An Opposition Member of Parliament believes villages will not be able to effectively fight against drugs as village bylaws have not yet been fully enacted by government.
Parliamentarian Jone Usamate said while some villages already had bylaws in place, the system remained inconsistent and needed to be properly strengthened and aligned with the Constitution.
“I’m aware that some villages in Fiji have got their bylaws in place. One of the things I understand is that the problem is making sure that bylaws do not contravene the Constitution,” Mr Usamate said.
Although progress had been made in some areas, Mr Usamate said village governance frameworks were still not fully established nationwide.
“The village laws are in place, so I think that is progressing. But it has to be in coherence and congruence with the Constitution.”
He said in his own village experience, bylaws existed but had to comply with national law, with certain traditional practices removed.
“In the place that I was raised up in, village bylaws were in place, but they had to be in line with the Constitution. They cannot contravene it.”
He said banishment from villages if an individual was found with drugs could not be enforced as it’s not within the Constitution.
“So what they had to do is make sure those village bylaws are in line with the Constitution by removing things that do not align with it.”
He said stronger community reporting systems were needed to support law enforcement agencies, especially as drugs were increasingly found in maritime areas.
“It is not possible for the navy or police to keep watch on everything. We need stronger systems where people report what they see.”
He said fear of retaliation remained a major barrier to reporting drug-related activity, showing the need for whistleblower protection.
“Sometimes people are reluctant because they fear being attacked by those behind the drugs. There needs to be protection for people who give information. If people feel they will be targeted, they will stop reporting.”
He said there was also ongoing challenges with network coverage in remote areas, which affected communication and reporting capacity.
“I know there were more than 200 black spots when we were in government, and efforts are being made to address them.”
He said this was an area the government needed to work on to effectively fight drugs.
