EVERY living member of any mataqali or land owning unit should have every reason to smile when lease monies will be distributed this year.
Native Lands Trust Board general manager Alipate Qetaki confirmed the new amendment to Regulation 11 of the Native Lands Lease and License Act (NLLLA) came into effect from January 1, 2011.
“Regulation 11 of the NLLLA details certain levels of distribution of lease monies,” Mr Qetaki said.
“It has been in place for more that 70 years. It demands that certain level of payments and sharing of lease monies within itaukei landowning units and members.
“The chiefs, turaga ni mataqali, turaga ni qali, turaga itaukei and turaga ni yavusa were entitled to bigger shares of monies unlike members of the mataqali.
“These clause of the Native Lands Trust Act and Native Lands Lease and License Act came to cease on December 31, 2010.’’
This amendment according to Qetaki will see the equal distribution of lease monies to all members of the mataqali or landowning units in Fiji.
“There will be equal distribution of lease monies from this year. Every living member of any landowning unit will be entitled for an equal share – something that new under this amendment,” he said.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama directed the NLTB to immediately address the issue of lease distribution.
In his letter to NLTB senior management, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama stressed the importance of the board complying with the Government decision on the matter.
Commodore Bainimarama is also chairman of the NLTB.
“Please note that the change in the distribution effected by the Amendment Regulations applies to all monies received by the NLTB in respect to any native land,” Commodore Bainimarama said in the letter.
“It also applies to all monies received by NLTB but not yet distributed as at January 1, 2011.”
He said in the letter that existing policy in relation to lease distribution for infants remained but was considering changes to the eligibility age.
“The change by the Government does not alter the existing policy in relation to infants,” Commodore Bainimarama said.
“It should be noted that I am considering reducing the eligibility age from 21 to 18 years.”
NLTB administers over 31,000 leases, which cover 24 per cent of the total native land.