MP Aseri Radrodro talks on important issues about land
There was one contribution worth noting from the Opposition in Parliament this week.
It was by SODELPA MP Aseri Radrodro on iTaukei land and public funds.
On iTaukei (indigenous) land, he reminded the House of the profound words of the late elder statesman Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, the architect and pioneer of a separate ministry of iTaukei Affairs and the then Native Land Trust Board now called iTaukei Land Trust Board.
Although the words were spoken in 1936, they are still very much relevant today. Unfortunately, over the years land has been politicised by political opportunists causing tension and instability. In his book titled “The ThreeLegged Stool’’, Ratu Sir Lala described his motion to the Great Council of Chiefs.
Mr Radrodro highlighted the three points made by Ratu Sir Lala:
■ It would be in the interest of native Fijians to have their lands lying idle to be put to good use,
■ That the amount of land needed for the proper development of the native owners be determined so as to see as to the amount of land leftover
■ That all land that is not so required, be handed over to government to lease on our behalf.
“In his motion, the late Ratu Sir Lala had stated that High Chiefs, in considering the interest of their people, must remember that Fiji is now made up of Native Fijians and people of other ethnicities, and it was in everyone’s interest that land be utilized in its most appropriate manner, because land is a basis of wealth. “Very importantly in that motion submitted Mr Speaker Sir, the late Ratu Sir Lala had reminded that landowners had a duty to the state and similarly, the State had a duty to protect and promote the interests of landowners and all our citizens to ensure a Fiji that prospered peacefully.
“Mr Speaker Sir, 85 years later the words of the late Ratu Sukuna remains so relevant for Fiji. There has been much progress on the utilization of land, with various forms of land policies that has seen land leases being granted for agriculture use, for business and commercial development, for residential purposes and so on.”
Mr Radrodro touched on the Land Bank and the land buyback scheme.
He said it was evident that while the FijiFirst government might have good intentions for the various land use programmes it had initiated, it had failed miserably to support the various programmes it had with the necessary policies as pointed out by the Office of the Auditor-General’s report.
“In its haste to address the issue of land use for mutual benefit of landowners and tenants,
Government continues to evade discussing the real issues that have made land a political football for various governments from the past to the present day.
“We still have expiring land leases without any genuine attempt to resolve and rental and returns for landowner’s challenges and we still have the challenges of addressing land security concerns.”
West visit
In a recent visit to the Western Division, Mr Radrodro said he spoke to two Indo-Fijians he met for the first time. The men, he said, were from the sugar cane belt in Sigatoka.
Some of the things they told him had remained in his mind since. They said they now realised as cane farmers and tenants, that land leases had been used by politicians to divide people, he said. They shared their sadness that land leases had been consistently expiring, he said.
“Because of the insecurity of land leases, the younger Indo-Fijians who hail from the Indo -Fijian communities who predominantly plant sugar cane, no longer see sugarcane farming as a lucrative option,” he said. The younger generation was seeking higher education and seeking paid employment, he said.
The men suggested that land lease rentals should have been increased to reflect the benefits that farmers were getting. That would make landowners happy and bring some stability and security. It is a known fact that some landowners had failed to continue farming the returned land. It would have been better if they had continued to get rental, but at a higher rate.
Ironically, Mr Radrodro, said the men criticised the resettlement funding, given to farmers whose leases had expired. They said that it would have been better utilized, had those funds been given to landowners so that leases could be renewed.
“I remain convinced that when we resolve the insecurities of both major races on land, we will have lasting peace and economic prosperity in Fiji.” He commended Government for conducting a review of the TLTB leasing administration costs, the role of the entity and its relevance today for landowners and tenants.