THE iTaukei Land Trust Board has noted that some investors come with empty promises and have “big mouths and no money”.
CEO Solomoni Nata said this after questioning Investment Fiji’s vetting process.
Speaking at the TLTB Land Use Master Plan Key Stakeholders consultation in Suva yesterday, he said one of the biggest problems the board faced was that almost 30 per cent of leases were not productively used – “and in tourism it’s worse.”
“What we found out was that most of the tourist operators came in with big mouths and no money, they have no money,” Mr Nata said
He said investors who had approval from Investment Fiji received a certificate granting them permission to lease native land in Fiji.
Potential investors, he said, must have good intentions and money instead of tapping into the government system or accessing “our own money” to develop their project.
“Bring in people who have the money to come and invest.
Mr Nata rejected Investment Fiji’s claim that land tenure in the country was uncertain, saying native land was one of the key economic contributors.
“Just look at Denarau and all this real estate that’s utilised to support the economy of this country, most of them came from the native land. The people of Fiji are still talking about the uncertainty of land tenure when, in fact, native land is the biggest proponent of the economy of this country. Housing Authority, Energy Fiji Ltd, and so many others, in the tourism industry and almost everywhere, even conservation. These are all consumers of the native land.”
Investment Fiji Head of Regional and Trade Development Lisala Dyer said they no longer issued Foreign Investment Registration Certificates since July 31, 2024, and this responsibility was now with investment promotion agencies.
“But in terms of looking at investments now, when we role change, we sort of see a change as well. We are now looking at quality investment coming into the country rather than quantity.”
