Government plans to relocate 36 families from Jittu squatter settlement in Raiwaqa, Suva, to modern housing.
Minister for Lands Filimoni Vosarogo announced these plans yesterday as he talked about moves to address the squatter settlement issue within town and city boundaries.
According to Mr Vosarogo, this initiative is in line with the Ministry of Lands broader goal of removing informal settlements from urban areas and replacing them with modern housing facilities.
He explained that the relocation of these families to newly developed buildings, forms part of an ongoing effort to improve living conditions in squatter settlements.
“There should be no squatter settlements within town or city boundaries,” Mr Vosarogo said.
“Ideally that’s what we want to achieve and in order to do that, it means there must be relocation plans.
“And as the line Minister for Lands, state lands, we have an opportunity to collaborate with the Ministry for Housing and Local Government on what that plan is.”
Mr Vosarogo noted that Jittu Estate, which is home to over a thousand families, is slated for redevelopment into modern housing.
He emphasised the importance of collaboration with other ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, to ensure the success of the project.
While some families may be relocated to other areas, the primary goal is to upgrade living conditions and provide proper infrastructure such as water, electricity, and waste management.
“At some point in time you’re going to have to accept that it will have to be improved and so it’s socialising that idea, it takes time, it takes effort and it’s challenging.
“But one I think is better managed if we start talking to people now.
“And that’s what we’ve started doing. We’ve spoken to people in Jittu about the need to upgrade standard of living.”
