Fiji provinces reject PM Great Council membership

FIJI'S PROVINCIAL COUNCILS REJECT PRIME MINISTER'S MEMBERSHIP OF GREAT COUNCIL OF CHIEFS

SUVA (Pacnews) - Twelve out of the 14 provincial councils in Fiji do not want Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry to be a member of the Great Council of Chiefs, Radio Fiji reported today, reports Pacnews.

The report said representatives of the provinces made this known at the Council meeting in Suva last week. However, Council Chairman Sitiveni Rabuka said the Chiefs did not decide on the issue because it was not the right forum.

"This (the meeting) is not where the decisions of the provincial councils come forward. The provincial councils make their views known to the Ministry of Fijian Affairs, and that is put forward to the Fijian Affairs Board for processing for the Great Council of Chiefs deliberation," Rabuka said.

Asked why the Council of Chiefs deferred a decision on the matter when almost 90 per cent of the provinces wanted Chaudhry out, Rabuka said the Chief's Council was different from the provincial councils. Radio Fiji News was told that only two provinces - Lau and Serua - did not take a decision on Chaudhry's membership, saying they would go along with whatever decision made by the Chiefs.....PNS

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