Permanent Secretary for i-Taukei Affairs Pita Tagicakirewa has revealed that the Great Council of Chiefs will be reconstituted no later than the end of this year.
Tagicakirewa said that the meeting held on the chiefly island of Bau was only possible under the directives of His Excellency, the President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere.
He said there is an undertaking by the Ministry of i-Taukei Affairs to produce a policy paper to Cabinet to constitute the Great Council of Chiefs and this is a long process which it intends complete by year end.
“The Government has given the Ministry a timeline to work with, and we are working towards the timeline, which is by the end of the year. We hope to get it legally constituted by no later of this year.”
He also stated that discussions will also centre around the rise in social ills that continue to plague Fiji.
Tagicakirewa said issues such as the rise in crime rates in our traditional settings, HIV Aids, unemployment, the non-engagement of traditional duties on those that have found their footings in urban settings.
He added these are some of the issues that cannot be avoided any more and needs to be addressed.
“It cannot be left to Government to address these issues alone; it needs the works of all stakeholders to address these issues on a national level.”
Meanwhile, the two-day Vakaturaga meeting will continue tomorrow at the Studio Six Hotel in Suva.
