MARKET vendors in Rakiraki have been brought in to assist local authorities and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) minimise the effects of floods in the town.
Rakiraki Town Council interim special administrator Seini Raiko said consultations between women market vendors and UNDP were conducted recently to determine the needs for an Early Recovery from Disaster project.
Ms Raiko said the UNDP project was co-signed with the Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Provincial Development.
She said the vendors helped identify the type of work they were willing and able to do to assist in the minimisation of the flood effects. "The UNDP will pay cash for work the women vendors will do to assist them in minimising any future flood damage," she said.
Although, the step taken by the council and UNDP is towards the right direction, Ms Raiko said not all the market vendors had been forthcoming. She said not all the women vendors were enthusiastic about the project.
However, 40 per cent of those attended the consultations responded very well to the project.
She said the two government ministries involved in the project would facilitate the process of engagement between UNDP and the market vendors.
Registration for vendors starts today.