SUVA, Fiji - A power outage, bad weather conditions, the computer system crashing - those are the normal nightmares for American credit unions. Fortunately, no American credit union has ever had to imagine what to do when the government disintegrates. That is the problem facing Fiji's 67 credit unions, according to Basilo Vanuaca, general manager of the Fiji Credit Union League (FCUL) in an exclusive interview with Credit Union Times. Two months ago, Fiji rebels sparked a coup when they took the ousted Fiji prime minister and 17 others hostage "in a quest to disenfranchise the Pacific island's ethnic Indian minority," said the Palm Beach Post (the hostages were released July 13.) Fiji has a population of 800,000 and their economy is closely tied to New Zealand and Australia. When the coup occurred, the first industry to suffer was the hotels, shortly followed by all other industries. Forty of the credit unions are industrial and the workers have been laid off, Vanuaca reported, not just in the capital city of Suva but also in the countryside. Deposits have stopped coming in, and as money grows tighter, credit union members are asking for loans for simple purchases like food. According to Vanuaca, many of the island nation's credit unions are now operating off their reserves to provide the services for the members. It took almost three weeks for Credit Union Times to get through to Vanuaca, who said that power outages were now the norm. Land owners control the hydro power in Fiji and have shut off the source. Electricity is now being provided by diesel fuel and only for limited hours during the day. The situation as of Credit Union Times' last contact with Vanuaca was not hopeful. Demands for certain people to be in the new government will probably not be acceptable to other nations. Vanuaca said he fears a trade embargo which will increase the problems of his tiny nation. -
Nelson_Donna-Lane/CO@IEC.iec.ch
