Continuous rain and deteriorating road conditions have raised concerns over the quality, timing and maintenance of road works, with the Minister for Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau admitting he is not pleased with some of the issues.
The comments were made after the opening of the Kinoya Village Taxi Base last Wednesday.
“Personally, I’m not pleased with some of the issues regarding roads,” he said.
“Some are related to contracts, quality, even the programming and timing.
“These are issues which we are trying to grapple with and resolve as we move forward.”
Mr Tuisawau said the Government had approved the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) budget and part of the rural roads budget under the ministry.
“Generally, the roads program is in place, the maintenance program.
“The Government has approved the FRA budget and also some of the rural road’s budget in the ministry. That is currently moving forward.”
He said maintenance contracts with FRA were also being finalised.
“That is also one of the reasons for the gap in the maintenance and service,” he added.
On the re-establishment of the Road Safety Council, Mr Tuisawau said the Government had approved it in principle, with regulatory and legislative changes now being worked on.
“We have approved the re-establishment of the Road Safety council.
“The final format and the regulatory and legislative changes to enable that is in progress and I will update on that, but shortly LTA and the ministry will be making the announcement on the progress.
“It’s a matter of urgency.”
