Public Sector Reforms: 3. Scholarships and Training

Edited extracts from my Interview with Parmesh Chand, Permanent Secretary Public Service Commission. Vinaka, Tui, for this transcript.

In the area of Human Resource, we are doing a lot of work in reshaping our scholarship programs both for in-service and new entrants to the civil service. We spend as much as $30 million a year on government scholarship but many government scholarships were given in conventional areas like accounting, law, management, economics but the needs of government are not in those areas there’s enough of those people.

Croz: These were tertiary scholarship?

Parmesh Chand: Yes, we have stopped giving scholarships in those areas there is some given but minimal, but now the focus is more on medicine, geo-sciences and veterinary sciences, agricultural sciences, town planning, meteorology and scientist.

A lot of work is being done in that area, we also are looking at compulsory induction training for anybody joining the civil service and latter on have compulsory refresher courses for civil servants but at the moment it has been decided that….

Croz: What happened before?

Parmesh Chand: There was training but the training was given as though you have joined civil service, you are an expert on civil service and you just fit in.

Croz: So you learnt on the job?

Parmesh Chand: Yes, but now we will provide compulsory induction training anybody passing that course will only enter the civil service, like they do in Singapore and Malaysia.

Croz: How much are you consulting with places like Singapore and Malaysia?

Parmesh Chand: What happens is that we are part of the APO we don’t go and undertake field visits but as part of the involvement in APO training conducted in Asia we seek short stints in public administration in each of those countries that we go to so if I go to Korea and spend a few days to learn about Korea Public Administration and then get a lot of ideas. If the course is held in Malaysia we will do the same but we have been planning to go to Singapore but it got deferred from last year into this year and its likely to happen this year to learn about their civil service their work culture, the performance management system they have and how they implement all that.

The other thing we are developing at the moment is developing an integrated Human Resource Database, this database will have strong links with the payroll system because there is a mismatch between the payroll and the staff establishment. So this system will be done by ITC itself and it will be a big exercise itself I don’t know whether ITC has the capacity to do all that so that’s what’s happening with human resources we will provide training we will tidy up the human resources side .

The other big area is the productivity management this is an area where we have failed miserably and we continue to lack behind the government agreed back in 2004—2005 to do away with automatic cost of living adjustments and also to do away with automatic increments and replace all this with implementation of performance based management system, so from 2006 all this stopped of course up to 2006 there was this partnership agreement done to give adjustment in salary to across the board on the civil service.

But when this government came they scrapped everything and said if we have agreed to do performance management system lets work on that. But unfortunately not much has happened in the past year I think much of it is due to the fact that performance management system is new to Fiji and secondly everybody is fearful of the cost so no money gets allocated to this exercise. So the civil service in terms of productivity management we say that you will be rewarded in terms of productivity management if you do this and do that but nobody has received anything. The PS received a bonus which was a one step increment in 2008 but not the rest of the civil service this is a big area of concern for us because there has to be incentive for staffs.

Government is doing a lot of brave things like restructuring, containing the size of the civil service and it is possible that the savings from all that exercise will be deployed to pay them performance monies later on at the moment it’s not upon them.

SOLDIERS COMING HOME. The bodies of two soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan while serving in the British Army are coming home.The body of Kingsman Ponipate Tagitaginimoce will arrive at Nadi Airport on Friday and will be laid to rest on Saturday at Nakaulevu village, Nakelo in Tailevu. The body of Corporal Taniela Rogoiruwai will arrive on Monday and will be laid to rest on Tuesday at Nauluvatu village, Nakelo in Tailevu.

PROUDLY i-TAUKEI, PROUDLY FIJIAN. A Fijian Affairs Amendment Decree has been gazetted which sees all written laws amended by replacing the word "Fijian" with i-Taukei for indigenous Fijians.  "Fijian" will now be used for all Fiji citizens irrespective of race. The change will not please everybody. It is not easy to getused to new names.  But it is actually an older and more accurate nomenclature, Fijian being a corruption of Viti, the name given by Tongans. Citizens of all races will now be able to proudly proclaim themselves Fijian, removing the ambiguity that previously existed. The decree was signed by President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau yesterday.

WHO IS RUPERT MURDOCH?  For your information, click here to read of his political relationships. The cartoon below shows only a small part of his business interests.

FIJI RETALIATES. Some questions about the Australian government's position on Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd releases that threaten the Fiji tourism industry. Read link.

RATU INOKE KUBUABOLA asks about the role of the Australian High Commission in Suva in relation to Australia's position on the Media Decree.

MOMI BAY RETHINK.  The Fiji National Provident Fund, major owners of the unfinished Momi Bay project, has already been forced to write down around $55 million from the  project and an attempt last year to auction off the property failed after the bid stopped at $44 million, well short of the $88 million FNPF put into the project. The superannuation fund now wants to sell the project or engage in a joint project with a suitable party.  It is understood that the multimillion poject to "develop residential lots and own one of the unique hotel and golf course resort in the South Pacific" may attract an exclusive incentive package from Government.

EXPORTS UP. The Reserve Bank  reports that domestic export earnings rose by 74%in January compared to a 41.8 percent decline in the same period in 2009. The growth was led by fish, timber, gold, mineral water, sweet biscuits and garments.

UNPAID RATES. Unpaid rates, rentals and accounts have been a longstanding feature of the Fiji financial scene, with some debts dating back many years. A year ago Government placed special administrators in charge of somke municipalities and their work as debt collectors seems to be paying off. Some $16 million of municipal rates owing to government was collected in the first three months of the year, which leaves another $22 million.

Acting permanent secretary for Local Government, Maraia Ubitau, also put the increased collections down to the restructure and reforms undertaken within local town councils, particularly the administration of towns.


REVISED BUDGET STIMULANT. USP Senior Lecturer in Finance Dr Rohit Kishore thinks the Revised Budger for 2010 will stimulate growth and revive the economy.




REACTIONS: Read All ( ), Read Comments ( ), Read Some ( ). Please use this new feature at the bottom of postings.

New Land Legislation, Old Students and PINA, PM and the Forum, Tonga and MSG Plus, Consumers, Rotuma

NEW LAND LEGISLATION JUST AND POLITICALLY ASTUTE. Land lease money will be distributed equally among mataqali (landowner unit) members, when new legislation is passed.  The PM  said present distribution methods are a major cause of village disputes and leadership tussles. Government will be distributing lease money directly to the landowners without charging fees or interests. The new legislation, which cuts out the Native Land Trust Board 15% deduction and allocations to the chiefly hierarchy, will, according to the PM, empower people to take on responsibilities in their respective villages.

Meanwhile, the Land Use Decree will provide the legal framework for leasing of i-taukei and State-owned land at market rates. The PM said, “The law allows for the establishment of a land bank from which potential investors and farmers can sub-lease or lease land from the State for up to 99 years. This will provide certainty of tenure, improved rental return to the i-taukei landowners and to the State, and be a much needed boost to the economy. The role of the NLTB will be to provide the necessary information to the land bank.

Both moves are socially just and politically astute.  The former means that the landowning unit will receive all the rent to be distributed equally among mataqali families, a move that will undermine the influence of chiefs and "middlemen" at grassroots level. The latter move should see more mataqali willing to lease land; the withholding of leases will be no longer capable of political manipulation, and, the 99-year leases should see more people, individuals and companies, renewing or taking up leases. More land in production can only be good news for Fiji.

P.S. A statement by the Australia-based Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement which sees sinister implications in these decrees has received wide publicity overseas.  I shall comment on their statement later in the week.

OLD STUDENTS AND PINA. I'm sorry to see two of my old students, 'Eakalafi Moala and Lisa Williams-Lahari, break from PINA and join others to form the  new Pacific Media Association that has the questionable advantage of including Australia and New Zealand. I understand and respect their reasons, but doubt it will help Fiji in any way. Could they not stay in PINA and join the new organization? I trust they will read -- and use --  my blog from time to time to get another slant. My weekend post reassessing the Media Decree would be a good place to start.

CONGRATULATIONS TO RADIO NZ INTERNATIONAL for printing some "good" news about Fiji. They report the Consumer Council's approval of incentives in the 2010 Review budget, and commend the Bainimarama Government for "being socially responsible by providing the means to spur economic activity and growth that will benefit all sectors of society."

TWO SRI LANKAN JUDGES  have been appointed to appointed Acting Chief Registrar and Acting Chief Magistrate. The Chief Registrar’s positions was recently held by Ms Ana Rokomokoti. Mrs Irani Wakishta-Arachichi is now Acting Chief Registrar and Mr Pamila Ratanayake is Acting Chief Magistrate.

THE PI FORUM AND SELECTIVE VISION. The PM has again expressed a wish to be readmitted to the Pacific Islands Forum but seems to think this unlikely as long as Australia and New Zealand turn blind eyes to current reforms. While not reissuing his earlier invitation to the Forum Ministerial Action Group to visit Fiji after Smith's and McCully's statements that the situation in Fiji had worsened, the PM said, “My government is always open to dialogue. It is most unfortunate that some of the foreign countries are turning a blind eye in terms of development and the reforms that this government is carrying out. In terms of the situation on the ground Fiji is not worsening as many would have thought, stats indicate otherwise given the various measures implemented. However, Fiji is one of the founding members of the Forum so we would like to see ourselves back in.”

TONGA STILL NOT SAID YES. Fiji is still waiting to hear from Tonga about participation in the forthcoming MSG-Plus meeting. My guess is they won't accept and this was one of the reasons why Tongan PM Feleti Sevele paid a friendly visit to Fiji last week. Tonga, and the other small Pacific nations, need to sit on, or very close to, the  top of the fence or they could offend their major aid donors. I hope I'm wrong.

THE CONSUMER COUNCIL REPORTS it has helped consumers save about $300,000 in the first quarter of the year by mediating and resolving their complaints. Some 654 complaints were received, the highest number concerning landlord and tenancy cases.

ROTUMA-TUVALU TRADE. Rotuma's exports to Tuvau, mainly in root crops, was due to start in August but the Agriculture Department in Rotuma wants it to start in November to fit farming schedules. Write 'Rotuma' into the search facility in the left sidebar to learn more about this new trade initiative that is part of Government's Roadmap to develop Fiji's outer islands.

CAN FIJI CUT UNEMPLOYMENT to 4.2% by 2012? Some 57% of Fiji Live pollsters said No.  It's nice to see "political" polls on Fiji Live again.

Public Sector Reforms: 2. Outsourcing

Edited extracts from my Interview with Parmesh Chand, Permanent Secretary Public Service Commission. Vinaka, Tui, for this transcript.

Croz: Are the reforms part of the  Roadmap or are they a roadmap within the \Roadmap?

Parmesh Chand: There ought to be a road map within a roadmap but at the moment it is a free for all and we are allowing it to find its own feet. The outsourcing policy that I am developing will have a road map. We cannot do everything all at once because there will be social implications. We looked at avenues for staff participation when we outsourced the security and laundry services at the Hospitals.

The security work went out to the security companies and some people were absorbed by the companies. With the laundry work, we are helping the workers to form a company and run the laundry on an outsourced contract basis. They are talking about that at the moment. So some of this work we may be able to outsource to firms formed or companies formed by staff.

Croz: So some of the staff made redundant will be able to start their own companies ?

Parmesh Chand: Yes. But it involves a lot of work because firstly we will pay them redundancy money. That money forms the cash flow needed to launch their own companies. We require a lot of advice. One options for some of them is to draw funds from the FNPF and buy equity into the company.

On their own they may not be able to do it, but if we show them the way they may be able to do it. Like the worker participation scheme in the Airport Terminal Services that do the ground handling at Nadi. They formed ATS which is 51% owned by government and 49% owned by the employees. And that company was been working well for the past 20 years. The company is jointly run by the employees and government with a board formed proportionately. Government has a say in the appointment of the CEO and how the company is run but by and large it is run by the workers. They get a share of profits and dividends.

Mainly Media, Fiji Times, Tourism, Corruption, Phone Decree, Investment

ONE PICTURE's WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. Saturday Suva, their readers could have thought. This is the photo used on Saturday by the Sydney Morning Herald to illustrate an article on Fiji. It's more truthful than the tanks one paper used soon after the Coup (Fiji has no tanks), and not much worse than always seeing Bainimarama in military uniform, but it's pretty deceitful nonetheless. Small excuse that below the picture in small, easily missed print, it read, A soldier guards a military checkpoint in Fiji's capital Suva in 2006.The article was written by Michael Field.

MY LETTER TO THE UK NEWSTATESMAN. "Your story is misleading and very one-sided. What else would you expect John Hartigan to say? 

His company is an aggrieved party. There are concerns about the Media Decree but it also has some commendable features, including a code of ethics that many readers of the Fiji Times would say is long overdue.

"For a contrary, and I think more balanced account, of this and other political happenings in Fiji,  I invite your editors and readers to visit my blog www.crosbiew.blogspot.com.  I have studied Fiji since the 1960s, worked and lived there for nearly ten years, and my most recent visit was two weeks ago.   Concerted negative reporting by the foreign media is not helping to resolve a very complex situation." I urge readers to use every opportunity to comment on media websites when they report misleading stories on Fiji. 

JOKE OF THE WEEK. A Coupfourpointfive article by Suliasi Daunitutu from the  Fiji Democracy Movement in Australia talked about the "foreign journalists who try to give an unprejudiced insight to events that have unfolded since December 2006." Come on, Suliasi, name one!

GOING OUT WITH ALL GUNS BLAZING. A reader writes, "Rupert Murdoch has launched his predicted offensive against Fiji with two explosive stories in today's Australian newspaper. The length and tone of these clearly indicate that News Limited intends to bow out of the Fiji Times with all guns blazing. Whatever the merits of these stories, the damage that will be inflicted on the country will be enormous. The regime was warned and so was everyone else. Now, we're going to be taught a lesson in the realities of the international marketplace. One of the stories is plainly aimed at deterring Australian tourists from visiting Fiji. The coming weeks will be very ugly."  Here's two from the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal and The Australian. With all the points raised, there is no need for further comment.  One Two. 

KIWI TOURISTS PREFER FIJI. Most New Zealanders prefer to spend their holidays in Fiji despite political differences, according to Tourism Fiji Regional Director Sala Lesuma. Political differences have never deterred New Zealanders from coming to Fiji.

"We focus in on what sells Fiji and why people are coming to Fiji. The politics will continue but I think they [tourists] are mature enough, they are educated enough, they know Fiji. They have had a love affair with Fiji for the last forty years. They are fair enough to realize that politics is politics, we are going to Fiji for holidays and nothing's going to stop us".

AUCKLAND TO SUVA DIRECT. Flight FJ 430 arrived at Nausori on Friday, the first of a weekly service between Auckland and Suva that will also assist connections to Labasa, Taveuni, Kadavu, Savusavu and to the eastern maritime regions. Flights will increase to two a week next month.The national carrier brings in over 66% of tourists annually.

LABASA, NORTHERN DIVISION NOT READY FOR TOURISM.Tourism Fiji Regional Director Sala Lesuma says more infrastructural development is needed in Labasa to attract more tourists. "People need things to do other than just sit by the pool and sip Fiji Bitter, If the infrastructure is there, Tourism Fiji will promote Labasa and the North for sure".

THE PHONE DECREE. I have been informed the phone industry is in agreement with Government that this legislation was needed. Industry stakeholder were involved in drafting the legislation but are concerned about two particulars: the thinking is that the penalties are too high and that registration cannot be completed by the time stipulated. They will meet with the Minister this week to discuss these concerns.

Phone registration is required in most developed countries. It is compulsory in Australia. In NZ only prepay registration is not required. India recently introduced it and operators apparently had to cut off 20 million users!

A TIDY SUM. Over the last five months more than $400 million dollars worth of  foreign investment projects have been approved by Government, most of which have been in the tourism, commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors. A number of other local and foreign investment proposals are in the pipeline. -- Minfo.

THE DAILY POST AND EMBEZZLEMENT. Could any reader tell me how the 10% foreign ownership limit in the Media Decree affects the Daily Post? My understanding is that Australian Alan Hickling owns 51%, Government 45% and CJ Patel 4%.  But according to the Sydney Morning Herald, Hickling now owns 80%. The Herald also revealed that Hickling "Doing due diligence after the sale [six years ago], they [was] 'gobsmacked' to find a $1 million injection of government funds had been embezzled." Was anyone brought to court for this?

Not So Sweet: Problems in the Sugar Industry

MORE SUGARCANE NEEDED. The most immediate issue confronting the industry, according to Fiji Sugar Corp CEO Deo Saran is to increase cane production to meet the mills’ output.  the current crop only accounts for 50% of the cane required to optimize mill efficiencies. Measures being undertaken by the FSC and Government to address this problem include:
1) FSC cost-cutting and generation of supplementary revenue;  
2) addressing land issues through the Land Reform Program and the efforts of the Committee for Better Utilization of Land;
3) a Government grant of $6 million towards land preparation for the 2010 planting season which has a target of 6,000 hectares;  
4) a $19.6 million Government-subsidy to the South Pacific Fertilizers over the last two years to enable farmers get cheaper fertilizer;
5) and a major cane rehabilitation programme  over the next two years. The 2010 planting program should see an increase of around 75% over the previous year, but this will still not meet the mills requirements.

Opinion. An industry that was once Fiji's major employer and export earner has been run down due to mismanagement, lack of mill maintenance and upgrading (see story below), but most of all by ethnic Fijians listening to their former political leaders and not renewing expiring leases, and mainly Indo-Fijian leaseholders leaving the land because of expired leases, insecurity, and poor returns. One estimate put typical farmer net incomes at $60 a week, well below Fiji's poverty line. Many smallholdings are too small for efficient, profitable and sustainable farming.

SADA REDDY CALLS FOR LARGE SCALE SUGAR FARMING. Large scale commercial cane farming must be explored and developed in Fiji. Speaking recently at the Fiji Institute of Accountants Congress at the Shangri La Fijian Resort, the Reserve Bank Governor said this is one area of the reforms that is needed urgently to help the ailing sugar industry.

The industry has been plagued with ongoing problems, and now contributes only around 3% of real GDP. Ten to fifteen years ago it was 11-12%. The peak year of 1994,saw 500,000 tonnes of sugar produced.Last year it was 168,000 tonnes, the lowest since 1961. They have to rehabilitate large number of cane farms which are producing well below industry norms due to neglect of farms and long rationing rather than planting new cane every three to four years. “Productivity must be improved through farm rationalization plus good farm husbandry practices” he added. The mills also require urgent attention.

Reddy said the Fiji Sugar Corporation’s financial problems have to be quickly fixed as its cash flow situation is dire. The industry, he said, needs to put in strategies to increase cane production to two or three times the current production in the next 24 months. And for this they need land and financial support.

LAUTOKA MILL PROBLEMS AGAIN.  A Votualevu farmer took his 140 tonnes of sugar cane from the the Lautoka mill, that was again experiencing  "mechanical problems," to the Penang Mill at Rakiraki last week.That's an unwelcome extra 130 km round trip  away. Part of the withheld EU money was intended to update Fiji's "archaic" mills.

The Revised Budget 2010: Facts and Figures

THE REVISED BUDGET 2010 (click here) should see slightly more revenue ($1.496 billion), slightly less expenditure ($1.715), and a reduced net deficit of $218.0 million or 3.5% of the nominal GDP at $6.188 billion. Local business seems to be happy according to Suva Chamber of Commerce president Dr Nur Ali.

The PM and Minister of Finance said $143 million had to be diverted from other purposes to meet the cost of two natural disasters ( Hurricanes Mike and Tomas), which struck Fiji within four months. He said unexpected costs were not likely to end there, The termite infection affecting the Lautoka area is also likely to be costly and there is an urgent need to dredge waterways like the Rewa.

He thinks the revised budget reflects the true position, creates transparency and will ensure accurate financial records and practices. At his recent meeting with the IMF, the IMF informed him that there was a failure of compliance with international best practices by previous administrations. He expects this will not be the case from now on.

CUTTING GOVERNMENT COSTS. Stressing the importance of agriculture and tourism to raise our export earnings, the PM listed the following measures taken to cut costs and speed economic recovery:

• Commercial management of Government quarters and properties in the Central Division; 
• Reform of Fiji Sugar Corporation has commenced; 
• Reorganisation of the Government Supplies Department into the Fiji Procurement Office is underway and expected to by fully operational by September 2010; 
• Water Authority is now fully operational with transfer of assets and liabilities to WAF from Water and Sewerage Department to be completed by August 2010; 
• Reorganization of the FIMSA and the Quarantine Department into commercial statutory authorities to be completed this year; 
• The Fiji Meteorological Services Department has been identified for reorganization with an assessment in train to determine the best option forward; 
• Preparatory works have begun on the reorganization of the Fiji Electricity Authority (FEA);
• Government is currently assessing proposals on public private collaboration regarding the management of Post Fiji. 
• It is expected that Government Printing shall be available on the market within this year.

REVISED BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS 

Tariff Changes to encourage local production of vegetables, duty on all imported fresh vegetables will increase from 5% to 15%. The duty on shelled peas will be abolished. Duty on split peas, rice and tin fish was previously removed (following world commodity and food price increases) to help low income earners.

Social measures to assist poor. More assistance to the poor and near-poor; improved primary and maternal health care.

Revenue Measures to promote exports and import substitution. A raft of measures to promote exports and import substitution and local food production; help reduce fuel imports through lowered duty on fuel-efficient vehicles; broaden the revenue base; support the development of capital markets in Fiji and promote Fiji as a financial centre for the region and a strengthen compliance.

Direct Tax Measures to encourage investment. Dividends for companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange will be treated as tax already paid. The corporate tax rate for these companies was recently reduced to 20%.

Indirect Tax Measures to raise revenue. VAT will be levied on General Insurance,except Medical, Term Life and Workers Compensation.

Motor Vehicles Measures to help fuel efficiency.To assist low and middle income earners in purchasing new fuel efficient motor vehicles, the fiscal duty on new motor cars and other passenger vehicles with capacity not exceeding 1500cc will be reduced from 32% to 15%
The age limit for used or reconditioned motor vehicles imports will be reduced from 8 to 5 years.

New Buses and Trucks to improve quality and safety. The fiscal duty on new buses will be reduced from 32%to 5% and import excise  from 15% to 5%, a total of 10%. The fiscal duty on new trucks of of less than 3 tonnes will be reduced from 32 percent to 15 percent.

Jet skis Measures to help marine, water-based and tourist industries . To further Government’s policy of creating a tangible marine and water based industry and to create opportunities in the tourism sector, the duty rate for jetski’s will be reduced from 32% to 5%.Airport Departure Tax will increase from $75 to $100. Tourists spending over $500 already have VAT refunded.

Weekend Reading - Scroll Down to Read

Allen Lockington's Column ----Cuban Surprise----- Selected Coments from the Week---- Conversation with a NZ Herald Editor (pending) -----Changes to the Draft Media Decree.Scroll down to read.

How Free is the New Zealand Media?

Article pending.

Selected Comments of the Week

I'm delighted at the number of comments this week. They are an essential part of any worthwhile blog. Here are a selection, not necessarily the best, for who can judge that, but sufficiently diverse and controversial to solicit further comment. To make the most of your time on this blog, always check out the comments. Some of the following comments are abbreviated.


What Sort of Democracy Do We Want?

Rather than look back and argue about the relative merits of the democracy we had, wouldn't it be preferable to debate the democracy we all want? I'm deeply concerned that as the months go by, the consultations the regime promised seem to have stalled. Rather than issuing reassuring noises about the delay, the PM has started to signal that ordinary people want the dictatorship to continue beyond 2014. This is totally unacceptable and in breach of every undertaking he's made previously, both to the people of Fiji and the international community. 

My Re-Assessment of the Media Decree

        Opinion
         Crosbie Walsh

On April 12^th I published a list of ten items that I took to be people's general concerns about the Draft Media Decree, together with my comment where necessary. To read, click here.

Four months on, the Decree has been promulgated in its final form. The reaction of the international media, then and now, has been almost wholly negative which is not altogether surprising given that the existence of one of their own, the Fiji Times, is threatened. A closer and more open-minded examination of the Decree, however, would show that many of the concerns have been addressed, and for the most part the Decree fills the acknowledged longstanding gap in media regulation in Fiji. Indeed, in some respects, but particularly in its stated aims and code of ethics, the Decree could well be emulated by other countries.

The following discussion compares the ten areas of general concern noted in April with the Decree as it it now stands:

What County X Said About Cuba

Given all the negative publicity about Cuba that  has gone on remorselessly since I was a young man, I couldn't believe my eyes to read that a well-known politician said Cuba had  "world-class credentials in the medical training area" and that his country was thinking of co-operation.  Who was the politician? What else was said?  Click here to dispel some myths about another country that's had to ensure far worse publicity than Fiji.

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in www.connectme.com.fj/news/opinion. I thank Allen and Connect for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

Learn to Live with It

The Water Authority will make radio announcements as soon as there is a water cut.  I was gonna say, so will FEA when there is an unplanned power failure, but, Ill leave it at that! It is a fact that water cuts will be with us for a while, everybody needs to know and understand this. And store water. We in Waiyavi live out of buckets and bottles of water. There are times even when the water Is on, we use water from bottles and containers instead of the tap, because we have become used to it.  We have learned to live with it. We live our lives around the water cut. It seldom affects us. From recent happenings we should understand that not all is well with the water infrastructure. And some things are beyond the Water Authorities control. Power blackouts are not a rare thing. These are two things that can occur anytime.

Lockington's Everyday Fiji ... Life Goes On

Allen Lockington is a self-employed customs agent and business consultant who has regular articles published in www.connectme.com.fj/news/opinion. I thank Allen and Connect for permission to reprint some of them in this political blog. They remind us that life goes on, whatever the political situation. And it's good to know that.

A Larrikin

I believe it’s a very hard part in a  parent’s life when he or she gets a call from a police station or is visited by the police and told that his or her son was involved in something and he had to go down or answer to the police.

Here is something that happened when I was still in primary school. I lived in Wailekutu back in the early seventies and one day while walking home from school this young boy standing up on Kalekana hill threw a stone and us. It hit one of the boys and opened up a huge gash on his forehead. Kalekana was one tough neighbourhood back then.

When the boy returned from the hospital we all went up to the boy's house with the police and confronted the boy’s parents. He was living with his single mom. When the policeman said that her son had thrown a stone that badly injured the man’s son she said with a grin, “Wooo na gone dau aim qori.”(That boy can aim).

I never forgot that day because the injured boy’s father burst into laughter. All the anger that he had with him disappeared and the policeman started laughing also. The woman wondered what she had said and stood there stony faced and defiant. 

Anyway, when things were normal again and with the father still sniggering, the police spoke to the mother to look after her son properly. She said, “Isa, he got no father and he follow many bad boys.”

The mother had been informed earlier of what her son had done and was waiting for the police.  When I think back to that day some forty years ago, I wonder if the mother had been thinking of what to say. Her son was notorious for causing fights and was a larrikin and she had probably exhausted all the excuses in the world that she could muster to save her son just one more time.

With all the kinds of comeback lines when there is trouble that one had to take the cake, or should that be stone.

Rakiraki a Town, Abuse of Media, Suits for Chiefs, Phone Registration

(o) RAKIRAKI DECLARED A TOWN. Sporadic attempts since 1930 to make Rakiraki a town have finally borne fruit. In making the declaration yesterday, the PM said the new status could mean more economic activities and make the town  "pivotal in the development of the Ra province," especially when the sealing of Kings Highway is completed. This, together with Queens Road that runs from Suva to Lautoka,  will provide a sealed road all round Viti Levu. Rakiraki's population at the 2007 census was 4952, much higher than Tavua and Levuka towns.

(-+) "CHIEF CENSOR FOR FIJI'S DICTATOR".  "A former Fairfax newspaper executive is the chief censor for Fiji's dictator and in charge of his latest crackdown on press freedom."  That's how The Australian reporter Michael McKenna reports an interview with Sharon Smith-Johns, Fiji's Acting Permanent Secretary of Information that was syndicated to other papers.  My "copy" is from the Herald Sun.  The Australian is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd that also owned the Fiji Times, although no possible conflict of interest was noted in my copy or, I expect, in any other copy as the original story migrated to other news places.

Apparently the PS "refused 'to be drawn' on allegations about the beating and jailing of Commodore Bainimarama's opponents, but conceded she was the country's "chief censor" and oversaw the removal of any negative reporting about the regime."

If you think this sort of "news" reporting fair or balanced, check how McKenna's "opinions" comes out in his choice of words. News and opinions are not supposed to mix in news reporting. That's supposed to be in editorials and signed columns.

But McKenna did report that the PS had "applied to be appointed permanently in the job because she believed in the military leader. "I am not doing it for money; I am doing it because I believe in this man," she said, interrupting the main thrust of the article about "new laws that threaten to jail journalists" -- and the Media Decree's "unfair" treatment of, yes, you've guessed it,  the Fiji Times.

If journalists keep going on this track, they'll soon be the butt of jokes like this: "The stonecutter asked the journalist  what inscription he'd like on his grave. 'Here lies an honest man and a journalist', he replied. 'Sorry, but I can't do that,' said the stonecutter. "It's against the law to bury two people in the same grave."  Or this one, I just made up" Q: What does the one-eyed journalist does with his other eye? A: Which other eye?  Alternative A: Wink.


(o) CFL REVIEWING MEDIA DECREE. Communications Fiji Limited, the parent company of Legend FM, FM96, VitiFM, Navtarang and Radio Sargam is currently reviewing the Media Industry development Decree and its potential impact on the company's performance and trading in shares. Managing Director William Parkinson  thinks the decree will have no immediate financial effects but he has some concerns about cross-media ownership.

(+) MISUSE OF FUNDS. Funds given by the Education Ministry to develop Naitasiri Provincial High School were instead used to buy suits for the Naitasiri rugby team and chiefs of the province. Fiji as it was?

(o-) PHONE USERS MUST REGISTER.  A new decree  (The Compulsory Registration of Customers for Telephone Services Decree 2010) makes registration of fixed line and mobile phone  customer details compulsory. Details to be registered are: full name, date of birth, photo identification, home address and parent’s signature if user is under 18 years.

The decree aims to limit bogus and threatening calls, including bomb threats, prank calls to emergency numbers, money laundering and the planning of crimes with mobile phones, and impersonation. Phones have  been used to impersonate government ministers to obtain certain privileges and threatened the lives of ministers in an attempt to deter them from executing their official duties.

These reasons seem reasonable, should not cause much inconvenience, and would probably not cause a raised eyebrow in "normal" circumstances.  Fiji's circumstances, however, are not normal. Government needs to give a firm assurance, and put checks in place, to ensure the information obtained will not used for reasons other than the stated purposes.  It might have been better to live with the old abuses than create more copy for Government's opponents.

One blog -- and the mainstream media will follow -- already has the Attorney-General, who announced the decree, "admitting unreported threatening calls, bomb threats and Government Ministers lives at risk. Crime Free Fiji?  This sounds like a resistance movement."  Nonsense, of course, but no less lethal when read by the like-minded and gullible.

FHL Pay Back, FNPF Pay Out, Echo Before Sound, PINA Split, CCF Wants Transparency Registrar Appointment

ANNIVERSARY. One year ago today I started the Flag counter.  Since then the blog has had  over 37,000  "unique visitors" from 131 countries some of whom visited the site 85,000 times.

(-) FIJI LIVE POLL.  Q: Is the Media Industry Development Decree good for Fiji's media industry? A: Yes  41%; No  59%. I've no idea how many people voted but the question surely should have been, "Is it good for Fiji?"  The media and Fiji are not synonymous, although sometimes one has to wonder. And, hey! I thought all negative reporting was censored.

(o) FAB AND FHL PAY BACK. Twenty-one years ago Government loaned the Fijian Affairs Board   $20 million at no interest to broaden the participation of indigenous Fijians in commerce and business. The FAB put it all in Fijian Holdings Ltd which, n turn, invested the money in a diverse collection of businesses. In 2001 the Qarase government converted the FAB loan to a grant.No money needed to be repaid.

Qarase's family trust have a significant shareholding in FHL, the questionable ownership of which is currently before the courts.  This week  the Bainimarama government reversed the Qarase government grant, turning it back again into an interest-free loan that must be repaid by the FAB and thus FHL. Fortunately, FHL profits increased dramatically during 2009, only partly due to its sale of it Forster interests, and high dividends were paid to shareholders. The holding company should have no difficulty progressively repaying the loan.

(+) FNPF. The Fiji National Provident Fund Board yesterday paid out about US$60 million to its members after declaring a 5% interest payment for the year ending June the 30th.

(-+) R's BEFORE FACE. ABC reports that "criticism of Fiji's new media laws by Australian and New Zealand governments has been echoed by journalist and rights groups in the region." This is a world first: an echo before the sound, something like thunder before lightning. The PMs were reacting to media releases. But the echo bounced off one media outlet after another in an amazing endless procession. News Limited, sole owner of the Fiji Times, unsurprisingly  called the move "an appalling assault on free speech and a terrible blow for the fragile economy of  Fiji".

(-+) DISAPPOINTED WITH SUVA-BASED PINA (Pacific Islands News Association), the editor of the Cook Islands News John Woods is setting up a new media organization to "promote media rights and represent all media in the region." He claims PINA is not standing by its core values of defending and standing up for media rights, giving PINA's failure to condemn the Fiji Media Decree as an example."All [they] seem to do is compromise and amend our ways and talk to the Fiji regime as if it’s recoverable and as if they are trainable. Well, that is not going to happen.”

PINA president Moses Stevens dismissed the criticism and  said  they’ll continue to work alongside the Fiji regime. “Apparently some people don’t agree to how this Board is carrying out its duty in terms of the media freedom situation in Fiji. And we have said many times that the government in Fiji is not a normal democratic government that’s in place. It’s a military regime and we cannot deal with the situation as we would deal with a normal democratically elected government, and we’ve responded to that.” Seems sensible to me.  You do what you can, and don't do what you can't, thus leaving your options open to influence government when Fiji comes out of the "woods.

Stop Press "Surprise." The Prime Minister of Samoa says he will give his full support to a new media organisation being established in his country.

(o) CCF: NEW CHIEF REGISTRAR'S APPOINTMENT MUST BE TRANSPARENT. The Citizens’ Constitutional Forum says that government needs to be transparent about the appointment and also the termination of the Chief Registrar’s position, as this is essential for an independent judiciary.

“For the public and the international community to have confidence in the independence of Fiji’s judiciary, it is essential that appointment and terminations for key judicial positions are conducted in an open and transparent manner by the government,” CEO Rev.Akuila Yabaki said.

The the position should be gazetted within the Civil Service and if a suitable person cannot be found, the position should be advertised.  CCF also wants to see a civilian appointment as this would "depict a more independent judiciary," ensuring that the appointment is in line with the recommendations from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the Fiji government on the judiciary.