Nadi Landowners Speak out
It definitely calls for a celebration from their long drawn out struggles, perseverance and victory.
I have been involved with their Yavusa elder Rusiate Waqa since 2015 where I assisted in directing him through their desire, which have now finally paid dividends under the leadership of our Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and his chairmanship of the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB) in compliance with our 2013 Constitution.
indigenous Fijian rights are safe and holistically protected in our World Acclaimed 2013 Constitution through its Bill of Rights where it safeguards and protects our identity and heritage.
The former Airports Fiji Limited employee, Rusiate Waqa, in his interview has rightly criticised SODELPA MP Niko Nawaikula who was then legal officer for the NLTB in 2004, but turned them away and could not help them with a solution citing his 1997 Constitution as a deterrent in its laws.
It is ironic that on the one hand Nawaikula is championing the protection of the indigenous Fijian rights under the pretention of the obsolete 1997 Constitution to which Sitiveni Rabuka the SODELPA Opposition leader was the architect, but Nawaikula could not do it then, but how the hell on earth can he do it now with the 2013 Constitution in place.
I am delighted that the right-thinking majority Fijian resource owners voted for the FijiFirst party because they did not like the idea of SODELPA dismantling the equal fair share of lease monies distribution introduced in 2015 by Mr Bainimarama in conforming to our 2013 Constitution.
It is every ordinary Fijian’s constitutional right to equal lease distribution irrespective.
Thank you for the wonderful story Mr Waqa and God Bless the Vucunisai dreams in realising your future commercial aspirations on your total reverted 226 acres of Prime Crown Land, but please utilise it wisely to help all your members equally.
I would like to challenge Mitieli Bulanauca, Ratu Naiqama, Mosese Bulitavu and Nawaikula to write a
in reply to justify and explain to the landowners why their infamous racist 1997 Constitution was not relevant in 2004 where he could not procure a solution for the Vucunisai land issue or was it the lack of political will and dirty divisive politics? I also wish to encourage Niko Nawaikula and his team to consistently read our 2013 Constitution although they do not fancy the booklet, but it makes good reading, it also specifically empowers our Fijian resource owners including Crown and Freehold property owners of their right to a fair share of mineral royalties mined below their land.
Those landowners from Nasomo Village, Vatukoula and Nawailevu, Naibulu and Votua Village, Bua have been granted their first Royalties payments where it has improved their lifestyle never recorded in our history post-independence. Such royalties payments and rights are unheard of and is neither enshrined in Sitiveni Rabuka and Jai Ram Reddy’s now outdated 1997 Constitution.
The expulsion and dismissal of the Land Exchange Act from our 2013 Constitution is an Act of God in holistically protecting indigenous Fijian rights and land.
Denarau landowners from Narewa Village including those relatives from Tau Village through the FNPF Marriott’s Momi Bay development have had their Prime Land Reserves totally alienated through the Land Exchange Act of the 1970 and after the 1997 Constitutions respectively which is a Colonial Hangover although they have benefited short-term from the exchange deal.
Their five-yearly land reassessment period on their prime land leases for those big time tourism land developments are worth endless trillions for their future generations than the meager and paltry peanuts they now earn from the Land Exchange deal instigated by the Sitiveni Rabuka SVT and the Laisenia SDL Government from which majority of those MPs involved are still in Parliament today through the SODELPA opposition party.
Beware it is the wrong trust, why exchange your land for something worthless?
It is trickery, deception and dishonesty on the part of those past leadership, but our FijiFirst government party manifesto records it will enact a Law early next year to set up an Independent Lands Tribunal to effectively and efficiently address claims and allegations by landowners and tenants against TLTB and the Lands Department, isn’t that transparency on the part of our government.
I ask all Fijians please read page 38 and 39 of the FF Manifesto plus also note that this government leadership have increased the grant from $10million though our Brave 20182019 National Budget to a whopping $14million as publicly announced by our Minister for Economy, Aiyaz SayedKhaiyum.