New houses are being built just outside the Waidamu­damu Settlement area at Koronivia without proper leases, giving rise to more informal hous­ing.

This process of acquiring land which belongs to Yavusa Navisere of Navuso is being sold for as much as $10,000 without the involvement of the iTaukei Land Trust Board’s knowledge

The Waidamudamu Settlement came into being after land was sold in an analogous manner.

The man selling most of the land has been identified as Naweli Fa­tiaki. Mr Fatiaki admitted that land had been sold to people and houses were being built.

He said so far TLTB had not been involved in the land dealing. He also admitted selling land in Naulu in an analogous manner.

He said he was a member of the landowning unit.

And while the informal settle­ment has been developed, it was not done by the Ministry of Hous­ing and Community Development.

Informal settlements in Sakoca, Cunningham, Khalsa Road, Tui­rara and Naulu happened as a re­sult of such land sales.

Nawaikula message

Parliamentarian Niko Nawaikula lives metres away from these devel­opments.

He said the TLTB needed to get proactive and investigate such mat­ters. He said such dealings were depriving landowners and the ten­ants.

He said TLTB must wake up.

According to the law, all land deal­ings concerning iTaukei land must be done through the TLTB who the custodians of the land are.

In a statement last week, TLTB said on-going attempts by individu­als to sell iTaukei without follow­ing the proper process as stipu­lated under law which TLTB was established to administer is unlaw­ful and will not be condoned.

“If any member of the public should encounter any individual claiming to be in­volved in the sale of iTaukei land and is not carrying proper identi­fication or documentation, please contact your nearest TLTB office for verification. Furthermore, we strongly urge the public to be vigilant and make enquiries at any TLTB office where there is any uncertainty or suspicion involving iTaukei land or dealings relating to iTaukei land before paying any money for the proposed transac­tion,” the TLTB statement clari­fied.