Most sugar cane to be harvested and crushed this season was damaged by Cyclone Mick and the floods that followed. Full story. The Lautoka mill and Rarawai mill (photo) at Ba were also badly damaged. Reports indicate that there has also been a substantial damage to cash crops in the Western Division. Once Fij's main overseas money earner and major employer,the sugar industry has been long overdue for restructuring. Problems with land leases, the optimal size of farm units, transportation, and outdated machinery, have been compounded by falling world sugar prices, uncertainty over preferential prices under the Lome Convention and Cotonou Agreement (that gives former European colonies the same price as subsidized European farmers) and, more recently, the withholding of EU and Commonwealth assistance -- for political reasons -- to modernize the industry. If anyone needs a visit from Father Christmas, it is the sugarcane farmers of the Western Division, and the thousands of ethnic Fijian and Indo-Fijian labourers they employ. And if NZ, Australia, the Commonwealth and the EU are really concerned about Fiji, now is the time to show it. Speak now or forever hold your peace.
Fiji economy now rated "stable"
Reserve Bank of Fiji Governor Sada Reddy (photo, NZ Herald) says the revision of the outlook for Fiji from negative to stable by Standard and Poor’s Rating Services augurs well for Fiji’s international credit ratings. Full story.
V Australia, part of the Virgin Blue airline group, commenced its daily Sydney-Nadi service on Saturday. Tourism Fiji’s regional director Australia Paresh Pant said "V Australia will be a game changer for the conference and incentive market, its full service Business and Premium Economy products will undoubtedly prove a catalyst for an increase in the top end leisure travel market.” Pant said there had been a drop in Australian arrivals early in the year, but the upsurge in recent months “had been nothing short of breathtaking”, with a new arrival record of 26,000-plus Australian visitors in September. Competition on the Fiji-Australia route will heat up further when Qantas subsidiary Jetstar begins daily services between Nadi and Sydney from March.
Tourism: Air Pacific
This competition is the probable reason why Fiji Government and Qantas-owned Air Pacific (re-dubbed the "The World's Friendliest Airline") fleet will soon complete a $15m interior refurbishment; establish "a global contact centre in Fiji where local and overseas customers get a Fiji experience from the first contact, new meals, wines and beverage selections in-flight, increase in baggage allowance to 23 kgs per person, expansion of Pacific Sun's domestic services and launch of the new Nadi-Hong Kong and Apia-Honolulu services. Air Pacific operates a fleet of Boeing jet aircraft and ATR42-500's to 16 destinations in 11 countries. Pacific Sun services domestic routes also has flights to Tonga, Funafuti and Port Vila." Full story.
Tourism:Continental Micronesia celebrates inaugural flight
Continental Micronesia, part of the giant Continental airline group, had its inaugural flight from Guam in NE Micronesia to Nadi on Friday. The Boeing 737=800 aircraft, with 14 business and 141 economy class seats, will operate on Mondays and Fridays. Full story.
Vehicle Certificates of Fitness
Buses over 25 years old and taxis, at present inspected yearly, will soon be inspected every six months.The Fiji Taxi Union and the Fiji Bus Operators Association are consulting their advisers on the announcement by the Land Transport Authority. I thought their argument that public transport is not the major cause of accidents a weak one. Their transport must be safe, and seen to be safe, and customer safety should rank at least equal with their desire to maximize profits. Full story.
Ex-prisoners will soon be accepted into the public service if they meet the qualifications and skill requirements of advertised positions, according to PSA chairman Josefa Serulagilagi (Fiji Village photo). He said the Yellow Ribbon Programme, an innovative approach at rehabilitating prisoners by increasing public awareness and acceptance of ex-prisoners and their issues, was a breath of fresh air which took Fiji by storm. Serulagilagi also congratulated the prison service for its work on capacity building, the commercialisation of prison industries and the enhancement of public engagement ..."in accordance with government’s vision to reform the civil service." Full story.
Lau is part of Fiji
Irregular and unreliable shipping has long been a problem for people in the Lau group, nearly 300km east of the main island of Viti Levu. Full story. Last week punts(long open canoe-like vessels with outboard motors) took three trips from Nayau to Cicia, 35km away, to to catch a boat to Suva. The last vessel to visit Nayau was MV Sealink under the Government franchise in early November.The islanders have heard that there will be no ship to Nayau until late January. This leaves them with little choice but to punt to Cicia and other islands for supplies and to get their students to school on Viti Levu. Improved transport to Lau is a Government priority but little can be done until more boats are available -- unless, unless, Commodore Bainimarama, at least for the school children, authorised naval vessels to assist. This would match Government's transport assistance to urban children! Photo punt in calmer waters: photographersdirect.com Read what readers say. Click "Comments" below.
7 comments:
All the additional flights coming into Fiji is a great sign. It is amazing to hear that there were a record number of Australians going to Fiji in September. You wouldn't know it from reading all the negative stories on Fiji in the mainstream media.
Well, most ordinary Australians are a lot smarter than the sanctimonious git who runs the country. They're telling Tintin that they don't give a toss for his Fiji policy and aren't going to heed the calls to holiday elsewhere.
You've got to hand it to Sada Reddy. He played second fiddle at the Reserve Bank for a long time but was more than reddy to take the top job. (Sorry ) The way he's calmly set about restoring Fiji's finances has been very impressive. We all owe him a vote of thanks and I hope he gets a big gong for his efforts from the President down the track. This re-rating is a big plus for Fiji and a testament to this guy's terrific performance. He's also paid a significant personal price by losing his NZ residency for taking the job in the first place. So Vinaka vakalevu Mr Reddy!
All these new flights to Fiji are a double-edged sword. Yes, the low airfares will bring a lot more visitors and fill up our hotels. But it could also lead to the demise of Air Pacific and that would be a disaster for Fiji. Whenever the going gets tough, you can be sure Virgin and Jetstar will immediately take off in every sense. If Air Pacific can't stay competitive on the Sydney route, we'll be toast. And we'll lose a great asset that carries the Fiji brand all over the region. We should be very worried that the airline is losing such a great CEO in John Campbell at such a critical time. So please, Fiji gang, when next you fly to Australia, choose Air Pacific. You'll be putting Fiji first. ( No, I don't work for the airline!)
I do remember sevaral posts on rawnews and coupfourpointfive that were adament that Reddy's policies were flawed, the 20% devaluation would do nothing and Fiji's finances were being run into the ground by Reddy and the interim government. I wonder if they will be reporting this story.
One of the reasons Sada Reddy was not appointed was because of his race. He was looked over 3 or 4 times although he was the deputy. I support affirmative action but Fiji has racist policies when it comes to appointments in the public services and govt owned enterprises.
Affirmative action should be clearly spelled out and at grassroot level. For example giving more assistance in education to Fijians However in Fiji affirmative action has become an excuse for nepotism and racism.
Fiji is on the way up - 2010 will be a boom year for us so the Aussies and Kiwis and go jump
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