LEVUKA TOWN COUNCIL HAS AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO PLAY, SAYS MINISTER KUMAR
FIJIANS IN LEVUKA URGED TO DOWNLOAD THE CAREFIJI APP TO HELP REVIVE THE TOURISM INDUSTRY. Kumar: “How are we going to do things differently? That should be the focus and not the way we have been doing things for the past for so many years.”
The Levuka Town Council has an important role to fulfill, as the main governing institution, in assisting ordinary Fijians and businesses in Levuka.
This was highlighted by the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Community Development, Premila Kumar, during her visit to Levuka Town on Friday.
“We also want to meet the people in Levuka and understand what their needs are. If the ratepayers are not there, then the Levuka Town Council will not exist. So we have to understand who our clients are,” Minister Kumar said.
“The council has to think, how you can assist the business community, how you can assist the common man on the street, so that they all become productive and they can contribute to the development of Levuka.”
She added that as the council is governing the municipality, they have a really important role because there aren’t many Government institutions based in Levuka.
“How are we going to do things differently? That should be the focus and not the way we have been doing things for the past for so many years.”
“There would be some of the challenges that I’ll be putting across to you, and you need to rise up to the challenge.”
Minister Kumar also urged Fijians in Levuka to download the careFIJI app to help revive the tourism industry.
“It’s a $2 billion industry and the number of tourists coming to Fiji was far more than the population of our country. The number exceeded a little more than the population of Fiji first time in the history of Fiji.
“That is how good our tourism sector was and now we have lost our $2 billion industry.”
Minister Kumar said the budget focused on the economic recovery not only of businesses, but for workers and those who have been affected by COVID-19. Minister Kumar visited the Levuka Fire Station, Pacific Fishing Company (PAFCO), Levuka Hospital, the Baba settlement access road, the dump site at Natokalau and heritage sites around Levuka.