Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, last evening, officiated at 150 years “Sesquicentennial” celebration of Post Fiji Limited at the Vodafone Arena in Laucala Bay, Suva.
Established in Levuka in the year 1871, the institution predates the colony of Fiji by three years and as Prime Minister Bainimarama puts it ' the sheer longevity of the institution speaks of the vital role it plays in the life of the nation'.
"No business can thrive for 15 decades unless the work that they do matters and the work of Post Fiji certainly does," said the Prime Minister.
Post Fiji came to be in 1871 through the passage of the first Postal Act by the then Legislative Assembly and from its early years in Levuka, the business grew to become our first truly national network.
" In doing so, the institution bridged thousands of kilometers of islands and ocean to bring our people together in ways we all now take for granted," PM Bainimarama said.
"Connections like that create possibilities and when people can communicate reliably, they can work together, they can build together, and they can overcome provincial and regional distinctions and strive for something more, something greater that creates a truly national benefit."
"To put it simply, a more connected Fiji is a more united Fiji and a stronger Fiji, and Post Fiji is a pillar of a connected, strong and united nation," he adds.
The Prime Minister further said that it is staggering to consider everything this business has helped Fijians to do exemplifying letters to friends, money orders to families, savings bank services, gifts to that special someone and news of events at home and around the world that have shaped history.
"All of it is made possible due to the services of the staff and leadership of the institution through the decades."
"Today, your branches are open in every town and city in Fiji and your network of delivery extends to the most rural and maritime regions of the country."
Further elaborating, PM Bainimarama said It is our charge to look forward, to build on history and pursue a vision of what the business can become.
"To find Post Fiji’s place in the world to come, we must start by recognising how the world is changing," he said.
"You do not need to run a mail room to realise that the business model of every postal service in the world has been challenged by digital technology."
The Prime Minister congratulated the Post Fiji Board Members, Heads of Departments, and all of the current and former staff dating back to the P & T days.