Have lifejacket,

Letters

Have lifejacket, will travel

I WAS more than interested to read Douglas M. Thorsen’s article on the ‘Traps and Trappings on the Ferries of Tonga’ in the June edition of PIM in which he has an interesting rundown of a voyage on the Fokololo-oe Hau, an inter-island cargo-passenger vessel.

Being a keen ship-lover and traveller I was most absorbed in the article until mention was made of the fact that the ship carried two well-equipped 50-person life boats plus six 20-persons life-rafts which, according to my math ematics, adds up to 220 people and yet Mr Thorsen made mention that when he went up on deck he found about 500

men, women and children camped out on their mats under makeshift awnings between mooring-bollards, engine room casings and hatch coamings on the boat deck and upper deck.

Under these circumstances it would appear that if, for any reason, the ship went down, up to 280 people would be left without life-saving equipment and it

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leaves one wondering about his final statement whereby he advised that if and when he makes another trip to the Kingdom of Tonga he will “surely travel in this one” I hope he carries his own lifejacket!

Michael Brown, Browns Plains, Queensland

Competing for

development

I WAS interested to read the article in March’s issue by David North entitled Tutting a price tag on development’.

THE idea of levying developers for additional infrastructure costs directly necessitated by their developments is not new to Fiji. Suva City Council does it already in the form of carparking contributions payable for certain areas of Central Suva and in lieu of physically providing carparking. This forms part of a condition of Development Permission and when paid, goes into a special fund to be used for the acquisition of land for

carparking purposes.

However Suva, like the rest of Fiji and I suspect other islands in this part of the Pacific, are limited in the amount they can charge and on the range of infra structure they can charge for.

This is because Suva and other parts of Fiji are strongly competing for devel opment and high levies act as a deterrent unless market conditions are favourable to the city or to the authority.

The result is Suva, like other parts of Fiji, are in a quandary. If the full costs are charged for all additional infrastruc ture necessary, development will prob ably not take place. However, if these are not charged then development is being subsidised.

D. Carswell, Suva, Fiji