Friday, March 09, 2007

Is it the right time to launch a Fiji $100 bill?


from w
There was an official launch by the Fiji President for a new banknote at the Reserve Bank tower, this time for $100. Well, what about the timing? On Wednesday all the civil servants 5% pay cut started so are they going to ever see these bills? And so many people are suffering from the floods, will they ever ever see a $100 bill?

Another grouch: why do they put the picture of Elizabeth 11 on it? Fiji is a republic and the royal family aren't even coming for the (sometime) opening of the new Council of Chiefs building!
--
notes adapted from Fiji papers:
RBF Governor Savenaca Narube said the introduction of the $100 note came after ten years since the launch of the $50 note. "Raising the denomination of the highest currency reflects a combination of basically three things - the growth in the economy, the change in spending habits and the advance in technology," he said. The current bank notes have also been changed with extra security features and compatibility for the visual impaired. "For the first time, Fiji's banknotes will vary in length to help the visually impaired," Narube said.

He said the RBF decided to stay with paper rather then plastic due to public survey and "improvements made over the years by printers to make paper money last longer".

Narube said the new notes will come into circulation from April 10 and the RBF will begin with an awareness campaign to make people aware of the new notes and its features.

14 comments:

Gilbert Veisamasama, Jr said...

It provides a good opportunity for the Reserve Bank to avoid discussions of the failutre of its monetary policy and its laxity in supervising the Fiji National Provident Fund with stories of alleged abuses at the Fund coming up now. Read more on my blog, http://investinfiji.blogspot.com/.

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Gilbert,
I had a look at your investinfiji blog and my word, you have been busy analysing what's happening. I don't know anything about high finance - the only dealing we hd with the Provident Fund was when Peceli wrote to them asking for his retirement money and they said to pay $100 and you can get $90 back! Don't know where it went! And the Methodist Church officials just passed the buck anyway.
w.

laminar_flow said...

Tsk,tsk,tsk!

Gilbert Veisamasama, Jr said...

Wendy, there is a lot that will be coming up. These institutions should really come up and take part of the responsiblity for the mess. Institutions like the Reserve Bank of Fiji as financial system supervisor, the external auditors the Board of Directors, should all come out and say what they have been doing! The lady at FNPF was not the only one at fault. The other "checks and balances" mechanisms we have in place also failed. For that there is a lot of explaining to do!

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Gilbert, you are in Suva so know more than we do here. We are often second-guessing from a distance.

Some people might see the irony of putting the Queen on the note when Fiji is out of the Commonwealth, once again. Apparently it's Commonwealth Day today, according to the Fiji Times, but I did not see that emphasized anywhere here. It is a Labour Day holiday though.
w.

Anonymous said...

The Queen must be wincing every time she looks at the new notes issued by the Reserve Bank of Fiji! LOL!

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Would they send a sample of the note to the Queen as a souvenier? Otherwise I'm sure she wouldn't even know her portrait is used once again!
This kow-towing to elite/status people is not my idea of artwork! Who designs these notes anyway? It would be nice for a change to have a portrait of a shoe-shine boy or that lady who begs outside the Curry House. Hmmm.
w.

Anonymous said...

The Queen should sue them for use of her "brand" image without approval. I'm sure she does not have any input or say into getting her image on those notes.

Anonymous said...

By the way, that kow-towing to elite people is called "tabetabe" and some people in Fiji do it with such ease that it's part of their nature. LOL!

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Anonymous - well, this respect thing is not my scene at all. My father always treated people the same whether they were the Governor or the street cleaner - I mean nicely. That's called 'egalitarian' I think and that's the right way.
Anonymous are you a bhaini or a bhaiya, a Ratu Raboto or an Adi Kalavu?
w.

Anonymous said...

A Ratu Kokoroti - for the time being.

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Ha ha. Okay, so be alert, be alarmed or someone might want to squash you!
w.

Anonymous said...

Ha! Ha! Ha! Oilei!

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