Aust gives another F$42.5 million to Fiji for budget support
Australia has supplied Fiji with direct budget support, vaccines, rations for front liners, funds for NGO emergency food distribution, medical supplies including thermal guns and other forms of support in responding to
USP Council Ethics committee to look at leadership allegations
The University of the South Pacific Council has agreed that allegations levelled against Pro-Chancellor Winston Thompson and the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, Mahmood Khan, be referred to an Ethics Committee.
Uncertain times for Fiji-listed companies
Fiji’s second COVID-19 wave continues to batter the economy, and a series of market updates released by companies listed on the South Pacific Stock Exchange make for sobering reading. None of the listed companies are
Pacific WTO members urged to support vaccine move
Pacific islands members of the World Trade Organisation are being urged to support a proposal designed to make COVID-19 vaccines more available to developing countries. Fiji and Vanuatu have already joined as sponsors
Fiji’s Reserve Bank cuts select interest rates
The Reserve Bank of Fiji has reduced interest rates in a bid to reduce borrowing costs for businesses and households. Commercial banks and licensed credit institutions operating in Fiji can now access funding from the
Fiji GDP down 9.7%: Reserve Bank
The Reserve Bank of Fiji reports that for the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Fiji’s government recorded a net deficit of F$905.0 million (-9.7% of GDP). Government expenditure ($2,256 million) almost
Putting Fiji first; a Chiefly sacrifice
By Netani Rika When Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara sailed over the horizon to his chiefly home on Lakeba in May 2000, it was perhaps the most incongruous exit of any Fijian politician. As the patrol boat Kiro carried
Opinion: COVID-19, the Western Front and Stealing Thunder
By Dennis Rounds Faced with a second COVID-19 lockdown, just 12 months after the first, I’ve convinced myself that I now have a better understanding of the term “Western Front”. During the First World War, a large
Delving into digital: Kina finds its sweet spot
The entry of Papua New Guinea’s Kina bank into the fairly competitive Fiji market later this year will bring a range of digital products that should stimulate further innovation in the sector and more choice for
Luve ni yali: Lost son of a seasonal worker
Luve ni yali, a newborn, was issued a fresh certificate of identity by a Pacific diplomatic mission in Canberra so that he could be repatriated home with his mother, a temporary migrant worker who fell pregnant while in
Collected conversations: Iliesa Samu’s ‘They Said’
By Iliesa Tora First it was Sandalwood Blood. Now it’s They Said. Two books in a space of seven years, authored by a Fijian in Tonga, Iliesa Samu Lala. Now 72 years old, the almost-7-foot giant of a man’s
Near horizons: Vunilagi’s community literacy efforts
“Our children are valuable and we have the responsibility to ensure that they are educated; that they have the basic needs to go through school.” That’s the firmly-held belief of Vunilagi Book Club
Lordi- Where’s your daddy?
By Dennis Rounds I recently built up enough courage to take a pot-holed ride from the growingly decrepit western division to Fiji’s seat of power and burgeoning wealth, Suva. Along the way, I was entertained by
Delving into digital: Kina finds its sweet spot
Kina Bank is set to bring new digital products to Fiji when it acquires Westpac's Fiji
University of the South Pacific VC Ahluwalia gets new contract
University of the South Pacific Vice Chancellor to be
Fiji, Tonga confirm All Blacks tests
Fiji Rugby has confirmed that the national side will play two tests against the All Blacks in
Diaspora, loved ones and COVID-19
By Sadhana Sen Alongside the myriad stories of closed borders, unemployment, struggling health systems, surging COVID cases and accompanying increase in poverty, there is another heart-wrenching COVID-19 experience –
Valenicina shines a light on disaster preparedness
15 minutes’ drive from the heart of Fiji’s capital city, Suva, lies the community of Valenicina. Under the watchful eye of one of its residents, Mosese Sereivalu, this community recently worked together to
Community Developer at HEART
Having seen firsthand the utter devastation disasters like the Aitape tsunami inflicted on rural communities of Papua New Guinea in 1998, Tevita Ravumaidama insists on incorporating disaster risk
Jobs, consumption, investment continue to be subdued:RBF
The Reserve Bank of Fiji says recent locally transmitted cases and containment measures will prolong already subdued economic activity in the country. The RBF’s April statement reports that visitor arrivals were
MEET THE MENTOR NEELAM MAHARAJ: BUSINESSWOMAN AND MENTOR
Businesswoman Neelam Maharaj is a mentor with South Pacific Business Developments’ Fiji Bloom program. With her sister Neelma, she has built up three businesses from scratch learning many valuable business lessons
Near horizons: Vunilagi’s community literacy efforts
Our children are valuable and we have the responsibility to ensure that they are educated; that they have the basic needs to go through school.” That’s the firmly-held belief of Vunilagi Book Club founder
The Low-down on USP
In drawing to conclude ‘What Is to Become of USP?’ (see Islands Business August 2020), I acquiesced to the prospect that the University may already be undergoing transition from a ‘public good’ to a ‘club