Vernacular speaking allowed in Parliament

Vosa Vaka-Viti and Hindi language will now be allowed to be spoken in Parliament, and the Speaker of the Parliament is also allowed to pray the way he wishes to pray and not be offended if someone else prays the way they pray.

This has been declared by Speaker of Parliament, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu in his Parliament address during the opening of the Parliament session.

Ratu Naiqama says during the business committee meeting last Friday, the committee agreed to vote that standing orders 28, 29 and 30 are to be waived to allow the Members of the Parliament to speak in the vernacular language apart from English so that it allows them to express themselves fully and make meaningful contributions on important issues of the nation.

The Speaker further says when Members of Parliament speak in Vosa Vaka-Viti or Hindi, translations can be heard in the audio system in the house.

He says as for the video broadcast translations, it would be difficult for now, as there will be 2 voices heard, the voice of the MP speaking and the voice of the audio translator.

The Speaker says this can be explored for the long term as it involves the software and hardware upgrade which needs to be sourced internationally but the vernacular will be recorded and translated into English and will be uploaded on the website after 7 days in accordance to the standing orders.