The word to watch for is “trustee”

Dear Editor,

Interesting reading all the coverage about customary lands. 

Thank you for reporting on what the government has to say about this issue in your Sunday Samoan.

Still, fear remains after the unclear explanation of L.T.R.A 2008 given by Dr. Mulitalo. 

She ends up with a plan in which the Minister becomes the Trustee (middleman, negotiator etc) who under the L.T.R.A. 2008 will be given the absolute power to exploit customary lands if families agree to it (that is families agree to entrust a Minister to be the trustee of their customary lands.) 

The word emphasised here is TRUSTEE. 

In the Intellectual property laws the trustee will gain all the rights to the use, basically exploitation of these Lands. 

The owner will be powerless in the end. 

Forget the sweetness of the deals and promises, because there is always a hidden agenda masked by the so-called innovations and economic developments.

 

Peni 

Samoa Observer

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