Sera Navuga 
[Source: Christ Embassy Cuvu/ Facebook]
A 34-year struggle has ended with the Cuvu Christ Embassy Church finally receiving legal rights to its property.
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government this week issued a 99-year lease to the church, along with 112 other Cuvu Settlement residents in Sigatoka.
Pastor Semiti Kaisau received the lease on behalf of the church. He said the congregation began operating in Cuvu in 1989 and had applied for land tenure in 1990.
The long wait, he said, was due in part to challenges faced by religious organisations trying to secure formal leases.
“It has a lot of implications because we are a church, rallying people. And then also, you know, we are promoting assurances and surety. And the fact that the church can now find a place for its own, that we can identify as ours, that means a lot.”
Kaisau said the lease provides assurance and long-term stability for the church and its members.
He added that the church now has a recognised place it can invest in and grow.
The handover was part of a broader effort by the Ministry to regularise tenure in informal settlements and provide legal certainty to families and institutions.
Housing Minister Maciu Nalumisa said securing land tenure remains a key focus for government in strengthening community development and access to services.
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