OVERCROWDING in informal settlements is driving people to the streets.
This, according to Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Lynda Tabuya while speaking to the The Fiji Times’ online news portal The Lens@177.
She said the Government was working with faith-based organisations and other government agencies to provide affordable housing and assistance to street dwellers.
“Street dwellers are linked to overcrowding in informal settlements,” she said.
“We have an overcrowding of our informal and squatter settlements.
“You’ll see two, three to four families in a home. Government provide direct support in terms of giving out payment to help them, but there is overcrowding in these homes. When we profiled some of our street dwellers, especially the men, they would say to us, there’s no space back home.
“We prefer for our wives and children to be in the home, so that we are not a burden, and we’ve come to live on the street. So, it’s a poverty issue as well.”
To tackle this, Ms Tabuya said, Government was committed to building affordable housing for the people, especially the poor and most vulnerable.
“That is something the Ministry of Housing with the Ministry of Finance are working on in terms of affordable housing scheme to take this across the nation, and we’re committed to thousands of homes to build for our people.”
