Bainimarama campaigns on taxpayers money

No wonder the illegal and treasonous Voreqe Bainimarama has been storming the rural sectors in earnest. He's campaigning using our tax-dollars for his political legitimacy and future while many of us struggle to survive.

Whilst in Wainibuka he promises two bridges and roads, and in return he is feted with garlands and pleas from the people of Wainibuka that he and his illegal and treasonous Government must stay in power beyond 2014 -- and hello! he even dares to tag the word "democraticisation" into a sentence.

Even while he's enjoying the sights and sounds of Wainibuka, he  still manages to campaign within the military barracks to keep the boys happy with scraps, again using tax funds.

We are pondering how it is going down within ADB that they are being manipulated in support of political campaigning of a military regime.

It's a good thing that the minority voices of Wainibuka do not speak on behalf of Fiji.

No poll plea
nanisev@fijisun.com.fj
1/19/2011

The people of Wainibuka in Tailevu have pleaded with the Government not to hold a general election in 2014.

And Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said his Government was ready to meet the people's needs and provide the best under the guidance of the People's Charter for Change. Peace and Progress.

Yesterday they told the Prime Minister at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Wailotua-Nayavu Road that they were happy with the Government's commitment to improve the lives of the people and developments in Tailevu.

Spokesman for the Vanua of Wainibuka Sikeli Kubu, 56, said his people had been praising the Government’s effort in bringing changes to people at grassroots level.

Speaking in the vernacular, Mr Kubu said with the developments currently under way in Tailevu, the people have come together and agreed with the idea not to have elections, but to allow Commodore Bainimarama and his government to continue with their work.

He said access to new roads and better roads gave all Fijians, in particular those in the rural areas, farmers, school children and business people the opportunities they did not enjoy previously.

Commodore Bainimarama said the Government was for the people, therefore their livelihood was paramount.

He said his government urged the Asian Development Bank and other development partners and agencies to view the infrastructure development programme by his government as a form of democratisation.

“There is no doubt. It is empowerment,” Commodore Bainimarama said.

Land Transport Authority dictates how cabbie's and bus driver's present themselves

Our hearts go out to the poor cabbies and bus drivers who are now being subjected to another poppycock idea by way of a Code of Conduct.

Surely the Land Transport Authority (LTA) should be more concerned about the extent of involvement of public service vehicles (PSVs) in the increased road death toll, or the overall safety & integrity of PSVs or God Forbid the appalling state of our roads (especially as the LTA being the monopolistic fat-cat that it is, now charges a trumped up "road levy" fee)?

But to subject the poor ol' cabbies and bus drivers to mindless drivel about what they wear and how they engage with the public is simply mindboggling.

Ultimately any change to the status quo in terms of attire to make them look suave will be borne by consumers as does the recent fuel price hike.

Surprisingly the unions for the cabs and buses are both supportive of the draconian measure and we can only assume that their current compliance is because of a current stand-off where the LTA and the Ministry are still holding back on new fares triggered by the recent fuel price increases.

The LTA had better be sure that it "steer's Fiji safely" because at the current rate they could be steering Fiji round the bend. 

Three breaches can get PSV drivers suspensed
Monday, January 17, 2011

Public Service Vehicle drivers are warned that three breaches of the new Code of Conduct will result in the suspension of their driving license.

The Land Transport Authority says drivers can get their license suspended for up to a year – depending on the severity of the offence.

LTA CEO Naisa Tuinaceva says PSV drivers need to get accustomed to the requirements of the Code of Conduct before next month – when enforcement officers will be out on the road to monitor compliance.

Tuinaceva says the comprehensive code demands respect, integrity and honesty from PSV drivers while they render transportation services to the public.

“The code basically gives out the rules of engagement on PSV activities for drivers. The code basically talks about the attire, the presentation - behavioral side of running the service. The code basically dictates, draws and encompass the way PSV drivers should be rendering service to the public – on a public service vehicle.”

Tuinaceva adds - special teams will be on the roads around the country – to ensure the Code is adhered to.

The Code of Conduct will be effective from February 12th.

Report by: Elenoa Osborne

Ministry of Health clarifies fee's

Thank goodness the Ministry of Health has, 3 weeks into the year, decided to CLARIFY its fee structure.

Namotu the PR person and his illegal and treasonous Minister have been sitting on their hands thus far. 

They could have saved alot of public anxst by making these changes very explicit on Tuesday, 4 January 2011.

There are still flaws in this proposed fee structure policy however.

By unceremoniously jacking up the antenatal, delivery and postnatal costs for paying customers, it is almost an invitation to the paying customes to make do with the free and mediocre services. Furthermore paying customers in our public hospitals never get priority treatment, quality bedside manner or access to the medical consultants 24-7 anway -- so are the price hikes really justified?

And this really is the point. 

No matter what policies and rules this illegal and treasonous regime roll out, it will always be riddled with short-sighted and inconsistent twaddle because the policies have not been appropriately challenged by a democratically elected Parliament.

Fiji clarifies hospital charges
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Ministry of Health has clarified that payments of hospital fees and charges will only be paid by patients admitted in any Paying Ward of the Colonial War Memorial, Lautoka, Labasa, Nadi and Savusavu hospitals.

The ministries made the clarification after what it says were confusions, misconceptions and misinterpretation by the general public of the new charges that came into effect on the 1st of January.

Health ministry spokesperson Peni Namotu says paying ward patients and private patients referred from private practitioners will be required to pay for all hospital services in accordance with the new fees structure.

For maternity patients, payment of fees and charges is only applicable to patients admitted in any Paying Ward or paying Maternity Ward, otherwise all other patients in general maternity wards are not required to pay any fees.

And all dental services for 15-year-olds and above are to be paid in accordance with the new fee structure with the exception of Orthodontics and mouth guard treatment, which will be paid for by all age groups.

Some amendments were undertaken on January 07 for initial changes.

Report by: Roland Koroi

Pregnancy Fee's Skyrocket

The Fiji Times of Saturday, 15 January 2011, posted an interesting view titled "Pregnancy, an expensive affair" on the huge price hikes that taxpayers will now have to fork out to have children, in addition to paying 3% more on taxes.

Despite censorship, it was a clever way to put an alternative point of view out there.

One aspect that perhaps was censored is the threat of increased (and non-medically supervised) risks associated with homebirths that would arise simply because many families, especially now, are not in a position to meet all the associated antenatal, delivery and postnatal costs.

Additionally if homebirths skyrocket, the ability to keep tabs on the real state of population trends and statistics eg a census would be extremely difficult to monitor.

Unless of course a flawed approach to population control was and is the ultimate goal here because right now nothing is beyond this desperate and broke military regime.