A question for my readers: What has the Coalition actually achieved in its 17 months in office? I mean tangible outcomes that have made the country better, not just a continuation of the policies of FijiFirst?
Some of its supporters might say the restoration of the GCC is one. Except that it is already proving to be divisive and every taxpayer is expected to pay for a bastion of iTaukei hereditary privilege. What else? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments section below. Because from where Grubsheet sits, the great advances we were promised are an illusion.
We are actually seeing an alarming mass exodus from the country, more than 15,000 in one month and up to 80,000 since the Coalition came to power. Rather than attempting to staunch the flow, the Coalition has sent a clear message to Fiji’s minorities that they are not welcome, with its blatant workplace ethnic cleansing in the civil service and offices of state and condoning the description of non-indigenous Fijians as “vulagi” – visitors in their own country.
We are yet to see the consequences of this dramatic reduction in Fiji’s tax base. Where will the money come from to pay for government services and start reducing the national debt? The latest rumour doing the rounds in Suva is that remittances from overseas that keep food on the table for many families are going to be taxed. Whether or not this is true (and if it is true, we can expect an outcry because those earnings are taxed at source) is really beside the point. No nation can afford to lose its best and brightest people and hope to prosper.
Then we have a multitude of social problems to which the Coalition seemingly has no answer – a soaring crime rate, an explosion in the drug trade and its clear and present danger to the welfare of Fiji’s young people. And yet the Coalition seems more intent on pursuing its opponents and challenging the rule of law than bringing the country together to tackle the many challenges that are unravelling the very fabric of the nation.
Where is the fresh leadership we voted for? What has happened to the promises that were made that delivered the mandate to the Coalition, by the barest of margins, to bring the country together? To work as one nation to meet Fiji’s challenges instead of pandering to vested interests and one ethnic group?
When is the Prime Minister going to finally get a grip and start genuinely leading? Instead of bringing the nation together, he has turned a blind eye to some shocking racism and equally shocking personal conduct on the part of some of his ministers. And he is as bad, if not worse, than Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at vapid self-promotion, the latest of which is emblazoned on the front page of Tuesday’s Fiji Sun.
No-one cares if Sitiveni Rabuka – at 75 – can compete in some athletics competition. It is old news that he is physically fit and in any event, it simply doesn’t matter. Because it isn’t muscle power that we need in the nation’s top job. It is wisdom, judgment, integrity and brain power – the ability to recognise and empower talent and bring the country together to begin tackling our many problems.
It is not acceptable that when the going gets tough, the tough head for the gym (or the airport). Sitiveni Rabuka needs to put his clothes back on, pull his finger out and begin to genuinely lead. Because time is running out for this government and time is running out for Fiji. And if he can’t lead properly after 17 months in the top job, it is time for him to stand aside for someone else.
What has the coalition achieved you ask.
1. Racism like never before. Racists are out on the streets now. Never have we witnessed Racism like this in our lives in Fiji. Schools, students, teachers…no one spared.
2. Police incompetence like never before. I dont need to explain this one. It’s out in front of everyone to see.
3. Water crisis like never before. More Fijians affected by water cuts than ever before.
4. More migration and brain drain than ever before. Half of our nurses and teachers are gone. Many more are lining up to go.
5. More debt than ever before. They came to solve debt, end up taking more loans than ever before.
6. Higher cost of living than ever before. The raise in vat will benefit the poor they said. Tell me one poor person that benefited. Instead they use the money to travel overseas and collect huge allowances.
7. Worst health care ever. No nurses, no medicine no water in hospitals no doctors. They said they’ll bring accountability to health care. The minister is only traveling.
8. More drugs in Fiji than ever before. The drug lords have police and politicians in their pockets.
9. More incompetent ministers than ever before. ASK was one man army…not that I liked him. He still had more brains than the whole of these lot combined together. Forget incompetence, ministers in coalition having orgies on overseas trips. F**king each other and the country as well.
10. Reestablished the GCC, an institution that I hope will work to empower Fijians. But no, it is the same as before, a bunch of racist thugs looking to loot their own people to fill thier pockets.
11. Election of 4000 boards. Lol. Everything has a board and every board has 10 coalition ass lickers to sit and collect allowance. No work, just make ga na board. Need a drain, get a board, need to build toilet, get a board.
12. The coalition has managed to lose sight of the present and the future. The brain drain thats happening, God forbid, it will be like a curse for our people. We have and continue to lose millions of hours of experience, knowledge and the best most motivated people of Fiji. And guess what, the nincompoop PM is more interested in some games.
I can go on for 1000 more lines, but i think people don’t need to read to tell what the coalition has achieved.
I voted for change from a dictatorship for democracy. There were so many promises made by this rag tag bunch of pollies. I personally have made numerous attempts to get the PS for Education to assist me with arranging transport to get children to school from my district. No reply, not even a one line to say, “received, thank you.”
1. The Coalition was doomed from day 1 when it took over the right to rule by one single vote.
2. The Coalition is more interested in saving their own rather than serving the people who elected them.
3. If you can’t distinguish morally, between a wife basher and a minister who loves stealing another woman’s husband, then you are dammed.
4. The Coalition will not get back into power under its present modus operandi.
5. Rabuka has lied and hood winked the people of Fiji. Remember, you can fool the people, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time.
God, please help Fiji.
In a famous scene from the Dictator in the athletic competition the dictator sets off before the others, shoots fellow competitors and then has the finish line brought towards him before he celebrates “winning”.
The coalition has achieved the seemingly impossible task of making FijiFirst look fiscally competent and responsible, measured and, well, not totally unhinged.
He has achieved nothing that one can say is worthy of taxpayer dollar investment. Nothing.
Apart from self promoting about ausaid there is nothing for Fiji. Ausaid is laughable given that it is a dangling carrot so Fiji doesn’t side with China. Given 80% of ausaid investment hasn’t been of any good to countries before this multi million will be the same. Aimless lot running wild in RFMF.
And then there was his grow your own garden show after Biman and Richard put a VAT hike. Didn’t see Biman and Richard in their gardens though. Must be too well paid by anyone else’s standard.
He has achieved racism.
That’s a good start and finish.
Then there is the accolade for best Womaniser PM of Fiji.
Needs to be sent to a retirement village now.
Other civil servants retire at 60? What is he doing around at 75?
This is the burning issue. Feeling of being humbugged is an understatement. It seems the news suits came in all pumped, jumped into their ship only to find out the ship is not moving, and then ‘wait for it] spot the old ship also moored at the same jetty.
Stand aside for who? What’s needed is wholesale change: Biman to Education, promote his Assistant Minister, who has worked most of his life in Finance and Investment, Tubuna to Agriculture, Gavoka to Youth and Sport, Radrodro to Multietnic Affairs and Social Exclusion, Minister for Bonking to Outer Island Affairs and Rotuma, Raiyalu to Minister for Information, Pio to Rural Develooment and Natural Disasters, Vasu to Internal Security, replace him with Dr Lalabalavu, Health to Vosarogo, Lands to Siromi Turaga, Attorney-General to Jone Rabuku or Alipate Qeitaki, Lenora promoted to Foreign Affairs, Kamikamica Minister for Public Setvice and as Rabuka seems to have much free time on his hands that he can train for a Masters sports event, he should take on Civil aviation and Tourism.
This arrangement endures all Ministers are multi skilled and kept on their toes and based on their performance to date and their proclivities.
Oh and bring back Vatis with Graham Davis in charge. It’s painful to read Samsoni Pareti’s long-winded propaganda pieces.
And rotate all the ambassadors please. Kubuabola is well past retirement age, besides his is FFP
Compete? For what?
He must be seriously narccistic?
He is lifting only 15jg per dumbbell for goodness sake.
I am 77, two years older than him, and I do 10ths more per dumbell ths. Him, and that’s after forming 10-15 mounds of cassava.
Tell him to pls put in his shirt and hide those sagging arm muscles.
You don’t have to be Jeff Bezos to be famous and make the headlines, just be a leader, at least try to be one to serve the people who so desperately need one today. Or you can be Jack the Reaper (Ripper) and get an equal or more coverage. Funny how fame works.
I meant to say that I exercise regularly with 10 kgs heavier per dumbell than the honorable PM
If he is managing only 15kgs as in the photo, he better not embarrass himself in any competitive sport
Siti (I gave myself the authority to do the coup) has achieved his personal goals.
Combined forces with the mighty stone writers to remove Ben Gollings as sevens coach. Fiji now aspire to compete for the bottom four places.
Achieved complete culling of vulagis from the public service.
Appointed the best brains with highest moral values to lead ministries of education, women and culture.
Paired together with dhokebaaz girmityan descendants such as Baimaan and that 23.2% growth predictor economist from Sydney to mislead the public on economic climate of the country.
Improved his bench press to 20kg from 15kg.
And the list goes on….
Does he believe he is setting a good example? If so, he is deluded. Setting a good example would have been getting rid of the love rats who bring the government dishonor. He is just reinforcing that in Fiji, if you are good at sports, or even interested in sports, nothing else matters. You could have kids from all over the place, take drugs in Austrakian hotel rooms, have affairs with other politicians, be accused of wife beating, offer your duty free alcohol as sports prizes. Or any other manner of ills. It’s all good, as long as you love sports.
All they have achieved is a self aggrandising, delusional slipping back in time with the GCC, degradation of the economy, loss of integrity and trust internationally, destruction of democratic systems, a drug fuelled sex romp Sitcom waiting to appear on Netflix, and loads of “look at me I’m overseas” photos.
To understand what the Coalition Government has achieved, we need to look back and understand what they actually promised.
1. Tbey said we will deliver change. They didn’t articulate what the change will look like. We put our own wish list for that change. They said whatever we needed to hear to achieve the what they wanted, to form government
2. The nation wasn’t entirely convinced, that’s why a 3 party coalition, with Sodelpa just scraping in
3. Needed the celebrated power of one to form Government
4. They had a plan, each one of them, we just didn’t know, and they are probably working on that plan, not the illusion that we created in our minds, and that plan is now delivering the results we are seeing
5. The same begging goes on, money being asked for, in the name of climate resilience building with no definitive capital or remediation projects
6. The same level if not more of nepotism and preferential treatment of selected groups of people
7. Each of the coalition partners is working its own plan, while the National interest takes the back burner
8. Now we shall wait and see when FB is convicted , an early election called so that SLR dispenses of the two coalition partners, and that’s when the real plans will start becoming apparent
Vinaka
I like your comment on “change.”
It wasn’t articulated. Lol
So we have bad change.
Not all change is an improvement.
Coalition serves as a perfect example.
Sadly we are paying for this failure.
This is like that Somosomo umbrella incident. Silly Siti refuses a state issued umbrella in heavy rain to impress his chief and onlookers.
Fast forward a few years he landed on the same village ground for a GCC meeting in a chopper.
At Bau he stood to shake hands with the newly installed Vunivalu.
The point being though had he caught pneumonia at Somosomo and admitted to hospital he would have had to pay his own cost as it was his own individual choice to expose himself to a health risk.
Now he wants to compete in a Master’s sports tournament that is not in his job description. He must take leave, meet his own costs and should he strain his back or exacerbate his crooked knee he pays his own cost as his injury was not work related and stemmed from his own individual and foolish decision.
Self Loading Rifle, SLR, is actually putting more if not greater effort into running the country, but towards anarchy. Go go ga, we will soon be a Jaina Republic and then also become a republic of Mainland Jaina.
Coalition’s major achievement is forever widening the economic gap. Raised VAT to 15% harming the poor and gave a 7-year tax holiday to billionaires and millionaires in the water industry. Direct outcome and impact:
https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/news/fiji-water-staff-on-strike/
Rabuka is Fiji’s version of Joe Biden. Incompetent and senile.
It’s not what they achieved after 17 months in office.
They achieved the Goal on day 1.
Their aim in collaboration with a large part of the voters was to replace the previous lot with themselves and their friends .
That’s it. That’s all.
To give themselves a turn to put their snouts in the public trough…and here in this kpi they have probably gone beyond expectations.
And their support base is pleased with the achievement….better their own enjoying the perks than those vulagi to them.
They have indeed achieved great success – in correcting the previous imbalance by now loading the imbalance in their favour.
How can an aging recycled dumbo from 37 years ago who raped the country and its people do the country any good? There are a lot of idiots in Fiji who thought so including a lot of dumbos in this forum – not to mention Baimaan. Even more surprisingly a lot of stupid vulagis thought so too.
It just makes me wonder what is inside the heads of these people – tatti?
But what is sad is that there are so many, the vast majority of people in Fiji, who have heads full of shit.
The power of one vote.
He said with such pride.
And he the only one left.
Standing alone.
Lost.
All the sheep have left the paddock.
That’s his only win.
The one vote that is biting him so bad right now.
Karma is a bitch.
I would rather have a disciplined leader, even if he was called cruel, than this man.
People hated Bai.
But Bai was a direct shooter.
He didn’t take shit nor entertained shit.
ASK had the smarts that the whole Coalition doesn’t have.
He was at the forefront because civic education in Fiji is important. Lack of education is a problem.
The mess that Rabuka created in 1987 put the country back by 30 years of growth. That’s his legacy.
What we need next?
Better leaders.
Out with the whole lot of old and in with the new.
Non-racist will be a bonus.
Remind me again what competition he’s participating in.
Best lasulasu then he’s got competition from many other leaders out there.
Dumbest leader then i see 1 clear winner. Gold medal to Fiji.
There are many who are singing the praise of this worthless coalition government. Sing on and dont complain when your child doesn’t have a math teacher in school. Of no nurse to look after your parents when they in hospital or worse still nothing moves ahead in police or court until you got money.
This government is like that stupid onlooker that stands on the side of the mountain saying where’s the landslide happening while the whole mountain sinks by the hour. Too dumb to see anything.
With staff at Fiji Water on strike today…would anyone know where Mr Fiji Water aka Richard Naidu is?
Also any news of the workers champion, minister for affairs and Bonking. She should be lining up with the workers.
How have the clocks turned and how have the people’s champions become the oppressors themselves.
Give an inch and they take a mile…this coalition isn’t taking the mile, they taking Fiji and looting her or giving pieces of her to their friend millionaires and billionaires and af course their families and chiefs.
The change is not changing well for the voters.
This f**kwit will suffer the most excruciating painful death for all the suffering he has caused to the kaidia. The atrocities committed by him against the kaidia community will never be forgiven no matter how much divine intervention he seeks. His sins and disgusting and hate-filled actions against the kaidia will haunt him till he takes his last breath.
The greatest achievement this country will make is when this racist f**k dies.
If you aren’t a victim of his Satanic actions, then you don’t know what we (kaidia) have been through.