Fiji Legalises Its Ports Authority
p. 63 · Read in the full issue
From a Suva correspondent
The Fiji Ports Authority, which had been operating unofficially for some time, was able to constitute its board recently, following the passage of legislation. The chairman is the Minis ter for Communications, Mr Ted Bed does. The other members are Messrs Bob Dods (Secretary for Transport and Tourism), Savenaca Siwatibau (Secretary for Finance), Loh Heng Kee (Director-General of the Ports Authority), P. J. J. Corbett and Eddie Wong.
The authority will take over re sponsibility for ports in Fiji. It will operate as a profit-making body, and is required by law to provide and maintain efficient services in all Fiji’s main ports.
Mr Loh, who was recruited from Singapore to be director-general, spent some months laying the groundwork for the authority. One of his problems was congestion in wharf sheds, parti cularly in Suva. He came up with inland freight stations (IFS). The first one was in the old RNZAF hangar at Laucala Bay. There are others at Walu Bay, Amy Street and the King’s Wharf.
Excess cargo at Suva is transferred to an IFS to be properly stored, marked and sorted for delivery to im porters. Apart from relieving conges tion, this move has helped to reduce pilferage.
With the storage problem at King’s Wharf eliminated, ships will not now
have to anchor in the stream, waiting for cargo space.
The authority had its genesis in 1972 with the appointment of a com mission of inquiry into ways and means of improving facilities in Fiji ports. The commission, of which Mr Loh Heng Kee was chairman, duly made its report, recommending, among other things, that a ports authority be set up.
The authority’s main efforts, initially, at least, will be directed to the three ports of entry—Suva, Lau toka and Levuka. It will extend its services to other ports to co-ordinate services throughout the country.
Training programmes and refresher courses will be arranged for dock workers and other employees. These are aimed at improving productivity.
“This would involve the upgrading of skills of the operational staff, in cluding comprehensive training pro grammes for managerial staff,” Mr Loh said. “Comprehensive training will lead to modern cargo handling methods such as container operations and other highly mechanised facilities yet to be introduced.”
Naturally there will be a huge capi tal expenditure, but it will be well worth it if cargo flows smoothly through to the importer, and it eli minates that all-embracing frustrating phrase a purchaser, after some urgently needed item, so often hears, “It’s on the wharf”.