The Chairman of the Lau Provincial Council, Colonel Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara has dismissed the statements by the Ousted Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase that only 4 to 5 people are turning up in villages in Lau to hear the NCBBF teams presentation on the draft People's Charter.
Colonel Mara, who is also the RFMF's Commanding Officer of the 3FIR Unit, said Qarase cannot be just be based in the capital city and make assumptions that the people of Lau have rejected the Charter.
Colonel Mara also stressed that his stand remains that the Provincial Council members are being funded by the government and they should support any policy initiative of the government.
A tikina representative from Vanuabalavu to the Lau Provincial Council has disputed the National Council for Building a Better Fiji's report that 53% of the people of Vanuabalavu have supported the draft People's Charter.
The Mata Ni Tikina Mai Lomaloma, Pita Foiakau said he travelled with the NCBBF team to all the villages in Vanuabalavu and there was negative response from all the villagers.
He said, no one from ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's village of Mavana filled the Charter response forms while majority of the villagers of Daliconi, Susui, Namalata and tikina Lomaloma did not support the Charter.
Meanwhile, another village in the Lau group, called Salia in Nayau has openly expressed their decision that they support the proposed draft People's Charter.
Speaking in Fijian, Acting village headman Temo Marau confidently said they were overjoyed when the consultation team on the Charter arrived on the island and explained briefly to them about the contents of the booklet.
Marau said the women in the village cooked as the Charter team and the villagers of Salia in Nayau feasted signifying their acceptance and support on the Charter and they later filled forms which were handed out to them. Meanwhile it was revealed to Fijivillage yesterday that majority of the people in Tubou, Lakeba have accepted the Charter.
