Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told Vanua Levu landowners that land given by chiefs during the Colonial era could not be returned unless it was through a purchasing agreement between the current and traditional landowners.
The PM said this after landowners from mataqali Nakase in Korotasere Village, Cakaudrove, told him that a piece of their land given by the Tui Cakau in the Colonial era was now being sold.
The landowners claimed they saw it in an advertisement in the newspaper last week.
Members of the mataqali said due to increasing population, they needed the land returned for food security for their families.
Mr Rabuka told the landowners their only option was to buy back the land.
He said returning the land because it was given by a past chief was not possible.
Mr Rabuka also said buying back their traditional land could only happen if the current owners agreed to the sale.
