PANEM et CIRCENSES After two extremely heartbreaking losses, first at Dubai, then quite recently, at Port Elizabeth, it seems all our attentions have been strategically diverted to draw the country’s eyes away from crucial matters in the House of Secrets. Rome’s citizens, circa AD.100. Picture: victorsvillage On the morning of Thursday, December 11th, Parliament convened with the Honorable Minister for Finance firing off as quickly as he was allowed to. While standing to address the chair, he requested that fifteen “Bills be considered by Parliament without delay.” [Page 583, Hansard](A list of the Bills is mentioned at the end of this article.) The Honorable Sayed-Khaiyum also asked that “an overall five minutes time limit be given to each side of Parliament for debating all the Bills” with the right of reply be given to him “as the Member moving this motion.” [Page 583, Hansard] In short, he asked for each side of the House to consider and debate fifteen Bills in five minutes (that’s exactly twenty seconds per Bill). Question: How can one PROPERLY make a decision on a document of national importance in the time it would take the average person to order a pizza with extra cheese, a plate of fries, a large drink, and if you’re in the mood, an ice-cream sundae with extra toppings? Gone in 60 (multiplied by 5, then divided by 15) seconds. This sounds a lot like a movie with a very bad ending. A total hit and run scenario. Also, as the deliberations- or lack thereof- went on in Parliament members of the public- or with reference, in this case, to Ancient Rome we shall call the mob- were enthralled by the pandemonium surrounding the third leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series, 2014/15. With all the news of the Sevens tournament taking much precedence over other issues of concern, the announcement last Friday, [12/12/14], of the government’s about-turn decision on a certain decree moved conversation topics from budget errors and breaches in Parliamentary protocol, to the much anticipated Port Elizabeth World Rugby Sevens’ leg. And, since parliament is in fact adjourned until February, can the public really be sure whether these matters will be reviewed, and properly considered? [Whether then or in the future] The ploy of our current legislature, it seems, is the distraction of the mob.( With every major issue, build a separate case to mesmerize, not entirely as controversial as the former, but enough that it becomes a dummy pass at the try-line.) A goose step here, a chip-n’- chase there, and ‘wham-bam, thank you ma’am’ you have just enacted a Bill, giving birth to a new law (or in this case “laws”; because following the Constitution verbatim is too mainstream). The nation has been promised almost freebies across the board. And now, to the hands of the people, the Games have been returned. Around 100 A.D, the Roman poet, Juvenal wrote in his Satire X a statement that described the shallow appeasement of the Roman populace by governing bodies through diversion tactics. Instead of the government addressing their real needs, the people were given entertainment and cheap food, all while the Rome’s storehouses diminished and their coffers were emptied. The people, like so many in our paradisiacal island state, became less interested in their inherited birthrights of participation in matters of national importance, or politics. In layman’s terms, they did not care what the government did, so long as they got to watch the Sevens live on television, and bread to eat with their tins of tuna and corned beef. “−everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses…” Juvenal, Satire X (circa A.D 100) The fifteen Bills are as follows: “1) A Bill for an Act to amend the Service Turnover Tax Decree 2012 (Bill No. 14 of 2014); 2) A Bill for an Act to amend the Tax Administration Decree 2009 (Bill No. 15 of 2014); 3) A Bill for an Act to amend the Tertiary Scholarship and Loans Decree 2014 (Bill No. 16 of 2014; 4) A Bill for an Act to amend the Income Tax Act (Cap. 201) (Bill No. 17 of 2014); 5) A Bill for an Act to amend the Fringe Benefit Tax Decree 2012 (Bill No. 18 of 2014); 6) A Bill for an Act to amend the Excise Act 1986 (Bill No. 19 of 2014); 7) A Bill for an Act to amend the Customs Act 1986 (Bill No. 20 of 2014); 8) A Bill for an Act to amend the Customs Tariff Act 1986 (Bill No. 21 of 2014); 9) A Bill for an Act to amend the Value Added Tax Decree 1991 (Bill No. 22 of 2014); 10) A Bill for an Act to amend the Capital Gains Tax Decree 2012 (Bill No.23 of 2014); 11) A Bill for an Act to amend the Stamp Duties Act (Cap.205) (Bill No. 24 of 2014); 12) A Bill for an Act to amend the Fiji National Provident Fund Decree 2012 (Bill No. 25 of 2014); 13) A Bill for an Act to amend the Maritime Transport Decree 2013 (Bill No. 26 of 2014); 14) A Bill for an Act to amend the Ship Registration Decree 2013 (Bill No. 27 of 2014); and 15) A Bill for an Act to amend the Land Sales Act (Cap. 137) (Bill No. 28 of 2014).” [Page 583, Hansard] by J.Baro-Kaurasi
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 06:18:33 +0000
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