Plans underway to digitise VKB for overseas iTaukei access

Plans are underway to digitise the Vola ni Kawa Bula (VKB) and eventually allow overseas iTaukei to access registration services through Fiji’s High Commissions and embassies.

Speaking to fijivillage News, Permanent Secretary for iTaukei Affairs, Jone Navakamocea says the ministry must first complete its internal digitisation work, both within headquarters and across provincial councils, to ensure communities in Fiji have reliable access before extending the system internationally.

Navakamocea says the vision is to one day provide an online registration template that diaspora members can fill in and submit digitally, allowing the ministry to process their details from Fiji.

However, he stresses that this stage has not yet begun, and internal systems must be strengthened first.

Navakamocea says this effort forms part of a wider strategy to reconnect with the iTaukei diaspora, many of whom have lived overseas for decades, with children born in the UK, Australia and New Zealand who are now seeking to rediscover their language, culture and identity.

He says this is why the Minister for iTaukei Affairs has conducted two diaspora consultation tours this year, one in the UK and one in Australia, following a similar engagement with New Zealand-based iTaukei last year.

He says as part of this cultural reconnection, the iTaukei Institute of Language and Culture continues to carry out language and cultural mapping, while the ministry is also considering using social media as a tool to support language teaching for iTaukei abroad.

Navakamocea also acknowledges the significant contribution of the diaspora to Fiji through remittances and community development initiatives, noting that many are eager to reinvest their skills, expertise, and capital back into their vanua.

He emphasises that VKB digitisation remains focused on its primary purpose, registering indigenous iTaukei who need to formalise or update their records, ensuring that future generations remain connected to their heritage regardless of where in the world they live.

Meanwhile, during the Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on the Ministry’s 2022–2023 Annual Report last month, Deputy Secretary for Operations, Paula Tione said the Ministry earns revenue through VKB registration certificates and board fees, though the amount collected is not enough to directly impact iTaukei community development.

Tione said the Ministry relies primarily on its annual budget, approximately $15 million in the 2022–2023 financial year, to fund capital projects supporting economic and social empowerment across communities.