The Fiji Occasions » Our profitable mixture – ‘We’d like new concepts and new considering’

With lower than two weeks to go till polling day, sadly plainly the FijiFirst authorities will proceed its tirade of private and vindictive assaults on the Folks’s Alliance, Get together Chief, Sitiveni Rabuka, and Nationwide Federation Get together chief Professor Biman Prasad.

As a nation it’s unhappy to say however perhaps we’re getting used to and numbed by  such a onslaught of private and vindictive assaults, however in my books it simply isn’t proper.

I’ve been purchased up in a really simply and truthful family the place moderation and mediation are the perfect methods to take care of issues.

However now actually there are not any guidelines and assaults on candidates and their associates and households at the moment are accepted. We even have PM Voreqe Bainimarama speaking overtly about and bloodshed in political rallies.

Is that this the Fiji we would like for our kids? We actually have dropped to an all-time and unprecedented low in ethical values throughout the campaigning of this yr’s election.

It does appear Mr Bainimarama and A-G Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum are actually obsessive about Mr Rabuka and Professor Prasad, naming them actually a whole lot of occasions throughout this election marketing campaign.

It is a certain signal of insecurity and desperation.

Possibly it’s time to spend extra time speaking about how we’re going to repair our roads, repair our financial system, repair our well being system, repair our every day water cuts and electrical energy black outs, to call a number of of our issues.

Now now we have bhajanias being attacked by the Legal professional-Basic.

I’m not certain what he’ll obtain by degrading them, however that is simply one of many many incidents the place organisations, teams and people are degraded and seemed down upon by some politicians, which is now the unhappy state of society we live in, as our nation appears to proceed to erode day by day.

A leaders’ debate

There are additionally positives to campaigning as effectively. In truth it may be fairly pleasurable once you meet so many various individuals throughout a large spectrum of society and also you additionally get an opportunity to see many stunning elements of our majestic nation.

One certain shot technique to resolve who must be your chief and take us out of this financial mess is to have a debate between the 2 foremost leaders of our nation, being Mr Bainimarama and Mr Rabuka.

The residents of Fiji deserve to listen to their views and opinions on an enormous vary of topics from the financial system to well being, tourism and agriculture. Mr Rabuka is prepared and has been prepared for the final yr to overtly tackle and debate Mr Bainimarama.

We now await the Prime Minister to verify his participation, it’s as simple as that. For the sake of the nation, the residents demand and deserve this debate, however we proceed to attend for Mr Bainimarama to just accept the problem.

Final week, I took half in a profitable joint leaders tour with the Folks’s Alliance chief Mr Rabuka and NFP chief Professor Prasad.

It was a roaring success. It took us to Kinoya within the Central Division and Rakiraki, Ba and Lautoka within the Western Division.

All of the individuals we met and interacted with needed only one factor – a brand new Authorities for Christmas.

After 16 years of rule, we are not any nearer to being Singapore, Australia or New Zealand as was boasted by the FijiFirst Authorities.

In truth we appear to be heading in the direction of being extra like Zimbabwe in Africa, if we proceed to borrow cash at this alarming price and with no plan on how we’re going to pay the cash again.

One main assertion popping out of the joint tour was that the financial system can be in protected palms of an actual economist like Professor Biman Prasad.

We’d like him to handle the financial system of our nation and restore confidence with effectively thought-out and inclusive insurance policies that may decelerate and cease this downward spiral of borrowing. We even have Mr Rabuka, somebody who is ready to face his errors head on and study from them.

He is ready to lead the nation with compassion and confidence, whereas having a real understanding of what it takes to be an actual chief of the individuals and lead them with love, not hate, compassion not revenge and the flexibility to forgive and transfer ahead.

What now we have additionally learnt is the necessity for brand spanking new concepts and new considering – not only one or two individuals making selections for all of us, however precise session and inclusiveness going ahead.

Fifteen concepts

I’ll go away you with simply 15 from an inventory of over 100 factors that curiosity me in shifting the nation ahead that each Mr Rabuka and Professor Prasad want to implement as a precedence. They’re:

• evaluation and enhance electrical energy companies as a precedence. These are getting worse, not higher;

• evaluation and enhance water companies as a precedence. That is pressing. Accessing clear water is a primary human proper;

• tertiary loans can be become scholarships, the place you solely have to serve your nation within the personal or public sector and even NGO sector for the interval you studied your tertiary schooling, which is normally three or 4 years – then you’re debt free;

• media freedom. It will lastly set the media free to report on any matter of nationwide curiosity with out worry or repercussions;

• freedom of expression. Folks will lastly have the proper to talk overtly and categorical their views with out worry;

• Girmit Day public vacation. A big day can be put aside every year to commemorate and have fun unity in range;

• Ratu Sukuna Day public vacation. This vacation can be reinstated to commemorate a terrific nationwide chief who served his nation with dignity and honour

• discount of ministers’ salaries. This can be very a lot appreciated by the general public. The salaries being obtained by some ministers will be about $5000 every week. A few of our individuals barely earn 100 {dollars} every week;

• continuation and enchancment on social welfare help, free bus fare, free schooling. There can be no cuts in any of those areas. In truth these must be elevated if evaluations discover that the funds are too low;

• enhance infrastructure, particularly roads and medical companies, which at the moment are at an all-time low;

• drastically enhance well being companies, that are in dire want of an overhaul and upgrading services for our well being employees and the general public at massive;

• pay USP’s excellent monetary contribution. This should be completed instantly to make sure all college students can proceed to have high quality schooling and never endure in any manner;

• section out FICAC and enhance assist to the Fiji Police Pressure, and strengthen the workplace of the Director of Public Prosecutions;

• financial summits with stakeholders throughout all industries and organisations, guaranteeing we take heed to individuals’s considerations relating to numerous sectors and perceive how Authorities can help and be ready to assist alleviate any problematic areas

• evaluation agro-marketing for higher returns to farmers. That is essential to bolster and encourage the revitalisation of our agriculture sector.

Nicely, there you might have it. These are a number of areas that we desperately want to enhance upon. When you just like the insurance policies that’s nice.

If not that can also be nice as that is what democracy must be about.

Lastly, as I’ve stated many occasions earlier than, use your democratic proper to vote for whoever or no matter you need. I hope we could have a terrific prove on the polls and the general public could have their say. Adios and take care.

• AJAY BHAI AMRIT is a founding member of The Folks’s Alliance social gathering and can also be a contract author. The views expressed on this article are his and don’t essentially mirror the views of this newspaper.