This particular case adds fuel to the pyre of dissatisfaction with the Native Land Trust Board, especially when the developers of the resort confirmed (in an email with an interested buyer) that there are two executives within the organization have been bribed over several years to faciltate the development on native land.
Fiji Times further quotes from the email:
Email exchanges dated as recently as September 20 this year, between one developer and an interested buyer in Auckland, said that two executives of the NLTB had been bribed over a number of years.
"It is a very corrupt country, as three coups in 17 years suggest and the NLTB is under so much fire at the moment, they will not interfere with a major development and run the risk of a fight over sexual discrimination," said one email to a buyer.
"I have people at NLTB who I pay to interpret the law as I wish to not as lawmakers perhaps intended and frankly, the NLTB do not care about landowners but the investors so you can be totally honest with the knowledge that we will always be totally protected as our interests are in their best financial interests. You don't need to worry about NLTB cancelling the lease," the developer's email said.
He went on to say the man was one of the "best men money could buy". The developer's email said his partner's residential lease had been changed from residential to tourism with 10 years allowed to start development. "They don't even discuss it with landowners but just go right ahead," the email said while naming a second NLTB officer labelled as corrupt and greedy".
Fiji Times further explains that, according to an online chat (from an unnamed website catering for the Gay community) an individual linked to the resort development advertised the potential for paedophiles interested in young boys. The same unnamed individual also labelled Fijians as simple and stupid.
On an Internet chat channel devoted to homosexual relationships, a man linked to the development tells of Fijian boys "as young as you want them to be" being available for sexual encounters.
"For $100 a Fijian boy will do anything and tell nobody. The Fijians are a very simple people. Stupid people really," he said in the Internet conversation.
Club Em Designs
Ahhhhhh
ReplyDeleteAn Angel Visits You
I. The landowner has been duped - a residential lease then a resort development lease? I don't blame him for not being happy about it, though I guess he wanted some pocket money in the first place.
ReplyDelete2. Emails are private and it's a no-no for other parties to read them.
3. I don't like the idea of gay resorts anyway - so call me old-fashioned!
4. The implication of bribery is very disturbing of course.
W.
1.)& 4.) Duped is an understatement. This is the legacy of NLTB. And now they want to administer the Qoliqoli too.
ReplyDelete2.) Emails now are not secure as one might think. In the U.S, employers are keeping a track on workers. Case in point H.P case and "contexting".
3.) Gay resorts- Perhaps someone's idea of the end of the rainbow, at everyone's expense.