16 Jul 2012

Villagers asked to pay for Vanuatu road after government pulls out

3:29 pm on 16 July 2012

The people of Vanualava in Vanuatu's Torba Province plan to complete a vital road after the government pulled out of the project.

The government has ordered the withdrawal of heavy machinery, prompting the island's chiefs to ask each inhabitant to contribute one thousand vatu, or about 11 US dollars, to pay to finish the road linking the eastern and western sides of the island.

Torba Province councillor Jack Wona says the chiefs believe the government is not interested in the development of Torba.