Page 5 - IB July 2021

View From The West

VIRTUAL LEADERSHIP- A NEW NORM?

By Dennis Rounds

During times of national crisis, people look to their gov-
ernment for political leadership, meaningful financial and
welfare assistance, and general reassurance.
The COVID-19 pandemic might not be a war in the true
sense of the word, but for Fijians this year, it has become a
national crisis.
There are daily spikes in the number of people contracting
the virus and the number of related deaths continue to record
a steady rise.
In April last year (2020), when Fiji appeared to have “con-
tained” the spread of COVID-19, there were 17 positive cases
with no deaths.
This led to Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama making a
bold, some might say boastful, statement: “Fiji is now well
on our way to eliminating COVID-19 entirely, and we’re one of
the few nations on Earth who can make that claim. Our prog-
ress has come not from fortune, but through foresight; every Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama
step taken was swift, every decision made was decisive, and
every success we’ve recorded has been well-earned. floundering economy, there’s been little else from the govern-
“It would be easy to say this war has been completely ment on forward planning to contain the COVID pandemic.
won and roll-back every health protection directive in one Even Opposition parliamentarian Dr Biman Prasad’s call for
fell-swoop. But we can never settle for “easy” with a virus the Prime Minister to “come clean” and change the govern-
this devastating and unpredictable. We have no choice but ment’s COVID strategy seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
to continue treating this invisible enemy with deadly serious- At a time when the nation is looking to solid leadership,
ness,” he went on to say. “virtual meetings” on less pressing issues appear to have
Just a year after that statement, towards the end of April become the “new norm”.
2021, Fiji had recorded 77 COVID-positive cases in total, with We hear reports of how foreign donations of Astra Zeneca
65 recoveries and 2 deaths since the first case was reported in vaccines are being welcomed via “virtual meetings” by the
March 2020. Prime Minister.
By the end of May 2021, however, the figures began a dis- There have been reports of prisoners being sent from Suva
turbing upwards trend with Fiji recording 438 positive cases in to cut cane in the western cane fields as a means of kick-
total. There had been 167 recoveries and 4 deaths. starting the new crushing season. The move follows com-
That month, when many Fijians were sound asleep Prime plaints from cane farmers about unsustainable harvesting
Minister Bainimarama made a late- night statement announc- costs resulting from payment shortfalls for their cane deliver-
ing an easing of COVID-related restrictions as a means of ies to sugar mills.
reviving the local economy. There has also been confirmation from the Ministry of
Containment zones came into play and businesses were al- Health that some of those cane cutters have brought the virus
lowed to open with strict health protocols. back to a still-recovering western division.
Then the disturbing “wildfire-like” spread of the more One small town, Tavua, which has been for more than a
deadly Delta variant hit Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. year COVID-free, reported a COVID-positive case involving
By 12 July 2021, there were 9310 active COVID cases in a prison officer sent from Suva as part of the cane-cutting
isolation and 56 deaths in the months from the beginning of force.
April 2021. As I watched the receding tides expose Lautoka’s “dead”
Like most Fijians, I find myself wondering in the Western foreshore, I couldn’t help but wonder whether COVID-19 had
heat, whether the government is still treating the pandemic exposed a “decisive” political indifference to our national
with “deadly seriousness”. crisis.
For once, I miss the occasional “lightning bolts” of “politi-
cal enlightenment” that normally emanate from the corridors editor@islandsbusiness.com
of power in our bustling capital, Suva.
Apart from the growing reports of how the Attorney-General Dennis Rounds is a former owner of Islands Business and a
and Finance Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has been holding veteran journalist.
“virtual meetings” with stakeholders in an effort to revive a

Islands Business, July 2021 5