A-G hears farmers, explains issues with civil servants

Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum apologised for difficulties faced in dealing with civil servants during a talanoa session with farmers at Vunivau, Labasa, yesterday.

This was after people poured out their frustrations and concerns about the slow process of land applications, land lease renewal plus alleged ill treatment.

After hearing all of their grievances, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said: “I apologise for those civil servants who did not do their job.

“I have noticed there are people in the Ministries and Departments that are slowing down the work and trying to give bad publicity to the Government.

“On Mondays or Fridays, 50 percent of people are not at work.

“There is a big clean up happening.

“There are many civil servants that did not get the job based on merit or performance.

“This is why we are saying there is a need for civil service reform.

“I will talk to the Prime Minister about the issues highlighted and see how best we can assist,”said Mr Sayed-Khaiyum.

Pravin Singh, of Abua, Labasa, said that for years he has been following up with a land application to the iTaukei Land Trust Board. “They have been saying that I am a teacher and I earn more income and hence they cannot process my application.

“Why I am treated differently?” Mr Singh asked.

Tahib Hussein, 49, a businessman, said that for years he had been knocking at the door of iTLTB to process his land lease application.

“I have doing rice farming for a long time but since my agricultural land lease is on hold, I had to leave farming.

“When I request the staff to give me an update on my application, they say it is at headquarters for investigation.

“They speak so rudely and I feel they are not doing their job.

“I believe it is because they know that people from Vanua Levu don’t have enough money to travel to Suva to inquire.

“Those who are living in the city who are close to such services are able to access immediate attention. “Unfortunately we have to bear with the poor service,” Mr Hussein said.

Also, Sunim Chand, a sugarcane farmer of Labasa, informed Mr Sayed-Khaiyum that he had lodged an application to buy a piece of land beside his house for farming. “Such a simple request had been on hold for more than one year.”

Manhor Lal, of Coqeloa, Labasa, claimed that iTLTB had given his piece of land to another tenant to live on without his permission. Mohammed Zubedar from Buceisau, outside Labasa Town said the staff at ITLTB did not want to listen to anyone.

“They make, especially farmers, run to get their application done.

“We would like to request the Government to look into our land issues before it is too late.

“We have suffered enough,” Mr Zubedar said.