Tui Vuda, Ratu Eparama Kitione Tavaiqia, celebrated his 93rd birthday on Monday to make him oldest surviving chief in the country today.

On Monday, the vanua o Vuda celebrated with him in a significant milestone of his life.

In his birthday message, Ratu Eparama empowered people of Viseisei and Vuda to thrive on business investments.

“For the people of Vuda, a lot of our funds are going towards our village-based events and we tend to forget about generating income-based projects,” he said

“We should have done this many decades in the past, had we been aware this could have been done for us to be on par with modern business trends.

“The upcoming generation must be aware so as to understand and start a business as we have a lot of resources for our families.”

Tui Vuda acknowledged Government for opening many pathways in these areas.

“We should embrace this and work towards it. I urge the children to study and not just play, play, and play. There are some things they can do at home,” he said.

The Social Democratic Liberal Party in a statement said, “we celebrate a truly remarkable individual, a stalwart of our cause, and a shining example of unwavering dedication to our party. It is with immense joy and admiration.

“Ratu Eparama Kitione Tavaiqia has been a steadfast supporter of the party, a pillar of strength upon which the party has leaned on for decades.”

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