Commissioner Northern Division, Uraia Rainima welcomed Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations H.E. Satyendra Prasad as he took a tour of the division last week.
The tour began with a briefing by Mr. Rainima which was also attended by Heads of Departments from various Government Ministries and institutions.
Mr. Rainima highlighted that communities in the North were among the many Fijian communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. He acknowledged Mr. Prasad for taking the time to visit these communities to witness firsthand the plight they faced.
“The Northern Division is among the most vulnerable to natural disasters such as cyclones and most recently flooding. All these natural events are a result of the changing climate. For that, we wish to thank His Excellency for sparing his time to travel to the North to see and listen to the stories of our affected population,” Mr. Rainima said.
As part of his tour, Mr. Prasad visited the Soasoa Flat in Labasa where he was briefed by Mr. Rainima on the effects of flooding along the area which over the years have impacted cane farmers. He also visited Tiritiri Settlement, a small cane farming settlement located 2 kilometers away from Labasa Town that has been continuously affected by salt water intrusion. The nature-based seawall constructed by Government through the Ministry of Waterways in 2020 in the village of Raviravi in the interior of Macuata was another project included in the tour. During this visit, Mr Prasad also met and spoke with community members to know more about how the various assistances by Government have helped them so far.
The Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made an effort to stop at Lekutu Secondary School in Bua where he was briefed on the development surrounding the newly constructed school block to replace the ones damaged by Tropical Cyclones Yasa and Ana. The team also visited the Nabavatu relocation site in Dreketi, Macuata to witness the development on the relocation plan.
The delegation concluded the tour with a meeting with the Savusavu Blue Town committee members to discuss the development for Blue Town and the plans ahead.