The Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources is committed to engaging with communities on programmes and services related to land, mineral and groundwater resources.
These were the comments by the Ministry of Lands & Mineral Resources acting permanent secretary Mr Tevita Boseiwaqa following a three day workshop on Mediation, Negotiation and Social Skills which attended by Ministry staff who work directly with communities.
“The workshop will enable our officers to engage better with the local communities in terms of delivering Government intentions and reforms”, Mr Boseiwaqa said.
“Communities will need to be consulted on issues affecting them. This is necessary in terms of addressing social and environmental issues as well as enabling sustainable development,” he added.
Whilst the work of the Ministry is focused on resources affecting landowners and the communities at large, the basic social skills acquired by participants will equip them well when dealing directly with communities.
In his opening remarks, United Nations Development Programme resident representative Mr Knut Osby said the training has been designed to help Ministry staff engage with local communities over development initiatives in a more constructive and effective way.
The objective of the workshop is to explore more effective techniques on mediation and negotiation, an area that needs improvement if the ministry is to successfully implement the land reform initiative, mining exploration and groundwater development.
The workshop is organised by the UNDP’s Strengthening Capacities for Peace and Development Project; consultants under this programme have been working with government and civil societies to find collaborative ways to promote peace and development in countries across the Pacific, including Fiji.
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