Pacific Islands Monthly

A colony in search of a dominion sized pot of gold

From a Suva correspondent The colony of Fiji is involved to the hilt with the paraphernalia of independence. There is sc much to be done before the new flag goes up on October 10 and Fiji becomes a Commonwealth dominion.

Part of the independence celebra tions will be an ecumenical service in which all religions will take part.

This is just one of the ideas being worked out by a committee set up to plan the events.

The committee also has to fix such problems as accommodating all the official guests from overseas and pro viding transport for them.

The committee has decided that the precedent followed by most ex colonies in hoisting their flags at midnight will not be followed by Fiji.

Prince Charles?

Instead, the flag will be broken some time during October 10, but the actual time has still to be decided.

The general form of the celebra tion is also incomplete and will re main so until the identity of the Queen’s representative—everyone is expecting Prince Charles—is known.

However the committee has re commended that they should be spread over three days, October 10 to 12, with the main ceremony at Suva.

Fiji Government Ministers have been returning individually from the London constitutional conference, some of them holding out prospects of millions of dollars worth of new investment of loan finance for Fiji in the early stages of independence.

The Governor, Sir Robert Foster, announced that Fiji’s next five-year development plan, to be launched next year, is aimed at a 6 per cent, increase in the national income.

And Sir Robert added that “measures are being taken” to en sure that a viable and efficient solu tion is found to the problems of the sugar industry. An expert adviser is expected soon from Britain.

Sir Robert, in the Legislative Coun cil, outlined the Alliance Govem

ment’s plans for the next 12 months.

His address, the equivalent of the opening of parliament in Westminster by the Queen, was historic, because Sir Robert is the last in a long line of colonial Governors to make a once-a-year call on the Legislative Council to deliver a review of the past year and a preview of the next one. Next year the speech will be given by a Governor-General (who will probably be Sir Robert).

His speech disclosed the govern ment’s intention to establish a national marketing authority and to press on with the rapid expansion of

agriculture, fisheries, forestry, in

dustry and tourism.

Tourism was expected to gross $32 million this year and by the end of 1971, 700 extra hotel bed

rooms would have been built at a cost of $7 million.

Consultants would be hired to draft a master development plan for tourism, work on the $5 million ex pansion of Nadi Airport would start this year and a master plan for the development of Nausori Airport to handle jets would be prepared.

New industries

New industries in prospect in cluded leather-tanning, shipbuilding, fruit and vegetable processing and a jute bag manufacturing plant, and to aid exports taxes on them would be lifted.

Legislation to facilitate oil ex ploration would be enacted, and the government would expand teacher

Under the new plans for a viable economy after independence the industrial section of Suva, shown in this aerial photo by A. G. Shearer, will have even more significance. For other bird's eye pictures by Captain Shearer of Pacific reference points see pages 51-53.

training and begin the design of a school curriculum based on Fiji, in stead of New Zealand and English examinations.

After Sir Robert’s speech, the legis lature started a two-day debate on a motion asking Britain to establish Fiji as an independent sovereign State on October 10 this year.

The resolution, moved by the Chief Minister, Ratau Sir Kamisese Mara, and seconded by Opposition Leader Mr. S. K. Koya, also asked Britain to support Fiji’s application for Com monwealth membership.

Approved unanimously, it sealed the report of the conference at Marlborough House, London, in May, at which terms for a new constitu tion and independence were worked out by all members of the legislature in negotiation with Lord Shepherd, British Minister for Commonwealth and Foreign Affairs.

New investment

Returned from the constitutional talks, Minister for Commerce, In dustry and Co-operatives, Mr. Vijay R. Singh, reported (outside the council) that in New York he had met officials of the Chase Man hattan Bank, which was interested in putting over $1 million into the manufacture of desiccated coconut in Fiji.

Another US trading corporation would take the product on a 15-year contract basis.

Mr. Singh said a Chicago group of investors was contemplating the start of a manufacturing business which would involve investment of several million dollars.

If this came to fruition, it would be the biggest industry in Fiji outside of sugar, Mr. Singh said.

He added that the United Nations Industry Development Organisation in Vienna would send a mission to discuss the setting up of a rum manufacturing plant, and another factory using sugar by-products for a process which, for the time being, he did not want to specify.

Finance Minister Mr. Wesley Barrett, arrived from London, New York and Washington to report that a multi-million dollar loan from the World Bank to finance the recon struction of the 150-mile-long road between Suva and Nadi Airport should be arranged by the end of the year. He had been told that the loan was conditional on Fiji becom ing a member of the International Monetary Fund.

Membership of the IMF would put a “stamp of approval on Fiji currency, an important factor in gaining the confidence of other

potential loan sources”, Mr. Barrett added.

His talks with Bank of England officials concerning Fiji’s currency system would probably lead to the creation of a Reserve Bank. Future financial policy would definitely not include restrictions on repatriation of profits or capital by overseas in vestors.

Such restrictions would only frighten investors off, and the country needed all the overseas investment it could get.

Mr. Barrett said the Crown Agents in London had advised that $2O million Fiji had invested abroad in long-term loans should stay where it was.

Work on the $5 million extension of Nadi Airport to enable it to cope efficiently with 350-passenger Boeing 747’s and supersonic Concorde air

liners might be brought forward by several months, reported Mr. Charles Stinson, Minister for Communica tions, Works and Tourism.

Britain, Australia and New Zea land have agreed in principle to pay for the work and Mr. Stinson said his talks with British and Australian officials on the subject had been “most satisfactory”.

In London, a firm of road consult ants engaged by the Fiji Government told Mr. Stinson that it should be possible to invite tenders for the Suva-Nadi road project in October.

In India, Mr. Stinson learnt that the big Tata industrial group of companies wanted to invest in Fiji’s hotel industry after a recent visit to Suva by the group’s chairman, Mr.

J. R. Tata.

Back from London, via Rome, Kenya and Mauritius, Minister for

Natural Resources, Mr. Douglas Brown, was hopeful mainly for United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation aid.

This might cover a skipjack tuna fishing project, a school running short-term courses on farm mechanics, help in fighting banana diseases and in developing livestock raising, and a programme involving the mixing of intensive dairy farming with rice culture.

Another set of statements relevant to the future after independence comes from the Fiji Public Service Com mission, in its 1969 report. It de scribes some 60 “shortcomings” in the administration of Fiji civil ser vice staff affairs.

It said the cases it picked on were not mentioned in any spirit of “carp ing criticism.” It just hoped that de partmental heads would be more thoughtful when recording the qualities, or lack of them, of their subordinates, and that they would re member to check back on personal files in recommending the advance or otherwise of those treading Suva’s corridors of power.

For instance, one department head had said of a junior in February, “an excellent year’s work”, and five months later had condemned the same bright young man as “not qualified for promotion.” Another junior’s record was described as “very poor” by one superior, but in “glowing” terms by two other superiors.

Several department heads had given their juniors top marks in re spect of all 13 questions relating to the qualities under assessment.

“While there may conceivably be such paragons of virtue, they are

very rare indeed” the commission says drily. “Such markings are un likely, to say the least, to be the product of a seriously considered judgment”.

The commission describes the localisation of the civil service as proceeding at “surging speed”. While the number of short-term expatriate officials, around 430, had not changed much, the number of permanent ex patriates had dropped from 235 in 1962 to 128 at the end of 1969.

The proportion of overseas officials in the service as a whole had in the same period dropped from 9.1 to 5.4 per cent.

Britain's new office

“There should now be little doubt about the degree of localisation which has taken place in the civil service,” the commission says.

“Whether the speed with which it has taken, or is taking place is adequate is open to some argument; some think it should be faster while others think that it should be slower; yet others think that it is proceeding at about the right pace.”

Britain has taken over a former Suva night club for its future High Commission office in Fiji.

The UK Government will pay rent of $F8,500 a year to the Suva City Council for the lease of the premises, in Suva’s “Opera House”, the new town hall.

The mayor, Councillor L. G. Usher, said although there was no firm commitment, there was a chance of Britain helping to finance the cost of building the third stage of the city’s civic centre project, including offices which the commission would use.

The Deputy High Commissioner designate, Mr. J. R. W. Parker, has already arrived in Suva and until in dependence, is acting as an adviser

to the Governor, Sir Robert Foster, from the UK Foreign and Com monwealth Office.

Mr. Parker, formerly holder of the post in Nigeria and most recently an assistant head in the defence depart ment of the Foreign and Common wealth Office, said the commission would have a diplomatic staff of about four.

The High Commissioner had not yet been named, but New Zealand’s High Commissioner has been. Sir John Te Herekieki Grace, associated with the Maori Affairs Department, will move into what will be New Zealand’s first diplomatic commission in Fiji of any kind.

The opening of the commission will occur about October and it will operate in conjunction with the New Zealand Pacific Island Trade Com missioners office, which will be moved from Auckland to Suva.