TRADITIONAL leaders in Ba have been urged to rethink their approach to young people, with provincial council chairman Meli Tora describing the current generation as a “crisis generation”.
Responding to a question from The Fiji Times on the role of traditional leaders in protecting the vanua and improving people’s livelihoods, Mr Tora said changing times demanded a shift in mindset and leadership approaches.
“This is my own personal view, times have changed,” he said.
“There has to be a change in mindset and there has to be a paradigm shift in how we manage situations now.
“In the past words by the elders were fed by the youths, they listen and they follow.
“Currently today we are having a crisis generation.
“So, it’s how we approach them.”
Mr Tora said community leaders needed to engage directly with young people, explain the adverse effects of harmful behaviour and work with them to find solutions.
“Probably those who are heads in our communities need to go down and talk with them.
“We need to be mindful of what is affecting our youths today.”
