THE Ministry of Lands will investigate claims that an environment impact assessment (EIA) was not conducted when a Chinese investor was issued licence to use a traditional fishing ground along the Coral Coast.
Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Ashneel Sudhakar said the ministry was looking into claims by the Yavusa o Vusu of Namatakula Village along the Coral Coast.
“The iqoliqoli issue is still pending and we are looking into it,” he said during an interview last week after the landowners and some members of the Opposition met with him to raise their concerns about the issue. “The EIA report is pending and we will conduct one as soon as possible.”
He said the ministry had compensated the landowning unit for the use of their fishing grounds.
The landowners’ concerns were raised by Opposition MP and Namatakula villager Inosi Kuridrani.
He said the landowners received some monetary compensation but were not aware of changes in laws related to native land and traditional fishing grounds.
“The landowners were given compensation but they were not consulted,” Mr Kuridrani said.
“There was no environmental impact assessment (EIA) conducted, no plans to confirm the iqoliqoli boundary and no documents to confirm the project plan.
“To make matters worse, we have not met the investor despite repeated requests to have this arranged.
“When we wrote to the Ministry of Lands to raise our concern, the ministry replied that the investor was willing to give $20,000 for development cost as compensation. A proposed payment of $20,000 was for a development that was going to affect our environment, compromise our livelihoods and leave very little for our future generations.”
The group also met Opposition members in the Coral Coast earlier this month to resolve the issue with Mr Sudhakar.
