Leader of Opposition, Inia Seruiraty says it is the responsibility of the current Government to continue the good work that was done by FijiFirst and complete the implementation of major infrastructure plans.
He said this includes policies such as the Water Strategy 2050 and the major roads upgrades by Fiji Roads Authority as outlined in the National Development Plan.
Seruiratu said a lot of comments have been stated recently by the Government on the state of our aging infrastructure and this is a fact that no Government can deny, but to accept, and most importantly, act on it.
“Any responsible Government will do just that because not only does it serve the needs of the people, but it also creates the environment for growth and investment.”
“A modern state economy is very much dependent on the state and quality of its infrastructure.”
Seruiratu said the FijiFirst Government was confronted with the same challenges and took some decisive actions to address them.
“The actions taken mainly focused on institutional changes, project identification and prioritization, resource sourcing and allocation, and capacity and capability development.”
“The two main institutions created after a detailed audit of the roads and water infrastructures were the Fiji Roads Authority (FRA) and Water Authority of Fiji (WAF), respectively.”
He said huge budgetary allocations were given annually to both FRA and WAF in recent years to fix not all, but the priorities already identified.
“Roads were upgraded, new ones constructed, bridges and jetties were built, and the same goes for water related projects such as the Rewa River Water Scheme or the Viria Project.”
“Additionally, these included the Construction of 52 new bridges, 4 lane highways from Suva to Nausori and Nadi Airport to Martintar, the Hibiscus highway, Nabouwalu to Dreketi, Sawani to Serea, under-the-sea water projects to Moturiki, Malake and Galoa, numerous water projects in rural areas across Fiji and many more such projects.”
“And along the way, there has been upgrading of old infrastructure while at the same time keeping up with the pressures to meet the needs of new customers, especially with the explosion of population into urban areas especially the Greater Suva Nausori corridor.”
He added that a lot of these were brought about by those who left the cane belts after not having their cane leases renewed.
