Fijileaks
  • Home
  • Archive Home
  • In-depth Analysis
    • BOI Report into George Speight and others beatings
  • Documents
  • Opinion
  • CRC Submissions
  • Features
  • Archive

E-TICKETING and Transport Minister Bala: Now, he blames 'detractors' saying complainers are Opposition supporters and members, and have hidden agendas. Bus drivers singled out as THIEVES so no CASH fares!

3/10/2017

8 Comments

 

The passengers are told that you cannot PAY CASH to the Bus Drivers for they [and Bus Checkers] are
'BLOODY THIEVES'

No wonder some passengers in Taveuni hid in luggage compartment of buses for a ride home because they did not have e-Transport cards and the "thieving bus drivers" are barred from taking cash from them
Fijileaks: During the consultation period, and before the final report was handed to the Fiji Land Trasport Authority, the bus drivers were not consulted nor were they given the right to defend the VILE charges levelled against them by their bus owning bosses:
"Fraud by bus drivers and checkers is the single biggest financial loss being suffered by the industry today. We estimate that the loss to the industry, if all drivers are involved (see box) is worth around 9% of total revenue. More conservatively we calculate the losses to be of the order of FJD 2.7million to FJD 4.5 million per year" - The Final Report on Fiji Bus Industry Review
"Leakages due to pilferage of bus takings by bus drivers"

Picture

Fijileaks: We are not against E-Ticketing but what we have objected to is the lack of trial period which could have been introduced in particular routes before it was rolled out nationally, and that the passengers must have choice to pay with CASH or with travel cards. As the consultants Report reveals, the BUS DRIVERS and BUS CHECKERS have been demonized and accused of stealing from FIRCA revenue estimated to be between $F3m to $5million annually. If so, how many bus drivers are wealthy, travel in posh cars, send their children to top schools or are patients at Fiji's Private Hospitals?
Tell us, Khaiyum and Bala! The consultants Final Report was completed in 2009 and it is now 2017. There is another problem here: foreign consultants do not have the cultural experience of our society so they recommend Western models to solve Third World problems. Unlike the western world, many people in Fiji would jump on the first available bus in the night if they hear one has just been rushed to the hospital or has just passed away. Don't tell us they MUST have topped up travel cards for such unforeseen circumstances? But, then, Khaiyum and Bala don't travel by buses - they are driven around and protected by boot boys from the barracks. In Bala's case, even though he admitted that he was the driver of the car that killed POOR Puna Chand (too poor so was walking home) the Sri Lankan magistrate acquitted Bala on the grounds that no one saw Bala at the steering wheel. But BUS DRIVERS have been blamed for the pathetic financial state of the bus industry while the BUS OPERATORS are laughing to the bank.
How many of these bus operators funded the FFP in 2014? How many of them defrauded the National Bank of Fiji? Why no one is standing up for the BUS DRIVERS and the BUS CHECKERS? The passengers are told that you cannot PAY CASH to the Bus Drivers for they are 'THIEVES'.
A crack down on mini buses, carriers, 'matchboxes' and taxis will exacerbate racial tensions, for Indo-Fijians monopolize bus industry while the vast majority of their rival competitors operating other modes of transport are native Fijians. And what about on ELECTION DAY? What if a VOTER does not have sufficient money on his
E-TICKET TRAVEL CARD, will he/she be allowed to hop onto a bus and VOTE?
Everyday we are asked: Why is Aiyaz Khaiyum behaving like a dictator when the elections are around the corner? Our reply: He and Bainimarama, if they loose, will call on the boot boys, to boot out the winning party (parties) after 2018 election. That is why they are behaving like DICTATORS, including their minions like Bala warning 'DETRACTORS'. The appointment of Sitiveni Rabuka to lead SODELPA is a God-sent blessing for FFP and the Military - bogeyman for a COUP!

Picture

FFP'S BALA -THE BLACKMAILER: He threatens a public member and says "I know where you work" after being called a THUG during Speaker's Debate on the theme: "Is Fiji's Transport System Working?"
When Speaker interjected saying word THUG would have seen the public member Kelvin Anthony escorted out of Parliament, audience replied:
"This is not Parliament"

Picture
The Speaker’s Debate on the theme “Is Fiji’s Transport System Working?” got ugly at GPH last night after a member of the public likened Minister for Transport Parveen Bala’s behaviour to a thug while Bala said that he knew where the man worked.

Several comments on e-ticketing were made during the forum.  A common concern that was raised by the people attending the forum was the teething problems relating to the E-Ticketing System that led to some students walking to school yesterday and people having to endure long hours standing in lines to get a card or having their E transport cards topped up.

Transport Minister Parveen Bala stressed that the new E-Ticketing System will allow better accountability and highlighted that change in Fiji has the tendency to throw people off. However, he adds that if given enough time to iron out the teething problems, the E-Ticketing System will greatly improve public transportation, especially in buses. Bala stated that the e-ticketing System is not going to fail.

The Minister was booed and laughed at as he continued to answer questions and clarify some of the teething problems of the system. During the debate, the Minister’s behaviour was compared to that of a thug by a member of the public Kelvin Anthony. Speaker Doctor Jiko Luveni then told Anthony that if he was in parliament, he would have been asked to go out after making that comment.

However people said that this was not parliament.  
 
Anthony had also said that he had no questions for the Minister as he had all the answers.

Bala responded that he knew Anthony and he also knew where he worked.

Bala told Anthony that the truth hurts as he had given all the facts about the E-Ticketing System and yet people like Anthony were not satisfied.

The Speaker Dr. Jiko Luveni also had to keep the public calm as the public continued with the remarks expressing that they were not satisfied with the answers provided by Bala.

The panelists in the debate included Parveen Bala, Shadow Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Aseri Radrodro, President of the Fiji Bus Operators Association Richard Lal, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering at FNU Salabogi Mavoa and Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji CEO John Tunidau. Source: Fijivillage News, 3 October 2017

This is the real PARLIAMENT. Watch an out of control screaming FFP MP, Minister for Climate Change, and the cheering mob led by Aiyaz Khaiyum. The screaming and babbling "buffoon" was one of many Government individuals the two consultants had consulted while preparing their Report on the Fiji Bus Operators in 2009:

Picture

From Fijileaks Archive:

Picture
Picture
Picture
8 Comments
Alibaba
3/10/2017 09:37:39 am

We often here ASK and his bunch of minions harp on about modernizing Fiji. Lets look at our closest neighbors for inspiration. Yes they have e- payment for public transportation as an option. Yes an option as you can pay as you like cash or by the card. These countries are modern nations because they have great health care, a robust transportation system a great social welfare system great roads, and many other niceties that a modern developed nation has including a minimum wage of above $16 an hour. They do not have 68% of the population under the poverty line. Above all these countries have a proper functioning democracy where people have a say and one pig head is not making all the decisions quite unlike Fiji and decent is celebrated as necessary for a genuine democracy.

This is what happens when we have a 5 year old in a adults body trying to run a country.

Reply
Ratu
3/10/2017 03:49:42 pm

A fascist Govt is not where the people collectively tell Govt what to do, it is a Govt that tells the people what to do

Reply
Rajend Naidu
3/10/2017 09:37:26 pm

Editor,
YOU ARE A DESPICABLE PERSON
That's what a British citizen told conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg to his face when he " confronted him directly about his views " on abortion, food bank and austerity at a Town Hall meeting in Manchester.
The protester confronting the MP told him " You are not welcome here. Get out... Mate, the things you're saying is harming people's lives".
( read more in ' You're a despicable person': Jacob Rees- Mogg event descends into chaos as furious protest mob meeting ' Mirror, 2/10/17 ).
In the democracy they have in Britain a citizen can say to an MP's face " You're a despicable person " WITHOUT ANY FEAR .
Can the citizens of the " true democracy " in Fiji do that?
There are MPs that qualify for that description I am sure.
Sincerely,
Rajend Naidu

Reply
Chiku
3/10/2017 09:55:21 pm

Nah, in Fiji the citizens can't do that. They'd get a visit from the Gestapo if they dared to do that. In the " true democracy " in Fiji citizens are only allowed to address MPs as " Honourable " and " Sir ", not as arseholes even if they are one.

Reply
Socho
4/10/2017 01:29:07 am

Muder Minister Bala Sala should be the last person to talk about truth.
Truth is he killed a pedestrian by drunk driving but got away with it because he is under the protection of the twin dictators of Fiji.

Reply
Refugee
4/10/2017 09:53:25 pm

...and a especially "imported' Magistrate - at that - just so he can hear this case because for a embarrassingly long time our infamous 'minister for everything' couldn't find a 'conditioned' magistrate to hear murderer 'Sala's' case. Fiji judiciary is on SALE.

Bala is a THUG!

Reply
Ratu
4/10/2017 03:17:22 am

Whatever happened to that familiar dictum by Voltaire: "I I may disagree with you but will defend yr right to express yr belief." That's all Praveen Bala needed to say to his critic at the Speaker's Public Debate. To say that he knows where his critic stays is a clear threat of violence and should be reported to Police. If Mahendra Reddy can be charged and suspended for words spoken in jest then Bala's case is even worse as the threat was real and ominous. He acted as a thug would and therefore he is s thug and he belongs to a Govt that issues threats whenever they are challenged. Yet the Constitution promises freedom of thought.

Reply
Bahuki
4/10/2017 07:05:14 am

How very fascist of government indeed to enforce their will over the people without going through the "proper channels" of communication to help sort out this e-ticketing fiasco.

No wonder there are endless complaints and Bala breath himself acts like he's the damn Transport Minister when his tavale Ayarse was running the whole damn show.

What was Bala bona doing the whole time when AK-47 was gazetting the e-ticketing system? Shouldn't he be sticking his nose into his own job and just focus on local government and development instead of being another Minister for Everything wannabe like ASK himself is doing.

Not all of the so-called complainers are "opposition supporters" since FlipFlop Party is just giving the general public more than enough reason to vote for other political parties come next year.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    editor@fijileaks.com

    ARCHIVES

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    Picture
    Picture