What Winston left behind: Death’s, debt and heartbreak.
$billion damage bill in the isles ALONG the dusty road in Fiji’s Tailevu North, sheets of mangled corrugated iron mark the path left by Tropical Cyclone Winston. Up hills and down valleys the pieces of tin
Will Fijian economy weather Winston’s wrath?
SEVERE Tropical Cyclone (STC) Winston didn’t just leave death and destruction in its wake – it also left Fiji’s economy in a shattered state. Preliminary estimates by the Fijian government placed STC
Climate, not God
IT did not take long for people in Fiji to point to Tropical Cyclone Winston as having some connections to a wrathful God seeking to punish people. On social media, from pulpits and in the yaqona circles the link was
‘The nature of elections’ in Samoa
FROM the outside, it looks as if the imbalance of power had not changed a bit. The ruling party swept back into power in the predicted landslide, winning at least 44 of 49 seats. “As leader, and on behalf of the Human
100 day plan: Cost cutting and control
THE launching of the 100 Day Plan of the new Government says much about the leadership of Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas. Yes, he will lead. More importantly he will unite. Disunity has brought this country five
Sogavare accused of paying militants to stay in power
ANY minister of backbenchers who wish to desert Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in late 2015 would be forcefully bought back by former militants. “Or if they could not find the Minister or Backbencher, then they
A tale of two presidents
After decades of campaigning for independence in French Polynesia, Oscar Manutahi Temaru has announced he will stand for election as French President in 2017. Temaru’s electoral bid comes as France’s current
PNG Tourism seeks a boom
PAPUA New Guinea’s usually underrated tourism sector is for the first time seeing a strenuous commitment by any government with a K50 million 2016 budget funding and a new aggressive minister that is intent on
US, Pacific clash over ocean riches
It’s TUNA stocktake time ON the docks of San Diego, Pacific fishing crews stand idle, their million dollar boats have nowhere to go. To the east the once accessible tuna grounds still teem with fish but the
Will PACER Plus go ahead without largest economy?
PNG key to trade deal THE big question after PACER Plus talks in Brisbane this month will be simple – Do Pacific nations intend to carry on with this regional agreement without Papua New Guinea? On the first day
US reserves comment on arms deal
RUSSIA’S arms deal with Fiji, breakdown in US fish treaty negotiations, ban of Facebook in Nauru, leaking of confidential embassy cables and growing Chinese influence in the region were the key issues of
Fiji’s rice producer welcomes Korean investor
Fiji’s sole but struggling rice producer, Rewa Rice Limited has welcomed the entry of Grace Roads Limited, a South Korean investor built on Christians’ apocalyptic principles, into the local rice industry. A
Unsung heroines
Helen Hakena: Bougainville, PNG: HER village Ieta was burnt to the ground on the 28th of May 1990. The entire village had to plea to neighboring communities for safety and security. Young women were taken and
Our FUTURE is in the PAST
TROPICAL Cyclone Winston’s destruction of property, infrastructure and life in Fiji has raised serious questions about the preparedness of Pacific island countries for large-scale disasters. The Category 5 cyclone
TC Winston is bad news
MONSTER storm Winston goes down in history as the most destructive cyclone ever to be recorded in the southern hemisphere. Forty-four fatalities, thousands homeless and a FJ$1 billion repair bill, the road after Winston
Ramrakha, a son of Fiji
Former Fiji politician KC Ramrakha, ran foul of the Indiandominated National Federation Party during the faction fighting of 1977. He speaks to ISLANDS BUSINESS about politics, sugar and life. PART TWO The kind that