are against him to make the transition – which doesnt mean he cannot or will not make it dont forget he has already defied the odds to get this far, it just means History tells us it is probably unlikely.
Gerry Sinclair

Commentary

Now that constitutional submissions have been made on the government’s draft constitution, it is time to reflect on what the issues may be for the people of Fiji to consider as campaigns get under way in preparation for 2014. 

Acquiescence of the people with the current situation is clearly doubtful. Somehow the Bainimarama Government, for all its expressed good deeds, has not been able to grab the hearts and minds of people as foreseen in 2006. In any political situation it is the imagination of the people that needs to be captured, and not just services to them. No amount of handouts or creating better facilities will automatically create an atmosphere of consent. People will recall 1999 when the new 1997 Constitution was embraced by the voters but the political leaders who brought it into being were rejected at the ballot box. That could easily be repeated in 2014. 

So where is Fijian politics failing? And can it be fixed? 

The first question: ‘where is politics failing’ can be answered very easily. Failed politics is evidenced by a crisis of confidence. The dictionary definition of ‘crisis of confidence’ is when ‘people stop believing that something or someone is good’. That is where we are in Fiji at the moment.

Why is there a crisis of confidence? The clear answer to that question is that there is lack of trust, which is not brought about by external influences as much as it is portrayed, but by the behaviour, mind-set, qualities, competences and attitudes of the people making decisions now. My conversations with ordinary people show that they are overwhelmed by an authoritarian and conservative leadership; staggered by the extent of red tape and bureaucracy interfering with simple businesses but not with multi-national companies still enjoying themselves in Fiji; frustrated by their powerlessness and helplessness in the face of lack of information which prohibits their ability to make plans for themselves and their future, and also the future of their children; and rendered speechless by the sheer hostility and venom expressed towards any alternative ideas or thoughts about governance or even the personalities seemingly holding all the cards right now. 

All this is not a solid foundation for a happy home in Fiji. 

The crisis of confidence is more seriously related to frustration with the apparent lack of competence of the decision-makers. The bureaucracy appears to be in a muddle and very slow; the financial situation is unclear but rumours are that the national debt is increasing; the security issue is worrying since burglaries still take place and prisoners still escape; and there is lack of imagination and creativity in governance. To top it off, foreign relations are fragile, tenuous and unfulfilling. The respect for Fiji in the international community is waning- fed by broken promises, missed steps and opportunistic attitudes which take advantage of voting blocs; not realizing that, in combination, all this does is bring disrepute to the people of Fiji as a whole.

What has caused all this? It is not 2006 events as the opposition to government likes to think- the pre-2006 political boat was sinking anyway with countless discriminatory policies being enacted as law.

The cause of the current malaise seems to be lack of political and economic philosophy of governance. The main platform on which governance was supposed to be based, that of eradicating racial discrimination, is found to be precarious: government has not put into effect the anti-racist guideline recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD Committee) delivered in 2012. 

As for the second platform, that of corruption, all that appears to have changed are the faces – the practices are reported to be the same. People can still get things done quickly if they ‘know somebody’ or are in ‘the group’. The definition of corruption, though, is more than money changing hands under the table- it has wider perceptions of unscrupulousness and ruthlessness of big business in the public environment which, if not recognized as being the case, builds up an atmosphere of mistrust which, again, would have an impact at voting time. 

The third platform, the provision of decent wages and a good standard of living, is also up for public scrutiny. Reports state that up to 50% of people may live in poverty in Fiji; even a conservative figure of 30% poverty would be too much for a country which has rich natural resources, fine weather, great primary industries, and is centrally placed to take global advantage of ‘the hub of the Pacific’. The problem is lack of imagination and creativity, not lack of investment. Fiji as its run now is just not interesting enough for people to even want to invest. Frankly, it has been made boring since 2009. The government has been so defensive about the abrogation of the 1997 Constitution that it has had no time to put into effect anything vaguely resembling a good decent wage which allows people to make a surplus to invest back into Fiji or to do creative things that would make the country vibrant and attractive. Part of the problem is the anti-fun nature of the leadership. No drinking, no dancing, no ‘funning’ (as we say in Fiji) makes the leadership very very dull indeed. Look at the outside colour of government buildings- gray and listless- does it reflect the colour of power in Fiji?

Next question: can it be fixed? For going it alone, I think that ‘fixit’ bus may have left the bus station, or the boat left the port, or the taxi gone from the taxi stand. It cannot be fixed because the serious deficit of colour, vibrancy and imagination is now woven into the very fabric of governance since 2009. It also cannot be fixed because a stalinist-type programming seems to be taking place in the minds and hearts of people. Sycophants and blind following are being encouraged by words such as ‘if you are not with me you are against me’ which is clearly silly and juvenile. Bloggers have become ranting mouthpieces for bureaucrats and advisers who love to keep robots as pets. 

Of course everyone once liked Frank Bainimarama, except the diehard few, because he brought a spirit of change and security to at least 35% of people, which is a significant minority in Fiji. The Qoliqoli Bill had really frightened that significant minority. 

But Frank is setting himself up to be unpopular because there are too many questions about his support group that remain unanswered- for example, we should ask- where is the competency in the legal advice you are getting because there is no evidence of it in the laws being decreed and in the draft constitution 2013? Do big companies, including multi-nationals, influence your policy-making and is any particular company getting favourable treatment and why? Would you disclose what salaries the cabinet ministers are getting, since they are being paid by public funds? Can you be transparent about public debt? Why are you so bad-tempered which makes people too frightened to ask you anything important? And, at age 59, do you think you should do a performance review on yourself both as a Prime Minister and as a personality? These are questions that people can rightfully ask of any leader.

Probably because he is now in campaign mode, Frank, like other politicians before him, will think he is invincible because he has to believe it. There is no room for doubt at this point as politicians need to be focused if they are to put up a good fight. And the opposition is strong as a combined force, no doubt. Moreover, the anger towards Frank and his support group cannot be under-estimated. This will be utilized fully because the politicians in opposition are old hands at the game and there are lots of reasons why they will mount a campaign to end all campaigns. 

But the same questions should be asked of the opposition or new parties, for example, what are your economic policies and how will you get Fiji out of debt? How can you make Fiji rich? How can you make everyone happy- not pretend happy like now, but real happy? What is your foreign policy? What are your social goals? Can you make use of some of the good things that Frank’s team has put into place and can you improve on them? Will you be more creative and imaginative in your leadership? Will you be nice to people instead of banging them over the head all the time making out they are stupid when Fijians as a whole are smarter than most, if not all, politicians or those in power and, finally,can you give a good reason why we should vote for you instead of Frank? 

Dr Shaista Shameem

May 14^th  2013

The Yash Ghai Draft Constitution was flawed, and so is the Attorney Generals Draft Constitution.

The Yash Ghai draft was to have been submitted to a Constituent Assembly who could have corrected the anomalies and made recommendations to government. 

The administration did not accept this procedure; they then chose to draw up a constitution that in the event it is altered must have the approval of 75% of the electorate.

Surely it follows that the Attorney Generals initial draft should have the support of 75% of the electorate before becoming the established Constitution of the Nation.

Give the public a choice, very simple, ask the electorate which one they prefer. Whichever one gets at  least 51% of the vote then goes before a Constituent Assembly. Take another 6 months… Get it right 

The truth is the Attorney Generals draft is being rammed down the throats of the people of Fiji, who are being advised they can make written submissions, but no one has said who will review those submissions, and whether or not they will be catalogued or considered.

A very shaky start, for a new constitution that we should all be able to build a secure future on.

Attorney General & Minister for Justice

Hon: Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

Fax 3310807

The Facts

1 The FNPF is currently withholding $154,440 net of interest, of my money. (saved over a period of 20+ years which should have accrued interest)

2 My current FNPF pension payment is $3.34 per month or $40.08 per annum

3. I would have to live in excess of another 3,600 years to exhaust my monies currently held by FNPF, since I am in my 79^th year now, the odds of that seems rather short.

4. I have asked the FNPF to refund/return the money and have had no response.

5. You as the Attorney General and Minister for Justice introduced a decree that permitted FNPF to breach basic contractual laws. Notwithstanding that, at the time of your decree these monies were part of a contract that the FNPF had not fulfilled, hence they should be returned to me.

6. We requested you to investigate this matter, but at the time of writing we have had no response from you.

7. We again seek justice from you in your capacity as Minister for Justice, and suggest the following compromise.

These monies that were paid to the FNPF in order that my wife should receive a pension after my death, should now refunded in full and be put into a trust fund controlled by a bank (not the FNPF) to be paid to my wife upon my death. Taxes to be paid to the Government on any interest earned.

It would be a sad day for the people of Fiji, if you now applied all your legal skills to defraud my wife of a pension that has already been paid for.

I await your response

Sincerely

R T Rickman

I had the misfortune to listen to a religious broadcast by a Shaykh Anwar Sahib AlMadani which was apparently played by FBCL on Easter morning. People can listen to the mullah on u-tube.

His sermon, (more aptly described as a ‘diatribe’), would be objectionable enough in its contents alone- because why anyone would want to bother linking only Easter with paganism, as this mullah did, when it is common knowledge that every monotheistic religion, including his own, has its roots in paganism, is beyond me. I was shocked by such a conservative, and rabid, expression of Islam coming from a cult-like section of the religion which some people in Fiji are clearly into.

In addition, why would anyone actually pay for such a nonsense expression of a religion? And why would FBCL even broadcast it? These are questions the Fiji government just has to take up with FBCL.

However, what is really appalling is that FBCL (a public broadcast entity funded by the public purse) chose not only to broadcast a religious rant when the Prime Minister has already declared Fiji to be a secular state, but also to do so on Easter Sunday. No wonder it is identified as a deliberately provocative act on the part of FBCL which is rather more closely aligned with the Fijian state than it should be as a media outlet. Even more seriously, this broadcast was made in violation of section 17 (3) (d) of the Government’s draft Constitution 2013. The Fiji Human Rights Commission should take this matter up as its ‘own motion’ investigation.

Frankly, there should be no religious broadcasts whatsoever on public radio. Religion is a private matter between a person and his or her God. No one should be confronted with any form of proselytising from anyone. We had enough of that before 2006. Public radio, which everyone pays for and listens to for news and entertainment, is certainly not a proper forum for religious postering and preening.

If the Government says Fiji is a secular state, as PM Bainimarama has been promoting recently, it should start educating its own public radio the FBCL, which it funds far too handsomely from the public pocket in my view, that it cannot bring its leadership into disrepute by these sorts of broadcasts. There are occasions when such mistakes cannot be cured just by an apology.

Dr Shaista Shameem