[Photo: FILE]
The Government plans to begin the relocation of residents from three informal settlements during the next financial year, with land already secured to accommodate hundreds of families.
This, according tp Housing Minister Maciu Nalumisa.
During debate on the 2026-2027 Appropriation Bill Independent MP Faiyaz Koya asked whether the $1.3 million allocated for the relocation and resettlement of informal settlements would be sufficient to relocate residents from Veidogo, Nabua Muslim and Kilikali this year.
Nalumisa said the government’s plan is to resettle the three communities during the next financial year.
“So far, we have acquired one land at Lokia”
The Minister said the 30-acre site at Lokia was expected to accommodate between 400 and 500 families.
“Because there won’t be much civil work to be done on that particular land, we’ll be able to relocate a few there”.
Nalumisa said the government would also working to secure another parcel of land in the Tacirua area to support the resettlement programme.
He adds that the Housing Authority is also assisting the initiative by allocating 10 per cent of lots in its new housing developments for families living in informal settlements.
“There is a quota that we have with the Housing Authority to allow those in informal settlements access to 10 per cent of all new developments.”
The Minister states some families will also be relocated to the Housing Authority’s Makosoi Subdivision in Deuba as part of the government’s broader resettlement program.
The government has allocated just over $1.3 million in the 2026–2027 Budget for the relocation and resettlement of informal settlements.
