Calls to review Section 29 of the 2013 Constitution were heard during a Constitution Review Commission consultation at Vatukarasa Village in Nadroga.
Apakuki Tasere of Votualailai Village and Meli Tawake of Vatukarasa Village called for amendments to Section 29(5), which provides that all land held as freehold prior to the Constitution’s commencement shall remain freehold.
The two men raised concerns over the status of extinct mataqali (landowning unit) lands and freehold land, and how such matters were being administered by the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB).
Mr Tasere said all land ultimately belonged to indigenous Fijians under the traditional structure, arguing that land tied to extinct mataqali should revert to the wider yavusa (tribe) rather than remain under institutional control.
“All mataqali comes under a yavusa, so extinct mataqali land should be returned to the yavusa, and not the TLTB,” he said.
Mr Tawake also called for a review of freehold land ownership, stating that some lands were historically exchanged under unequal arrangements during the pre-colonial and colonial periods.
