Politics
Measles epidemic: PM Bainimarama asks Fijians to pray for Samoans
FIJI’S Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has asked every Fijian to join him in prayer that the measles outbreak is quickly contained and the Samoan people are spared further loss of life. Speaking in his response...
Fiji’s 2020 parliament sitting calendar passed
THE 2020 parliament sitting calendar was passed in Parliament today with 29 votes to 15, while seven opted not to cast their votes. Leader of Government in Parliament Inia Seruiratu said the business committee had considered requests from the Opposition before finalising the Parliament calendar. He said the date for the budget address and debate...
PM on open merit system
THE Government has kicked down the door of the old boys club through the implementation of the open merit system of recruitment and advancement, says Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama. In his response to the President’s opening address in Parliament yesterday, he said the OMRS had forged a level playing field for men and women. “Often-times,...
Bainimarama reflects on promises
PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says his vision and promise to end the decades of division, ethnic discrimination and communalism that nearly drove our nation into the ground is coming to pass every year. He highlighted this in his response to the President’s opening address in Parliament yesterday. He also briefly articulated a number of promises...
‘Missing guns still floating around’
THE 3462 unregistered and illicit firearms missing after the 2000 coup are still floating around in our communities, Opposition MP Salote Radrodro told Parliament yesterday. Ms Radrodro said this information was revealed during a regional workshop she attended last week which was on “gun violence and illicit small arms trafficking from a gender perspective. “We...
Vanuatu recruitment quizzed in Parliament
THE hiring of canecutters from Vanuatu despite the “high level of unemployment in the country” was raised in Parliament yesterday. Responding to the President’s address during the opening of Parliament last week, Opposition member Ro Teimumu Kepa said the level of poverty in the country has increased. She said according to media reports, Government was...
Tabuya quizzes ‘flooding’ of cars
FIJI’S roads are constantly in disrepair because of the large amount of vehicles the Government floods Fiji with, says Opposition Whip Lynda Tabuya. “The problem is that the only ‘road’ that the Government is heavily protecting and invested in is Grace Road,” she said while addressing Parliament yesterday. “Why is this Government continuing to flood...
‘Businesses losing faith’
BUSINESSES are losing faith in Government with overly aggressive tax audits by the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service — and with every major decision bottlenecked with the Attorney-General. Opposition MP Lynda Tabuya said this while speaking in Parliament yesterday. She said the problem was that the Attorney-General did not...
‘State deceives people’
GOVERNMENT deceived people through freebies as a tactic to brainwash them in the buildup to the 2018 General Election, Opposition MP Salote Radrodro told Parliament yesterday. “So wake up from your slumber Fiji and don’t be a fool to think that you can live at the expense of the State through freebies and never forget...
‘Leader’s remarks very seditious’
FOR the Government to issue a statement defending the seditious statements by the leader of Grace Road Church Shin Ok-ju is fuelling the public’s declining confidence in the investment initiatives of the Government, says Opposition MP Lynda Tabuya. In the documentary titled, Escaping Korea’s Pacific Cult released on November 14 by Al Jazeera’s 101 East...
Call for establishment of education commission
SHADOW Education Minister Ro Teimumu Kepa has called for the reestablishment of the independent education commission. In her right of response to President Joji Konrote’s address during the opening of Parliament last week, Ro Teimumu said the commission was needed to consider challenges and shortcomings in Fiji’s education system. Ro Teimumu said Fiji’s education system...
Radrodro: Civil servants are punching bags
GOVERNMENT is fond of putting civil servants at the forefront of international scrutiny with an intention to cover their failures, Opposition MP Salote Radrodro said in Parliament yesterday. Mrs Radrodro said civil servants were always blamed for poor service delivery. “Civil servants are always punching bags, and when things are not rosy, just like in...
Akbar: Freebies are gifts
WHAT some critics describe as “freebies” in education is a gift to the underprivileged and the less fortunate, says Education Minister Rosy Akbar. She made this comment while responding to the President’s address delivered during the opening of Parliament. Ms Akbar said there were 195 countries in the world out of which only 24 provided...
Government should resign says Tabuya
THE simple solution to the problems in Fiji is for the government to resign, says Shadow Minister for Labour Lynda Tabuya. “The Government should resign. It has failed our people,” she said. “The Government must respect the rule of law, and apply the law equally, that would be upholding the 2013 Constitution they so proudly...
Civil servants always blamed for poor service delivery says Opposition MP
GOVERNMENT is fond of putting civil servants at the forefront of international scrutiny with an intention to cover their failures, Opposition MP Salote Radrodro said in Parliament yesterday. Mrs Radrodro said civil servants were always blamed for poor service delivery. “Civil servants are always punching bags, and when things are not rosy, just like in...
3462 missing firearms still floating around, says Opposition MP
THE 3462 unregistered and illicit firearms missing after the 2000 coup are still floating around in our communities, Opposition MP Salote Radrodro told Parliament yesterday. She said this information was revealed during a regional workshop she attended last week which was on “gun violence and illicit small arms trafficking from a gender perspective.” “We were...
18th November
Fijian Government: Radrodro says Government continues to live in denial
THE FijiFirst Government continues to live in denial over the suffering they have brought upon people, Opposition MP Salote Radrodro told Parliament today. As a grandmother and a mother, Mrs said this was of great concern to her. “They are working not to keeping in mind the welfare of future generations, but the next elections...
Fijian Parliament: Rabuka questions the leadership quality
OPPOSITION leader Sitiveni Rabuka today in Parliament questioned the quality of leadership we have here in Fiji. While responding to the address by the President Jioji Konrote during the opening of Parliament last week, Mr Rabuka said speaking about the Constitution, the President said; “Only six short years since the launch of our 2013 Constitution,...
Fijian Parliament: Opposition Whip says there is a problem economically
THE economic and moral fabrics of our nation are tearing at the seams, weighed down by the people’s loss of faith in it. Opposition Whip, Lynda Tabuya said this today while responding to the President’s address of the opening of Parliament. “Economically, there is a problem because the Government had to cut about a billion...
Fijian Parliament: PM offers condolences to Samoa outbreak of measles victims
PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama this morning expressed his sincere condolences to our Pacific island neighbours, Samoa after the outbreak of measles which has claimed nine lives. While responding to the President’s address during the opening of Parliament last week, Mr Bainimarama said “I’d like to begin by expressing my sincere condolences to our Pacific brothers...
Fijian Parliament: Tabuya says law not applied equally as those in power
MEMBER of opposition Lynda Tabuya says that many Fijians do not believe in its laws since it was not applied equally in the same way as those in power. Responding to the President’s address during the opening of parliament last week, Ms Tabuya said most Fijians felt disheartened and betrayed when they watched the video...
14th November
FEO launches 2020-2023 Strategic Plan
THE Fijian Elections Office launched its 2020-2023 Strategic Plan following on from the success of the 2019-2019 Strategic Plan. Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem said as the head of the organisation, he found that such a structured planning approach was instrumental in building a sustainable, structurally-stable and dynamic organisation. “The second strategic plan is aimed...
