There seems to be a close contest for who wears the court jester hat in Parliament. While SODELPA’s Niko Nawaikula has done a marvellous job in keeping the class clown tag to himself, his fellow SODELPA Member of Parliament Mitieli Bulanauca’s performance in Parliament yesterday could dethrone Mr Nawaikula.

Quoting Bible verses has become a norm for SODELPA MPs. Afterall, SODELPA’s leader (caretaker?) (interim?) (casual?) Sitiveni Rabuka opened his address with a quote too, but Mr Bulanauca blew everyone away with his version of how Coronavirus pandemic came to cripple the world economies.

If SODELPA took the Parliament sitting seriously, someone or anyone within SODELPA would have had an iota of sense to fact check his speech, but that would have meant giving this priority over locking out supporters from their own special general meeting.

Mitieli Bulanauca’s response

This is what Mr Bulanauca in all his wisdom had to say: “Perhaps a world Evil Group using China – a Communist Dictatorial Regime- to invent or manufacture COVID-19, as a biological weapon against the West or Capitalist Democratic Society, in particular against USA. We also suffer in between…”

In his unedited speech which he happily gave out to media, Mr Bulanauca also wrote: “If one dies by Corona that’s okay. (Thankfully he had the sense to cross this out).

“We are all going to die anyway… Why stop churches and prayers with at least two people, with curfew at 8?”

And, he went on and on and on.

Curfews proved extremely important in containing the coronavirus, Mr Bulanauca. This is why we have been very successful and recorded very few people to people transmission in the country.

New class clown?

Seems like there is a new class clown in town. But, there is still a very good chance that Mr Nawaikula will pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep his title when he speaks later this week.

Meanwhile, Assistant iTaukei Affairs Minister, Selai Adimaitoga is a newbie on political scene but she did a good job in showing Mr Rabuka a mirror yesterday on issues ranging from his leadership (or lack of it) and his personal contribution to Fiji’s debts.

“Mr Sitiveni Rabuka sure has a lot to say about the Fijian National Budget on his Facebook page. In his latest rant, he talks about Fiji being run into the ground because of FijiFirst.

“Mister Speaker Sir, those are statements of a hypocrite.

“Perhaps Mr Rabuka is suffering from memory loss because he was the one that brought Fiji to the ground in 1987 and the following years where his mismanagement caused the downfall of the National Bank of Fiji. Those who were children of Fiji then are still paying off the debt from it today.

“We are still recovering from his actions which were inspired by nothing more than greed. Decades later nothing has changed. Under his leadership, SODELPA has been mismanaged to the point of collapse. At their special general meeting, SODELPA locked their own supporters outside, claiming that it was due to social distancing.

“Mr Rabuka and his SODELPA decided to have a fight for power within their party.”

These are some bitter pills for Mr Rabuka to swallow. Under his leadership, SODELPA stands much divided, more today than ever before.

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