Serua turned it on for Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama last Friday.

The people of the province performed the full traditional welcome ceremony at the opening of the Serua Provincial Council meeting, from the ivakasobu to sevusevu (kava ceremony), qaloqalovi (presentation of whalestooth), magiti (food) and vakamamaca (presentation of mats).

In all the presentations, the people acknowledged the developments undertaken in the province by Mr Bainimarama and his FijiFirst Government.

The developments are visible and have benefitted the province – developments they cannot ignore or forget easily.

They are what matters the most to Fijians who live in rural areas.

The people are not interested so much in the kind of politics that focus on the intellectual battle and debate on abstract ideas even though the implications could also affect them.

At the end of the day they want the Government in power to help them with infrastructure development to open up access to opportunities for economic activities, better education and health outcomes.

The construction of new roads and upgrading of existing ones, capacity building to strengthen resilience and mitigate the impact of climate change plus incentives to stimulate the rural economy are integral parts of the rural conversation.

It means decentralising Government agencies to make services more accessible.

Taking the development to the people approach has underpinned Government’s push to simplify its services.

It saves time and money.

To put things into a meaningful perspective or proper context they make a comparison of what the Bainimarama Government has done for them and what previous Governments had achieved.

They cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Mr Bainimarama has done much more than his predecessors had done because of the tangible evidence.

They expressed their gratitude in giving him a hero’s welcome. In the subsequent informal discussion or talanoa sessions, the people shared their personal sentiments.

They were happy to see him in person after his heart operation in Melbourne, Australia and they told him he looked great and healthy.

When he was away in Melbourne, FijiFirst’s and his public opinion rating dropped significantly.

Shortly after his return to the country and back in action their rating jumped dramatically surpassing Sitiveni Rabuka and The People’s Alliance to regain the lead.

His physical presence makes a big difference.

It helps lift morale and empowers people.

This was evident with the Serua people.

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