Need for more Parliament education programmes

Some women of Nadroga-Navosa have sounded the need for more Parliament education programmes for rural dwellers to help them understand better about the institution.

This was made known to the Parliament outreach team while conducting the “Parliament Bus” programme in some villages in the province last week.

Speaking on behalf of the women, Nalebaleba villager Iliseva Nakai said rural dwellers were usually deprived of the opportunity to visit Parliament or even watch the live sitting on television because of certain problems such as the lack of transportation and electricity supply to name a few.

“Due to our geographical location, most of us hardly come to the main centers, let alone have access to electricity and these are some of the reasons why we don’t know about Parliament,” she said.

“We don’t even understand about what happens in Parliament and because of this, most of us continue with their normal lives daily in their respective villages, paying less attention to the proceedings in Parliament.”

“But now, following this programme, we are so fortunate to have been enlightened for the first time about the roles and functions of Parliament and how we can engage with the institution and other important information.”

“While we are appreciative of this opportunity, there’s a need for more awareness sessions like this so every villager in this province is well-informed about Parliament thus, participate actively in all its proceedings.”

Fellow villager and headman Mr Mosese Gere said rural dwellers also needed to be frequently visited by the Members of Parliament.

“Some of us don’t even know all the Members of Parliament and how we can engage with them to ensure our voices are heard,” Mr Gere said.

“We are remotely-located and it’s difficult for most of us to visit Parliament. If the MPs can visit us every once in a while, this would really mean a lot to us.”

“Today, we are thankful that the outreach team has taken the time to visit us in these interior locations and bringing Parliament right to our doorsteps.”

Meanwhile, the team visited Vatubalavu, Wema, Draiba, Keiyasi, Jubairata, Nalebaleba, Dreke, Kosoisagana, Malomalo, Nawamagi, Lomawai and Lawai villages as part of the programme last week.

Ends.