Note: This interview was conducted in tok-pisin, and some of it will be written in tok-pisin if the full meaning cannot be conveyed using english.
Interviewer: Hello Fasi, thank-you for taking the time to talk with me, please give a brief introduction of yourself.
Fasi: My name is Fasi Desmond, I am from Goilala District, in the Central Province.
I am maybe 50-60 years old. I was born in the village, there was no hospital, so I'm not too sure of my exact age. I am a senior driver at AG.
(Fasi (Pidgin): Nem blo mi Fasi Desmond, mi blo Goilala, Central Province, mi mas 50-60years old, mipla born lo bush, nogat hausik so mi no clea tumas. Mi wok olsem onepla senior driver lo AG.)
Interviewer: How long have you been with the company?
Fasi: I started in 2006 with AG Investment, it has been about 15years and I'm still with the company. Probably one of the longest serving employees of AGI.
Interviewer: Fifteen years! That is a long time. Tell me how your journey with AG Investment start?
Fasi: Well, before AG Investment, we started from retail, at a supermarket in Sabama, back when it was much more risky and no one wanted to do business there. I started in 2006 as a delivery driver, delivering scones and store items, goods to and from the supermarket. At that time, we did not have a lot of employees, I would say, less than 10 people.
We had no machinery or heavy equipment and started off with spades, just hand tools, the first machine our Managing Director (A.Guo) got at that time was a backhoe machine. We then worked on our first construction project at Gordons, along Kennedy Road. From that time, our work ethic and professionalism gained us more contracts in building renovation and high rise building construction.
In front of my very eyes, I saw the company grow, one of the first high-rise buildings we did is the Kitpeng Building along Waigani Drive and also the Electoral Commission building in Waigani. We also built a couple of warehouses, including the large BNBM warehouse in Gordons Industrial area.
(Fasi (Pidgin): Lo eye blo mi stret em kampani grow, onpla bikpla building mipla wokim em Kitpeng High-rise building lo Waigani Drive na PNG electrol commission building in Waigani. Mipla I buildim sampla ol warehaus, em ya, disla BNBM warehaus lo Gordons em mipla mekim.)
Interviewer: So, it has been fifteen (15) years since you started with the company, is there a reason you have been with the company for so long?
Fasi: This does not apply to just me, some of us are still with the company because the company is very understanding. Papua New Guineans, we have a lot of obligations in relation to family deaths, marriages etc... Even if I wasn’t able to pay my children’s school fees, the company would help out. It is the more..humanistic nature, of the company.
Interviewer: Why do you think, the company has been able to grow and keep growing?
Fasi: Our boss (A.Guo) is a very hard worker, from the beginning, he would roll up his sleeves and get on the ground with the workers. As I mentioned, we started off with hand tools, we would mix cement and concrete with spades and our boss was working directly with us. Nowadays, the company is focused on bigger projects like hydropower or airport building, we have come a long way and we worked hard to level up.
Interviewer: You have spoken about a lot of the history of the company as a first hand witness and I’m glad have you on employee highlights. Any final remarks?
Fasi: I am happy that I’ve been with the company for so long, and the company has taken care of me well. Living in Port Moresby is difficult and I just want to mention my appreciation to AGI. Our boss is a good man, I’m his driver, so I’m always with him and I can see, his heart is good.
(Fasi (Pidgin): Mi hamamas olsem mi stap longpla taim wantaim kampani kam, na olsem, kampani lukatim mi gut. Olsem, Mosbi em hard life, na mi just la tok hamamas olsem kampani lukautim mi gut. Boss blo kampani em gutpla man, mi driver blo em, so mi stap klostu wantaim em na mi lukim pasim blo em, I gutpla.)
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