Government’s job is to make sure that Police are able to give critical emergency aid to the community – PM

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says a community does not just need police when a crime is committed, it needs police presence to prevent crime and to help the community stay safe.

Bainimarama highlighted this at the commissioning of the Nayavu Police Post which will serve the people of Nayavu and Wainibuka District.

He says the Police Post is one more piece of infrastructure that makes this village more secure and keeps it connected with the rest of the country.

Bainimarama says we all remember the devastation that Tropical Cyclone Winston caused four years ago and communities like Nayavu depend on the police to guide them through an emergency and help them recover in its aftermath.

He says it is the government’s job to make sure that the Police are able to give that critical emergency aid to the community.

Bainimarama says they built the Police Post following the Build Back Better principle under the new Fiji National Building Code, and it can now withstand a Category 5 cyclone.

He says it is also very important that police have a modern facility, with the latest equipment and with adequate living quarters so that police can be a part of the community and this is when policing works best.

Bainimarama says police cannot serve the community if they have no reliable base of operations.

The Prime Minister says the facilities and infrastructure that have been built are critical to the national economic growth and the commitment they made to end inequality in this country.

Bainimarama says government has steadily extended services and opportunities to rural areas and to the most disadvantage and that is why they have rebuilt and upgraded schools and local community health centres.

He says it is why they have delivered legal assistance and internet service to areas that had never had them before and build better roads so that people can transport their goods, and so they can travel more easily to market, to hospital or to visit family.

Bainimarama says it is why we build modern Police and Fire Posts to protect the people.