Owners of customary fishing rights will now receive 80 percent of royalties collected when certain natural resources are extracted from State land in areas linked to their customary fishing rights.
A People’s Alliance Party statement says under new regulations introduced by Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimoni Vosarogo, the remaining 20 percent of the royalties will go to the State.
This means that when resources such as sand, gravel, clay, soil, rock, top soil and river spalls are extracted, the owners of customary fishing rights will receive the larger share of the royalty payments.
The new royalty rate for sand and gravel is $10.40 per cubic metre, while clay and soil are set at $6.50 per cubic metre.
The rate for rock is $5.21 per cubic metre, top soil is $38.99 per cubic metre and river spalls are $7.80 per cubic metre.
Sand extracted from drainage and irrigation dump sites will attract a royalty rate of $8 per cubic metre.
The regulations also require these royalty rates to be reviewed every five years to ensure they remain fair and reflect market conditions.
The People’s Alliance Party says the move is aimed at ensuring iTaukei resource owners receive a fairer share of the benefits from Fiji’s natural resources.
It says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and the party believe that people who have protected these resources for generations should receive a fair return from their use.
The party says the new regulations will help strengthen communities and ensure development provides direct benefits to resource owners.
