Provincial council challenge Fiji’s land wealth imbalance

Cakaudrove chiefs and its people in making their submissions for constitutional change, say, iTaukei landowners are being denied a fair share of wealth from their own land.

During the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) consultations held at Yaroi Village yesterday, Tevita Vakalalabure questioned the contradiction at the centre of Fiji’s economic structure.

Speaking on behalf of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council, he asked: “If iTaukei people own most of the land in Fiji, why do they still make up such a large part of those living in poverty?”

Their submission of the council states that the issue goes beyond land ownership itself and points instead to systemic failures in the way benefits from land and natural resources are distributed.

“This submission is made respectfully, but plainly. The issue raised is not abstract. It is something our people see in daily life,” Mr Vakalalabure said.

The council is now calling for constitutional protections that would ensure customary landowners receive equitable benefits not only from land leases, but also from minerals, forestry, fisheries, water resources, quarries, carbon credits and even surf breaks operating within traditional boundaries.

Mr Vakalalabure argues that genuine constitutional recognition of iTaukei rights must translate into economic justice for rural communities that continue to struggle despite sitting on resource-rich land.

“It also revisits the Deed of Cession of 1874, arguing that the legal foundations of the modern Fijian state should be reassessed to strengthen the protection of customary ownership and indigenous rights,” he said.

The submission is expected to intensify debate as Fiji’s CRC process continues around proposed changes to the country’s supreme law.