Station in ‘shocking’ and ‘terrible’ condition
IF Occupational Health and Safety officers walk into this station they will close it down, Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua said as he told officers at the Nadi Police Station to move into their new multi-million dollar complex.
Mr Tikoduadua labelled the condition of the station as “shocking” and “terrible”.
He said this while on tour on Friday as part of his visit to facilities in the West.
“The conditions are terrible, to be very honest,” Mr Tikoduadua said.
“It is quite shocking what our officers are working with at the moment.
“So I have asked the officers who are working in the current station in Nadi to come out of there and move into the new building as soon as possible.
“I think if OHS walked into that station today, they would close that place down.
“There is no reason to stay there any longer. They should move.”
He said the fully equipped multi-million dollar building has set the standard for other government buildings.
“I’m glad that the new police station is there, particularly for Nadi.
“I have seen a similar station in Nakasi. It is quite nice, but that is the way it should be.
“For police or anyone that works for Government and anyone for that matter should enjoy that kind of infrastructure standard in order for them to do their work efficiently and properly.”
Mr Tikoduadua said he would recommend similar upgrades in other sectors of government, especially the health sector.
“I am just a bit worried that our health services are far from that standard.
“It is good that our Police Force is getting improvements to their services, but I think the same level of concern should be accorded to our hospitals, which are really in a state of disrepair in many places. CWM is one we know of.
“So I would support any action to raise our standards and this is the standard that we should follow.
“Our police deserve this and obviously every other service within the Government and people that work for the people through Government deserve to be working under those standards too.”