The review of the State Lands Act will look at ways government can ensure arrears are paid off and lease payments are made on time by lessees.
While responding to Opposition MP Jone Usamate on the $33.5million in arrears owed to government, Lands Minister Filimoni Vosarogo said they were looking to address these concerns while reviewing the Act.
“There is going to be a more stringent approach that could be undertaken,” he said.
“For example, TLTB has gone to a different wavelength and frequency of going to court, filing for eviction notices and advertising people’s names in the dailies.”
He said the State, however, would be different from TLTB which was an organisation that had to survive on its own.
“At the same time, we are looking on the ground, the larger picture is to look at how we can address these sort of concerns when we are reviewing the State Lands Act.
“The State Lands Act is a very archaic law of 1945.
“We have done some revisions in the meantime, but there is a need for a much larger, broader and more consultative State Lands Act, which we hope to introduce before the end of the term.”
Mr Vosarogo said challenges such as absent lessees, tenants and farmers raised by Opposition Leader Inia Seruiratu was also an ongoing issue.
“Those challenges that he had identified when he was in his previous role as commissioner in the north, is an existing and continuous issue.
“What do we do with those kinds of situations, because they are not provided for explicitly in the law?
“Maybe it would be time — when we do the review to provide for the legislative amendment — is to provide also for situations like that.”
