PM Rabuka at the Nadarivatu event. [PHOTO: SAINIANI BOILA]
The government is considering a resettlement program to support people who have moved to urban areas but now want to return to their rural villages and maritime communities.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said the proposal would require cooperation between government ministries, agencies and provincial authorities to support those wishing to return to their home areas.
“We in Fiji are fortunate. Those of us from the rural areas are fortunate. Especially from the maritime islands of Fiji, we are fortunate to have been welcomed into the main centers of development over the past years and to have grown and have learned and have benefited from the developments of the urban areas to become what we have become.”
Speaking at the reopening of the refurbished District Officer’s Office in Nadarivatu, Rabuka said development must reach rural and maritime communities and not be concentrated only in urban centres.
He said many people had left their villages over the years in search of education and employment opportunities in towns and cities.
However, Rabuka said some were now looking to return to their districts, provinces and traditional communities.
He said he had raised the idea with Cabinet members, with discussions focused on how government could assist those wanting to resettle.
The Prime Minister said strengthening rural communities was important to ensure development continued across the country.
Rabuka also reopened the Nadarivatu District Office and marked the establishment of an iTaukei Land Trust Board office in the area.
