An intensive study and subsequent public consultations will be carried out on the proposed re-establishment of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC).
The cabinet made this decision in its meeting on Tuesday and has assigned the Ministry of i-Taukei affairs to carry out this task.
In view of the fact that the GCC has not met since 2007 and the changes Fiji has gone through over the past 16 years, the cabinet decided that the GCC’s role will have to be reviewed.
This is to ensure that, within the current and evolving context of resilient and sustainable national development, it can best ‘value-add’ to the good governance and well-being of the indigenous population, and as a direct corollary, that of Fiji’s citizenry.
The review will be organised and coordinated by the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs.
The Permanent Secretary of iTaukei Affairs will provide oversight and guidance of the Review Team and will be supported by the Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) comprising iTaukei individuals representing different development perspectives, such as business investment, academia, human security, governance and disaster risk.
The appointment of the SAG will be made by the Minister for iTaukei Affairs on the advice of the Permanent Secretary.
The review and consultation is expected to take four months to complete and the final report will be presented to the Minister and subsequently to Cabinet.
Expressions of Interest will be called from individuals and groups to undertake the review.
