Sabeto horse races

Phillip Isaac, Nausori

I was shocked and saddened to see the condition of the horses taking part in the Sabeto Picnic Horse Race.

There were visible lash marks on the horses’ flanks.

Is there a safety code in place to regulate the horse racing industry in Fiji? This race should be stopped until this inhumane treatment of horses and the safety of the jockeys are firstly taken into consideration.

What irony to see, apart from other major sponsors, ‘Animals Fiji’ as one of it’s generous sponsors. Where are the so-called animal rights activists when they are needed for these voiceless beautiful creatures?

Please organisers, ensure the following are managed for future events:

Jockey safety – provide protective gear and experienced and trained riders for the races;

First Aid to be available for both jockey and horse;

Proper saddles are used for the race;

Racing track is in good running condition;

Proper riding crops are used;

Horses are in good health to race.

Controlled number of whips a horse can receive during a single race.

We must redouble our efforts to improve safety across the industry before there is a loss of life.

Thankfully, the race was called off before any life-threatening injury occurred.

Levuka tram tracks

Satish Nakched, Suva

The entire Levuka Township is a living museum and has remarkably maintained its original look of the yester-years, though it may be at a huge cost to the owners.

While the visitors may admire the building structures and the bridges a well-kept secret lies partly hidden under the bitumen of the roads in the town centre. This town gave birth to the first road system and quite interestingly it also had a tram track that linked the Queen’s wharf to the major warehouses within close vicinity.

In 1884, the Levuka Tramway Company operated the 2 feet and 6 inches wide tramway along the streets of Levuka to connect warehouses with the wharves and the other storage venues. The cart trucks on the track were horse-driven and hand operated and required manual labour to push it for mobility. The tracks were extended through to the entire length of the Queen’s wharf that catered for the visiting tall ships and later towards the late fifties it became a major source of transportation of copra and other goods but this mode of transport faded when the motor vehicles were used. At that time there were actually three routes leading into the port from the town end.

The push carts had wooden platforms where the cargo was loaded and physically pushed either way to its destination. This became a major source of employment for the strongly built locals where a lot of effort was needed to move the carts under the watchful eyes of their supervisors.

The tram tracks were first installed about a hundred and forty years ago and have remained substantially unchanged since they were first laid out. The application of engineering science then needs to be admired as the infrastructure is still very much intact and visible at some places.

The road repair works is slowly taking its toll as this very valuable asset is covered with layers of bitumen in a subterraneous condition. It is advisable to the visitors to pay a closer attention along the portion of the road near the Post Office to witness the antediluvian piece of our history. Every effort must be taken by the road maintenance team to ensure this antique does not disappear forever.

Reading your email

Spencer Robinson,  Suva

Some people don’t seem to understand why it is so important to treat all incoming emails (inbox) as significant regardless of whether you have professional or personal email.

In the business environment you would prioritise these email and respond to them in the order of importance, but at the end of the day it is your duty to reply to all correspondence.

In today’s busy and hectic work environment it would be impossible to attend to all email at once. However, there is something called “delegation” and being “organised” in any workplace. Helping and supporting one another at work would pave the way to being better and smarter with customer service.

I have experienced a few scenarios where it seems I was emailing to the “statute of liberty” because there was simply no response at all. Then I think to myself, “like who does this?”

Customer service is all about empathy. Putting yourself in the place of customers to experience what they might feel if their email were never attended to. Therefore, I strongly believe that all incoming email must be treated as important and we should reply to these in order of importance.

This way I can guarantee that you will accomplish customer satisfaction and at the same time facilitate the continuous improvement of customer service for your organisation.