Issuing long-term development leases alone will not solve Fiji’s housing challenges if people living in informal settlements continue to lack basic services such as drainage, roads, electricity and safe water.
This has been highlighted by Opposition MP Virendra Lal while responding in Parliament to the address by President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.
Lal says while the Opposition supports the Government’s intention to improve housing and upgrade informal settlements, it is important to look beyond the figures being presented.
He notes that although 48 development leases have been issued and three informal settlements upgraded across the Western, Northern and Central Divisions, many families still live in difficult conditions marked by flooding, poor sanitation and insecure housing.
Insert: Virendra - Without these necessities
According to Lal, formalising settlements must be matched with practical improvements that directly improve people’s living conditions.
He says families also need affordable building materials, proper drainage systems, access roads, electricity and potable water for settlement upgrades to be meaningful.
Lal adds that while assistance for first-time homeowners through the Housing Authority, the Public Rental Board and the Fiji Development Bank is welcome, many working people remain unable to afford homes due to rising construction costs, increasing land prices and higher interest rates.
He stresses that housing finance schemes must be accessible to low and middle-income earners if they are to make a real difference.
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