Letters to the Editor: Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Editorial comment: The issue of vaccines

The announcement that there is a possibility that Fiji could get its first batch of COVID-19 vaccines from India soon is interesting. Acting Indian High Commissioner to Fiji Sukanta Charan Sahoo said the vaccines could arrive as early as next month. “Discussions are underway and we will see how early the vaccine is brought to...

OPINION: WASH for safe health systems

While we all hope that 2021 might deliver a healthier, more secure world, we also all know that COVID- 19 has exposed inequalities and weaknesses in health systems and gaps in the fundamentals of healthcare, particularly relating to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). These gaps were known, and largely ignored, before COVID-19 hit. If we return to business as usual during recovery processes, fundamental weaknesses...

The South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone treaty: 35 years on

There is still hope for a global ban on nuclear weapons in our lifetime, and Pacific countries have long shown particular commitment to achieving this goal. Two recent events have been encouraging. In December 2020, the first-ever meeting of state parties to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone (SPNFZ) Treaty was held to highlight the...

Letters to the Editor – Tuesday, January 26, 2021

State of roads and potholes I HAVE lost count of the number of letters on the state of the roads / the potholes on the roads in Fiji and the numerous pictures of potholes published by The Fiji Times in recent times. So Sharif Shah of Savusavu (FT 25/1) there is no need for an...

Coalition starts to reverse aid cuts

During the first term of the current Coalition government in Australia, aid was slashed. Adjusting for inflation, and expressed in today’s prices, aid in 2012-13, the last fiscal year before the Coalition came to power, was $5.5 billion. By 2015-16, it was $4.5 billion. In the second term, there were further smaller cuts, and by...

Letters to the Editor – Monday, January 25, 2021

Sevens indiscipline Thank you Gareth Baber for sticking to your guns in this brand new year, 2021. Indiscipline in 7s rugby must not allow itself to rear its ugly head, again and again. Older and more experienced players must lead by example. This is paramount. Nothing less. Fiji has been let down badly on numerous...

Water safety call

Thirteen-year-old student, Pauliasi Ratunawaqe was well-mannered and hardworking. His mother Wati Taleimaitoga remembers him as a great helper who went out of his way to help her at home. “Sometimes when there was no food, he would go out of his way to either dive for freshwater mussels or go to the farm to get...

The burden of decision-making

Not too long ago, initiatives on education were popular during political campaigns. The public saw such pronouncements as much needed relief, for it came at a time when prices were escalating while wages remained somewhat static. Hence, a number of programs like free tuition, free bus fares, scholarships and loans, and even free milk and...

Letters to the Editor – Sunday, January 24, 2021

Our roads, a national shame When a former PM says: “The state of our roads is a national shame” then that’s a real shame (‘Was the FRA a mistake?’ by former PM Mahendra Chaudhry FT 23/1). He says also “The Ministry of Economy and the FRA Board must take responsibility for the extremely unacceptable state...

Editorial comment – Some hope out there

When Australia recorded a fourth day of zero coronavirus cases on Thursday, it prompted the chief of the country’s most populous state to call for a special travel “bubble” with Pacific island nations. ABC News reported New South Wales had also recorded its fifth straight day with no locally acquired coronavirus cases, but authorities warned...

Passion for teaching: Transforming the way you teach

2021 is finally here. 2020 was a challenge in so many ways and we still have a way to go to completely recover from the devastation of the pandemic. But if you are a passionate teacher, you must be more determined and excited than ever to be the best you can be. Do you want...

Letters to the Editor – Saturday, January 23, 2021

Congratulations Julie Many congratulations to Julie Sutherland for winning the letter of the year 2020. Her article on “No ribbons for victims” is well-written and a real story which touches the heart and mind. The sentences, “While I feel some compassion for the loved ones perpetrators of such crimes, I had to get back up...

Editorial comment – Yearning for 7s magic

It wasn’t really a full day yesterday at Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka. However, the base was there, hopefully setting the stage for some big things today when competition at the inaugural Super 7s rugby tournament resumes this morning. As national 7s coach Gareth Baber pointed out yesterday, the intention is there, to get quality opposition...

Pulmonary embolism

Your blood goes from your heart to your lungs through your pulmonary artery. In the lungs, the blood is supplied with oxygen, and then it goes back to the heart, which pumps the oxygen-rich blood to the rest of your body. When a blood clot gets caught in one of the arteries that go from...

Farmers face a bleak future

The story of the sugar industry in Fiji is a rich one. The girimatias were brought to Fiji because of sugar cane which forever changed the destiny of this land. However, the story does not appear to be headed for a happy ending. The sugar industry has been on the slippery slope for many decades....

Was the FRA a big mistake?

Motorists around Suva refer to them as “hell holes” — potholes that have become permanent features of the Suva landscape. They have become a nightmare to motorists — wrecking our vehicles, jarring our nerves and putting both motorists and pedestrians at grave risk. Yet in the past seven years the FijiFirst government has allocated $3...

Progress towards ending TB at risk

While the COVID-19 pandemic is a global emergency, there is another infectious airborne disease that has at best similar or arguably worse impacts and is inextricably linked to poverty and lack of access to health care – tuberculosis (TB). TB is both preventable and curable, yet in 2019 an estimated 10 million people contracted the...

Letters to the Editor – Friday, January 22, 2021

Boost for 7s rugby The road to the Tokyo Olympics gets tougher as top local 7s rugby clubs come head to head at Lawaqa Park for the first round of the FRU Super 7s Series. Pool A is tough with the likes of Tabadamu, Police White and BLK Stallions while Pool B is made up...

When a shot in the arm is what’s needed

By mid-2020, most economists around the world had predicted that the worst economic impacts would be felt later in the year and that government imposed lockdowns would ease gradually with the arrival of vaccines and the eventual decline of infection rates and increased capacity in healthcare systems. But the virus has outsmarted economists, analysts and...

Hearts that care

Super storm Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasa had a devastating impact on Fiji’s Northern Division, leaving many homeless and in dire need of help. Many families are struggling to put a decent meal on the table as moves are underway to rehabilitate needy Fijians. Many may be still going through the ordeal to revive themselves from...

Letters to the Editor – Thursday, January 21, 2021

Prepare for the worse It is now public knowledge that Fiji’s economy is not faring well at this very moment because of a number of reasons. One of the reasons is the COVID-19 pandemic together with a couple of tropical cyclones that struck in 2020 – two of which are STC Harold and STC Yasa....

No compromises

Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation CEO Kameli Batiweti made an interesting statement yesterday. He said it would be in the Government’s best interest to listen to advice. There is a need, he said, for political affiliations to be set aside and to find best solutions to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, he said, is...

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