Q1. Mr. Lalabalavu,
this ministry deals basically with the Crown
land and the non-living resources of the country.
Could you explain in details the functions
and the activities of the ministry in this
regards?
A1. This Ministry holds the administrative
functions of all state land in Fiji, which
is the land that belongs to the State. During
the Colonial times, state land used to be
known as Crown land. Land tenure system in
Fiji is totally different from other parts
of the world. We have our own Native land
and we also have land that is not claimed
or that has become extinct in a transitional
manner and it had to be administered by the
State until some identifiable unit can be
identified and can have that land back again.
Secondly, there are freehold lands,some belong
to the State as well. Purchase of any freehold
land by non-residents will need the approval
of the Minister. With regard to the non-living
resources, principally minerals, this Ministry
is responsible for the regulation of mining
and mineral exploration activity (including
hydrocarbons) within the country and its Exclusive
Economic Zone. It also undertakes work related
to the assessment and development of Fiji's
groundwater resources.
Q2. What is the connection here with
the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB)?
A2. The land in Fiji is either freehold
land, crown land, now called State land, or
Native land. Those are the three areas of
ownership. The NLTB is the Trustee for native
land looking after native land on behalf of
native owners and is a statutory body. This
ministry deals only with State land. State
land is only 4% of the land in Fiji.
Q3. You said that the land tenure system is
unique. What does the land mean to a Fijian?
A3. The land in the Fijian context is
several rights being put together, not just
owning the land but is like an asset, something
which you could identify yourself with, it
is your roots, your culture, where you come
from. It is something attached to the Fijian
way of living and it depicts the social hierarchy
of a particular unit or person, whether he
is a chief or a commoner. These are all involved
in that right of ownership. That is the definition
of the rights to Native land. Fijians do not
see land as a commodity or something that
can be traded. It is part of their being,
it is an important part of their life and
is part of their heritage. It is a part of
their family.
Q4. This is something that foreign investors
should be aware of. What do you think is
the foreign investors' perception concerning
the land leasing?
A4. It differs. Some investors may think
that it is unattractive because it is Native
land, it belongs to natives, its leasing
arrangements, etc. They say that it will
be sticky, that the levying is not flexible.
But freehold land is different, you own
it, whereas in Native land it is only the
leasehold that you own. You can only do
it in that specified time so your ownership
is determined by the number of years of
the lease. You have freehold land in perpetuity
and native land is leasehold. That can play
a role in determining how attractive native
land is to a foreign investor. There are
some big investments on native land and
land issue is not a problem for them.
Q5. This Ministry deals with Mineral
resources of the country. What is the assistance
provided by this ministry to prospectors,
producers, exporters or investors in the
mining sector?
A5. We play a regulatory and facilitator
role as far as mining and mineral resources
is concerned. We issue exploration licences,
mining leases, and various other permits relating
to such operations. The Mineral Resources
Department also serves as a geological survey
and provides data and related information
on Fiji's prospecting, etc.
Q6. What kind of information?
A6. Much of this information relates to
Fiji's mineral and hydrocarbon prospecting.
Fiji has had a long history of mining and
exploration and data acquired through the
years is well catalogued and available at
minimal cost. Other information relates to
regional geology and geophysics, laws, regulations,
customs and policies.
Q7. The last review of the Mining Act
was in the 1970s. What can you tell us about
what is being evaluated in this Act?
A7. Yes, the current legislation although
it has brought us so far, is old and ancient.
There is a great need now to review the legislation
so that it can be brought into par with other
legislation both within Fiji and in the region
and, at the same time, try and make it as
attractive as possible to have investors coming
in and to make Fiji more regionally competitive.
The most important thing from Fiji's point
of view is to try and see that it also has
the interest of the landowners at heart. This
includes addressing issues such as compensation,
royalties and the environmental and social
impacts of mining. The intention is to modernise
the existing mining legislation such that
it is compatible with the relatively newer
legislation in Fiji as regards environment,
occupational health and safety, and at the
same time address the issue of access to land,
compensation and other impacts.
Q8. You mentioned that this legislation would
make it more attractive for foreign investors.
In what terms?
A8. By providing a clear set of guidelines
for the conduct of exploration and mining
in Fiji that has benefits for all stakeholders.
Recent events in the region as you know indicate
that environmental and social impacts of mining,
the unequal distribution of wealth and related
issues are the prime cause of failure of projects
and landowner dissatisfaction. This is a comprehensive
review and would look at all aspects.
Q9. What are the main incentives served in
this national budget concerning the mining
sector?
A9. None specifically. The last budget
(2002) however did address in quite a significant
manner issues related to mining - tax, royalty
and duty on specific imports of equipment
and, materials for mining projects. These
virtually remain intact. The export tax on
gold which was shelved temporarily in 2001-2002
due to low commodity prices has however been
reinstated as gold prices recover.
Q10. In that effort of promoting that potential
that Fiji has in the mining sector, do you
have a project or a special department that
takes care of that?
A10. Promotion is a two edged sword. We
have to have our policies, legislation and
regulations updated first. The Mineral Resources
Department undertakes this with the assistance
of the Fiji Island Trade and Investment Bureau.
In 2003 as promotional dollars get scarce
or non-existent, much of the promotion would
be via the web at www.mrd.gov.fj
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Q11. In a study
made by Kontiki Capital Limited, the Australian
mining investors appeared as saying that Fiji
is over explored. However, the mining experts
from Kontiki believed that Fiji's mining potential
is under-explored. What do you think?
A11. There are two different points of
view here: under or over explored. Just to
give an example, look at Vatukoula, at Emperor
Gold Mine. There is mining there for well
over 67 years and each year their resource
and reserves still look good. The view depends
on how one looks at the country. Perhaps the
curse is that there has been a long history
of exploration, but much of this in our opinion
has been at what we call basic or grassroots
exploration. There has been really little
of the serious exploration backed up by drilling.
Exploration comes in waves as a new discovery
or type of discovery is made in the 1960's
it was porphyry copper (Namosi), in the 1980's
it was epithermal gold.
Q12. Would you like announce any places to
explore in Fiji that should not be ignored
by foreign investors?
A12. There is a significant amount of
the more prominent prospects already under
license. We would like to see an emphasis
on industrial minerals, aggregates, sand,
marble and such. These are intensive and have
an impact of wealth of the rural people. The
demand is increasing as more construction
and roading projects come on line. We are
placing more emphasis also on reviewing current
tenement holders, particularly those who hold
on to territory, or hold on to too much. This
policy to force relinquishment of ground not
being worked would we feel lead to a better
turnover and newer discoveries.
Q13. Have they come out with anything?
A13. Yes and no. The recent rise in gold
prices has seen however a return to companies
meeting exploration programme commitments
and several exploration ventures are drilling
targets or intending to.
Q14. Natural Waters of Viti's success story
is an example of Fiji's potential in mineral
water. In this sector, Valebasoga Natural
Waters at Lautoka is a project of 9 million
F$. The factory is built but the company cannot
set up the machines, as they do not find financial
partners. Would you say investors are really
missing a good opportunity?
A14. We are not really sure how it started
in the first place. I think it had something
to do with the source of water. It was like
a gold rush, everyone was rushing into similar
ventures just because of the success of Viti
Waters, and everyone was saying let us go
into this. But much of this was done without
conducting proper feasibility studies and
companies went ahead with factories only to
realise that the resource was not there to
give them what they wanted. On top of that,
they encountered financial difficulties. This
is a fairly new development for us here in
Fiji and we are still drawing up legislation,
and guidelines. On top of all this comes the
land tenure system on the surface. All these
are fairly new things and this Ministry is
tasked with the duty to ensure that we come
up with new policies and legislation regarding
underground water. For example, one aspect
that has come up is how best can we protect
the source of water. Natural Water of Viti
Limited, Fiji Water is quite popular in the
United States and here at home, there is still
a need to come up with the legislation to
protect the interest of Fiji Water or for
that matter the source of any potable water.
This safeguards the industry from aspects
such as pollution or over extraction. Water
quality standards are another area. These
are fairly new concepts and just one of the
areas that this Government is looking into.
Q15. Do you need foreign aid only for infrastructure
and technology to develop the sector?
A15. Not only the foreign aid but also
we need investors as well. The best way they
can help is by protecting their own interests
in the long run. We are getting that from
the owners of Fiji Waters of Viti, David Gilmour.
Q16. What is the situation with international
institutions in order to set the necessary
infrastructure to develop the groundwater
potential?
A16. So far we have had meetings with
Washington, with one of their officers here
recently. We are progressing very well with
these big agencies, how best they can help
us, what do we need them to provide us with,
some technical aid, drawing up policies and
technologies as well as legislation.
Q17. What are the priorities?
A17. There is a need for us to develop
our economic base so there is a need for us
to explore other possible areas that have
the potential to take off economically and
these are areas that we are looking at: underground
water business and mining. We have to shift
away from the sugar.
Q18. What would you say to welcome competition
in these two sectors?
A18. It is a small country, we cannot
offer that much to the world. Again, all we
can say is come and give it a try! The legislation
will be there; the policies will be there
in place to help you along. The government
after all will offer the stability to get
back the investors confidence.
Q19. How would you compare Fiji's competitiveness
to that of neighbouring countries?
A19. Geographical position, service, infrastructure,
information technology through the Southern
Cross Cable are offered by Fiji. All these
make Fiji one of the most developed countries
in the South Pacific. We have international
links through shipping and air routes. We
are trying to put up policies that will not
scare investors but help them as much as possible
in the sense that we involve them a lot in
the drawing up of policies so that it becomes
something that is easily acceptable by the
investors. Other countries ahead of us are
so well developed that it is like a one-way
traffic, where the policies are very stringent.
It becomes very difficult for one to make
an inroad. For us, we are at that stage where
we are involving these investors and also
seeking advice from abroad. So in drawing
up policies, we do not have that attitude
where we just rely on what we know or what
we have but try and use as much advice as
we can get from neighbouring countries. I
think that over the years we have shown to
the countries in the region our resilience
and our ability to bounce back. We have had
a troublesome history in the last 15 years
or so but each time we have managed to come
back quite strongly and that is seen as a
positive aspect. A classic example is the
mining sector. When the country was in chaos,
both in 1987 and 2000, the mining industry
was the only industry that invested a lot
of money.
Winne cannot be held responsible for
unedited transcription.
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V.I.P. INTERVIEWS
