TRADITIONAL leaders of the yavusa Mataikoro in Cakaudrove have ruled in favour of expelling any villager found guilty of yaqona theft.
Yavusa head Poasa Ravea said they had agreed on this in a traditional meeting and various village meetings held in the area. The decision, he said, had been agreed upon after the uncontrollable situation of increasing yaqona theft.
Mr Ravea said this was the last option they discussed in past village meetings over the past two years as the reports of yaqona theft increased.
He said they had tried other methods such as working with the police to curb this crime and report it so that thieves were arrested and charged.
However, Mr Ravea said, there had been no success with this option so they decided to banish those involved and found guilty.
He said those found guilty needed to leave the village for five years, whether they were registered or not in the Vola ni Kawa Bula (VKB) as villagers of Mataikoro or Bagasau.
Mr Ravea said his people had fallen victims to the crime that had affected many families.
“Yaqona is our major source of income and when it gets stolen from our farms, we don’t have any other source of income except copra which does not pay as much as yaqona,” he said.
“A young boy in this village has had his farm attacked three times by thieves and now he doesn’t want to farm any more.
“So something needs to be done to stop the increasing reports of yaqona theft because families suffer.”
Bagasau Village elder Iliapi Doa said his village had also agreed to banish villagers found guilty of the crime.
“It’s best because even police cannot stop the crime so we just have to move people out if they are found stealing yaqona.”
Cakaudrove Provincial Council chairman Ratu Jekesoni Yavalanavanua said such options had been adopted because of the situation.
“I understand that some village leaders will opt for that because the stealing continues, it affects family lives and in the midst of fighting poverty, people continue to steal,” he said.
“We are working with the police, but nothing seems to change so village leaders decide to vacate those found guilty of yaqona theft.
In Somosomo, Taveuni,we have the same rule for those who mix home-brew in the village boundary and get drunk and disorderly.”
