The Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and the iTaukei Affairs Board have urged safeguards to protect village protocols as health authorities push proposed public health reforms that would expand inspectors’ powers in rural communities. Acting Permanent Secretary Josefa Toganivalu said the ministry supports measures to strengthen public health in villages but wants clear procedures to ensure environmental health officers respect customary governance and consult provincial offices and village leaders before inspections.
Toganivalu told the board the ministry backs reforms aimed at tackling sanitation and disease risks in rural Fiji, but raised specific concerns about provisions that would allow environmental health officers to enter iTaukei premises. He said any inspection regime should be aligned with existing iTaukei regulations and follow customary channels of consultation so that village protocols and leadership roles are acknowledged during enforcement actions.
Acting Chief Health Inspector Luke Vunitabua responded by outlining the legal gap the reforms seek to close. Vunitabua said the current Public Health Act cannot be applied to iTaukei villages because of Section 140, a provision that exempts village lands from the Act’s enforcement. That limitation, he said, prevents health authorities from responding effectively to complaints about waste disposal, poor sanitation, animal keeping and mosquito breeding in many communities.
“Although we receive complaints, a lot of public health complaints from the villages, we cannot enforce the Act because of Section 140,” Vunitabua said, describing how the legal exclusion hampers timely interventions. He argued the proposed bill would give health inspectors the authority to enter affected areas quickly when immediate action is required, filling a gap that currently delays or prevents enforcement.
Vunitabua underlined the urgency by pointing to the disease burden among iTaukei communities. He said 70 percent of reported cases of leptospirosis and dengue fever come from the iTaukei population, a statistic he used to justify stronger public health powers in villages. That figure sharpens the debate over how to balance respect for customary authority with the need for rapid, sometimes intrusive, disease-control measures.
The exchange between the ministry and health officials highlights an emerging policy tension: safeguarding traditional village governance while ensuring public health protections reach communities where disease incidence is high. Toganivalu’s call for prior consultations with provincial offices and village leaders frames a possible compromise approach that seeks to retain customary oversight while enabling necessary interventions.
Both the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs and the Ministry of Health appear to be signalling willingness to work toward solutions, but the details of any safeguard arrangements — how consultations would be structured, who would make final operational decisions during outbreaks, and how Section 140 would be addressed in law — remain to be negotiated as the proposed legislation moves forward.