THE Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBS) released its preliminary report on the 2019-2020 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) on February 8. The survey is based on a representative sample of 6000 households and was...
APART from the millions of lives lost, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating impact on the global economy, with serious consequences on national economies, businesses, communities and individuals. The global pandemic has forced numerous governments to activate emergency response mechanisms, testing the resilience of governance systems. Pacific Island populations have remained relatively unscathed...
THE National Court of Papua New Guinea made a landmark court decision on Saturday, January 30, 2021, by ordering the Madang Provincial Government, the District Development Authority, and the Urban Local-level Government to fix the roads in Madang Town. The orders prescribed the specific financial contributions and administrative responsibilities of each level of government, including...
The crises at the University of the Pacifi c (USP) and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) have seriously eroded the fragile bonds that hold the dream of Pacific regionalism and solidarity together. USP is often portrayed as a shining example of Pacific regionalism. Established in 1968, it has enabled many Pacific Islands citizens to obtain affordable tertiary education that would otherwise not be...
Despite the fact that the Australia Pacifi c Training Coalition (APTC) is meant to promote labour mobility, and despite the desire of most of its students to migrate, few of its graduates have actually moved to Australia for work. APTC’s most recent efforts to promote labour mobility have focused on semiskilled jobs in Australia under the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS). What has been overlooked...
Nothing like road tripping to get in some adventure and excitement, spiced with some dread and dismay. Face masks were back by order in Sydney because of random outbreaks of COVID-19, which is not much fun for someone with breathing troubles. It is one of the conditions currently keeping me from returning to the islands...
What is the original diet? Every herb that yields seed and every tree whose fruit yields seed, the trees of the garden, the trees above the ground that yield seeds. The original diet. Interesting that nothing below or under the ground was instructed as food in the original diet. This is really something to seriously...
Bula readers and happy Saturday to you during this fine month of February. We have now been in a period of curfew and lockdown for almost one year and unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any let up for the year 2021. There were periods last year of hope when some felt by January 2021...
The whistleblowing vice-chancellor at the University of the South Pacific (USP), Professor Pal Ahluwalia, has described the illegal deportation of he and his wife, Sandra Price, as a “surreal” experience. Many would agree that the inhumane and immoral deportation has plunged the tertiary institution into the biggest crisis of its 50-plus-year history. The ensuing standoff...
Health and education are two social pillars dear to our hearts. The two issues have dominated the news headlines in the last few months. In watching the show, I saw the FijiFirst government put on a brilliant display of the art of confusing the people. Lives in danger The loss of life of a wife...
ON April 20, 2017, a group of 110 drivers got together and registered a co-operative company to operate long distance private car services within Fiji. They were hoping that by registering a company they would be able to run their business legally without harassment from the Lands Transport Authority which has been imposing heavy fines...
FIJI was treated this week to the unedifying spectacle of the Prime Minister on the verbal loose. Not that it hasn’t happened or been seen before in our nation. But this was different. It was a totally wild and unsubstantiated attack against a woman of academic repute by none other than our national leader. Why?...