Seruiratu questions spending as water crisis deepens

Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu has questioned the Government’s spending priorities, asking why more than $23,000 in taxpayers’ money was spent sending a Deputy Prime Minister to Scotland for rugby while no additional funding was available to address Fiji’s water crisis.

His comments followed the Prime Minister’s latest statement urging Fijians to use water responsibly and saying no funding outside the original budget would be used for water management amid the severe drought.

Mr Seruiratu said acknowledging the crisis was not enough without urgent action and funding.

“I am not asking this question as an opponent of the Government. I am asking as a father, a farmer and a son of a village that knows what it means to walk before sunrise for water,” he said.

He said people in Nausori, Nasinu, the Nadi hinterland, villages in Ra and Bua, and outer islands had faced water shortages for weeks. Some communities reportedly had empty water tanks since September.

“Fijians have been living that truth for weeks,” he said, adding that the Government’s admission that there was no additional money to address the situation was unacceptable.

Mr Seruiratu said he supported responsible water use but argued that conservation advice offered little help to households whose taps had been dry for days.

“How does a family conserve what does not come?” he asked.