Dry spell affects everyone, says Commissioner Northern

Everyone in Fiji is affected by the prolonged dry spell, says Commissioner Western and Acting Commissioner Northern Apolosi Lewaqai.

He said the situation affected both the public and private sectors and urged employers and employees to maintain healthy working relationships through proper communication.

“Employers and those at the management level should be mindful of the current El Niño events, which are dictating how we need to operate,” Mr Lewaqai said.

“In some places, businesses may not be operating as usual because the weather is not favourable.”

He said employees affected by water disruptions, particularly those who had been without water at home for several days, should inform their employers immediately.

“Employers and employees need to communicate so that business operations are not affected and there is water shortage at home for family needs,” he said.

Mr Lewaqai said Cabinet would make a decision and announce on Friday how the Government would assist people and address the dry spell.

He said the offices of the commissioners for the Western and Northern divisions had submitted data and information to Cabinet to help develop a plan and review their operations for the remaining weeks of the year.

“Nevertheless, we urge people not to make a habit of using the excuse of no water supply to be absent from work,” he said.

“To the civil servants, I would like to urge them to remember that the public needs us during this crucial time to provide service.

“It is not the work of the Water Authority of Fiji alone, or the commissioner for the Northern and Western divisions, or the emergency operations team alone. Everyone needs to be part of this bigger effort to assist communities during this difficult time.”

No North schools closed

No schools in the Northern Division have been closed because of water shortages caused by the prolonged dry spell.

Mr Lewaqai gave this assurance during his visit to Labasa yesterday.

He said that while several locations were without water supply, the Commissioner Northern’s office was in constant communication with the Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) to ensure all schools had access to water.

“One of the key priorities are to make sure that all the schools have water so that children can have access to drinking water and be in a position to attend classes without any worry about drinking water,” Mr Lewaqai said.

“We are aware about the Year 12 national examinations happening this week and I can assure you no school has been closed due to no water supply.”

He said water carting to schools would continue until the end of the academic year on December 4.

For maritime islands, he said a Government vessel was operating full-time from one of the Government jetties in Labasa to transport water to schools, health centres and nursing stations.

He also confirmed that the Commissioner’s office was coordinating with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to ensure all health facilities continued to operate as normal.

Mr Lewaqai said the situation could worsen as the El Niño weather pattern continued and urged people to start preparing.

“We expect worse situations than what we are currently facing now with El Niño and urge people to start preparing now instead of focusing on Christmas and New Year celebrations,” he said.

“Apart from fuel crisis, El Niño is something will be affecting everyone including the animals and farms in Fiji.”

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