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King prawn-zillaKing prawn-zilla

By SHALENDRA PRASAD

PEOPLE are facing livelihood dif-ficulties because of the diminish-ing nature of the sugar industry in Fiji says Johnny Engell-Hansen, deputy head of delegation of the European Union (EU) for the Pa-cific.

Speaking at the commission-ing of the upgraded facilities at the Vivekananda Training Centre on Wednesday, November 28 at

Nawaicoba in Nadi, Engell-Han-sen did not mince his words while giving a true reflection of the cur-rent state of the once vibrant sugar industry.

He said because of the impact of the declining sugar industry, the EU via its Social Mitigation Pro-gram had set aside $80.5 million which would be invested in life changing and capacity building schemes via numerous non-gov-ernmental organisations.

Once a flagship and vibrant in-dustry providing direct and indi-rect jobs, catering for over a quar-ter of the entire population - the sugar industry is now experiencing continued decline and painful re-structure.

New job opportunities need to be created for people who can no longer sustain themselves, En-gell-Hansen added.

He said the EU Social Mitigation Program which was a part of the

larger program for the Fiji sugar industry, was precisely aiming at mitigating the adverse effects of the sugar industry restructuring and the people who live in the sug-ar cane belts.

The project provides support in three different ways: alternative housing and micro project, access to rural credit and vocational train-ing to enable alternative income generating activities.

Sweet rescue

EU invests EU invests $80.5m for $80.5m for alternative alternative livelihoodlivelihood

Deputy head of delegation of the European Union for the Pacifi c, Johnny Engell-Hansen, second from right, offi cially commissions the automotive workshop of the Vivekananda Technical Centre in Nawaicoba, Nadi on Wednesday, November 28. Photo: PRASHANT NAICKER

Continued on Page 2

Early Xmas for Early Xmas for AFL workers AFL workers P4P4

Priya Priya cooks a cooks a winning winning stormstorm

Page Page 1717

Malelis Malelis Last Last journey journey homehome

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THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER2

EDITORIAL

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

Fiji - the way the world should be Being the hub of the Pacifi c, Fiji has everything that a spectacular tropical paradise has to offer - from private island resort accommodations, top class restaurants to white sandy beaches, inbound tours, jet boat rides, hot air balloon rides, mountain trekking, inland tours, eco tourism, sky diving, helicopter rides, cruise trips, scuba diving, massage and beauty parlours, vibrant night life and a lot more than any other

destination in the world offers

THE JET is Fijis fi rst community newspaper published monthly by SHAMBU ADVERTISING from Nadi - the tourism capital of Fiji.

PUBLISHER : SHALENDRA PRASAD Cell: 9232073EDITOR : SACHIDA ANAND SINGH Cell: 9492933ADMIN MANAGER : VIJNESH CHAND Cell: 9768631SALES MANAGER : PRASHANT NAICKER Cell: 8727140PHONE OFFICE : (679) 7767574/ 6708188 FAX : (679) 6708188EMAIL : [email protected] : [email protected]

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PRINTED BY MAX MARKETING AND PUBLISHING LIMITED, VATUWAQA, SUVA. Phone: (679) 3375041.

COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARDEMPOWER PACIFIC (Formerly PCSS) provides private, confi dential counsel-ling on depression, family/marital, stress, grief, abuse, suicidal thoughts, STIs, drugs, alcohol & be-havior lifestyle changes. Opens 8am 3pm, Monday Friday. Call us on 6708169 Located at Nadi old hospital road.

ROTARY CLUB OF NADI is on a membership drive to increase members who repre-sent all sections of the com-munity. Nadi Rotarians meet every Wednesday at Sitar Restaurant in Martintar at 6.30pm. Interested people can call club president Krupesh Patel on 6700478

SOROPTIMIST INTER-NATIONAL is a vibrant, dynamic organisation for to-days professional and busi-nesswomen, working through projects to promote equality, development and peace. We are seeking members to join our club. Interested ladies can call SI Nadi president Zeaba Rahiman on 9977058

FIJIAN WRITERS ASSO-CIATION which has been established to form the fi rst ever formal body represent-ing writers, poets, journal-ists and everyone who has a passion for writing is seek-ing new members. Interested people can contact Professor Subramani via email:- [email protected]

SACHIDA ANAND SINGH

AUSTRALIA will be investing $F100 million annually by 2014 to help im-prove access to basic services, such as health and education, as well as sup-porting innovative local initiatives to help build the resilience of rural and isolated communities in the country, says Acting Australian High Commis-sioner, Glenn Miles.

This refl ects Australias commit-ment to reducing poverty and improv-ing the lives of vulnerable and margin-alised communities in Fiji, Mr Miles said while opening the Fiji Community Development Program (FCDP) offi ce in Lautoka.

The FCDP Lautoka Offi ce will be co-sharing offi ce space with the Eu-ropean Union (EU) social mitigation Program Management Unit on Marine Drive. The co-location of the offi ces provides an opportunity for greater co ordination of donor support to Fijis Civil Society Organisation (CSO) sec-tor.

Our support to the Fiji civil society sector tells us that this is a sector that

is a dynamic and capable one. FCDP will build on the existing capacities of CSOs, and assist them to deliver better services, foster inclusion, and mitigate social hardship and poverty for com-munities in Fiji, Mr Miles said.

This support to civil society or-ganisations will result in 70,000 people throughout Fiji benefi ting from quality community development services with at least 70 civil society organisations working in communities throughout Fiji, he said.

The FCDP Team Leader, Michael Brownjohn said CSOs in Fiji had sig-nifi cantly increased their presence and outreach to communities in the West-ern Division and so it was particularly exciting and relevant for the FCDP to be establishing a presence in the area.

FCDP programing over the next fi ve years will be focused on the provision of grant funding and capacity build-ing support to assist the work of CSOs which provide services to poor, vul-nerable or marginalised communities throughout Fiji.

The grants will be for a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years and three months, with potential of ex-tending support further if results are strong. Our fi rst call for grants closed on 16th November and overwhelm-ing interest has been shown through the proposals we have received, Mr Brownjohn said.

Decisions about the grants will be made in the next week by the FCDP Program Executive Committee and grants will be disbursed during De-cember and January once individual agreements have been fi nalised. For those organisations which might not be successful in their grant application, we will still be available to provide ca-pacity building support, which is the second strand of our Program, he said.

The FCDP began operating in Fiji in June 2012 and was launched in Suva last month. It succeeds Australias pre-vious support to civil society through the Australian Civil Society Support Program (ACSSP).

PRESS RELEASE

Continued from Front Page

He said through the assis-tance provided to Ramak-rishna Mission to upgrade the facilities at Vivekananda Training Centre, the EU anticipates close to 5000 people receiving recognised and accredited certifi cates in various fi elds offered by the centre.

This program intends to target three different groups of people.

They are households who have abandoned cane farming, cane farmers who need additional revenue

sources to sustain their live-lihoods and redundant cane cutters, mill workers and transport workers.

Engell-Hansen said the sugar industry was facing very diffi cult times and it needed to take a quick and painful restructure plan and decrease costs while im-proving productivity.

He said the current cost of harvesting sugar cane stands at a farm-gate price of $40 per tonne and this should decrease by 40 per cent while farm yields needed to

increase by 50 per cent to 60 tonnes of cane per hectare.

It should be made pos-sible for hardworking cane farmers to increase the size of their farms thereby inten-sifying production.

I realise that land can be a particularly sensitive is-sue in Fiji but it does strike a chord that fertile land lies idle when it could be made productive.

The sugar industry was once referred to as the back bone of the Fijian economy but has been on a decline for

over a decade resulting in the booming tourism indus-try taking over as the biggest foreign exchange earner.

However, the Bainima-rama Government is fully committed to revive the ailing sugar industry and various strategies have been implemented at all levels to ensure that the industry be-comes viable.

Prime Minister Commo-dore Voreqe Bainimarama had previously stated the country cannot afford to lose the vital sugar industry which still remains as an im-portant element of the Fijian economy.

$100m for out reach program

EU to the rescue

ONCE regarded as the back-bone of Fijis economy the sugar industry has taken a nose-dive into bitterness of dilem-ma, mismanagement and land lease issues pushing the once fl ourishing industry onto its knees and affecting the livelihood of many.

Now the question most of the people are asking is: Can the sugar industry revive and give a competition to the tourism in-dustry which is leading in terms of dollar value? Well that will be a day to live for and see the sugar industry fl ourish again.

And to achieve that dream - authorities concerned are doing its best to get the industry up on its feet and to do that - we need big spenders.

European Union (EU) which has a big purse to spend has joined hands with the Ramakrishna Mission to help those who are struggling to make ends meet.

And thumbs up to EU for setting aside a staggering $80.5mil-lion for the livelihood of those directly or indirectly involved in the cane belt. EU has already started its Social Mitigation Pro-gram with the commissioning of the upgraded facilities at the Vivekananda Training Centre which will help those affected by the sugar industry.

Deputy Head of delegation of the EU for the Pacifi c, Johnny Engell-Hansen, did not mince his words while giving a true re-fl ection of the current state of the once vibrant sugar industry.

According to Engell-Hansen, the EU Social Mitigation Pro-gram which was a part of the larger program for the Fiji sugar industry was precisely aiming at mitigating the adverse effects of the sugar industry restructuring and the people who live in the sugar cane belts.

Engell-Hansen pointed out that the project provided support in three different ways - alternative housing and micro project, access to rural credit and vocational training to enable alterna-tive income generating activities.

The assistance provided by EU to Ramakrishna Mission for the upgrading of the facilities at Vivekananda Training Centre, the EU anticipates close to 5000 people receiving recognised and accredited certifi cates in various fi elds offered by the cen-tre.

Well the sugar industry needs all the help it can get the Government of the day is trying its level best to see the in-dustry pull out of doldrums lets wait and see whether we achieve sweetness or continue with the bitter pain of wasting money.

Sugar:The bitterness within


THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER 3

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LOCAL NEWS

By ANAND SINGH

AIRPORTS Fiji Ltd workers received an early Christmas gift as Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, announced substantial pay rises for 247 low-income earners.

And the news came as a blessing for many of the work-ers who have worked hard to keep the AFLs operations running smoothly but were not recognized.

Fifty-eight-year-old, Peni Tuvu has been working in the cleaners department since 1994 and was full of prais-es for the Bainimarama-led Government.

The Korovuto villager said it was a timely boost for his family as the festive season was just around the corner and also the beginning of the New Year.

This is the best government no other government thought of the low-income earners before we have been working on the same salary for many years.

With the pay rise many of us will better provide for our families, Mr Tuvu said.

The father of four sons and one daughter added it was high time that minor workers whose salary was below the poverty line who worked hard as highly paid work-ers were recognized as the cost of living was getting too costly.

What this government has done will not only benefi t the low-income earners but also boost the economy as more pay means more expenditure benefi tting all.

The previous governments did not hear the plea of the poor and that is the reason we are below the poverty line, Mr Tuvu said.

Also on the same note Mr Tuvus workmate Apisai Limalevu acknowledged similar sentiments praising the Bainimarama-led government for recognizing the low-income earners and their hard work.

PM Bainimarama and his Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum were in person at the AFL to announce the benefi t cover a broad range of categories and include baggage handlers, fi remen, security offi cers, plumbers, painters, carpenters and drivers.

Most earn less than $15,000 a year and many earn less than $10,000 a year. (225 of the 247 earn less than$15k and 97 earn less than $10,000.)

Theyll each get different pay rises depending on their personal circumstances, with baggage handlers receiving more than $2,000 a year and some technical offi cers get-ting $8,000 increases.

THE Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimara-ma, has announced substantial pay rises for nearly 250 low-income workers at Airports Fiji Limited.

Those who will benefi t cover a broad range of categories and include bag-gage handlers, fi remen, security offi cers, plumbers, painters, carpenters and driv-ers.

Most earn less than $15,000 a year and many earn less than $10,000 a year. (225 of the 247 earn less than$15k and 97 earn less than $10,000.)

Theyll each get different pay rises de-pending on their personal circumstances,

with baggage handlers receiving more than $2,000 a year and some technical offi cers getting $8,000 increases.

The increases come after a review of the wages of airport workers by an inde-pendent consultant, the Hays Group.

Speaking to a group of workers at AFL Head Offi ce, the Prime Minister said some of them had not had pay reviews since 1999.

The Prime Minister said there had been a growing gap at Airports Fiji Limited between the salaries of executive staff and ordinary workers.

This is a question of basic fairness.

It does nothing for the morale in any or-ganisation when some people are seen to benefi t more than others, the Prime Minister added.

My Government was determined to rectify that.

The Acting Chairman of AFL, Faiz Khan, said the pay rises would cost the company $725,000 a year but it was money well spent.

We see this as an investment in our workforce that will raise morale and pro-ductivity and reduce staff turnover, he said

Source: MINFO

Early Xmas for AFL workers

PM approves pay rise for 247Smiles says it all happy AFL workers give thumbs up after PM Voreqe Bainimarama approved pay rise for 247 staff members.

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LOCAL NEWS

A PACIFIC Information, Communica-tion Technology (ICT) specialist has been appointed to a Vice President position of the world internet body, ICANN the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Mr Savenaca Voceas (PICTURED) promotion as Vice President Austral-asia/Pacifi c Islands was announced this week by the President of ICANN, FadiChehad.

Mr Vocea, originally from Fiji, and based in Brisbane, Australia is one of the four new Vice Presidents of ICANN.

Coming from the Pacifi c region, I am grateful and honoured to be work-ing under a leadership team that has

empowered us to improve efforts to serve the region better.

We will listen to as many inter-ested stakeholders and the local In-ternet community discussing and col-laborating on issues centering around ICANNs remit and management of the Internets domain names system.

Mr Vocea who was in Suva last week spoke on the new generic Top Level Domains (new gTLD) pro-gramme update at the Pacifi c ICT Cen-tre and met the USP offi cials to discuss .FJ registry best practices.

There wasgeneral encouragement for names registry in the Pacifi c to de-ploy Domain Names Systems Security Extensions (DNSSEC) as a tool to pre-

vent data modifi cation at the registry level that will trickle down to end users of the Internet.

He also addressed the inaugural Tech Youth Camp for Fiji introducing the participating youths to ICANN.

As the new Regional Vice President, Australasia/ Pacifi c Islands, Mr Vocea will be accountable for the develop-ment of stakeholder engagement and outreach within countries in Austral-asia and the Pacifi c Islands.

He joined ICANN in October 2006 as the Regional Liaison, Australasia/Pacifi c Islands to help raise awareness of ICANN issues in the region through outreach and engagement with the community.

He has helped in facilitating strate-gic partnerships with regional organi-sations and new memberships for the Governmental Advisory Committee, country code Supporting Organiza-tions and Asia Pacifi c RALO to en-hance participation and contribution in the ICANN space.

Before ICANN, he held manage-rial roles with organisations including APNIC, the Pacifi c Islands Telecom-munications Association (PITA) and Telecom Fiji. He is also one of the founding members of the Pacifi c Net-work Operators Group (PacNOG) that delivers capacity building for network/ISP engineers from the Pacifi c sub-region. PRESS RELEASE

AUSTRALIAN celebrity chef and television person-ality Elizabeth Chong has arrived for the fi rst time in the country to join Fiji TVs Taste of Paradise star Chef Lance Seeto, in the season fi nale of his hugely popular show.

Chong, now a 81, is one of Seetos mentors and teachers, and in similar fashion to Seeto, has been showing Australians how to cook healthy Asian cuisine for over 30 years. Some of her closest friends are the worlds top celebrity restau-rateurs and chefs, as many regard her for her pioneering work in using television to both educate and entertain.

She is one of the most recognisable television chefs and accomplished cookbook authors, with many Austra-lians growing up learning to cook Chinese food on Chan-nel Tens Bert Newton show during the 1980s and 1990s.

Looking 20 years younger than her age, this TV chef puts it down to clean living, no alcohol, no smoking and no junk food. The Chinese have always eaten healthy for thousands of years, and I try and stick to that same philosophy. says Chong.

Dining at Chef Seetos fa-vourite restaurant in Suva, Tikos, Chong could not believe the fl avours and freshness of the seafood.

Ive eaten all around the world and still host tours of China and Vietnam for my Australian clients, but Fiji has something very an-cient and wild to intrigue the

gourmet traveller. says the TV personality.

If it wasnt for Chef Lance Seetos invitation to see what he is doing here, I probably would never have thought to come to Fiji. I am so glad I did, he is do-ing a wonderfully inspiring job here. There is so much to experience here in life-style and food. This truly is an inspiring culture on Aus-tralias doorstep. It seems the student has become the teacher.

Chong has joined Chef Seetos Fiji Food Safari on Castaway Island this week to not only share her knowl-edge to visitors, but to sup-

port her protg in his en-deavours to promote Fiji to the world through food.

The fi ve day food pro-gram includes cooking mas-ter classes, food as medicine classes and dinner banquets each night. It is also being fi lmed for the special one hour season fi nale of Taste of Paradise.

Seeto says he wanted to show his legions of viewers in Fiji and across the South Pacifi c his island home and where the appreciation for Fijis culture, traditions and fresh food started. Season One of Taste of Paradise fi n-ishes up on December 27.

MEDIA RELEASE

Islander gets top VP job

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Mentor joins Seeto

Lance Seeto, left, with his mentor and top Australian ce-lebrity chef and television personality Elizabeth Chong.

Photo: SUPPLIED



LOCAL NEWS

By MERESEINI MARAU in India

SOME 300 sewing ma-chines will be sent from India this month to help the women of Fiji mostly those in rural areas.

This was possible after the Government of India gave the funds to the Fiji High Commission in New Delhi recently.

Fiji High Commissioner in New Delhi Yogesh Karan

said the funds would be used to purchase the sewing ma-chines which would be dis-persed at the earliest.

He said the sewing ma-chines would be given to the Ministry for Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alle-viation which would then distribute it.

I thank the Indian Gov-ernment for this assistance and the Indian High Com-mission in Fiji for helping in facilitating this request.

High Commissioner Yogesh Karan (left) receiving the cheque from ministry of external affairs offi cial in New Delhi, India.

Photo: MERESEINI MARAU

India gives 300 sewing machine

By SHALENDRA PRASAD

FIJIS leading commercial printers Universal Printing Press (UPP) has achieved another milestone after being accredited as the fi rst ever company in the Pacifi c Islands to be awarded the quality status of a GS1 New Zealand Accredited Organisation for Barcode testing.

While offi cially presenting the ac-creditation to directors of the Punja Group which owns UPP, Gary Hartley, general manager sector development of GS1 New Zealand commended the hard working management and staff members for yet another great achieve-ment.

The accreditation means a lot in terms of global standards and today we are witnessing UPP adapting to a glob-

al identity and this will make business much easier to do while minimising hu-man errors, Mr Hartley said.

With the accreditation UPP will be will be adapting to a global language of business and it is interesting to note that they are the fi rst in the Pacifi c to achieve such a milestone.

Sharing similar sentiments, Punja Group director Rajesh Punja said the company and its subsidiaries had come a long way as far as standards and quality products and services was con-cerned.

The accreditation is a defi ning point in time for us and refl ects what Punjas stands for. The achievement is also in line with what the company is about. We were the fi rst company to start us-ing barcodes back in those days, Mr Punja said.

Another milestone for Punja Group

Standing from left are Yogesh Punja, Rajesh Punja, Gary Hartley, Jagdish Punja and UPP general manag-er Shri Krishna.

Photo: PRASHANT

NAICKER.

Billboards for Maharishi College

THE Maharishi Sanatan College billboards were installed on the front and the rear entrance by the Rotary Club of Nadi on Tuesday, 27th November, 2012.

The school is situated in Votualevu, Nadi (the tirath dhaam is situated in the school compound).

The school offers academic classes from Form 3-7 lev-el, Vocational (Food & Beverage)and (Carpentary & Join-ery - FNU franchised) - Enrolment for 2013 is now open.

The Rotary Club of Nadi has assisted Maharishi in sev-eral ways- providing library books, paying school fees for needy students and lately getting the billboards done.

By BHAWINI HAROON

Rotary Club of Nadi president Krupesh Patel shakes hand with Maharishi Sanatan College principal Bhawi-ni Haroon. Photo: SUPPLIED



LOCAL NEWSPRIME Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama (PICTURED) opened the two new Legal Aid Commission offi ces in Nadi and Rakiraki.

The PM said; Today marks another solid step in my Gov-ernments efforts to ensure that all Fijians have equal access to justice system.

Nadi is one of the largest town centres in Fiji and the fastest growing. It also has a substantial surround-ing rural population.

With the opening of this Offi ce, the residents of Nadi and its greater area will no longer have to travel far to seek legal aid assistance. We are re-moving the obstacles of time, distance, and expense.

PM added; My Government remains fi rmly committed to providing equal ac-cess to the justice system for every Fijian, in particular for those Fijians who are un-able to afford the services of a lawyer.

Without proper legal counsel, a person may not get the justice he or she deserves.

Equal access to justice should mean just that - justice that is readily available to all. It must be a reality, not just a hope, PM said.

He continued saying, that some talk about the rule of law without necessarily understanding that a key component of this principle must include equal access to the justice system.

Conversely how can we talk about sub-stantive justice when there is no access to the justice system for the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable?

Without legal counsel, Court matters get delayed, and this is at the cost of tax payers.

But beyond the cost, we know that jus-tice delayed is justice denied. Legal Aid services and Court matters need to be expe-dited so that justice is sure, deliberate, and as prompt as possible, PM said.

He added at the end of the day, provid-ing equal access to justice to all Fijians was the responsibility of the Government and in order for Legal Aid to work for the people,

to do its job, it had to be adequately funded. It is for this reason, my Government has

ensured that the Legal Aid Commission has the staff, facilities, and funds it needs to as-sist people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer.

As the need for legal services in the community has increased, my Government has steadily increased its funding to the Le-gal Aid Commission, which now employs 25 lawyers, and 28 corporate and support staff. The total number of staff, I am told, will soon increase to more than 64.

This new Nadi and Rakiraki offi ces of the Legal Aid Commission is a part of that expansion. It is modern and well resourced. It has facilities to accommodate clients wishing to make legal aid applications as well as separate interview rooms for clients to protect their privacy and ensure confi -dentiality, PM said.

The Legal Aid Commission has perma-nent offi ces in Suva, Ba, Lautoka, and La-basa. The Nausori Offi ce has opened doors and shall be offi cially opened by the PM within the next month.

PRESS RELEASE

By VIJNESH CHAND

A WOMENS group has taken up a more active role in building its com-munity empowering mothers and young girls to play a more important role in their society.

The Shiu Shakti Wom-ens club was founded by Madhu Malini, Suraj Wati and Priya Dharsani of Navo, Nadi in 2007.

The reason behind the foundation of this club was because of having low income earners to save an extra dollar for future use such as for school fees and celebrate New Year in style.

There are over 28 mem-bers in this club.

We came to know about Nadi Womens Council after two years of successful operation of

this club.And now we are mem-

bers of the council and also registered under Ministry of Womens, said Mrs Madhu.

Members of the club attended workshops or-ganised by Save the chil-dren Fiji, Femlink Pa-cifi c, NCW workshop and Health workshops.

Chinese delegation do-nated sewing machines to assist the club members.

Now the members sew door mats, stitching of school uniforms and many more.

Furthermore, the ladies have started with reciting Ramayana and singing kirtans every Tuesdays.

We also get offers from other communities to recite Ramayana in their area as well.

Mrs Madhu said, The club donated groceries, clothes and cash to the needy families of Navo during the recent fl oods.

Donation was also given to Fiji Cancer Society ap-peal fund as well.

From 2007 till today the club has progressed and achieved so much that we have decided to give scholarships to the needy students in primary schools from 2013, the womens president said.

In addition she added, We hope and pray that Shiu Shakti Womens Club achieves more suc-cess in whatever good deeds we do to support and help the poor and needy people of our com-munity and Nadi as a whole.

Womens club takes active role

Legal Aid opens doors

The Shiu Shakti Womens club members. Picture: SUPPLIEDThe Shiu Shakti Womens club members. Picture: SUPPLIED



HEALTH

Dialysis - an easily preventable epidemicBy DAVID MOSKOWITZ

THE Pacifi c Islands are ex-periencing an epidemic of type 2 diabetes as the thrifty genotype, which allowed residents to survive starvation for the past 50,000 years, comes into contact with Western lifestyle: abundant calories and physical inactivity.

Half of diabetic patients experi-ence kidney failure. Overactivity of the ACE enzyme (ACE = angioten-sin I converting enzyme) appears to be involved in both diabetes and its complications, like kidney failure (1).

Massive weight loss could theo-retically reverse type 2 diabetes and prevent its complications, such as kidney failure and proliferative retinopathy (the vessels at the back of the eye, the retina, proliferate, bleed, and cause blindness).

But weight loss is extremely dif-fi cult, especially if youve been ge-netically selected to survive starva-tion and put on calories whenever you see them in case of future star-vation. A far easier approach would just be to take suffi cient quinapril, now an inexpensive generic drug.

In 2002, I published my patient outcomes data on reversing dia-betic and hypertensive kidney fail-ure using high-dose quinapril (2). My treatment has worked so far in whites, blacks, and Hispanics, all groups with signifi cant hyperten-sion. Fijians have relatively low blood pressure along with their diabetes. An angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) rather than an ACE might work better. Others have shown that high-dose ARBs are as effective as high dose quinapril (3-5).

This treatment is safe, simple, and effective when used in patients who still have at least half their kid-ney function left. The bigger ques-tion is why you havent heard about it already.

Healthcareis supposed to em-brace cures. But in 2002, the me-dia refused to publicize my paper, requiring me to get an endorse-ment from somebody in the renal community. Since dialysis is how nephrologists make their money, nobody has come forward yet to en-dorse my paper.

Surely, I thought, Medicare, the Single Payer for dialysis, would want to save over $20 billion a year

by eliminating dialysis. So in Octo-ber, 2004, I presented my paper to the then Medical Director of Medi-care, Sean Tunis, and his senior staff, including Sandra Foote.

To my astonishment, they had no interest. Only then did it dawn on me that they might be eliminating their own jobs along with 6% of their budget. No bureaucrat wants to shrink her budget.

In fact, nobody in healthcare has had the slightest interest in elimi-nating dialysis: not the NIDDK (the Kidney Institute at the NIH), the AHRQ, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Heart Association, the American Associa-

tion for Kidney Patients, the CDC, the AMA, the National Medical Association, numerous academic Nephrology Divisions, numerous kidney transplantation societies, the American Society of Nephrol-ogy (ASN), the International So-ciety of Nephrology (ISN), the European Society of Nephrology, private health insurance companies (Humana, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, United), Medicare Advantage health plans, Kaiser-Permanente, the VA, all 50 state Medicaid offi ces, et al.

Even the Missouri Kidney Pro-gram, which co-funded the key research along with the American Diabetes Association, had no com-ment.

Incidentally, National Health Ser-vices in Canada, Britain, Israel, etc. were just as uninterested in elimi-nating dialysis as Medicare.

My experienceillustrates, I be-lieve, whats really wrong with hos-pital-based healthcare globally. No-body in healthcare wants to prevent disease any more. Patients must get sick for revenues to fl ow. As others have said, we dont have healthcare, justsickcare.

Im glad of the opportunity to tell the residents of Fiji that dialy-sis has been obsolete for over a de-cade. How could healthcare be re-formed, you might ask. How could it be made more innovative? How could physicians get more inter-ested in preventing diseases? Thats precisely the outcome that patients want most. But no doctor is offering it (except for GenoMed, my disease management company), because the business model for healthcare requires the patient to get sick be-fore any money changes hands.

Transforming the healthcare sys-tem to one in which prevention had value to physicians, as well as pa-tients, would actually be quite easy.Simply require physicians to report their patients outcomes. The best outcomes come from avoiding the disease in the fi rst place, which is also the cheapest approach. If phy-sicians had to report their outcomes on a website, and patients could vote with their feet, then the phy-sicians who could prevent disease would get the most business. Their colleagues would have to learn how to prevent disease, too, or else go out of business. Healthcare would improve, rather than embracing the status quo.

Most people dont realize that malpractice consists of two parts: (1) a bad outcome, and (2) devia-tion from the community standard of practice. As long as a physician practices like everybody else, it doesnt matter how horrible his/her outcomes are. Tying business to outcomes would do wonders for healthcare, forcing it to become more innovative as well as cost-effective.

Dr. Moskowitz majored in Chemistry (summa) at Harvard College, Biochemistry (fi rst class honours) at Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship, and got his MD from Harvard Medical School. He trained in Internal Medicine, Biochemistry, and Ne-phrology at Washington Univer-sitybefore teaching for 11 years at St. Louis University medical school. He currently practices in Florida and can be reached through his companys website, www.genomed.com

Photo: medicinenet.com



EDUCATION AND CAREERS



EDUCATION AND CAREERS

FORTY-one pints of blood that can potentially save up to 123 lives, was collected at a blood drive organised by the University of the South Pacifi cs Lautoka Campus on Saturday, 10th Novem-ber.

This brings the total amount of blood collected by the Campus this year to 95 pints.

The Lautoka Campus blood contribution last year earned it recognition from the Ministry of Health as the highest collector of blood in the Tertiary Institutions Category for the Western Division for 2011.

By organiSing blood drives, the Campus hopes to raise awareness on the importance of saving some-ones life and urge members of our community to come forward donate blood to curb shortage of blood in our local hospitals.

USP Lautoka Campus Blood Drive organiSing chairman Dennis Sen said it

was a successful blood drive with most of the donors be-ing fi rst timers.

Mr Sen said after donat-ing blood, a donor com-mented that he did not have the courage to do anything like this before.

I was full of trepidation as I thought of the needles and pain, but I was quickly proven wrong!, the fi rst time donor exclaimed.

The donor requested to be informed of other blood drives organised in future.

Mr Sen said three Campus staff members also donated one pint each to the drive. He said tertiary institutions have a lot of students and they should partner with hospitals on such a worthy initiative.

Campus Director Dr Pra-mila Devi said the blood drive initiative was part of the Lautoka Campus Re-gional Community engage-ment project.

PRESS RELEASE

Campus gives gift of life

A donor gives blood during USP Lautoka Campuss blood drive. Photo: SUPPLIED

USP conducts a careers sessionSTUDENTS and employers in the Western Di-vision had a successful talk on the career and job prospects for fresh graduates when they met at The University of the South Pacifi cs Lautoka Campus Careers Session on Saturday, 24th November.

Held at the Campus Lecture Hall, the Ca-reers Session was the fi rst one ever to be organ-ised by the Campus.

The primary purpose of this Careers Session was to get together prospective employers and tertiary and senior secondary school students to discuss career opportunities and the levels of qualifi cation required by different jobs/profes-sions.

Students had the chance to talk to prospec-tive employers and explore the various career options available for them locally.

Parents and prospective students were able to get questions, related to the career, answered by the employers and the USP staff members by visiting their booths.

The employers enlightened students on the types of qualifi cation and other qualities they looked for in graduates for employment.

Students took advantage of this opportunity to register for Semester 1, 2013 and continuing students were also able to register for the Sum-mer Flexi School.

Campus Director Dr Pramila Devi extends her thanks and appreciation to the employers, parents and students who participated in this Careers Session and for making it a success.

PRESS RELEASE

Students and employers in the Western Division take part in The Students and employers in the Western Division take part in The University of the South Pacifi cs Lautoka Campus Careers Session University of the South Pacifi cs Lautoka Campus Careers Session held at its Lautoka Campus. Photo: SUPPLIEDheld at its Lautoka Campus. Photo: SUPPLIED



Bula everybody.

WHILE climbing the steps inside the Westpac Nadi branch and once on the fi rst fl oor it is sometimes a mammoth task of going through the long line of people to reach the door for international transactions but then we have created special words such as chilo, excuse me and dekhna bhai thora gap dena to make our journey across much easier.

Once inside, the staff mem-bers are generous to offer us seats and wait for our turn. While sitting down, it came to my mind as to how this bank has managed space after the fl oods.

You dont have to be an expert to manage space but sometimes we end up scratch-

ing our heads more often. At fi rst it seemed congested but then it is amazing to see how the staff members are manag-ing this fi rst fl oor.

And while sitting as usual staff members saying ...hi ....and smiling all times, I came across Vivek, an old timer at this branch. He seemed ex-tremely busy but often had time to say hello and this par-ticular day he shared some of his daily work experience.

It was something to do with his work pressure and meeting deadlines.

He said they had a lot on their plate for a day but time management had helped them get through the day. Its pres-sure work but rewarding once job is done.

So here I said to myself there were three things which a person could learn from this particular

Westpac branch and they were space management, time

management and job satisfac-tion. Space management is the process of planning space re-quirement, identify weakness, allocations of current neces-sary space to the clients, moni-toring usage, helping users identify space usage problems and solve space management issues.

In other words, space man-agement not only considers the quantity of the current space, but includes the quality of the space provided to the clients. Therefore, relationship be-tween users and organisation (owner) is essential in space management.

The history of space man-agement originated back to 1970s with the idea of space norms consideration. This means that allocation of one staff or the necessity of space facility is determined based on the normal needs of a person and the needs of the organisa-tion. In 1996, National Audit

Offi ce in Wales has published Good Practice Guide for higher education institution space management purposes (NAO, 1996).

The space management study was conducted to higher education institutions in Wales, England and Scotland and se-lected organisations outside the higher education institutions.

The fi ndings from the study stress that the price quantifi ca-tion of space usage is based on the space development strat-egies, to enhance the space usage data system, and cen-tralisation of space tabling and distributing system.

This study also indicates that by exercising space manage-ment policy, the reduction in cost can achieve up to 50%.

A well-managed shopping environment attracts custom-ers, prevents stockouts, drives inventory productivity, reduces operating costs and, most im-portantly, increases the fi nan-

cial performance of the store. In 2009 the Malaysian Gov-ernment engaged high profi le personals from universities to help the government in space management of its Assets.

The result was that the Mel-anesian government had its overall cost of maintaining its assets reduced by up to 50%.

What they did was simply closed and demolished un-wanted facilities to reduce maintenance cost and used in-formation technology widely ( computers, networking etc). If we look at our environment where we do business or live, there may be many unwanted things or structures or furniture that we hardly use.

These are all taking our stor-age space. In accounting terms, these are holding cost. If you look up the google, in business management, holding cost is money spent to keep and main-tain a stock of goods in storage.

Holding costs are a major component of supply chain management, since businesses must determine how much of a product to keep in stock.

This represents an opportu-nity cost, as the presence of the goods means that they are not being sold while that money could be deployed elsewhere. In addition, holding costs in-clude the costs of goods being damaged or spoiled over time and the general costs, such as space, labour and other direct expenses.

The most obvious holding costs include rent for the re-quired space; equipment, ma-terials, and labor to operate the space; insurance; security; in-terest on money invested in the inventory and space, and other direct expenses.

Some stored goods become obsolete before they are sold, reducing their contribution to revenue while having no effect on their holding cost. Some goods are damaged by han-dling, weather, or other mecha-nisms.

Some goods are lost through mishandling, poor record keep-ing, or theft, a category euphe-mistically called shrinkage.

Now coming back to our environment, we and specially our older generations have a habit of not throwing or dis-posing of unwanted, unused, and non profi table items. The younger generation after get-ting educated by our parents money comes out of school where they have learnt about space management and talk about disposal of unproductive assets, they are told off Pagla hai tum...ee sab konchi pad ke aya.

Well I know for the fact that one person who has had a full support is Mr Prakash of Downtown Backpackers Ho-tel.

After completing our Sun-day morning walk we were passing by this place and had a chance to look inside while it was being re done. I would say the ground fl oor reception to be area looked superb.

While some may say its ren-ovation it wouldnt be wrong to say that they have utilized this space for better business.

Looking at the retail sector, stock on hand is an important aspect of any business. The amount of stock present in a retail outlet and ready to be distributed to interested con-sumers. To manage your stock successfully, you need to fi nd a balance between the costs and benefi ts of holding stock.

The costs of holding stock include the money you have

spent buying the stock as well as storage and insurance.

The benefi ts include having enough stock on hand to meet the demand of your custom-ers. Always keep in mind that having too much stock equals extra expense for you as it can lead to a shortfall in your cash fl ow and incur excess storage costs.

Having too little stock equals lost income in the form of lost sales, while also undermining customer confi dence in your ability to supply the products you claim to sell.

Having the wrong stock means lost income in the form of lost sales, write-downs and poor customer service. Having the right stock and being able to sell it can lead to increased sales, new customers, in-creased customer confi dence, improved cash fl ow, new in-vestors.

Finding the right suppliers for your business can reduce your stock control costs. Your supplier may be able to hold your stock, or ship it directly to your customers.

Your suppliers may also of-fer payment terms that can help reduce your stock control costs. For example, you could negotiate 30-day payment terms with your customers and 45-day terms with your suppli-ers.

This would mean you wouldnt need to have any cash fl ow tied up in your stock.

The current trend of shop-ping is online shopping. Big department stores are now of-fering products via internet. So what does this mean? The shop does not have to keep the stock as they can order from supplier once it has an order placed by the customer.

The rise of the online chan-nel has changed the rules of space management. Space is no longer limited by the four walls of the physical store. In theory, the Internet is an end-less aisle allowing retailers to extend their offerings without expanding physical space and while lowering their operat-ing costs. Retailers have only begun to explore the potential of the online channel. Look-ing ahead, one could imagine retailers treating their stores as showroom space, offering only a limited range of products for sale but giving full access to the broader assortment via on-line terminals.

Space Management issue has been internationally recog-nised as one of the factors con-tributing to the organisations standards improvements. With limited building spaces, the needs for a better space man-agement system is essential to cater for the needs of customer, as well as to optimise the usage of the property.

Space usage should be an in-dicator to measure the level of space usage by the owners and the stakeholders.

The implementation of space management practices will reduce the overall cost in long run. In Fiji our culture and beliefs sometimes prevent us from implementing strategies.

We especially the Indians have attachments to certain things which we do not wish to dispose.

For instance I still have cer-tain things at home which are my Fathers memories and nobody on this earth can make me remove it.

However, only genera-tions to come may bring about changes.

God Bless Nadi, Fiji.

TALK BUSINESS

By PRANESH AMARSEE

The art of management



FIJI CHEFS.Culinary Passion for the Pacifi c

SOME may wonder exact-ly what a Salon Culinaire is. No it is not an extravagant

hair salon for your French poo-dle despite it having a French name.

It is in fact a cookery com-petition and cookery competi-tions or Culinary Arts Exhibi-tions go by a lot of names.

One of the most famous and long standing exhibitions of culinary arts actually started in Germany way back in 1896 and became known as the Cu-linary Olympics. By 2008 this event involved 54 nations with over 1600 participating chefs. It stands today that most coun-tries that come under WACS (World Association of Chefs Societies) hold some form of competitions or culinary arts exhibition and Fiji is no excep-

tion.There is no limit to the vari-

ous categories that are devel-oped for culinary competitions and can involve every aspect of a functioning Hotel or Res-taurant and most countries will develop their own event and categories based on their own needs and level of expectation.

Organized by Fiji Chefs association the Moffat Nation-al Salon Culinaire has been a part of Fiji hospitality since the

early 80s however really has come in to its own in 2003 with the introduction of Moffat as a partner and the main sponsor.

A number of people often comment to me that it must be great to judge these gastronom-ic events with all that yummy food!!.............well let me tell you its not all its whipped up to be. After having judged at a number of various competi-tions over a number of years including 3 years as chief judge

in New Zealand these competi-tions are as demanding as any busy fully functioning kitchen can be either as a competitor or as a judge.

After 4 years of competitions and three major titles Mere Ra-sigatale from Hilton is a sea-soned competitor. She knows only too well what it means to work 24 hours through the night to complete a shift and then have to prepare and pres-ent your culinary masterpiece by 7.30 in the morning.

This year she is learning the fi ne art of judging. Noticing her daunting expression after marking 28 of the 34 celebra-tion cakes I couldnt help ask-ing whether she found com-peting or judging to be more challenging.with eyes raised Ohh defi nitely judging, this is hard, and for many reasons.

There is a thorough and well thought out judging criteria that evolves and gets fi ned tuned over a number of years. Despite this it can still be quite subjective with each judge do-ing his best not to be swayed by his own bias or thought as

to what meets the particular criteria for a class.

One would have to ask if its so much hard work why even have a culinary arts competi-tion? Despite the amount of work that goes in to such an event either by the team or-ganizing it or by the competi-tors them selves there is a very proud and special moment of satisfaction when you see our young Fiji chefs receiving their just reward of a bronze, silver, or gold medal not to mention the ultimate title and being rec-ognized as a Chef of the Year.

Ultimately the Moffat Na-tional Salon Culinaire is a food competition that is fo-cused on and aims to strengthen and up skill the local chefs. It is open to all chefs from a wide range of establishments across Fiji and allows them to learn from and inspire one another, to bench mark their skills, ex-ercise individual creativity and to drive their passion and pro-fessionalism for the betterment of the industry.

Our Partners: Of course these events can only happen with the on going and strong support from our partners and sponsors and to them we are sincerely grateful.

Fiji Chefs is grateful not only for their ongoing support but that these business recog-nize the value in supporting our industry and future hos-pitality professionals. In par-ticular Moffat and Fiji Gas have been with us since 2003 and assist greatly with organi-zation, equipment and servic-ing if needed. Craig Hider of Moffat supports and attends a number of these events through the pacifi c and the expertise is certainly welcomed.

Goodman Fielder with their Crest and Tuckers Brand. This year they have sponsored all the major of the year categories and in addition give us the year round support at other events and of course assistance in the form of Shirley Chandra to keep us all in line.

Bakels Fiji who also sup-port in many ways and in par-ticular having Matthew Allen on board with his Chef back ground is a huge bonus.

FNU Senior management recognize the value in partner-ship and of course building relationships with industry. FNU assist with venue and of course without the FNU team both staff and competitors our competitions would not be the same.

A huge thank you to all our other sponsors who help grow this event each year.

Farm Boy, Tappoo, Yees Cold Storage, Punjas, APTC, Dannys, Ram Sami

Ecolab, Hotel Equipment, FHTA, Joes Farm, Smart Chef Pacifi c, Fiji Chemicals

Outrigger on the Lagoon, Sofi tel Fiji, Pacifi c Oz Tralasia, Tanoa International.

Champions of 2012:Of course so many winners

to name them all but if you are one of the competitors then heartfelt congratulations to you. You are to be commended for getting out of your comfort zone and giving it your best chop. It is not easy competing in front of so many judges and of course your peers, but hope-fully you are better for it.

To our Champions of 2012 and future leaders congratula-tions and I personally look for-ward to following your future.

Chef of the Year 2012 2nd Runner Up/ Bronze

Medal Ritesh Kumar (Inter-Continental); 1st Runner Up/ Silver

Medal Pranil kumar (Liku-Liku); Winner/ Gold Medal

Priya Darshani (Outrigger); Junior Chef of the Year

2012; 2nd Runner Up/ Bronze

Medal Krisneel Chand (Sofi -tel); 1st Runner Up/ Silver

Medal Amrita Chand (Sofi -tel); Winner/ Gold Medal

Abhinesh Sharma (Sheraton); Pastry Chef of the Year

2012; 2nd Runner Up/ Bronze

Medal Kiritika Goundar (Sheraton); 1st Runner Up/ Silver

Medal Sanjay Dayal (FNU); and Winner/ Gold Medal

Kelera Nalewabau (Hilton).The above champions may

well be selected to be part of the Fiji National Culinary Team who will have the op-portunity to compete at inter-national level.

Fiji National Culinary Team

More recently we sent Fiji Chef of the Year 2011 Arun Naicker and his assistant Kris-neel Chand to compete in the Pacifi c Rim Cup.

This was held in Vanuatu over three days in which the Fiji boys did their best to cook up a storm in a comp that is best described as the Bledis-loe Cup of cooking. Although New Zealand and Australia tend to dominate, the points were very close with Fiji only just missing the Silver and fi n-ishing with a bronze closing out Vanuatu and Guam with ease.

Arun and Kris with mentor Shailesh Naidu, Fiji Chefs President in tow, the team did a great job not only in competi-tion but passionately continu-ing to show that Fiji is the culi-nary destination of the Pacifi c.

Moffat National Moffat National Salon Culinaire Salon Culinaire

20122012 The SalonThe SalonBy BRENDON COFFEYBy BRENDON COFFEY

Executive Executive Chef Sofitel Chef Sofitel Fiji Resort Fiji Resort & Spa& Spa

Brendon Coffey, left, judges the dishes prepared by the Brendon Coffey, left, judges the dishes prepared by the competitors. competitors.

Phot

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FIJI CHEFS.Culinary Passion for the Pacifi c

L i i f e s Magn i if q u e L i i f e s Magn i if q u e

FIJI CHEFS is pleased to announce that the recent Moffat National Salon Cu-linaire was a huge success.

The show continues to gain strong support from industry partners, sponsors and of course all the com-petitors who are the future of Fiji tourism.

We would like to thank again our valued partners, Moffat, Crest and Tuckers, Bakels, FNU and Fiji Gas.

Please see below the of-fi cial results for the major categories.

Junior Chef of the Year 2012

2nd Runner Up/ Bronze Medal Krisneel Chand (Sofi tel);

1st Runner Up/ Silver

Medal Amrita Chand (Sofi tel); and

Winner/ Gold Medal Ab-hinesh Sharma (Sheraton);

Pastry Chef of the Year 2012

2nd Runner Up/ Bronze Medal Kiritika Goundar (Sheraton);

1st Runner Up/ Silver Medal Sanjay Dayal (FNU); and

Winner/ Gold Medal Kelera Nalewabau (Hilton).

Chef of the Year 20122nd Runner Up/ Bronze

Medal Ritesh Kumar (In-terContinental);

1st Runner Up/ Silver Medal Pranil kumar (Liku-Liku); and

Winner/ Gold Medal Priya Darshani (Outrigger).

CHEF Priya Darshani (PIC-TURED), Sous Chef at the 5 Star Outrigger on the Lagoon, Fijis Ivi Restaurant scooped the 2012 Moffat Salon Culinaire Fiji Chef of the Year Award.

Twenty-seven-year-old, Chef Priya joined Outrigger on the Lagoon seven years ago as an ap-prentice chef, having completed a commercial cookery certifi cate at the Fiji National University.

She said she followed four principles in her professional life make personal sacrifi ces to achieve your goals, give your best shot every time you are given a task, always apply 100 per cent dedication and have a ` can do atti-tude towards superiors and guests.

Chef Priya said she had been fortunate to had as her mentor Outriggers executive chef Shailesh Naidu.

Hes a role model for me. He believes that happy and successful cooking doesnt rely on know-how but comes from the heart and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life, she said.

Chef Priya said her favou-rite foods remained her moth-ers traditional Indian curries.

They are to die for and Im still struggling to get mine close. I can never cook for her, she said.

Chef Priya said her advice to young women entering the culinary in-dustry was to realise that nothing can be achieved with-out a struggle.

For myself, I have set a goal of becoming Executive Sous Chef in the next fi ve years.

Always give your best, be tough and success will fol-low, she said.

Source: Out-rigger on the Lagoon Fiji

FIJI CHEFS is pleased to inform that the Fiji Na-tional Culinary Team by Oz Tralasia Pacifi c has re-turned from Vanuatu where they competed in the Pa-cifi c Challenge Cup.

The Fiji team took bronze and third place over all.

Executive Chef Brendon Coffey said, We were nar-rowly beaten by our Austra-lian and Kiw i neighbours but certainly showed Vanu-atu and Guam that Fiji is on the culinary rise.

Chef Coffey added the team was made up of Arun Naicker who was the cur-rent Fiji Chef of the Year working at Sofi tel Resort

and Spa and his junior teammate Krisneel Chand also from Sofi tel Resort and Spa.

The team was managed by Shailesh Naidu Fiji Chefs president and Ex-ecutive Chef of Outrigger on the Lagoon, said Fijis top Chef.

The Pacifi c Challenge Cup is an annual event and encompasses a number of culinary disciplines across a two day period.

Coff said Fiji Chefs would like to thank Pacifi c Oz Tralasia for their sup-port and sponsorship for this event. PRESS RELEASE

Fiji gets top ranking

Priya wins

Priya wins

Fiji Chef of th

e Year award

Chef Priya Darshani with her masterpiece design. Picture: SUPPLIED Finest of the lot



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BOLLYWOOD NEWS

After OMG, Paresh challenges superstitions again with Table No. 21

PARESH Rawal chal-lenged God and won hands down when it came to OMG Oh My God!.

The fi lm went on to be the surprise blockbuster of the year despite its volatile theme and the fact that it was basically a character artist in a central role running the show.

With a renewed confi -dence in his standing as a central protagonist on whose name a fi lm can be sold to-day, Paresh Rawal is now challenging a Bollywood su-perstition now.

His fi lm Table No. 21 is coming in the fi rst week of the New Year which is gen-erally considered inauspi-cious for any Bollywood release, whether big or small.

He is on the same page as the makers which is that it is a good fi lm that works and not a week that decides its fate.

Moreover, after preach-ing against superstitions in his very last fi lm, it was pru-dent that he doesnt fall prey to one of them. He is the most notable name in the fi lm that features Rajeev Khandelwal and Tena Desae as the lead pair. This is the reason why he is so prominently placed in the entire promotion as well. He is standing by the

fi lm and is gearing up for its release on 4th January, comments a source.

It appears to be a brave, yet calculated move since this year Players too had dared to release in the fi rst week and failed miserably at the box offi ce.

However No One Killed Jessica had succeeded last year, remember that? asks a trade expert, It too was the fi rst release of 2011. See, at the end of the day a good fi lm works.

If Table No. 21 fails, it would be due to its content. Same goes true vice-versa. It has a very unique concept by director Aditya Dutt. The fi lm deals with a reality show about love, life and death with Paresh Rawal as the Big Boss.

The makers also feel that from the release perspective it is arriving at just the right time since two weeks would have gone by since the re-lease of Dabangg 2 and audi-ence would be waiting for a new fi lm to watch. Inciden-tally those backing Leander Paes much delayed debut fi lm Rajdhani Express feel the same and are releasing their fi lm on the same date.

Hope Gods do approve, help kill another supersti-tion and give 2013 a winning

start.Meanwhile, people of Fiji

are very excited with the an-nouncement of the release of Table No. 21 which has been shot in the picturesque and

extremely beautiful loca-tions around the country. Ac-cording to Jack Raniga, the director of Eros Pacifi c Lim-ited based in Nadi, the tour-ism hub of Fiji, the movie

will result in a very positive impact for the local tourism industry.

Through this movie, Fiji will be featured to millions of Bollywood patrons world-

wide and the benefi ts for our country will be invaluable especially for our thriving tourism industry.

PRESS RELEASE

A scene from Table No. 21 shot in Fiji. INSET: A scene from Table No. 21 shot in Fiji. INSET: Paresh Rawal. Photo: SUPPLIEDParesh Rawal. Photo: SUPPLIED



AIRPORT MEDICAL CENTRE OPENING

Guests present at the opening.

LADIES and Gentle-men.

Thank you for com-ing this evening to share in what I believe is one of the more im-portant developments at the airport, the launching of the Air-port Medical Centre.

I have been told that only recently the Centre provided emer-gency medical services to two passengers of separate overseas flights, with very satis-factory results.

I believe this truly highlights the impor-tance of this medical centre.

It is comforting to know that this facility has already proven its worth and I congratu-late its director Dr. Kanna Goundar and his colleague, Dr. Edward

Medical centre opens at AirportOffi cial address by Airports Fiji Limited CEO Mr Tony Gollin

Ricketts, and their staff on their efforts.

It should be noted that this Centre is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and this is not only for our passen-gers, but for all those who work at the airport and for the general public as well.

The Medical Cen-tre, I am told, is fully equipped for emergencies as well as general practise with overnight facilities for patients.

The more serious, according to Doctor Goundar, can be trans-ferred to either Lau-toka or Nadi hospitals as required.

I am sure that there are many airline rep-resentatives, hoteliers and others in our tour-

ism industry who, once they become familiar with this new facility, will rest easier know-ing that this Airport Medical Centre is always open, always available.

I would like to take this opportu-nity to congratulate, Dr. Kanna Goundar and his colleague Dr. Edward Ricketts, and their support staff, and wish them well in this new venture.

And I would also like to thank AFL Gen-eral Manager Airports, Mr. Lawrence Liew whose efforts have re-sulted in this new Air-port Medical Centre.

Without further ado, I declare the Airport Medical Centre offi-cially open.

AFL CEO Tony Gollin delivers his address during the offi cial opening of AFL CEO Tony Gollin delivers his address during the offi cial opening of the Airport Medical Centre on Tuesday, October 30 at the Nadi International the Airport Medical Centre on Tuesday, October 30 at the Nadi International Airport. Photos: PRASHANT NAICKER Airport. Photos: PRASHANT NAICKER



Clinic in Martintar, Nadi, for three years.

PRESS RELEASE

AIRPORT MEDICAL CENTRE OPENING

AIRPORT Medical centre is now offi cially opened.

This follows the launch of the new airport facility by Chief Guest, AFLs CEO Tony Gollin.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Gollin emphasized the importance of the medical centre and its availability; it will be open 24 hours a day seven days a week.

And that it would not only provide medical ser-vices to passengers, but to AFL employees, and to the

Seen during the opening of the Airport Medical Centre from left are, AFL Manager Nadi Airport Joe Gray, Doctor Edward Ricketts, AFL General Manager Airports Lawrence Liew, AFL CEO Tony Gollin and Doctor Kanna Goundar.

Doctor Edward Ricketts and Doctor Kanna Goundar of the Airport Medical Centre dur-ing the opening function.

24-hours service at medical centregeneral public as well.

The Director of the Cen-tre Dr. Kanna Goundar and his colleague, Dr. Edward Ricketts, has already pro-vided emergency services for two passengers from overseas fl ights, with very satisfactory results. This highlights the importance of providing a medical centre at the airport, and we wel-come this positive new de-velopment, said Mr. Gollin.

The centre is located in the Operations Building ad-

jacent to the Nadi passenger terminal.

Dr. Goundar said that the centre offers general prac-tice and emergency services.

This includes consulta-tion on internal medicine, skin diseases, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, as well as minor surgery. A di-etician and physiotherapist are available on request, he said.

We are staffed with two doctors and a nursing team. The clinic itself is equipped

to handle emergency cases with overnight facilities for patients, said Dr. Goundar, but we are organised to send patients on to the Lau-

toka or Nadi hospitals if re-quired.

Dr. Goundar opened the medical centre at the airport after operating Ace Medical

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VOTUALEVU SHOPPING COMPLEX

U Save Supermarket Now Open @ Votualevu Shopping Complex

Officialy Opened By Honourable Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama& Attorney General Honourable Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

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Open 7 Days

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VOTUALEVU SHOPPING COMPLEXPrime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama offi cially opens the Votualevu Shopping Complex at Carreras Road in Votualevu, Nadi while Mrs Azreena Khan looks on. INSET: Mr Bobby Khan and Mrs Azreena Khan of the Votualevu Shopping Complex and U Save Supermarket take the PM on a tour of the premises after the opening on Thursday, November 8. Photos: ETA BULIRUARUA / MINFO.

Opening creates more local jobsBy DJ PARSU

A new $3 million shopping complex in Carreras Road in Votualevu, Nadi has resulted in 50 new jobs.

The complex which was opened by Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has the U Save Supermarket, 12 shops attached to it and 14 market stalls.

Complex owner Bob-by Khan who migrated to NZ in 1989 said he is planning to build another 15 shops in the Complex next year which will be-come a big mall.

Khan who is a car dealer and owns a finance company in New Zealand said after having suc-cess in New Zealand he decided to invest in Fiji and the Fiji governments policy of dual citizenship also attracted him.

Commodore Bainima-rama said the Govern-ment assisted businesses as it provided people with jobs and sustainable livelihoods.

However, he said busi-nesses also had a respon-sibility to play by the rules and ensure fairness for its consumers.

The Prime Minister said they are extremely concerned that some

business houses in Fiji have chosen to impose excessive mark-ups in the price of some goods and services.

He said this practice becomes even more un-conscionable when Gov-ernment had reduced or zero-rated duty to make goods more affordable for ordinary Fijians and certain business houses

that import these goods do not reduce prices ac-cordingly.

He said such business-es reap huge profits at the expense of Government and the consumers.

Bainimarama said the Government was watch-ing these businesses closely and would take the necessary action to remedy this greed.

Children of Nadi Muslim Primary School seen perform-ing during the offi cial opening.




BOBBY and Azreena Khan; Distinguished Guests; My Fellow Fijians: Bula vinaka and a very good afternoon to you.

Its a special pleasure for me to be in Votualevu today to open this new shopping complex.

Its special because this is a three million dollar invest-ment in a heavily populated area where there is growing demand for goods and services.

And its even more special because the investment has come from a former Fijian who left the country in the wake of the 1987 coup and has returned under my Gov-ernments multiple nationality policy.

22 years after he left, Bobby Khan and his wife Azree-na, are among a growing number of Fijians who are com-ing home after establishing successful businesses abroad.

Theyre putting their hard-earned cash back into their country of birth and helping ordinary Fijians in the pro-cess.

The jobs being created here are jobs for ordinary peo-ple. People whose earnings fi lter back into their commu-nities and strengthen the general economic base.

Welcome back Bobby and Azreena. You are now home among your friends, family and fellow citizens once again. We pay tribute to your success in New Zea-land. We thank you for bringing your skills and capital back home.

Your return to your motherland shows the success of my Governments program to make multiple citizenship available to former citizens who previously had to re-nounce their Fijian birthright.

This complex comprises a U-Save Supermarket plus 12 shops and offi ces and a fresh produce and vegetable market for 14 market vendors. Its an inclusive project for the entire community and a shinning example to other entrepreneurs.

My Government assists businesses because they pro-vide people with jobs and sustainable livelihoods. Jobs

Offi cial address by PM Voreqe Bainimarama

and a sustainable livelihood lift people out of poverty.But business also has a responsibility to play by the

rules and ensure fairness for its consumers.We are extremely concerned that some business hous-

es in Fiji have chosen to impose unconscionable mark-ups in the price of some goods and services.

This practice becomes even more unconscionable when Government has reduced or zero-rated duty to make goods more affordable for ordinary Fijians, but certain business houses that import these goods do not reduce prices accordingly. They reap huge profi ts at the expense of Government and the consumers.

Theyre on notice that we are watching them close-ly and we will take the necessary action to remedy this greed. We are building a new Fiji to ensure that all Fijians benefi t from our policies. We will not allow these policies to be thwarted by a few.

We support the entrepreneurship of those who have the best interests of Fiji at heart.

Vinaka vakalevu Bobby and Azreena for your vote of confi dence in us. We urge other former Fijians to return home to help further build our country.

And I now take great pleasure in declaring this Com-plex open.

Vinaka. Thank you.

TOP: From left are Mr Bobby Khan, owner of the Votua-levu Shopping Complex, Mrs Azreena Khan, PM Baini-marama and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. BELOW: Guests at the opening.

Photos: ETA BULIRUARUA / MINFO.




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Congratulations to U Save Supermarket and Votualevu Shopping Complex on your opening. Best wishes from

the management and staff of SUPERB DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED

PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has com-mended Fijians who con-tinue to return to Fiji to invest in various commer-cial activities around the country.

The head of government highlighted the signifi -cance of this adding that it creates employment and allows revenue to trickle down to various local com-munities.

Prime Minister Baini-marama made these com-ments when he opened the Votualevu Complex in Nadi on Thursday, Novem-ber 8.

The $3million invest-ment was made by Bobby Khan, who had been away in New Zealand for 22 years, and took advantage

PM commends Fijians who

return to investof Governments dual citi-zenship policy.

Your return to your motherhood shows the success of my Govern-ments program to make multiple citizenship avail-able to former citizens who previously had to renounce their Fijian birthright.

You are now home among your friends, fam-ily and fellow citizens. We pay tribute to your success in New Zealand, Prime Minister Bainimarama said.

My Government as-sists businesses because they provide people with jobs and sustainable liveli-hoods.

He urged other Fijians living abroad to return home to help build Fiji fur-ther.

By MINFO

The presence of a BSP ATM on-site is a relief to many customers. Seen in the picture is Ronil Naray-an using the BSP ATM. Photo: SHALENDRA PRASAD.



JACKS KATCHI KIDS CORNER



MAMANUCA ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY

Castaway Island, Fiji - proud supporters of MES Fiji - an environment society protecting our future.

www.castawayfiji.com | www.mesfiji.org

IT was late 2002, and Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) an inter-nationally renowned conserva-tion specialist suggested a forma-tion of a Mamanuca Coastal Zone Management Group.

In November 2002, the Ma-manuca Fiji Hotel Association (MFHA) voted to establish a com-mittee to recommend the best way forward to protect and care for the Mamanuca environment.

That gathering sowed the seeds of what now is known as the Ma-manuca Environment Society.

Looking back, Geoffrey Shaw, the chair of the Mamanuca Envi-ronment Society, and Chairman & CEO of Castaway Island, said MES has come a long way.

The plan to develop a dedi-cated Society with a view to pro-moting the awareness of the need to protect our fragile environment grew from the realisation the Ma-manuca environment was under threat.

Mr Shaw said the society has signifi cantly grown in terms of its infl uence and worth to all stake-holders in the region. The initial policies and goals developed re-main intact however the imple-mentation, particularly through youth education, at the local com-munity level has yielded identifi -able benefi ts to the community as young people are growing up understanding the need to protect their environment. he said.

The Society continues to pro-mote the awareness of the need to protect the marine and terres-trial resources of the Mamanuca Region and to assist progress, through partnerships with local communities, tourism operators,

government and nongovernment organisations to grow the benefi ts of conservation for present and fu-ture generations.

Mr Shaw said through educa-tion and creating awareness of our fragile marine and terrestrial envi-ronment, MES has contributed to a greater understanding by commu-nity and commercial stakeholders of the need to protect precious re-sources for future generations.

The ability to undertake the many on-going and successfully completed projects over the years has and continues to rely entirely, on the generosity of our members and sponsors. Without their con-tinued support MES would cease to exist, Mr Shaw said.

He also paid special tribute to the work of the MES team lead by Project Manager, Betani Salusalu who continues to lead an outstand-ing small team of professionals.

Like our members and spon-

sors, they are committed to the implementation of best practice in the management of our envi-ronment. We work closely with all stakeholders in advancing the goals of the Society

Biodiversity, conservation and the tourism sector are closely linked in the Pacifi c. In a business sense and as commercial stake-holders, we must accept the need to be conscious of and maintain environmental best practices. In the absence of that realisation we greatly jeopardise the attraction we offer our tourists and undermine the sustainability of resources for our community stakeholders, Mr Shaw added.

MES Project Manager Betani Salusalu said though theres lot to be done, the future looks bright.

Mr Salusalu said getting new eyes for villagers and communi-ties towards the better care of their environment is one of its major

challenges.Changing the perception of the

people needed to happen fi rst be-fore any conservation activity was conducted. The main threat to the pristine Mamanuca environment was the waste from those living on the mainland at the Nadi basin.

He said threats to the Mamanuca eco-system include thermal pollu-tion, poor waste management and oil spillage to name a few.

We are a small environment so-ciety with big intentions. With our on-going environmental efforts our future remains bright. Since that time, MES has focused its work around fi ve objectives: pro-tecting and enhancing natural ar-eas in the Mamanucas, supporting the regions conservation efforts, acquiring and sharing knowledge, providing information and raising awareness about the importance of our natural heritage, and pro-moting sustainable use of natural resources, said Mr Salusalu.

Major SponsorsThe Society is indeed fortunate

to have the support through spon-sorship of the following commer-cial enterprises.

ANZ is one of the largest com-panies in Australia and New Zea-land and a major international banking and fi nancial services group, which is among the top 50 banks in the world. As a leading fi nancial institution in Fiji, ANZ Bank is committed to engaging with communities with the aim to make a difference and help sustain their livelihood.

Air Pacifi c - Voted three years in a row as the South Pacifi cs best airline by Global Traveler maga-zine, Air Pacifi c is Fijis national

carrier. It is 51% owned by Fiji and 46% by Qantas Airways. Air Pacifi c and its subsidiary domes-tic/regional airline Pacifi c Sun, fl y more than 500 fl ights per week carrying 1.1 million passengers in-ternationally to Hong Kong, Aus-tralia, New Zealand, USA, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, as well as to 10 island destinations domesti-cally. Together, we bring in over 60% of all visitors to Fiji.

AON Risk Services is the mul-tifaceted brokering and risk man-agement services arm of AON Corporation specialising in pro-viding products, services, and solutions to meet the diverse and varied needs of its clients. Risks to businesses are constantly ex-panding and changing, AON Risk Services can provide the solutions needed to help service the conse-quence of risk in todays environ-ment.

Island Brewing Company is a newly established boutique micro-brewery producing a handcrafted beer (free of additives and preser-vatives) brewed naturally using pure Fiji island rainwater. The uniquely designed bottles feature Fijis endangered Green Turtle to help raise funds and awareness to support breeding programmes in the Mamanucas.

KPMG is a leading provider of professional services including audit, tax and advisory. Their in-novative spirit inspires what they do and how they do it, providing valuable benefi ts for clients, em-ployees and stakeholders. Con-stantly striving to be better lies at the heart of what makes them dif-ferent.

MES survives test of timeChairman of the Mamanuca Environment Society, Geoffrey Shaw speaks to the media.

Picture: SUPPLIED



MAMANUCA ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY

MES Background information

THROUGHOUT the 1990s concerns of the Mamanuca Fiji Islands Hotel and Tourism Association (MFIHTA) members in consultation with Coral Cay Conservation (CCC) in 2001 led to a rec-ommendation to form a Mamanuca Coastal Zone Management Group.

As a result, the Mamanuca Environment Society (MES) was formed in 2002 by members of MFIHTA as a non-profi t, non governmental organisation.

The Societys objectives being, an initia-tive to address environmental issues in the region and specifi cally work towards the betterment of the regions marine and ter-restrial environment.

Recent MES projects include Water Quality Monitoring, Reef Check Surveys, Liquid Waste Management, as well as on-going education and dialogue with stake-holders at

the jet

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