Driver refuses schoolchildren from boarding bus, official told

THE bus company that services the route at 6am daily won’t allow his children on board the bus with him and his wife, says Viliame Soko, a resident of Wakanisila in Nasinu.

Mr Soko told officials during a Finance Ministry consultation at the Wakanisila Methodist Church on Monday the driver had instructed them that the children must wait for the 6.30am school bus.

“But we can’t leave our children to travel on the bus alone,” Mr Soko said.

“So, we have to catch a cab to the main road and then catch a bus to school and work.

“This is a costly inconvenience.”

Finance Ministry official Sekove Nakavono assured Mr Soko they would look into the issue.

A fellow resident, 70-year-old Sisilia Vakatuturaga, asked the officials about the amount of money allocated to the elderly who use the e-ticketing initiative.

“I used to get $25 a month on my bus card and often would use it up before the month ended, so I’d often top it up with $5 or $10,” Mrs Vakatuturaga said.

“It’s when I top up at the beginning of the new month that I would only get $5 or $10, thus my question.”

Ministry officials clarified that to still be eligible for the $25 monthly top-up, users must present a receipt of the top-up amount used.

Another resident, Imanueli Qica, asked the ministry officials what would happen to the government’s national development plans if the Government were to change in the next elections.

Ministry official Sekove Nakavono explained this could happen, and in the eventuality that it did happen, governments are duty-bound to carry on with development, irrespective of which government was in power.