The Jet Volume 7 Number 5

FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
APRIL/MAY 2015. ISSUE 64
www.thejetnewspaper.com
50 CENTS
Celebration of Success
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
The University of Fiji held its
10th graduation ceremony on Friday, April 10, and a total of 250
graduates celebrated their hard
earned success.
Chief guest and University chancellor His Excellency Ratu Epeli
Nailatikau said he and the First
Lady, Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau
were honoured to be at the 2015
Graduation Ceremony that also
marks the 10th Anniversary of the
operations of the University of Fiji.
He said Fijis national vision is to
be a knowledge-based society and
the Fijian government continues to
place increased emphasis on the
education sector.
Here at the University of Fiji, I
note with appreciation the Universitys positive contribution towards
this important national goal, said
Honourable Nailatikau.
I am constantly advised of the
unwavering focus of the Council
and the founder to improve the
quality of education and to also
increase the Universitys capacity
to cater for more relevant fields of
studies.
This includes the construction of facilities for the Centre for
Itaukei Studies (CIS). The Council
continues the fundraising drive for
this project and to add to the signif-
The University of Fijis Bachelor of Information Technology graduates with staff members during the graduation
ceremony at Saweni, Lautoka. INSET: Double gold-medalist Shivneil Raj. Photos: ANUSHIL KUMAR.
icant contribution of $131,950 from
the Foundation Trust of Genting
Highland in Malaysia. I wish to
again express our sincere gratitude
to the Foundation.
He urged the graduands to be
good ambassadors of the University of Fiji and advised the parents
to continue to invest in the education of their children as he said
there will be great returns from the
investment.
I wish all the graduands every
success as you commence or recommence your journey into the
world of employment and selfemployment. May you continue to
achieve your dreams.
Acting Vice-Chancellor Pro-
fessor Narendra Reddy said the

universitys vision is simple quality education at affordable prices,
however, the commitment is not
simple.
The mission of the university
management and its partners is a
deep commitment to deliver the
vision, said Professor Reddy.
We are sure that with continued government support, support
from the founders of the Arya
Pratinidi Sabha of Fiji and other
donor partners the university will
continue to grow and rise to new
heights.
Professor Reddy congratulated
all the graduands for successfully
completing their respective pro-
grammes of study.
This has been a long and a demanding journey. The journey of
assignments and grades may be
over but you are about to start on
another important journey, and a
longer journey.
It is the journey of application
of what you have acquired during
your study into your day to day living and more importantly at the
work environment.
It is sincerely hoped that your
contribution to society will also
help others to make a similar journey as some of you did from poverty to prosperity.
Also present at the graduation
ceremony was the Assistant Minis-
ter for Agriculture, Natural Disaster

Management and Rural and Maritime Development Joeli Cawaki.
Shivneil Raj was the hero-ofthe-day scooping two gold medals
and graduated with the Bachelor
of Commerce degree in Accounting and Economics.
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Fiji - the way the world should be

FROM THE DESK
Coca-Cola Games
Hype-up
Being the hub of the Pacific, 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
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
New Resources to Boost

Education
Popular names like

ACS and St Joseph will
also give a tough challenge for the girls defending champions.
To ensure a safe and
smooth two-day competition, the police officers
will be on duty as in- By ANUSHIL KUMAR
formed by Chief Operations Officer Assistant
Commissioner of Police
Open Education Re(ACP) Rusiate Tudravu.
sources
(OER) can be an
The 2015 Coca-Cola
Games will be held at asset in refining the qualthe ANZ Stadium from ity and effectiveness of
the local education conApril 24-25.
text.
Minister for Education,
Heritage and Arts Hon. Dr
q ANUSHIL KUMAR Mahendra Reddy highlighted this during the
official opening of the
THE JET is Fijis first community newspaper published bi-monthly
stakeholders meeting on
by YOURSPACE LIMITED from Nadi - the tourism capital of Fiji.
National Policy on Open
Educational Resources
PUBLISHER
: SAMUEL SHANKAR
Cell: 9966115
EDITOR
: ANUSHIL KUMAR
Cell: 9203847
(OER) held in Suva on
PRODUCTION
: MUNAUWAR KHAN
Cell: 9222456
Wednesday, March 25.
NEWS
: IVA DANFORD - NAISARA
Cell: 7302604
He said this improveADVERTISING
: MARGARET NAQIRI
Cell: 9360047
ment could be done in
: ARON GOUNDAR
Cell: 9203790
creasing access to high
OFFICE PHONES
: 6707075 / 6750443
EMAIL
: thejetnewspaper@gmail.com
quality and relevant

: sam@media.com.fj
learning materials.
WEBSITE
: www.thejetnewspaper.com
While speaking at the
PRINTED BY DAVUI PRINTERY LIMITED, 12 BAKA PLACE, LAUCALA BEACH ESTATE, SUVA
event,
Dr. Reddy said the
Phone: (679) 3394755. LAYOUT BY MUNAUWAR KHAN
The biggest Secondary School athletics
competition is currently
the hot-topic in most
schools around the
country.
While Marist Brothers
High School will be in
force to repeat their topclass performance from
last year, rivals like Suva
Grammar, QVS, Natabua
High and Xavier College
will surely put pressure
to claim the boys title.
And the Westerners,
Jasper Williams High
School, are preparing
to defend their hardearned girls title from
last year.
government is committed towards education in

Fiji.
Minister Reddy said the
government has provided
substantial financial assistance towards the development of education
in Fiji.
The government is
also committed towards
ensuring that public investments in all sectors of
education contribute to
socio-economic development in a useful and cost
effective way and play an
important role in setting
policies to provide direction in the use of OER,
Minister Reddy said.
For our beloved Fiji,
the government is providing funds to support the
operation of schools and
some higher education
institutions including the
three universities.
Dr. Reddy added these
new OER is bound to aid
in the development of
an open culture of information sharing research
amongst schools, teachers, principals and higher
education institutions.
With our existing ICT
infrastructure, the use of
OER will support governments key strategic policy of developing a knowledge based society.
The journey towards
OER usage has its own
challenges.
We need to remove
restrictions in copying of
materials by the use of
open licences.
Director for the United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation for the Pacific
States, Dr Etienne Clem-
ent said technology is

playing a key role in todays society.
We are witnessing an
internet revolution that
is affecting every society,
every country across the
world, Dr Clement said.
This revolution is
changing how we exchange and communicate.
It is changing how we
learn and create.
Education
is
the
way to connect the dots
between
the
social,
economic
and
environmental
dimensions
of sustainable development. Sustainability requires change in how we
consume.
Nadi Celebrates World

Water Day
By IVA DANFORDNAISARA
World Water Day Celebration was at another level in
Nadi as schools, marching
bands and huge crowd of
supporters turn up marching
through the streets of Nadi
on Friday, March 22.
Children also dressed up
waving their banners during the march and later on
were given prizes for their
art work.
Chief Guest of the day

Water Authority of Fijis CEO
Opetaia Ravai, while speaking to the crowd at Koroivolu Park said, over the years
the issue of water crisis have
ascended its rank and today
it is ranked as the number
one global risk.
He said water holds the
key to sustainable development and it is needed for
health, food security and
economic progress.
We are all encouraged to
use water wisely, by turning

off taps and repairing domestic links, Ravai said.
Ravai added we are all
stakeholders of the practice
of water conservation as demand is outstripping supply.
Research shows that
about 2.5 billion people lack
access water and thousands
of children died everyday
form lack of water supply
and poor sanitation, he
said.
With this years theme as
THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Students of Namaka Public School during the World Water Day celebration in Nadi.
Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.
Water and Sustainable Development, Ravai said water
conservation is a key factor
as it is a common and vital
role.
On March 22 every year,

the Pacific Island countries
acknowledges and celebrates the importance of
their fresh water resources
to sustainable development
which is marked as World
Water Day.
LOCAL NEWS
Pre-School Celebrate
Easter in Style
The Nadi Town Council
Pre-School celebrated Easter with style, joy, entertainment and food at the Nadi
Civic Centre on Wednesday,
April 1.
The celebration was a
great way to get the students
to understand the importance of having celebrations
like this in school.
Pastor Taniela Sauturu

who spoke to the children
about Easter said it is the
celebration of overcoming
evil through righteousness
and darkness to light.
We should all know the
meaning of Easter and it is
when Christians commemorate the death of Jesus
Christ, said Pastor Sauturu.
He said the true meaning
of Easter can save a child
spiritually but depends on
how they are brought up.
My message this Easter

is that children need not be
neglected, abused and treated unfairly.
These were the words of
the Chief Guest Mohenesh
Singh who was a representative of the Ministry of Educations Department of National Substance Abuse.
In Fiji, Easter is a celebrated national holiday with
Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday all
marked as Public Holiday.
Pe-schoolers and their teacher performing an item during the Easter celebration at the
Nadi Civic Centre. Photo: IVA DANFORD-NAISARA.
Positive Mental
Attitude the Way
Forward: Minister
Tuitubou
The youth of Voivoi settlement on the outskirts of

Nadi town have been urged
to always maintain a positive mental attitude to ensure success.
In an informal discussion
with the youth of Voivoi on
Monday, April 1, the Minister
for Youth and Sports Hon.
Laisenia Tuitubou told them
maintaining a positive mental attitude would greatly
benefit them as a youth
group.
Your youth club is a
small one but do not let that
deter you in your efforts as a
youth group because if you
have that positive mental
thinking, the advantages of
positive mental attitude will
surely be evident in your
progress as a club, Minister
Tuitubou said.
You can greatly assist
your community here in
Voivoi by always thinking
positively and your efforts
will surely be successful if
you practice a positive mental attitude and I request you
to adopt this way of thinking.
Minister Tuitubou also
mentioned youth clubs had
started from humble beginnings and had worked tirelessly to become successful
through innovative ideas
and positive thinking.
We have met with numerous successful youth
clubs around the country
particularly the neighbouring Legalega youth club
who started off very small
but have grown to generate
income through a number
of their projects because
they are creative and have
never seen themselves as a
small youth club but instead
remained positive throughout, Hon. Tuitubou said.
Never belittle yourselves

and never be constrained by
the challenges you face as a
youth club.
He also informed them of
the ministrys commitment
to the development of young
people in the country and
that there were programs
available with the ministry
to assist in the growth of
youth clubs.
The Ministry has numerous programs available to
help you and we are here
to support you but unless
you have that positive attitude your youth club will not
progress further so I urge
you to foster this into your
youth club.
Voivoi Youth Club president Brij Dutt thanked the
minister and his delegation
for the visit and holding discussions with their youth
group.
We are very thankful at
this juncture of our youth
group to have this opportunity to meet and talk with
the Honourable Minister
Tuitubou as we rarely ever
have the opportunity to view
our opinions to government
ministers and we are very
thankful to him for these
fruitful discussions, Mr Dutt
said.
We look forward to
working closely with the
ministry and we will surely
heed the words of advice
given by the minister, he
added.
Youths of Voivoi requested the ministry to hold
empowerment training for
young mothers of the community and also brought up
issues faced such as educational constraints on members of the community and
infrastructural problems.
q DEPTFO
Hon. Minister for Youth and Sports Laisenia Tuitubou addressing youths of Voivoi community during their informal
discussions on Monday, April 2. Photo: DEPTFO.
LOCAL NEWS
Pharmacy
Donates to
Vanuatu
Relief
Assistance
Budget Pharmacy Limited
of Nadi donated medicines
such as panadol, amoxicillin and brufen medication
worth $15,000 to assist the
Government of Vanuatu in
relief efforts after the devastation caused by Tropical
Cyclone PAM.
The Companys proprietor, Mr Ajay Raniga, said the
donation would fulfill immediate needs such as securing
hygiene and medical care
and supplies which is vital in
preventing the spread of potential health problems and
diseases.
The Ministry of Rural &
Maritime Development and
National Disaster Management permanent secretary

MrSetareki Tale welcomed
the timely assistance.
The donation is very
timely given the fact that
Vanuatu is still in the initial
stages of recovery. This will
certainly add value to the
efforts of rehabilitation, Mr
Tale said.
The donation was made
possible through negotiations by the Government
Member of Parliament, Hon.
Alvick Maharaj with Budget
Pharmacy Ltd.
Rotary Club Assists Vanuatu

Victims Secretary General
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
The Rotary Club of Nadi

donated various items on
Thursday, April 2, as part of
their support towards the relief efforts in Vanuatu.
The club handed over
almost 300 cartons of
clothes to the National Disaster Management Office
(NDMO) as the shipment of
these items to Vanuatu will
be done in the coming days.
Nadi District Officer Jiuta

Waqavonovono said the
government was thankful to
its many citizens that came
forward to show their support during the two-week
appeal.
Government
appreciates the efforts of such organisations in coming forward in assisting with the
relief effort towards our
brothers and sisters in Vanuatu, Mr Waqavonovono said
while receiving the items
from Rotary Club.

This is truly the Fijian
spirit of assisting our neighbours as they rebuild their
lives.
Your assistance and
those that contributed generously is much appreciated.
Rotary Club representative Krupesh Patel said the
people of Nadi gave with
generosity as they are well
aware of the needs especially after a natural disaster.
We are grateful that the

people of Nadi and also
some from Suva and Navua
also assisted in this drive,
Mr Patel said.
This is just a small token
of assistance for our brothers and sisters in Vanuatu
who are in need of these
items as they rebuild their
lives.
We are however ready
and willing to also assist in
other ways should they request.
q PRESS RELEASE
The condition of homes in Vanuatu after it was hit by the devastating Cyclone Pam which left the people of Vanuatu homeless.
Photo: SUPPLIED.
Support the Alliance Craft Shows to

for Healthy Living
Endorse Rural Women
By Dr. WAHID KHAN
Chair - Diabetes Fiji Inc.
Community leaders, faithbased organisations, business community, schools,
families and individuals are
urged to join hands to fight
the non-communicable diseases epidemic which is
costing our nation not just
money but lives.
The plea comes from
the newly formed Alliance
for Healthy Living, which
was launched on March
24 at Southern Cross Hotel
in Suva, as part of the 2015
World Consumer Rights Day
celebrations.
Alliance for Healthy Living is the brainchild of the
three stakeholders, Diabetes
Fiji, National Food and Nutrition Centre and the Consumer Council of Fiji.
NCDs can be contained
if people change their lifestyle by eating and living
healthy, however, this level
of transformation can only
be achieved through multiple interventions from every
layer of our society.
Launching the Alliance
for Healthy Living, Technical Officer from the World
Health Organisation, Dr
Wendy Snowdon, stated
that tackling NCDs required
a multisectoral approach as
the Ministry of Health alone

could not address the problem.
Dr Snowdon, from the
WHO, Division of Pacific
Technical Support, stressed
that it was critical to engage
the civil society organizations, community groups
and community members
to bring about a desired
change and the Alliance for
Healthy Living was an important step forward in Fiji.
The active participation
of civil society organizations,
particularly, the participation
of grass-roots organizations
representing people living
with NCDs , could assist in
formulating public health
policies and legislations
which would assist individuals to reach the highest
standard of health and wellbeing.
The work of the Alliance
for Healthy Living is critical especially in the area of
consumer education which
will enable consumers, particularly children to make
healthily choices.
Dr Wahid Khan, the chairDiabetes Fiji, said no time
should be wasted as NCD
was already taking toll over
our people; today, the world
is under the grips of NCDs
so, we need genuine commitments and quick action
to contain this epidemic.
We believe that the op-
portunity for health begins

in our families, neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces, therefore, we encourage everyone to take
charge, to bring about
changes to their lifestyles to
arrest the problem of NCDs.
Sugar sweetened beverages, restricting sale and
marketing of sugary, lownutritional unhealthy food to
children and making healthy
food affordable, will be high
on their agenda among
which, the group will work
towards changing consumer
behaviour.
This
empowering-initiative is also supported by
some medical and dental
practitioners,
academics,
retired nurses, school teachers and civil society organisations.
Diabetes, high blood
pressure, heart problems
and other NCDs are embedded in our Fijian lifestyle
but time has come to fix
things before it is too late
a 12-year-old is the youngest
Type 2 diabetic in Fiji; we, as
a nation record one amputation every 12.6 hours and
1 in 5 persons is at a risk of
having a stroke these figures reflect the extent of the
NCD crisis in the country.
Unless and until, we have
public support and will power, NCDS will remain part of
us.
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
The Ministry of Women,
Children and Poverty Alleviation in partnership with
stakeholders has organised
divisional handicraft shows
as a build-up to Fijis National Womens Expo 2015.
The craft shows, which
will be held in the Northern,
Eastern, Central and Western division from April to
May, will provide opportunities for women groups in Fiji
to showcase their skills and
talents.
Led by the Minister for
Women,
Children
and
Poverty Alleviation, Hon.
Rosy Akbar, the Planning
Committee of the National
Womens Expo comprises of
government ministries, nongovernment organisations
and corporate organisations
that is developing the programs for the Expo.
Minister Akbar said the
Ministry aims to make 2015
National Womens Expo a
much bigger event then the
first one held last year in August.
The Expo will be a gateway to enhance their skills
and connect locally produced items to new markets, Ms. Akbar said.
This will be possible
through an integrated approach within government
ministries and corporate
bodies.
Elderly women cuts the cake during the International Womens

Day celebration at Holiday Inn, Suva while the Minister for Women Rosy Sofia Akbar (1st from left) and Attorney General Aiyaz
Sayed-Khaiyum looks on. Photo: DEPTFO.
The objective of the
Expo is to enhance opportunities for rural women to uplift their lives and eradicate
poverty.
She said the expo aims
to assist rural women to secure market for their products both locally and internationally.
The Expo will create
opportunities for women to
acquire skills to help them
reach their maximum potential as women leaders
and entrepreneurs.
The objective of the Divisional Craft Show and
competitions in the four divisions is to ensure the best
of quality and value of the
womens products are being displayed and assessed
during the Craft Show and

to strengthen existing markets that are available at
the Divisional Level for rural
women.
The Divisional Craft Show
is open to all the womens
groups that have registered
with the Department of
Women. Those who have
not registered yet are advised to contact the nearest womens office or the
Ministrys Headquarters on
3312199.
Meanwhile, a total of
FJD$133,152.00 was earned
by the 448 womens groups
that participated in the
three-day Trade Craft Show
held at Vodafone Arena last
year.
LOCAL NEWS
Market for Change Consultation
Western Charity Alliance

(WCA) in conjunction with
Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation conducted a week long
farming consultation with
market vendors in Nadi and
Namaka Market to discuss
on ways to improve their
standard of living and assist
to sustain their livelihood.
Project Officer (Vodafone
ATH Fiji Foundation) and
Executive Director Western
Charity Alliance, Jitendra
Naidu elaborated it was noted that 95% of vendors mostly rely on produce supplied
by farmers or middle mans
from far and near.
The farmers highlighted
that at times almost 10-15
percent of the produces
gets damaged or are not in
state to be sold at the market
stalls.
The supplies are sold according to weight and quantity at most times which
makes it difficult to check
every produce sold by the
farmer or the middle man.
Financial literacy was
also a missing factor from
these vendors as they dont
keep records of the items

bought and sold from their
stall. Most of them dont
know how much profit or
loss they do in a month.
Mrs Meena Kumari, a vendor at Nadi Municipal Market, says whatever earned
in day by the vendors either
goes in their groceries or is
used to pay the farmers for
the produce every second
day.
She elaborated that market business isnt profitable;
instead they are just managing to survive and sustain
their livelihood.
Almost 75% of the vendors have lands available
and are planting few vegetables to sustain their market
business.
The other 25% does not
have large area to plant but
are keen into backyard gardening to give them a little
boost into their market business and to relieve them
from relying on farmers or
middle mans produce.
Some of the issues faced
by these farmers/vendors
are as follows:
Market vendors at their stall in Nadi Municipal Market. Photo: SUPPLIED.

No availability of
seeds

Seeds are very
costly

Chemicals and manures are costly

Land preparation is
a major issue, Tractor higher
is really expensive

Lack of Training
and mentoring

Lack of visitation
by expertise
Mr Naidu also highlighted
that WCA and Vodafone will
start to equip these vendors
by providing seeds and other
farming products; they will

also hold empowerment
programs such as financial
literacy to assist them keep
their records. Later on, they
would make a close tie of
the farmers with these vendors to have a sustainable
market and excel in farming.
q WESTERN CHARITY
ALLIANCE
JICA Partners with Ministry Of Local

Government for Fijis first ever 3R
National Initiative
Fiji is now for the first
time ever part of the 3R
National Framework on the
Home Composting Subsidy
program and Clean School
Program in partnership
with the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The Minister for Local
Government, Housing and
Environment, Parveen Kumar Bala officially launched
these programs on April 10.
The Clean School Program specifically targets
identifies champion schools
and their respective Councils to work closely with students and their teachers in
teaching and demonstrating
all requisite processes and
awareness on the Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle (3Rs)
concept and composting ,
Hon. Bala said.
He added the Home
Compost Subsidy Program
is a program to encourage
families and community
members to recycle organic
waste by practicing home
compositing.
In relation to these programs, Government, through
the facilitation of my Ministry
and in collaboration with the
Ministry of Education, will be
targeting all municipalities
at the Central, Western and
Northern Division.
Minister for Local Government, Housing and Environment, Parveen Kumar Bala along with the JICA Resident Representative Fiji Office,
Mr Hiroyuki Sawada together with the students of Andrews Primary School at the launch.. Photo: IVA DANFORD
He said Government
owes this to the people as
the 2013 Constitution now
provides for inclusive socioeconomic development and
guarantees all citizens the
right to a clean healthy environment.
The Lautoka City Council
(LCC) and the Nadi Town
Council (NTC), with the as-
sistance of JICA-funded3R
Project, have been promoting the Home Compositing
Subsidy Program and home
composing activities in their
municipal areas since the
year 2010.
The 3R Project was initiated by JICA together with
Fijis Department of Environment after Fiji requested
technical cooperation from

Japan for a project on waste
minimization and recycling
promotion.
These were the remarks
of the JICA Resident Representative Fiji Office, Mr
Hiroyuki Sawada who was
also present at the launch.
Mr Sawada said the 3R principles continue to be pro-
moted through a current

regional project, known as
the Japanese Technical Cooperation
Project for Promotion of
Regional Initiative on Solid
Waste Management in Pacific Island Countries (JPRISM).Through its technical cooperation project for
Promotion of Regional Ini-
tiative on Solid Waste Management in the Pacific JICA

assisted the Department of
Environment in establishing
a National Subsidy Program
for Home Composting.
LOCAL NEWS
Reclaim the Night
On March 6, the Fiji

Womens Crisis Centre of
Nadi together with many
other men and women
marched through the
streets from Votualevu
roundabout through to
Namaka Police Station
chanting and waving
posters demanding safe
spaces for women and
girls.
The FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali said the
Centre has been around
for 30 years and still has a
long way to go but it does
not mean that they do not
celebrate their successes.
She said some women
who may be working in
the garment industry can
say in Fiji not much has
changed but we are still
struggling.
It is very good to see
men joining us today,
she added.
Ali acknowledged the
presence of the Sorop-
Women, men and children march with lit candles to reclaim the night in Namaka, Nadi. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.
timist International of
Nadi and the police who
are partnering with the
FWCC in eliminating violence against women.
Divisional Police Commander Jope Ralulu, who

was also present at the
march, said as police officers they conduct inves-
tigations and he always

assures and challenges
the officers that this is a
spiritual battle that they
can combat.
The march commemorates the International

Womens Day and huge
crowd of supporters from
all workd of life turn up
to highlight or publically
raising awareness on the
issue of sexual assault.
EDUCATION
Shivneil Makes Family Proud
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
It was a dream-cometrue moment for the family
of Shivneil Kumar Raj as he
graduated with Bachelor of
Commerce degree in Accounting and Economics
during the University of Fiji
graduation ceremony at
Saweni campus in Lautoka
on Friday, April 10.
Not only with a degree,
Shivneil was the hero-ofthe-day as he was the double gold-medalist in UniFijis
10th graduation ceremony.
He scooped gold medals
in Accounting/ Economics
and the Vice-Chancellors
award of excellence.
Speaking to The Jet, Shivneils happiness was beyond
his words to describe as it
was the most joyous part of
his life.
Im very proud of my
achievement and I thank
God Almighty and my parents for supporting me
throughout my journey,
Shivneil said.
My years of hardwork,
sleepless nights and sacrifices have really paid off.
The 2011 School Dux of
Central College said he did
not face much hurdles dur-
ing his three-year journey

because of the friendly staff
of UniFiji.
There was not much
difficulties faced as the lecturers were always there to
help us.
UniFiji has one thing
unique as whenever the students face difficulties, the
lecturers are very accessible
and approachable to seek
help from.
He also left a message to
all the students.
My message to all other
students is basically work
hard and continue to work
hard till your goals are
achieved.
The University of Fiji gold medalist Shivneil Kumar Raj with his proud parents
after graduation. Photo: SUPPLIED.
ADVERTISEMENT
EDUCATION
PM Opens Technical College

of Fiji - Nadi Campus
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama with MP Sanjit Patel (2nd from left) and board members of the Technical College of Fiji (TCF), Dr. Shaukat Ali Saheb, Nadi Campus on Tuesday, March 24.
Photos: SUPPLIED.
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
Prime Minister Voreqe

Bainimarama
officially
opened the Technical College of Fiji (TCF), Dr. Shaukat Ali Saheb, Nadi Campus
on Tuesday, March 24.
While speaking at the
opening ceremony, Hon.
Bainimarama tagged TCF as
a milestone on their journey
towards achieving the vision
of a clever and skilled coun-
try.
TCF is a national institution that we intend to use
to raise the standards of
our tradesmen and women
throughout Fiji by giving
them better access to formal
qualifications to improve
their skills.
To date, we have lacked
the ability to provide broader access to Level Two Certificates. The establishment
of TCF fills this need.
And it provides students
with a more solid grounding in the various trades
compared to Certificate One
courses. But without having

to acquire the qualifications
to undertake more demanding courses of study at FNU.
He said this three tier approach is an important step
forward to give access to the
young people to trade certificate programs and learn the
skills on which the economy
is dependent upon.
Whether it is building,
plumbing, electrical work,
carpentry, hospitality or all
manner of disciplines that
fall under the trades category.
At campuses like this
one student can spend a

year of study that results in
a Level Two Award Program
Certificate. But we are also
offering the public a series
of short course that will also
improve the skills base of
the Fijian workforce.
Prime Minister also had a
short advice for the parents.
Dont just tell your child
they can one day become a
doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. If they show any aptitude or interest in a trade,
encourage them to take that
path as well.
Because as a nation we
need builders and carpenters as much as we need

members of the traditional
professions, especially as
our economy expands at the
current rate.
He said anybody wanting to do a short course will
have their fees paid for by
Government as provided for
in the Budget.
Those wishing to do
the one year courses can
have their fees paid under
the TELS program, which
means the Government can
give loan to help students
pay their fees which the stu-
dents will only pay back in

instalments once they have
started working.
Meanwhile, the campus
of TCF - the Dr. Sauhat Ali
Sahib Nadi Campus is one
of ten campuses that the
government intend to have
up and running across Fiji by
the beginning of next year.
Three are already underway; in Nadi, Suva and Labasa, and work is currently
proceeding to establish the
remaining seven by identifying properties and developing new partnerships.
Ponipate in his dalo plantation. Photo: SUPPLIED.
Farmer
standsBainimarama
beside his 4x4with
Wheel
Drive
$40,000.
SUPPLIED.
Prime Ponipate
Minister Voreqe
staff
andworth
students
of thePhoto:
Technical
College of Fiji (TCF), Dr. Shaukat Ali Saheb, Nadi Campus.
LOCAL NEWS
New Taste in Town

Sweet Tweets
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
A new restaurant started its operation following the official opening in

Nadi on Friday, March 6.
Chef s Kitchen, a joint
business of the renowned
Aims Rent-a-Car, was formally opened by the Minister for Industry, Trade &
Tourism Faiyaz Koya.
The new eatery is located in Namaka, Nadi
right beside Aims Rentals
office.
Managing Director Anwar Shahs said it was
their plan to get a name
in the food industry as
they had been running
the rental company for
years.
We were in a rental
car company for many
years and we thought of
putting a step ahead in
food industry, Mr Shah
told Fiji Sun.
This is also something
related to tourism and the
local market as well because we have to look after the local people too.
Mr
Shah
invested
$80,000 into this kitchen
and plans to spend more
should the need arise.
Do you think Jasper Williams

High School will retain the
girls title in this years Coca
Cola Games?
Josephine Navula
Namaka, Nadi
Yes, they have been preparing well and confident of a
victory
Minister for Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya during the opening of the Chefs Kitchen in Namaka, Nadi. INSET: Minister for
Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya with Chefs Kitchen Managing Director Anwar Shah during the official opening ceremony
in Namaka, Nadi. Photos: DEPTFO.
His wife, Irene Shah is

a pastry chef and manages the kitchen apart from
being the Director of the
rental business.
We will see later on if
we require any changes
or expansion to the kitchen.
We wanted to do
something in the food industry as my wife is a pas-
try chef and she knows

about cooking and she
has great interest in it.
When asked about the
choice of the location, Mr
Shah said he chose Namaka as it is a flood-free
zone and right next to
his initial business which
makes it easier to manage both.
Chef s Kitchen can ac-
commodate a total of 30
customers at once with a
standard service by its 11
full-time employees.
Mr Shah said the restaurant is 100% halal and
only non-alcoholic cocktails are available.
He said the business
is getting good responses
from the customers.
It is going good so far,
we have a very good response, and our staffs are

trained well so we had a
good feedback from the
Mosese Dalituicama
customers.
Waimalika, Sabeto
With hopes of achieving success in the food Yes i think they will retain
industry, Mr Shah aims to their title since they made a
expand further into other historic win last year they will
do whatever it takes to keep
areas of Fiji.
Artists BREATHE life into

local exhibition
Less than a year ago local
artist and father to 8 children
Meli Laddpeter found out his
diagnosis of bronchiectasis, a
rare progressive lung disease
had drastically worsened. A
struggle to walk more than a
few steps without needing to
pause for a breath, Meli Laddpeter is now living with the
worry that his family will be
in need with his inability to
return to work and the on-going cost of medical attention
required to sustain him.
In support, 33 local artists
have stepped up, organising
an exhibition showcasing a
collection of local art. Each
artist has been asked to create a piece of work able to be
sold, with proceeds going towards his medical needs and
the support of Melis family.
BREATHE is scheduled for
later this month from April 24
to 28 held at the Sofitel Resort
and Spa in Denarau. A special evening cocktail event
will kick off the exhibition; on
Friday 24 April at 6pm. Tickets
cost $30 and are available for
purchase from Sofitel Reception, Taste Fiji in Martintar,
Cardos in Port Denarau and
Victoria Wines in Suva and
Nadi. Free entry is available
to the full exhibition which
then runs from Saturday 25

to Tuesday 28 April, 11am
until 7pm.
We are so thankful for
the support of the Fiji arts
community which is rallying together to raise funds
for a fellow artist, without
them BREATHE wouldnt
be possible. Its humbling
to see so many people as
well as sponsors supporting
such a worthy cause Says
BREATHE organising team
member Maria Rova. She
continues Meli who is currently admitted in Nadi General Hospital, is greatly concerned about his familys
wellbeing, he just wants his
kids to have a house to live
in and for them to complete
their education. This exhibition will contribute towards
making that a reality
Everyone is encouraged
to show their support by
visiting the exhibition which
will be full of impressive art
produced by the 33 local
artists taking part. A raffle
will be running, tickets cost
$5.00. Each entry comes
with the chance to win over
$7000 worth of prizes.
Aptly named BREATHE,
the exhibition will allow both
locals and tourists a rare op-
that flame burning. But it will

be a hard battle to win as all
schools are fighting for the
same trophy
Monica Sovagusu
Malawai Housing, Votualevu
Yes, I think they will retain
the title since they were capable
of doing something like that
last year
Sue Nasilasila
Nasoso, Nadi
Meli Laddpeter (Middle) spending some precious time with his family at his home.
Photo: SUPPLIED.
portunity to check out some
of Fijis most talented artists.
With such a vast display of
lively and enigmatic artwork
it will be difficult for anyone
not to take at least one piece
home.
For all the latest BREATHE
updates, please visit: https://
w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m /
breatheappeal
About Meli Laddpeter:
Meli is a graphic designer
10 THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
and free-lance artist based

in Nadi. Of part Fijian, Tongan, and Wallis Island decent, Laddpeters art is an
exploration of his Pacific
heritage and issues that are
important to him. I try to
capture the moment of living within my art, says this
young exhibitor. I appreciate the emotions that can
be triggered by a creation of
art, and am amazed by the
Grand Creator who is behind all things. Laddpeter

is a member of the Redwave
Collective. His works, which
include inks and watercolours on paper, and acrylics
on masi and canvas, bear
the influence of the Oceania
Center workshops that he
has attended.
q PRESS RELEASE
Yes, they have been training

and they work hard to achieve
what they can do out on the
field
Emily Ravaga
CAAF Compound, Nadi
Yes, definitely counting on
Jasper to win this year
ADVERTISEMENT
11
DEVELOPMENTS
Domestic and Foreign Partnerships

Impetus for Growth
The forging of domestic

and foreign partnerships
provide an impetus for
growth in Fijis tourism sector.
This was highlighted at
the launch of the Denarau
Moorings by the Minister for
Tourism, Hon Faiyaz Koya.
It is very encouraging to
see Fijian entrepreneurs entering the tourism and hospitality sector. In fact, this is
the third Fijian company that
is fully Fijian owned that has
put their mark in the tourism industry in the last three
months, Minister Koya said.
We must not forget that
todays launch is not just a
tourism or real estate development, but an investment
by a Fijian together with foreign investors.
Minister Koya added that
government has set ambitious goals for the tourism
industry and with the numbers recorded over the past
year, government is definitely on track to achieving
these goals.
It is worth noting that
approximately 15 percent
of the total investments are
coming from private sector
investments which include
domestic and foreign investors.
The Fijian governments
focus is to grow investments
and spread the wealth to all
Fijians.
It has been the vision of
the Bainimarama government to ensure that both
domestic and foreign investors are treated equally and
fairly.
The
Denarau
Moorings project is a $120 million investment by the Deo
Construction Development
Company Limited will feature 152 rooms to the hotel
inventory, 56 waterfront
apartments and a 3-storey high-end shopping and
commercial centre.
Minister for Tourism, Hon Faiyaz Koya (1st from right) at the launch of the Denarau Moorings. Photo: DEPTFO.
q
DEPTFO
The artistic impression of the Denarau Moorings. Photos: SUPPLIED.
LOCAL NEWS
Uni Fiji Receives a Timely Boost
The University of Fiji

has received a grant of
US$404,729 from the PacificAmerican Climate Fund (PACAM) to help in a program
called Developing Base
Maps of Tropical Aquatic Resources in the Pacific project which was also launched
on the 13th of April.
This grant is to assist a
three-year project of mapping of the coastal ecosystem where coral reefs
and coastal ecosystem are
vulnerable to the effects of
weather changes. US Ambassador, Judith Cefkin said
the launch signifies their
commitment to address the
global threats of climate
change for the long term
well-being of the communities in Fiji.
The launch of this proj-
ect with University of Fiji,

takes scientific steps that
will assist the Fijian Government to make informed
decisions and develop strategies to deal with climate
change, said Ambassador
Cefkin.
Ms Cefkin added the purpose of PACAM is that it is a
grant-making facility funded
by the U.S Agency for International Development to assist Pacific in reducing longterm vulnerabilities.
The University Pro- Chancellor Anil Tikaram said that
they are overwhelmed to be
selected to receive a grant
through the PACAM. This
partnership with USAID is
a positive indicator that the
university has protocols in
place acceptable to donor
organization to enable being awarded this prestigious
grant, he said.
Mr Tikiram said the
launch of USAID funded
project underscores the
need to work together to ad-
US Ambassador, Judith Cefkin handing over the grant to Uni Fiji. Photo: SUPPLIED.
dress national, regional and
global concerns on climate
change.
This project will be conducted in Votua, Ba and Maui

Bay in Nadroga/ Navosa and
will provide a baseline to

measure changes over time
and develop management
plans for preserving the ecosystems for the future.
FNPF Calls on Members to FNPF Commends Members

Verify their Personal Details
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
The Fiji National Provident Fund has called on all

its members to verify and
update their personal details
at any FNPF office, as part of
its data cleansing exercise to
update members records.
FNPF Chief Executive, Mr
Aisake Taito said this exercise was necessary to safeguard members interests
whilst ensuring that they receive timely service.
We have found that in
the past members applications are delayed because
of discrepancy and mismatch in members names
and other records inclusive
of date of births and signatures, he said.
A lot of members only
verify their details when they
apply for assistance.
Once the discrepancy
is
identified,
members
are then required to make
changes to their records and
provide supporting documents to support the chang-
es and having these certified

by relevant authorities; and
these, if not done, could
lead to delays in providing
service to members.
Members who intend to
validate their information
would need to provide the
FNPF card/ number, TIN
Number, Birth Certificates
(full extract and printed after
2000), Married Certificates
(for women who use their
married names full extract
also), Information on past
employers and provide their
current signature.
This initiative would also
help the Fund identify and
clear for posting members
contributions held in the
suspense account.
The suspense account
holds contributions paid but
are unidentified because of
the following reasons; members name or FNPF numbers does not match FNPF
records, use of initials and
nick name on the monthly
contribution schedule and

employees did not register
the member during their period of employment.
Mr Taito said contributions kept in the Suspense
Account do not earn interests. He said the onus was
also on members to ensure
that information held with
FNPF is verified and updated.
He said employers can
assist by taking a proactive approach by ensuring
that data in regards to their
employees in the monthly
Contribution schedules are
accurate.
The issue of unidentified contributions can be
resolved through a collective effort by all stakeholders
including members, who
would need to take the first
step by verifying their information.
FNPF
The Fiji National Provident Fund highly praised its

400 members, pensioners
and employers who attended the forums held in Nadi,
Lautoka and Suva recently.
Chief Executive Officer,
Mr Aisake Taito said the
Forum continues to draw
increasing crowd since it
started in 2013.
It was practically a full
house in all venues this
year, which is indicative that
members are taking a keen
interest on the development
of their retirement savings,
Mr Taito said.
Participants, who were
presented with an overview

of the Funds progress and
its future plans, were encouraged to ask questions
which were responded to by
the executive team.
Mr Taito said this gives an
opportunity to build much
better relationship with its
members.
It also provides an avenue for the Fund to hear
from members and pensioners and use their comments
to improve its services.
The Forum is an opportunity for the Fund to gauge
the level of understanding
our members have on the
role of the Fund, and its processes, he said.
A Fund member thanked
FNPF for their initiative.
Thank you for this initiative. Its very educational
and a good opportunity to
listen to the high ups (executives) and have our questions and concerns raised
directly with them, the
member wrote on his evaluation form.

It would be good to continue this practice to get the
general public who are the
contributors of this fund to
understand how much is invested and options available
with respect to the fund.
A lot of queries were received from the members
which varied from pensionrelated issues, member
services, the extension of
benefits currently provided
by FNPF, customer services
and investment.
Advisory services were
also provided to members
during the Forum in addition
to t-shirts, information kit
and pens.
Another forum will be
held in Labasa later this
month and Mr Taito is encouraging the members in
the North to attend it.
A toll free line and the

complaints email contact
will help the Fund become
more aware of our members
needs and I encourage them
to contact us if they have any
queries by dialing 112277
and to email complaints@

fnpf.com.fj any time of the
day to their convenience.
FNPF Establish TollFree Line

In an effort to raise the
standard of service delivery
to its members and pensioners, the Fiji National Provident Fund has established
a toll free line and an email
contact that will provide a
convenient means for customers to lodge their enquiries and complaints.
The toll free number
112277 and the email contact complaints@fnpf.com.
fj can be used by key FNPF
customers
inclusive
of
members, pensioners, vendors, suppliers and employers to lodge their complaints
against any Fund-related
matter.
FNPF Chief Executive, Mr
Aisake Taito said the introduction of these initiatives
were an indication of the
Funds continued efforts to
improve its services to its
customers.
The toll free line will provide a convenient point of
contact for those who wish
to raise issues about our services.
The telephone service
is a free line which we hope
our customers will utilize to
lodge their complaints.
In addition, the email
contact will encourage
those using the online platform to provide value feedbacks to the Fund.
The Fund anticipates
that the feedback on these
services would assist FNPFs continuous service improvement initiatives, Mr
Taito said.
The Fund also hopes
that the toll free number and
the email contact would
help the Fund gauge number of complaints from its
members and solve them
accordingly and at the same
time to hear from members
perspective how we can
serve them better.
He said that for feedback

purposes, it was important
for complainants to lodge a
valid name, phone or email
contact to enable the Fund
to get back to them regarding their complaints.
PRESS RELEASE
13
TOURISM
JetStar to Boost Tourism

Industry in Fiji
The Minister for Industry,
Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz
Koya together with the Assistant Minister Lorna Eden
were at Nadi International
Airport on Tuesday, March
31, to welcome the inaugural Jetstar flight that has fi-
nally arrived in the country.

A total of 180 passengers were on board which
included the Australia and
New Zealand Chief Executive Officer of the airline David Hall.
The new flight route from
the Gold Coast to Nadi is
expected to attract more
tourists from the Gold Coast
benefitting Fijis growing
tourism industry.
The new three-times a
week service flight to Fiji
was due to the strong demand from the Gold Coast
tourist visiting Fiji, said Hall.
He said that he was
pleased to work together
with the Fijian Government,
Nadi International Airport
and the tourism sector to deliver the great new service in
bringing our nations close

together.
We are pleased to be the
only airline offering a direct
low fare link from the jewels
of Queensland coast to the
hearts of the South Pacific,
he said.
Hall said there is lots of
demand for Australians to
visit Fiji and about 50,000 additional seats are expected
to be added from this route.

He said JetStar have been
flying to Fiji since 2010 and
the airline has a long partnership and future with the
Fijians.
All flights will be operated by 180-seat Airbus A320
aircraft in a single class and
will depart Nadi on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
BELOW: The Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Faiyaz

Koya together with the Australia and New Zealand JetStar
CEO David Hall enjoys the entertainment by the Sabeto villagers during the arrival of the
JetStar at Nadi International
Airport. Photo: SALMAN ALI.
TOURISM
Sofitel Becomes First

Resort in Fiji to Receive
HACCP Accreditation
Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa

on Denarau Island has become the first resort in Fiji
to comply with the highest
international industry standards to receive Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control
Point (HACCP) accreditation
and certification.
Sofitel passed the final
audits by the Fiji Governments Ministry of Health
after successful implementation of the stringent food
safety system HACCP.
This has been a huge
undertaking and we are very
proud of the entire resort.
Achieving HACCP Certification is not an easy task, said

Resorts General Manager
Alan Burrows.
I wish to congratulate
the project team of working
on this for having developed
a high standard system and
for making food safety and
HACCP the centre of the attention of all staff involved in
the food production chain.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP),
being a detailed system of
food safety analysis and
monitoring, it is being broken down in various parts
to make it reliable from the

moment food arrives hotel
premises, until it is being
served as a ready to consume product.
It involves various departments, including procurement, receiving, kitchen,
F&B service and prioritises
receiving with cold storage
and temperature control,
labelling with dates and
shelf lives, internal cooking
temperature, chilling and reheating hot foods, and serving.
234 rooms and suites, and
offer guests an extensive
The Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa team with their new HACCP accreditation. Photo: SUPPLIED.
range of facilities including
six restaurants and bars, two
swimming pools and a day
spa. Pullman Nadi Bay Resort & Spa will also feature
four meetings rooms, with
capacity for up to 400 guests

theatre style.
q SOFITEL FIJI
Intercontinental Fiji Expands into Chinese Markets

InterContinental Fiji Golf
Resort & Spa implements
new sales strategies and
guest experience initiatives
following recent announcements to waive visa entry requirements between China
and Fiji.
As part of our strategy
we have included China in
yearly sales calls to further
develop the market and
strengthen the overall positioning of InterContinental
Fiji as the premier destination in Fiji, said Hudson
Mitchell, Director of Leisure
Sales & Marketing.
Kamal Haer, Area Director of Sales & Marketing, Fiji
& Vanuatu and I are currently in China, meeting industry
partners and stakeholders.
We enjoyed an increase
in China market shares in

February with the Rosie
Holidays Shanghai Charter
and have recruited a Chinese Sales & Guest Service
Coordinator to ensure that
we provide exceptional and
seamless experiences to the
discerning Chinese traveller.
In foresight of the
strengthening
Chinese
market, the resorts parent
company - InterContinental
Hotels Group (IHG) studied
trends and initiated a global
training programme called
China Ready, where leadership teams implement
best practices for satisfying
Chinese guests to deliver a
memorable holiday.
The China-Ready training programme encompass-
es an overview of China,
Chinese traveller profiles
and characteristics, and basic Chinese language classes.
Chinese outbound travel
continues to grow in traveller
numbers and trip frequency.
The China-Ready training is
essential for an understanding of the Chinese culture
and guest expectations,
said Jacob Pauu, Acting
Human Resources Manager
and China-Ready champion.
Our passionate team
have taken the ChinaReady training onboard
whole-heartedly and we
have
received
positive
feedback from our Chinese
guests as a result. We are
geared to increase Chinese
market share within the re-
Kamal Haer and Hudson Mitchell with IHG China Sales Office Member. Photo: SUPPLIED.
sort significantly this year,
concludes Mr Mitchell.
InterContinental Fiji Golf
Resort & Spa overlooks the
azure waters of Natadola
Beach voted by CNN as
one of the best beaches in

the world, and Fijis finest
beach. Spread across 35
acres of tropical gardens,
the resort offers all of the facilities and services expect-
ed of luxury international
resort.
q INTERCONTINENTAL
FIJI
New Committee for Coral Coast Hoteliers

By ANUSHIL KUMAR
Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) appointed

new committee members
for the Coral Coast Chapter
during the Annual General
Meeting on Tuesday, March
10.
Chapter Chairman Peter
Hopgood (Outrigger) was
re-elected as the Chairperson while Brad Downton of
The Warwick Fiji is the Deputy Chairperson.
Craig Powell of Shangri-la
Fijian Resort is the Marketing Chairperson, Jay Whyte
(Sigatoka River Safari) was
elected as the Assistant Marketing Chairperson while
Coral Kennedy of Sandy
Point is the Hospital Chairperson.
Chairman Hopgood stated the goal of the new committee would be to; market
the Coral Coast as Fijis pre-
mium holiday destination,

support the local community, in particular work with
government on the development of a new medevac facility at the Sigatoka District
Hospital. This is to bring all
stakeholders on the Coral
Coast together on a monthly
basis to discuss issues that
have an impact on our community which includes Police, Town Council, Business
Houses, Health Professionals, Regional Government
and Resort Operators.
He said in the last 12
months it has been an extremely positive time for
the Coral Coast, particularly
with the opening of the new
maternity ward at the Sigatoka District Hospital for which
he said the hoteliers were
proud to be able to assist
government in the development of this facility as the
Coral Coast FHTA donated
over $600,000 to the project
General Managers of Coral Coast resorts with Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama at the opening of the maternity ward at the
Sigatoka Hospital. Photo: MASA / OUTRIGGER FIJI.
15
TOURISM
Fiji Airways Confirmed

as Major Sponsor for
Fiji Tourism Expo 2015
Fiji Airways has been

confirmed as the Platinum
sponsor for the Fiji Tourism
Expo (FTE) 2015, building
on the partnership and success of the inaugural event
in 2014, to showcase the
great diversity of tourism
products and services available in Fiji.
FTE, now an annual
event, aims to deliver a
uniquely Fijian tourism experience for international
buyers of tourism products
by showcasing all that Fijis
tourism industry has to offer.
The program this year has
been tailor-made to cater
for the needs of all service
providers, large and small,
designed to effectively promote Fiji as a tourist destination to the world.
Tourism Fijis Director of
Events, Ms Sally Cooper says
the event would not have
been possible without the

support of Fiji Airways.
The success of Fiji Tourism Expo is a result of strong
partnerships and having
the support of our industry
partners. Tourism Fiji very
excited that Fiji Airways is
partnering with us again for
FTE 2015, Ms Cooper said.
FTE 2015 is scheduled to
take place at the Denarau
Convention Centre, Nadi
from the 15-19 June 2015.
Fiji Airways Board Director, Mr Stefan Pichler says,
Were delighted to support Tourism Fiji and the Fiji
Tourism Exchange. As a key
industry partner and stakeholder, we recognise the
importance of an event like
this on the annual Fiji Tourism calendar. Our team is
looking forward to the FTE,
where we have planned exciting social activation pro-
grammes for delegates at

our booths.
Tourism Fiji has purposely selected the dates
for FTE 2015 immediately
prior to the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2015,
to be hosted in Melbourne,
to make it easier for buyers
from key long haul markets
to make the most out of their
annual visits to the Pacific
region.
Exhibitors and buyers
interested in partaking in
FTE 2015 are encouraged to
visit fijitourismexpo.com for
more information and registration.
q TOURISM FIJI
Mr Jack Young of Koro Sun with Ms Candy Andrus, Fiji Airways at FTE 2014. Photo: TOURISM FIJI.
TOURISM/SPORTS
Tourism Fiji Display Scoops National

Award at Flight Centre Show
The creativity and team
effort of Tourism Fiji and industry partners in the Australian market came to fruition
when they were announced
as the National Winner for
Best In Show for the Flight
Centre Travel Expos in Australia.
Tourism Fijis Australia
Regional office participated
in four Flight Centre shows
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. This is
the first time for the office to
win the national title.
The annual expo was
held over two days in Sydney from January 31 February 1, with 97,021 people
going through the exhibition
and a total of 65.96% of new
customers attending the
expo.
According to the Flight
Centre Travel Group, the
organisers of the expo, Tourism Fijis display was voted
overall winner due to its
openness and ease for customers to enter and gain information, as well as, their
customer interaction, traditional dancers and the look
and feel of the exhibit with

stunning imagery.
Were thrilled to have
won the national title of
Best in Show for the Flight
Centre consumer expos,
Tourism Fijis Australia Regional Director, Ms Carlah
Walton said following the
announcement.
Tourism Fiji in Australia
is committed to demonstrating Fijis unique culture through our innovative stands at these major
consumer shows, and with
growing passenger numbers
out of Australia, clearly the
effort and investment is paying off.
As the winner of the
award, the Australia office
also won $5000 worth of hire
equipment from Moretons
Hire for next years shows.
The Tourism Fiji booth
was unique compared to the
other displays at the expo as
it had a thatched roof, similar to the traditional Fijian
bure, and a revolving tower
which incorporated branded images and messages.
Tourism Fiji booth display at the Flight Centre Travel Expos in Australia. Photo: SUPPLIED.
The added wow factor
for many of those that attended was the presence of
four Fijian warriors that were
guarding the booth for the
duration of the show, which
resulted in many stopping by
to pose for pictures with the
men in grass skirts and war
clubs.
Partners operating in Fiji

who collaborated with Tourism Fiji and had a presence
at the expo included; Captain Cook Cruises, Plantation Island Resort & Lomani
Island Resort, Blue Lagoon
Cruises/Awesome Adventures, South Sea Cruises,
Musket Cove Resort, Wanan-
avu Beach Resort & Viwa

Island Resort, Warwick Fiji
Resort, and Naviti Resort.
Director of Sales & Marketing at The Warwick Fiji,
Mr Kushend Kumar expressed his delight with the
efforts of the team in putting
together a grand exhibition,
Thank you very much for

the update and congratulations once again for a job
well done!
q TOURISM FIJI
Fiji Airways teams up with OFC

for 2015 Champions League Fiji
Fiji Airways and the
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) have today
announced a major sponsorship
agreement
for
the 2015 OFC Champions
League.
The partnership sees
Fijis national airline get
naming rights for the popular tournament, which will
now be known as the 2015
Fiji Airways OFC Champions
League.
Twelve teams from the
Oceania region will compete in the tournament, with
the winner earning a ticket
to the FIFA Club World Cup
in December 2015.
Participating in this years
edition are the top clubs
from Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Tahiti and Samoa.

Were delighted to enter into this partnership with
OFC for the Champions
League, Fiji Airways Board
Director Stefan Pichler says
of the new partnership.
This great tournament
features the regions top
football clubs and players.
This partnership will allow
us to promote our brand in
a region which we service
quite extensively. We look
forward to the tournament
with great anticipation and
wish all the visiting teams
the very best.
OFC General Secretary
Tai Nicholas says the opportunity to link with Fiji Airways is a great step forward
for the Confederation.
We are excited at the

opportunity to work closely
with Fiji Airways promoting
what is the most important
football competition on the
annual calendar for our region, Nicholas says.
Fiji Airways has a strong
presence in the Pacific region, servicing many of our
Member Association nations, so it makes sense for
us to be working with them
to continue raising the profile of the Fiji Airways OFC
Champions League.
The 2015 Fiji Airways
OFC Champions League
kicks off on the 11 April, with
matches played in Suva and
Ba, Fiji. The final will be held
on 26 April at ANZ Stadium
in Suva.
q PRESS RELEASE
Saunaka Gets Sponsors For The

First Time Ever
By IVA DANFORD NAISARA
The Saunaka Rugby 7s
Club which is one of the oldest rugby clubs in Nadi had
a historic timely boost from
their sponsors yesterday.
McDonalds, who were
sponsors of the teams jerseys which were worth
$1950, also presented them
with $1000 cheque to help
the Saunaka team financially.
Marc McElrath, Mc Donalds Development Partner
said they are very delighted
to have been one of the major sponsors for the club and
to invest in the boys.

Since the Fiji 7s national
team featured most of the
boys form Saunaka village
from the past till now, we
plan to start investing in the
club from grassroot level,
said McElrath.
He added since most of
the village boys are unemployed, this sponsorship will
help them not only in wearing the Saunaka jersey but
representing our national
one day.
Head Coach Ponijesa Lutuciri said this is the first ever
sponsorship the club has
received ever since establishment and they are very
thankful to the sponsors of

making it happens for the
club.
Together with this, the
club received $2000 worth
of muscle vests from Hydra
Sports Fiji, transportation
worth $3000 by Sahabud
Dean Transport Limited and
$2350 total registration fees
for the five major 7s tournaments which are the Nawaka 7s, Marist 7s, Red Rock
7s, Martintar 7s and Coral
Coast 7s.
With a total sponsorship
of $10,300, the Saunaka 7s
rugby club hopes to mark
at the Fiji Bitter Nawaka 7s
with kicked off today.
Mc Donalds and Shahabud Dean wwTransport Limited officially handing over jerseys to the Saunaka 7s Rugby Club officials, Photo: Iva Danford-Naisara
17
BUSINESS NEWS
Business a Passion for

Award Winner Debra
For a woman who has

been highly motivated
since she left school, Debra Sadranu (pictured) is
very passionate about running a business in Fiji that
involves making a difference in the community as
a whole.
Debra moved to Fiji in
1997 after working in the
beauty industry in Sydney
for 11 years as a professional beauty therapist.
She was also a member
of the AABTh- Advanced
Association of Beauty
Therapists, Australia.
Debra saw the opportunity to enhance the growth
of the developing beauty
industry in Fiji.
She established the
South Pacific Academy of
Beauty Therapy which was
the first beauty school of its
kind in the Pacific Island
region, accredited with the
Fiji Higher Education Com-
mission and certification

of assessment by AABTh
Australia.
With the demand for
spa expertise, Debra started the first two Beauty
Spa outlets at Vomo and
Treasure Island, thereafter
expanding to a chain of Senikai Spas.
As the Award winner of
the Business Woman of the
Year 2015, Debra is a very
successful woman who focused on giving back to the
community.
It was a great honour,
I dedicate my award to all
the women in my company who have worked
alongside me for the past
17 years, she said.
Debra prides herself
in providing training and
employment for the young
women of Fiji and establishing village enterprise
through harvesting local
extracts for her product
manufacturing.
We partnered with
Market Development Facility to provide training to the
Tamasua Village for supply
of our Virgin Coconut Oil,
she added.
She said her company
provides scholarships and
training to rural women
and also provide support
to people with disabilities.
My latest initiative was
the opening of our new Essence of Fiji Spa Rejuvenation Centre/Transit lounge
and it has been my vision
Debra Sadranu
and dream come true to

date, Debra said.
Debra adds, she will be
focussing more on export
of their spa products and
also development of the
spa industry throughout
the Pacific region.

AON TOURISM AWARDS & NADI IN PICTURES
19
BUSINESS NOTICE BOARD
ADVERTISEMENT
21
LOCAL SPORTS
$35k Boost for Lautoka

Local League
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
Punjas Group of Companies provided a timely

boost to the Lautoka
Football Association on
Tuesday, April 9, sponsoring $35,000 for the Local
League Competition this
year.
Director Rajesh Punja
said the funding is yet
another initiative of Punjas that promotes active,
healthy lifestyles through
support.
He said football sponsorship is nothing new for
the Punjas Group as they
supported football during
the South Pacific Games
in 2003 and Battle of the
Giants tournament from
2003 to 2005.
We are happy to partner with Shop & Save
Supermarkets to support
football in Lautoka and
we hope this $35,000
sponsorship will boost
participation, interest in
the sport and lift the morale of players, officials
and supporters, Punja
said.
With the right support, training and guidance, our footballers will
have the ability and opportunity to participate at
the international level like
Roy Krishna of Labasa.
He said the Punja
Group is celebrating
80-years of service this
year and throughout 2015
the Group is marking this
milestone by giving back
in different ways to the
community through projects and events.
In our 80th year, we
are doubling our efforts
to support initiatives that
help reinforce our companys principles and philosophy of giving back to
the people that have supported us over the past
eight decades.
Lautoka Football Association vice president and
Local League chairman
From left: Punjas Group of Companies Director Rajesh Punja, senior director Kanti Punja, Lautoka Football Association vice president
Rajnesh Naicker and Abdul Khalil during the sponsorship announcement press conference at the Punjas Headquarters in Lautoka.
Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.
Rajnesh Naicker thanked

the Punjas Group for the
kind sponsorship.
He said it is hostorical
for the local club level
that such a big amount
of sponsorship has been
secured.
Given such a huge
amount, the Lautoka

Football
Association
plans to stage this years
local league competition
on a bigger and better
way, Naicker said.
There would be a
huge remuneration for
the winners of this years
competition, something
which has never been
paid to any club locally.
Not only we will be
giving incentive to individual players such as
player of the year, top
goal scorer and so forth,
together with the players
we will also be rewarding

the administrators of the
different teams.
The Lautoka Football
Association Local League
competition kick-started
on Sunday, April 12.
Valelevu Wins Muslim Tourney

By ANUSHIL KUMAR
It was a moment of
joy for the Valelevu Muslim Soccer team as they
defeated hosts Nadi 1-0
to win the Fiji Muslim
Sports Association InterDistrict Championship
at Prince Charles Park
on Monday, April 6.
The Shaheen Hussain-coached side shattered the hosts midway
into the second half as
striker Irshaad Begg took
advantage of the blunder made by the Nadi
defender and blasted-in
the winning goal.
Nadi, laced with current district reps William
Valentine and Shafim
Buksh, toiled hard looking for the equaliser,
however, the defenders
in blue jumper worked
overtime to claim the
SM Koya cup after a
lapse of six years.
Nadi coach Javed
Ahmed said finishing
was the key factor that
was lacking in the play-
ers.
I think we took the
final too casually. We
had more possession
but we failed to finish
them off, said Ahmed.
He said the focus now
shifts to the International Club Championship
which will be played
later this year.
We will now have
to regroup, get more
players and come out
strongly for the International Club Championship.
Winning coach Shaheen said the team
prepared well for the
final and was confident
of winning the title this
year.
Meanwhile, Fiji Muslim Sports Association
president Mohammad
Rafiq described the
tournament as a great
success.
We had a very successful
tournament
this year. I congratulate
Valelevu for winning the
title this year and also
hats off to Nadi for making it to the finals, he
said.
The veterans and the
youth division will now
Minister for Industry, Trade & Tourism Faiyaz Koya (standing 5th from left) with the victorious Valelevu team after the completion
of the Fiji Muslim Sports Association IDC at Prince Charles Park. Photo: ANUSHIL KUMAR.
be revived again and we

will be booking Prince
Charles Park again for
this sometime in December.
He also confirmed
The Jet about the Inter22 THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
national Club Championship (ICC) with eight

overseas teams participating in the tournament.
Next on our schedule is the International
Club Championship in
October where we have
eight overseas teams
(four each from Australia and New Zealand)
coming with full of overseas talents and make it
a colourful tournament
this year.
The ICC is scheduled
to take place from October 16-19.
LOCAL SPORTS
Karate Champ Visits Nadi

District School
By MARGARET NAQIRI
Two-times World Martial Arts Champion, also
known as the Coke Can
Kid, Andrew Ravuna visited Nadi District School
on Wednesday, March 25,
to demonstrate some of
his award winning moves
to the students and teachers.
Ravuna, who is originally from Ba, arrived into
the country from Brisbane, Australia on March
17 after four years since
his last trip to Fiji with his
mother Andrea.
While sharing some of
his past experiences with
the students, Ravuna said
he was born four months
premature and was not
expected to live.
I was born at 800
grams and went down
to 500 grams, now Im
a little bit bigger, so my
mum thought she would
put me into karate, said
Ravuna.
While growing up, I
was not treated well so I
had to learn to get courage and defend myself.
He started his karate
training at the age of nine
and now he is a Sensei
(karate master).
Technically I found
World Karate Champion Andrew Ravuna poses with the students of Nadi District School. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.
karate but I think karate

found me so I have been
training ever so hard and
got my black belt, he
added.
Head teacher Meli Cabebula was very grateful
to have Andrew Ravuna
visit them at the school.
We are very lucky and
all the children are very

happy to have him.
A world champ visiting our school and we
at Nadi District school
well all be cheering for
Andrew during the Olympics, Mr Cabebula said.
Ravuna has been inducted in the Interna-
tional Sports Karate Association Hall of Fame

internationally.
Sensei Ravuna was
also named as the sportsman of the year in 2010
and 2014.
Apart from being very
talented with weapons
of all kinds (Nun chucks,
Katana/sword, Bo staff
and Sai), he is a Second
Dan Black Belt and a very
dedicated teacher as he
owns his own Dojo.
I am still training under my master Kyoshi Bill
Wakefield C.M.A Nerang
Gold Coast QLD. I owe a
lot to him for knowledge
, guidance, love and support from my mum Andrea who is terminally

ill.
Mr Ravuna will be representing Australia Fiji
next year for the Olympics in Rio, Brazil.
Torch Relay Visits Mulomulo

Secondary School
By MARGARET NAQIRI
For the first time in history, Mulomulo Secondary School hosted the 2015
Coca Cola Games Torch Relay at the school.
School principal Sera
Lockington was thankful to
the organisers and officials
of the Coca-Cola Games and
described the torch-relay
visit as an historic event in
the school calendar.
Today is a historic occasion for Mulomulo Secondary School. It is the first time
the torch relay is brought to
the school and I thank the
organisers for including us,
said Mrs Lockington.
All too often, the school
is ignored and yet we are
situated only four kilometers
from the Nadi back road.
An occasion like this will

help to put the school on the
map.
The school held an
inter-house from which
the school selected their
athletes for the Nadi Zone
which was held at Prince
Charles Park.
Mulomulo
Secondary
walked away with two gold
medals, three silver and four
bronze medals. Five athletes
have qualified for the CocaCola Games in Suva.
Mrs Lockington concluded her speech by thanking
the Torch relay Coordinator Onisimo Rokotuinasau
and his team for visiting the
school.
The annual biggest secondary school athletics,
Coca-Cola Games is scheduled to take place at the ANZ
Stadium in Suva from April
24-25.
Mulomulo Secondary School students excited over the

Coca-cola Games Torch Relay visiting their school for
the first time. Photo: MARGARET NAQIRI.
q DEPTFO
23
APRIL/MAY 2015. ISSUE 64
Page 23
Page 22
KARATE CHAMP
VISITS NADI
SCHOOL
$35K BOOST FOR

LAUTOKA
LOCAL LEAGUE
50 CENTS
Champions Again
We did it again... The victorious Korovuto College athletes celebrate after successfully
defending the Nadi Zone athletics title. Photo: ANUSHIL KUMAR.
By ANUSHIL KUMAR
Korovuto College successfully defended the Nadi Zone Athletics title
winning it for the second consecutive
year.
The defending champions grabbed
a total of 21 Gold, 15 Silver and 9
Bronze at the two-day Nadi zone
meet which ended at Prince Charles
Park on March 21.
Team coach Siaki Baba said it was
a moment of joy for the Korovuto College family as they are the champions
of athletics in Nadi.
We are very happy for the win and
I should thank the athletes for giving
their whole-hearted performance
during the two days of tight competition, Mr Baba said.
I must thank the Almighty for giving

the strength to our athletes, the parents
who fully supported their children in
every possible ways, the administration and school management for giving us time to train for this zone-meet,
teachers who gave their effort to train
the athletes.
He said the focus now shifts to the
Coca-Cola Games which will be held
at the ANZ Stadium in Suva.
We will now select and train the
best athletes who will be representing
our school in the Coke Games and we
are hoping for the best in Suva.
Improving from where we left here
at the Nadi Zone and adding few more
spices to squad is our main aim before
we hit the biggest Secondary School
Athletics competition.
Mr Baba dedicated the win to the
Korovuto College family as a whole.

Meanwhile, Ratu Navula College
had to settle for the second spot grabbing 17 Gold, 13 Silver and 15 Bronze
while Nadi Muslim College finished
third collecting 16 Golds, 8 Silver and
15 Bronze.
A total of 34 new records were set
during this years two-day competition.
Victorious Korovuto College also
won the overall girls division while
Swami Vivekananda College won the
overall boys division.
Nadi Athletics Competition manager
Melisio Camaitoga described the twoday event a success.
The success of the competition was
all due to the hardwork of the Pemac
teachers, the Principles of all the Nadi
schools for the support that they have
given us, Mr Camaitoga said.
We were really happy that all the

events happened as per our time
schedule and this is due to the team
managers, coaches and the networking system that was coming across
from the officials.
The 34 records that were broken
speaks itself the level of competition
that we had.
He also had a message to all the
Nadi schools who will be taking part
in the Coca-Cola Games.
For all Nadi coaches and managers, we need to prepare our team well
so that we are at par with the schools
that participate all over Fiji.
Together we all will represent Nadi
regardless of whichever school wins.
The Coca-Cola Games were yet to
be played when this edition went to
press.

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FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

APRIL/MAY 2015. ISSUE 64

fessor Narendra Reddy said the

ter for Agriculture, Natural Disaster

Fiji - the way the world should be

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

New Resources to Boost

Popular names like

government is committed towards education in

ent said technology is

Nadi Celebrates World

Chief Guest of the day

use water wisely, by turning

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

On March 22 every year,

Pastor Taniela Sauturu

My message this Easter

The youth of Voivoi settlement on the outskirts of

Never belittle yourselves

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

National Disaster Management permanent secretary

Rotary Club Assists Vanuatu

The Rotary Club of Nadi

Nadi District Officer Jiuta

from Rotary Club.

We are grateful that the

Support the Alliance Craft Shows to

the Ministry of Health alone

portunity for health begins

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Elderly women cuts the cake during the International Womens

during the Craft Show and

Market for Change Consultation

Western Charity Alliance

keep records of the items

Market vendors at their stall in Nadi Municipal Market. Photo: SUPPLIED.

farming products; they will

JICA Partners with Ministry Of Local

technical cooperation from

moted through a current

tiative on Solid Waste Management in the Pacific JICA

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Reclaim the Night

On March 6, the Fiji

Divisional Police Commander Jope Ralulu, who

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

tigations and he always

The march commemorates the International

Shivneil Makes Family Proud

ing his three-year journey

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

PM Opens Technical College

Prime Minister Voreqe

courses. But without having

one student can spend a

need builders and carpenters as much as we need

dents will only pay back in

Ponipate in his dalo plantation. Photo: SUPPLIED.

THE JET - FIJIS FIRST COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

New Taste in Town

A new restaurant started its operation following the official opening in

Do you think Jasper Williams

His wife, Irene Shah is