Don’t neglect us. These were the words of concerned villagers of Levuka present at the Great Council of Chiefs review consultations on Wednesday where they highlighted the poor road conditions, maritime transport, and the poor state of businesses.
Katalina Vueti of Draiba Village said the road conditions had been a daily headache for motorists and pedestrians on Ovalau.
“The road from Bureta airstrip to town and past St John’s College, Cawaci is full of potholes,” Ms Vueti said.
“Vehicles dodge potholes and we dodge the vehicles. This can cause a real accident one day.”
Ms Vueti also urged the Government to look into the state of the bridges. “A few small bridges, when there is heavy rain, overflow and force children to miss school.
“We hope to see some sort of assistance from the Coalition Government in regard to uplifting the state of our roads and bridges.”
Lomaiviti Provincial Council chairman Etueni Caucau said more consideration and planning should be focused on water transportation and the building up of businesses on the island. “Because we are a maritime province, our biggest challenge is maritime transport,” Mr Caucau said.
“So, we hope that in the budget, the Government will look at this.”
Mr Caucau said most islands in Lomaiviti Province had been termed “economically deprived” and he urged the Government to look at ways of uplifting businesses there.
