Back to the normal grind of addressing the crucial issues of Fiji M.U.D(monotonous Unsubstantiated Denials).
The methodical abuse of the mysterious slush fund managed by Fijian Affairs Board has underlined the drastic need to overhaul the entire system of native administration.
This latest incident speaks volumes on the apparently disregard for financial regulations by native institutions, as well as proving beyond any shadow of doubt that these provincial councils are basically in operation to cater for the whims of the chiefly class.
Added to that mismanagement is the ill discipline of some members of the Great Council of Chiefs who had lobbied for the removal of the current president of Fiji well before the end of his tenure. The disconnect with the native institutions has spilled over to the arena of democratic debates and political squabbles. This notion of straddling both the cultural arena and state governance is the Achilles heel of Fiji.
The issue of under development have been raised repeatedly by rural villagers, yet the call has been ignored and brushed aside by powers that be; who are the same shadowy group who have lobbied unabashedly for the resignation of the Fiji's current President.
Calls by the European Union(E.U) for the Army Commander to toe the line makes is indeed laughable. For once the S.D.L Government of Fiji has ignored their usual stance: Demanding that the E.U not interfere with domestic politics.
Above image:Montage of Fiji politicians and the standard which they should adhere to. The words are from the former speaker of California State Assembly, Bob Moretti (1971-1974).
The project adopted by Yasawa landowners in securing and subsequently repaying a loan for the purchase of the Oarsman resort highlights the bright development potentials for the Taukei or indigenous Fijians. Yasawa Landowner's success only adds more legitimacy to the notion that family units are indeed capable of operating independent of these archaic native institutions. This story also pokes holes in the entrenched argurements of the opponents of the Qoliqoli Bill in Fiji Parliament.
The above image is the Northern Coast of Vanua Levu, a huge Qoliqoli resource(Traditional fishing ground). Further down the coast lies Vorovoro island, the location of Tribe Wanted project. The view is from Udu point in the foreground looking westward along the Macuata coast which Babasiga and Taveuni blog writers may find familar.
The 14 Provincial Councils of Fiji are tasked with development within rural areas, yet there is no schedule of undertaking this project; let alone officially acknowledging the existence of a multi-disciplinary plan. The embarrassing trends of abuse of power, misappropriation of funds and non-audited financial accounts demonstrate that, the system is beyond repair and continues unabated.
A resounding and timely Letter to Fiji Times editor refutes the claims by Fiji academic.
Sydney Quack
AS a foreign journalist and former Fiji citizen, I feel compelled to address some of the issues raised by Dr Steven Ratuva in his opinion piece (FT 27/10).
The essence of his argument is that Australian and New Zealand journalists are rumour-mongering idiots with a bloated sense of cultural superiority who want a coup in Fiji to provide them with sensational headlines.
The problem with Dr Ratuva's analysis isn't just his argument, flawed as it is, but that it comes from a respected Fijian academic.
As a senior fellow in governance at the University of the South Pacific, Dr Ratuva is giving intellectual weight to the crudest of arguments that can only give comfort to the very people attacking the foundations of good governance in Fiji.
Call me sensationalist but that's what I find alarming.
Rather than point the finger at us uninformed hacks from across the seas, Dr Ratuva would be doing the nation a better service if he dissected the real reason why Fiji is coming under the international spotlight. And that is because the quality of governance the manner or functioning of governing (as the Oxford dictionary defines it) is so poor.
Why is everyone so eager to conclude that a coup is imminent in Fiji? Because the army commander who has the guns keeps threatening the government?
Why does he do that? Because the government wants to pardon coup-makers and extend indigenous rights in a way that threatens the national economy.
And as the President quietly tries to reconcile both sides in the interests of all Fiji citizens, he's vilified for being too old and ineffectual.
I am sorry if my colleagues in the foreign media have concluded that these facts, together, seem like a recipe for trouble.
You don't need to be trained in social anthropology to see it. As the saying goes "looks like a duck, quacks like a duck ... is a duck!"
Graham Davis
Sydney
Club Em Designs
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