Official Bad Mouths NLTB in Favour of Illegal Land Use Bank

Land Use Bank challenges landowners

Fiji Times - Monday, November 29, 2010

THE introduction of the Land Use Bank proposed by the Government is expected to draw the attention of landowners.

A presentation made by the Land Use Bank official Eroni Tokailagi at the Nadroga/Navosa Provincial Council meeting where council members were challened to choose who was to administer their land.

The official said the Native Land Trust Board legislature doesn't give the landowners the full benefit of their resources.

Mr Tokailagi said existing laws were considered cumbersome and hindered the development of economy as a whole.

"The standard of living for landowners have not changed since the founding of NLTB in 1940s," he said.

"Vast amount of land in Fiji are lying idle and not fully used to gain the maximum returns thus contributing to the poor economic performance over the years."

Mr Tokailagi said the new land bank would allow the landowners to receive maximum returns of their land.

He told council members that apart from their lease payout there would be an additional 4 per cent paid to landowners.

Under the new system, rentals would be charged on 10 per cent UCV (Unimproved Capital Value) compared to the current 6 per cent adopted by NLTB.

"This new service will make sure that the landowners will benefit more in terms of getting maximum returns of their land."

"And as for the lease payout, it will be evenly distributed to all members of the land owing units."

However, the council has decided that district representatives discuss the issue with landowners before submitting their report to the provincial office.

Click on links to discover:

From Village to City                VodaHost  Affiliate             HOLIDAY IN FIJI