Fiji-Focus-Issue-12-Volume-11-August-5,-2020

This includes but is not limited to: $5m with the Ministry of Rural and MaritimeDevelopment and Disaster Man-agement; $18m with the Min-istry of Agriculture; $79m with the Ministry of In

WORK TOGETHER

FELIX LESINAIVALU

FIJIANS living in Kalokolevu

Vil-lage, almost 18 kilometres west of

Suva, will have a more efficient and

environmentally-friendly way of cooking their food Around 78 women residing in Kalokolevu Village are set to benefit after receiving the ‘wood burning efficient cook stoves’ under the Improved Cook Stove

Programme in Fiji One of the 78 women, Veniana Nacolarara was thankful to have received the wood burning efficient cook stove and to contribute towards addressing climate change

“It is good that this initiative also helps combat climate change because it does not emit greenhouse gases,” Ms Nacolarara

FijiFocus Fiji FocusWEDNESDAY AUGUST 5, 2020 l 16 PAGES l ISSUE 12 VOL 11 l WWW.FIJI.GOV.FJ

MEREANI GONEDUA

THE Minister for Rural and

Maritime Development Inia Seruiratu has stressed that statement of Government ne-glecting maritime transportation

alloca-in the current budget

“For the past two years FRA has spent in excess of $50 million on bridges around Fiji and $8 million

on jetties in maritime areas

“The Naroi, Moala off jetty has been repaired follow-ing the devastation of TC Harold and the jetty is now fully opera-tional FRA has an ongoing pro-gramme to deliver new jetties at Koro, Makogai, Moala, Nabuke-

roll-on-roll-ru, Wainiyabia and Vunisea and they are working closely with ADB/World Bank on the replace-ment of jetties at Natovi, Nabou-walu and Savusavu.”

Minister Seruiratu highlighted that in this ‘new norm’ period, the new budget aims to show Fijians that regardless of the current situ-ation, services and development will continue

He stated that the Fijian ment is not only supporting MS-MEs but also investing heavily into the Rural and Maritime Pro-grammes across all sectors

Govern-“In the 2020-2021 financial year Government plans to invest a total

of $144 million in the Rural and Maritime sector This includes

but is not limited to: $5m with the Ministry of Rural and MaritimeDevelopment and Disaster Man-agement; $18m with the Min-istry of Agriculture; $79m with the Ministry of Infrastructure;

$3.6m with the Ministry ies; $4.1m with the Ministry of Forests; $1.8m with the Ministry

Fisher-of Lands and Mineral Resources;

and $9m with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.”

Minister Seruiratu who is also the Minister for Defence, Na-

tional Security and Policing highlighted that even though the Ministry headquarters budget has decreased by 2.7 per cent through the allocated total budget of $13.8 Million, it will not hinder the de-livery of our ‘normal’ services

“Prior to the Budget ment, I held discussions with my Permanent Secretaries and senior officials within both my portfolio Ministries that our approach in the next financial year will not be about working harder but work-

announce-ing smarter.”

The Minister also highlighted that the Ministry is very grateful for the $200,000 increase in the budget allocated to the Aftercare Fund

“This increase will date allowances for additional recipients The injection of such amount is timely and appropriate,

accommo-as this will ensure that the sary support and assistance ex-tended to our deserving Service-men and women will continue.”

neces-First local registration

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contact

Publisher: Deborah Weiss

Sub Editor: Prashila Devi

Manager Vernacular: Viliame Tikotani

Virendra Lal

North office: Level 3 Macuata House, Labasa

West office: Level 1 Ratu Nauliano House, Koroivalu

We won’t be slashing the

salaries of the civil servants, we

need to help put this economy

back on its feet and to support

the people who have suffered

the most.

Voreqe Bainimarama

Fijian Prime Minister

Preparatory works for 5 settlements

Wakanisila, Sakoca, Tavela, Tore and

Field 4 are nearly complete and will

be ready for the commencement of

civil works in this new financial year

This will benefit 588 households

I NS I DE

NATIONAL MATTERS

numbers

$61,650

The amount distributed in

royalty payouts to more than

100 Fijians in Vatukoula,

bringing to approximately

$6.5m the amount

distributed to landowners and

landowning units around the

country

Voreqe Bainimarama

Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Koya and Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing, Rural and

Maritime Development Inia Seruiratu during a break in the 2020-2021 National Budget debate in Parliament last week.

Photo: AZARIA FAREEN

Premila Kumar @PremilaKumarMP

Seruiratu: No neglect of maritime transport

NANISE NEIMILA

THE Government has announced under

the 2020-2021 National Budget address the removal of the data levy under the Telecommunications Act

This was announced by Attorney-General and Minister for Communications, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, while speaking on the Telecommuni-cations Budget Amendment Bill 2020 in Parlia-ment last week

The data levy was, the A-G said, the levy troduced last year to set up a distinct funding mechanism to support projects aimed at nation-

in-al development in relation to information and communication technology

He explained that the revenue collected from the data levy went into the Telecommunications Development Trust Fund established under the Telecommunications Trust Fund Regulations

2016 for the continued development of Fiji’s telecommunication industry

However, according to the A-G, the ment has had discussions with the telecom com-panies and they have agreed to continue but in

Govern-different manner and to keep things simple for the telecommunications industry and support a long-standing commitment

“To streamline the sector’s regulations, we have opted to remove the data levy instead in-crease the current 1.5per cent of the percent-age revenue-based telecommunications licence fee-prescribed in accordance with the Telecom-munications License and Regulations 2012 and two per cent.”

“Form this two per cent, 1.5 per cent of the percentage point would be collected as normal with the remaining or the additional 0.5 per cent will be funneled into the development fund to ensure continued development of our telecom-munications infrastructure and projects.”

The A-G also highlighted that the budgetary allocation for this sector will include mapping projects to further clarify the black and brown spots of internet connectivity which are areas where there is no mobile connection which is black spots or pockets of unconnected areas in between which are the brown spots which have intermittent reception

“These areas will need significant

infrastruc-ture development, however, with these funding streams and close coordination with the tele-communication industry partners, we are confi-dent we are able to further cement our standing

as a telecommunications hub.”

“Essentially, the law is that they have been paying for all these years since the Telecommu-nications Authority of Fiji (TAF), they pay 1.5 per cent as Gross Turnover to the TAF Fund be-cause it has been used to connect black sport.”

So, the removal of the data levy will

basical-ly mean for the additional 0.5 per cent will be directed to the trust fund which is also supple-mented with the increase of 1.5 per cent to two per cent and will further develop connectivity for telecentres that have been setup around the country

The Government through the Ministry of Communication has identified areas around Fiji

as black spots meaning areas that need tivity and this includes Lau, Macuata, Lomaiviti

connec-as well connec-as a few places in Kadavu and Naitconnec-asiri For brown areas that have been highlighted, a boost will be given to improve connectivity

Govt removes data levy

to aid development

Acting top cop pays PM courtesy visit

FROM PAGE 1

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama with acting Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu Photo: SUPPLIED

Fijian President, Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konrote with Vanuatu High Commissioner

to Fiji Nikenike Vurobaravu during the 40th Independence anniversary of the Republic

of Vanuatu at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Photo: VILIAME TIKOTANI

said

“We are also delighted with the

new and improved way to cook

our meals more efficiently.”

She added that the initiative also

helps Fijians living in

Kalokole-vu Village because they suffer

from the threat posed by climate

change

“Women in this village mostly

cook with firewood, and with this

modern firewood stove, it has

brought modernisation into the

village,” she said

“This will definitely change the

livelihood in Kalokolevu, the old

way of cooking with firewood we

had to put in six or seven wood

pieces to get enough heat.”

Ms Nacolarara said this is a lot

more helpful as other

materi-als such as saw dust and coconut

husks can be used instead of wood

In handing over the rocket stoves,

Attorney-General and Minister for

Climate Change, Aiyaz

Sayed-Khaiyum encouraged Fijians to

work together to tackle the

ad-verse effects of climate change

“This stove will make more fire

and enable you to cook food more

efficiently with less wood, so we

will be saving out on our trees,”

the A-G said

“Fiji has a very good reputation,

internationally and regionally in

respect of what we can do, what

we need to do in regards to climate

change.”

“One of the problems we face

is climate change It is general

knowledge that climate change is

caused by carbon and gases we

use, that is released damaging the

atmosphere It is no doubt that we

also know the effects of climate

change.”

The A-G thanked the

Inter-Minis-terial team consisting of the

Min-istry of Forest, MinMin-istry of

Ag-riculture, Ministry of Economy,

Ministry of Women and the

Min-istry of i-Taukei Affairs, together

with the local service provider for

donating the much needed items

The Improved Cook Stove

Pro-gramme in Fiji is fully funded by

Korea Carbon Management

Lim-ited and the only local service

pro-vider is Kasabias Pte Ltd

Kasabias General Manager Ajay

Chawla added that the Improved

Cook Stove Programme builds on

years of learning and experience,

consultations with community

women groups, Non-Government

Organisations and policy makers

“This has lead to Fijian experts

to gain consensus on the type of

wood-burning efficient cook stove

that will be delivered free of cost

to 60,000 families who currently

use outdoor fireplaces for meal

preparations,” Mr Chawla said

“As the local service provider,

Kasabias is focusing our efforts

and resources on providing

com-munity training and its proper use

in every traditional village,

farm-ing community and informal

set-tlements.”

PRIME Minister,

Voreqe Bainimarama this week received a courtesy call from the acting Commissioner of Police Ru-siate Tudravu

Whilst receiving him in his office, the Prime Minis-ter told Mr Tudravu that he

is “filling the big shoes” of Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho who left for the Unit-

ed Kingdom for an extensive study placement at the Royal College of Defence Studies

Mr Tudravu is no stranger

to the people of Fiji, having spent about 38 years in the Fiji Police Force with expe-rience that spans across the work of ensuring law and or-der in the country

He graduated from the versity of the South Pacific with a Certificate in Man-agement Studies, he also undertook a Management Development Program from the Queensland Police Acad-emy; attained a Certificate in Applied Management at the Australian Institute of Police Management and he also un-dertook an Advanced Secu-rity Course at Daniel K In-ouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii

Uni-In addition, Mr Tudravu tained an Executive Masters

at-in Busat-iness Admat-inistration from the Fiji National Uni-versity

Mr Tudravu also served with the Commonwealth Multinational Police Moni-toring Group to the Solo-mon Islands - Crisis He is from Nasautoka Village in Wainibuka and is the current chairman for the Tailevu Pro-vincial Council

The Prime Minister warmly congratulated Mr Tudravu on his new appointment

-news@govnet.gov.fj

FELIX LESINAIVALU

ABOLISHING the Business Licensing

re-gime will make it easier for ordinary Fijians and people living overseas to do business

in Fiji

Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, yaz Sayed-Khaiyum emphasised that the Govern-ment has seen many of the developed economies there is an ease in doing business after the countries removed the business licensing requirement

Ai-“The Business Licensing regime has been part of our colonial heritage, the business licensing system has proven to be quite lengthy and indeed quite bu-reaucratic,” the A-G said

“We found that at one point in time certain palities used to actually ask for an application fee on top of the business licence fee.”

munici-The A-G added that the focus will be for people to register their business and once they have registered they do not have to go to the municipal council or anywhere else

“Of course everyone has to have a tax number and then they start off their business, as highlighted in the Budget though, there are certain areas where you will need further approvals.”

“There has also been a coordinating effort through the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry in respect of making sure that we get approvals done really quickly.”

The 2020-2021 National Budget also states that any of the businesses or any initiatives that will at-tract the incentives that has been announced in the Budget will work closely with the Ministry of Econ-omy and Fiji Revenue and Customs Service to hold hands to get those developments up and running

“We have also ensured as a way of offsetting some

of the revenue loss for municipal councils, because some municipal councils have actually made a little bit of money for their operating expenses by busi-ness license fees in small towns,” the A-G said

“We have allocated $200,000 in the Budget to help them supplement their loss of income at least for a period of time.”

Meanwhile, the Fijian Parliament passed the $3.21 billion Appropriation Bill that will see the roll out

of the 2020-2021 National Budget after intense and robust debate last week

This is the first full-fledged budget delivered by the Fijian Government as the world faces a financial crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Govt abolishes business licences

our interaction in support and promotion of multilateralism,” he said

“Fiji looks forward to growing its relations with Vanuatu in the

future We are confident that our two countries will continue to dialogue and advance the best in-terests of our nations in areas of mutual cooperation.”

The event was attended by cal heads of diplomatic missions from the various countries repre-sented in Fiji It was hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat

lo-VILIAME TIKOTANI

THE Fijian Government has

congratulated Vanuatu on their 40th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Vanuatu

Fijian President Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konrote attended the reception dinner for the occasion

to mark Fiji-Vanuatu relationship, which began in the 1860s

Ministry of Foreign Affairs chief

of protocol Jiko Rasoqosoqo said this started a very special bond which was strengthened by our people to people relationships

“After independence in 1980, our mutual friendships has grown stronger and these are evidenced

by our longstanding bilateral nerships; Our very close interac-tion at at the regional forums; and

part-NANISE NEIMILA

TO fully comprehend how COVID-19

pandemic crisis is impacting

business-es, the Fijian Government through the

Ministry of Tourism has partnered with

Inter-national Finance Corporation (IFC) to conduct

COVID-19 business survey

This was highlighted by Minister for

Com-merce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz

Koya while responding to the debate on the

2020-2021 National Budget in Parliament last

week

Minister Koya said the study highlighted

that if international travel doesn’t resume in

the next few months, 60.5 per cent of tourism

businesses anticipate closure or moving away

from tourism

“Occupancy rates were down by 69 percent

- at a time when our industry was once at its peak We know the impact so let’s focus on the fact th “Love our Locals” Campaign, as a start-ing point

“According to a recent survey of close to 40 hotels around Fiji, the average hotel occupan-

cy rate was approximately 55 per cent These were all our own people, staying an average

of two nights As the Ministry responsible for tourism, our work plan has a new direc-tion with four stages of Market Re-entry Each stage works progressively towards rebuilding markets and calls for a different consumer message and approach.”

Through Tourism Fiji, Minister Koya added that Fiji has significantly realigned marketing strategies for the coming financial year

“Budget allocation for markets are being re-prioritised and re-diverted For example,

a portion of the budget for markets such as North Americas, China, and India are being redirected to Australia and New Zealand.”

“It goes without saying that Australia and New Zealand will play a key role in our tour-ism recovery and given that Fiji makes only

a small percentage of their outbound markets, there is immense opportunity for growth.”

“This can be made possible with close laboration with the industry to position Fiji

col-as a trusted and ‘value for money’ holidaying destination and gradually opening our borders through our comprehensive COVID Safe Eco-nomic Recovery Framework.”

Meanwhile, as repercussions of COVID-19

in Fiji, visitor arrivals are expected to decline

by 75 per cent, this year, whilst earnings, as per July 2020 forecast is expected to reduce by

70 per cent

NANISE NEIMILA

THE Ministry of Employment,

Productivity and Industrial

Relations will be pioneering

an online model of Labour

Inspec-tion Management System with the

assistance of the International

La-bour Organisation (ILO)

This was revealed by the

Minis-ter for Employment, Productivity

and Industrial Relations, Youth and

Sports Parveen Kumar during the

debate on the 2020-2021 National

Budget in Parliament last week

Minister Kumar said the system

will ensure that the labour

inspec-tion conducted has up-to-date data

and information, is stored in a

web-based application system which will

ensure that greater accountability

and reliable labour services are

pro-vided to all employers and workers

“My ministry will work in

collab-oration with the ministry of health

and medical services and the

opera-tors in the tourism industry to

en-sure that the COVID-19 workplace

and health and safety guidelines is

adhered to.”

Minister Kumar also highlighted

the ministry’s programs that

in-cludes the Youth Feed and Nation Programme will provide grants to Youth clubs and individuals to seed fund their micro and small busi-nesses as well as in the agriculture sector

“The programme has allowed many youths, some from indus-tries like tourism have successfully re-purposed their skillset to setup businesses of their own Or to en-gage in community-based food se-curity and climate sustainability programmes.”

Minister Kumar informed ment that sponsors of events or tour-naments organised by the National Sports Commission will qualify for

Parlia-a 150 percent tParlia-ax deduction

“Even in countries where ID-19 is active, professional sports has continued, we see a whole host

COV-of Fijian superstars back in action

as the National Rugby League and the Australian and New Zealand Su-per League have resumed.”

“They are an important and high impact contribution to our economy through remittances and my minis-try will continue to support youths,

as they move towards their sional pathway into sports.”

email: news@govnet.gov.fj;

@FijianGovt;

Fijian Government; visit us @ www.fiji.gov.fj phone: 3301806

NATIONAL MATTERS

Online platform for labour inspection data entry

Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports Parveen Kumar during the debate on the 2020-2021 National Budget in Parliament

last week Photo: PARLIAMENT OF FIJI

COVID-19 survey looks

at tourism sector

NANISE NEIMILA

LOCAL and international

business owners that hope to set up busi-nesses in Fiji will now have fast tracking processes to re-duce waiting time and other processes

This was the reassurance made by Minister for Com-merce, Trade, Tourism and Trade Faiyaz Koya during the debate on the 2020-2021 Na-tional Budget in Parliament last week

“We have also taken steps

to alleviate the administrative burdens and reduce bureau-cratic obstacles to fast track approval processes, and let-ting our businesses, especially our micro, small and medium enterprises, breathe in this pre-sent environment.”

“Through the Doing ness Taskforce - a collabora-tive group of Permanent Sec-retaries and CEOs of approval agencies, we will undertake transformational reforms to achieve the desired results for the betterment of the nation This includes our bold target

Busi-of being ranked in the top 50 countries in doing business by 2025.”

Meanwhile, the Fijian ernment has implemented de-cisive reforms in the area of starting a business

“Beginning with tion of the business registra-tion process, bringing tax reg-istration online and now with the removal of business licens-ing, we have made it easier for Fijians to start a business and reduce the cost of doing busi-ness.”

“The building permits cess will be digitalised in one year Which means that build-ing permit application and ap-provals will be done online.” Minister Koya adds with adversity comes new oppor-tunities, through building our resilience as Fijians and stead-ing our ship, we can come out stronger from the stormy wa-ters that this crisis presents “By setting our vision and course beyond the pandemic,

pro-we will set the very tion of navigating our nation to

founda-a better founda-and more prosperous future.”

“I wholeheartedly support the 2020-2021 budget and look forward to the new financial year with a reinvigorated out-look.”

Fast-tracking process for business set-ups

Through Tourism Fiji, Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Koya says, Fiji has significantly realigned marketing strategies for the coming financial year.

Photo: SUPPLIED

THE Ministry for Women,

Chil-dren and Poverty Alleviation has

been allocated $159 million in

this fiscal year, a considerable increase

over the past five years of budgetary

al-locations

This was highlighted by the line

Min-ister Mereseini Vuniwaqa in Parliament

last week, where she applauded the

Government’s bold and decisive

2020-2021 National Budget

“The largest portion of the budget is for

the administration of the nation’s core

social protection programmes like

previ-ous years and those benefiting from this

programmes include women, pregnant

women, single parents, children, the

poor and persons living with

disabili-ties and the elderly,” Minister Vuniwaqa

said

“The Poverty Benefit Scheme that

cur-rently assists over 25,000 households

has received an allocation of $38.3

million for the new fiscal year whereas

the Care and Protection Allowance

Programme that currently assists 8,366

households has received an allocation of

$12.3 million,” she added

“In addition, the allowance of $100

un-der the Social Pension Scheme will be

maintained with the eligibility age

re-maining at 65 years with 45,898

recipi-ents being assisted under the programme

and the budgetary allocation being $55.3

million this year.”

Minister Vuniwaqa adds that the

ex-panded food voucher for rural pregnant

mothers has benefitted 3,127 women

from this programme which will be maintained at $50 in this new budget year and has been allocated $1.2 million

in the new fiscal year

“We will continue to administer the disability allowance with an allocated budget of $9.3 million, which currently supports over 8,000 beneficiaries at the amount of $90 a month,” she highlight-ed

She adds $20,000 has been allocated to ensure the continuation of the re-certifi-cation exercise to certify that those befit-ting from Social Welfare payments are

in fact genuine people who are supposed

to be befitting from it

“To date, 79 per cent of all relevant beneficiaries have fulfilled the re-cer-tification requirements and for those who have not, their allowance will be suspended from August; and if these requirements are not met by November this year, allowances will be terminat-ed,” Minister Vuniwaqa said

“We are happy to receive an allocation

of $100,000 for the new fiscal year for the Child Protection Programme and

we are also given funding of $300,000

as grants to voluntary organisation’s that run eight residential Homes around Fiji for children who are under the care

of the Director of Social Welfare,” she added

“The Ministry’s two toll free National Helplines – Domestic Violence Hel-pline – 1560 and the Child Helpline –

1325 have been allocated a budget of

$200,000 each, which have been crucial

in intercepting emergency calls related

to abuse of women and children and viding then the necessary assistance.”

pro-The 2020-2021 budget reaffirms the Fijian Government’s commitment to gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls with the allocation of

$2.9 million complemented by an tion of $2.7 million, support by the min-istry’s development partners including the Governments of New Zealand and Canada, United Nations Women Pacific Partnership Programme, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and UN Population Fund (UNFPA)

addi-Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa during the debate on the 2020-2021 National Budget in Parliament last week

Photo: PARLIAMENT OF FIJI

To date, 79 per cent of all relevant beneficiaries have fulfilled the re-certification requirements and for those who have not, their allowance will be suspended from August;

and if these requirements are not met by November this year, allowances will be terminated.

Mereseini Vuniwaqa Ministry for Women, Children and

AZARIA FAREEN

THE Minister for Fisheries, Semi

Koroilave-sau, has applauded the Government for its foresight and support for resource-based sec-tors and the allocation to his ministry’s budget for 2020-2021

The Ministry of Fisheries has been allocated $15.5 million with a provision of $10.7 million for opera-tions and $4.09 million for capital expenditure.Speaking during the debate on 2020-2021 National Budget debate in Parliament last week, Minister Ko-roilavesau said the ministry is determined to put in considerable effort to ensure that Fijians continue to benefit from the fisheries sector by undertaking inno-vative, smart and holistic approaches which support Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Minister Koroilavesau highlighted the 2020-2021 fiscal envelope allows the ministry to clearly focus

on three key objectives to effectively deliver tangible services to all Fijians

“The first of this objective is optimizing services livered through our 32 fisheries service centres Fiji-wide – to maximize utilization and outcome, realized from the allocated budgetary provision to efficiently address short, medium and long term sustainable fish-eries goals,” he said

de-“The second objective is fostering food security, which underpins the broader context of focusing our efforts in advance research on aquaculture,” he added.Minister Koroilavesau said this will increase the value of fisheries products through value adding and diversifying fish products being targeted at niche markets

“The third objective is mitigating challenges through

an innovative approach which will allow the ministry

to identify problems, formulate solutions and adapt promptly through cost effective methods,” he said

“With the allocated budget, the ministry is mined to achieve the national and international goals – including addressing poverty and hunger, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, industry innovation, responsible consumption and production, climate action and life on land and below water.”The Ministry has been allocated $3.3 for aquacul-ture, $2.08 million for research and development,

deter-$3.92 million for coastal fisheries, $2.64 million for fisheries and an increase in the budget for food secu-rity amounting to $500,000 and $600,000 to support Electronic Monitoring Program

“The allocation of $3.3 million for aquaculture will enable the ministry to supply prawn post larvae along with tilapia fish needed for Fiji’s aquaculture farm-ers, and allow the ministry to strengthen its research capacity to introduce new cultured species to the sec-tor,” Minister Koroilavesau added

“The ministry provides fishing communities with ice through 24 ice plants from as far as Lakeba to the far north of Rotuma to maximize commercial value on fish and other seafood products There is an additional allocation for the continuous work on the construc-tion of new ice plants in Koro and Wainigadru to sup-port the goal of achieving self-sufficiency.”

The ministry has also welcomed $100,000 to plore opportunities on the installation of two solar power ice plants in two pilot sites, over $100,000 for the upgrade of Lautoka Fisheries Port, over $772,000 for coastal development, $259,000 to fund start up materials and training towards seaweed, $300,000 for Fisheries Resources Conservation to support Fisher-ies-based scientific work

ex-Additionally, $300,000 has been allocated to gai Research Centre to focus on farming of selected species of reef fish, support receiving programme of giant clams and rehabilitation of turtles and $259,000 allocated to Pearl Oyster Programme to procure spat collection materials

Mako-Minister pledges big benefits for fisheries sector

PM: Fiji ‘will work its

way out of COVID crisis’

NANISE NEIMILA

PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama

has made it clear that Fiji will need to

work its way out of the global

COV-ID-19 crisis now by bringing back jobs for

all Fijians

This was highlighted by the Head of

Gov-ernment during the debate on the

2020-2021 National Budget in Parliament last

week

Prime Minister Bainimarama said this

budget does not settle for keeping families

afloat for the next few months That’s not

what any leader with vision will ever

set-tle for That is not what the Fijian people

expect of us

“The tens of thousands of Fijians who

have already lost jobs and working hours

to this pandemic are Fijians who want to

work, Fijians who need to work.”

“When your job is lost, you lose more

than a paycheck You lose a sense of

pur-pose You lose a piece of who you are as

a person; as a wife, as a husband, as a

pro-vider for your family.”

Prime Minister Bainimarama adds the

Fi-jian Government will “not make these

hard-working people whole if the Government

sticks their head in the sand, hoard cash, do

nothing, and wait out the years it may take

for this crisis to blow over”

That is why, he added, the Government

needs to innovate the way out of this crisis

now, by getting businesses open again, and

helping new businesses to begin

“The Government is leading by example

in keeping people fully employed Cabinet

Ministers and Members of Parliament have

taken a 20 per cent pay cut and

Perma-nent Secretaries and the CEOs and Heads

of Commissions and Independent Bodies

have taken a 10 per cent salary reduction

but that’s where the cuts end.”

“We won’t be slashing the salaries of

the civil servants, we need to help put this

economy back on its feet and to support the

people who have suffered the most.”

Prime Minister Bainimarama highlighted that across the country, there are construc-tion projects that are ready to begin

“These are projects for which approvals have been sought and every box has been ticked, save for the ground-breaking.”

“Take for example, the new Nakasi lice Station Should we not press forward with its construction and create 200 jobs that last two years, allowing those Fijians

Po-to earn a living? And when it’s all said and done, we’ve built a new police station so our children will not have to, we’ve created

a source of employment for the new police officers we’re committed to hire, all while

paying the salaries of construction workers the entire way.”

The Government will continue with the Colonial War Memorial Hospital Project, Lautoka Police Station, Nadi Police Sta-tion, the Ba Court House, the Prime Min-ister’s Office Complex and other projects, the construction of which will employ over 1,600 Fijians

Prime Minister Bainimarama added that the Government will continue to strengthen support to families looking to build or buy their first homes, spurring more jobs in con-struction and realising more of the Fijian people’s right to housing

“These aren’t rich people either Many are young people, Fijians who ought to be building and owning homes of their own.” “Road by road, building by building, and house by house, every cent spent of this stimulus will help employ people, build confidence, and ripple throughout the en-tire economy, ultimately landing in our people’s pockets.”

Prime Minister Bainimarama has called on the support from the private sector, which is why the stimulus package comes alongside the largest tax cut in Fijian history and a range of new measures to cut through the red-tape of doing business in Fiji

FIJI Correction Service’s

transformative journey inspired by the Nelson Mandela Rules for prison re-form was highlighted by the Permanent Mission of Fiji to the United Nations in Geneva recently

The FCS reform was brought

to the fore before the UN and Other International Organisa-tions at the special commemora-tion of the Nelson Mandela Day recently observed

Speaking at the virtual event

on Vienna Based Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules, First Secretary at Fiji’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, Vueti May highlighted the ref-ormation of Fiji’s Corrections

Service from a punitive justice system to one of a corrective re-habilitation center

This change follows Fiji’s close engagements with the of-fice of the High Commissioner

of Human Rights in Geneva and the Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) based in Vienna

In December 2018, following the invitation of Fiji Corrections Service, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer of the UNODC, Philipp Meissner visited Fiji for a scoping mis-sion on the application of the Nelson Mandela Rules at Fiji’s correction facilities

It was stated that the scoping mission was a great success

which, included training grams for the Fiji Correction officers and consultations with heads of Fiji’s criminal justice system

pro-Fiji as a result was chosen by the UNODC to pilot the devel-opment of UNODC e-learning course on the Nelson Mandela Rules

Mr May acknowledged the UNODC’s ongoing efforts to-wards prison reforms, including its work in delivering vital assis-tance to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic

UNODC during the ID-19 pandemic period had also issued a COVID-19 prepared-ness position paper as a guide to member states Correctional Ser-

COV-vice department for the safety of inmates and their supervisors.Other notable participants in the event include the Minister of Justice and Corrections Services

of South Africa, Ronald

Lamo-la, and the Executive Director of the UNODC, Ghada Waly.Nelson Mandela Day is com-memorated worldwide on July

18 The Nelson Mandela Rules was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015

The Vienna-based Group of Friends of the Nelson Mandela Rules is a group of 30 like-minded Member States that sup-ports the practical application of the Nelson Mandela Rules

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email: news@govnet.gov.fj;

@FijianGovt; Fijian Government; visit us @ www.fiji.gov.fj phone: 3301806

NATIONAL MATTERS

FROM LEFT: Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa, Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts Rosy Akbar, Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, Minister for Local Government, Housing and Community Development Premila Kumar and Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Veena

Bhatnagar during 2020-2021 National Budget debate in Parliament last week Photo: SUPPLIED

First Secretary at Fiji’s Permanent Mission in

Geneva, Vueti May Photo: SUPPLIED

FCS changes highlighted at Mandela Day event

FIJIAN communities will benefit

through an innovative partnership emerging from the bilateral engage-ments between Fiji and the Republic of Ko-rea

This has been made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding recently signed between the Korea Energy Agency (KEA) and Fiji’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Meteorological Services for developing programs and projects in areas of energy ac-cess, renewable energy and climate change issues

The MOU will enable the two agencies to work collaboratively in exploring potential renewable energy projects based on the list

of sites provided by Fiji’s Ministry of structure and Meteorological Services

Infra-The cooperation was formalised through an official signing of the MOU by Fiji’s Ambas-sador to the Republic of Korea, Peniana Lal-abalavu, who signed on behalf of the Fijian Ministry of Infrastructure and Meteorologi-cal Services and the President of Korea Ener-

gy Agency, Kim Chang Seob at the Chancery

of the Fiji Embassy in Korea

Ambassador Lalabalavu conveyed her preciation to President Kim for his Agency’s commitment to assist Fiji particularly for the support provided towards the US$1.5Million (FJ$3.19m) Namara village Solar PV com-bined with Energy Storage System (ESS) pi-lot project which, was commissioned by the Ministry for Infrastructure and Meteorologi-

ap-cal Services in December, 2017

In commending KEA’s remarkable mitment to this initiative, Ambassador Lala-balavu also acknowledged the preliminary feasibility study conducted in 2017 on future renewable energy projects in 24 villages on the islands of Kadavu, Vatulele, Mamanuca and the Yasawa group

com-The MOU signed is a testament of Fiji and the Republic of Korea’s friendship and col-laboration that has culminated into projects

in areas of social and economic development

In his remarks President Kim reiterated his Agency’s commitment to work closely with Fiji’s Ministry of Infrastructure on the devel-opment of renewable Energy in Fiji in par-

ticular on Solar PV combined with Energy Storage System (ESS) in remote areas, which are not connected to the national grid

In this regard, he confirmed that they will work closely with the Ministry of Infrastruc-ture and Meteorological Services on the fi-nalisation of the feasibility study that was conducted by an independent consultant in

2017 and work towards the robust tation of the proposed renewable energy pro-jects identified in the report

implemen-The MOU is for a term of three (3) years and

it will be reviewed and renewed in ance with the mutual agreement of the two nations

Prime Minister Voreqe marama, while commissioning the new hybrid seawall recently, said that this initiative is an im-portant step forward in Govern-ment’s efforts to keep all Fijians safe from the terrible potential effects of climate change particu-larly sea-level rise

Baini-“This new hybrid seawall that

we are commissioning today resents more than just an attempt

rep-to keep the ocean from ing on the lands that is so impor-tant to this village

It also represents hope to the residents of so many villages in Fiji that need protection particu-larly on the outer islands.”

“To build this seawall, the istry of Waterways and Environ-ment used an ingenious com-bination of human-made and nature-based solutions to provide protection that is more effective

Min-and less expensive than a crete wall.”

con-PM Bainimarama said the wall

is made of boulders that were acquired from nearby, which re-duced construction costs, and the mangroves planted in front of the wall and vetiver planted behind the wall provide extra protection for their ability to absorb and contain tidal flows

“The mangroves are the first line of defense, as they have al-ways been in Fiji, and the vetiver

is the last line.”

“The mangroves will calm the action of the waves, but the man-grove ecosystem will also be an important local source of food

Mangroves take carbon out of the air, protect coral reefs by holding in soil, and are home to shellfish and other marine life.”

PM Bainimarama adds the vetiver forms a strong hedge, its deep roots hold in the soil, and

it can thrive even in soil that has been inundated by seawater

“Our need to protect coastal communities is urgent, and so we will continue to pursue nature-based solutions either alone or

in combination with man-made structures This is the way we will pick up the pace to reach more communities more quickly and with solutions that have mul-tiple benefits.”

This project was completed in just four months, and PM Baini-marama was pleased to note that

it arose from a Talanoa session that the people of Viro held with the Minister for Waterways and Environment

“The people spoke, and the

Government responded quickly and with the right solution.”

“Since 2014, we have taken eight coastal protection projects at a cost of more than

under-$5million In the process, we protected more than 2,000 me-tres of vulnerable coastal areas But those projects were primarily conventional reinforced concrete seawalls,” PM Bainimarama said

This project is different, and with reduced costs and greater ef-ficiency of these hybrid projects that use nature-based solutions, more will be done with less.Viro village headman Filipe Ledua thanked the Fijian gov-ernment for their intervention towards the construction of the seawall

successful home gardening

initiative has led to a boom

in urban and peri-urban home

gardens with excess produce either

contributing to precious household

income or bartered for other

es-sentials

This was highlighted by the

As-sistant Minister for Agriculture,

Waterways and Environment Viam

Pillay in Parliament last week

while responding to the issues

raised during the debate on the

2020-2021 National Budget last

week

Assistant Minister for

Agricul-ture Viam Pillay has described the

2020-2021 National Budget in four

words- bold, visionary, hopeful

and caring

“This budget empowers our

commercial sector, the engine of

growth by providing economic

stimulus packages to incentivize

entrepreneurs and employers and

protect our economy during these

uncertain times”

He said the allocation will

moti-vate the Ministry to work smartly

and diligently to leverage the

agriculture sector

Assistant Minister Pillay told the

Parliament that there was an

in-crease in people returning to their

villages to plant crops

The ‘stay home’ policy did

pro-vide the best opportunity for

peo-ple to grow their own vegetables

from the distributed seed packages

by the Ministry

“A total of 36,495 seed packages

have been distributed representing

over 307,000 individual seed

pack-ets and the total utilization was

$47,552 The initiative will resume

in September, 2020,” Assistant

Minister Pillay said

The ministry will continue to

source its budget allocation from

the Agriculture Extension Service

Programme Crops with an

allo-cated budget of $600,000 in the

2020-2021 financial year

The $35,000 that is allocated to

the Home Gardening initiative will

also be sourced from this

alloca-tion in 2020-2021 financial year’s

budget

“The policy documents were

designed to fulfil the

mandated-policy objectives of the Ministry

in maintaining food and nutrition

security, generating the economic

growth for sustainable livelihood,

alleviating poverty and managing

available resources for

sustainabil-ity and climate smart agriculture

Assistant Minister Pillay has

commended Attorney-General

and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz

Sayed-Khaiyum for his leadership

in proposing a bold and forward

looking budget that will put the

na-tion on a path to recovery and help

Build Back Better

Fiji’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Peniana Lalabalavu (fourth from left), and the President of the Korea ergy Agency, Kim Chang Seob (fifth from left) with Fijian and Korean officials during the signing of the Memorandum

En-of Understanding at the Chancery En-of the Fiji Embassy in Korea Photo: SUPPLIED

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama with Cabinet Ministers and Government officials at Viro Village, Ovalau Photo: NANISE NEIMILA

Hybrid seawall helps address sea-level rise

Fiji, Korea seal MOU

on renewable energy

NATIONAL MATTERS email: news@govnet.gov.fj; @Fijian Govt; Fijian Government; visit us @ www.fiji.gov.fj phone: 3301806 l l l l

Fijians set to benefit from improved cook stove programme

Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has encouraged Fijians to work together

to tackle the adverse effects of climate

change.

He was speaking at an event this week at Kalokolevu Village, almost

18 kilometres west of Suva, where

78 women received the wood burning efficient cookstoves under the Improved

Cook Stove Programme in Fiji.

“This stove will make more fire and enable you to cook food more efficiently with less wood, so we will be saving out on our trees,” the A-G said while

handing over the stoves.

“All Fijians need to work together to be able to understand these issues Why

we are doing this and why we must play

a role in it We understand why this is very important not just for Fiji, but the

entire planet Earth

“One of the problems we face is climate change It is general knowledge that climate change is caused by carbon and gases we use, that is released damaging the atmosphere It is no doubt that we also know the effects

of climate change.” The A-G thanked

the Inter-Ministerial team consisting

of the Ministry of Forests, Ministry

of Agriculture, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Women and the Ministry of i-Taukei Affairs, together with the local service provider for donating the much-

needed items.

The Improved Cook Stove Programme

in Fiji is fully funded by Korea Carbon Management Limited and the local service provider is Kasabias Pte Ltd.

Photos: AZARIA FAREEN

FIJIAN youth have been encouraged to use the land around them and register their youth clubs with the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

At the launch of the Nasau youth farm initiative and the handing over

of youth club registration certificates, the Minister for Youth and Sports Parveen Kumar highlighted the need for the youth to utilise their land because it would generate income for them to assist their families.

“I understand that the wide impact of this pandemic is far reaching and it has impacted communities including our young people, that is why my ministry is encouraging youth clubs to utilise unused land for

agriculture purposes,” Minister Kumar said.

The minister called on all youth to be part of the ministry’s programmes because it would ensure that they received all relevant training along with assistance that the ministry could provide to them.

The event was held at the Nasau Youth Training Centre about six

kilometres outside Sigatoka town.

Photos: MEREANI GONEDUA

Use land around you,

Accompanying the Prime Minister were the Minister for Fisheries, Semi Koroilavesau, Minister for Health and Medical Service Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete and Minister for Defence and National Security Inia Seruiratu, who

officiated at the event.

Photos: FELIX LESINAIVALU

MEREANI GONEDUA

LIFE is never easy,

howev-er, without determination

and courage we will never

achieve our goals

These were the views and values

that single mother of two Laisiana

Nayasi, who was among the 13

aquaculture farmers who recently

received bags of fish feed from

the Minister for Fisheries, Semi

Koroilavesau at the Port of

Lau-toka, lives by in life

Ms Nayasi from Barotu, Ra

manages her time on both her

tilapia aquaculture farm and

veg-etable farm to earn an income in

order to support her two children

“I received six bags of tilapia

feed from the Government and I

am grateful for the assistance

pro-vided I have been an aquaculture

farmer for nearly five years now

and the income I receive from my

farm is enough to sustain my

fam-ily.”

“I have two children and even

though I work alone on my

aqua-culture farm, I always try my best

to do whatever I can in order to

provide for my kids and I am

al-ways grateful that the Fijian

Gov-ernment is always looking out for

Fijians like me.”

“I have two ponds and I earn at

least $3000 from one pond when

I harvest the tilapia in six months

and I sell these along the roadside

and a lot of people buy them.”

Minister Koroilavesau, while

handing over 165 bags of tilapia,

prawn and shrimp feed,

acknowl-edged the farmers for their

deter-mination during this pandemic

crisis

He said the farmers were

iden-tified based on the damages tained on their farms during TC Harold and reassured them that

sus-no Fijian will be left behind and that the Fijian Government will always be ready to assist every-one

Minister Koroilavesau lighted that aquaculture is one of the immediate solutions to food security, resource sustainability and climate change

high-“As Minister responsible for Fisheries, I have been visiting a range of new projects and com-

munities all over Fiji and ing at the forefront the struggles our people are going through.”

witness-“I would like to reaffirm to you that we are here for you and that

no one will be left behind.”

“Our aim is to increase the duction of tilapia fry’s and shrimp post larvae through innovative and tangible approaches

pro-“To achieve this, the ment has increased the allocated funding for the new financial year

Govern-to maximise the scope of tance to Food Security and Com-

assis-mercial Aquaculture Farmers

“This would include improved pond management, infrastructure improvement and development

“To our farmers present today, the Ministry of Fisheries is deter-mined to work closely with you

With our eyes set wholly on a sustainable blue economy, aqua-culture will play a critical role in achieving this vision

“That’s why Government is with you every step of the way to make aquaculture farming as hassle-free and profitable as possible.”

WEST

email: news@govnet.gov.fj;

@FijianGovt;

Fijian Government; visit us @ www.fiji.gov.fj phone: 3301806

Minister for Fisheries, Semi Koroilavesau (right) during the handing over of bags of Tilapia feed at the Port of Lautoka

Photo: MEREANI GONEDUA

THE opening and expansion

of local businesses in the country shows the confi-dence local business owners have

on the Fijian economy

These were the sentiments pressed by local businessman Ashfaaq Ahmad Khan during the inauguration of the Al-Hamad Smartliving warehouse and show-room in Namaka, Nadi

ex-“We have full confidence in the growth of Fiji’s economy and here we are celebrating another milestone with the opening of this

$150,000 showroom/warehouse and office complex,” Mr Khan said

Mr Khan, who operates ily owned businesses, recently opened his fourth outlet in Labasa and acknowledged the Fijian Gov-ernment for the recent budget an-nouncement

fam-“It’s a budget that is creative and allows businesses to push ahead in confidence, without the worry of any health issues within the Fijian community

“This has given us much dence to invest, grow and take bold steps.”

confi-Meanwhile, officiating at the auguration, Minister for Educa-tion, Heritage and Arts Rosy Akbar commended the company for tak-ing such a bold step and encour-aged them to set an example for Fiji’s upcoming youths

in-“Now more than ever we must stand in solidarity with our fellow Fijians and support one another

“We must continue to support ventures such as the Namaka Al-Hamad Smartliving Warehouse and Showroom which creates em-ployment opportunities for Fiji-ans.”

Minister Akbar said the opening

of a new branch of Al-Hamad dicates Fijian resilience during a time when the world is facing an unprecedented global crisis

in-“This is why it is important to knowledge achievements as such because they signify our resilience

ac-in the face of adversity

She also highlighted that during the recent budget announcement it had been announced that business licenses required to start a business had been removed

“The Fijian Government regularly holds consultations with the busi-ness community and we have taken steps to improve the ease of doing business in Fiji Businesses, of course, are currently participating

in an online registration exercise, and can make payments including business online registration with a quick turnaround time

“We hope to stimulate the tion of new businesses while also boosting existing ones which ul-timately will improve the Fijian economy.”

crea-Increased local confidence in Fiji’s economy

MEREANI GONEDUA

MORE than 100 youth in Nadroga

were all smiles as they were

hand-ed their youth club registration by

the Minister for Youth and Sports Parveen

Kumar

The two youth clubs from Naduri and

Na-tabuta in Nadroga would now be able to

access the Fijian Government’s assistance

provided to youth clubs around the country

through the Ministry of Youth and Sports

Naduri youth club member Meresiana Matai

stated that they have been in talks with the

Ministry for quite some time, however, they

are now grateful that their club has been

reg-istered

“This registration means a lot of most of us

members as it would open up opportunities

provided by the Ministry of Youth and Sports for us to learn from and utilize

“As it is, we have already began our club farming and the assistance provided to us will assist us in many more things to learn about farming and other initiatives provided.”

“We are very fortunate especially now that

we have been provided an opportunity to farm and this will not only help us with our individual goals but also assist our families.”

Meanwhile, Minister Kumar acknowledged the two youth clubs for continuing to pursue with their goals during times of crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic

He stressed the need for youth clubs to lise the assistance and resources provided to them by the Ministry as it will benefit them

uti-in the long run

“I understand that the wide impact of this

pandemic is far reaching and it has impacted communities including our young people and that is why my Ministry is encouraging youth clubs to utilize unused land for agriculture purposes

“This farming activities will reassure food security for your family families and if you plant more crop and vegetables you can en-sure a sustainable source of income.”

Minister Kumar said the Ministry has aged to register 22 youth clubs in Nadroga and also acknowledged landowners who have offered their land for free for this clubs

Youth grateful for

assistance in trying times

Farmers can benefit from

copra industry revival

THE Office of the

Commis-sioner Northern Division hosted five Heads of Missions and senior diplomats during a visit to the division last week

The delegation were on a two-day tour of the North

On their arrival, Australian High Commissioner to Fiji John Feakes, New Zealand High Commissioner

to Fiji to Fiji Jonathan Curr, United States Ambassador to Fiji Joseph Cella, Deputy Chief of Mission Ja-pan Tsuguyoshi Hada, British Dep-uty High Commissioner Paul Welsh were received by the acting Com-missioner Northern Division Uraia Rainima and his team before meet-ing Tui Macuata Ratu Wiliame Ka-tonivere and heads of departments of various Government Ministries and organisations

During a briefing with the tion, Mr Rainima provided informa-tion about his role in the Division, focusing on the Integrated Rural Development Framework (IRDF) and his role as the divisional disaster controller

delega-Mr Rainima also highlighted tions of the Ministry and provided statistics of critical needs for water supply, rural roads and other infra-structure

func-He also provided a detailed briefing

on the challenges faced by the sion during their operations for Trop-ical Cyclone Harold and COVID-19

divi-“Discussions also focused on rural

to urban drift, abundance of natural resources, arable land that is underu-tilised, economic ventures by com-panies and others,” Mr Rainima said.The delegation visited non-govern-mental organisations (NGOs), Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and the So-qosoqo Vakamarama

They also visited the Agriculture Research Station in Wainigata, Sa-vusavu, and met members of the business communities and tourism stakeholders in Labasa and Savusa-vu

Mr Rainima also held discussions with the visiting diplomats on provi-sions of resources for disaster man-agement and disaster risk reduction

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Divisional commissioner hosts heads of missions

From left, Minister for Rural and Maritime Development Inia Seruiratu, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment Mahendra Reddy and Prime Minister Voreqe

Bainimarama during the launch of the edible oil mill and the coconut cooking oil In Savusavu last month Photo: NANISE NEIMILA

Work smarter and economise: Karan

THE Ministry of Sugar Industry will

continue with its ongoing support

and commitment to sustain the

in-dustry

This was the message by the Ministry

per-manent secretary, Yogesh Karan, who also

looks after the Office of the Prime Minister

and is acting PS for Foreign Affairs, to staff

as the new budget year began

One such capital project that the

Minis-try will continue to pursue is the Fertilizer

Subsidy Programme

Government has allocated more than $15

million towards this programme in the 2020-2021 financial year and this is to en-sure that the growers apply the required amount of fertiliser to their cane fields and replenish nutrient loss

Mr Karan said the Ministry will also duce the green manuring programme

intro-Green manuring is a process whereby leguminous plants such as pulses, lentils, peas, peanuts and mucuna that are capable

of trapping nitrogen from the atmosphere are incorporated into the soil to improve soil health These plants will be cultivated

on the same land few months prior to cane planting

Since 2016, both the cane production and yield has continually increased from 1.39m tonnes of cane and 37 tonnes of yield to 1.81m tonnes in 2019 with a yield of 48 tonnes per hectare; an increase by 30 per-cent in yield from 2016

On average, the cane production cost is

$31.00 per tonne and average ing and cartage cost of $30.00 per tonne

harvest-About 40 percent of the cane production cost is actually absorbed by the Govern-

ment through weedicide (55 per cent) and fertiliser subsidies (56 percent)

Mr Karan added; “the growers are still making profit averaging from $25 to $35 for every tonne of cane which is nearly 30 percent to 40 percent gross margin after costs are met

“When compared to other businesses, the growers are way much better off at cane payment of $85 per tonne So the higher the yield for farmers, the higher will be their total net income.”

-news@govnet.gov.fj

RURAL farmers in the North

can easily earn an income to support their families through copra, with each coconut selling at a

minimum price of 15 cents

Fiji Coconut Millers Private Limited

chairman Raj Sharma said copra has

been a traditional commodity

pro-duced in Savusavu and rural farmers

in Cakaudrove could benefit from its

revival

Mr Sharma said that the company

made more than $1million in loss

fol-lowing the aftermath of TC Winston,

but in the last two years,

Govern-ment had injected over $1million for

the planting of coconuts in the

Caka-udrove province

Currently, the company collects

co-pra, nuts, and green coconuts and

dis-tributes coconut palms to rural farmers

in Cakaudrove

Mr Sharma said with the challenges

posed by the global COVID-19 demic, Fijians in the North who previ-ously depended on the tourism indus-try for their daily livelihood were now resorting to copra

pan-This, he said was because of the tential that the coconut industry had in boosting not only Fiji’s rural economy but the national economy as a whole

po-“The minimum price that farmers ceive is 15cents at the moment, when

re-a coconut fre-alls from the tree, thre-at’s re-a minimum of 15cents on the ground,”

Process-“Produce such as cassava, sweet tatoes, dalo, dalo leaves and duruka are also some of the commodity markets

po-that we are trying to look at and they are all in rural areas,” he added

Minister for Rural and Maritime velopment and Disaster Management Inia Seruiratu earlier said there were a lot of potential and opportunities avail-able in Vanua Levu that needed to be tapped into to improve the livelihoods

De-of rural Fijians

“We have always stated from the ginning that rural Fiji has a lot to con-tribute to our growth and particularly

be-in terms of our GDP and that potential needs to be realised,” Minister Seruira-

tu said

“Vanua Levu is a more agro-based economy because we have a lot of ac-tivities in agriculture, particularly sug-

ar, rice and copra and livestock as well

“We used to focus only on copra viously but now it’s the whole of the coconut industry.”

pre news@govnet.gov.fj

email: news@govnet.gov.fj;

@FijianGovt;

Fijian Government; visit us @ www.fiji.gov.fj phone: 3301806

NATIONAL MATTERS

FELIX LESINAIVALU

“THE most certain thing about

COVID-19 is the uncertainty it

presents, we should not be

sit-ting around twiddling our thumbs

waiting for things to change.”

This was highlighted by the

At-torney-General and Minister for

Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

recently, during the Fiji’s

Econom-ic Recovery Plan- a post budget

discussion- organised by the Fiji

Chamber of Commerce and

Indus-try at Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva

recently

“What we should be doing is ticipating what can happen, using this opportunity to try and look at our own fundamental structures as

an-a globan-al economy an-and of course an-as

a domestic economy.”

“We had to recognize within our new COVID-19 framework that Fiji has done really well in as far

as the containment of the virus is concerned We do not have any lo-cally transmitted cases in Fiji and therefore we are called COVID contained country Hopefully New Zealand will become a COVID contained country very soon.”

The A-G said within a week of Fiji’s first case, the Government presented the COVID-19 budget response “because the moment Fiji has a case, tourists would stop coming to Fiji, planes would stop flying, the ability to collect depar-ture tax, ECAL (Environmental and Climate Adaptation Levy), STT (Service Turnover Tax), reve-nue for hotels, revenue for Fiji Air-ways and all the other businesses.”

“As I said earlier, a lady that sells bananas or boils and sells ivi out-side those offices, he or she will no longer have any business because

there is nobody working there So

it will affect them too dramatically and these people are unnecessarily

in the formal sector, they do not have FNPF (Fiji National Provi-dent Fund), they don’t have any-thing that they can rely on.”

“That is their day to day living, so suddenly they don’t have any rev-enue, they don’t have any money.”

The A-G said that was why the Government re-collaborated the figures of the 2019-2020 budget to take the country through this finan-cial year

Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum with Jenny Seeto (left) and Mark Halabe during the post budget discussion organised by the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and

Industry at the Holiday Inn Suva Photo: AZARIA FAREEN

Pandemic’s uncertainty calls for mind-set change

ILISAPECI TUIVALE

THE Attorney-General

and Minister for

Econo-my, Aiyaz yum encouraged those present

Sayed-Khai-at the post-budget discussion;

“Fiji’s Economic Recovery Plan” to ‘think outside the box’

Encouraging Fijians to not wait for too long before own-ing a home, the A-G, while speaking at the discussion or-ganised by the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Grand Pacific Hotel recently, made this remark in reference

to home-ownership which in Fiji is extremely low

“Many people have that chology to buy a house once they are in their 30’s or 40’s

psy-We want the young people

of Fiji to be able to buy their homes much quicker,” he said

“The Reserve Bank of Fiji is lending at least one per cent on housing loans to commercial banks who should then lend

at least five per cent of those monies So we have banks that are lending at 4.2 and 4.3 per cent for home loans, for home buyers.”

Owning a home under strata title can also be possible in-stead of building a home on a block of land

This means owning a home in

an apartment building instead

of buying land and building a house on it

“Owning your first home can

be under strata title – you can have an apartment which is your own, in the same way that you would have a home on a block of land

“The core structure for strata titling is a lot more attractive because under one roof, you have three floors, you share the plumbing services etc.”

Attractive packages such as tax exemption on profits made from the sale of subdivided land have also been made available for Fijians

“The third aspect is the ity of the lots – any company

liabil-or any business that subdivide land, beginning from a million dollars or less, the ‘x’ number

of benefits, you also lend any profits Any profits that you make from the sale from the subdivision of those lots are tax free or tax exempted The larger the project the longer tax holidays you get, you also get tax exemption on the prof-its you make from it,” the A-G said

The post-budget discussion was attended by members of the private sector and many present welcomed the 2020-

2021 National Budget that was

A-G urges Fijians to own homes

PRASHILA DEVI

IT is the collective responsibility of every

Fijian, including the businesses that Fiji’s

COVID-19 contained status is sustained

and to do that, it is vital that the “careFIJI”

Mo-bile Application is downloaded by everyone

This was the succinct message by the

Attor-ney-General, Minister for Economy, Civil

Ser-vice and Communications, Aiyaz

Sayed-Khai-yum, while addressing the Fiji-New Zealand,

New Zealand-Fiji, Fiji-Australia, Australia-Fiji

Business Councils Post Budget Forum at the

Holiday Inn in Suva recently

While speaking to the members the A-G

dis-cussed the importance of having the careFIJI

app on He stated that the app simply records

close contact information between mobile vices that have the app active

de-This information is then stored on a 28 day rolling cycle He further stated that the app has been downloaded approximately 50, 000 times and taking into account our population of 630,

000 who are above the age of 18, this is not even 10 per cent

“If we are able to go to Australia and New Zealand, if we are able to say to them “look guys, 30 – 40 per cent of our population actu-ally have downloaded the app

“It gives us a lot of credibility when we stand

up and say let’s open up the Travel Bubble and

it also gives a lot of confidence to the people who want to travel to Fiji”

He also dispelled certain misconceptions

re-garding the information that the App captures and explained that the only personal informa-tion recorded is the mobile number

“So for example, if I get COVID-19 then they will give me an access code and then I input the pin number myself, then all of your phone numbers will go directly to the Ministry of Health dashboard.”

The A-G explained that after receiving the mobile numbers Ministry of Health and Medi-cal Services officials will then contact the in-dividuals and advise them on the next cause

of action which will ensure that the chances of community transmission is reduced

He added that similar Apps in countries like Australia have seen relatively high downloads, which is 40 per cent of the population

careFIJI App ‘vital’ to

contain COVID-19

AZARIA FAREEN

THE Attorney-General, Minister for

Economy and Communication,

Ai-yaz Sayed-Khaiyum has revealed

that over 100 yachts are expected to arrive

in the next few weeks, joining the few that

have already berthed in ports around Fiji

The A-G highlighted this while speaking

to members of the Fiji-New Zealand, New

Zealand-Fiji, Fiji-Australia, Australia-Fiji

Business Councils Post Budget Forum in

Suva last night

He said there has been a lot of inquiries

on the Blue Lane - which is essentially lowing marine vessels such as yachts and super-yachts to come to Fiji

The A-G adds “with the America’s Cup World Series being held in New Zealand, a lot of people will come and can park their yachts or super yachts here”

“And also, there are a lot of New ers who travel to Fiji at this time of the year escaping New Zealand’s terrible winter,”

Zealand-the A-G said

“Essentially the way the Blue Lane works

is that their sailing time is used as part of the quarantine period I am told it takes about five to seven days to sail from Auck-land Harbor to Port Denarau, depending on the size of the yacht and the weather,” he added

“So if you are sailing for seven days and nobody gets on or off during the journey, then those seven days are counted towards your 14 days of the quarantine period

“You arrive at Port Denarau and the Wailoaloa Bay area is used as a quarantine yard if you would like,” A-G said

“They stay there for another seven days and serve their 14 days, then they get tested for COVID-19 and if they are clear then they can visit and go to the Nadi market and resorts.”

The A-G said the Government has also opened “the Pacific Pathway again allow-ing travel to Tuvalu, Kiribati and Tonga, for them to actually come to Fiji” but that there needs to be a higher level of health security that needs to be put in place as they will have to serve 14 days of quarantine which they have to pay for

“PACER Plus will not provide any

addi-tional access to the Australian and New Zealand markets, then what we already have.”

This was argued by Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Koya while responding to the issues surrounding PACER Plus during debate on the 2020-2021 National Budget in Parliament last week

Minister Koya said if Fiji agrees to the ditions of PACER Plus this would require “ze-rorising of over 80 per cent” of Fiji’s trade

“PACER Plus will result in the liberalisation

of sectors, where Australia and New Zealand industries are more competitive, have econo-mies of scale and are more powerful than Fi-jian industries.”

Minister Koya indicated that this will be detrimental to many of our Fijian industries and it will not

provide any additional access to the Australian and New Zealand markets, then what we al-ready have

“In addition, PACER Plus will cally erode our policy space and sovereignty and tie our hands with regards to future trade agreements with any third country.”

Minister Koya spoke on the reduction of iffs by the Fijian Government as one way to stimulate economic activity in the manufac-turing sector

“The import of raw materials has been made cheaper For example, fiscal duty on footwear and components to manufacture footwear has reduced from 32 to 15 percent and import ex-cise reduced from 10 percent to 0.”

“This leads to reduced cost of production, ability to compete better and in turn will lead

to employment.”

Minister Koya adds that local businesses are at the heart of every community and “we continue to believe in our ability to produce world class products and enhance the Fijian Made brand and what it stands for”

“This is the time to show our national pride, and demonstrate our support for the brand.”

In showing support towards the 2020-2021 National Budget, Minister Koya said the budget focuses on getting tourism back on its feet by making the sector competitive, streamlining business processes, empower-ing MSMEs and strengthening and diversi-fying our economic base

100 yachts expected under Blue Lane initiative

Trade minister clarifies Pacer Plus access

FELIX LESINAIVALU

THE Attorney-General and

Min-ister for Economy, Aiyaz

Sayed-Khaiyum, has highlighted that

under the Bula Bubble health risks will

be managed

The A-G speaking at Fiji’s Economic

Recovery Plan- a post budget discussion-

organised by the Fiji Chamber of

Com-merce and Industry said, “Because for us

it is managing the health risk and

manag-ing the economic risk and economic

op-portunities”

“New Zealand in a few weeks’ time

will be COVID contained unless there is

a certain outbreak in the community.”

The A-G added that when a country

becomes COVID contained travelling

would be more relaxed

“At this time I would advise that they

do not go into quarantine, they simply do

a COVID test and 48 to 72 hours after

that they can get on a plane, get off at the

airport, go to a resort of their choice and

spend their holiday.”

The A-G said if an Australian visitor

wants to come to Fiji for a holiday, they

go into their 14 day quarantine which they can do at home, they have a COVID-19 test and if it’s negative within 14 hours they can board a plane and come to Fiji

“They’ll be separated from rybody else because we don’t want contamination from one to the other.”

“Then they will get off at the airport, there will be designated transport, along what we call the VIP lanes and then they’ll

go to designated resorts,” he said

The A-G added that staff ing in those resorts will have to stay in those premises

“They cannot come to work in the morning then simply go back to the vil-lage or go back to their home because there is some chance of contamination.”

“So we have created the resort as a ble, the transportation system as a bub-ble and the airport as a bubble That is what’s offered.”

bub-Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum during the post budget discussion

organised by the Fiji Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva

Photo: FELIX LESINAIVALU

Health bubble

‘able to

handle risks’

Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport Faiyaz Koya at Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva Photo: ILISAPECI TUIVALE

ILISAPECI TUIVALE

THE Minister for Forestry,

Osea Naiqamu has given

assurance in Parliament

that the Ministry of Forestry will

effectively utilise its allocated

budget to achieve its goals

al-ready in place for the new

finan-cial year

With an allocated budget of

$15.7 million, the Ministry of

Forestry is geared to utilise this

budget to strengthen its work in

various areas that will assist the

country from the disorder caused

by the COVID-19 pandemic,

Tropical Cyclone Harold and

other cyclones that have caused

similar damage

“The new budget will, for

in-stance enable the Ministry to assist

Fijians who have lost their houses during TC Harold to put a decent roof over their heads About $1.5 million is allocated for the mari-time pine development and the purchase of harvesting machines and equipment These funds will complement Government’s hous-ing rehabilitation in the islands

“The new Budget will ate the efforts to ensure that we re-purpose timber for all the dam-aged houses within the next few months.”

acceler-The Ministry of Forestry is also collaborating with other minis-

tries such as the Ministry of ral and Maritime Development and the Ministry of Housing and Community Development to re-build houses of up to category four cyclone standard

Ru-With the global COVID-19 pandemic causing job losses and the closure of many companies, Minister Naiqamu stated the Min-istry is exploring opportunities

of meaningful engagement with some companies to assist in re-covery operations in the islands and this will also help in the rein-statement of jobs for Fijians

“About $2 million of the new budget will enable the Ministry to continue implementing the Cash for Tree Planting Programme, which provides the opportunity for Fijians who have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pan-demic, to earn some cash by planting trees in their communi-ties,” Minister Naiqamu stated

Minister Naiqamu also calls on Fijians to continue to support the Government’s tree planting initia-tive for a sustainable environment and more natural disaster resilient nation

Ministry plans

effective use

of budget

allocation

First local registration

for mobile e-passport

email: news@govnet.gov.fj;

@FijianGovt;

Fijian Government; visit us @ www.fiji.gov.fj phone: 3301806

NATIONAL MATTERS

THE Department of Immigration recently

undertook their first local registration on

its new mobile e-passport system

The Department registered Ratu Drugucava

Manoa Bosevakaturaga, who is currently

ad-mitted at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital

and is scheduled to undertake further medical

treatment in New Zealand

Through the assistance of the Department,

Ratu Drugucava was able to register his

bi-ometrics for his e-passport application at the

CWM Hospital

The Department has three mobile e-passport

systems, one of which was launched in

Aus-tralia last year to assist Fijians with their

pass-port applications The remaining two is with the Department of Immigration

Ratu Drugucava’s mother, Salanieta Adilele could not contain her excitement when the Im-migration officials visited her son in hospital today for the registration

“The Department has saved us the extra cost

of running around for my son’s passport He is due for further medical treatment overseas and

we have been trying our very best to finalise his travel arrangements but today we are very grateful to the Immigration staff for coming to register our son in the hospital,” Mrs Adilele said

“This initiative has indeed saved us the time

and energy of going down to the Immigration Office in the city We thank the Department for their indulgence over our situation Thank you very much to the Government and the Depart-ment of Immigration for this great assistance.”

The introduction of the mobile kits was marily to accommodate persons with disabili-ties for cases such as that of Ratu Drugucava

The mobile system is part of the Department

of Immigration’s e-Passport Project and ernment’s digital transformation initiative To date, the Department has issued 34,000 e-pass-ports since its rollout in September 2019

FELIX LESINAIVALU

MINISTER for Local

Government, Housing and Community De-velopment Premila Kumar, said that Fijians living in Wakanisila Settlement should count them-selves lucky

Minister Kumar shared this during a visit to the Wakanisila Settlement with Minister for In-frastructure, Lands and Mineral Resources Jone Usamate and Minister for Health and Medical Services, Ifereimi Waqainabete

“For every development in place, like Wakanisila, it will cost the Government $4.5 mil-lion.”

“We know for sure that when the Government decides that we are going to develop an area, the first thing we do is work on the budget.”

Minister Kumar added that for the next two years the Govern-ment draws up a scheme plan, the engineering plan and if there

is a need for it, engage a ant

consult-“After the preparatory phase, which is this year, we then ac-quire the funds to carry out the real construction There are 250 informal settlements Every year, Government decides based

on the budget that we have, how many settlements will be under construction, and how many set-tlements will be under the pre-paratory phase.”

Minister Kumar said they have completed the scheme plan and this has already been approved

by the Department of Town and Country Planning and they have also undertaken the Envi-ronmental Impact Assessment report

“The engineering plan for this area is already being undertaken

by the consultant and we are ticipating that by the end of this month we should be able to ob-tain the engineering plan.”

an-“Engineering plan will then show the location of the road, the footpaths, the drains, the sewage system and the street-lights.”

Minister Kumar said this was

an important part of the opment plan because once the engine ering phase is complet-

devel-ed, the Ministry can allocate areas to other public sectors, for example, the roads would go

to Fiji Roads Authority and the sewage system goes to Water Authority of Fiji

“We are completing the neering plan, and when that is completed, the next step is to award the tender to a construc-tion company and that is when the contractor will come in and start working on the ground.”

engi-FELIX LESINAIVALU

THE one-year countdown

be-gan to the Tokyo 2020

Olym-pic and ParalymOlym-pic Games

The Japanese Ambassador to Fiji,

Masahiro Omura, hosted a

recep-tion at his residence to

commemo-rate the event

“Japan continues to do its best

in preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Game and

is looking forward to welcome Fiji, with the rest of the world.”

“As 2020 is a memorable year in which Fiji celebrates its 50TH Inde-pendence Anniversary, it is also the year of the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of Fiji-Japan diplo-matic relations,” he said

The reception was also attended by the Fijian Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama as well as the diplo-matic corp, local sporting bodies and athletes

Minister for Youth and Sports, Parveen Kumar during the recep-tion said, “with sports as an enabler, the Fiji-Japan relationship has been made stronger moving forward dur-

ing this COVID-19 period.”

“Despite the difficult decision to postpone Tokyo 2020, let us co-operate to the realisations of gains

in 2021.”

Minister Kumar added that Fiji and Japan share an excellent relation-ship and have come a very long way

in youth and sports

Ambassador Omura said the

COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the entire world and has re-sulted in the loss of lives and liveli-hoods cause the recession of global economies and closure of interna-tional borders

“I wish to praise the leadership of the Fijian Government in keeping

us safe and effectively guiding the nation through this difficult time.”

Joseva Lomavere assists a woman plant a tree at Nabasovi Village on Koro Island.

Photo: ILISAPECI TUIVALE

Countdown to Tokyo 2020 begins

Youth rebuilds shattered dream

ILISAPECI TUIVALE

FOR Joseva Lomavere, the training

provided to him by the Ministry of

Forestry is a step towards

achiev-ing his dreams

The most outspoken lad of the Cawa

District Youth group who were part of

the team assisting in the tree planting

consultations around Koro Island, Jo,

as he is most commonly known, has big

dreams for himself and his family

The 19-year-old from Navaga Village

farms in the village and has plans of a

better life abroad

“I am hoping that this training and this

certificate will take me overseas I have

faced so much hardships in life and I’m

working towards a brighter future for my

siblings and me,” he stated

Though outspoken and always willing

to assist anyone who needs help, Jo

car-ries the weight of a broken past weighing

over his shoulders

Raised by his grandmother in the

vil-lage of Navaga, his dreams of attending

aviation school this year were shattered

when he fell into the wrong crowd in

high school

Jo is popular as someone who is always

willing to run errands for anyone in the

team and is always willing to assist

any-one who needs help but behind such a

bubbly personality is a person carrying

so much pain silently

“My grandmother raised me and two of

my siblings when my parents separated

I haven’t seen my mother in a long time and it hurts me but I am learning to cope

as the days go by I help out in the hold chores and I can do any domestic duty needed to be done in the house.”

house-“My father and I farm for the ability of our family and I am hoping that with the knowledge I have acquired from these tree planting exercise and consul-tations, I will be able to work towards a better future for my family.”

sustain-When asked about his thoughts on the assistance the Government has provided for young men like him through the Min-istry of Forestry’s tree planting consulta-tions, Jo expressed his heartfelt thanks in tears

“Most times when people see youth from the village, they think we are inca-pable of living a good life Through this

30 Million Trees in 15 Years campaign, doors of opportunity such as this certifi-cate have opened up for us and for that

I thank the Government and staff of the Ministry of Forestry who have greatly assisted us.”

“My younger siblings may not know the importance of planting trees, so I’m do-ing this for them and the future genera-tion of Koro Every tree planted on this island is for them.”

Mr Lomavere has plans of registering with the National Employment Center and has hopes of securing a job of tree planting in Australia when the opportu-nity arises

NANISE NEIMILA

THERE is a need for an

all-inclusive,

multidimension-al approach to effectively

respond to Human Trafficking

This was highlighted by the

Per-manent Secretary for Defence

Ma-nasa Lesuma at the

commemora-tion of the United Nacommemora-tions World

Day against Trafficking in Persons

at the Holiday Inn recently

“While the strengthening of

inter-nal controls is thus crucial to our

overall ability to counter all forms

of human trafficking, this issue

is one that is cross cutting across government agencies and likewise NGO’s, CSO’s and FBO’s,” Mr Lesuma said

“As you may know, Fiji acceded

to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime or more commonly known

as the ‘Palermo Convention’ with its three protocols on the 19th of September, 2017.”

Mr Lesuma added that prior to

this, our Crimes Act 2009 had ready criminalised trafficking in persons into our national laws, paving the way for our first pros-ecution in 2010

“This was followed by an ment to our Immigration Act 2011 which included in Part 5 the traf-ficking and smuggling of persons

amend-Moreover, our 2013 Constitution further cemented this national pri-ority,” Mr Lesuma said

“Our judiciary is prosecuting more and more cases of all forms

of human trafficking, with widely publicised cases in our local media exposing the scourges of this de-grading crime

“This shows that human ing exists within the paradise we call home and that we are not im-mune, as this form of transnational crime also crosses through our bor-ders and more importantly is also orchestrated within Fiji.”

traffick-Mr Lesuma added that whilst men are also susceptible to being traf-ficked for the purpose of forced la-

bour, statistics reveal that children and women are more vulnerable than male adults

“For women and girls, it is worse because apart from the demand for their labour, they are also exploited sexually.”

Mr Lesuma acknowledged the efforts of the relevant stakeholders that have been creating awareness and strengthening collaboration to address issues on human traffick-ing

Consultations focus on human trafficking