Govt - Things to Look Forward to in 2012! - What about you?

Jan 01|18:06 pm

2012 New Years Message

Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama

My fellow Fijians, it is with much pleasure that I extend to all of you my warmest wishes as we begin this New Year. I also extend best wishes to all of our friends in the region and to all of you who are visiting our beautiful island nation.

I look forward with anticipation to this coming year as a time of further progress.

My fellow Fijians we have been in the process of establishing a nation that truly empowers all Fijians. My government has been and will continue to provide tools to improve our daily lives and fulfil your ambitions. It is also important that we have the tools to compete with our peers in the international community.

Modernization, the removal of institutionalized discrimination, addressing corruption and the ability to think outside traditional prejudices could not have taken place without your assistance and collaboration. The success of these policies is a testimony of your commitment to a modern, just and liberal Fiji.

All of us must continue to come together in this New Year to help our nation realize its great potential. We must all work in concert to improve the lives of all Fijians, at every level – the poor, the marginalized, the land owners, the farmers, the businessmen and women, the small traders, potential investors, employees, rural dwellers, city dwellers, those in the islands, women, the homeless, the disabled and our youth.

As I announced in my budget address, with the tax reforms, Fijians will have 53.1 million dollars more in their hands from 2012. You must use this additional money wisely. Think about the future. Think long term.

Indeed the entire tax structure is also being reformed to stimulate foreign investment, small business growth, to create more jobs and look after those on the margins of our society.

We will dedicate more funding to further improve our educational and social programs. We will commit more funds to provide better health care facilities while creating awareness of the merits of healthy living.

You will also see improved access in telecommunications, with more people being connected to mobile phones, internet and at affordable pricing.

Our focus on infrastructure development will continue. Roads, bridges, airports, street lighting, access to water and electricity will continue to be built and improved.

The private sector including small businesses will continue to get access to improved tools and a conducive environment to help grow our economy further.

My fellow Fijians I am painfully aware that for decades, Fiji was mismanaged and hindered by greed and selfishness. Fiji has changed. We must however be vigilant. Corruption and prejudice must not be permitted in our modern nation. You and I must not allow a few to dictate the destiny of our country for their own selfish needs.

Therefore, when the consultations for the new constitution commences in 2012 your must think responsibly. You must think of and for the future.

There are certain features of the new constitution that will be non-negotiable. The constitution must establish a government that is founded on an electoral system that guarantees equal suffrage – a truly democratic system based on the principle of one person, one vote, one value; We will not have a system that will classify Fijians based on ethnicity; and, Our young men and women, those 18 years old must have the right to vote.

I will in the next few weeks announce the nationwide consultation process which will commence in February 2012.

To facilitate this consultation process, the Public Emergency Regulations will cease from 7 January 2012.

We must all remember that public order, protecting the vulnerable and safeguarding the economy will always be paramount. We must also as a nation be intolerant of those that seek refuge and political power in religious, ethnic and communal divisions.

My fellow Fijians, we can only achieve success if all of us take part in the modernising of Fiji and if we think nationally.

All Fijians are and must be one. 2012 is going to be a time of further empowerment. 2012 is going to be a time for greater accomplishment for our nation and our people.

I wish all of you - citizens, friends and visitors - a happy and successful New Year.

Fiji PER to Cease - Thank You Mr. Prime Minister!

Fiji’s Public Emergency Regulations To Cease On 7th January 2012

Jan 01|17:59 pm

Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama today announced that the Public Emergency Regulations will cease by January 7th, 2012.

In his New Year’s Message, the Prime Minister said that he would ‘in the next few weeks’ announce a nationwide consultation process for a new constitution for the country.

“The constitution must establish a government that is founded on an electoral system that guarantees equal suffrage – a truly democratic system based on the principle of one person, one vote, one value; We will not have a system that will classify Fijians based on ethnicity; and, Our young men and women, those 18 years old must have the right to vote”, Prime Minister Bainimarama said.

He said that in order to facilitate this process, the Public Emergency Regulations commonly known as the PER would cease by the 7th of January, this year.

“We must all remember that public order, protecting the vulnerable and safeguarding the economy will always be paramount. We must also as a nation, be intolerant of those that seek refuge and political power in religious, ethnic and communal divisions”, the Prime Minister said.

Japan Govt welcomes lifting of PER

The Japanese Government has welcomed the decision made by Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama to lift the Public Emergency Regulation this Saturday.

In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan it said that with the PER coming to an end this weekend and the consultation of the new constitution starting next month, the international community should value these measures as a positive step forward.

Japan sincerely hopes that Fiji will continue to take concrete action towards free and fair election in 2014 and it intends to maintain close dialogue with the Fijian authorities as it is ready to provide necessary support.

Australia urges Fiji to restore democracy

Australia on Tuesday said Fiji's announcement that it would lift emergency laws was a “first step” but urged the Pacific state to restore democracy as soon as possible.

Fiji's Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama said Monday that the regulations, including tight censorship of the news media and a ban on public meetings, would be removed and talks begin on a new constitution.

“What we are seeing from Commodore Bainimarama is the announcement of a first step,” Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.

“But from the point of view of the Australian government all steps need to be taken to restore democracy to Fiji.”

“That has been our consistent call.”

In his New Year message, Bainimarama said the emergency laws -- which were imposed in 2009 after a Fiji court ruled his 2006 coup was illegal -- would be lifted on Saturday to pave the way for consultation on a new constitution.

“I will, over the next few weeks, announce the nationwide consultation process which will commence in February 2012,” Bainimarama said.

Australia and New Zealand have called stridently for a return to democracy in the nation, a significant economic and travel hub in the South Pacific, and Gillard warned that Bainimarama had failed in the past to deliver on pledges.

Initial promises for an early return to democracy failed to result in elections, leaving Fiji facing sanctions from many countries and suspension from the Commonwealth. Bainimarama has promised elections in 2014.

“Getting rid of these emergency regulations is a first step, having a consultation period is a first step too. But these steps need to be followed up by further action,” Gillard told reporters in Sydney.

“As soon as possible democracy should be restored in Fiji.”

Meanwhile, the announcement that the emergency regulations will be lifted on January 7 has been welcomed by New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully who says the Government has been calling for the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations as an important step towards the holding of free and fair elections.

“We'll have to wait and see if the Commodore can be taken at his word but it's a step in the right direction,” says McCully, adding that he also welcomes the announcement that public consultations will commence on a new constitution in February.

While a range of steps will be required before free and fair elections can be held, these are important moves in the right direction, he said.

“The international community will want to see these changes improve the lives and freedoms of ordinary Fijians."

The latest developments in Suva were also welcomed by the Commonwealth Secretariat, which said the announcements would clear the way for free and fair elections.

“The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, called this a positive step, which was long overdue,” a secretariat spokesperson said Monday.

Sharma hoped that the consultations on a new constitution would be fully inclusive, “clearing the way for credible elections and the return of a democratically elected government without further delay”, the statement added.

Bainimarama said that even though the emergency regulations were being lifted, “public order, protecting the vulnerable and safeguarding the economy will always be paramount”.

He said that the new constitution must establish a democratic, elected government.

US, UK welcomes Fiji’s move to lift Public Emergency Regulations

The United States of America has welcomed the lifting of the Public Emergency Regulations.

A spokesman for the US Embassy said, “In concert with our regional partners, we have consistently called for the lifting of the PER as a critical step towards the holding of free, fair and fully transparent elections”.

“The United States also welcomes the government's announcement of a February start to public consultations on a new Constitution.

“We look forward to an open and inclusive consultative dialogue leading to the creation of constitutional processes guaranteeing the rights and institutional framework required for truly democratic elections,” said the spokesman in a statement

Meanwhile, the Government of the United Kingdom welcomes the announcement made by Commodore Bainimarama to lift the Public Emergency Regulations (PERs) on 7 January 2012. 

Acting British High Commissioner, Martin Fidler said, “The United Kingdom, together with other members of the international community, has been calling for the lifting of the Regulations as an important step towards the holding of free and fair elections. 

We look forward to a public consultation process on a new Constitution which will commence in February 2012. It is important that this process,” he said in a statement.

Who is who in this Casino deal?

Mr. Larry Claunch wanted to develop Nukudrau Island in Vanua Levu in 2008 with the help of 100 Sands (Fiji) Ltd but failed. Now he is trying to get the Snoqualmie Tribe, also apart of the 100 Sands Investment deal to bring in the Casino.


At the first place, Snoqualmie Tribe are not running their Casino well enough to get profit but to pay their debt. Who is involved in both cases? Mr. Larry Claunch is the Chairman in both cases.


Mr. Larry Claunch, you got an explanation to make to the people of Fiji before March 2012. Please do the honourable thing and explain yourself.


Secondly, those responsible should have done their homework. If you can't take the heat in present Govt or situation, get off the bus and find your way home!


Due to Public, Bloggers and special demand I need to be back on line again!

Happy Christmas!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2011

Fiji's new casino team 'fails to bring prosperity to tribal members'

SNOQUALMIE SEATTLE CASINO: Projected profits have not eventuated.

Tribal lockout

The Native American casino team the investor Larry Claunch says will help him develop the casino in Denerau and Suva has been revealed to be bringing in just a quarter of the revenue it promised its 600-strong members.

Claunch was granted the exclusive licence to run Fiji's first casino this week and he named the Snoqualmie tribe as the outfit that would help him develop the casinos.

But the Seattle Times has revealed Snoqualmie has failed to generate the profits tribal members expected, despite the showpiece casino it opened in Seattle last November. In an article titled 'Big pay off eluding tribe,' reporter Lynda Mapes says she has obtained information which shows Snoqualmie has been faced with budget cuts and layoffs. 

She cites a memo written by a grant and contract administration consultant, Henry Grant, to the tribal council and administrator which says: "The adopted budget for 2009 ... has proved to be wildly inaccurate. Gaming revenue is $250,000 a month instead of $1,000,000 a month. A combination of cutbacks and loan funding is imperative to avoid financial collapse."

The Seattle Times also says the tribe is in political turmoil again thanks to a dispute over elections in 2008, and that it continues to be wracked by a fallout in the leadership, to the point it's not meeting regularly.

The paper says the memo singled out unresolved federal audit findings questioning costs dating back to 2004 that could potentially exceed $1 million saying the tribe is working with old overhead rates on contracts, which hurts cash flow and that finance office is not staffed to handle the volume and complexity of transactions it sees.

It also says staff lacks training.

The administrator Henry Flood reveals Snoqualmie was not keeping current on reimbursements on some contracts and grants, had advanced "large sums of money" without getting paid back, and that inaccurate record keeping made getting paid more challenging. Flood also found the tribe has "major problems" organizing, tracking and monitoring its awarded contracts and grants, and that financial reports on many grants and contracts are 'delinquent.'

A spokesperson for the Bureau of Indian Affairs says the tribe can't fix these problems because it's been plagued by infighting but the tribe's administrative offices were padlocked and some of its federal funds frozen.


The Seattle Times story quotes a tribal administrator Matt Matson as saying he had"closed the tribal center and central records facility to allow all parties to think about their options." He said the tribe was facing the prospect of the U.S. government assuming administrative control of the tribal government. 

According to the Seattle Times, the tribe's casino has continued to function but there are questions about how much longer.

Big pay off eluding troubled tribe

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009945847_snoq26m.html

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011

MIxed reaction from American Indian tribe backing Fiji casino venture

Snoqualmie slot machines and tables.

 Snoqualmie Tribe plans to invest in a casino operation in Fiji

December 23, 2011
By Staff

By Lynda Mapes, Seattle Times staff reporter

In its latest business venture the Snoqualmie Tribe is looking all the way to Fiji.

The Fijian government announced Tuesday its decision to grant the nation’s first-ever exclusive gambling license to One Hundred Sands, which has announced plans to build a $290 million, five-star luxury casino resort on Denarau Island, in a partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe.

“One Hundred Sands has taken care to strategically partner with the Snoqualmie Tribe from Washington State and Seventh Generation LLC, a Native American company with demonstrated excellence establishing new casinos,” said Larry Claunch, chairman of One Hundred Sands, in a news release issued by the prime minister’s office.

In a telephone interview, Claunch said he and the tribe have been talking for about five months, and while the tribe hasn’t yet put any money into the deal, they are negotiating the tribe’s financial stake. The tribe has committed to joining the venture as a partner, Claunch said, and will have ownership in the casino, as well as an active advisory role.

“They are going to be advising us on very aspect of casino management,” said Claunch, a retired developer of retirement homes who moved to Fiji from Salem, Ore., about 10 years ago.

He said the conversations got started with Snoqualmie tribal administrator Matt Mattson first, when Mattson traveled to Fiji and investigated the possibilities.

The new venture is a long way — nearly 6,000 miles — from the tribe’s casino, which opened in 2008 with a $330 million debt. The tribe swung open the doors right at the bottom of the recession and in the middle of one of the worst winters in years. The tribe’s budget, built on rosier expectations, cratered.

The tribe has since restructured its debt, and the casino is doing better, reports by outside analysts show, and its bond rating has improved.

And now the tribe apparently has new business prospects. Fresh from his seaplane, Claunch said Wednesday he would be joining Tribal Chairwoman Shelley Burch and her brother Pat Barker, a hereditary chief for the tribe, for dinner. The two are in Fiji to continue talks about the tribe’s stake in the business, he said. Neither would return calls for comment, and neither did Mattson.

Claunch said he beat out more than 50 other competitors for the sole gambling license granted by the Fijian government, in part he said because of his inclusion of a Native American tribe in the venture. He said that was important to him personally, because he liked the operations tribes run in the United States. Of the Snoqualmies, he said, “I have visited their casino and it’s spectacular, I so admire the work they have done.”

Paxton Myers, chief of staff for the National Indian Gaming Commission, said the federal agency only regulates Indian gambling on U.S. trust land, so the venture is outside of U. S. regulatory purview. The Washington State Gambling Commission has no jurisdiction over the venture, either.

The news, first reported in the Fiji Times, was controversial back in Washington state.

“It’s hurting our tribe; it’s pretty sad,” said Kanium Ventura, elected to the tribal council in September 2007. He was later suspended by the council in an internal dispute, a move later overturned by the tribal court, but then renewed by the tribal council again.

“They are supposed to take this to the membership,” Ventura said. “There is no benefits for us at Fiji; I don’t think it will make much.”

Some Washington state tribal leaders were surprised by the news.

“In Fiji! Wow. That’s interesting,” said W. Ron Allen, chairman of the executive committee of the Washington Indian Gaming Association and chairman of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe.

“I’m delighted for them. Extending outside your reservation comfort zone is unique.”

He said he had expected the tribe to invest in a resort at its existing casino, not enter a new venture.

Other tribes have looked at gambling operations in other locations, including the Muckleshoot, which for a time looked into partnering in a tribally owned casino in Las Vegas — before dropping the idea.

But the Snoqualmies are believed to be the first tribe in Washington, and perhaps the country, Allen said, to enter into a gambling operation overseas. “It makes you scratch your head a little bit,” Allen said.

Allen said his tribe has successfully launched businesses outside Washington state, including a health - and medical-supply company in California and a construction corporation that works all over the country. But the tribe has never worked up a partnership or investment outside the United States.

“We’d be pretty conservative about that. When you are so far removed, it can cause you some concern.”

The latest move by the Snoqualmies comes at a time when the tribe is struggling with other issues, including an enrollment audit in response to allegations that many tribal members, including some of its leaders, don’t meet the one-eighth blood-quantum requirement in the tribe’s constitution to be Snoqualmie.

The tribe less than a year ago spent $14 million to buy out the contract of its former casino CEO’s employment contract.

The first phase of the Fiji project will include a luxury resort and casino with 500 slot machines, convention center and banquet facilities.

In a prepared statement, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said the venture “provides a malleable fusion between the Western ideas of casino gaming with the strong cultural values of tribal and community life.”

Groundbreaking is proposed in March, 2012.

http://snovalleystar.com/2011/12/23/snoqualmie-tribe-plans-to-invest-in-a-casino-operation-in-fiji

http://snocasino.com/gaming/table-games/ 

Gaming Licence 100 Sands Ltd (Fiji) Back Ground Check - Snoqualmie Tribe

Snoqualmie Tribe plans to invest in a casino operation in Fiji

(Deal Needs to be Double Checked by those Responsible!!!) 

By Lynda Mapes, Seattle Times staff reporter

December 23, 2011

In its latest business venture the Snoqualmie Tribe is looking all the way to Fiji.

The Fijian government announced Tuesday its decision to grant the nation’s first-ever exclusive gambling license to One Hundred Sands, which has announced plans to build a $290 million, five-star luxury casino resort on Denarau Island, in a partnership with the Snoqualmie Tribe.

“One Hundred Sands has taken care to strategically partner with the Snoqualmie Tribe from Washington State and Seventh Generation LLC, a Native American company with demonstrated excellence establishing new casinos,” said Larry Claunch, chairman of One Hundred Sands, in a news release issued by the prime minister’s office.

In a telephone interview, Claunch said he and the tribe have been talking for about five months, and while the tribe hasn’t yet put any money into the deal, they are negotiating the tribe’s financial stake. The tribe has committed to joining the venture as a partner, Claunch said, and will have ownership in the casino, as well as an active advisory role.

“They are going to be advising us on very aspect of casino management,” said Claunch, a retired developer of retirement homes who moved to Fiji from Salem, Ore., about 10 years ago.

He said the conversations got started with Snoqualmie tribal administrator Matt Mattson first, when Mattson traveled to Fiji and investigated the possibilities.

The new venture is a long way — nearly 6,000 miles — from the tribe’s casino, which opened in 2008 with a $330 million debt. The tribe swung open the doors right at the bottom of the recession and in the middle of one of the worst winters in years. The tribe’s budget, built on rosier expectations, cratered.

The tribe has since restructured its debt, and the casino is doing better, reports by outside analysts show, and its bond rating has improved.

And now the tribe apparently has new business prospects. Fresh from his seaplane, Claunch said Wednesday he would be joining Tribal Chairwoman Shelley Burch and her brother Pat Barker, a hereditary chief for the tribe, for dinner. The two are in Fiji to continue talks about the tribe’s stake in the business, he said. Neither would return calls for comment, and neither did Mattson.

.............................................................

Fiji real estate still on the radar

by Chris Hutching | Tuesday July 08, 2008

Nukudrau Island is the latest piece of Fiji real estate being marketed in the face of coups and credit crunches.
Located in Natewa Bay, "the largest bay in the southern hemisphere and off the beautiful and exotic northern island of Vanua Levu in Fiji, lies this tropical paradise," the marketing blurb claims.
Visitors get to the island by yacht or private seaplane from Nadi Airport. The offer is for 24 beachfront, private freehold home sites varying between 1000sq m and 2.5ha in size and priced from $795,000. Land and villa packages are also available.
Nukudrau Island is being developed by 100 Sands Ltd (Fiji), a development company that has carried out developments in the US, the UK and Canada under the company name of Holiday Retirement Corporation, both companies managed by the same directors.
Only 8% of Fijian land is freehold and there are no restrictions on buying property in Fiji (although investors may wish to learn about repatriating money from Fiji in the event they wish to sell their property).
The developers also offer 30 moorings that can cater for large boats.
All relevant property titles, leaseholds, building permits and infrastructure are in place for buyers wishing to build their island home. Villas will be designed by architect Peter Rankin from AAPI Design. The villas include modern appliances and staff employed by a body corporate will manage the properties.