Longer opening hours for the Suva Market, surveillance cameras for safety, review of all Suva City Council (SCC) properties and a possible revamp of the Raiwaqa Market are on the cards.

Former banker and now the chairperson for the Suva and Lami Special Administrator team, Isikeli Tikoduadua said the council’s focus on service delivery was going to change.

Mr Tikoduadua had retired, but when he was appointed to the team, he took up the challenge to lead Suva into the new age.

He said there was a need to plan for Suva so it would be able to facilitate changes for at least the next 50 years.

His plan is to start with civic pride.

“It is about letting the ratepayers know that they have ownership. Once you have ownership, the commitment will come with that, then you will become more passionate about the city,” Mr Tikoduadua said.

“The people of Suva should be able to have pride in their own city as opposed to being in Suva for the sake of employment.

“They have to take ownership and say this is my Suva and I will look after it. They have to say I will keep my city clean and if someone dirties the place, I will ensure that they are held responsible.”

Mr Tikoduadua said economic activity in Suva needs to be improved as well.

He said while it is his target to collect overdue rates, there were other projects the SCC was embarking on.

Suva Market:

Talks have started to ensure that the market is opened until 9 pm on a daily basis.

According to Mr Tikoduadua, this will increase economic activity for many and create employment as well, however, this has to be done very carefully.

“That is something the council is thinking of. We want to ensure that we do this properly. You have to understand that the mechanisms are put in place for everyone,” he said.

“There are some vendors who may want to go early. And how do you ensure that their commodities are safe?

“Could we look at a place that can be locked, say for instance the grog owners? They might have $100,000 worth of grog there, go home at 5 pm, who is going to take responsibility. We have to think about this.”

Raiwaqa Market and Review of Properties:

The dispute surrounding the so-called white elephant of the council has been settled, he confirmed.

“We will be taking stock of what we can do with Raiwaqa Market. It is quite a populous area and the opportunities are many to serve the people and also to increase SCC’s revenue streams,” he said.

He said a similar review would be taken of parks and amenities.

Other members of the Suva and Lami Special Administrator team are Vilash Chand, Kerry Megan Mara, Janice Nand and Vimal Kumar.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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