Fiji news

high court grants bail to labasa lawyer amrit sen and others

THE High Court in Labasa has granted bail to Labasa lawyer Amrit Sen and two others – Shumedha Chand and Mustaqir Saif Khaiyum, with strict conditions.

The fourth accused Joji Bale was granted bail yesterday and is now on Taveuni.

In allowing bail, High Court judge Justice Aruna Aluthge put down strict conditions that included a curfew of 6pm to 6am for Mr Sen, and 8pm to 4am for the rest.

He also ordered that they report to the Police Station every Saturday, to surrender all travelling documents, and provide a surety bond of $5000 for Mr Sen and $1000 each for the rest.

Mr Sen has been charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, one count of conspiracy, seven counts of acts intended to cause grievous harm, two counts of criminal intimidation, one count of assault causing actual bodily harm, and one count of damaging property.

Ms Chand has been charged with one count of act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, while Mr Khaiyum and Mr Bale have been charged with conspiracy.

The case has been adjourned to August 2 (2022).

supervisor of elections says he wished new elections training for the media was compulsory but it is not

a new Fijian Elections Office virtual training called “e-vuli” has been launched today for the media, however it is not compulsory to undertake this training in order to report on elections.

Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem says he wished it was made mandatory for the media who wish to cover the upcoming general election.

He says the training for the media in the lead up to the 2022 elections will be held virtually as opposed to face to face as not everyone has the time to attend the sessions.

When questioned by fijivillage whether the virtual training would also see no face to face session to thrash out issues between the media and the Fijian Elections Office in order to provide better coverage, Saneem made it clear that the media handbook and training has covered everything they feel needs to be covered for the media.

The Supervisor of Elections has encouraged members of the media to find time to go through the training and he is hopeful the training will provide information that will help build capacity around reporting in elections. Meanwhile, Saneem says the e-vuli elections training will also be open to the international media, universities and high schools as well as members of the public who are interested in getting to know how the general elections are covered.

bus drivers must show compassion and empathy towards all children who board their bus with or without a bus card - raj

THE recent video which has gone viral, showing two young girls walking on a busy highway after being disallowed to board their school bus in Lautoka for not having their bus cards, is disturbing.

Those are the words of the Director of Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission, Ashwin Raj who says bus drivers must show compassion and empathy towards all school children who board their bus with or without a bus card.

The Commission acknowledges the Fiji Bus Operators Association for strongly condemning the inhumane conduct of the bus driver in question.

Raj is urging all key stakeholders – the schools, bus operators and the parents to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of all children while in school and after school until they are in the safety of their homes.

He says one can expect children to misplace their cards given that they are children.

The Director says some children may be disabled, on the autism spectrum or generally shy to explain why they don’t have a bus card so the onus is on the bus drivers to ensure these children reach their home safely.

He says drivers can direct their concerns with appropriate authorities so that we have a more effective system in place rather than punishing our children.

Raj says for a bus driver to refuse a child to board the bus especially when the child is not accompanied by his or her parents or guardians is inhumane and such an act must be denounced.

He says these children are particularly vulnerable.

The Director says they could have been kidnapped or physically and sexually abused and simply dumped by the roadside.

Raj stresses that every child has the right to be safe from harm and it is incumbent on all stakeholders to work collaboratively on improving their existing system to ensure that no child is denied space on the bus while travelling to school and back home.

minimum wage increases again today

THE implementation of the second tranche of the National Minimum Wage and the Wages Regulations commences from today.

The new rate for the national minimum wage will be $3.34 per hour while the minimum rate for the 10 sectors is provided in the gazette notice.

In a statement, the Ministry of Employment is reminding all employers and workers of this minimum wage rate increase with the first tranche that came into effect on 1 April, following the revised 2021-2022 national budget announcement.

It adds that the Employment Ministry’s Labour Standards and Compliance Team will continue to conduct inspections of the implementation of the second tranche wage increase in all workplaces in Fiji to ensure that all workers are remunerated with the right wage rate.

real estate agent tells ag a 2% commission is not sustainable

a real estate agent has told the Minister for Economy during the budget consultations that a 2% commission on the sale of a residential property is not sustainable for some businesses.

The agent says they used to charge 5% commission before and bringing it down to 2% is a 60% reduction in their income. He says despite this their expenses have not decreased.

While responding, Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says they are thinking long term and they will look into it if the Association makes a submission.

However Sayed-Khaiyum also says real estate agents have fractures between themselves and that is a pity because they do not have a strong association.

we are still waiting for a response from the ministry regarding food poverty issue – fcoss

WE are still waiting for a response from the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation in regards to the food poverty issue where some children are scavenging for scrap metal in dump sites while others are selling food near supermarkets to put food on the table for their families.

This is according to Fiji Council of Social Services Executive Director Vani Catanasiga who says they even invited the Ministry for a talanoa session with development partners last Saturday however no one turned up.

When questioned what FCOSS and other NGOs are doing to address the issue of food poverty, Catanasiga says many civil society organisations are already carrying out work in this area like Save the Children Fiji, Empower Pacific and other community and faith based organisations.

However, she says a lot of these work are reactionary and what they want is the problem to be addressed at the roots which will require multi sectoral approach and this can only come from the Ministry responsible for social welfare.

We sent questions to the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Rosy Akbar last Wednesday on the food poverty issue. She has not responded. We have been told by the Ministry that it is preparing a response.