FijiFirst promise

Indar Jit, Navua

A promise is a statement telling someone that you definitely will do something or that something will definitely happen in the future.

Narayan Reddy of Lautoka in your (FS 31/08/17) letters wrote that a lot of new promises are coming, especially, the political promises.

The year 2018 is not very far. Some politicians, candidates, and party leaders will obviously be seen on the road telling people that they will do this and do that once they are elected and come into power.

Early in 2018, mind you, our ears will listen to many political promises.

My advice to my fellow Fijians is to not be swayed. Listen carefully to the promises they make.

Ask yourselves if the promises will be ever be fulfilled or would it broken?

How often have we seen leaders, candidates and political parties either current or in the past come into power?

What percentage of promises did they fulfill? What percentage of promises did they break?

I have from a number of years closely observed the current FijiFirst Government. To be very honest, I can see this Government is fulfilling nearly all the promises they made to the people of Fiji.

Not long ago, a writer wrote that after visiting and returning from overseas, our Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama spends little time in the office but is seen on the road many times.

The PM knows where he should be. He is the people’s choice so he prefers to be around with his people.

Fijians are no longer illiterate. They are well-educated, smart and can easily make their own decisions.

Therefore, let the politicians, party leaders, candidates make their promises. The final answer to vote certain candidates or parties is every voters’ choice.

Stay happy and exercise your equal rights.

What about ‘plastic  collectors’?

Arien Vikash Kumar, Nadi

We have bottle collectors. We have can collectors and we have ‘scrap collectors’.

Why can’t we have plastic collectors?

The 10 cents levy is charged per plastic and the money collected from the levy can be used to pay back the plastic collectors. Maybe 10 cents per 5 or 10 plastics collected or even 10 cents per kilo.

There are so many beggars on the streets as well as house-to-house beggars are always asking for loose coins. What if we stop giving them money and tell them to collect plastics lying here and there and earn money for survival?

This will not only help clean the environment but will also help in solving beggar problems in our towns and cities.

Contracts should be given to some truck operators to move house-to-house, to settlements and rural areas to collect used plastics from people just like how the bottle collectors operate.

The human mentality is such that no matter how well you create awareness or educate people about pollution, some will only act well if they get something in return.

If a reward is given for plastics then there would be more plastic collectors than polluters, I bet. Many would be seen near creeks, river or sea not fishing but collecting plastics.

Easy money with less pollution and of course less beggars, less crime.

I’m serious about this and hope that the concerned authorities and people also think seriously about this.

Response to  Dewan Chand’s letter

Agni Deo Singh, General Secretary,

Fiji Teachers Union

I refer to, Dewan Chand’s myopic views on teachers’ salary increase and contracts [Fiji Sun 31/08/17].

I believe as a former teacher and a trade unionist, as he claims to be, he should understand the ramifications of contractual appointments.

His glorious assertion that the teachers received phenomenal salary increase is a laughable misconception.

The truth is the only salary increase teachers received since 2005 was in 2014 before the National Elections.

Calculating at three per cent per annum increase, this would have been 33 per cent.

Does he know that 9578 teachers have received less than 15 per cent increase? Does he know that some have received only 3.98 per cent increase in salary?

I believe salary increases were long overdue for teachers.

I believe Mr Chand has not been reading the Fiji Times where the Union’s views were clearly articulated. Ignorance of facts and evidence is no excuse when one puts pen to paper.

Does he know that about 2000 teachers have been demoted via the new contracts?

The Union’s stand with the Ministry of Education has always been that the Job Evaluation Exercise (JEE) is a means of valuing the worth of positions. The JEE must not be used to put teachers on contract.

The teachers on the ground are not at all happy and sadly it will have an effect on the delivery of quality education.

The Union believes that the salary increases which the teachers deserve should have come without any strings attached.

Thus, the public sector unions have decided to seek redress through the Dispute Mechanism.

I invite Dewan Chand to my office.

Nursing quarters

Wise Muavono, Lautoka

The Loloma Building at the Lautoka Hospital nurses’ quarters appears to be a building that has survived the aerial bombardment of World War 1 and 2.

I cannot believe that this is where our hardworking and dedicated nurses reside.

Inspiring

Spencer Robinson, Suva

It is truly inspiring to read an article (FS 31.08.17) titled “World Bank: Fiji’s Leadership Led Us to Set Up Office Here.”

The recognition of Fiji’s leadership by the World  Bank Group is captivating and inspirational.

On that note, I would like to wish the COP23 Presidency Secretariat all the best in their continuous hard work towards the November 2017 UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj