Fiji Government cabinet has approved the tabling of a Bill to transfer ownership of native fishing grounds, from the state to the traditional landowning units who have been historically documented as prime users of the resource. Native fishing grounds are known as Qoliqoli in the Fijian vernacular.
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The general framework of the Qoliqoli Bill including the creation of a commission and enforcers of the Bill is welcomed. However it is a concern to some circles how Native Lands Trust Board (N.L.T.B) enters the equation of marine resources. It could be challenged how the Qoliqoli (native fishing grounds) has anything to do with N.L.T.B?
ReplyDeleteIf the fiasco demonstrated in Sorokoba and Sigatoka is a snapshot of the performance of N.L.T.B and the dissatisfaction by landowners, then it is quite imperative that a new model of trust be envisaged, using the formula of wealth distribution applied by the Monasavu landowner's trust which was engineered by their lawyers.
It is prudent that native fishing grounds to do not become another tool for abuse and mismanagement by the overpaid and under worked bureaucracy.