Community Issues Delay WAF in Water Supply Efforts – FBC News

(Source: Fiji Water Authority/Facebook)

The head of the Fiji Water Authority, Dr Amit Chanan, stressed that efforts to provide water to the affected areas were being hampered by problems within the community.

Dr Chanan notes that these problems are particularly prevalent in Sakoke, along the Khalsa to Nasina road, where residents often experience water supply shortages.

He explains that while WAF helps by providing water delivery services and other initiatives, a lack of cooperation among community members has hampered these efforts.

Dr. Chanan says they have tried to provide water tanks, but local politics within communities continue to hamper those efforts.

“We also used the idea that I think you originally proposed, which was to place some tanks at the community level. But we found ourselves in local politics not in my house, but in his house? why not at my house? So we reduced their number, just to avoid unpleasant consequences. So some of them still remain in critical places.”

However, he says they remain committed to helping affected communities by delivering water as best they can.

“We also recently started using SUVs with a tank in the back because they can go further in narrow streets than a tank.”

Chief operating officer Seru Soderberg says to address water issues in Sakoke and other upland areas, WAF has a project for Kolo-i-Suwa to address these issues.

The Water Authority is pleading with customers in these areas to be lenient in dealing with this issue.