Navuso villagers in Naitasiri have raised concerns over Fiji Roads Authority’s (FRA) delay in tar sealing a road that runs through their village.
Village headman Joeli Mudu claimed the existing gravel road was a health hazard for residents because the dust kicked up when vehicles travelled by.
“This road goes all the way to the Navuso Agricultural Technical Institute and so heavy vehicles and trucks pass by here every day,” he said. “When they go by, most of the drivers rarely drive slowly and there are houses on both sides of the road.
“The dust from the road goes into these homes and this in itself is a health hazard.”
The dust issue was raised with Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama during a recent visit. Mr Mudu said they had met government and FRA officials three times — in 2019, 2020 and this year when Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama opened a new classroom at the Navuso District School — but there had been no progress so far.
He said the least they could have done was erect a sign at the beginning of the road so that drivers would slow down.
“This road is going straight through the village centre and they could have at least put up a sign board telling drivers to “slow down through village”.
“If not a sign telling drivers to slow down, then they should have put up a speed limit sign so that drivers would adhere to that limit.”
In response to queries from The Fiji Times, FRA chief executive officer Kamal Prasad said they were still progressively upgrading unsealed roads.
“The FRA has 6400km of roads under its jurisdiction of which 4600km is unsealed,” he said.
“We are progressively upgrading the unsealed road to seal starting with sealing the frontage of social amenities, schools, places of worship, and villages.
“Navuso Village frontage has been planned for financial year 2024/2025.”
