Water crisis: Enough is enough

How much longer must the people suffer? How many more years will families be forced to wake up in the dead of night just to fill buckets and containers with water? How much more indignity must they endure while government officials offer the same tired excuses?

The people of Lami and Delainavesi are not alone. Across the country, communities continue to struggle with unreliable water supply. Year after year, the same areas face the same problem. It is a never-ending cycle of frustration, hardship, and government failure.

This is not about minor inconveniences-this is about survival. People cannot bathe, cook, clean, or even drink safely without wondering when the next drop of water will come.

Some, like Natasha Ben, have spent their own hard-earned money on storage tanks, while others are left scrambling for water trucks that take days to arrive. Families like Mosese Koroi's are forced to change their way of life just to cope. This is not normal. This is not acceptable.

And yet, despite the unbearable reality, authorities continue to drag their feet. The government acknowledges the issue but does nothing meaningful to resolve it. They say they are "working on long-term solutions," but what are they waiting for? Another term in office? Another government to come in and fix the mess? The people do not have the luxury of waiting while politicians bicker and make empty promises.

What makes this crisis even more disgraceful is that it is unfolding as Fiji prepares to celebrate World Water Day. But what is there to celebrate? While officials will deliver speeches and acknowledge the importance of water, thousands of Fijians will still be without it. They will still wake up at ungodly hours, still queue with buckets, still suffer. The irony is infuriating.

Fiji is not a country without resources. We have the expertise, we have the funding, and we have the means to solve this crisis-but the willpower to act seems missing. Instead, ordinary people are left to beg, practically on their knees, for something as basic as water.

Where is the urgency? Where is the outrage from those in power? Water is not a privilege. It is a right. And when that right is continuously denied, it is nothing short of an abuse of power.

This crisis is not just about pipes and reservoir sit is about the dignity of every Fijian who is tired of being treated as an afterthought. It is about the struggling mother who wakes up at 3 am to fill a few containers.

The sick and elderly who cannot survive without clean water. The business owners losing money because they cannot rely on a steady supply.

Enough of the talking. Enough of the excuses. If those in charge cannot deliver, they must step aside for those who can. The people of Fiji have suffered long enough. Fix this crisis now.

Feedback: naisak@fijisun.com.fj