Don't Play Politics with Land

Control of all Freehold lands must always remain with the freehold landowners and likewise control of State lands must always remain with the State, said National Federation Party Leader Professor Biman Prasad.

Professor Prasad said the NFP has always very strongly advocated for the total protection of Crown/State land and Freehold land since it was founded as a political party in 1963.

The NFP leader said ownership of freehold land is inalienable. This means it can never be taken away from its owner, just like Native land.

“The NFP has never wavered from this position even during and in the aftermath of political upheavals and change of national leadership, both before the last 7 years of Fiji’s colonial rule and after independence”.

“NFP leaders, including founder leader Ambalal Dahyabhai (A D) Patel, his successor, Siddiq Moidin (S M) Koya, Justice Jai Ram Reddy, indeed every party leader, have maintained this non-negotiable position at all times”.

“Prime Ministers, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, and Sitiveni Rabuka in 1996, had made attempts to revert Crown/State Schedule A & B lands to Native Land but accepted the logic and rationale of the then NFP leaders not to do so in the national interest”.

“In February 1999, then PM Rabuka while withdrawing two Bills from the House of Representatives, first tabled in 1996, clearly stated that the then NFP and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Reddy had provided him copies of correspondence that he (Mr Reddy) exchanged with Ratu Mara (then PM), pointing out why it was very important that control of Crown/State lands must always remain with the State so that it can be used for the benefit of the disadvantaged, particularly the tenant community”.

“This was one of the key findings of the Burns Commission Report of 1960”.

“Tragically, and in an act of political treachery on the pre-dominantly Indo-Fijian community, less than a month after becoming PM, the Fiji Labour Party leader, Mahendra Chaudhry while addressing the Great Council of Chiefs in June 1999, said his government would revert State Schedule A & B lands to Native lands”.

“In October 1999, PM Chaudhry’s government duly did that and during debate before the two Bills were referred to the relevant parliamentary committee for scrutiny, the Chaudhry   vociferously defended this move”.

“The Bills lapsed when his government was deposed in May 2000. When the Bills were re-introduced in April 2002 for enactment by the House of Representatives, the 27 FLP MPs opposition was flimsy. All they said while they did not oppose it, the timing of the two Bills was not right”.

“Worse, while the Bills were scrutinised by the parliamentary committee, the FLP MPs on the committee defended the legislation and move to revert State A & B lands to Native land”.

“This affected a few thousand tenants on State A & B lands. In many cases, tenants were displaced”.

“The lesson this should teach all political leaders and parties is that practicing exploitative politics with land is harmful to the livelihood of tenants and against national interest”.