Does anyone remember the Committee for the Better Utilisation of Land?
CBUL was Frank’s big initiatives in relation to land. He was going to get a better deal for both farmers and landowners. Landowners who renewed leases would get some extra money from the government for a few years and then sometime after the government would look at legislation to decide a fair rent level.
So what happened? Last August we were told that most leases would be renewed. Check it out the promise made last year on the regime’s website:
http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/page_12720.shtml
So has this happened? Nothing! All we hear is that the area devoted to sugar is continuing to shrink.But the lies keep coming. When he was out of the hearing of his fellow countrymen the illegal Foreign Minister, Inoke Kubuabola, told his Sri Lankan counterpart that the interim government was “seeking to bring about reforms on land use and the Constitution in order to bring about a system of equality to both the indigenous people and Fijian Indians”.
But this is all hot air. The regime has done nothing about land because they know they don’t have the democratic mandate to do it. With the constitution abrogated there are no legal obstacles. They could produce a new decree tomorrow if they wanted to.
Landowners might be happy to extend leases by ten years if they know they won’t need to use it for their own purposes over that time span. The problem has been ALTA means that a lease cannot be less than thirty years.
Democracy has not found it easy to deal with the land issue but dictatorship has done nothing but spin lies.
CORRUPTION FIGHTER
Posted by rawfijinews
Friday, September 25, 2009
Mill operations continue to deteriorate badly
The latest crush figures, for the week ending Monday 21 September, indicate the performance of all four sugar mills were down, getting from bad to worse.
The sugar mills crushed a total of 62,000 tonnes cane for the week – with capacity declining to a mere 48%. All four mills were plagued with breakdowns and malfunctioning.
Industry figures for the week are as follows:
Lautoka ………. 19,000 tonnes Rarawai………… 16,000 tonnesLabasa ………….22,000 tonnesPenang…………. 5000 tonnes
Data for sugar manufactured is still being withheld. With more than half the season gone, FSC has crushed just over 1 million tonnes of cane – about 50% of its now revised target of 2.1million. Original targeted figure was 2.45 million tonnes.
The sugar mills crushed a total of 62,000 tonnes cane for the week – with capacity declining to a mere 48%. All four mills were plagued with breakdowns and malfunctioning.
Industry figures for the week are as follows:
Lautoka ………. 19,000 tonnes Rarawai………… 16,000 tonnesLabasa ………….22,000 tonnesPenang…………. 5000 tonnes
Data for sugar manufactured is still being withheld. With more than half the season gone, FSC has crushed just over 1 million tonnes of cane – about 50% of its now revised target of 2.1million. Original targeted figure was 2.45 million tonnes.
Monday, September 14, 2009
More bad news for sugar
The reported $37 million loss for the financial year 2008/2009 is the biggest ever incurred by the Fiji Sugar Corporation.
While attempts have been by the Corporation’s CEO to underplay the huge loss by attributing most of it to abnormal items, it is a well known fact that FSC is in serious financial trouble. It has, for instance, asked for an extension of a five year moratorium on its loan repayment to the Exim Bank of India.
The loss cycle of the Corporation is likely to continue into the future throwing doubts on its long term viability. Three of its four mills are plagued by chronic mechanical problems.
FSC has borrowed heavily and is having difficulty meeting its debt repayment obligations. It is only able to raise long term loans and short term finance on the back of government guarantees.
Latest figures show that crushing is way behind schedule and that only 34% of the estimated crop of 2.4 million tonnes had been crushed by 31st August.
The optimum crushing period is almost over, and from October with the onset of the hot season, the sugar content of cane will begin dropping.
FSC is providing absolutely no information on the sugar manufactured despite repeated requests from the growers’ organisations. This secrecy confirms suspicions that the sugar extraction rate is extremely poor with cane juice filtering into mill mud or converting to molasses. Or, is simply being dumped into the Labasa and Ba Rivers and into the ocean in Lautoka. No wonder the two sugar shipments in July and August were short by some 11,000 tonnes!
The media this week has reported that the Health authorities in Labasa have begun proceedings against FSC for polluting the Qawa River with cane juice. The residents of Ba have been complaining for weeks now to the Town Council and Health authorities to take similar action against FSC for polluting the Ba River but so far their calls have fallen on deaf ears.
One can now see why the Sugar ministry has directed the dissolution of the Sugar Cane Growers council. It is a case of blatant collusion with FSC to remove transparency and accountability from the industry and place it in complete control of the miller.
This move will completely deprive the cane growers of their right of representation and oversight of the industry in which they are supposed to have a 70% stake!
While attempts have been by the Corporation’s CEO to underplay the huge loss by attributing most of it to abnormal items, it is a well known fact that FSC is in serious financial trouble. It has, for instance, asked for an extension of a five year moratorium on its loan repayment to the Exim Bank of India.
The loss cycle of the Corporation is likely to continue into the future throwing doubts on its long term viability. Three of its four mills are plagued by chronic mechanical problems.
FSC has borrowed heavily and is having difficulty meeting its debt repayment obligations. It is only able to raise long term loans and short term finance on the back of government guarantees.
Latest figures show that crushing is way behind schedule and that only 34% of the estimated crop of 2.4 million tonnes had been crushed by 31st August.
The optimum crushing period is almost over, and from October with the onset of the hot season, the sugar content of cane will begin dropping.
FSC is providing absolutely no information on the sugar manufactured despite repeated requests from the growers’ organisations. This secrecy confirms suspicions that the sugar extraction rate is extremely poor with cane juice filtering into mill mud or converting to molasses. Or, is simply being dumped into the Labasa and Ba Rivers and into the ocean in Lautoka. No wonder the two sugar shipments in July and August were short by some 11,000 tonnes!
The media this week has reported that the Health authorities in Labasa have begun proceedings against FSC for polluting the Qawa River with cane juice. The residents of Ba have been complaining for weeks now to the Town Council and Health authorities to take similar action against FSC for polluting the Ba River but so far their calls have fallen on deaf ears.
One can now see why the Sugar ministry has directed the dissolution of the Sugar Cane Growers council. It is a case of blatant collusion with FSC to remove transparency and accountability from the industry and place it in complete control of the miller.
This move will completely deprive the cane growers of their right of representation and oversight of the industry in which they are supposed to have a 70% stake!
Sugar Loss: $120 million not $66m
Fiji’s total sugar export to the EU this season is not likely to be more than 180,000 tonnes at best, according to reliable sources within the industry.
“There is no hope of reaching the export target of 240,000 tonnes as announced by FSC’s chief executive Deo Saran and the Permanent Secretary for Sugar, Pramesh Chand.
“So far only two shipments totalling 49,000 tonnes have left our shores when these should have been 30,000 tonnes each – that is a total of 60,000 tonnes. So, we are already short of 11,000 tonnes on the first two shipments,” says a well connected source.
Industry analysts put the blame for poor export figures on the pathetic performance of the sugar mills which, they say, have so far averaged a TCTS of 13:1. This is 70% more cane to a tonne of sugar.
The TCTS average should be around 8.5 tonnes of cane to a tonne of sugar. This inefficiency of the mills is costing the industry tens of millions in export income of which the growers are bearing 70%.
“There is no longer any accountability or transparency left on the part of FSC and with the dissolution of the Sugar Cane Growers council by the regime, cane growers will be left entirely at the mercy of the miller.
This will make matters worse as farmers will likely lose interest and cane production will slide further,” said a Labasa cane farmer.
Cane production in the Olosara and Cuvu sectors in Sigatoka will almost entirely cease as of next season because of the removal of rail transportation by FSC. Replanting this season throughout the cane belt has been very poor as farmers have received virtually no crop rehabilitation assistance.
Meanwhile, FSC chairman Gautam Ramswarup’s explanation of the recent high level visit of company officials to several countries abroad has been laughed off as “unmitigated nonsense” by a former FSC executive.
According to Mr Gautam the visit was to explain to the buyers “some changes that were currently happening in the industry”.
“What changes is he talking about? Why could these not be emailed or dealt with through video conferencing” asked the former executive.
“The truth is that these imported executives are off abroad at the drop of a hat to enjoy first class travel and luxury living at the expense of the company which is unable to get itself out of the financial quagmire in which it has been bogged down for the last several years,” he said.
“There is no hope of reaching the export target of 240,000 tonnes as announced by FSC’s chief executive Deo Saran and the Permanent Secretary for Sugar, Pramesh Chand.
“So far only two shipments totalling 49,000 tonnes have left our shores when these should have been 30,000 tonnes each – that is a total of 60,000 tonnes. So, we are already short of 11,000 tonnes on the first two shipments,” says a well connected source.
Industry analysts put the blame for poor export figures on the pathetic performance of the sugar mills which, they say, have so far averaged a TCTS of 13:1. This is 70% more cane to a tonne of sugar.
The TCTS average should be around 8.5 tonnes of cane to a tonne of sugar. This inefficiency of the mills is costing the industry tens of millions in export income of which the growers are bearing 70%.
“There is no longer any accountability or transparency left on the part of FSC and with the dissolution of the Sugar Cane Growers council by the regime, cane growers will be left entirely at the mercy of the miller.
This will make matters worse as farmers will likely lose interest and cane production will slide further,” said a Labasa cane farmer.
Cane production in the Olosara and Cuvu sectors in Sigatoka will almost entirely cease as of next season because of the removal of rail transportation by FSC. Replanting this season throughout the cane belt has been very poor as farmers have received virtually no crop rehabilitation assistance.
Meanwhile, FSC chairman Gautam Ramswarup’s explanation of the recent high level visit of company officials to several countries abroad has been laughed off as “unmitigated nonsense” by a former FSC executive.
According to Mr Gautam the visit was to explain to the buyers “some changes that were currently happening in the industry”.
“What changes is he talking about? Why could these not be emailed or dealt with through video conferencing” asked the former executive.
“The truth is that these imported executives are off abroad at the drop of a hat to enjoy first class travel and luxury living at the expense of the company which is unable to get itself out of the financial quagmire in which it has been bogged down for the last several years,” he said.
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