From Trevor Loudon:
Right now at the bottom of the South Pacific, a lot of people email me and they say, look, if Obama gets back in again, can we come and live in New Zealand? And I say, look, it’s a wonderful country, you’ll enjoy it, but really there is no where to run now. Just 1500 miles to the north of my country lie the beautiful Fijian Islands – great tourist destination, but they now have a Marxist government. The Chinese are training the Fijian military, building big hydro-electric dams on the islands. Fiji is basically now a Chinese client state. Just a few months ago the Australian Minister Defense was up in China and a
Fiji Today FijiTodays Open Forum Blog 
Yeah right curtsy of the vuaka Bainivoco
About 30 bridges in urgent need for repair
Publish date/time: 24/10/2012 [08:05]
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A report is currently being put together by the Fiji Roads Authority in relation to bridges around the country.
Manager Change Mike Rudge said when they conducted a survey of bridges in the country they found out that at least 25-30 bridges needed urgent repair works.
Rudge said the report which will be given to the board next week will outline which bridges these are, their conditions and the options they have for managing them.
Meanwhile, according to Rudge the two major bridges in Suva and Vatuwaqa cannot be repaired and they will remain closed till further notice.
People who usually travel through Fletcher Bridge in Vatuwaqa will still have to detour through Grantham Road while those traveling around Suva will need to use Usher Street as the Stinson Bridge remains closed.
Inoke Kubuabola can take credit for infrustructure collapse.
He is the man directly responsibile. He destroyed the PWD after ’87. It was once a proud and professional organization, until this son of satan turned it into a cess pit of corruption.
This man sites at the pinical of iTaukei society.
What fruit bears here, eat it, and enjoy it, to you childrens,children.
MARK RUDGE SUPER REFORMER OF JUNTA ROADS IS GOING TO CLOSE DOWN 30BRIDGES THIS MONTH.
IS THIS REFORMER RIPPING OFF HE TAXPAYERS 60,000 PER MONTH TO CLOSE BRIDGES DOWN.
THIS IS BIG SCAM-CORRUPTION IN BRIGES.
More regime rhetoric on fighting poverty
[posted 18 Oct 2012,1700]
Prime Minister Bainimarama is saying that his regime will meet the Millennium goal of reducing poverty to “negligible levels” by year 2015.
This is indeed laudable. But the regime’s record to date shows it has a somewhat unique way of achieving this target. Let’s examine some of their policy initiatives in poverty reduction:
• 20% devaluation of the Fiji dollar which forced prices of food, clothing and other imported items to escalate making life more difficult for the poor
• increasing VAT to 15% which sent a ripple effect down the economy forcing increases in the cost of basic food items and all other goods and services including the utilities such as water and electricity
• withdrawing family assistance allowances from 3000 recipient families who are now left without adequate means of support
• Reducing FNPF pension rates by 50%, sending 90% of our retired elderly citizens into financial distress
• constantly delaying or denying pay increases awarded by Wages Councils to poorly paid non-unionised workers, fully knowing that low wage rates are the root cause of poverty in Fiji
• allowing massive tariff hikes to FEA as well as a restructuring of its tariff regime which took some 100,000 poor families off the Authority’s life-line tariff
• promulgating anti-worker decrees which deny workers in the public sector and the 10 designated essential industries their right to collective bargaining and freedom of association
Such policies and decisions of the regime have seen an escalation in social distress in the past 6 years and it would not be surprising if poverty levels have now exceeded the official figure of 45% of the population – this is the number of our people living in absolute poverty, unable to meet the basic needs of their family members.
At this rate, many of the current poor would be dead by the time the regime gets around to providing some relief for their sufferings!
A recent survey showed rising poverty in the rural sector put at about 40% of the population – this is clearly a regressive step as in the past poverty was largely a social evil confined to the urban sector.
Rural-urban drift as a result of the depressed rural economy is now a major social problem reflected in the mushrooming of squatter settlements on the fringes of our towns and cities. According to the latest statistics, 25% of our people now live in squatter settlements in squalid conditions.
In his message to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Bainimarama said empowering the people to “be heard” in the formulation of a new constitution would contribute to alleviating poverty. Perhaps the Commodore would care to explain how?
He speaks of writing off $14m in water rates arrears, $1.5m for individual home loan accounts and $1.2m owed under the Village Housing Scheme accounts, as evidence of the regime’s effort to fight poverty.
To the discerning they sound more like vote buying for the 2014 general elections!
The Prime Minister ought to know that handouts and write-offs do not alleviate poverty or empower people in the long run. Only a vibrant economy with robust investment levels will create job opportunities and raise wage levels as an effective means of poverty reduction. This, is unlikely under a dictatorship.
One wonders whether the Prime Minister took note of the increasing number of ordinary people who in their submissions to the Constitution Commission spoke of their hardship and the problems of daily living. This served as a severe indictment of the failure of the regime to deliver on its promises to the people.
Even Commission Chair Professor Yash Ghai, was forced to observe that government services were not getting through to the people.
More regime rhetoric on fighting poverty
[posted 18 Oct 2012,1700]
Prime Minister Bainimarama is saying that his regime will meet the Millennium goal of reducing poverty to “negligible levels” by year 2015.
This is indeed laudable. But the regime’s record to date shows it has a somewhat unique way of achieving this target. Let’s examine some of their policy initiatives in poverty reduction:
• 20% devaluation of the Fiji dollar which forced prices of food, clothing and other imported items to escalate making life more difficult for the poor
• increasing VAT to 15% which sent a ripple effect down the economy forcing increases in the cost of basic food items and all other goods and services including the utilities such as water and electricity
• withdrawing family assistance allowances from 3000 recipient families who are now left without adequate means of support
• Reducing FNPF pension rates by 50%, sending 90% of our retired elderly citizens into financial distress
• constantly delaying or denying pay increases awarded by Wages Councils to poorly paid non-unionised workers, fully knowing that low wage rates are the root cause of poverty in Fiji
• allowing massive tariff hikes to FEA as well as a restructuring of its tariff regime which took some 100,000 poor families off the Authority’s life-line tariff
• promulgating anti-worker decrees which deny workers in the public sector and the 10 designated essential industries their right to collective bargaining and freedom of association
Such policies and decisions of the regime have seen an escalation in social distress in the past 6 years and it would not be surprising if poverty levels have now exceeded the official figure of 45% of the population – this is the number of our people living in absolute poverty, unable to meet the basic needs of their family members.
At this rate, many of the current poor would be dead by the time the regime gets around to providing some relief for their sufferings!
A recent survey showed rising poverty in the rural sector put at about 40% of the population – this is clearly a regressive step as in the past poverty was largely a social evil confined to the urban sector.
Rural-urban drift as a result of the depressed rural economy is now a major social problem reflected in the mushrooming of squatter settlements on the fringes of our towns and cities. According to the latest statistics, 25% of our people now live in squatter settlements in squalid conditions.
In his message to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Bainimarama said empowering the people to “be heard” in the formulation of a new constitution would contribute to alleviating poverty. Perhaps the Commodore would care to explain how?
He speaks of writing off $14m in water rates arrears, $1.5m for individual home loan accounts and $1.2m owed under the Village Housing Scheme accounts, as evidence of the regime’s effort to fight poverty.
To the discerning they sound more like vote buying for the 2014 general elections!
The Prime Minister ought to know that handouts and write-offs do not alleviate poverty or empower people in the long run. Only a vibrant economy with robust investment levels will create job opportunities and raise wage levels as an effective means of poverty reduction. This, is unlikely under a dictatorship.
One wonders whether the Prime Minister took note of the increasing number of ordinary people who in their submissions to the Constitution Commission spoke of their hardship and the problems of daily living. This served as a severe indictment of the failure of the regime to deliver on its promises to the people.
Even Commission Chair Professor Yash Ghai, was forced to observe that government services were not getting through to the people.
So tell us why it’s a scam then, sounds like you know more than the rest of us. Or am I guessing wrong ?
About 30 bridges in urgent need for repair
Publish date/time: 24/10/2012 [08:05]
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A report is currently being put together by the Fiji Roads Authority in relation to bridges around the country.
Manager Change Mike Rudge said when they conducted a survey of bridges in the country they found out that at least 25-30 bridges needed urgent repair works.
Rudge said the report which will be given to the board next week will outline which bridges these are, their conditions and the options they have for managing them.
Meanwhile, according to Rudge the two major bridges in Suva and Vatuwaqa cannot be repaired and they will remain closed till further notice.
People who usually travel through Fletcher Bridge in Vatuwaqa will still have to detour through Grantham Road while those traveling around Suva will need to use Usher Street as the Stinson Bridge remains closed.
mark rudge and his firm partner is john prasad-who amke the deal with illegal AG-
This Mark Rudge scam on fiji with john prasad is massive corruption scam.
Why bridges and not pot oles.
From what I’ve read, it appears that the reason that bridges in Fiji are in such a poor state is that maintenance has been neglected. When bridges are properly maintained, they can last 100 years. Of course in Fiji, when a bridge fails, Fiji depends on sympathetic foreign countries to donate funds to build a new bridge, so there is insufficient incentive for proper maintenance.
@Oi Le
Because collapsing bridges and the consequences are normally far more severe than driving over a pothole.
@ FRE
I remember when Highway Stabilizers were in action – those guys resealed Waimanu road a while back – it worked well. But with the last six years and lack of good government and maintenance, so much for nothing.
Since then, the regime has done sweet F@#k all – blaming anything that they do on everyone else.
So much for ‘government’ – they are meant to be transparent and responsible, not secretive, violent and in denial.
@ Radio,
I lived in Fiji from 1994 to 2004. While there, I observed that often cost cutting measures had the opposite of the intended effect, i.e., they increased costs in the long run. One minor example was the landlady of a retired peace corps volunteer of my acquaintance. When taps failed, she endeavored to save money by replacing them with the cheapest taps available and, as a result, was constantly replacing taps. If she had spent more money to get good taps, they would have lasted many years and in the long run, she would have saved considerable money and aggravation.
Although I could not prove it, I strongly suspect that the inordinate frequency of breakdowns at the sugar mills is the result of making the quickest and cheapest repairs possible instead of restoring failed equipment to a condition at least as good as new to prevent more breakdowns. Inadequate repairs cause breakdowns to become more and more frequent as the years go by, eventually resulting in such unreliable operation that it becomes impossible to make a profit.
Failure to maintain bridges properly is just another example. The same is probably true with roads. I remember a road in Lautoka that was tarsealed and within a few years, the tarseal had broken down so badly that the road would have been better if it had not been tarsealed. The PWD did as bad a job with the water system. The PWD repaired a leak near my house near Adams Street in Lautoka. While I lived, there, they “repaired” the same leak several times. It would have cost less to do a proper job instead of having to do the same job over and over again. Since faulty repairs seem to be the rule rather than the exception, the water system has gradually deteriorated to the extent that in many places, people get water for only a few hours a day. Over half of the water leaks out of the system, so the PWD leaves the water shut off much of the time to save water.
People have to learn that trying to save money inappropriately does not save money; in the end, it costs more.
In all fairness, I should mention that this is not a problem only in Fiji; it’s also a problem here in the U.S. There are places where our infrastructure is not in good condition. Probably a few years ago you read about the bridge in Minneapolis that collapsed; inadequate design and maintenance were blamed.
Indian way……..thats why india going to remain a shit hole and china moving forward….but then again
what does it matter,
poor people are happy…..and we are the happist people in the world.
you die u get re-incarnated, so dont be rich, or u will come back as a cock roach
or u wont be able to fit through the eye of a needle, then u farked, flames and all waiting for you arsehole.
Have the Chinese ever considered this? When Fiji have an elected government can the government refuse to honour the debt as it was a product of an illegal deal? Then again China has so much clout they can either write off the the debt ( they have trillions stashed away in reserve) or use other means to recover the debt. Although China is awash with money they still can’t just throw away millions they lent to the illegal regime. I macro term it is minor but in micro it is major.
The Chinese only have one aim and that is to get their hands on resources as they have so few.
The monetary value of the loans is insignificant to them in the overall scheme of things which is to firstly help build an infrastructure that will then enable them get these resources out of Fiji efficiently. Their country first needs food to feed the billions and secondly raw materials that their workers can then add value to and sell to the rest of the world so the workers can afford the imported food. It’s the only way China can survive
These resources have to be bought cheap, otherwise their system is not cost effective. The consequence is that the average Fijian just does not see much of a financial return from it other than eventually a few improved roads to the ports from the resources. Africa is being subjected to this rape of it resources by the Chinese and the world is only just waking up to it.
No one ends up rich from this, the world simply provides a way of China feeding its billions by the use of others valuable resources such as land for growing food, timber and minerals.
Fiji is one of those very fortunate countries in the world that has a land mass that could easily feed its small population with resources that could bring in good foreign earnings if those resources are value added to here and managed correctly.
for all the bleating by the regime about Aus, NZ, US EU hegemony to very quickly exchange one form for another that is even more pernicious. How bizarre, but very common from militray regimes.
,China also holds the most US treasury bonds, and buys Iron ore from Australia, Dairy products from NZ, Oil from Saudi Arabia. China buys cars from Germany and manufactures Apple products. Walmart sells a lot of Chinese made products.
Every other nation is a client state of China . Probably that detail was selectively omitted by the wing nut, Trevor Loudon.
who is this dick trevor loudon? another racist white bastard who hates chinese? of course they are doing well because they have the vision to improve and not the white man way of fcking each other to get more for themselves
rudge doing well fiji people voted qarase govt in so live with the shit created money used for propoganda and soli not for roads and bridges need to be smart voter not big thief
@Anon
So they can replace bridges but can’t even fill up pot holes.
China is a true friend of Fiji, come hail or storm, they are by our side.
Fiji should lease five of its un-inhabitat islands to the chines as a gesture of friendship for our true friends.
This will enable a safety net for the guarantee of the soverignity of the fiji islands and also vchange the balance of military might in the pacific..
To the people and the government of China a very big vinaka vakalevu/thank you from the people of Fiji.
@ Josua
Floods in Fiji:
$5 from China, a backdoor cheque and a pat on the head for Frank. Frank loves China.
$3,000,000 from Australia and Frank cries in his sleep about how mean Australia is for not giving the cash to him direct.
@Oi Le
Sounds like you have found utopia in your world, can you let us all know where it is so we can buy tickets to fly there.
We can all then have everything we ever wanted at once regardless of cost or priority, it sounds truly wonderful !
@Budget
Yeah I am right here in Viti and it amazes me that they can now repair bridges when for the last phucken 6 years they could not even attend to to the ever increasing pot oles.
You are most welcome to the land of dicktatorship, poverty, corruption, and hoplessness….welcome to reality in Viti.
@Oi Le
Perhaps ‘can’ in reality now means ‘have to’ repair the bridges. Perhaps if they had spent the last 6 years fixing the ****** potholes the purse would now be empty with nothing left to repair the bridges ?
@Budget
Which means you are a useless budget manager
@Oi Le
Perhaps you are right, I should not have spent the money on free busfares for schoolkids or roads to certain villages. Next year I’ll try harder but at least I will live with reality rather than hopping in and out of utopia so I can blame everyone else for everything.
@ Budget
Nah you can just go and screw your boss Bainivoco
@Budget
I am not blaming everyone else but Bainimarama. Nothing he does will ever justify the mess he has created, The likes of you will defend him because you are on his gravy train.
The free bus fare will come back to haunt us…where is the money coming from? The FNPF is on the verge of collapse and national debt continues to rise while poverty increases. The state of the economy is testament that the military and Voreqe are failures just like your budget.
There is no utopia on this earth but your lot are certainly creating a hell right here in Fiji.