Reports on Provincial Council Meetings
Overriding these specifics is general support for Government's development initiatives. The most welcome and most surprising is the support from Burebasaga Confederation and Rewa High Chief Ro Teimumu (photo) who until now has distanced herself from Government and been a rallying point for opposition to Government.
This, of course, does not necessarily mean that Ro Teimumu fully supports Government. This is most unlikely. But it does show that she is gracious enough to give credit where credit is due and is prepared to work with Government on provincial development work — which is a giant step forward.
LOMAIVITI has asked Lomaiviti Holdings and Lomaiviti Shipping chairman Dr Isoa Bakani to step down from his position. Council chairman Ratu Jolame Lewanavanua says the two companies have not been operating well and were more or less defunct for a number of years. He says many excuses have been made on the company’s non-performance — hence the need to introduce new leadership to grow the company.
PM Bainimarama assured those attending the meeting that changes to lease money arrangements which will see the money distributed eqally to all landowners — with no bigger share to chiefs and heads of landowning units — will not adversely affect the status of chiefs. He again urged chiefs to have frequent meetings with their people to map out development work that needs to be carried out.
SERUA High Chief and Vunivalu Ratu Peni Latianara has made a plea for greater commitment to developing the province.Roko Tui Serua Setefano Osonamoli said that government representatives had briefed the council on the status of government services in the province, including education, village bylaws, vacant traditional title holders and the provincial levy.
REWA. Opening the Provincial Council meeting at Lomanaikoro Marama na Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa said:"We should always show our support to any Government that comes into power". Ro Teimumu said the Government should be commended for the development works it has carried out in the province in the past three years.This includes the repairing of classrooms and the teachers quarters, repair works done to the church residence at Naililili, the construction of new roads and improvement done to the existing ones, the provision of safe water supply to the villagers and the construction of sheds for the public at Nabua village and Nasali landing.
Speakng at the Rewa meeting Acting Commissioner Central Samuela Saudranu spoke of some "disgruntled" people in the province who had refused to cooperate with the Government in development work carried out in the province. He said development work and projects carried out by the Government were meant to bring the people together and not to cause division. Let us hope they now follow Ro Teimumu's new lead.
RA. Earlier in the month the PM opened the Ra Provincial Council meeting with words of encouragement and well wishes as the support for his Government gains momentum. He told the meeting of similar backing from provinces like Tailevu, Naitaisiri, Cakaudrove and Namosi to assist Government move the country forward with its vision for a better and new Fiji for all under the People’s Charter for Change Peace and Progress. The PM spoke of work being done to bring all of Fiji's ethnic communities together, and development work consistent with the aims of People's Charter, such as the deregulation of Telecommunications, food and hardware price controls, education assistance, assistance for poor families and for small businesses, land reforms and remedial work on the sugar industry. -- Based on 2010, No:1840/MOI.
NZ LAW SOCIETY ACCEPTS. NZLS President Jonathan Temm says he will probably accept Solicitor-General Christopher Pryde's invitationto attend the 12th annual Fiji Attorney-General’s Conference next month. Mr Temm said he wanted to observe how the law is being applied in the country.
"It’s a fact-finding mission to be fair. We want to go up and support the Fiji Law Society. It’s gone through a very difficult period and we’d like to go up and try and support those members of the profession that are practicising law in Fiji and I think at a practical level we’d like to be able to offer something like continuing legal education courses which we run here in New Zealand.” Mr Temm says he will only have time to meet members of the Fiji judiciary, lawyers and academics connected with the Attorney-General’s conference.
8 comments:
RE NZ Law Society Accepts. Great news! A step forward in the right direction. But what does Mr Temm mean when he says, "he will only have time to meet members of the Fiji judiciary, lawyers and academics connected with the Attorney-General’s conference." Is Mr Temm really trying to say here a round-about-way that he doesn't really want to meet members of the present Fijian Government because that would not be a good look for the NZ Law Society so he will not make the time. I wonder what Mr Temm would do if he happened to meet PM Frank Bainimarama in the corridor. If he won't say "Bula" then I do hope he says "Kia Ora!"
excellent decision by the NZ law society to go to PNG and not talk to anyone from or representing the regime - this could really be used to show up and isolate the junta. Win - Win for the anti regime supporters around the world - great move.
@ Good strategic move......
If this is such a "good move" why would the President of the NZ Law Society deny himself any opportunity to speak to ordinary member of the Fiji public are who are just being set free from unjust and unfair pricing for essential goods in Fiji? Would he not be interested in such things? A required chemotherapy drug for cancer sufferers, for instance, being sold at four times its now amended price? And that price being, apparently, the same in more than one location? Is this an alleged Cartel in medicines operating to deprive consumers of access? Surely, the President of any Law Society anywhere in the world would wish to know of such alleged price-fixing? And why it must be combatted to literally 'Set the People Free'? Would he not take interest in a Constitution of Liberty - which must be the ultimate outcome for all in Fiji? One has no doubt that any sensible human being would.
@ Good strategic move
uhmm....we don't have to scratch our head if the New Zealand law society do not accept the invitation to attend the AG conference. If they want to go to PNG, all the better because Fiji is too far ahead safer than the cities of PNG.
""It’s a fact-finding mission to be fair. We want to go up and support the Fiji Law Society. "
What sort of support? FLS has been shut out completely from the scheme of things by AG & Co. Fact finding mission!!!!! As if you are unaware of those draconian decrees. Who are you trying to fool, Mr Temm? As if we dont know that you are there to rub shoulders with those lawless thugs, and you are the prez of NZLS!!! Oh what a shame!!!!
@ Joe said......
Oh come, come! Mr Jonathan Temm is perfectly sensible to accept a proferred invitation and come up to find out for himself. What can possibly be awry about that? Trusting your instincts and testing your information....that is how it should be done. One must have the courage of one's convictions. It takes intellectual curiosity and some rather nifty timing. Surely there is nothing questionable about that?
There is nothing whatsoever shameful about choosing to be informed and to be informed at first hand. A failure to do so assists the Culture of Coups d'etat and all those who support them and who benefit from them. It is the beneficiaries of injustice through armed interventions that must be assessed. Who benefits and how? They all receive taxpayers' dollars. This is why accountability and transparency to the taxpayers and ratepayers (and only to them) are the weapons of Justice and Equity in governance. No Good Governance can ensue without accountability which follows from transparency. To achieve this, there must be sound bases of information. Any hiccups -require investigation. So where are the investigative reporters, willing - like their Russian counterparts - to put their necks on the block? Do they exist or are they flying away like the proverbial blue bird?
Corruption is corruption is corruption: made manifest when taxpayers are short-changed, over-charged and treated like performing poodles. Taxation and its source - taxpayers - must become fully informed and require Good Government. This is the fundamental bedrock of governance. Without it there will be no sustainable investment internal or external. Macro-economics requires proper processes of governance and an end to impunity wherever it sits. Organised crime will subvert any of the above fundamentals. It is increasingly evident at all levels of Fiji life.
Concerning the Fiji Law Society and any proposed support: it might be a good idea to be informed about the very questionable conduct of the FLS over many years. This has been due to its often demonstrated ability to vote in as Office Bearers those who defied good practice and others who quite deliberately and systematically fleeced their clients. They are now being attended to by the Legal Services Commission - not before time. The Fiji Law Society needs to ensure that no member of theirs will ever again engage in such conduct. How do they plan to demonstrate this? How will they determine and police this? We need assurances from them that they will do so.
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