Hand up mentality
Thought-provoking article
VINAKA vakalevu to Master Arvind Mani for his stirring, thought-provoking article (FT 27/2) on poverty.
Man, when I read it, I wanted to hold his article up and say to everyone — please, please, please — don’t just read this — do what he’s suggesting because he’s been able to remove the rhetoric and bulldust and come out and say what needed to be said with no holds barred honesty.
I know there will be some who’ll feel the sting of his rebuke. But like that old saying: “If the cap fits…”
Good on you master. Fiji needs people like you to shake the tree of apathy and victim mentality that’s become like a curse in our islands. And some of the politicians need to have a good long hard look at themselves and refrain from using poverty as their means of winning emotional votes.
A hand up, and definitely not a hand out, mentality is what’s urgently needed.
COLIN DEOKI
Australia
Alliance call
THE Civil Society Organisations Alliance has called on Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama to allow Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum a decent rest by delegating his responsibilities (FT 03/03).
Please leave the honourable Attorney General alone and let him do what he knows he can do. In today’s world with instant visual communication it’s easy to manage things from anywhere in the world. Relax Alliance people!
If and when A-G feels he needs to pass on the responsibility, I am sure he will do so.
I admire his strength of character, his adaptability, and how he is able to focus on the job despite being in the middle of medical check-ups. It just shows how committed and focused he is with his job.
It’s no big deal, relax, what’s next against our A-G?
Below the belt stuff going on now, crazy!
SIMON HAZELMAN
Rava Estate, Savusavu
Interest-free loans
THE Economy Minister and Attorney-General seemed to be very excited when he was announcing and detailing that Fiji is now getting interest-free loans from World Bank. (FT 02/03)
In his words he said: “Now, this is what we call the International Development Associations (IDA) fund.”
“If you borrow, say $120 million today, by the time you pay back in 40 years, you’re probably paying about $80 to $90 million only. So you in fact pay less than what you borrowed.” (FT 02/03)
Believe me, I don’t really understand how that works, however, my question is, will this minimise our national debt? If not, then all the explanations about it does not make sense at least to me.
In addition the A-G again said: “The reason why we were able to get access to IDA funds — they normally give money to middle-income countries — is because we have been arguing for the past four or five years with the World Bank and putting up our case to say that we are, you know, at the cold face of climate change”. (FT 02/03)
Well I would like to humbly remind the A-G that some developments happening around Fiji especially in the mining and logging sector have been causing damage to our natural resources.
And I believe the over-exploitation of natural resources is one of the main contributing factors to climate change.
How can we then reconcile, you know, that we are at the cold face of climate change and yet, I believe, what we do contributes to the problem of climate change?
KOSITATINO TIKOMAIBOLATAGANE Vuninokonoko Rd, Navua