The Ministry for Local Government yesterday held talks with the various cities and  towns festival organising committees in a bid to adopt a way forward for the committees.

One of them was to bring in more young people to bring in new and exciting ideas for the festivals.

Minister for Local Government, Housing and Community Development Premila Kumar said this during the Township Festival Meeting at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi yesterday.

Recently, the Ministry of Local Government has been receiving calls from the public to look into the format of the festival committee with an aim to improve Governance and festival actual activities.

Ms Kumar said: “If you ask the public, they are simply fed up of the way we are organising our festivals. Same old, no creativity.”

She said some people were sitting in festival committees for too long and thus no innovation had taken place.

Committee governance

Additionally, the Town and City Festival Framework document when approved would serve as a key part of governance arrangements for the conduct of the town and city festivals (including beauty pageants) organized across Fiji.

“I want to introduce it as a regulation, a legal requirement so it is an obligation and requirement. At the end of the it is the public’s money,” she said.

She was referring that one festival committee were organising funds and sending people for health-related treatment overseas. Some festivals committees do not declare how much had been raised.

She added the framework indicates broadly the roles played by various parties who would come together to stage festivals in towns and cities.

“Later on, we want to convert that on to a regulation where the accountability mechanism will be clearly stated.

“Each and every committee member organizing festival and events should be able to declare to the public, particularly if it is do with public events. Public have a right to know that there is more transparency in the way.”

Ms Kumar alluded to bringing in more young people to hold key positions in the festival committees.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa