Dont forget the younger generation - Ro Teimumu

Fiji Village News - 28 April 2010

Rewa High Chief Ro Temumu Kepa has called on leaders in the province not to forget the younger generation and to ensure that more women are given scholarships from the provincial scholarship fund.

Addressing the various Mata ni tikina=s as well as Government representatives at the Rewa Provincial Council meet at Suvaou village today, Ro Temumu praised the setting up of the Scholarship provision in 2007 up until now.

She added that the young children of Rewa have been able to get good education and many of them now occupy good posts.

However, she adds that out of the total number of scholarships only 46.75 percent has been given to girls and calls for them to consider giving more emphasis to girls as they are the ones who are very disadvantaged in society.

She said that the education of women is important as they are the ones that raise the future generation and more needs to be done for them.

Ro Temumu also said at the recent Pacific Food summit, it was revealed that malaria and mal-nutrition was an issue as the mothers were not aware of the right type of food to eat and this could have been avoided if the ladies had a good education.

The Rewa Provincial council meeting at Suvavou Village will end tommorrow.

Asaeli picks up pieces

Fiji Times - Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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Asaeli Matanitoakula with his children inside his rebuilt home after Hurricane Tomas

LIKE other victims of Hurricane Tomas, Asaeli Matanitoakula lost everything in the disaster -- from his six children's clothes to their home at Matanadrave settlement in Tunuloa, Cakaudrove.

Disturbed by the natural disaster, Asaeli moved his family to a relative's home a week after Tomas left our shores but that didn't keep him from getting on with life.

Picking up the pieces, Asaeli built a new home for his wife and children from the remains of his old home, which was taken down by Tomas on the eve of March 14.

With broken pieces of wood and roofing iron, Asaeli nailed the pieces together -- joining them to make longer pieces of wood to help rebuild his home.

In Fijian, he softly said: "Au sa tara ga na neitou vale baleta na bula ni noqu matavuvale e bibi cake mai na waraka tiko na veivuke (I have just moved on with life because my family's life is more important then waiting for help)."

Asaeli, whose wife is sickly, said he had no choice but to build his new home because he needed to provide shelter for his family.

Being a victim of such a loss is not an easy experience as he explained the heartbreak he endured -- seeing his children standing homeless outside their devastated home.

"E dua na ka mosimosi, ia au sa vakaukauwa ga me'u tara tale na neitou vale vakamatavuvale baleta me rawa kina na toso (It is such a painful experience but I had to gather the strength to rebuild our lives and move on).

"Meda raica na luveda, mera duri tu e tuba ka davo tu na vale e dakudra e a kauta ga mai na tagi, ia au vakavinavinakataka na Kalou ena nona veitaqomaki (For us to see our children standing outside their fallen house only brings tears to our eyes but I thank God for his protection," Asaeli said.

Three weeks after Hurricane Tomas struck parts of Cakaudrove in the north and islands in the Lau Group, Asaeli built a one-bedroom home for his family.

He also built a kitchen adjacent to the house with materials he could find.

His old home had three bedrooms with a spacious kitchen inside.

But that has not affected Asaeli, who believes that self reliance and independence help bring a better tomorrow.

He said that because of his strong belief in always looking forward to a better tomorrow, his life has not been badly affected by Tomas.

Instead he has taken the hurricane as a way of improving his building skills to provide his family with a better home.

NLTB works on land use

Fiji Times - Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Jo Serulagilagi

CONSULTATIONS between Native Land Trust Board officers and landowners are still ongoing says Native Land Trust Board General Manager Alipate Qetaki.

He said they wanted to focus on the issue of better utilisation of land when discussing lease extensions or renewals.

"What is required is a proper balancing of all interests and to ensure that we reach a win-win situation," Mr Qetaki said.

He said no problem had been been encountered by the NLTB consultation team, which have been discussing with farmers on issues and Government's expectation with the landowners.

Mr Qetaki said they were aware of expiring and expired dairy leases.

"Farmers are advised to talk to NLTB in good time. NLTB also discusses landowner issues with farmers so that they are aware of these. NLTB is part of the effort to see that agricultural leases, including dairy leases, are extended," he said.

"There are landowner issues that need to be addressed. Some of these issues are now being addressed and resolved by the Government like the rent subsidy scheme."

He said there was a problem of rent arrears which someone had to pay and there was also the question of premiums and farmers had been advised that a win-win situation was to be achieved for all.

Mr Qetaki said it was normal for the tenant to indicate an intention to have a lease extended and this would trigger renewal mechanisms set out in the NLTB regulations.

"Most of the dairy leases are for 99 years so it is normal procedure that the landowners are consulted on the matter after the land has been alienated for so long," he said.

Last week, Rewa Co-operative Dairy Limited chairman Josefa Serulagilagi said most of the farmers whose land leases expired at the end of this year supplied between 1000 to 2000 litres of milk to the company every day.

He said these were "big- time farmers" with large farms and were major suppliers to the company.

"These farmers are from the Korovou, Waimaro and Wainivesi areas and if their leases are not renewed, it could add further problems to the company," he said.

He said there was a team in place to liaise with landowners and the Native Land Trust Board on the expiry of land leases issue, its effects and the need to renew these leases.

Head of Govermment Voreqe Bainimara was briefed by dairy farmers on the expiry of leases.

At least seven leases will expire by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, consultations will be held between the Public Service Commission and Ministry of Agriculture senior officers on complaints raised by the Rewa Dairy farmers.

PSC chief executive Parmesh Chand said he was aware of the issues raised by dairy farmers during their meeting with Commodore Bainimarama two weeks ago. "We will consult on deficiencies in manpower or work practices and how it can be rectified," Mr Chand said.

He said it was their duty to see if there was " lack of resources and we will attend to that".

Strict village bylaws face review

by Theresa Ralogaivau

Fiji Times - Monday, April 26, 2010

EXISTING village bylaws that infringe on personal rights or expose people to harm and contradict State laws will be removed.

A consultation process on a set of village bylaws being proposed by the Fijian Affairs Board has covered 105 villages in the province. Roko Tui Cakaudrove Ro Aca Mataitini said villages had their own bylaws and these laws whether generated by the village or proposed by the province must be in line with government laws.

Laws forbidding same sex encounters, premarital legal age sex or extra marital sex were proposed for implementation at the council meeting last year and may be abandoned.

A law at Nukubalavu Village forbids the wearing of shoes in the village. Mr Mataitini said villagers have been told that laws that infringe on rights or expose people to harm would be removed.

or injury will have to be reconsidered.

"They can come up with any law but the final say rests with the government," he said.

The issue is up for discussion at May 25th and 26th provincial council meet at Yaroi village in Savusavu.

The consultation process on the laws proposed by the Fijian Affairs Board is expected to end in June.

Yaqona Sale to go Online

Fiji Village News - 23 April 2010

With the government calling on all industry stakeholders to look at new initiatives and ideas to develop Fiji's industries and increase export dollars, a leading local kava outlet is now getting ready to start selling kava online.

Lami Kava which has been in the kava retail business for the last 24 years said the overseas market for kava is now getting bigger with many Fijians living abroad.

Lami Kava Managing Director, Donnie Yee is hoping that he will get the necessary assistance to start off this new initiative.

Yee also said the company has come up with a unique style of packaging that will preserve the kava for months.

Fiji's kava industry is hoping that the government provides the necessary assistance to regulate the industry and try to boost kava exports.

Hopes are also high that the kava ban in some countries will be lifted.

There are some positive indications.

A few months ago a team conducted a Queensland University study on kava and it is advocating the establishment of a regional Kava Quality Control Mechanism to ensure that the quality of the kava to be exported meets the necessary standards.

Researcher Jerome Saris said they have also established that the kava pills that resulted in the overseas bans were really concentrated. 

Saris said the university is now looking for support to conduct an even bigger trial to test kava's depression relieving properties against standard anti-depressant medication.

The Agriculture Ministry is expected to comment on Lami Kava's new initiative and the future of the kava industry later today.

Messiah Flock Defiant

by Serafina Silatoga

Thursday, April 22, 2010

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Villagers of Nakawakawa in Bua look at the remains of Sairusi Nabogibogi's burnt house. Picture: SERAFINA SILAITOGA

FOLLOWERS of the Messiah Movement founded by the late Sairusi Nabogibogi have refused to move out of Nakawakawa Village in Bua.

Instead, they have called on the Tui Wainunu, Ratu Orisi Baleitavea, and the turaga ni yavusa (clan head), Naniu Drau, Ilieasa Ratusaki, to resolve the matter through dialogue.

The followers were told to move after arsonists burned a home built in Mr Nabogibogi's memory at the weekend.

Mr Nabogobogi, who was from Nakorotubu in Ra, formed the movement in the 1960s to promote communal living and farming.

Profits from communal farms were shared and used to build homes and develop a settlement at Selemi on the north-eastern coast of Viti Levu.

His mother was from Nakawakawa.

The group's senior member, Samuela Sigatokaicake, said the traditional leaders had not informed them about the ultimatum.

Ratu Orisi told the Fiji Times he gave the group two weeks to move out of the village as they had continued to treasure the property of Mr Nabogibogi.

Nakawakawa Village headman Tevita Kubi said the group should respect the wishes of the chief and move out.

But Mr Sigatokaicake claimed that his members had brought major changes to the lives of poor families in the village.

He said the group had opened a shop and started a dalo farming program aimed at improving living standards in the village.

Mr Sigatokaicake said the farming program had returned good earnings to their members and enabled them to afford educational expenses.

He added that Jesus Christ remained their God and they were members of the Methodist Church.

Cabinet Approves New Village Guidelines by FAB

Fiji Village News - 20 April 2010

A number of guidelines proposed by the Fijian Affairs Board for the registration of I Taukei settlements to be officially recognized as villages has been agreed to by Cabinet.

Cabinet based its decision on a submission by the Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama and these guidelines will be adopted as a By Law under the provisions of Regulation 2 of the Fijian Affairs(Tikina and Village) Regulation, 1996.

The Prime Minister said that over the years, requests have been received by the FAB for the official recognition and registration of indigenous settlements to be registered indigenous villages.

He added that no decision has ever been taken on these applications because no guidelines or rules have ever been developed and adopted, to be used as the criteria for assessing such requests to facilitate their registration, or otherwise as villages.

Meanwhile these guidelines are as follows:

• the proposed site must be on native land within the land boundary of its Parent Yavusa,
• the proposed village must be sited on native land where the landowning unit of the land concerned has agreed to surrender, in the traditional manner, ownership rights to such land and which would after registration be owned communally by the village, 
• the inhabitants of the village must be from the one Yavusa, and
•  have recognized and accepted a leader of the new village.