Political party leaders have taken a swipe at Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s comments that iTaukei land owners need to refrain from listening to the lies of the Opposition that “their land is not safe under the FijiFirst Government”.
Mr Bainimarama, while officiating at the Lomaiviti Provincial Council meeting in Nasova, Levuka yesterday, said the Opposition had started using the issue of iTaukei land as a political gimmick.
He said he would never understand why it had become a tactic for his opponents to scare people into submission by lying to the iTaukei about their land.
Mr Bainimarama said the iTaukei land was protected under the 2013 Constitution. In response, Social Democratic Liberal Party leader Viliame Gavoka said “ownership without control is no ownership at all”.
“From SODELPA, we want ownership of the land with control. Currently we say we own 90 per cent of the land but we don’t control the land, it’s controlled by the Government and others,” he said.
“SODELPA will change all that to ensure that we own and control.” National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad said Mr Bainimarama should stop blaming other political parties for fearmongering.
He said: “Mr Bainimarama has not answered my question on who told Minister for Agriculture Mahendra Reddy that he was born to give Fijians of Indian descent equal citizenship.”
“The fearmongers is him, and his silent 25,” he said.
The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka said Mr Bainimarama should first learn to understand the difference between “attacking” and “defending” before blaming his critics for attacking him.
Mr Rabuka said the truth was that Mr Bainimarama had been attacking political parties within the Opposition.
“The question is, does he even know the difference between attacking and defending,” he said.
“We are the ones who have been attacked by him and we have been defending ourselves.” Mr Rabuka said during his tenure in government he sought the approval of the landowners in Nadi to develop Denarau to “what it is now”.
Unity Fiji party leader Savenaca Narube said it would be better to understand if he (Mr Bainimarama) had conducted consultations with iTaukei land owners before enacting Bill 17 and putting the blame game on other political parties.
“Ever since they came to Government, they have not been fair with iTaukei landowners,” the former Reserve Bank of Fiji governor said.
“The iTaukei land issues are real and the landowners are governed by dictatorial leadership.”
