A multi-agency team, supported by the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, has successfully established Crime Prevention Maritime Security Committees in the nine tikinas of Kadavu. This initiative stems from the Community Policing-Vanua-Multi-agencies Crime Prevention and Maritime Security model that was introduced by Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka during the Kadavu Provincial Council meeting in July.
The initiative, titled “Solesolevaki ni Veitaqomaki; Matanitu, Vanua kei na Lotu,” aims to empower coastal communities by integrating traditional authority and vanua governance into crime prevention and maritime security efforts. By adopting a collaborative approach alongside various stakeholders—including the Republic of Fiji Navy, Fiji Police Force, Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji, Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Kadavu Provincial Council—licensed boat operators and community members will serve as the ‘eyes and ears at sea’, enhancing monitoring of Fiji’s maritime regions.
Kadavu has been chosen as the pilot location for the solesolevaki initiative.