Please rely only on facts,”Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum urged Ba residents on Saturday as he opened the new Ba Market.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said since the election was scheduled to take place this year or early next year, a lot of people tended to sensationalise a lot of things.

“I urge you all only one thing, I’m not here to campaign,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

“The only thing I want to say to you is please rely on facts.

“There are many people telling a lot of false information, too many lasulasu stories going on, a lot of jhoot (lies) going on, please rely on the facts.

“There are facts available, rely on the facts and move forward. We cannot afford to look backwards. We need to move forward. We must think about our children.”

Ba Market

He said the new Ba Market symbolised that despite all the challenges brought by COVID-19 and natural disasters, Fijians could continue to build, rebuild and improve their quality of life.

He said the Government’s objective through the municipal councils and ministries is to continuously look at ways of improving the lives of all Fijians.

Govt initiatives

However, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Government had noted that a lot of people were not taking advantage of government initiatives, one of which is paying the bill for patient care by private doctors.

Government has paid out more than $1 million for private patient care over the past eight months.

Meanwhile, the Ba Hospital is scheduled to open on January 31, 2022.