Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says any dealing with the lease does not in any way affect the land rent or premium which are to be paid by the lessee to the iTaukei Land Trust Board for the benefit of the iTaukei land owners.
He highlighted this while tabling the iTaukei Land Trust Budget Amendment Bill 2021.
Sayed-Khaiyum says a mortgage does not also prevent a reassessment of the rent to be carried out over all iTaukei leases pursuant to the terms and conditions of the lease and the iTaukei Land Trust.
The Minister says a lessee is still bound by the terms and conditions of the lease.
He says a mortgage over any iTaukei lease does not change the amount of lease monies which are currently received by the TLTB on behalf of the landowning units and they will continue to receive lease monies in accordance to the lease regardless of any change on the lease or the mortgagee.
The Attorney General says it is totally absurd that SODELPA MP, Lynda Tabuya suggested that landowners will have no control over what a lessee can do with the landowners land if they no longer need consent for mortgage.
Sayed-Khaiyum adds iTaukei leases have been mortgaged well before these amendments have been proposed and none of these mortgages have taken away the control of TLTB over such leases.
The Minister has reiterated that ownership of iTaukei land is and will always be protected both under the 2013 Constitution and the iTaukei Land Trust Act.
Sayed-Khaiyum says any person with the basic knowledge of conveyancing of land law will know that a mortgage only deals with the lease and not the ownership of such land.
Debate on all 2021-2022 Budget Amendment Bills continues in Parliament.
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