[Photo: File]

Nabavatu families are still waiting for permanent homes, with the Government now considering additional tents and repairs to existing shelters as the relocation project faces further delays.

Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Mosese Bulitavu says he was only recently made aware of concerns about the condition of the tents.

He says the Government’s focus has been on completing the relocation to Nadoiviri, where 37 homes are being built.

Bulitavu says delays have been caused by the availability of construction materials, protests by some workers employed by contractors from Bangladesh, land negotiations and a geotechnical survey to determine whether the site can safely support the homes.

He says construction is progressing, with roofs now going up.

Bulitavu says the Government can look at providing tents supplied through Australia’s aid programme and replacing damaged wooden planks in existing shelters where resources are available.

But he says the priority remains getting families into permanent homes.

“We have to weigh improving the current tents against the need to complete the relocation and move families into decent homes.”

The families have spent years in temporary accommodation after their original Nabavatu settlement was declared unsafe following land instability worsened by Tropical Cyclone Ana in 2021.

Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica says 37 homes have already been completed, while further homes requested by the community are still under consideration.

He says land negotiations and geotechnical requirements have contributed to the delays.

Kamikamica says Nabavatu remains one of the relocation projects the Government has been working to complete.

For families who have already spent years waiting in tents, the focus now is on when the promise of permanent homes will finally become a reality.