The Fiji Times

Query on biodiversi­ty park

- By TANIELA LOMATA

THE turaga ni yavusa o Kalokolevu, Seveci Naisilisil­i, has expressed concern at the state of the Kalokolevu Biodiversi­ty Park.

Mr Naisilisil­i told the Finance Ministry’s consultati­ons at Kalokolevu Village earlier this month that the park was the first of its kind implemente­d in Fiji, “but we don’t know what is happening with it anymore”.

“We had worked with the Government, the South Pacific Regional Environmen­t Program and another NGO to make the four-acre park a reality,” Mr Naisilisil­i said.

“Our youths planted native trees to try to regain the natural fauna of the deforested area. It was also supposed to have a gravel walkway and natural tracks for visitors to take nature walks.

“It was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic and now that everything has returned to normal, we request the Government to help us to resume the program.”

In response, ministry official Jotame Yabakivitu said funding was available from other donors with an interest in nature conservati­on that could be tapped into by the villagers if they were interested.

“We have a gentleman here with us, Mr Yogees Karan, who is from Malaysia and is a consultant with the World Bank,” Mr Yabakivitu said.

“He has informed us there are funds available for such programs, so we can have a talk after this consultati­on.”

Mr Naisilisil­i also asked the ministry officials about the government’s back-to-school program that was initiated last year, informing them that some parents who’d applied for the funding never received the money despite lodging their applicatio­ns before the closing date.

“Most of the people here are farmers and fishermen who don’t earn much and rely on assistance to get along,” he said.

“They have come to me with complaints about not receiving the funds when school was about to start. We just want to know what the Government’s position is on this and whether affected parents can still receive it.”

Mr Yabakivitu said several factors could have stopped the funds from reaching the applicants.

“In our investigat­ion of similar cases, we have found that sometimes the phone numbers do not match the name of the applicant,” he said. “We also noted that some schools had been holding on to their student records, which we use for verificati­on.

“Other times, human error also affects the disburseme­nt of funds with a wrong number substitute­d for another.”

Mr Yabakivitu said those parents who had problems with the issue could provide their details together with their children’s informatio­n and the ministry would look into the matter.

 ?? Picture: JONA KONATACI ?? Seveci Naisilisil­i.
Picture: JONA KONATACI Seveci Naisilisil­i.
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