THE Government has secured two parcels of land for the planned relocation of residents of the Muslim League Settlement in Nabua, Suva with work underway to prepare the sites before families can be moved.
Minister for Local Government Maciu Nalumisa said the Ministry of Housing had identified the land and secured it through the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB).
He said the Lands Department was now working to finalise the process, after which a scheme plan would guide the allocation of land to families.
“The scheme plan is going to assist the ministry in putting people in the right blocks,” Mr Nalumisa said.
He said the plan would also include basic earthworks and the provision of essential infrastructure, including roads and other amenities, before residents were relocated.
“We don’t want to go and just leave our people there, and they don’t have access to water, access to roads,” he said.
“Those are some of the things that we need to have first before we start relocating.”
Mr Nalumisa said the relocation process was expected to take into account the needs and preferences of affected families, including those who wished to return to their respective villages.
“And part of our relocation policy is also consider those who may wish to be relocated to their villages. So we are also looking into that. So if they need assistance, that’s part of the whole relocation management.”
