The Equal Distribution Policy: Does It Generate Economic Advancement for iTaukei?

Sakai, Sevanaia (2024) The Equal Distribution Policy: Does It Generate Economic Advancement for iTaukei? Okinawan Journal of Island Studies, 5 . pp. 1-29. ISSN 2435-3310

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Abstract

The iTaukei, or Indigenous people, of Fiji own 91 percent of the land and constitute 62 percent of the country’s total multiracial population. However, although critical in development discourses, these figures do not quite have the same effect on the development plight of the biggest landowners in the country. As it is, the 2019-2020 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) revealed that 75 percent of iTaukei participants were below the basic needs poverty line, the highest of all the ethnic groups living in Fiji. This recent demographic-statistic trend questions the colonial land policy and post-independence government stance on customary land policy. In 2010, after the 2006 military coup, the FijiFirst Party government amended the Leases and Licenses Regulations of the Native Land Act (1961) to ensure equal distribution of lease money to landowners. For the first time, under the new equal distribution policy, the chiefs and commoners within a mataqali (clan) were able to share equal economic gains from the lease of mataqali land. There were social, economic, and cultural beneficial claims made by the Bainimarama government endorsed by the iTaukei Native Land Trust Board (TLTB) to validate the amendments. In line with critical colonial discourse, this article shares the first empirical evidence from the author’s PhD dissertation regarding the economic benefit claim, specifically focusing on the equitable distribution of lease income. The researcher adopted a mixed-method approach, including an administered questionnaire survey, key person interview, and focus group discussion conducted at the area of study and with key individuals from statutory bodies. While the research outcome shows a general appreciation of the fair distribution of lease monies, the equal distribution policy has mixed implications for the socio-economic and cultural sustainability of the iTaukei community.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Divisions:	School of Law and Social Sciences (SoLaSS)
Depositing User:	Dr Sevanaia Sakai
Date Deposited:	10 Jan 2025 02:54
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2025 02:54
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/14673

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