The government is now actively looking at a proposal to equally share the distribution of lease money amongst the members of the landowning units if their native land has been leased out.
Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, Colonel Pio Tikoduadua said the proposal is to review Regulation 11 of the Native Land Trust Act which deals with leases and licensing of native land.
He confirmed that the proposal also deals with the chiefs and the commoners getting equal share of the lease payments.
Colonel Tikoduadua said as consultations continue with the stakeholders, the members of the landowning units should be sitting with their chiefs and try to work out the best option for them.
He said people should not think that if the proposal goes through, it will lower the rank of the chiefs.
Colonel Tikoduadua said everyone needs to understand that the percentage distribution of lease money was set by the government.
He said now it needs to be reviewed and all the members of the landowning units, including the chiefs, can talk about this issue with an open mind.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
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Proposal to equally share lease payments
