Former Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase is calling on the government to take an independent legal opinion on his cabinet's decision to transfer 68.7 hectares of itaukei land to freehold land in July 2006 for the Momi Bay Resort development.
Although Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama stressed that this action breached the Native Land Trust Act as it does not allow the transfer of itaukei land to freehold land, Qarase said according to his understanding, they were allowed to do that.
"I don't have access to those two legislations right now but I think it would be best to get an independent legal view for government. As far as I'm concerned that was the advice we got in cabinet."
While revealing the July 2006 cabinet documents, Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the Native Land Trust Act is clear on this issue.
"The point is the substance of the law, the access quiet specifically, let me read out to you, Native land shall not be alienated by iTaukei owners whether by sale, grant, transfer or exchange to the spot except to the crown, period, my point being is that here was a law that specifically prohibited that and thats for a very good reason. There is a right not to alienate itaukei land permanently"
However Qarase said there was nothing sinister when they transferred the land and there was no real loss in the land area for the itaukei landowners.
He said the landowners also got a lot of benefits and it was a voluntary agreement between the landowners and the developers.
“As far as I’m concerned, the land exchange transaction in Momi Bay in 2006 was done within the law under the provisions of the land transfer act. The transaction involved the conversional native land ultimately to freehold and then exchanged with a freehold land owned by the developers of Momi Bay and then convert to native land ultimately. The Native Land belonged to Tokatokanasau and the freehold in-exchange belonged to Matapo Limited."
Section 5 (1) of the Native Land Trust Act states that Native land shall not be alienated whether by sale, grant, transfer or exchange except to the Crown.
Commodore Bainimarama said itaukei land cannot be alienated even if individual members of the landowning unit enter into agreements with private companies to alienate itaukei land.
He said the Momi incident occurred despite the entrenchment in the 1997 constitution of the Native Land Trust Act or the itaukei Land Trust Act.
Commodore Bainimarama also said that in this case, the itaukei land was not exchanged for the use of the state or for any public purpose, as required by the State Lands Act.
He said it was exchanged solely for the purpose of converting it into freehold for the benefit of a private company.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
