Namosi landowning group concerned, Vosarogo says meet will be held when landowners are able to be present in numbers

The Landowners Committee “Lomani Au, Maroroi Au” (LAMA) says they disappointed with the Fijian Government in the manner the Minister for Lands, Filimoni Vosarogo is handling the community concerns regarding the renewal of the Namosi Joint Venture’s renewal of their Special Prospecting License.

However Vosarogo stresses that LAMA is an NGO and the Ministry is not obliged to inform LAMA of the planned meeting with the landowners as the Ministry only liaises with the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs through the Roko Tui Namosi's office on behalf of the Landowning Unit, Mataqali Nabukebuke.

LAMA Chairman, Sipiriano Nariva says despite their initial meeting with the Minister last December where he informed them that there would be another meeting in January 2024, there was no confirmation via the usual channel to the members.

Nariva says most of them only found out via local media outlets on 30th January of the Minister’s intention to meet with them the next day – a less than 24-hour notice.

He says this underscores the ongoing concern that the landowners are kept outside of proper consultation and participation and they are disappointed.

Nariva adds that the learned Minister, as a parent is very much aware that it is the first week of school for the 2024 term 1 school calendar, yet he decided to hold talks with the Namosi landowners on such an important issue of which the landowners can only assume is intentional.

He says LAMA, representing a cross-section of landowners directly connected to the proposed copper mining project, continues to oppose the renewal of the Namosi Joint Venture exploration license.

Nariva reminds the Minister for Lands to ensure any further meeting on matters of resource use with LAMA or the landowning units concerned be agreed to by the people with a proper 10-day notice.

While responding to fijivillage News, Vosarogo says the Ministry's intention to meet with Mataqali Nabukebuke as a follow up to the meeting in December 2023, was conveyed through the appropriate channel that is through the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, Roko Tui Namosi's office.

The Minister says Government Ministries work with the Roko Tui's Office of the Yasana for any meeting schedules that it intends to hold with any landowning unit or when it intends to visit villages.

He says that is the protocol and they don't arrange meetings directly with landowners.

Vosarogo says they had made their request to the Roko's Office much earlier, the week before.

He says in this instance, they received an email update from Roko Tui Namosi, Maleli Nasaunivotua who conveyed the request from Mataqali Nabukebuke to postpone the meeting to next week to allow all members of the Mataqali to be present.

It was also requested that an agenda of the meeting be provided in advance.

Vosarogo says this was communicated to him on Tuesday, late afternoon.

He says the news article on the date of the meeting was shared with fijivillage early in the day, assuming that the proposed day of the meeting was not going to be met with a proposed change, so the meeting will be held at a later date when the landowners are going to be able to be present in numbers.