The rate arrears for the Labasa Town Council have increased from $1.4 million in past years to over $2 million in this new financial year.

This has been highlighted by the Labasa Special Administrator Samuela Ligairi urging ratepayers to take advantage of the current discounts offered on rates to clear their dues, as the money is crucial for carrying out developments and upgrades in the town area.

He says with a total of 1,200 ratepayers in Labasa, the council believes that consultation and dialogue would best deal with payment methods to clear off pending arrears.

Labasa Special Administrator Samuela Ligairi

However, Ligairi says he is pleased with the 1,411 Labasa market vendors, as many are up to date with their rates.

“For the market itself, we only have around $5,000 arrears at the moment, which is a good sign that people are coming up to pay. And we’ll request other ratepayers if they come in and discuss with us payment measures. For now, for August, we’ll be giving a 5% discount, and for September, we’ll be giving a 7% discount on areas that people, if they do come in, as this new financial year has just started.”

While the pending arrears remain a challenge for Labasa Municipality, the UN Women under the UNDP have assisted the council with four tents and seven bins at the Labasa food market.

Meanwhile, Labasa town council, in collaboration with Festival of the Friendly North, will be constructing an ablution block for Subrail Park Ground 2 while the construction of benches and bins around the town continues.