By Martha Taumata Faavae
If an end to the frustrations of the political standoff is left to voters at the grassroots level to decide, there will be some startling, eye-opening surprises for the leadership in both parties.
“I don’t want to waste my time with the HRPP and FAST, let them fight, but they have to remember the whole country is being dragged into this mess because of them,” Litia Mikaele fumed when asked for a reaction to the standoff.
“Those involved in this political chaos have nothing to worry about because they have the wealth to feed their families.
“For us farming vendors at the market, it is getting harder and harder everyday to earn for the care of our families with very little or virtually no sales at all,” Elisapeta Tinifu complained.
Litia Mikaele is 73 years old and Elisapeta Tinifu is 65.
Both are hardworking ladies who eke a living for their families by renting space at the Fugalei Produce Market to sell home grown farm produce.
Mikaele cannot stand all the verbal punch-up in the political exchange between the leaders of the two parties and their supporters.
“Nothing good has come out of it except to make all of them bullheaded enough to make it even harder to end this stupidity because nobody wants to back down.”
Mikaele openly admitted she prefers the present Government for the many benefits that have filtered down through policy developments as well as the flow of foreign assistance into the country.
Sitting at her Fugalei Market block is the best place for her to see and also take advantage at the same time of all the benefits from them.
“If it wasn’t for the CVOID pandemic we would still be enjoying good sales from the many people coming to buy at the market.”
Elisapeta Tinifu is struggling under the same pains of the severe drop in sales.
But she is prepared to accept the blame of the poor state the economy is in on the effects of the pandemic.
What she is starting to despise and will not tolerate, are the uncertainties in political leadership that is making it worse.
“ Am really at the point now of packing up, make my farewells to the market manager and then go home; seriously we are not getting any sales.
“July is running out and where is our national budget we depend on to get things up and running in the country? Nothing!
“All this raving fuss about the SNPF 4% give away only makes us, who are not members of the fund, sit, watch and wish.”
Tinifu warns it is time to end the political uncertainties going on and find a way to get the country back on track again.
The best solution both ladies overwhelmingly agree on is to call new general elections.
“The longer we allow this madness to drag on the easier it is to lose faith in all our leaders and the greed they have for power,” Tinifu complained.
Mikaele strongly believes so too.