ILLEGAL EVICTION OF TENANTS – DRASA, LAUTOKA

• The NLTB totally deplores the action taken by some landowners who have caused tenants to leave their homes at Drasa in Vitogo as reported in the media today. We are also informed that there are certain individuals who are moving around misleading landowners and instigating unlawful activities for their own evil motives.
• We will carry out actions within our powers to stop such activities and those that are likely to happen in future.
• NLTB requests landowners to be patient and await NLTB officials to carry out their function over these reverted lands, as we are the statutory trustee with entrenched powers to act on behalf of landowners.
• Government and NLTB’s implementation of the reversion of Schedule A and B lands to NLTB is still in progress after the passing of the relevant legislation in April this year.
• Individual parcels have to be investigated before they can be allotted to approved Mataqali or Yavusa. Files on leases on these lands are now in the process of being transmitted from Lands Department to NLTB. The files for Drasa in Vitogo have not all been received by NLTB.
• Once files are received, our officers will carry out field inspections to determine those that are required to be extended, including the residential homes of tenants on those lands. This is a slow and cumbersome exercise that requires patience, goodwill and understanding from all sides, particularly the landowners.
• Landowners who have been issuing notices to tenants at Lololo and Drasa do not have any authority to do so, and they run the risk of Court action by the NLTB. A letter to this effect from the NLTB’s Reserve Commissioner was delivered to them on Tuesday, the 3rd of September, 2002.
• In the case of the allotment of Schedule A land at Drasa to the Yavusa Tunuloa, THEY NOW FACE THE RISK OF THAT ALLOTMENT BEING REVOKED, should there be further reports of harassment of tenants by the landowners.
• Arrangements are being made to hold further discussions with the landowners later this week.
• Our plea to the landowners is to be careful of "experts" who offer them advice to take actions that are illegal and unlawful as they will only have themselves to blame if things do not turn out in their favour.