News

Talks of “Land Grab” is a lie: Usamate

August 31, 2020 12:58 pm

Lands Minister Jone Usamate

Talks about land grab by the government are some of the false information given by political parties and these are lies being spread to Fijians says Lands Minister Jone Usamate.

Speaking in parliament this morning, Usamate highlighted this has greatly affected investors who are planning to invest money into Fiji.

Usamate clarified the only aim of the Land Bank is to best utilize idle land under terms and conditions which are attractive to both the landowners and the tenants.

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“There is also been a wide misconception of a land grab in the Land Bank. There is no such thing happening in Fiji. There is no land grab that is taking place by the government. Such misinformation at times has led to insecurity of investors investing in this land due to false advice.”

Usamate says a total of 119 land parcels with a total area of 10,500 hectares is currently part of the Lank Bank since its inception in 2010.

He says out of the 119 parcels, 100 are i-Taukei land, 13 freehold buy backland and six are state lands.

89 of the 100 i-Taukei land have already being surveyed and 71 have been leased out, whereas two were reverted back as requested by the land owner.

“Out of i-Taukei land that has been surveyed, it comprises of almost 9,000 hectares of land that have already been surveyed. So the landowners, when they put their land in the Land Bank, they get the surveying done for them. They do not have to pay for the surveying cost.”

The Land Bank is looked after by the Land Use Division of the Ministry of Lands.