Minister for Economy and Housing and Community Development, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the residents in Sakoca Settlement who had given money to i-Taukei Land Trust Board for lease can go to the Small Claims Tribunal to get that money back but the Government now has the development lease and on that basis, the development will be done.
Sayed-Khaiyum has highlighted this while responding to questions from a resident following the groundbreaking ceremony of the $5 million development of Sakoca Settlement.
The resident says he had given money to TLTB in 1999 with the expectation to get a 75 year lease but that has not transpired until now.
He says former Ministers for Housing and Community Development, Parveen Bala and Premila Kumar had made promises to develop the settlement but that had not happened.
While responding, Sayed-Khaiyum says the residents are not going to get the lease from TLTB but they will get it from Government through the TLTB.
He says he cannot address issues of the past and can only offer solutions going forward.
Following the development of the settlement, the residents will get a 99 year lease each.
