Infrastructure Minister Jone Usamate handed over 45 solar systems to Niurua villagers in Macuata at a cost of $180,000.

He said previously, government used to collect $18 a month from villagers but had decided to hand over the systems completely to the villagers under the electrification program.

Mr Usamate said collecting the $18 used to be a costly exercise for his team because most times, villagers were unable to make the payment.

He said to avoid the high collection costs, Government decided to let the villagers own the solar systems which were installed and funded by the State.

“Over the past years, we have noticed the delayed payments of $18 per month by recipients and when my team goes around to collect the payments from villagers, most don’t pay up,” he said.

“This has caused financial loss for my team as we pay for their trips to visit villages to collect the bill money and they return with much less than expected.

“Secondly, there has been a need by recipients to add more power to their existing solar system so they could use more electric equipment, which cannot be done through the existing 300 watts system.”

Mr Usamate urged the villagers to form a committee to look after the solar systems and said his team would always be available for advice and support.