When people in General hear the place called Fiji, they automatically tune into holiday mode visualising sandy beaches and clear pristine ocean with unspoilt natural forests, which is obviously true and you have to visit to realise what paradise really means.....
For the travellers, the vacationists and tourists, you will step into a different dimension where you experience both the past and the modern in one timeline where happiness finds you. However, for the locals it portrays a different dimension, a different light and a totally different life. For those who do not know, well Fiji despite its' beauty it has also had its fair share of troubles. An Island Nation who has witnessed and suffered through four military coups. Worst off, the recent coup was in 2006 and the actual person who conducted this coup is Fiji's current Prime Minister and has been running our Government since 2006. I shall say no more on the matter as you can all source the stories on the net.
My gripe comes to locals when applying for certain licences and requesting assistance through Government departments which for Fiji with a population of less than a million is 'like pulling teeth'. I kid you not, to request for a simple business license you have to visit an approximate of 7 offices before you can get a form to then lodge your request, it then takes another week before you get an answer! Trying to cut this blog short, I did exactly as they asked and went through the whole rigmarole of running here and there, which I didn't mind initially as I had a dream, I wanted to do something for the people, for our beautiful country and because it was a new concept, I wrongly thought that the process will run smoothly...uh oh, how wrong was I. Having a new concept is actually one of the worst headaches of all as despite explaining the idea, the mentality intake of our Government staff, always starts with a wow! but follows with a look on their face stating the obvious "I haven't got a clue what to do here?"
For setting up an Electric vehicle into an ice cream and food cart which are already fully functioning in most 1st world countries, ooops, nope, not Fiji! Fiji has no policy, they have no specifications and they literally have no clue! I will not apologise for this post as I have literally walked, ran, pleaded and begged for those concerned to open their eyes to research the world and make a damn decision! One issue I have clearly noticed within our various departments having visited the Directors and Leaders is that they are scared to make a decision, they are scared of liabilities and due to the nature of business from our number 1 man, others below are scared! As the famous adage goes - "The river only flows downstream".
It's been a year since we submitted our licence and after so many referrals we're still waiting. The last update was a week ago having spoken to a major player, a Director and this was his reply "This is a new concept in Fiji and the roads are owned by FRA, therefore we are writing up a policy as we have never had one before" Seriously? Our City Council hasn't got a Policy and not only that, why has it taken a year for them to realise that the world has evolved and has never stood still! Anyway, I shall keep my anger to myself and hope for the better that things will soon turn the right course and all this red tape and bureaucracy will change and provide our officials some common sense rather than following policy that was drafted during the dark ages!!!!