Too early to make comments on Pacific Habour  inquiry into brutality

Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho has taken a fresh approach in assessing Police investigations by yesterday attending a court case in Lautoka.

Commissioner Qiliho attended the High Court trial of eight former Police officers and one ex-military officer charged in relation to the alleged rape and sexual assault of a robbery suspect, Vilikesa Soko, which resulted in his death.

Commissioner Qiliho said he decided to listen to the court proceedings as he was in Lautoka and this was to assist him on what Police could do better in future and learn from the errors for a better Fiji.

He said this would assist him to know how best to handle such situations so that Police could focus on what they could do best.

“Speaking about Police brutality in that light, I cannot just be making statements if I do not know what really transpired in such cases,” Brigadier-General Qiliho.

“I haven’t seen the investigations or anything that is all before the court, so like everybody sitting in the court, it is also my first time experience too.

“I do not normally attend court sessions but it is an interesting thing to sit in and see how things go. So it’s a learning platform for me as well.”

Commissioner Qiliho also said it was premature to make any statement concerning to the alleged act of Police brutality caught on camera at Pacific Harbour.

“The investigation in regards to that is continuing, it would be premature to make any statements now because if these have to be taken to court as a result of the investigation, I cannot be making statements on that,” he said.

However, he said the Police would make a statement once investigations were completed.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

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Ten workers from Koro Island on Monday received their pre-departure orientation and Life Skills Training certificates from the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Jone Usamate for deployment under the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Work Scheme.

Mr Usamate highlighted that these 10 workers would be employed with Provine Limited as horticultural seasonal workers.

“These workers are the first ever group from Fiji to join this company Provine Limited,” Mr Usamate said.

In farewelling the workers, he reminded them to maintain their focus, grasp as much as they can and save money for their family back here in Fiji.

“Your tireless efforts, commitment and hard work will encourage more RSE employers to consider recruitment from Fiji as a source of excellent labour force for seasonal work in the future. I trust that you will all be returning workers in the future to lead and empower other Fijian groups from your Tikina and other Tikinas in Fiji,” he said.

The minister acknowledged the employer Kenneth Prouting for his trust and faith in our people following the engagement of the 10 workers from Koro Island.

“Also my sincere appreciation to the ‘vanua’ of Koro for their commitment and dedication towards the new Tikina based recruitment and selection criteria,” he said.

The minister lauded the hard work, commitment and team work of Fijian workers who had successfully participated in the RSE work scheme last year and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand for their co-ordination for seasonal work employment opportunities of Fijians under the RSE work scheme.

He also reminded the workers of their visa conditions and wished them the very best in their deployment.

Source: DEPTFO News

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FBC Programme

Susana Tuisawau, Suva

Firstly, I wish to express the fact that I follow Nemani Bainivalu’s programme on FBC in my attempt to learn conversational Fiji Hindi. I had found it very useful.

However, I was also very concerned with some of the examples he had used in the statements for conversational purposes relating to his chosen theme for the week.

I recognize that he was somehow trying to perhaps follow the footsteps of our indigenous Fijian village elders when they give words of advice or “veivosataki” i.e. reprimand our village youths and children.

These reprimands are usually held in the privacy of the village environment and among their own kind.

However, the FBC as a mass media and medium of instruction, has the whole of Fiji and its multi- ethnic groups and the whole world, as its audience.

His  generalised statements about (a) the indigenous Fijians (b) about “many teachers of Fiji  not spending time in preparing lessons; but spending more time drinking yaqona ….”are contributing towards the stereotyping of  a generalised  negative view/image  about all  members of the iTaukei race and Fiji’s teachers.

This is not fair to these groups. My greatest concern however which I feel needs to be corrected, is when his statements inferred that certain forms of employments were not acceptable without a university degrees.

In his attempt to make statements that would encourage all indigenous Fijians to  study hard for a university degree, he had made what I call the greatest injustice to the world of work when he named certain  forms of employment as those that indigenous Fijians end up doing because they could not get a university degree.

I was saddened by this because he was actually demeaning these areas of work.

All forms of employment should be valued and all are important no matter the wage level.

Even the Bible taught us this truth. As a teacher, I have decided not to state his list because that way, I would indeed be also planting the seed of discrimination that demeans a certain category of work in the minds of students.

I feel for those who are already working in these areas of work. Not all students will reach or can reach university or choose to do so.

The majority will enter the workforce after leaving school or after dropping out.

For the last 30 years our educational system had shown a consistent trend that only 10 per cent of students who begin in Year 1 or Class 1 will go straight to university after leaving secondary school.

A good percentage of tertiary /university students enter from the work force

Over Reaction

Suresh Chand, Nadi

Thank you FBC for capturing the moment on tape and telecasting it to the world.  It is not a bad idea taking the uniform away from those officers who act against the spirit and oath of the force.

The Police Commissioner must down come  down hard on incidences and officers like these so that the force is respectable and reliable at all times.

Stray Dogs

Akhila Nand, Suva

I do not keep any dogs at my residence. It is very frustrating to see other dogs come into my compound and dirty the place and go away. It is often seen that neighbours let go of their dogs from their compound and to the neighbour’s compound to dispose of their waste.

Who is in charge of looking after the dogs?

Is it the city/town councils or Society for Prevention to Cruelty to Animals?

I hope that whoever is in charge will teach dog owners how to dispose of their waste in their compounds and not their neighbour’s compound and on the side of the roads.

Foreign Hairdressers

Kini William Koroi, Suva

As an ex-president and now patron of the Fiji Hairdressers and Beauty Association I am greatly amazed at the amount of Asian hairdressing and beauty spas salons operating in Fiji now.

One thing I would like to know is; how are they allowed to come here.

Some of them don’t even know how to speak English and secondly, how are they getting work permits.

The Immigration Department should check if they are qualified from where they come from before allowing them here.

They are coming in numbers and very soon they will take over and we the local ones will end up closing our businesses.

I humbly ask for those in authority please do look into this.

Take a drive around Viti Levu and you will notice they are in every town and cities.

The hairdressing  businesses and spas should be only for locals and not for outsiders.

We have lots and lots of locals who have been trained to do the job.

I hope the authority responsible will do something about it.

School Zebra Crossing

Michael Chambers, Lautoka

Amidst the early morning rush, lies the challenge of driving through a number of school zebra crossings before reaching your destination.

With this in mind, a lot of concentration is spared for the safety of our school children who access these roads to get to school on time.

During one of those mornings, the school patrol from a prominent school located beside the Lautoka Police Station stepped backwards, giving the all clear for the vehicles to drive through.

All of a sudden, I had to slam on my car brakes as two Policemen in full uniform stepped onto the crossing in full conversation giving us no warning sign at all.

They would have been excused if they were trying to foil a robber and neither were any sirens to indicate an emergency.

They just bullied their way through.

Mind you, these are the so called custodians of the law who are supposed to be upholding it and leading by example.

At least a little wait with due respect for the teacher and the road patrols who were manning the crossing would have augured well for all parties concerned.

Now I am getting a clearer picture that it’s not the force but the attitude of those in the force is the problem.

Team Rakiraki

Shad Alfaz Ali, Navua

Congratulations to the Rakiraki Football team for their promotion to the top flight from next year.  It was a culmination of years of hard work put in by numerous players and officials.

The people of Rakiraki must thank the hardworking coach Pragdeesh Gounder and the president Shanil Goundar for their persistence and vision. We must also show our appreciation to the senior players like Salesh Bula Sami, Ronald Lawrence, Ili Gaunavou Junior and Asaeli Cobuta for guiding and bringing glory to our district.

Daylight Saving

Wise Muavono ,Lautoka

Daylight saving time (DST) is a wonderful institution, maybe because it’s always been a subject of controversy. My point here is that DST has a long and weird history. Some people like it, and some don’t. Some people even think it amounts to meddling with what they call “God’s time.”

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of DST is that so few people know very much about its history and the continuing efforts to rid the world of it.

Despite controversy and the lack of proof that daylight saving time actually saves energy, I still always look forward to it.

Freedom Of Choice

Savenaca Vakaliwaliwa, Surrey, BC, Canada

I believe that all parents and guardians will stand with the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji in welcoming the Ministry of Education’s new zoning policy, giving parents the freedom of choice on the school they wish to put their children in.

However, as clarified, this freedom of choice applies to parents, students and schools in rural areas only as the School Zoning Policy Procedure 6 (a) states that “Zoning will be implemented only in the urban areas.”

The Ministry of Education has now allowed freedom of choice for parents to send their children to their faith based school or one that teaches students Hindi, the iTaukei language or their mother tongue.

School zoning was never an issue before our current Government took over, but since the Government has a lot at stake in providing free education for Fijians, it should be allowed to set rules and conditions to achieve its objectives and school zoning is one.

Workers living in the Suva-Nausori corridor will notice that the traffic to Suva and Nausori flows during peak hours when the school holidays are on, but changes when school re-opens.

I believe that school zoning, if carefully thought out and implemented will help ease the flow of traffic during peak hours.

Parents in urban areas are to abide by the rules laid out by the Ministry of Education with regards to its Zoning Policy, but if parents want to use their freedom of choice, then they should be paying from their pockets the school fees which Government is willing to fork out for all Fijian students.

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‘I can’t really explain how much I will miss Pau’.

Heartbroken Netava Rokotagi wept openly for his sister yesterday as the final rites were performed at her gravesite.

His sister, Paulini Kaloumaira, 19, died from extensive burns when a benzene container exploded in her hands at Sote Village, Tailevu, last week.

Two younger siblings watched with horror as she burned.

She was buried yesterday.

“I can’t really explain how much I will miss Pau,” said Mr Rokotagi, 21, who is the eldest.

He couldn’t stop his tears yesterday as he said his last goodbye to “my lovely sister.”

“I am very close to Pau. We play around, joke a lot and we love each other. I’ve always promised her that when I have my job I will look after her and my other three young siblings. Now that she’s gone I will still try and fulfill my promises with the three. I will be graduating in engineering this December and I will make sure I look after them well. I really miss Pau,” he said.

Mr Rokotagi lives in Nadi and he wished to take Taito and Ana along with him when he returns next week.

Lavenia Roko, 16, who is the third youngest in the family said: “ I really miss her. She visited me in Nadi and she asked me to wait for her with some clothes when she comes arounda next. And I’m still waiting for her. She doesn’t really share all the problems she’s facing at home she tends to hide them and pretends she’s OK,” said Ms Roko.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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Fiji made history this month by becoming the first Pacific Island country to propose global trade restrictions on sharks and rays to ensure their survival.

The Fiji delegation to the Conservation of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), travelled to Johannesburg in South Africa to call for trade sanctions for threatened species of mobula rays (also known as Devil Rays), as well as thresher sharks, silky sharks and the ancient living fossil, the nautilus.

Devil Rays are under threat from overfishing, where they are caught for their gill plates, which are prized in Asian markets for unproven medicinal purposes.

Ian Campbell, World Wide Fund for Nature’s Global Shark programme manager, who was the technical adviser to the Fiji delegation, commended efforts the Government put in to ensure such a positive result.

“Getting the Devil Rays protected from unsustainable trade is a fantastic achievement, and the government of Fiji must be praised for their leadership and commitment on this important issue.

“Sharks and rays are not only vital for the critical roles they play in the environment and fisheries, but they are a central pillar in Pacific Island cultures, not just in Fiji, but right throughout the South Pacific,” Mr Campbell said.

Prior to the CITES meeting,  representatives from the Fisheries and Environment ministries  in Fiji worked together to convince nearly fifty other countries, including every member state of the European Union, to back their proposal to include the Devil Rays, a close relative of the Manta Ray, in Appendix II of the CITES convention.

Fiji’s proposal was also supported by delegates from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.Fiji’s bid broke the record for the number of countries co-sponsoring a single proposal in CITES’ 41 year history.

Led by Aisake Batibasaga from the Ministry of Fisheries; the delegation was supported by Eleni Tokaduadua from the Department of Environment and Unaisi Rabici (also from the ministry).

Mr Batibasaga was grateful for the support from across the globe for their proposal to protect mobula rays, which are “being fished towards extinction”.

Source: WWF Pacific

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Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) is issuing a warning to the public not to access Stinson Parade Bridge. This includes Nabukalou Creek near the construction site as demolition work gets underway in Suva.

Chief executive officer John Hutchinson, says the public are reminded that Stinson Parade Bridge and the waterway beneath the bridge is strictly a “NO GO ZONE” as demolition work to remove the existing structure has started.

“Project Contractor China Railway 14 Group have established onsite. However, there are serious concerns about members of the public still accessing the construction zone and ignoring the barricades placed on-site for public safety,” Mr Hutchinson said.

Mr Hutchinson says they have noticed that outboard motors are still docking beneath the bridge and will be speaking with these operators to cease their operations from this location and to use the jetty ramp located across from the Suva Handicraft Centre.

“Members of the public are asked to obey the instructions of the site manager and to contact Fiji Roads Authority on 5720 if they have any queries pertaining to access in and around the bridge construction site.”

Source: Fiji Roads Authority

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BREXIT – “This isn’t one more crisis, this could very well be the crisis threatening its very existence”, a statement by France President Francois Hollande.

The European Union (EU) is in crisis and Britain’s departure could be the bloc’s breaking point.

Europeans are very unhappy with the situation and are closely looking to Britain as they walk on uncharted waters in discussion of exiting from the trade bloc.

A successful Brexit could in effect start a stampede of member states towards the exit door that could see the EU crumble.

A research from think-tank Demos highlights the feelings Europeans have towards the trade bloc as British people are.

Britons are most keen to leave the EU with 45% saying it should be their “long term” aim.

Fewer people in France (22 percent) and Germany (16 percent) feel they should leave the EU but many more want to see the EU power reduced (France 22 percent and Germany 33 percent).

According to the Pew Research Center – over 60% of French people feel unfavourably about the EU. France and Germany’s leaders have consistently sought to defend the EU and further powers, but many of their citizens feel the bloc is pointless.

Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement

From the Brexit, the EU has ongoing 7 year pending trade agreement discussion with Canada called CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement).

This would set up a free trade zone between the EU and Canada that could strike down any effort for Britain to strike a new deal with the bloc after Brexit.

The Deal will bring benefits for people and businesses across Europe.

It will help generate growth and jobs by, boosting exports, lowering the cost of the inputs business need to make their products, offering greater choice for customers and upholding the EU’s strict standards for products.

However, currently it is not going as planned as Canada trade minister Chrystia Freeland stated on BBC after CETA talks, that the EU was “not now capable” of striking an international trade accord.

The agreement is backed by all EU member states apart from a single region of Belgium strongly opposing it.

Belgium’s political structure means that it cannot fully agree with the deal unless all five regions agree to it even though the central government fully supports the agreement.

The trade agreement outcome will serve as a litmus paper gauging the trade blocs’ capability to make agreements with large economies outside of the union. An unfavourable outcome could further weaken the EU economy.

Other Major European News

Germany is the largest economy in the EU and ranks as fourth in the world in terms of nominal GDP fuelled mostly by exports in machinery, vehicles and chemicals.

A change in its economy influences the state of the E.U. as well as its Euro currency.

German company Volkswagen, the largest automobile manufacturer and the largest carmaker in Europe employing more than 600,000 employees with 121 production plants across Europe settles a fine from US Department of Justice of $14.7billion over its diesel emissions scandal. The largest ever settlement of any kind in U.S. history.

Germany’s leading investment bank, Deutsche Bank has ongoing negotiations of a $14 billion fine by U.S. Department of Justice for mortgage-backed securities. Negotiations believed to carry on into the next few months

Euro News Effects on Fiji

The pressure the European Union is facing is taking a negative toll on its Euro currency as it is weakening against other currencies.

This can be seen in comparison to our Fijian dollar since the beginning of the year 2016 as shown by the graph below.

Since January there has been a general increase in the trend of the Euro signifying that it takes more Euro to buy a Fijian Dollar. From January, the Euro has weakened by 35% from 0.4176 to 0.4328 in October.

This is good news for Fiji importers from the E.U. as their Fijian dollar can will use less Fijian dollar to buy their European goods.

However, it is bad news for Fiji exporters to the E.U. as their goods have become more expensive.

Remittances from families and friends living in Europe mostly British Army and European based rugby players will also be affected along with their family here in Fiji as their Euro will receive less Fijian dollar when they send the money over.

As the Euro weakens so does the amount of Fijian dollar the family and friends will get for their Euro.

On the other hand for those travelling to the EU with Fiji Dollars, they will be able to receive more Euros for their Fijian dollars and enjoy their visit.

This is an informative publication, sponsored by The Fiji Sun, Fiji Bureau of Statistics and HFC Bank. All views expressed or implied are purely of the Treasurer at the HFC Bank, Peter Fuata.

FeedBack: rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

On Wednesday Rosie Holidays broke the news that they were bringing a very large incentive group from China to Fiji.

This represents a first large scale incentive group from that source market, an area of vast potential and one that Rosie has been quietly developing over 11 years.

Rosie first entered the China market in 2005, pioneering the representation for Fiji as a tourist destination.

In 2008, they opened their first office in China in the city of Shanghai and began a gradual expansion.

Today they have offices in 3 cities in China and more importantly a dedicated Chinese speaking staff of 26 located permanently in their Nadi headquarters.

Tony Whitton, CEO of the Rosie Group says: “Without having the right people in place in Fiji any effort to penetrate the China tourist market would be less than successful.

“We saw this early and started to build a dedicated China team which forms the backbone of our whole business approach”.

One of the most important people in the Rosie approach to China is the Rosie General Manager, Eroni Paumau, who has been at the forefront of the campaign from the very start and continures to be involved to this day.

Background

Two years ago Rosie invested heavily in establishing a special charter product, built around the Chinese New Year.

They worked closely with Fiji Airways to provide direct flights in wide bodied aircraft, the A330, 300 and created special packages for the Chinese tourists from Beijing to celebrate the New Year in Fiji.

Because of Fiji’s special location on the international dateline, which makes the country the first to enter each day, the visitors were the first Chinese in the world to greet the New Year.

The product was an instant success and in 2016 Rosie offered an expanded version which included Taiwan and both Beijing and Shanghai.

The other important thing the charters did was to prove to the major wholesalers in China that Fiji was a viable destination for their customers.

The charters also demonstrated that Fiji, with its large local Chinese population, has a wide range of Chinese food available in both resorts and local Chinese restaurants.

Also the visa free arrangements for Chinese nationals and the environment, safety and quality of infrastructure in the country.

All this set a great platform to move forward. Nearly two years ago Rosie Holidays set about selling Fiji to the MICE market, which has turned to reality with the arrival of the first group in Fiji this weekend.

This will bring into Fiji over 1200 people and is expected to contribute over $50 million in foreign currency to the economy.

The concept used

The concept that Rosie developed for the Infinitus China is also somewhat unique.

It was developed working closely with the China based incentive organiser GZL who visited Fiji as part of the process of developing to incentive and they were favourably impressed with what Fiji had to offer and what Rosie could do (and had already done for other companies).

The company wanted to reward their high performing executives and were convinced that Fiji offered all the parameters they had set, a strong living culture, a pure environment, world class tourist infrastructure, an understanding of the needs of Chinese and a unique experience.

Fiji ticked off every box. Rosie also built the visit into two separate waves of six hundred passengers each and used a combination of charter and scheduled airlines involving Fiji Airways and Korean Air.

The first group will depart Fiji after a week on the aircraft that bring in the second group. Participants will use a range of hotels on Denarau and the Double Tree on Sonasali.

Iifinitus is part of a Chinese company that is over as hundred years old and is regarded as one of the leading and most innovative companies in China

MICE market and its importance

The MICE acronym stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events and is a major niche market worldwide.

The Fiji tourism infrastructure is perfect to service the market and has good experience. In fact, in some segments such as the meetings and conferences Fiji is considered the regional hub and has been very successful in attracting a large amount of business.

These two segments include governments, both regionally and internationally, non-government organisations including the UN and EU and international business organisations.

Another large segment is the Incentives market, a concept where organisations, including private sector companies and other groups provide rewards for their employees for outstanding performance or for their customers for loyalty and achieving sales objectives.

While he rewards are sometimes goods of money, the major part is travel and an event in an exciting location, allowing the opportunity for participants to get to know each other and to strengthen the bond between them.

Requirements

The organisations planning incentives generally have a set of criteria that have to be met by the destination and the planning and implementation of the trip is, in itself, a major business with many highly skilled operators providing the planning and implementation services.

The single most important criteria is always that the whole event has to happen without a hitch or unforeseen circumstances causing disappointment, that there are no health or personal security issues for the participants and the whole event has to be a huge memorable experience.

There are also a number of other criteria, which vary depending on the culture of the organisation that form a part of the bid for the business.

For a tourist destination the MICE market is attractive for a number of reasons. The event is always planned a long time in advance, with planning typically starting around eighteen months out.

Planning

Such long term planning allows the destination to better utilise the plant and infrastructure to maximise profit.

Generally the event is not too tightly time sensitive so the destination can use wither low season or shoulder season, again allowing utilisation of plant and infrastructure that would otherwise be idle.

The event is also important to the organisation involved and is not particularly price sensitive, again allowing for good profits and the destination is encouraged to provide unique or special events to add to the impact of the experience, adding additional spend.

The MICE market is a very profitable niche segment and generally provides opportunities for the tourism dollar to be spread widely, particularly to the local community which often misses out on spend from the usual vacation tourist.

In the case of the Rosie Chinese incentive groups, there is a large component of the activities being provided ire involving the local communities.

The initative by Rosie Holidays in developing the MICE market in China holds great potential for Fiji.

The economy will benefit from the large amounts of money this sort of product activity injects into the country, the tourist money will be spread further, plant and infrastructure that could otherwise be idle will be used.

Also the understanding of what Fiji offers as a destination will be better developed.

And China represents a vast opportunity for Fiji, an opportunity that has, until lately, been waiting to be activated.

As Mr Whitton says: “China is a very attractive market. It has over a million billionaires and the whole population is prepared to spend for new and worthwhile experiences”

Fiji stands ready to provide those experiences.
John Ross is a Nadi-based marketing and advertising specialist with a long background in tourism. For feedback on this article, please email him: johnrossfiji@gmail.com

The Defence lawyer for eight former Police officers and one former soldier charged with rape and sexual assault, has submitted in court that his clients have a no case to answer.

Iqbal Khan made the submission on behalf of his clients, Manasa Talala, Seruvi Caqusau, Kelevi Sewatu, Penaia Drauna, Filise Vere, Viliame Vereivalu, Jona Davonu, Senitiki Natakasavu, and soldier Pita Matairavula.

Mr Khan’s clients are jointly charged with the two counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault against Vilikesa Soko, who was in their custody on August 15, 2014. The alleged incident was linked to the death of Soko.

Talala and Vereivalu are also charged with defeating the case of justice, for allegedly instructing other officers to make false statements.

However, State lawyer, Burney Lee said there was a case to answer and filed submissions accordingly.

In his oral submission, Mr Lee told the High Court in Lautoka that there was circumstantial evidence to the charges for which Mr Iqbal argued against.

For the matter of first accused, Talala, Mr Lee told court that there was also evidence of him defeating the cause of justice and aiding and abetting.

Mr Lee said that even if he did not do anything, but be around the place and not stop what was happening to both Senijeli Boila and Soko, being a boss, Talala encouraged the crime to commission.

He held the same for the second accused, Caqusau who was leading the strike back Lautoka team at the time of the alleged incident.

Mr Lee further said there was evidence that the alleged crime had commissioned and it was these nine or at least some of them who were responsible for it.

High Court judge, Justice Aruna  Aluthge will rule on the submission on November 1.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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Diwali came with a bang this year for Datec when it acquired the most current ISO-9001:2015 accreditation.

Datec Fiji is a fully-owned Subsidiary of Vodafone Fiji Limited, and this is a big achievement for Datec as it is the first ICT solutions provider in Fiji to be certified under ISO-9001:2015.

In 1998, Datec was formally recognized as a quality organization with the ISO9002 certification – a feat no other IT company has achieved in Fiji to date.

In November 2009, Datec achieved a further milestone in its quality journey being the first IT company in Fiji to make a successful transition to the ISO9001:2008 certification.

This was after a comprehensive quality audit conducted by BVQI – a New Zealand based quality certification and accreditation body.

Datec’s emphasis has always been quality and long term solutions for our customers.

It  has implemented a Total Quality Management System built around its focus on Customer Service, its people, standardised high quality work practices and a system for continuous quality improvement.

ISO 9000 – Quality management

The ISO 9000 family addresses various aspects of quality management and contains some of ISO’s best known standards.

The standards provide guidance and tools for companies and organisations who want to ensure that their products and services consistently meet customer’s requirements, and that quality is consistently improved.

What is ISO-9001:2015?

ISO 9001:2015 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is the only standard in the family that can be certified to.

It can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity.

This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.

Using ISO 9001:2015 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits.

Why Quality Management is Important?

Organisations that implement an effective Quality Management System benefit from stakeholder and customer confidence, improved risk management and operational effectiveness and efficiency.

A Quality Management System is what ensures a business’ products or services meets a certain level of quality; that is, they are reliable, safe, consistent, meet customer expectations, continuously improve and comply with the law

Feedback:  rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

Fiji’s ranking in the latest global Ease of Doing Business list continued to slip further.

Our ranking for 2017 has slipped further 13 positions to 97 from the previous rank of 84 for 2016.

This has been revealed in the latest study from the World Bank.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is now the world’s easiest place to do business.

New Zealand’s ranking has pushed Singapore out of its decade-long place at the top of the widely followed rankings.

Fiji’s ranking dropped in six out of the 10 categories used by the World Bank to determine the overall ranking. It remained unchanged in one.

Back in 2013, Fiji was ranked 73 and since, has continued to slip in the ranks.

This is despite efforts from Government and Investment Fiji to bring about policies, frameworks and changes which eases doing business.

In fact, Government has even multiple times questioned the method in which the World Bank conducts its survey and whether or not it is a true reflection of the reality in Fiji.

The categories in which Fiji improved its ranking were: Starting a business, Protecting Minority Investors and Trading across borders.

The only category which remained unchanged was registering property.

The ranking slipped in: Dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, getting credit, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The biggest drop was noted in getting credit where we met only five of the 12 criteria.

Feedback:  rachnal@fijisun.com.fj

Isaac James had been evading Police since the alleged incident last month

The eighth accused who was on the run after an alleged carjacking incident in Lautoka last month was brought before the Lautoka Magistrates Court yesterday.

Isaac James, 32, a baker from Lami, faces one count of aggravated robbery and three counts of theft charges.

Magistrate Raramasi Salakubou adjourned the case to November 1 for mention.

Woman Police Constable Marica Finau told the court that James was in custody since Thursday.

James requested for a medical check-up and this was granted by the court. He was the only suspect who was evading capture.

James was arrested after his family had contacted Police. Police had earlier met James’ family and had sought their assistance to arrest him after he began evading Police since the alleged carjacking incident.

Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho also commended James’ family for their support and co-operation, which led to James’ peaceful and successful arrest.

It is alleged that James and seven others had carjacked a vehicle in Kashmir, Lautoka. The alleged incident was captured by the shop’s CCTV cameras, which went viral on social media.

Imtiaz Shaukat Ali, 40, a businessman, his wife Shahina Nazmeen Hussein, 25, and their children Umair Imtiaz Ali, 2, and 15-month old daughter Umairah Shamshad Begum were victims of the alleged carjacking incident as they were parked at the Hari Lal Investments shop at around 7.30pm on the said day.

The men drove off with the couple’s Toyota Prado, which was later found abandoned at Saru.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

charles.chambers@fijisun.com.fj

The former national manager Border, Customs for the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority (FRCA) and a businessman pleaded not guilty to bribery-related charges at the High Court in Suva yesterday.

Josefa Marawa and Abdul Shekeb appeared before Justice Vincent Perara. Shekeb pleaded not guilty to two counts of “Bribery of Public Servants by Persons Having Dealings with Public Bodies” as charged under Section 8(2) of the Prevention of Bribery Promulgation No.12 of 2007. Marawa pleaded not guilty to two counts of “Bribery” contrary to section 4(2)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Promulgation No.12 of 2007.

It is alleged that Shekeb in April 2015, without lawful authority, in the course of having dealings with FRCA, offered a gift or a favour in the form of a vehicle to Marawa, a public servant employed by FRCA.

It is also alleged that in July 2015, Shekeb offered, without lawful authority, in his dealings with FRCA, a loan of $4000 to Marawa.

Marawa, who is charged with two counts of bribery, is alleged to have in 2015 accepted a gift or favour, in the form of a vehicle and $4000 without any lawful authority, whilst being employed as the Acting National Manager Border, Customs at FRCA on account of his performing any act in his capacity as Acting National Manager Border, Customs at the FRCA.

The matter has been adjourned to November 17, for mention for pre-trial conference.

Source: Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption

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The three assessors have found Usaia Kilaverata guilty of murder.

Kilaverata is alleged to have murdered former journalist Losana Mc Gowan on April 4, last year.

Kilaverata and the deceased were de facto partners.

Justice Priyantha Fernando said that Kilaverata had admissions in his caution interview that he had punched and kicked the deceased which led to her death.

Defence lawyer Samanunu Vaniqi said the deceased fell off the steps after being punch by Kilaverata and she hit her head on a gas tank.

Justice Fernando had given the assessors two options; either Kilaverata was guilty of murder or he was guilty of manslaughter.

The court has been adjourned to November 1, for judgment.

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

Feedback: jessica.gounder@fijisun.com.fj

Asco Motors launched its Toyota Car Dream contest Wednesday, courtesy of the Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Mahendra Reddy.

The Toyota Dream Car Art Contest hopes to harnesses artistic interests among Fijian children by imagining a car of their future. In part, it is intended to create them opportunities, develop their interest in cars and inspire creativity for the future.

The contest invites all Fijian children to submit their creative drawings or artworks, with a chance to win awards and attend an awards ceremony in Japan next year. This is the 11th year of the competition since 2004.

The goals of the contest are to strengthen Toyota’s relationship with communities and customers, to have children who are the future of our society become interested in cars and Toyota, so that Toyota can build ties with them from a young age, and to increase the Toyota brand awareness in Fiji.

The contest format is in two phases.

First, there will be three winners per age category, a 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Secondly, all these winners from this local contest then qualify and are submitted as Fiji entrants to the world contest in Japan, in September.

During the school holidays, Asco Motors will stage an art camp at a location to be confirmed.

The camp will be organised to encourage wider participation from Fijian children.

Details of the camp will be released later.

Winners selected at this world contest will then be invited to Japan to attend the award ceremony. The contest has certain conditions.

edited by: NAISA KOROI

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The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement is pleased to announce the appointment of Nalini Singh, as their new executive director.

Ms Singh will step into the position formerly held by Tara Chetty, who left the organisation in August.

“We’re confident in Nalini’s selection, given her experience in working on human rights of women and advocacy with an intersectional lens, understanding the complex layered situations and circumstances that impact women,” said FWRM Governance Board Chair Daiana Buresova.

The FWRM Governance Board made the final decision after an intense two month recruitment process.

“I’m looking forward to this wonderful opportunity to be part of the FWRM team. I’m thrilled to be returning home to continue working with and supporting the women’s movement in Fiji and beyond,” said Ms Singh.

Ms Singh has over the past 15 years, worked with civil society and non-government organisation partners in Fiji and the Asia Pacific. She is currently based in Malaysia, as Programme Manager for the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW).

Prior to this, she worked with the Pacific Regional Human Rights Education Resource Team (RRRT) before joining the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in Thailand.

“We’re excited to see the type of leadership and ideas Nalini will bring and look forward to working with her,” said Ms Buresova.

Ms Singh will officially take up her new post in January, 2017.

Source: Fiji Women’s Rights Movement

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Parliament Speaker, Dr Jiko Luveni met with her counterpart, the Speaker of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, on Thursday.

The meeting was to discuss the upcoming Global Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament, which will be held in Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from December 12 to 13.

The Summit is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Federal National Council and is being held under the theme: “United for Shaping the Future”.

Dr Al Qubaisi reiterated that the Summit focuses on the role of Parliament and women speakers in mobilising their collective efforts to address the planet’s current and future challenges that affect quality of life and slow progress towards sustainable prosperity.

Dr Al Qubaisi also emphasised that there were some similarities between Fiji and UAE and therefore it would be prudent to develop and strengthen parliamentary relations, with the likelihood of both parliaments agreeing to an MOU.

Dr Luveni says that she is looking forward to the upcoming Summit as it will be a platform where best practices can be shared and it should never be underestimated how beneficial peer learning can be.

Dr Luveni is also optimistic of further developing and strengthening Parliamentary relations between the two parliaments and so the execution of an MOU in the near future would be a good starting point.

Source: Fiji Parliament News

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Improving medical professionals co-ordination skills in providing good palliative care is paramount.

The Ministry of Health and Medical Services organised for the first time a workshop on the issue.

Palliative care is care that helps people live their life as fully and as comfortably as possible when living with a life-limiting or terminal illness.

It will enhance the palliative care knowledge and capacity of doctors, nurses and volunteer carers in Fiji to improve the quality of life among adult and paediatric oncology patients.

The five-day workshop, held at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital, was attended by at least 40 health professionals.

Head of department Obstetrics and Gynaecology in CWM Hospital Dr James Fong, highlighted, the objectives of the workshop was to ensure the efficient health care services in Fiji.

“Oncology services have concentrated a lot on clinical activities like surgeries, medicine and we have expanded that too far ahead and yet we have not build up the capacity to improve the ability of families to provide health care support. Palliative care in home is an important part of cancer services, you can build all the high-level medicine in the world but at the same time, we need to improve the ability of home care services for people with long-term diseases.

The workshop was facilitated by the associate professor at the University of Melbourne Australia, Odette Spruyt.

She is also the founder of Australasian Palliative Link International (APLI) a non-government organisation that establishes links between palliative care providers in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Palliative care is quality care focused on lives of patients with life threatening illness and it aims to relieve the suffering of the patients.

“Through this workshop, health professionals have been able to understand well about the symptom management and they have also learnt the importance of communication skills.

“Workshops such as these are a great platform to build on the existing health system, train the health professionals to understand palliative care and look at the policies that could help to drive this further and also look at the availability of medications for long-term medical care,” Ms Spruyt said.

It assists people with illnesses such as cancer, motor neurone disease and end-stage kidney or lung disease to manage symptoms and improve quality of life.

Source: Ministry of Health and Medical Services

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Our Speaker to Parliament Dr Jiko Luveni was requested by the Inter Parliamentary Union (‘IPU’) President Saber Chowdhury to Chair a session of the IPU plenary during the general debate on human rights abuses as precursors of conflict: Parliaments as early responders.

The general debate was designed to look at specific ways in which Parliaments can best fulfill their obligation to protect the population and their human rights.

Dr Luveni was one of the presiding officers entrusted in chairing the general debate which concluded on Wednesday, before the IPU Governing Council’s final plenary meeting the following day.

The 135th IPU Assembly and its related meetings began on Sunday and continued through to Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland.

 Source: Fiji Parliament News

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The Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) held their morning tea on Thursday in support of Pinktober month.

Staff members of FICAC were decked out in their pink attire and also had placards in support for the fight against cancer.

Cancer survivor, Maryann Lee, shared her experience and encouraged women to go for early detection.

“Pinktober month is about creating awareness and not necessarily about raising funds,” Ms Lee.

She said the emphasis for the public was on early detection, not just for women, but men too.

“The inspiring stories of survivors is a testament to us all,” she said.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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