Social assistance policy is protecting the poor and vulnerable.

There are probably six main social assistances programmes intact with approximately 100,000 beneficiaries, with the estimated annual budget of FJD$125.l million.

The six main social assistance programmes are:

■          Poverty Benefit Scheme (PBS);

■          Care and Protection Allowance (C&P);

■          Social Pension Scheme (SPS);

■          Disability Allowance (DA);

■          Rural Pregnant Mothers’ Food Voucher (RPM);

■          Bus Fare Scheme (BFS).

These programmes must support the most vulnerable in the communities or among our societies.

Whether it really works well or abused is another issue in question.

The relevant authorities, particularly the social welfare officers, must address these issues in timely manner to avoid further misused or abused by the few.

I believe there is misuse and abuse of the social welfare allowances as per Lynda Tabuya, the Minister responsible.

But I humbly request the Honourable Minister not to touch on the Bus Fare Scheme (BFS) and Social Pension Scheme (SPS), since these two deal with senior citizens of the nation, the very citizens who have sacrificed their lives for Fiji and served the nation with dedication and diligences.

These group of people are most vulnerable, susceptible, weak, defenceless, helpless and the most exposed to many social problems, issues in the societies.

If changes or reviews need to be done, it must be done or carried out for those who are getting other social allowance benefits in the lower age brackets, but not for the senior citizens.

To keep a track of misuses and abuses of the social welfare benefits by the recipients or their family’s members, the department staff must be on their toes to be updated on the recipient records and information and work with the District Advisory Councilors (DAC) for the areas.

DAC members are the eyes and ears of the government and, thus would be most willing to provide the factual details and information about the recipients of the social welfare allowances, whether the allowances are given to the most venerable and deserving ones in their areas.

If the social welfare ministry is really interested to cut down wastage in the system, review for those who are not deserving to get but currently are the recipients of the social welfare allowances.

Let’s move the Ministry of Social Welfare forward and assist to eradicate non-deserving recipients from the social welfare systems and promote senior citizen recipient benefits.

Thank you, madam minister for such initiatives’ and reviewing allowance allocations for the others, but not for senior citizens.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

Year 13 or Form 7 examination results were released yesterday, with a 90 percent pass rate.

The results are very pleasing, and I must thank the Ministry of Education for the timely release of the results with ‘Back to School Assistance’ underway.

All the hard working and dedicated teachers who made this happen must be congratulated and complimented for their sacrifices and efforts towards their students’ academic performances.

This letter is dedicated to you all. Bravo! Minister for Education has confirmed that there were 7717 students who sat for the 7th Form Examination and the ministry recorded a 90 per cent pass rate this year, while 89 per cent was recorded in 2022, a percent higher.

This shows the Ministry of Education has performed in the positive direction.

This also means that more students are going to enter the tertiary institutions and more demands rested on tertiary institutions and TSLS.

There will be more competition or very competitive among students for the toppers place as well for the entry marks for the programmes
in the tertiary institutions.

There will more challenges or demands in the programmes in the tertiary institutions.

It is very advisable to students to choose programmes of their interests rather following the others.

It is wise to apply for the programme under the TSLS scheme that suits the students and programmes of their interests.

While congratulating the students, I am asking the parents, guardians, teachers, school management and local communities to advise the students well and provide them the necessary support in making wise decisions on their future career pathways as per their academic results.

Don’t aim high or demand high expectations from the students.

Start low and they will escalate higher in future as they will proceed further with their education.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

US Secretary of State urges Israeli PM to avoid further civilian harm in Gaza (ABC news 10/ 1).

He and his ultra-right war cabinet have already done too much harm in Gaza which is plain for all conscientious people from all over the world to see.

What they have done according to UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron might have breached international law.

If so, they must be held accountable to uphold the credibility of the international system overseeing State conduct.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

Some ministers in Government are being investigated, well and good.

Now, can the Prime Minister have the Labasa swimming pool drama investigated as well?

The Labasa Town council used $500,000 to build this pool.

They have rented it out for $1000 per year.

The deal has increased the Labasa Town rates by 37 per cent from 2017.

Can the PM also ask the finance minister why he gave $200,000 to one unknown Girmit Global Institute to do research on the indentured labourers when there is so much research done already.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

According to reports, several permanent secretaries (PS) are under investigation for doing deals outside their scope of works.

This is a direct result of appointing wannabes and politicised individuals to the highest positions in government departments.

Simply put, they may have paper qualifications but have no clue how the government administrative machinery functions and where their boundaries end.

In yesteryears, PS positions went to the most meritorious civil servants who grew in the system and passed government exams and was a job for life.

Now, PS positions are subject to the will of the government who are in power.

If the appointment criteria are not reviewed, you can expect more PS decisions to land them and their governments in hot water.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

I write to raise my concern over the escalating money transfer issue with Vodafone’s MPAiSA platform.

I feel our M-PAiSA accounts are not safe anymore.

The norm is, when lodging complaints to Vodafone customer care services, we are diverted to police, where not a single case has been solved.

Literally, we do not want third party excuses from Vodafone Fiji as transactions and transfer of funds are depicted and transmitted in their 181 message settings.

Therefore, your highly bragged state-of-the art technologies should easily trace and nab the suspected snitcher(S).

My grave concern is that millions of dollars have already been syphoned off from our globally based workers.

And now, how much more will be extracted from Government’s $40.2 million “Back-to-School” payouts?

As the ones most affected will be our underprivileged families, whom their children will be deprived of an opportunity to an equitable education.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

I am writing in response to the school’s reclassification, as suggested by the general secretary of the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU).

First of all, we have different classifications of post primary schools as high schools, secondary schools and colleges.

In many countries, including USA, India, etc. Colleges confer degrees, diplomas and so on.

Some small secondary and colleges should have the common classification.

All schools now in the category as high, secondary and colleges should be reclassified under one common name, just like all primary schools are classified as primary.

This should be addressed first before regrading of schools according to the school roll.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

People have always complained of police officers turning up late or not at all, once a report is lodged.

I cannot offer any solution until I know the root causes of lateness, but I believe they are overloaded with administrative duties or simply don’t care less.

May I suggest that the police consider introducing an effective civil administrative layer at each of the police stations, which would assist in writing reports, managing vehicles, collecting revenue and compiling regular statistics.

If such arrangements are already in place, they need a shakeup.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

It’s sad to see the travails so-called minor sports in the country are put through.

The latest are the Fiji Hockey teams (men and women) that have qualified to play in the World Cup later this month.

Not many teams achieve this feat and ours had to go through a tough qualification tournament to win this opportunity.

After initially denying the teams money to participate in the World Cup, the Fiji Sports Commission (FSC) finally made a small sum available, still nowhere near what is needed.

Now, the latest is that FSC will not allow the teams to train on the hockey turf because they are preparing for the official opening ceremony of the newly laid turf.

Just so that some administrators can display their pomp, get some media coverage and feel important? Is that more important than the team’s training before they depart next week for the World Cup?

The FSC administrators seem to forget why their jobs exist.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

The two main factors that teachers are leaving is the pay and the children’s right no to be punished.

Teachers salaries have not been dealt with by previous Governments, until today.

Why can’t we just give them a pay rise?

If 40 plus millions are given to children to prepare for school, why can’t teachers get something out of it?

Secondly, children are just hard to handle, and most are escaping from the environment before they get hurt.

Surprisingly, many teachers are heading to other Pacific neighbours like Niue, the Cook Islands, Nauru and many more.

What are the Pacific nations providing to our teachers that Fiji is not providing?

And not forgetting they are moving to Australia and New Zealand, and working at places that don’t require qualifications but are receiving five time the amount they were getting here in Fiji.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

Families earning a combined income of less than $50,000 qualify for the education support.

I believe those who are genuinely poor should be assisted.

Most people who have income between $30,000 to $50,000, and even some below $30,000, have houses, cars etc.

Does the Minister for Finance believe people in this income bracket are unable or can’t afford to buy uniforms, etc for their children?

The minister and students in his generation were not educated through Government handouts but through the blood, sweat, tears and hard work of their parents.

As reported in the past, people use such kind of government assistance to buy kava, alcohol, etc.

Government will be saving millions of dollars if it supports only those who are genuinely poor.

The amount saved can be used for infrastructure developments, etc.

Secondly, by giving such assistance, Government is encouraging the dependency syndrome, hands-out and entitlement mentality instead of “hands up mentality”.

If the support is subsequently stopped, people will start complaining as if they are entitled to it as currently happening on welfare and bus fare issues, not realising it is a government assistance and government has the right to review, stop, etc such assistance.

One man said Fiji was becoming a welfare state, which kills hard work, initiative, responsibility, etc; people relying on government and others for support.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

According to media reports the Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection has made a public statement that a street children’s
rehabilitation centre will be opened at Serua, Namosi.

This is to be done in conjunction with the Methodist Church in Fiji. This is a great idea and let’s hope that it will achieve its stated
aim.

The government of the day is focusing heavily on children’s education and other issues such as bus fares and back to school help.

These steps are certainly timely and praiseworthy. But despite all this help, some children still end up in our streets as indicated by the figures released by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection.

The street children (boys and girls) are a huge nuisance!

They indulge in all sorts of illegal and antisocial activities such as consuming drugs, pushing drugs, stealing, bag snatching and prostitution, etc.

All these leave a very bitter taste in our mouths.

They are a clear reflection that not all is well in our society. Perhaps the poverty level is unsustainable.

Abuse and violence on children within the family could be other factors.

It is stated by the minister that these children (under 17) will be taught skills, which can be used to earn their bread and butter honestly.

However, some street children have opted to stay in the streets as it seems to be a better option!

Will the ministry allow this to happen? In my view, all street children should be taken, even if by force.

The street children saga will not stop despite all the great intentions the ministry may have. New children will appear on our
streets and this rehabilitation exercise will have to be continued.

For this, ample resources will have to be provided or else it will be a failure.

I wish the Ministry for Women, Children and Social Protection and the Methodist Church in Fiji every success!

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

Respectfully, the time has come.

Show us.

Do not tell us. Deeds matter; not words.

Ben Gollings must now begin to show all ardent Fiji 7s fans more “W’s” (winners) – not “L’s” (losses).

As two-time Olympic gold medallists, Fiji must rise up 150 per cent and do all what’s needed for “top-of-the-podium” finishes, as much as possible.

Go for gold Fiji 7s. Nothing less.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

Did I hear it right or not? Sevens head coach Ben Gollings would like to include five overseas- based players and several Fijian Drua
players in his squad?

Haven’t they proven themselves in the local competition?

Just include local boy, Jerry and train him because I believe Jerry had his own training but lacked game time.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj

Not a week goes by without consumers in Fiji seeing a notice from Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) stating, “Dear valued customers, please note that a fault has caused a disruption to power supply that is affecting customers.”.

The so-called “valued“ customers have no choice but to accept since they don’t really have a choice, nor are they compensated in any way.

However, if these “valued” customers miss one monthly payment, EFL is quick to disconnect immediately.

There is no concession or understanding given that they show such unbelievable efficiency in this task.

After the disconnection, once the bill is paid, the customers then have to chase up EFL to reconnect and are charged reconnection fees.

Can’t EFL show some leniency by at least adding the balance to next month’s bill instead of choosing to disconnect immediately? They could use the technicians involved instead to ensure that the usual “faults” that cause disruptions are lessened. It should be a give-and-take relationship and not misuse your monopoly.

EFL, please truly value your customers.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj 

Digicel MyCash and Vodafone M-PAiSA are mobile wallets that let us have electronic cash available at our fingertips. Removing the need for a bank account, M-PAiSA and MyCash provide a way to make fast, reliable, safe, and convenient daily financial transactions—all at the convenience of our mobile phones.

These two are fast becoming the preferred payment methods for many businesses among Fijians. The cashless payment options through mobile phones make work easy, avoiding time wastage, waiting in queues for services, traffic jams, or parking problems, hassles, and frustrations.

However, if there are “technical glitches,” a well-known term in Fijian societies, affecting both platforms, M-PAiSA and MyCash, it is therefore very crucial for both service providers to address them immediately as well as fortify the security features of both platforms to avoid future issues.

Vodafone Fiji reminds users never to share the M-PAiSA PIN and personal information in light of issues of back to school shopping.

I, therefore, call upon both service providers for better security of the accounts, and thus: 

• Resolve current challenges,
• Implement robust measures that safeguard users’ financial transactions and personal information,
• Collaborate with cybersecurity experts,
• Conduct comprehensive security audits of both platforms,
• Assess vulnerabilities, potential loopholes, and areas for improvement in the systems,
• Enhancing user education and awareness is probably done via SMS,
• To educate both wallet users about the importance of securing the PIN,
• Launch targeted campaigns to educate the users about the risks associated with sharing PIN,
• Regular reminders via in-app notifications, thus helping the users to stay vigilant against potential scams,
• Provide an extra layer of security to transactions by introducing multi-factor authentication (MFA),
• That one-time password (OTP) sent to the user’s registered mobile number can be heavily secured to reduce the risks of unauthorised access and financial fraud,
• Continuously monitor and enhance the security of the platforms and explore partnerships with reputable cybersecurity firms,
• Address any emerging threats and vulnerabilities, regularly update, and patches should be deployed,
• Provide transparent communication to the users,
• should keep users informed about security enhancements, providing clear guidelines on how to protect their accounts,
• An open channel for user feedback and reporting security concerns can facilitate a collaborative approach to maintaining a secure financial environment.,
• Investing in the security infrastructure of M-PAiSA and MyCash will not only rebuild user confidence but also contribute to a more resilient and reliable financial platform for the future.

Digicel MyCash

The Fijian families need commitments to the security of their accounts and money to access financial transactions without compromising the integrity of both systems. Let’s all move forward to encourage others and promote cashless societies in Fiji once we are assured of better security of our user accounts via mobile phones.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj 

Are we expecting our Olympic legacy or team performance to win the Paris Olympics?

Will Jerry Tuwai’s inclusion guarantee the Paris gold medal? Obviously not. Other teams have already upped their ante, and they all have the same winning aspirations as we do.

Then why are we digressing towards this player?

Tuwai presently wears a two-time Olympic champion crown, so what will he be called if we lose the Paris crown? Why spoil his legacy? All champions retire at their peak performance. Sadly, age has caught up, and like it or not, Tuwai cannot perform as before.

We have already seen him gasping in a 50-metre chase only to offload to another player; therefore, leave the team to the coach.

Good luck if we win; go back to our losing strategy on the drawing board.

Jerry Tuwai scores a try for Fiji against Spain on day three of the HSBC France Sevens at Stade Toulousain on May 14, 2023 in Toulouse, France. Photo: World Rugby

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj 

Thank you, Lautoka City Council, special administrator chair, for stating that you will get to the bottom of the swimming pool project.

The Government’s allocation of $4.5m should go well as planned and not keep exceeding it like previously. While getting to the bottom, please make sure the mismanagement in this project is being highlighted and investigated through the right channels.

I will personally come and thank you upon the completion of this pool, if it occurs. Not because it is the most essential item for Lautoka, but because it has only created frustration and curiosity over time, where we once lost hope. That waste of money was a major concern.

I would love to see any project coming to fruition that was left half-hanging. The people of Lautoka deserve the best as well.

Please get rid of that boring garden around you, or rather beautify it to serve some purpose. Please put some effort into Shirley Park. Let’s get it back. It is a widely used area.

More on the list will be added later. Meanwhile, let’s get that 12.5m sorted that went down the drain.

The Lautoka swimming pool. Photo: Salote Qalubau

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj 

The reported dead sea slugs or “dairo” is a worry.

On various occasions, I have raised my voice on the indiscriminate usage of weedicides and pesticides by our own Nadi International Airport authorities, amongst many others.

Grass growing on by the curb, along fences, footpaths and open drains are regularly sprayed with harmful weedicides and pesticides.

They eventually find their winding ways to food chains. Have I erred? If so, please accept my public apologies, well in advance.

Some serious and immediate investigation by our universities to determine, beyond doubt, is an absolute necessity.

The Department of Occupational Health and Safety must also be seen to be actively engaged.

In the late 1950s to 1970s, both Wailoaloa and Newtown beaches had an abundance of shellfish and seaweeds. They have all disappeared.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj 

Digicel MyCash and Vodafone M-PAiSA are mobile wallets that let us have electronic cash available at our fingertips. Removing the need for a bank account, M-PAiSA and MyCash provide a way to make fast, reliable, safe, and convenient daily financial transactions—all at the convenience of our mobile phones.

These two are fast becoming the preferred payment methods for many businesses among Fijians. The cashless payment options through mobile phones make work easy, avoiding time wastage, waiting in queues for services, traffic jams, or parking problems, hassles, and frustrations.

However, if there are “technical glitches,” a well-known term in Fijian societies, affecting both platforms, M-PAiSA and MyCash, it is therefore very crucial for both service providers to address them immediately as well as fortify the security features of both platforms to avoid future issues.

Vodafone Fiji reminds users never to share the M-PAiSA PIN and personal information in light of issues of back to school shopping.

I, therefore, call upon both service providers for better security of the accounts, and thus: 

• Resolve current challenges,
• Implement robust measures that safeguard users’ financial transactions and personal information,
• Collaborate with cybersecurity experts,
• Conduct comprehensive security audits of both platforms,
• Assess vulnerabilities, potential loopholes, and areas for improvement in the systems,
• Enhancing user education and awareness is probably done via SMS,
• To educate both wallet users about the importance of securing the PIN,
• Launch targeted campaigns to educate the users about the risks associated with sharing PIN,
• Regular reminders via in-app notifications, thus helping the users to stay vigilant against potential scams,
• Provide an extra layer of security to transactions by introducing multi-factor authentication (MFA),
• That one-time password (OTP) sent to the user’s registered mobile number can be heavily secured to reduce the risks of unauthorised access and financial fraud,
• Continuously monitor and enhance the security of the platforms and explore partnerships with reputable cybersecurity firms,
• Address any emerging threats and vulnerabilities, regularly update, and patches should be deployed,
• Provide transparent communication to the users, should keep users informed about security enhancements, providing clear guidelines on how to protect their accounts,
• An open channel for user feedback and reporting security concerns can facilitate a collaborative approach to maintaining a secure financial environment.,
• Investing in the security infrastructure of M-PAiSA and MyCash will not only rebuild user confidence but also contribute to a more resilient and reliable financial platform for the future.

Digicel MyCash

The Fijian families need commitments to the security of their accounts and money to access financial transactions without compromising the integrity of both systems. Let’s all move forward to encourage others and promote cashless societies in Fiji once we are assured of better security of our user accounts via mobile phones.

Feedback: letters@fijisun.com.fj 

• This letter has been re-published because it was published with a different name – Prameeta Chand – in yesterday’s (15/01/24) edition. The letter is written by Mr lndar Dea Bisun. We sincerely apologise to Ms Prameeta Chand and Mr lndar Dea Bisun for the error and inconvenience caused.