Nine households in the Loqi Settlement near Bavu Village in Nadroga could now enjoy preserving their food and watching their favourite TV shows.

This was after the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama commissioned the new rural electrification project worth $38,000 in the settlement yesterday.

Rupeni Tuse, 50, was among the happy dads who could enjoy keeping their food preserved with the help of the refrigeration.

“Those dark ages are gone. We have been living here since 1972 with my father,” he said.

“Now I have my own family and we all thank the Government of the day for taking our plight seriously and acting on it for the betterment of Fijians.”

A stone’s throw away lives a farmer Anald Kumar, 52, who has been toiling the land since 1965 with his family. He was over the moon as well.

“Now we can keep other electronic machines that will make the provision of our lifestyle easy with iron, washing machine, rice cooker and many more.”

His son Ashish Kumar said: “I can now watch news on TV which we have been deprived of in the past. I love watching movies too.”

The Prime Minister said: “Every community is different, while some struggles are shared, many others are unique.”

“It is important that I make every effort to see and hear from as many Fijians as possible across our country.”

He said it was a pleasure to see great progress and development in the West.

“These are not handouts or gifts. They are hard fought advances our communities deserve.”

Edited by Paula Tuvuki

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