Friday 16 October 2009
"Not Going to Waste Time" Bainimarama
Fiji won't be "wasting time" seeking readmission to the Forum or Commonwealth, says PM, but he was sad Fiji athletes would miss out. Click FBCL - News here.
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14 comments:
Leadership demands that you lead from the front and that difficult decisions are made without demur. I have no doubt in my mind that Miles Johnson would have agreed that time should not be wasted hanging around with diplomatic niceties. Fijians know what must be done and Fijians will have to get on with the work of making Fiji a country which is fit for the modern world yet still able to draw upon its culture and its history and find a place for everyone who fits into the jigsaw and wishes to fit in. Miles Johnson, RIP, was a no nonsense man who loved Fiji, the land of his birth, greatly. At bottom, he was a 'Man with bottom' - substance. That is what Fiji requires now.
This is what I had said in an earlier post that we just have to move on. Let's not waste our time trying to get into the pacific Island Forum because for all we know, all those other Pacific Island countries are already bought for by Australia and New Zealand.
It is sad that what the original founders of the South Pacific Forum, which our beloved leader Rt Sir Kamisese Mara was one, envisaged will happen to the forum with the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand is now happening. The forum has been totally hijacked and bought for by Australia and New Zealand.
It's really time for Fiji to move on and keep pursuing strengthening the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Trade more with PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and open up a faster trade route to Asia and Europe with more Air Pacific flights through Hong Kong and Korea.
On the domestic front, Bainimarama MUST ensure the full participation of indigenous landowners in national developments with policies that benefit them in regards to opening up idle native lands. This is why the NLTB review and reform is critically important.
It's time for the government to fully open up development to the other "goldmine" which lay under developed, Vanua Levu. I would suggest the creation of planned town and cities in Vanua Levu with the full participation of native landowners. Of course, this all needs money so I suggest government partnership with the Chinese government or even PNG which is so rich in mineral resources.
There are so many opportunities in Fiji that its really time to open them up now. Indigenous Fijians MUST be made to be at the forefront of making Fiji the true jewel of the Pacific and the way the world should really be.
Miles Johnson would also not have demurred in demanding that anyone who was remunerated from public money (where that took place was immaterial) would step aside if he/she were charged with a serious corruption offence. Corruption is a crime. When public funding or remuneration from public money is received, the benchmark for accountability goes up many notches. How would Digicel or any other reputable sponsor put up with a situation where they were to be approached for funding with a substantive office-bearer facing corruption charges? The answer is: they would not and should not. All sponsors of Fiji rugby or any other sport should now require that office bearers of the administration behind a sport are 'clean', seen to be clean and, if charged with any criminal offence, judged 'not guilty' by a Court of Law in Fiji or in any other jurisdiction. The rubgy players of Fiji deserve nothing less. The sponsors and fans and taxpayers of Fiji - likewise.
@ Pushover Scrum
Interesting to note that the Chair at Rugby House was heard to say that an honorary position holder, namely President of the Fiji Rugby Union, had no business 'inserting' himself into the daily affairs of Fiji rugby. What is the point of having a President, unremunerated, who may not have an articulated view as to what is right conduct in certain situations? Also, a clear example was given by the President of a precedent which should be followed. A President of anything worth its salt should and ought to speak out on what is considered appropriate conduct. If he does not, then he too is failing in conduct becoming of his office. The fact that he is unremunerated just gives extra weight to his opinion. How does the entire board of the Fiji rugby Union fail to 'get this'? What manner of leadership do we see here? Insufficient, one would venture.
In an article in the Sunday SUN, Losalini Rasoqosoqo quotes PM Bainimarama as saying:
"I wonder why the FRU Board members have thrown their full support for Keni. He has been CONVICTED and he has the right to remove himself".
One doubts very much that the PM said 'convicted' because the CEO is not, he is charged. Two very different things as any lawyer will tell us. If convicted, he will spend considerable years in prison.
On the basis of this, if the board and the Chair of RFU do not know the form, they should ASK. No one is indispensable in any position, anywhere at any time. When it comes to doing the right thing, then firm and hard decisions are to be made if any reputation or credibility is to be left for the organisation in which one is employed or holds office. Very simple really. And make no mistake, this will be a test case for corporate governance in Fiji. A benchmark case.
Why is Keni's case being discussed here? Maybe you guys need a new thread for that.
Too true The Max. Please Prof can you start a thread on Keni. The Fiji Times editorial today might be good place to start? Incidentally this is the first time the Times has said the right thing for two years!!
New thread or old thread, the focus of this argument concerns leadership and the qualities and ability to reach 'right decisions'. Senator John Kerry speaking out from Afghanistan today said this (roughly):
"No more troops will be sent to Afghanistan by the President Obama until proper governance is seen to be in place with regard to the compromised election".
He was followed by Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel (President Obama's 'rottweiler' or fixer) who most out-of-character appeared in person on CNN to confirm just this. Good Governance commitment would determine whether more troops go or not.
In Fiji just now, the saga at Rugby House serves to demonstrate that all is unwell with our perception and practice of corporate governance. We need self-actualised persons to tell us this and then to act. Our actions now will show what we are made of: stuffed with hay or people 'with bottom'. The Fiji Times should be complimented on its editorial: well argued and common sense. The way forward.
@ VII Generation
The Fiji Times is only saying the right thing now after two years because they are being exposed on blogsites with what they have been doing all these years.
The Fiji Times is nothing but a foreign agent for Australia and new Zealand. They have misusing their position as the premiere newspaper company in Fiji to shape public perceptions favouring the agendas of their masters.
Some people may think my comment is only conspiracy theory but it is not. This is the absolute truth. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that all out.
This is a comment I posted on Raw Fiji News on their article about Keni Dakuidreketi. The article was posted by Keni Supporters. This article has been there for about two days and is still awaiting moderation. Read on..........
TheMax said
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
October 18, 2009 at 9:40 pm
@ Keni’s supporter
If FRU is owned by the people of Fiji through the affiliated unions, why is it that they always run to government for financial help when they are out of pocket?
For your information, Keni himself has a conflict of interest in FRU in his relationship with advertising company NiuWave that Digicel contracted all their advertisements to. Keni is a shareholder of that company. Whether Keni is not involved in the daily management of Niuwave, that’s beside the point. The issue there is he has a conflict of interest.
If I’m in Keni’s shoes right now, I would save my family the embarrassment, do the honourable thing and resign. I would ask myself the question why am I wasting my time here when I have a multi-million dollar business to run? Instead, Keni offered to resign his position which basically means that he just doesn’t want to go or someone else is pressuring him from outside not to go.
Why Keni only offered to resign leads to the suspicion that Digicel maybe making some underhand deals in their contractual sponsorship with FRU. Keni is probably their key man inside.
I don’t have a grudge against Keni or Digicel but somethings are needed to be exposed. Let’s look at one example of some suspicious activities going on in FRU.
Almost everyone in Fiji was shocked when Samu Domoni Jnr was selected as Fiji coach. When the question was raised by various unions why Samu was selected, Keni mentioned that none of the local coaches met the selection criteria that the FRU had put in place. But in another interview and published statements from him, he said that they initially offered the coaching position to Rev Rinakama. The question then is what qualification did local coach Rev Rinakama met which other local coaches didn’t meet?
All these years, FRU have always stated that for any local coach to become the national coach, they must obtained recognised IRB level coaching qualifications/certifications. Either level 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on but which level is the right one?
Samu Domoni was said to be holding an IRB level 2 coaching certificate. And if we look at his other coaching profile, he just doesn’t meet up to expectation of a national coach.
FRU is now saying that Mike Brewer and Ella will monitor Samu’s progress and coaching ability in the tour to Europe.
This kind of inferiority complex thinking that Keni and Bill Gavoka are showing to the local IRB qualified coaches is the kind of people we MUST remove from all positions of leadership in Fiji. Whether they are in a national sporting body, corporate or government governance, they MUST be removed. Telecom Fiji has done right by removing two expatriates from their management team.
This kind of mentality do not augur well in the vision to make the people of this country believe in their capabilities. We will always look down on ourselves with Keni and Bill Gavoka’s mentality. These guys are cut out from the discredited era that only a few people in Fiji have the intelligence to lead this country. We saw that kind of thinking during Qarase’s leadership where a select group of about five people were in almost all the important boards of every major organizations in Fiji.
There are many other things to say but I cannot fit all of them here.
@The Max
Is this true that Keni has a financial interest in Niuwave and that the company does all Digicel's advertising work? If so, did Keni declare his interest before agreeing to the Digicel sponsership which was so much less impressive than the Vodafone offer? If so,irrespective of the FICAC case, he should be asked to stand down. Where are all our investigative journalists?
@ patrick
I didn't make this story up about Keni being a shareholder of Niuwave. This was revealed in the papers after Ilivasi Tabua was sacked as coach. It led to Bill Gavoka talking about it as well saying that Keni doesn't have a say in the management of the company. But when you are shareholder? Obviously you must have some say, isn't it?
If we dig a little deeper again, I still remember hearing Bill Gavoka saying after he resigned from being CEO of Fiji Visitors Bureau that he was going to spend more time helping the SDL prepare for the next election. So there you go.
One of the reason Bill Gavoka is vigorously defending Keni is because they are both SDL men. Their stand against Frank Bainimarama and Ro Filipe Tuisawau's comments is really a political stand. They just don't like to be told the truth by people like Ro Filipe and Bainimarama.
The FRU is really so full of politics and needs a thorough clean up just like what Bainimarama said on radio a few days ago. This clean is the longest overdue clean up in any organization in Fiji. This has been due since the time of Tom Vuetilovoni's chairmanship.
Year in year out, FRU has always benefitted the most from government grants yet they never ever improve their organization to be self-reliant.
This morning, while travelling to work, I heard the radio sports reporter saying that according to Bill Gavoka, there is a lot at stake for FRU if Keni is allowed to go. The question is why? That maybe because FRU will also lose Digicel's sponsorship?
By the way, I don't have a grudge against Digicel. I would certainly want them to continue being the major sponsor for Fiji Rugby and I commend FRU for having their faith in Digicel inspite of the aggressive push by Vodafone to capitalise on the current popularity of Fiji Rugby in the world of rugby. What is only needed is for Keni to step aside out of conflict of interest and his case pending judgment in court.
@ The Max and patrick
What stinks like bad fish is so often BAD FISH & MORE. Some of us will not tolerate the Fiji Rugby Union being run like a remake of ENRON with Bernie Madoff for topping. This is a good reason why all politicians and their hand-maidens now need to take a running jump into the showers. They simply cannot help themselves. So we must do it for them. Rugby is an honourable game for gentlemen - at least it was until these seeming dishonourable, dishonest people decided they had a role in it. Dishonest? Yes, moral compasses busted and no conception of leadership and what it MUST entail. All Fiji's young rugby players deserve better than this. All who sponsor Fiji Rugby deserve better than this. Who will bust a gut in the Front Row to put up with a shower of charlatans (one or two never having played a game of rugby in their entire lives?)like this? Restore Fiji Rugby and its reputation. This is the crusade we need and we need it now before it is too late. They have completely exposed their inability to see themselves as they are seen. This will never do and the IRB knows it.
What disgraceful conduct. Let me see. He sacks a whole lot of people for lack of financial ethics. He himself is now charged with misplacing over $2 million of NLTB money in his capacity as trustee. While CEO of Fiji Rugby he chooses a sponsership deal which is far inferior to another. Now it appears that he had a financial interest in a company which does all the PR work for the inferior sponser. And he won't stand down. Well bless my soul Keni. Wake up and smell the coffee.
Your SDL mates are slowly seeing the light and retiring to their villages.
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