12/01/2026
Strengthening Fiduciary Protection for iTaukei Land During Compulsory Acquisition
By Dr. Jalesi Nakarawa
Compulsory acquisition is a critical, often overlooked intersection between modern State infrastructure expansion and the ancestral rights of iTaukei landowners. Statutory powers, most notably Section 31(5) of the Electricity Act 2017, allow the State or public utilities to acquire land for public electricity infrastructure without traditional conveyancing or the consent of landowners. Compensation is required, yet it alone does not guarantee benefit, fairness, or intergenerational justice for customary landowners.
This unfolding tension compels urgent reflection by both the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (BLV) and the iTaukei Land Trust Board (TLTB), two institutions with distinct but complementary responsibilities for the guardianship of the Vanua.
The Fiduciary Problem
TLTB is not merely a land administrator. It is a statutory trustee mandated to act in the best interests of iTaukei landowners. That fiduciary duty is not suspended when the State initiates compulsory acquisition. In fact, it becomes more onerous.
Compulsory acquisition creates a high-risk fiduciary environment in which landowners can be:
under-compensated, excluded from value capture,
deprived of intergenerational economic benefit,
or compensated only for leasehold interests—even when customary title holds deeper value.
The legal danger is clear:
Compulsory acquisition can convert the Vanua into disposable capital rather than intergenerational economic sovereign capital.
That outcome would represent both a fiduciary failure and a cultural rupture.
From "Just Terms" to "Optimal Terms"
The constitutional requirement for compulsory acquisition is that compensation be paid at “just terms.” However, fiduciary law demands a higher test: optimal terms for beneficiaries.
This distinction matters. "Just terms" may satisfy administrative compliance, but fiduciary "optimal terms" ensure that the land, once alienated, produces outcomes measured by:
▪️beneficiary benefit,
▪️intergenerational continuity,
▪️and economic participation.
For customary land, no lesser standard is acceptable.
Policy Reforms for a New Era of Guardianship
To align compulsory acquisition with customary stewardship and fiduciary duty, four reforms should be considered.
1. Compensation Reform
BLV and TLTB must insist that compensation reflects:
▪️the underlying customary title, not merely leasehold interests,
▪️economic and cultural loss,
▪️and intergenerational impacts.
Standard commercial land valuation is insufficient for Vanua-based land.
2. A Value Participation Framework
Infrastructure, such as electricity transmission corridors, generates perpetual public benefit. In such cases, landowners should not incur perpetual loss through a one-off payout.
TLTB should negotiate:
▪️easement-based compensation,
▪️profit sharing or royalty models,
▪️or rental agreements for continued use.
This avoids the structural dispossession created by a single transaction.
3. A Fiduciary Negotiation Protocol
TLTB must adopt a structured negotiation protocol for compulsory acquisition that includes:
▪️valuation benchmarking,
▪️independent valuation review,
▪️disclosure to landowners,
▪️a documented fiduciary rationale for settlement.
This elevates compulsory acquisition from an administrative procedure into fiduciary stewardship.
4. BLV Oversight and Accountability
The BLV, as an institution of indigenous authority, should be empowered to:
▪️audit settlement arrangements,
▪️monitor compensation adequacy,
▪️assess intergenerational implications,
▪️and report indigenous economic outcomes to Cabinet and Parliament.
This does not obstruct State infrastructure projects—it ensures they do not impoverish customary landowners.
Beyond Real Estate: The Cultural Dimension
Compulsory acquisition touches the heart of the Vanua because land is more than acreage. It is:
▪️identity,
▪️belonging,
▪️authority,
▪️and continuity.
Policy must therefore integrate:
▪️fiduciary law, which protects beneficiaries economically, and
▪️customary logic, which protects the Vanua as a sacred inheritance.
Neither dimension alone is sufficient.
Strategic Outcome: Prosperity, Not Dispossession
The goal is not to obstruct national development or infrastructure modernisation. It is to ensure that:
▪️State development does not impoverish the customary owner.
▪️When properly structured, compulsory acquisition can become a catalyst for:
Ø economic citizenship,
Ø indigenous capital formation, and
Ø dignified intergenerational participation in nation-building.
Conclusion
It's time for a new Guardianship Mandate and the Bose Levu Vakaturaga. This moment calls for leadership in defining a customary–fiduciary doctrine of land stewardship fit for the 21st century. For the TLTB, guardianship must move from passive consent to active fiduciary negotiation. Compulsory acquisition should never again function as an instrument of dispossession. It must become a strategic mechanism through which the iTaukei people secure lasting prosperity from the lands that have always sustained them.
Disclaimer
The views expressed in this post are strictly personal and academic. They are offered in the interest of public understanding and do not represent, nor should they be attributed to, any institution, office, or authority.
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