PM urges quick appointment of JP for town

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday said a Justice of the Peace for Korovou would be appointed soon. He was shocked to hear that there was no Justice of the Peace at Korovou.

The Prime Minister asked the Commissioner Central, Setareki Tale, to make a submission on the names.

“You can include the name of Rusiate Tudravu, the new chairman of the Tailevu Provincial Council,” he said.

He wanted the names to be handed to him yesterday. Meanwhile, Mr Bainimarama opened the Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) office in Korovou yesterday.

With the opening of this office, he said, the Tailevu North community no longer needed to make a long and arduous journey to access these basic registry services.

“Instead you have modern, new office space here in Korovou, with the full slate of services offered in any of our major population centres,” Mr Bainimarama said. “Here, you can obtain birth certificates, death certificates and access marriage services.” Mr Bainimarama said this was only part of his Government’s work to make such services more available for Fijians throughout the country.

“We are in the midst of very exciting work with a Singaporean Government agency to move BDM registry services in Fiji into the 21st Century,” he said. Mr Bainimarama said their work was ongoing, but the Government had some big announcements to make down the track. Meanwhile, at the opening of a new Legal Aid Commission (LAC) office at Korovou at which the Prime Minister officiated, LAC acting Director Shahin Ali said the commission now provided a choice for all Fijians, whether to seek private legal representation or through their lawyers.