Around this week back in 2019, we highlighted the impact of development along the Suva-Nausori corridor. We specifically focused on Nakasi.
At one stage Nakasi was laid back and we spoke about a sense of rural calmness about it.
It was evident though that Nakasi was set to grow as development progressed and people moved into whatever area they could find close to the Capital City of Suva.
That was a couple of decades ago. Nasinu, by then, was earmarked for growth and a population boom.
People once lived their lives pretty much in relative peace and quiet with almost none of the stress evident now.
It was a developing area along the busy Suva-Nausori corridor. It had to grow.
The “empty” spaces would be lapped up by the advent of economic development and the rise in the number of people moving into the corridor.
Growth meant expansion in housing. It meant a rise in the population. That meant a rise in commuters daily, culminating in heavy traffic you now see daily.
In such a densely populated section of this busy corridor, the setting is just about right for an economic explosion of sorts. It’s the numbers that matter.
Then there is the bit about human traffic and economic reality.
The revelation that Nakasi contributed to 19 per cent of the overall crime rate in the Eastern Division in 2018 was a concern then.
Officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Nakasi Police Station on a Friday in 2019, former Minister for Defence and National Security Inia Seruiratu said the public needed to maintain its confidence in the Nakasi Police Station’s ability to keep communities and businesses within Nakasi safe.
He said 71 cases of burglaries, 22 cases of aggravated robberies and 81 cases of theft were recorded in the Nakasi area in 2018.
The local community in Nakasi and possible investors need to know, and see, he said, their police officers implementing strategies to ensure that cases like the 15 sexual offence cases recorded in 2018 were not repeated.
What concerned people then, and now, is the ‘methamphetamine corridor’ tag cast on this portion of the Suva-Nausori corridor.
We raised this issue then, and Mr Seruiratu said he knew work had been started to align the Fiji Police Force’s focus accordingly in ridding our society of all forms of illicit drugs.
But for any campaign by the police to be successful, it will need the support of the people.
We look up to the powers that be to maintain a concerted effort to fight the drug war around the country.
We reflect on major challenges we face as a nation and look to individuals to get behind awareness campaigns that tell people about the harsh reality of drug addiction, and the impact on the family structure and on society.
Let’s get behind the force. Let’s be part of the catalyst for change.
Let’s make a difference for our children, our communities and for the future of our nation. We should say no to drugs.
