For villagers of Naisogovau in Tailevu gone are the days where they used coconut trunks for crossing from the village to the main road.
This follows the commissioning of their new $3,867 foot-crossing today.
Benefiting close to 300 villagers, Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime, Waterways and Environment Hon. Mahendra Reddy said the new bridge will provide better accessibility for the villagers.
“Children will have proper crossing to school and villagers will better access their farms which will enhance their livelihoods.”
“With such assistance by Government we are also helping in improving the livelihoods of all Fijians. This is the new beginning of a new era for the line ministries under my portfolios.”
Minister Reddy reassured the villagers of Naisogovau and the neighboring communities that Government will be providing assistance to similar projects however they will need to work with the relevant authorities to ensure that proper planning and processes are being followed.
Village headman, 51 year old Waisea Tokia thanked Government for their timely assistance towards the construction of the new foot-crossing.
“For the past 30 years we were using coconut trunks for our foot crossing but we are thankful to Government for assisting us with a new foot-crossing.”
“The new bridge will benefit students and villagers as this is a flood prone area and when it floods we are not able to move around.”
Villagers were also given an opportunity to raise issues during a talanoa session where Minister Reddy responded to queries pertaining to his line ministries.