Momi Land Row

Viliame Gavoka, Nadroga

In fairness, your headline today (14/6) on the Momi land swap, should have highlighted other aspects of the transaction that accrued to Tokatoka Nasau.

Firstly, the swap meant that they got back land equal to what they gave.

And secondly, there were a host of commercial opportunities exclusive for the Tokatoka which would have placed them among the wealthiest resource owners in Fiji. These were exciting days when Qarase's 50/50 vision by 2020 was taking hold; aimed at bringing parity in commerce for the natives to others by 2020.

I was chief executive officer for the Fiji Visitors Bureau and sat in some of the dialogue, and witnessed the upbeat mood during that period, not only with the Tokatoka Nasau, but all across the Vanua Nalolo.

Momi was of a different magnitude and we were proud of the manner with which Tokatoka Nasau embraced the ‘big picture', to secure the opportunities for wealth not only for themselves, but for the Vanua Nalolo in its entirety.

As we see things in Momi today, and if we are serious about the welfare of the vanua; the FNPF resort sitting on a manmade lagoon on the qoliqoli, should pay a percentage of its gross takings to the Vanua Nalolo, as done on land based resorts. I've highlighted this in Parliament.