Lal can't demand for my resignation, he should stop being childish - Ro Filipe

Minister for Infrastructure, Ro Filipe Tuisawau says Member of Opposition, Ketan Lal cannot demand for his resignation because he is not the Prime Minister.

This follows as Lal demanded the Minister to resign after the Vuniyasi Bridge in Nadi collapsed on Monday along with other deteriorating infrastructure.

Ro Filipe says Lal should stop being childish as he is a grown man now.

The Minister says Lal is a non-entity without any powers to make demands and in fact, he should have resigned after his leaders Voreqe Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed-Kaiyum were removed from the Parliament.

While calling Lal a hypocrite, Ro Filipe says he voted against the pay increase but did not reject it once pay day came.

He says Lal has spent so many years in the university and still does not knows how the government system works.

Ro Filipe further says the Vuniyasi Bridge was weak but it collapsed due to the flooding.

He says it is stupid to expect a Minister to be personally checking on every bridge and road in the country.

He adds that Lal is just a desperate politician without a political party and his time will be up soon.

Meanwhile, Ketan Lal says Ro Filipe is the worst performing Minister.

He earlier said that the collapse of the bridge is yet another glaring example of the government’s utter failure to prioritize the safety and well-being of Fijians.

He says four people nearly lost their lives while the communities are now without access to vital roads and this is all because of negligence and inaction.

Lal criticized that for two years, the Fiji Roads Authority and the Public Works Department have been in disarray under the watch of this government.

He says despite big budgets and long-winded speeches, infrastructure is crumbling before our eyes.

The MP asked how many more lives need to be put at risk before the government acts responsibly.

Lal says all they see is the Minister wearing reflector vests and posing for photos while nothing meaningful is being done, and this level of incompetence is unacceptable.

He says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka should reshuffle the Cabinet and get the right people for the job.

The MP says the Minister responsible for infrastructure has failed to ensure proactive maintenance, oversight and investment where it matters most.

Fiji Roads Authority confirmed that they are aware of the Vuniyasi Bridge incident and have launched a preliminary investigation.

They assure that a detailed update will be provided once the investigation is complete.