Apenisa Waqairadovu 
The late Minister for Agriculture Vatimi Rayalu will be laid to rest at the Old Suva Cemetery this Friday.
Rayalu passed away on Thursday afternoon following a short illness.
He was 57.
The formal notification of Rayalu’s death was made to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka yesterday, and arrangements were later finalized.
Reguregu will commence on Wednesday at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, and the funeral service will be hosted at the same venue.
Originally from Vanuavatu Island in the Lau Province, with maternal links to Naivilaca, Noco in Rewa Province, the late Rayalu contested the 14 December 2022 general elections under the banner of the People’s Alliance.
He was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Waterways on 24 December of the same year.
Before joining politics, he was a career civil servant, serving firstly as an agricultural assistant in the Ministry of Agriculture’s research division at Naduruloulou outside Nausori, Wainigata near Savusavu, and Mua in Taveuni.
He later served as Principal Agricultural Officer, Director of the Land Resource Division, and Director of Crop Extension and became Chief Economist for four years.
When he was promoted to Deputy Secretary of Corporate Services, the late Mr. Rayalu was in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Human Resources Department, Economic and Planning Services, and the Department of Finance.
He also served as acting Permanent Secretary for Agriculture on several occasions.
A former student of Queen Victoria School, Minister Rayalu graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture from the University of the South Pacific in 2000 and a Master’s in Business Administration in 2016.
He is survived by his wife, Vasiti, and six sons and two daughters.
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