FLYING IN KHAIYUM'S FACE: Here is Bainimarama launching InstaCharge to the shouts of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Even his daughter, the CEO of Fiji Sports Council, is mentioned by name:
'You have no excuse to claim that you couldn't call back because your battery was dead...Downlaod InstaCharge Now...'; The Las Vegas "Inventor" Douglas Stewart told us on his Facebook that
"Bye, Fiji, Dubai, Next". Now, even Dubai has disappeared from his FB!
Professor Shawkat Ali, Dean of the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology at the University of Fiji, said he did not know anyone in Fiji who had seen or downloaded the app since its launch a week ago, and he and his academic colleagues found it “impossible” to accept the company’s claims. “The academic community in Fiji is not accepting the claims of this company ... what they are claiming to be able to do is 100% impossible ... I don’t know anyone in Fiji who has
used the app, no one.”
"He [Bainimarama] used the occasion to actually highlight Fiji's position in the ICT sector, he did not at any stage endorse the product, he did not say the product works, he did not say I'm pleased to launch this application. He essentially used the opportunity to highlight the fact that Fiji has made great strides in telecommunications, in particular in the ICT sector." - Aiyaz Khaiyum
A-G clears the air
Monday, December 05, 2016
THE Fiji Government says Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama's presence and speech at the launch of the Instacharge app was not an endorsement of the much maligned mobile application.
Minister for Economy and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the occasion merely afforded the PM an opportunity to outline Fiji's progress in the ICT sector.
"He used the occasion to actually highlight Fiji's position in the ICT sector, he did not at any stage endorse the product, he did not say the product works, he did not say I'm pleased to launch this application.
"He essentially used the opportunity to highlight the fact that Fiji has made great strides in telecommunications, in particular in the ICT sector."
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said if the PM was to have endorsed the app, the Government would have first verified the product.
"Of course there were other people there too, we had some heads of missions who were at the launch, the head of Digicel was also there from what we understand, it does not mean that by their mere presence that they were saying the application works."
He added the app was not for sale in Fiji and would not be unless mobile providers Digicel and Vodafone gave it the thumbs up, adding Fiji also had proper legislation and consumer representation bodies to ensure consumers were not duped.
"Should there be any issues pertaining to consumer rights being in any way breached we have enough protection, we also have the Fair Trading Act that is in place we also have the Fiji Commerce Commission and the Consumer Council of Fiji so all of that can be put to rest."
The app has been widely criticised for what experts say are its impossible promises to store extra battery charge when a phone is charged overnight.
Once the battery runs low, the app creators — American Douglas Stewart and his Fijian businessman partner Gaurangbhai Patel claim the extra charge can then be returned to the phone through the app.
However, this has not been independently verified. Source: Fiji Times, 5 December 2006
Monday, December 05, 2016
THE Fiji Government says Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama's presence and speech at the launch of the Instacharge app was not an endorsement of the much maligned mobile application.
Minister for Economy and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the occasion merely afforded the PM an opportunity to outline Fiji's progress in the ICT sector.
"He used the occasion to actually highlight Fiji's position in the ICT sector, he did not at any stage endorse the product, he did not say the product works, he did not say I'm pleased to launch this application.
"He essentially used the opportunity to highlight the fact that Fiji has made great strides in telecommunications, in particular in the ICT sector."
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said if the PM was to have endorsed the app, the Government would have first verified the product.
"Of course there were other people there too, we had some heads of missions who were at the launch, the head of Digicel was also there from what we understand, it does not mean that by their mere presence that they were saying the application works."
He added the app was not for sale in Fiji and would not be unless mobile providers Digicel and Vodafone gave it the thumbs up, adding Fiji also had proper legislation and consumer representation bodies to ensure consumers were not duped.
"Should there be any issues pertaining to consumer rights being in any way breached we have enough protection, we also have the Fair Trading Act that is in place we also have the Fiji Commerce Commission and the Consumer Council of Fiji so all of that can be put to rest."
The app has been widely criticised for what experts say are its impossible promises to store extra battery charge when a phone is charged overnight.
Once the battery runs low, the app creators — American Douglas Stewart and his Fijian businessman partner Gaurangbhai Patel claim the extra charge can then be returned to the phone through the app.
However, this has not been independently verified. Source: Fiji Times, 5 December 2006
