(-) By Hook or by Crook* Chook. It really does take a big leap of imagination to know why it's the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC), and not the Suva City Council, that is charging well known human rights and anti-government lawyer Imrana Jalal and her husband Ratu Sakiusa Tuisolia with operating their Suva Hook and Chook restaurant without a proper licence. See also Imrana's statement on this charge posted on Coup FourPointFive.
Fiji Law Society President Dorsami Naidu, also not a government friend, says he doesn’t understand why FICAC has become involved, but adds "the Commission seem to single out people who are critical of the regime." It may be coincidental but magistrate Mary Muir who questioned FICAC over the matter was dismissed on Monday.
Whatever the rights and wrongs involved, Government must not be -- and must not be seen to be -- petty or vindictive in situations like this. It has a country to run! Not a restaurant!
Fiji Law Society President Dorsami Naidu, also not a government friend, says he doesn’t understand why FICAC has become involved, but adds "the Commission seem to single out people who are critical of the regime." It may be coincidental but magistrate Mary Muir who questioned FICAC over the matter was dismissed on Monday.
Whatever the rights and wrongs involved, Government must not be -- and must not be seen to be -- petty or vindictive in situations like this. It has a country to run! Not a restaurant!
* Hook or by crook means "by any means possible." Origin possibly from a custom in mediaeval England that allowed peasants to take dead wood from the royal forest that they could reach with a shepherd's crook or a reaper's billhook. Photo: LunchinSuva
G) PER Extended but -- Light at the End of the Tunnel? PER, the Public Emergency Regulations, first imposed in April following the Abrogation of the Constitution, were extended for another 30 days from January 3, but indications are that they will be lifted once the recently passed Media Decree is in place. Full story.
(G) Massive Civil Service Audit. All Government departments and ministries will be audited this year as a step to decide their right-size. The audit will also determine the minimum qualifications required, and the appropriatess of salary scales,for each position. The restructuring exercise that will follow in 2011 is part of Government’s plan to reform the civil service which could also save the country a huge amount of money. Full story.
(G) Massive Civil Service Audit. All Government departments and ministries will be audited this year as a step to decide their right-size. The audit will also determine the minimum qualifications required, and the appropriatess of salary scales,for each position. The restructuring exercise that will follow in 2011 is part of Government’s plan to reform the civil service which could also save the country a huge amount of money. Full story.
(o) Permanent Secretaries. Ten permanent secretary posts in Government ministries, where contracts are due to expire in March, have been advertised by the Public Service Commission. The posts are: Local Government, Lands and Mineral Resources, Trade and Commerce and Labour ,Public Service, Public Enterprise, Indigenous Affairs, Agriculture, Public Utilities and Defence, National Security and Immigration.
In anticipation of the usual comments by Anti-Government bloggers, please note that these are routine arrangements with none of sinister implications the bloggers invariably read into changes in the civil service. Full story.
(o) Children and Poverty. An honest, apolitical, no-holds-barred account of child poverty in Fiji can be read on the Inter Press Service website.
(+) Garments and Poverty Alleviation.The garment industry, that currently employs about 4,000 people, mostly women and mostly very poor, suffered a loss of over 1,000 jobs and a drop of 25 percent in exports last year. Government hopes to turn this situation round with the grant of $300,000 to a goverment-private sector marketing campaign intended to grow jobs to 6,000 and increase exports to over $150m within three years. The industry plays an important part in Governnment's poverty alleviaton programme, providing workers and their families with low but steady incomes, protection of the labour laws, dignity and a degree of empowerment. Full story.
(+) Buses and Unions. Nair Transport Company that operates in the Nasinu area will become the first bus company to allow its workers to be members of a trade union. Fiji Transport Workers Union secretary Kamlesh Kumar hopes details will be finalized soon, and that other bus companies will follow suit. Full story.
(+) The Government School Bus fare subsidy scheme has been extended to those travelling by boat, minibus and carriers.
In anticipation of the usual comments by Anti-Government bloggers, please note that these are routine arrangements with none of sinister implications the bloggers invariably read into changes in the civil service. Full story.
(o) Children and Poverty. An honest, apolitical, no-holds-barred account of child poverty in Fiji can be read on the Inter Press Service website.
(+) Garments and Poverty Alleviation.The garment industry, that currently employs about 4,000 people, mostly women and mostly very poor, suffered a loss of over 1,000 jobs and a drop of 25 percent in exports last year. Government hopes to turn this situation round with the grant of $300,000 to a goverment-private sector marketing campaign intended to grow jobs to 6,000 and increase exports to over $150m within three years. The industry plays an important part in Governnment's poverty alleviaton programme, providing workers and their families with low but steady incomes, protection of the labour laws, dignity and a degree of empowerment. Full story.
(+) Buses and Unions. Nair Transport Company that operates in the Nasinu area will become the first bus company to allow its workers to be members of a trade union. Fiji Transport Workers Union secretary Kamlesh Kumar hopes details will be finalized soon, and that other bus companies will follow suit. Full story.
(+) The Government School Bus fare subsidy scheme has been extended to those travelling by boat, minibus and carriers.
17 comments:
RE By Hook or by Crook
It may indeed take a great leap Mr Walsh but I am sure that either you or your fellow travellers will find a way of making it.
There must be a precedent out there somewhere - somewhere, at some stage in world history, a counter revolution must have been planned, plotted and launched from an unlicensed restaurant kitchen. Perhaps notes were written on the back of unpaid invoices or final notices, but somewhere there must be a record. Maybe they have trusted the plans to microdots secreted between the entrees and the mains on the menu cards? Perhaps Mr Qarase was once seen ordering a flat white from this particular establishment?
Whatever form it takes, I know you will bridge the gap Mr Walsh - you always do.
PS is it just me or does your description of Ms Jalal as an 'anti-government lawyer' really sum up the sad state of affairs in Fiji at the moment. I have always known of her as a Human Rights advocate.
I like the irony, it's clever (and I take your point about Imrana that I'll correct) but instead of criticizing me for criticizing the FICAC, why don't you (and your fellow travellers) suggest ways to increase dialogue among those who count, in Fiji and overseas? I'm open to suggestions.
Croz - your posting on the FICAC issue is spot on. This is where the current Govt in Fiji lets itself down. Military training and experience seems to create confrontational and vengeful people who only deal by power.
This is a ridiculous move by FICAC and these type of events only work against the Govt.
I also think your analysis shows your unbiased analysis.
@Croz Walsh
If only I was that clever.
Perhaps, and this may be the tragedy of contemporary Fiji, any dialogue is pointless. The regime has demonstrated repeatedly that it is only interested in dialogue when it has set the timetable and the parameters.
It may well be that the best hope for those that advocate a return to the rule of law and something resembling a functioning democracy - and this is a rather poor alternative - is patience. This regime may eventually collapse under the weight of its own corruption and inefficiencies. It certainly hasn't done anything to improve the economic outlook of the majority of people who don't belong to the elites - and the situation isn't improving. On past form you would have to question its commitment to a 2014 election - barring massive gerrymandering or banning of certain parties and candidates. The two may be the lightning rod.
And as for creating dialogue with overseas bodies - perhaps its time to stop pointing the finger at the governments and media in NZ and Australia. Its wearing a bit thin - the last time I looked Qarase wasn't a stringer for News Corp, the travel sanctions aren't that punitive, and the situation in Fiji isn't so unique that nobody born outside of the country has the right to report on it. That line really has done its dash.
In an ideal world it would be nice if Suva detached itself from the rest of Fiji and just floated away somewhere over the horizon - I suspect the rest of Fiji could function quite well without the lot of them.
@Tea4Two - the economy in Fiji is strengthening - 2010 is likely to be a good year. The current Govt is gaining widespread support they are doing a lot of good for the ordinary citizens; there is a lot less wastage of govt resources, more qualified people are being appointed into senior roles and race is not the only factor in decision making.
Fiji is quite unique and Australia and NZ will become less influential in Fiji - infact they already are...
The Govt also does some stupid and petty things..
These are the facts..
Rome wasn't built in a day.
To say that this government hasn't done anything to improve the lives of the people of Fiji is ludicrous.
Anti-government critics are jumping up and down saying that three years have passed and nothing good has come about. That's simply because they choose not to see the truth of the good that has been done.
You can't live in a posh office or home in Auckland or Sydney reading blogs and third news sources and be able to measure the reality on the ground in Fiji.
Rest assured. The new Fiji is already at hand. It's happening and its gathering pace.
Mr. Walsh,
That is our photo (http://www.lunchinsuva.org/2008/04/romas-hook-and-chook.html) you've used up there. We even snapped it ourselves with a camer we bought with our own money!
Happy for you to use it, but an attribution, a link, and a shout out would be the right thing to do, don't you think?
It is good to know that a camera was purchased by someone using their own money. Why are they unable to also purchase the requisite licence to operate a business - just like anyone else? It is this singular mindset that "we'll be right" when everyone else must operate differently that is so galling. Like the democracy advocates being funded by Australian taxpayers to fly to Canberra or Sydney and tell their tales. So patently and obviously purchased pleading - but they chose not to see it that way. Well, not 'seeing that way' won't do. And they all know it will not.
Gamesmanship is risky. Winning streaks eventually must end for the benefit of all and not the few.
Kania, My apologies. I do try to acknowledge photos but it is not always easy to identify sources in Google Images. Thanks for drawing the omission, now corrected, to my attention.
Croz
@ Tea4Two
Have you missed something? Human Rights Advocates who properly appreciate and understand their role would militate and advocate against corruption, against conduct which aids and abets corruption. But in Fiji, so many of these so-called advocates for human rights have failed in this. Instead, some have become part of the problem. They appear to have become complicit in the thuggery that afflicts all nations blind to corrupt, grasping and greedy abuse of public money.
There are no human rights without human duties and responsibilities and these last two must come first. Elites who think that they are some way exempt are profoundly wrong and they must be brought to fully understand this. The Fiji so-called Middle Class has failed in this respect. Adjustments in attitude are required and a little conscious humility will go a long way to achieve them.
Thanks for that. Can we trouble you for some link-love for www.lunchingsuva.org as well?
@Anonymous
'They appear to have become complicit in the thuggery that afflicts all nations blind to corrupt, grasping and greedy abuse of public money....'
So now Imrana works for Frank?
Kania, Done. One good turn deserves another. Your turn. Tell your friends and customers about this blog.
Thanks - one small problem though - You've mispelt our website address - its www.lunchinsuva.org not www.lunchingsuva.org
Actually that was my fault - I gave you the wrong spelling. Sorry about that.
www.lunchinsuva.org
Hey - any chance of fixing the link and address some time soon?
Thanks for changing the address - can you fix the link too? Still pointing to www.lunchingsuva.org
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