The large number of people illegally occupying state land has become a serious concern to Government.
Permanent Secretary for Lands and Mineral Resources, Lt-Col Neumi Leweni said Government strongly disapproves illegal occupation or squatting.
“Government will now implement measures to discourage illegal occupation of land.
“The Ministry is now meeting with other stakeholders in Government to identify measures to reduce squatting,” Lt-Col Leweni added.
For years, said Lt-Col Leweni, squatters have been exploiting loopholes in the Government machinery.
“As a result the nation has lost out on revenue which could have been generated from these lands.
“We fully understand that past policy inconsistencies and general lack of seriousness has lead to a serious problem of squatting and development of unplanned settlements within the urban centres,” he said.
The Ministry envisions that with the implementation of new measures, Government would be able to:
• Reduce the number of people squatting and squatter settlements
• Make more land available for productive use to ensure maximum returns to the nation
• And contribute to a dynamic land reform in Fiji