Ratunabuabua calls for stand-alone culture ministry

Women in Action Group executive Mere Ratunabuabua proposes a stand-alone Ministry of National Heritage, Culture and Arts to protect Fiji’s cultural identity and preserve the heritage of all ethnic groups.

Speaking at the Constitution Amendment Bill public consultation at the Girmit Centre in Nadi last Saturday, Ms Ratunabuabua, who is from Vunamoli, said a dedicated ministry would provide a clear focus on protecting traditional knowledge, developing the arts and preserving the country’s diverse cultural heritage.

“One of the issues that I would like to bring up is that we need to have a stand-alone ministry for national heritage, culture and arts,” she said.

Ms Ratunabuabua said a Cabinet decision in 2000, under Cabinet Paper 99, proposed the establishment of a Department of Culture and Heritage.

However, she said responsibility for culture and heritage had shifted between several ministries over the years, including those responsible for women, tourism, iTaukei affairs, education and, more recently, multi-ethnic affairs.

“If we don’t pride ourselves on our heritage, this is seen as an inability to make a decision to have a stand-alone ministry that looks after all of our heritage, all the groups,” she said.

“We have our iTaukei affairs, which focuses on our iTaukei language and culture, and then we have our multi-ethnic affairs, but we need to have a ministry that looks after everybody.”

Ms Ratunabuabua said Fiji needed stronger support for the arts and cultural sector, including better access to scholarships and more teachers to teach arts and languages in schools.

She also highlighted the need to protect traditional knowledge and intellectual property.

She said communities had been recording and documenting their heritage across the 14 provinces, but legislation to protect traditional knowledge had yet to be put in place.

“Some of the issues that were brought up were the protection of traditional knowledge for intellectual property. It has taken years, and we still haven’t had this Bill in place,” she said.

She said communities also needed stronger protection against copyright infringement, citing Fiji Airways’ logo as an example of concerns surrounding the use of traditional designs.

Ms Ratunabuabua said discussions during recent World Bank consultations on the creative industries had highlighted several challenges. Consultations had been held in the Northern, Western and Central divisions.

She also pointed to a shortage of archaeologists in Fiji and the wider Pacific region, warning that this affected efforts to document and map sites of cultural significance on the vanua.

The shortage also raised concerns about the timely completion of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and archaeological impact assessments (AIAs), she said.

Ms Ratunabuabua said she had recently attended a regional meeting involving Inclusion International, which works with galleries, libraries, archives and museums.

She said Fiji needed a dedicated ministry to coordinate heritage protection, support cultural development and ensure all communities were represented.

“The request is a simple one, just to make sure that we have a stand-alone ministry that celebrates our national identity. Otherwise, we’ll keep going from pillar to post, with a lack of focus,” she said.

Constitution Bill: what to know this week

Public consultations

• Today, 11am–1pm: Ba Market Bure.
• Today, 3pm–5pm: Tavualevu Village Hall.
• Tomorrow, 10am–12pm: George Shiu Raj Hall, Rakiraki.
• Tomorrow, 4pm–6pm: Rakiraki Village Hall, Navutulevu.
• Wednesday, 10am–12pm: Wailotua Village Hall, Wainibuka.
• Wednesday, 3pm–5pm: Korovou Primary School Hall.

Key deadlines and dates

• Friday, 4pm: Deadline for written submissions on Bill No. 32 of 2026. Submissions can be emailed to sakiusa.rakai@legislature.gov.fj, jackson_cakacaka@yahoo.com and susana.korovou@legislature.gov.fj. They must identify the person or group submitting them and address specific parts of the Bill.
• November: The Special Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, is scheduled to table its report in Parliament.

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