State and Church Team up to Mitigate Rural to Urban Drift

The Government needs to be economically empowering as a measure to address rural-to-ban drift hike, said Sakiasi Ditoka.

The Minister for Rural and Maritime Development made the comment during a recent meeting with the president of the Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma, Reverend Ili Vunisuwai.

More people from rural settings are migrating to urban centers for better opportunities, said Mr Ditoka.

It has somewhat a cause of social issues prevalent in local communities, he said.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the ministry to brief the Methodist Church about its core functions and assistance for Fijians through its various capital programmes.

Mr Ditoka pleaded with church leaders to work with his ministry to not only help improve the lives of those living in rural and maritime areas, but also address social issues prevalent in communities today.

Mr Ditoka assured the church that his ministry would work towards economically empowering those in remote, rural and maritime communities to help address the issue of rural-to-urban drift.

In his remarks, Rev Vunisuwai said the church faced the same challenge as the ministry with the migration of people from rural to urban centers.

He said the church would conduct in-service training for its church leaders to better prepare them to deal with social issues among church members, especially in rural and maritime communities.

Rev Vunisuwai acknowledged the move by the ministry to include farm mechanisation in its coming programmes, saying this would greatly help rural farmers.

The Methodist Church is ready to assist in the area of economic sustainability, said Reverend Vunisuwai.

Feedback: josefa.babitu@fijisun.com.fj