Minister Unhappy with Poor Road Upgrade

Staff of the Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, responsible for the upgrade of road’s leading to Labasa’s primary water catchment at Nasealevu in Macuata, have been warned to provide better service.

The warning was issued by Minister Ro Filipe Tuisawau, who expressed dissatisfaction after hearing about ongoing issues with the road despite its recent upgrade.

Ro Filipe revealed in Bua on Wednesday that he had been informed of the poor work conducted on the road upgrade and roadside drains.

“There are some issues such as drainage and gravelling and the villagers using this road are not happy,” Ro Filipe said.

He will meet the engineer in North and Fiji Roads Authority to discuss a quick solution.

“I told the staff that when you do something, do it properly and completely, not leaving it halfway,” he said.

“Work must be done satisfactorily so that it last longer and serves the purpose to assist the users.”

When asked how soon the work would be completed, given that students will return to school next week, he replied that it would be finished by then.

The water catchment at Nasealevu Village provides water to more than 28,000 people, including the Labasa Hospital, schools and government ministries.

Vuiraqilai Village headman Kasiano Vusonilawe said Nasealevu was home to Labasa Town’s main water catchment.

“For almost 50 years villagers have been pleading to Government to provide them with a proper road and since the work started few months back, there has been some problem,” Mr Vusonilawe said.

“We had several meetings with the Nasealevu Village headman Solomone Tubou on the drainage issue and thought of shutting down the catchment because no one seems to listen.”

He said by next week if the work wasn’t complete as expected, they would take serious action as planned.

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