Sad times for soccer

Alfaz Ali, Navua

It is really sad to note that all Vodafone Premier League matches scheduled for this month have been postponed.

The reason given by Fiji FA is that the districts are facing difficulty fielding their teams due to the opening of the transfer window.

The reason given and the decision taken by Fiji FA clearly tells the story of football in Fiji. Instead of moving towards professionalism, Fiji FA is moving towards bazaar  (ad hoc soccer tournaments) type of operations.

It is hard to digest that we have to postpone two rounds of matches just after the first round.

This goes to show the amount of sorting out that needs to be done off the field before we start dominating the Pacific on the field.

By the way, congratulation to the nine-man Babasiga Lions for destroying the Blues (Lautoka) on their home soil.

Why hybrid cars?

Sachida Nath, Nadi

“Go green, buy a hybrid car to save the environment and save fuel” suggested a learned friend to me.

We are advised to cut down on carbondioxide emission by less use of petrol which is a type of fossil fuel.

But saving the environment is a debatable topic when it comes to choosing to buy a new car.

Here’s how:

Hybrid cars need bigger batteries to run.  It means mining more lithium to produce batteries which is not a green activity anyway.

Technology today has created electric cars boasting zero carbon emission. Such cars still require more batteries and more energy to produce, run and eventually scrap them.

Interestingly coal generated electricity is something on which electric cars are dependent as well.

Each innovation leaves a new grey area to be addressed for our environment.

The bottom line is buying a hybrid car has no higher merit than the conventional car that runs on petrol.

What manifesto?

Wise Muavono, Lautoka

If I were to say the word “manifesto” to some people, they might think of either communists or serial killers. This is understandable. Because the word has really taken a beating over the years with our past politicians.

PM doing his job

Savenaca Vakaliwaliwa

Suva

Despite all the Opposition powers ganging up on the Prime Minister and our Fiji First Government in the ATS saga, I believe that our  Prime Minister has walked the talk and delivered what he has promised to the nation.

We are just a couple of months away from the general election.

Right now we see Opposition political leaders trying to sleep with their enemy, just to get into  power.

But seriously, when we sit down and consider what the current Government has promised, done and achieved for all Fijians, we can only conclude that it has done a lot.

The Prime Minister’s achievements outweighs those of other leaders.

Letter writer Tukai Lagonilakeba, of Nadi, said it all,

“I believe the majority of ordinary Fijians from the remotest of our maritime islands and the interiors of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu with those from the informal settlements and major squatter settlements do not pay attention to political rhetoric but are grateful to the government of the day for providing and giving them access to good health facilities, connection to clean drinking water, new bridges and new upgraded roads and drainage, the many river dredging now being undertaken, free education grants and bus fares, TELS for equal access to all our local Fijian tertiary institutions, government subsidy on electricity, water, medicine, social welfare and poverty alleviation, investments and job creation, they are forever grateful to the availability and easy access to medical facilities and surgeries that are now made available here at home at an affordable price with government subsidies as opposed to the very expensive overseas evacuations for the same treatment and many more” (FS 17/1).

No person or leader or Government is perfect but we should continue to pray for God to choose the best leader to lead our beloved nation.

Our current Prime Minister got the heavenly nod last time around and I believe that right now, he is still the best pick with the divine anointing and appointment.

Warning on food

Spencer Robinson,

Suva.

Now and then we keep getting reminders from our concerned friends or family members who are supposedly health conscious. They keep drilling into our brains the need to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables that are available in our local municipal markets.

Unfortunately, the big question that comes into  mind is:

• How safe are these fruit and vegetables that are sold in our markets? The increase in population translates into finding innovative ways to increase crop production. This has led to widespread use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers to achieve this increase in production to carter for the growing population.

Successive use of pesticides in particular has contaminated our soils leaving behind toxic chemical residues. In addition, these pesticides also gets absorbed by crops accumulating harmful chemical residual components. This risk to human health becomes even more worse if farmers do not follow the instructions for pesticide use particularly its ‘withholding period’ (WHP).

The WHP is the time frame or period that must pass between the last application of pesticide/chemicals on crops before it can be harvested for human consumption.

One may wonder if the increase of diseases such as cancer could be related to the consumption of fruits and vegetables treated with these toxic chemicals (pesticides).

According to the Victoria (Australia) agriculture website “the WHP on a label is designed to ensure that food and fibre derived from treated animals and crops complies with the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

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