Rewa is a
province of
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
. With a land area of 272 square kilometers (the smallest of Fiji's provinces), it includes the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
city of
Suva
Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
(but not most of Suva's suburbs) and is in two parts — one including part of Suva's hinterland to the west and a noncontiguous area to the east, separated from the rest of Rewa by
Naitasiri Province
:see also Naitasiri District
Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island.
Geography and infrastructure
Naitasiri covers an area of , and occupies the area mostly to the north of Suva, ...
. The province had a population of 108,016 at the 2017
census, making it Fiji's third most populous.
For political and traditional reasons, Rewa is a powerful province. It is the hinterland of the national capital and the heart of the
Burebasaga Confederacy, one of three traditional
chiefly hierarchies. The ''
Roko Tui Dreketi'', or Paramount Chief of Rewa, is the head Burebasaga. The last two holders of the title have been women:
Ro Lady Lala Mara (1931-2004), the wife of Fiji's longtime
prime minister and
President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, and her sister and successor,
Ro Teimumu Kepa, who was
Minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
of Education in the government of
Prime Minister Qarase (2001-2006). In 2014, she led the
Social Democratic Liberal Party
The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) is a Fijian political party. The party was formed in January 2013 after the dissolution of the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua. The party currently has no party leader.
History
Party foundation
...
(SoDelPa) in the
parliamentary election, the first since the
military coup of 2006, and served as
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from 2014 to 2018. Rewa has 2 traditional chiefs. The other being the Turaga na Vunivalu. Both of which carry out their respective duties for the betterment of the province of Rewa. The current holder of the Vunivalu Title is Ro Epeli Vakacaracara Mataitini.
Rewa is governed by a
Provincial Council. For a period in the early 2000s, the chairmanship was vacant, and the Council decided not to fill it until the
Constitution could be changed to allow
parliamentarians to hold national and provincial office simultaneously, thereby allowing their Paramount Chief, Ro Teimumu Kepa, to take the position. In the interim,
Pita Tagicakiverata
Pita ( or ) or pitta (British English), is a family of yeast-leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Middle East, and neighboring areas. It includes the widely known version with an interior pocket, also ...
served as acting chairman.
The province comprises nine tikina (or districts):
*
Rewa
*
Noco
*
Dreketi
*
Burebasaga
Burebasaga is the largest of the three confederacies that make up Fiji's House of Chiefs, to which some of the Fijian chiefs belong.
Composition of Burebasaga
It consists of the provinces of Rewa Province, Nadroga, Serua, Kadavu off the coast ...
*
Toga
*
Vutia
*
Suva
Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
*
Raviravi
*
Sawau
References
{{Authority control
Rewa
Rewa