Fiji land reforms wait on global funding

www.fijilive.com- October 14, 2009

Fiji’s Prime Minister is hoping the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will finance his Government’s land reform to be implemented early 2010.

The land reform agenda is part of a set of reforms Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama said were designed to help Fiji achieve its true potential.

Bainimarama returned last week from the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Istanbul.

Following that meeting, representatives of the World Bank and IMF are expected to visit Fiji early next month to get a better sense of the situation here before a decision on its loan to Fiji is made.

Bainimarama said the Reserve Bank of Fiji and Finance Ministry will work with the visiting party.

In July this year, Bainimarama announced his roadmap to returning Fiji to democratic elections in 2014, conditional to the implementation of certain reforms.

He said that the land reform is planned to salvage Fiji's struggling sugar industry and will open up more tourism opportunities.

He encouraged native land owners to put their land up for productive use.

He assured that Fiji’s land ownership system will remain as it is, quelling fears that sparked the insurrections of 1987 and 2000 led by indigenous Fijian extremists.

“We cannot realise our potential in agriculture, improve the living conditions of the taukei(indigenous Fijians), if land is not made available on a long term, sustainable basis,” Bainimarama said.

He said his government will ensure that taukei landowners get an attractive return when they give out their land for lease.

Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture has also been urging native land owners to make their lands available for investment and assist Government’s efforts in getting the country out of the economic doldrums.

Agriculture Minister Joketani Cokanasiga said potential investors want assurance that their investment will be secure which means long term tenure for land leases.

“I am all for releasing more land for economic development,” he said.

“We have just noticed that 30 years isn’t enough for big investors to come in and get their returns, we are now looking at increasing to between 60 to 99 years leases.

“Mahogany requires 30 years, teak requires about 15 years to get a full crop and maybe from there on two or three harvests for investors to get a full return on their investment.”

His ministry has been working with the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs in getting land ready for investment.

“Opening up new land which is unused has been one of the key areas we have been working on, particularly in the east coast of Natewa, various areas in Ba and Nadi,” Cokanasiga said.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports that the World Bank has just signed agreements to lend $4.2 billion (Rs19,572 crore) to fund infrastructure projects and strengthen banks in India as the government steps up investment to boost economic growth.

The agreements for three loans to the Union government, India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL) and Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd were signed on Tuesday.