Housing Minister Premila Kumar [Source: Fijian Government]

Fijians have been encouraged to participate in the public consultation on the new Informal Settlement Lot Allocation Policy that is being developed by the Housing Ministry.

Housing Minister Premila Kumar says the current policy is not addressing the current issues.

Kumar says some of the key areas that the new proposed policy will address includes entitlement for lots, price of lots, Government subsidy levels and restrictions on the sale of subsidized lots.

The Ministry is expected to hand out 99-year leases to at least three informal settlements soon and has advised that the applicant should not own any property previously or at the time the application.

She stresses that the Ministry will carry out title searches to confirm this.

“You got to be a Fijian citizen, 18 years and above and you should be residing in that area from the time the Ministry acquires the development lease and the settlement is being upgraded”.

The Public Consultation will commence from next Thursday in the Central, Western and Northern divisions respectively.

The draft policy is available on the Ministry website – www.housing.gov.fj and Fijians can also provide online feedback by just clicking the icon for Feedback on the Home Page on the website.

The first consultation will be held at the Rishikul Hall in Nasinu from 7pm.