There has been a significant increase in new entries for registration into the VKB's in the last six months.

This is a register for iTaukei's, which determines membership into a tribe or clan, verifies access to clan owned lands and is also an avenue that justifies title holders within iTaukei communities.

iTaukei Affairs permanent secretary Savenaca Kaunisela said the increase is attributed to policy changes relating to distribution of lease proceeds by the Government early this year and has played a significant role in the realization on the importance of being registered in the VKB.

In addition, growth in rural development that is based on various government initiatives such as commercial farming, mining and the registration of iTaukei lands into the “Land Bank”, have stirred up interest for iTaukei participation.

More importantly, compensation for resource owners for the use of their resources in these developmental ventures is likewise distributed based on the VKB register.

For 2010 there were 2049 new entries from January to June and increased for the same period in 2011 to 4039.

Story by: Selina Navuso
Source:minfo