Neiafu Town officer Vāvā Lapota said the media should continue to expose damage caused by natural disasters and poor infrastructure in Vava’u.
He said Vava’u was steep and it only took a day of heavy rain for damage to occur.
The flooding last week worsened the damage caused by cyclone Zasu last month to the new roads built by the government under the Prime Minister’s multi-million road project.
The floods were caused by poor or no drainage at all, he said. Houses in Neiafu were damaged and some vehicles had to avoid certain roads because they were overwhelmed with water.
He said only one of two drainage systems in Neiafu were working, with the others blocked by vegetation.
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Lapota said the drains were built about 10 years ago, but did not work properly.
He said there would have been no flooding if they had been built and maintained properly.
He said there was about a kilometre-long stretch of low-lying land that always flooded after heavy rain. If there was drainage the water could be drained into the Vaipua sea.
complaining
Lapota said he complained to an officer at the Ministry of Infrastructure’s office in Vava’u about the problems. He said the officer told him the problems occurred because people did not build the foundations of their houses high enough so flooding was not be a problem.
“I told him that was wrong,” Lapota said.
“If they built drainage it could resolve the problem. Not only that, but these houses were built when the roads were low. But since they repeatedly filled in the roads with layers of rocks to cover potholes it caused more problems,’ Lapota said.
Last week’s flooding came after heavy rain has caused flooding on many homes in Neiafu in November 2020.
The town officer described it as the worst flooding since the last 10 years.
MOI staff
Lapota said locals were concerned that those in the MOI office in Vava’u may not have enough experience or qualifications to do their job.
He said the issue was raised with Prime Minister Tu’i’onetoa when he first visited Vava’u to hear about their urgent needs early last year. He said former Parliamentary candidate Viliami Pasikala asked Hon. Tu’i’onetoa to send a civil engineer from Tongatapu to work on Vava’u’s infrastructure including the roads.
Pasikala said the government infrastructure in Vava’u built in the past was still standing because it was built by qualified civil engineers.
During that meeting, Former Director of the Ministry of Agriculture Haniteli Fa’anunu told the Prime Minister the level of government senior staff at Vava’u should be upgraded from officers in charge (OIC) and additional people should be employed at deputy levels.
He said developments in Vava’u were stalled and it was a pity to see it reflected in what he described as the worrying status of the tourism industry and the labour and commerce sectors.
He told the Prime Minster to bring better educated and young government staff to Vava’u.
The Prime Minister always said the reasons he visited the outer islands and met people was to give him an opportunity to see the problems they encountered.
He gave an example by saying that when he stepped down from the big boat into a small boat to travel to an island, coupled with being wet in the sea, he felt and experienced the problems the islanders faced from time to time.
Infrastructure Minister Akosita Lavulavu has been contacted for comment.
