Residents of Levuka have called on the Coalition Government to address long-standing infrastructure, health and service delivery challenges facing the old capital.

During the Fijian Media Association’s town hall forum held at the Levuka Town Hall last night, people turned up in numbers to raise their concerns and ask questions to Members of Public who were present at the forum last night.

Issues ranged from deteriorating road conditions and the damaged Levuka wharf to the closure of the Bureta airport, which residents say has not seen a flight in around ten years.

Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, acknowledged the poor state of roads on Ovalau and told residents the ministry intends to base contractors on the island through a depot arrangement to improve quality.

He sayds around $12 million had been assigned for road works in the maritime area, but cautioned that financing remained a challenge, with an operational budget of about $300 million for road works nationwide.

Ro Filipe says improvements would be delivered incrementally as resources allowed, with planning and approval processes likely to continue until October.

On health services, residents raised concerns over the absence of an ambulance, the lack of a pharmacy, and expectant mothers being required to travel to Suva or Nausori for scans.

Officials from the Ministry of Health responded that a scan machine was available at the Levuka Hospital but that recruitment of a technician was still underway, and that the ministry had covered boat fares for patients over the past three years in the interim.

Residents were also told that one of ten ambulances received from India would be allocated to Levuka, and that the town’s mortuary was currently operational through the support of local businessman Ben Naidu and his company.

Minister for Justice and Acting Attorney-General, Siromi Turaga, a son of Lomaiviti, told residents that Cabinet had approved the reopening of the Ovalau airport to run at least one airline flight a week.

On the Levuka wharf, which has been damaged since 2016, residents were told that a Cabinet briefing had identified the port for development with financing from the United States, alongside the wharves in Suva and Lautoka.

Questions on land development, water supply and heritage restoration were also directed to Minister for Rural and Maritime Development, Mosese Bulitavu, who said feasibility studies and self-help initiatives could be explored, while the Water Authority of Fiji committed to beginning work at Visoto Village by September 2026.

Opposition members, including opposition leader, Inian Seruiratu and Premila Kumar, also took part in the forum.

Kumar suggested heritage buildings could be preserved by maintaining their facades while allowing modern interiors, and advised residents they could contact the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission on 155 to raise concerns over pricing.

The town hall series continues this Friday in Tailevu with the Korovou town hall, from 5pm to 7pm.