Ditoka to visit West

MINISTER for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Sakiasi Ditoka will visit the Western Division after his tour of Vanua Levu.

Mr Ditoka is on a tour up North and will also visit families who are still living in tents since Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasa and TC Ana tore through the country in 2020.

This week, the Western Division copped heavy rain and flash flooding as a result of a low pressure system.

Mr Ditoka assured Fijians that his ministry was working closely with the Fiji Meteorological Service (FMS) to monitor the adverse weather affecting the division.

He confirmed he was fully briefed by the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and teams on the ground were providing updates on the situations to senior management about the situation in the West.

“Our western team is ably led by the Commissioner Western Division Apolosi Lewaqai and he and his team had been closely monitoring the situation in the past couple of days.

“I have complete trust in the officials of my ministry and I intend to let them do what they are entrusted to do. They had conducted visitations to some of our flood prone communities in the West and I am relieved to confirm that there have only been reports of minimal damage.

“Our team has also been in constant discussion with Director Meteorological Services and his team with regards to the possible impacts as we continue to prepare for worst case scenarios accordingly.

“On our return from Vanua Levu tomorrow (today), I intend to make a visit to our Western Division for an on-site brief by the Commissioner Western Division and his team.”