Ugar Report

Letter To The Editor

Will Restore

Confidence

—The Sugar Inquiry Re

s a model for its lucidity, of presentation and ex :e, which if acted upon

bring lasting benefits to

see it—so important has the gar industry become to the lie well-being of Fiji—that •y powers are being sought to it against irresponsible acts one who might hinder the in- No longer is it to remain the ng of hitherto irreconcilable s. Another important measure to control the very valuable nds, the total acreage of which lively small (125,000) com o the overall acreage of arable most vital recommendation is se the one seeking co-operation veryone connected with the in and if this means to succeed, crimination must be laid aside, fresh start made.

"Good Fortune" much emphasis cannot be laid good fortune that Fiji enjoys iarticipation in the quota allo o her by the Commonwealth Agreement, which has eight to run, having regard to the critical market situation, due world prices and over produc fhe benefits should be obvious but they should be brought ;o those people in Fiji who do ireciale them. e allocation of an extra 50,000 E sugar to Fiji's quota comes as recommended, through the races of the other participating ts of the Commonwealth Sugar sent, the Colony can indeed her lucky stars. But in any he industry must show that it ible of taking up its full quota ly for the benefit of Fiji gener □d acting responsibly, and not te its good fortune and heritage ourse to strife and internal dis f, otherwise the Colony could isastrous consequences if it lost its valuable quota. The Sugar T must realise that it has an ding responsibility to the

Colony to make full use of its con cessions, as well as insisting on its rights.

The Fiji Government, it is hoped, will act with speed to implement its part of the report. It must also assist in bringing harmony to the industry thus restoring confidence in the Colony, which is badly needed, as it took a bad shaking as a result of the unfortunate happenings last year.

The millers will no doubt ex peditiously attend to their side of the bargain. They have made their mis takes, mainly in the field of public relations and dissemination of infor mation relating to their activities. For instance reluctance to give informa tion about their fixed Fijian assets when they were re-valued and in other matters, caused some doubts to be cast by some people on their business integrity.

Fringe Benefits

It was pleasing to see, however, that their reputation did not suffer on this score when these matters and their accounts were investigated and found in order.

It is also my opinion that the millers’ services to their Fiji workers and to the growers would be better appreciated by both the latter, if the fringe benefits were lumped to gether and the benefit shown in cash and deductions made or charged for the benefits received.

No answer was given to the ques tion why the millers’ fixed assets were revalued in Fiji in 1957 and not in Australia. It appears to me that the industry in Australia being com paratively stable and not having to face the same issues as prevailed in Fiji, it therefore did not pose the same problems. Apart from bringing values up to date my guess is that the millers’ directors, as prudent business men in re-valuing the fixed Fijian assets, had a two-fold purpose in mind (a) to bring values up to date and help towards a bonus issue, and (b) to meet any possible threat, had they been faced with no alternative but to get out of Fiji as best they could.

Yours,

David P. Ragg.

Suva and Sydney.

A series of checks carried out by the Fiji Public Works Department over the last six months has re vealed that water has been running to waste from defective pipes in the Suva area at the rate of 37 million gallons a year. This is the loss of water on private property, with the leaks between the meters and the houses, so that consumers have had to foot the bill.