Lord Mayor of Port Vila Eric Puyo Festa has delivered over Vt4 Million worth of relief supplies to Luganville Mayor Peter Pati for distribution to Tropical Cyclone Harold victims.
“The shipment of goods should have arrived on Monday but the lockdown in Malekula following the COVID 19 scare forced the crew and the captain of the Pacific Star to be put in quarantine for nearly four days,” Mr Festa explained.
Before the delivery he thanked Port Vila based companies like Au Bon Marche, Vila Hard Ware, Vate Beverage, Leong Hardware, Wilco Harware, Computer World, Vila Distribution and Cellovila for donating the items.
Port Vila and Luganville established sister city relations in 1997.
When a category 5 Cyclone Pam swept across Efate in 2015 destroying buildings and damaged vegetation in Port Vila, the Luganville Municipal Council was the first to supply local food to Port Vila.
Port Vila Mayor Mr Festa and Port Vila City Town Clerk Peter Sakita visited the premises of the Luganville Municipal Council but the LMC buildings were completely destroyed – there was no roofing on 90 percent of the offices.
LMC now operates from a rented building behind the John Lum store near the road to Harbour view.
The last cyclone to hit Luganville was Nigel in 1985.
After 35 years Vanuatu’s second town was ravaged by a monstrous cyclone and a global pandemic COVID19 that disrupts cyclone relief supplies from our friend countries outside.
Photo supplied Caption: Lord Mayor Festa, PVCC Town Clerk Peter Sakita, Warden Morris Kalfau at the NISCOL Wharf with Mayor Peter Pati and Luganville Town Clerk Philip Isom. The container at the back is stacked with goods from Port Vila for Luganville.