Concerns over government authority and the rights of villagers were raised during public consultations on Fiji’s proposed constitutional amendments, with Savusavu resident Jovesa Maivalili calling for the return of what he described as their sovereignty and individual rights.
Mr Maivalili told Parliament’s special committee in Savusavu last Saturday that villagers had raised concerns about gravel being taken after being told someone from the Government had authorised it.
“The people in the village told me somebody from government came here and told us to take the gravels,” he said.
He questioned whether the Government should reconsider how it exercised its authority over communities and their resources.
“The issue is if the government could reconsider giving us our right and our sovereignty back.”
Mr Maivalili said he had reflected on the issue and linked his concerns to the legacy of colonialism and the laws introduced under successive systems of governance.
“I thought hard about it, very hard about it and I went back to colonialism and to democracy where the government had created laws and decrees in my point of view to legalise abuse and robbery and rape of a sovereignty and our divine right.”
He called on the Government to restore individual rights, warning that people faced uncertainty about their future.
“I’m requesting the government to return our individual rights.
“Many things are happening on the ground. I don’t know how we are going to survive our tomorrows.”
