THOUSANDS of historical planning records across rural Fiji have been lost because of poor storage, outdated policies and decades of neglect, Parliament has heard.
Housing and Local Government Minister Maciu Nalumisa revealed that many rural town and country planning files were destroyed over time because of limited archive space and the absence of proper preservation protocols.
“For rural areas, planning records once held by rural local authorities; due to limited archive and storages, many were routinely destroyed after just five years, resulting in data gaps for these areas,” Mr Nalumisa said.
“The 13 municipal councils also hold planning records, especially for building permits, rezoning, scheme amendments, subdivisions and only Suva and Lautoka city councils maintained independent subdivision records as the only municipalities with gazetted subdivision bylaws and full authority with clearly defined boundaries.”
He said the issue stemmed from archive practices dating back to the 1970s, when country planning was introduced to support urban development through zoning and land use control.
Today, the Department of Town and Country Planning is attempting to recover what it can with more than 74,000 records remain stored across Suva, Lautoka and Labasa – some in fragile condition and dating back to the early 1960s.
Mr Nalumisa confirmed that digitisation efforts are underway, with over 1000 files already scanned in Labasa using new large-format scanners procured by the Government.
However, he acknowledged that the damage in rural areas is done.
“Once records are lost, we can’t recreate them.
“We’re working to preserve what remains and prevent further loss.”
