Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says it is not true that the Development of Informal Settlement Bill will somehow undermine the landowner’s vakavanua arrangement with people who live on their land.
“This is complete nonsense,” he told Parliament last week during the debate on the 2021-2022 Appropriation Bill 2022.
He said the development lease meant an agreement executed by TLTB with the lessee in respect to the iTaukei lands for the purpose of developing the iTaukei land.
He said the only way the iTaukei Land Trust Board could give a development lease to the State was if at least 60 per cent of the landowners agreed to it.
“All these areas where people lived in vakavanua arrangement for 30 years to 50 years, landowners are not getting enough money, it is prime land in some of the places,” he said.
“What we are saying, ‘we start paying the development lease’.
“Landowners consent, at least, 60 per cent, yes OK, you can develop this, 60 per cent agree, we then start paying the development lease on a yearly basis.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said people who were squatting did not pay anything, but the landowners got money from the Government.
“What this particular law does, is that if it is a State lease or a State has leased the land, then we should be able to ensure that those people who want their lands to be given 99-year leases that they need to move should the need be.
“As we all know squatters do not build houses in a straight row, they build all over the place.
“How can you develop the road if one gentleman decides not to move his house?”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said in Caubati, a development project was stuck for four to five years because three people did not want to move their houses.
“So the road cannot be built there.
“There was little space between houses, roads cannot be built.
“How can we have proper development? The State is paying for it and everyone that lives in the squatter area will be assured of a title, whether it is a strata or land title.
“This is precisely what this law does.”
