Land Bank lease proceeds exceed $11m
THE Government, through its Land Reform initiative, has ensured that idle iTaukei land has been put to productive use.
During the parliament sitting recently, Minister for Infrastructure and Meteorological Services and Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Jone Usamate said many Fijians are not fully aware or have been misinformed of the Land Bank investment and what the Land Use Division stands for. “As part of the Land Bank Initiative, the development of iTaukei land is undertaken to help convert what we always called asset-rich iTaukei landowners to become both, asset-rich and more cashrich,” Minister Usamate said.
“At the same time, this development releases assets into the economy that can be used to generate growth, jobs and capital that benefit the country as a whole.”
The Land Bank was established under the Government’s Land Re¬form Initiative and it addresses the needs in the Land Use decree 2010.
There was concern that land was lying idle and it had huge economic potential and the Land Bank is a vehicle where these resources could be developed for commercial purposes.
Minister Usamate said while the Government is concerned about the amount of iTaukei land that is not used the Land Bank provides an alternative to the iTaukei land owning units.
“It gave them the opportunity to get returns from their assets that they own, that they would otherwise have not had.”
Minister Usamate added that since the inception of the Land Use Division, there have been a number of developments and achievements.
“Out of the land that has been put into the Land Bank aligned to the objective, the total lease proceeds amounted to more than $11 million.”
“This is the money that would not have been circulated in the economy if we did not have the Land Bank.”
Minister Usamate said that all the lease money goes back to the landowners and they get the total value of the land that they have given to the Land Bank.