{"id":341331,"date":"2021-10-07T20:42:09","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T20:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=64479"},"modified":"2021-10-07T20:42:09","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T20:42:09","slug":"bainimaramas-covid-bragging-rebuked-as-shameful-and-despicable-by-prasad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/10\/07\/bainimaramas-covid-bragging-rebuked-as-shameful-and-despicable-by-prasad\/","title":{"rendered":"Bainimarama\u2019s covid bragging rebuked as \u2018shameful and despicable\u2019 by Prasad"},"content":{"rendered":"
Asia Pacific Report<\/a> newsdesk<\/em><\/p>\n Fiji’s opposition National Federation Party has blamed 1150 pandemic deaths<\/a> on the Bainimarama government\u2019s “shameful and despicable” ego-driven leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cStop bragging and taking the Lord\u2019s name in vain when you have presided over the single biggest disaster and loss of lives in our country\u2019s 51 years of independence,” said Dr Biman Prasad, a former professor of economics at the University of the South Pacific.<\/p>\n \u201cTalk about issues like how to alleviate poverty that reached almost 30 percent at the time of the so-called ‘Bainimarama Boom’ but has now escalated to about 50 percent due to economic depression caused by covid-19.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the message to Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama from Dr Prasad after a message posted on the Fiji government social media page this week showing the prime minister as saying the battle against covid-19 pandemic was about to end<\/a> — and declaring he had proved critics wrong and was in firm control.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a national leader who brags about himself and claims he will secure every Fijian from clear and present danger,” Dr Prasad said in a statement.<\/p>\n “The prime minister forgets what he announced at the start of the second wave of the pandemic on April 19.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen, he spoke about a grave and present danger to the lives of our people and the need to comply with strict measures and enforcement of lockdowns to contain and eliminate the virus.<\/p>\n ‘1150 citizens’ lose their lives<\/strong> The Johns Hopkins University global covid dashboard (with data supplied by the Fiji government) states 649 deaths and 51,386 confirmed cases<\/a> in Fiji as at today.<\/p>\n\n
\n\u201cAlmost six months later with the virus out of control due to the PM\u2019s egoistic and \u2018My Way or the Highway\u2019 leadership in deciding to open up containment zones, 1150 citizens have lost their lives through no fault of theirs and more than 51,200 people have so far been infected\u201d.<\/p>\n