Law to be amended as penalties for illegal developments are not effective

Minister for Local Government Premila Kumar says penalties associated with illegal developments are very low and not an effective deterrent.

While speaking in parliament about amendments to the country's Town Planning laws, Kumar said the legislations that provide a clear mandate to regulate land use and development in the country are the Town Planning Act and the Subdivision of Lands Act which were both enacted in 1978 and administered by the Director Town and Country Planning.

She says the 42-year-old legislation needs revision to be in par with international planning standards.

Kumar says illegal developments are rife in the country.

She says penalties associated with the offence is very low and not an effective deterrent.

Kumar further says the usual practice for the Councils is to issue stop-work notices, followed by proceedings in court which is a long process.

She says the review of the current legislation will suggest other options to deal with illegal development and the ultimate aim of this revision is to streamline the planning approval processes and strengthen development control.

Kumar says currently, all sorts of applications end up at Town and Country Planning.

The Minister for Local Government adds that the review will consider decentralizing approvals so that only major developments are forwarded to the office of the Town and Country Planning for approval.

Kumar says this would allow Town and Country Planning to focus more on their core responsibility of strategic planning such as master planning and revision of Town Planning schemes.

She says under the current legislation, there are no provisions in the Act which provides guidance on who can lodge building applications.

Kumar further says last year, SCC received more than 200 sub-standard applications that had to be rejected as there were issues with structural designs.

She has promised that changes will be made to ensure accredited and qualified persons can lodge development applications to protect the interest of the public and developers at large.

The Ministry of Local Government has engaged the services of a consultant to review these legislations.

Kumar says work has already commenced and they expect the first draft to be out by the end of this financial year after which nationwide consultations will be conducted.

She says the Ministry through its consultant will carry out thorough research to study the best planning practices and legislations used in other jurisdictions.

Kumar says the principles learned will then be incorporated in the amendments to suit the local planning context of Fiji.

She says the amended Town Planning legislation will ensure that it is on par with the current and evolving development trends in Fiji.

Kumar says the legislation will be reviewed in such a way that it makes bold changes to facilitate the processing of development projects more efficiently and effectively.