Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says SODELPA MP Mitieli Bulanauca was one of those who sat on the Fiji Pine Limited Board and shamelessly played with the aspirations of the ordinary landowners after Bulanauca stated benefits to the landowners have been minimal and they have been deprived.
Sayed-Khaiyum highlighted this while responding to Bulanauca’s statement on the Importance of the Pine Industry.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the pine industry was literally raped and pillaged by previous governments and boards for whom only the petty politics or political point scoring by people like Bulanauca mattered.
He says since its inception, the pine industry was manipulated for the self interest of people like Bulanauca.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the Pine Group delivered yet another record breaking result for the 2021-2022 financial year in the midst of COVID-19 with a historical record profit of $41.9 million.
He says the Group became debt free for the first time ever after a lump-sum payment of $2.2 million to the government to settle its debts.
Sayed-Khaiyum says all of this has been achieved with the FijiFirst government's vision and bold action to bring about reforms and changes.
Bulanauca says the FijiFirst party has fallen short of giving the landowners maximum benefit.
Bulanauca says resource owners should be assisted to rise and attain 15% at management level.
He says when they will come into government, they will improve this substantially.
Bulanauca then alleged that the FijiFirst government has also stolen from the landowners.
Sayed-Khaiyum raised a point of order saying Bulanauca should prove that they have stolen.
Bulanauca says the benefits to the landowners will also benefit other races, various businesses and the nation as a whole.
He says the purpose of the pine industry is to first benefit the landowners with the flow on effect to others.
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