Riya Mala 
[Photo: FILE]
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says owning land and natural resources alone will not automatically create economic wealth for iTaukei communities.
He says indigenous communities must be given stronger opportunities to turn these assets into successful businesses and long-term investments.
Rabuka adds that landowners and resource owners should have pathways to become shareholders, investors, developers and business partners.
He says the focus must shift from simply earning income from an asset to creating greater value from it.
“When landowners and resource owners choose to participate commercially, they should have pathways to become shareholders, investors, developers, and business partners. The question is not simply how much income can be generated from an asset. The question is how much value can be created from the asset. Who participates in that value and how much of that value remains within our communities and our economy.”
Rabuka is also calling for better access to finance, education, business knowledge and markets to help indigenous entrepreneurs grow.
He says indigenous businesses should move further up the value chain — from land and resources to development, production, processing, branding and wider markets.
Rabuka says this will help create employment, increase productivity and ensure more wealth remains within indigenous communities and the wider economy.
