Tikoduadua appears on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan

The government needs to move quickly and review the laws that look into items sold by our pharmacies because some items can be used to manufacture illicit drugs.

This was highlighted by Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration, Pio Tikoduadua on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan when questioned on the issues raised about Pseudoephedrine being sold in pharmacies - an ingredient that can be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Tikoduadua says they have realized that is one of the elements to create illicit drugs, and the government needs to move on that quickly.

He says it is an essential part of drugs that people need to take for treatment, but there must be some control around it.

He adds the laws have to be drawn up to control it, otherwise, there will be abuse.

When questioned about the involvement of some pharmacists and what is being done, Tikoduadua says we need to come down hard on these people.

The drug situation in the country is worse than before, but it is something we can still manage as a community and as a nation together.

This was highlighted by the Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration, Pio Tikoduadua, on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan after being questioned on what is his assessment when he came into office.

He says the discovery of 5 tonnes of methamphetamine in Nadi reflects badly on our people and community in terms of the nature of the problem we have in the country.

Tikoduadua says he does not deny that Fiji has a serious drug problem, and this problem has been around for a long time.

He says they have been raising this issue since 2019.

When asked how we got here, the Minister says history is not only the study of the past, but it's also an explanation of the present.

He says this thing did not happen overnight, and now the situation is big, but it is something that we can still manage or eradicate.

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua says he had moved a motion for Parliament to appoint a special Parliament Committee to conduct an inquiry into the multifaceted risks of hard drugs in the country in 2019 because they had realized at that time that there was a growing public discussion on the effects of drugs and its availability on the streets.

While responding to a question on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan on why he was pushing so hard at that time to have an inquiry, Tikoduadua says they saw the issue at that time needed urgent attention, even though the government had said that it was under control.

He says it was unfortunate that it ended with the debacle where he was assaulted by the former Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama outside the parliament complex.

He adds that the Prime Minister at that time had to do what he did to make his point that he objected to the motion that was defeated in Parliament.

When asked if he had undergone counselling after getting assaulted, Tikoduadua says he did not undergo any counselling sessions, and he harbours no ill feelings to what transpired then.

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua stresses that the Fiji Police Force will only be allowed to handle firearms if the information received confirms arms will be involved.

Tikoduadua highlighted this when questioned on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan on the RFMF Commander’s message during the Ministry of Home Affairs Talanoa Session on Illicit Drugs and Substance Use Disorders in Fiji at FNU Nasinu, where the Commander proposed the utilization of firearms as a deterrent and means of enhancing security measures in tackling the drug crisis.

Tikoduadua says at the moment, they have an arrangement with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, which is on standby to assist the Police.

The Minister says the law allows Police to be armed, but they need to ensure that our officers are ready.

He adds that many things are associated with drugs, and one of them is weapons, and they run the risk of the Police getting confronted with that situation.

The Minister also agreed that the issue of drugs is a national crisis, and the whole nation needs to work together to eradicate this issue.

Tikoduadua also highlighted that before we can eradicate the issue of drugs from the country, the primary institution of government that deals with law enforcement has to be professionals.

He says the Police Force is there for people’s protection.

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua says he would like a Fijian national to be the Commissioner of Police and to be assisted by a mentor who will be an expatriate.

This was highlighted by Tikoduadua on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan when questioned on when the Police Commissioner will be appointed and whether he would prefer a local or expatriate.

He says he has asked the Constitutional Offices Commission and hopes the appointment comes soon.

He also says that they have been assured by Attorney General, Graham Leung that they are following the process to get one appointed. Tikoduadua adds they are also working with the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Government to build Police professionalism.

He confirms we also expect Australian Federal Police officers to be embedded in different departments to assist our Police Force in critical areas.

They are also expected to enhance regional and international cross-border cooperation, including with the Oceania Customs Organization, the World Customs Organization, the Colombo Plan, INTERPOL, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and strengthen bilateral cooperation, including with Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.

Tikoduadua says they will also focus to improve coherence and ensure coordinated actions aligned to international norms and standards and establish peer review mechanisms, multilateral cooperation initiatives and information exchange mechanisms.

He says they also aim to strengthen inter-regional cooperation mechanisms to enhance communications and intelligence exchange with source countries for drugs, in particular Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Americas.

Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua is calling on parents and communities to take responsibility for looking after children as the government cannot control what goes beyond school hours.

While responding to questions on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan on what plans are there for the safety of our children, Tikoduadua says when you receive a report where a child is discovered with drugs in schools and that the drug is given to that child by their parents, one wonders what is the motivation behind this.

He says drastic steps were taken during the Coca-Cola Games, where sniffer dogs were used, but still people were bringing drugs.

The Minister says the Government has its own initiatives under the Education Ministry to try and prevent and stop the harm of drugs in the lives of children.

He adds parents must prioritise their children.

The Minister says the government is willing to tackle this issue and protect children from drugs through harm reduction and working with the Ministry for Education, Ministry for Women and Children and all its agencies.

He says however at the end of the day, it calls for parental responsibility.