Ratu Tevita is new SODELPA Youth president

A new chapter has begun for the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) Youth Constituency.

That's because Ratu Tevita Mo­moedonu, 32, was elected president after securing majority vote at the party's Youth annual general meeting held last Saturday in Suva.

He is from Viseisei, Vuda, with maternal links to Lau, and pursues a master's degree in international relations and diplomacy at the Uni­versity of Fiji.

The young Ratu Te­vita thanked the party and senior members for their trust and con­fidence in the next gen­eration of SODELPA members.

"Even though I'm new to politics, I'm thankful to the senior members of SODELPA and the party leader for trust­ing me and the youth of the party," he said.

Ratu Tevita intends to strengthen collabora­tion with his executive team and address the growing so­cial challenges faced by young people in Fiji.

"There are many social problems happening in our coun­try such as drug use, teenage pregnancies, school dropouts and these are issues that we need to work on to­gether." He said the strong turnout at the youth meeting reflected re­newed enthusiasm among young Fijians to participate in the politi­cal process.

"The youths number of youths who came showed they were keen and that we had their support," he said.

When asked about the challenges young people face in politics, he emphasised the importance of preparation, responsibility, and service.

"You have to build your founda­tion well. You need to know your­self and your capabilities before stepping into leadership," he said.

"For me, I don't see myself as the leader of the youth, I'm here to serve.

"I want to help and create aware­ness for youth here in Fiji."

The SODELPA Youth AGM drew participants from the Western Di­vision and Naitasiri, marking what party members say is a revitalised effort to increase youth engage­ment ahead of the next general election.