Navosa wants to quit

July 30, 2012 | Filed under: Fiji News | Posted by: newsroom
Province seeks the PM’s help
By Maika Bolatiki

The people of Navosa want their own province.


For generations they had been part of the Nadroga/Navosa Province.


On Friday they told Prime Minister, Commander Voreqe Bainimarama that they wanted to be separated from Nadroga.


A spokesman said for years the people of Navosa had been neglected in terms of development as there was no budgetary allocation for them.


Commodore Bainimarama heard submissions and requests for the separation while opening the Bainimarama-Vatutoko Primary School at Nubuyanitu Village – a school named after him after he directed its construction.

He was also the first PM to visit the village.

However, he did not want to commit his Government on the move to have Navosa as the 15th province of the nation.


He said a new budgetary allocation would be provided for Navosa.


He said the province of Navosa was bigger than Nadroga.


He said Navosa had a lot of resources but very little development compared to Nadroga.


“My Government fully supports the provision of a separate budgetary allocation for the province of Navosa and this does not mean that it is separated from the province of Nadroga,” the Prime Minister said.


He said to begin with, Navosa province would have its own Roko Tui, a district officer (DO) and provincial administrator (PA).

He said Government services would have to be increased so that people would get the best service.

The announcement made by the Prime Minister was greeted with applause.

A 70-year-old man said he was glad that the Prime Minister had answered their call which had been ignored by past governments.

The Prime Minister said the Commissioner Western, Commander Joeli Cawaki would look into the matter. Commander Cawaki said a District Officer had been named and would be followed by the naming of a Roko Tui and a Provincial Administrator.

He said works would begin to improve the Keiyasi Health Centre in Navosa. Road works had started including improvement of other infrastructures in the province. The changes would see an increase in developments in Navosa.