Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Sakiusa Tubuna has called on iTaukei communities to cut their heavy reliance on kerosene for village households and traditional ceremonies, urging a shift to locally available, safer energy alternatives. Speaking in Parliament this week, Mr Tubuna framed the appeal in the context of widening global tensions that are already putting pressure on energy supplies and prices.
Tubuna told lawmakers that the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran had strengthened the case for local energy resilience. “Communities need to look at alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on kerosene,” he said, adding that the Ministry for iTaukei Affairs, under Minister Iferemi Vasu, should draft regulations to prohibit kerosene use in most traditional ceremonies. The ministerial proposal was presented as the next step to formalise a move away from a fuel that is both hazardous and increasingly expensive.
As immediate alternatives, Tubuna urged the revival and promotion of traditional and low-cost technologies, including a stove fuelled by sawdust that he said “needs to be brought back and promoted in our village.” He also called for the promotion of handicrafts and other locally made items to replace kerosene-based practices during rituals, suggesting this transition could both reduce fuel dependence and bolster village livelihoods through local enterprise.
Tubuna highlighted an additional challenge: a shortage of firewood in many communities. He said villages lacked sufficient supply of appropriate tree species for household energy and suggested targeted tree-planting programmes to restore and sustain supply. “Specific tree species should be introduced to support household energy needs,” he told Parliament, signalling a combined approach of demand reduction and restorative supply planning.
A further practical alternative proposed by Tubuna was intensified pig farming to capture biogas. He argued that expanding pig production could provide feedstock for small-scale biogas systems, enabling households to use captured “pig gas” for cooking and other domestic needs. “It should be intensified so that pig gas could be captured and used by the communities,” he said, linking agricultural livelihoods to energy solutions.
The call comes as Pacific nations and agencies watch global supply risks closely. Earlier government bodies, including the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission, have warned that rising tensions in the Middle East risk pushing up fuel prices and disrupting shipments that affect Fiji. Regionally, other Pacific states have implemented contingency plans to protect fuel and essential supplies amid the same geopolitical uncertainty.
Domestically, Tubuna’s proposals sit alongside a broader move toward cleaner, less forest-dependent energy options. In 2025 the government began rolling out gas-fired crematoriums to reduce the pressure on native trees used in funeral pyres, a policy framed as both environmental and public-health driven. Tubuna’s speech expands that conversation into everyday village energy use and the cultural practices that drive demand.
If Minister Vasu proceeds with regulatory measures, the shift will require coordinated community engagement, funding for alternative technologies and training to ensure uptake. Tubuna argued these measures would not only reduce dependence on imported fuels but also “promote handicrafts” and other local industries, helping villages become more self-reliant while protecting health and the environment.