Bye bye to land forever

Dear Editor

Re: Customary land consultations in Savai’i

“To review all laws affecting customary land in Samoa and make recommendations to Cabinet for changes to such laws where such are necessary for the facilitation, encouragement and promotion of the economic use of customary land;”

(ALL LAWS affecting customary land in Samoa.)

(for CHANGES to such LAWS.)

Don’t do it.

“The benefits for customary land owners can be highlighted by the former Warwick Lease in Vavau. The customary land owners received about 87 thousand tala a year for the land alone. 

A certain percentage amounting to about 8 thousand a year was allocated to the village’s collective fund to be used for the maintenance of Churches, and schools buildings and other activities.”

$87k a year to be divided by how many land owners? and 8k a year for a village’s collective fund? who manages the village fund?. I’m presuming that this village’s collective fund will be handled by a government department where the villages will have to go through trails of paper work to withdraw a certain amount allowable for each village at a certain time, or are there any criteria to be met for it to be withdrawn?

The Benefits shown by this document appears set, means probably no negotiation of leases contracts. With possible changes made to ALL LAWS affecting customary land, Say bye bye to your land forever. And what a nice added enticing claws to add a village’s collective fund, so that the whole village can pressure another family to lease their land, which should be the majority using corrupt and coercive ways to pressure a land owner to lease their family land.

With this Village’s collective fund is a One World Order model.

 

Galufatio’o Tautuailevao

Samoa Observer

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