Singh clarifies National OHS had certified the amusement rides installed for Fiji Showcase after Chaudhry demands for answers

Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Agni Deo Singh has clarified that the National Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Service under the Employment Ministry had certified the amusement rides installed at the Vodafone Arena for Fiji Showcase prior to it commencing operations.

This comes as Fiji Labour Party Leader Mahendra Chaudhry demanded that the Employment Minister must explain how OHS inspectors had certified the ferris wheel that resulted in the horrific death of a young woman last week.

Singh says under the OHS requirements, OHS Inspectorates thoroughly follow stringent standard operating procedures prior to any amusement rides installations. He says this includes the evaluation of the number of rides, its design and layout at the proposed sites with the organizers, amusement ride operators and facility owners.

The Minister says the evaluation also ensures proper ground and surrounding conditions, and that proper and adequate facilities such as water, electricity supplies are available as well as traffic and public movement are accessible and risk-free. Singh says furthermore, the procedure involves the review of rides to be used, specifically its structures and operational mechanisms and all rides owners must ensure the validity of the non-destructive testing (NDT) certifications prior to any installations ensuring the integrity of all the load-bearing metals and structures.

He says the stringent procedure includes conducting initial ground inspections using standardized checklists of all the rides' individual components such as transmissions, drives, seats, bolts and nuts, lock pins, springs, lock washers, wires, fasteners, rollers, to name a few. Singh says once the checklist requirements are fully checked, the rides are assembled and then inspected again by the OHS inspectorates to confirm the functionality of all the ride components. He says eventually, the amusement rides are put through operational tests including load test, as well as the conduct of awareness training to the amusement rides owners, workers and operators and their “duty of care” in ensuring the health and safety of all riders and the general public. Singh has assured the public that all the rides are thoroughly inspected and tested prior to any operations and further reiterated that investigations are continuing by both the National OHS Service and the Fiji Police Force. He says they have conducted interviews with the injured patrons and the operator, and have yet to interview a few key witnesses.

Singh adds the preliminary investigation is expected to be completed by early next week before commencing with a full investigation. The Minister conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the grieving family for their loss and also sympathized with the two individuals who were also injured from the same incident and are now discharged from the hospital. Chaudhry says Singh’s statement of 1st July deals mainly with safety measures to be put in place to avoid such mishaps in the future.

Chaudhry says they want to know whether the investigations have been finalised and if so what are the findings.