Customary Land Concerns in Samoa
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2018
- A land law introduced in 2008 is causing problems. At the heart of concerns, that Samoan customary land could lead to alienation. The Samoa constitution does not allow customary land to be sold but opponents say the effect of the law is to free up customary land for exploitation, even by foreigners.
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We should never lease our land to foreigners ever ,we should hold on to our lands n preserve them for samoa future sake...Stay Strong my beloved Samoan people ...Don't let there lil plans fool us....Stay Strong🇼🇸💪💪
The Lefaga Decision by Judge Leilani Tuala Warren
Judge Tuala Warren's decision of 4 December 2018 proves that all customary land leased is alienated from the aiga traditional owners.
Principles:
A.
Every customary land lease is deemed public land by the ACLA 1965.
Alienation of Customary Land Act 1965
11. Payment of rent or other consideration
(1) Every such lease or licence shall operate as if it was a lease or licence as the case may be of public land, but the rent or other consideration derived therefrom shall be received by the Chief Executive Officer in trust for the beneficial owners of the land or interest therein as the case may be.
(2) It is unlawful for any lessee or licensee under any lease or licence granted under
this Part of this Act to pay any such rent or other consideration directly to any such
beneficial owner.
(3) The Public Finance Management Act 2001 applies to such rent or other
consideration received by the Chief Executive Officer, except that no charge for the
Financial Secretary’s services shall be deducted.
(4) The Chief Executive Officer or the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of
Finance may account as statutory expenditure for such rent or other consideration,
plus any amount of interest certified by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry
of Finance to have been earned thereon, and less any unpaid fees and commission
payable to the Chief Executive Officer in the matter, to the agent or agents of the
beneficial owners.
(5) Neither the Chief Executive Officer nor the Chief Executive Officer of the
Ministry of Finance nor the Government is liable to pay any rent or other
consideration or damage to any person who claims that he or she is a beneficial
owner of the land or interest from which that rent or other consideration arose and
has not received his or her share thereof from the agent or agents but nothing in this
Act prevents any such person prosecuting a claim for his or her share against the
agent or agents.
B.
By operation of Law customary land leased becomes public land. As it becomes public the Land Titles Court and Land Titles Court of Appeal have no jurisdiction.
The newly declared public land is registered as freehold land under the LTRA 2008 and all traditional aiga land rights are destroyed.
Paragraph 38 of the Lefaga Decision,
`With respect, the LTC [Land Titles Court] is not a Court which is competent to terminate duly granted leases of customary land. Once this lease was granted, it became a lease of public land according to section 11 ACLA. As a lease of public land by operation of law, the Minister becomes trustee for the beneficial owners. It is a lease which in accordance with section 25 of the Land Titles Registration Act 2006 (LTRA) must be endorsed with a certificate of correctness and registered in accordance with section 26 of the LTRA. This removes such leases from the jurisdiction of the LTC and places them within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Result
Paragraph 39,
In terms of the 2013 decision, the LTC at first instance cannot then make a decision to revoke, cancel or otherwise deal with the lease. Its decisions are limited to making declarations about the parties’ rights or otherwise to any title, name or customary land. The LTCA also with respect, fell into error in dismissing the appeal and affirming the LTC decision which revoked and cancelled the lease. The LTC does not have jurisdiction to terminate leases over customary land that are by operation of law, leases of public land.’
What Justice Tuala Warren does not consider and which makes her decision wrong is that S.11 of the ACLA 1965 alienates the customary land in breach of Article 102 of the Constitution and is thus void by the action of Article 2 of the Constitution and she fails to consider the effect of registration under the LTRA 2008 by sections 25, 26 & 32.
So those Aiga landowners have suffered the loss of their traditional land because it has become public freehold land.
Justice Tuala Warren does not explain in whose name the public land is registered but it is likely that it is the Minister of MNRE as the trustee.
By s.32 of the LTRA 2008 the Minister becomes the owner, so must also become the beneficial owner to receive all profit.
Summary
Any customary land leased is alienated by s.11 ACLA 1965 and disputes are dealt with in the Supreme Court.
An immunity is granted to government for loss by any traditional owner by s.11(3) ACLA 1965.
Registration of the lease under s.32 LTRA 2008 completes the transfer of ownership of the original customary land from Aiga to the Minister of MNRE.
This is a forbidden alienation and can be appealed as a breach of Articles 2, 14, 15 & 102.
Notice the two-step process:
Firstly s.11(1) is used in breach of Article 14 of the Constitution, transfer of property by operation of law, to alienate the aiga land rights and declare the land public.
Secondly, s.32 is used to register the public land as freehold, owned by the Minister of MNRE, subject to the sovereignty of the State.
Thirdly the State becomes the beneficial owner and the original Aiga have no right to lease payments and no ownership.
I will answer questions and provide a copy of the Lefaga decision upon request.
Maua Faleauto 23 January 2019
fsmtaua@gmail.com
P.S.
What is also clear is that 1 member of an aiga can approach and lease out the land of an entire aiga without consultation with the wider family and be supported by the Minister of MNRE so that the customary land leased is lost permanently to the entire Aiga.
Notice the immunity in s.11(5) ACLA 1965 and s.79 of the LTRA 2008 for the HRPP government and also public officials. Article 15 of the Constitution is breached by the conversion of every piece of land leased to public land because it prefers the State as against the many traditional aiga landowners. It is a clear and forbidden alienation.
As for Judge Tuala Warren, she follows the HRPP plan but remember that she has not considered that s. 11 of the ACLA 65 breaches Articles 2,14 and 15 and 102 of the Constitution. Declaring every piece of land public is a device to steal and alienate the traditional land rights of Aiga
Beautiful all Samoan radio station in TV. Watching from Las Vegas NV ❤❤😂😂
The payment was send but not to the owner but to the bank that set up the lease and that was the government bank
the lawyer is 100 present right talofae I nai kagaka Samoa ma lakou fanua.. from Anaheim CA
Once the head(mataisa'o) of the traditional samoan family is identified, then it becomes easier for the power to be in govt to corrupt them with money and thereby make it easier for foreigners to buy samoan customary land. At the moment the real ownership of customary land in samoa is very much a grey area. And this being the case, it would be difficult for the govt to identify the real owner(mataisa'o) therefore making it difficult for govt to sell customary samoan land to foreigners. Be careful of China(CCP) and its corrupt/control using money as a mechanism to buy our samoan customary lands. CCP would have probably infiltrated the Samoan Cabinet & The PM financially with millions of dollars for their personal gains.
Look at hawaii.......😢😭
Wake up Samoa..
Better safe than sorry and say... its too late now
dont be too greedy for the money, but worry about the generations to come and the hard work our ancentors had put in to have our freedom... They were killed to make sure we have freedom.. Dont let this piece of paper control and destroy our beautiful paradise.
Customary Lands situations happened because they been told by the PM to act. Why did they pass this law at the first place?
Asian populations has rapidly increasing every day. They have not got enough land to settle... so they desperately needing land....
They are smart and they will do everything in the power to ensure they start something somewhere... the rest will come after...
Keep Our Land Safe... Play Smart
why does the gov of samoa need to put there nose in to the aigas land no payment that's a default loan take the hotel rent out the rooms youself
WHEN ALL THESE THINGS GOING TO STOP...WE SHOULD HAVE BETTER SAMOA FOR NEW GENERATION😎😁
And return to paradise just won the national tourism award lol. what the hell?
Meanwhile prime minister of Samoa is at McDonalds..
Paying like 5 dollars for a frozen coke🤣
The narrative written by Dr Maua Faleauto two years ago is quite informative and it has given myself a better understanding of the legal and non legal entities of the samoa customary land issues currently being debated. I believe the controversy with regard to samoa customary land will be around for a longtime, unless appointed judiciary members tell the truth and not take sides with corrupt govts. PM Tuilaepa on one of his speech tries to assimilate resolutions to solving Maori land issues in NZ to his Party approach to Samoa Customary Land issues. Mr Tuilaepa has to understand that Maori land issues in NZ are drastically different to land issues in Samoa. There maybe some similarities in the principles promoted by PM Tuilaepa, but legal proceedurals, regulations and rules will definitely not befitting the samoa land current situation. Besides, the Waitangi Tribunal was a smart move adopted instead by the power to be of NZ govt. NOT a separate Supreme Court for Samoa Customary Land issues as advocated by Tuilaepa and his Cabinet. Lean on God alone and not the wisdom of mankind. God Bless!!
They say one thing and do another.
SAMOA MO SAMOA .
Mr Fiu Mataese Esera needs support from people within and outside of Samoa those people with the knowledge and the skills to support the different aspects of Mr Esera's argument. To me, it sounds like Mr Esera has a sound knowledge and understanding of the customary land issues of Samoa. And I felt enlightened to see Dr Malama Meleisea amongst this support group as well. I felt the problem of samoa customary land can be challenged somewhat by taking a different approach eg. Ask the Govt of Samoa the following questions. Who are the real investors of Samoa's Central Bank? and who owns this bank ? Is CCP one of the main investor in Samoa's Central Bank? To what extent has the Govt of Samoa & CCP entered into the debt-to-equity swap contractual arrangements. What are the consequences to the Samoa Govt and the people of Samoa overall if those CCP contracts don't work out. You and I know that if the loan by the Samoa Govt under the above contract (debt-to-equity swap) is wiped out, still the CCP is expecting to get something back from the Govt of Samoa in return. It will have to be Samoa Customary Lands under the new legislation forced by the HRRP political party. Faamalosi Fiu, I believe you need a good team of Samoan Patriots to help you. Faamanuia Le Atua Poto. & Good Luck!!
Thank goodness for these brave Samoan warriors for standing up to protect Samoa. Malo lava God bless 😇😇😇😇😇😇
Malo lava Fiu Mata`ese,, well done,,
Kagaka uma a ga e malilie e lisi lakou fagua believe that is their ticket to wealth and prosperity. Some of those leases last a hundred years. Their descendants, 2nd or 3rd generation may never get that land back. 100 years is a long time.
Tuilaepa is a master Corruption and he's a professional Scammer ever
Love you uncle Lemalu
SAMOA LO'U ATUNU'U PELE TAMA MA TINA O KAKOU UA LEAI GI FAGUA KAKOU SAPAIA SSIG KEKEE LE KULAFOGO HRPP MALE PM
I got land to lease 100 million a year no government involvement
Oh please don't sells aiga land they should asked aiga first not the gvt. PM no right to sells the aiga land wake up samoa. He doesn't care about them now do it the right way
So PM where does these freehold land come from that is why you create this mnre law to steal people's land you just passed this law without consultation for all of Samoa.
The family have all the rights in the world to protect and defends their lands and properties. Family hold on to your treasures the only eset our islands have. JMHO get a lawyer to fight with this corrupted systems and hope they pay back the $$ that they owed in 9 some yrs with compound interest principle and sum. Good luck to you family ✌️.
Malo Fiu Mataese le finau
Vaai Kgk ole malo m loia ga sa saigia eleele o Samoa e ave uma ile court, wake up Samoa 🇼🇸
the high chief of the family is the person to sign not the prime minister not the Samoan government not faifeau not your uncle unless he is the high chief of the family that the land is under and even before any signing off any anything the whole family get together and talk about the lease how much how long prime minister he just want something for nothing you have your own land go and prime minister that
The wording in the law "as if" does not mean It Is. MNRE headed by the minister acts as the trustee to make sure the customary land still stays with the family. Read the laws as it is.
Sorry Loi the Judges opinion trumps yours but you didn't mention that the customary land which becomes public land is registered under the name of the minister of MNRE Fiame Naomi Mata'afa so it is owned by her. And she has a complete immunity look at s. 79 of the Land Titles Registration Act 2008. Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff hasn't read the Lefaga Decision and what use is an objection if you never hear about it. The ADB Compliance Review Panel found the ADB and HRPP guilty of damaging the Land Rights of Aiga
Samoa vaai fanua na o le a faagoia e le faigamalo ma le pule faagaoi a Tuilaepa ua tatau ona faamavae Tuilaepa ma le tofi e sao Vui ua tele le pepelo ua tstau ona ave i le fale puipui la na fai pepelo atu ai ma le komiti e sao ai loi ua o I Savaii ave le pepelo ae tuu le mea sao e le o Savaii uma o tagata ia e le malamalama ma leisi ua manao I le tupe ae ave ai e Tuilaepa latou fanua pau le mea faalogo I Loia o tagata popoto I le tulafono ma o Loia na maua ai le mea leaga a Tuilepa ave faagai ai fanua o tagata Samoa o le fili lava o le tama o le maua .e sao ai le upu a le Tusi paia o le laau na faufau e Naamanu e toe tautau ai
Samoa feala i luga tou te le iloa le mea lea e tupu ile lalolagi olea e taumafai le aukuluku ia tasi le malo ole lalolagi tailo la ia outou pe toute mananao ai faamanuia le Atua ia Samoa
Was their hotel still running for business throughout the period of dispute? about 9 months, if yes...then they have to pay those families...end of story.
Ua le faalogo i tagata na filifilia o ia ae ua abuse le power ua tuuina i ai e tagata e auauna ai i tagata o Samoa
Hi
Tbh the part I'm more concerned about is if Samoans want money then why not lease your land? It would be a good thing unless you want them to continue on being poor and makiva.
Its more about the right people, money isnt everything. If you lease ur land to a person that is untrustful and dishonest then that itself is a major problem that could effect you later on making you regret ur choices
unless its being payed for ,but not going to the family or owner,but straight to a bank under government with kuilepa rules,, DO NOT LEASE YOUR LAND TO FOREIGNERS,, ESPECIALLY CHINA
Ua sui uma e Kuilaepa tulafono o fanua faaleaganu'u. Susunu uma fale ma tuli'ese le palagi ma le kou fanua
tip from the no.1country.....money talks
The thief will go the hell..
Kele le aia fua I land o aiga that's ashamed .!!!!
O le tala a le tusi oti "E FIA FAI MOA TAMA UMA", E mo'omia uma e aiga le atia'e, auala ia e atina'e ai, e lelei le tatou fa'aoga o o tatou fanua, a uma taimi e lisi ai toe foi a i aiga e ana fanua o lo o malu puipuia i lalo o le FA'AVAE O LE MALO O SAMOA. Ae a le finagalo foi e LISI ia aua. MANUIA Samoa atoa.
🙏😘😍$ad to $ay,but there are tymz VIOLEN¢E iz the ownlee an$wer.LEEV IT AZ A LA$T RE$ORT THO:||
Sole Pepelo I mean Petelo you're the one misleading the people with your uncle Stui. He just stated in video Torrens system only applies to freehold land which is a big fat lie. Hahahaha se soia se ou te ofo ia oe e susu atu a ua le toe sua ae susu a. All lands in Samoa is registered under LTRA 2008. Go look at Section 14 in LTRA 2008 where LRA 1992/1993 was repealed. When it came into effect, all lands registered under LRA 1992/1993 are deemed to be registered under LTRA 2008 as qualified title land. The hrpipi government with the help of ADB changed our land laws so lands are registered under Torrens Tittle land registration system in a ploy to gain access to 80% of Samoan land under customary ownership.
A law passed in a deceitful manner by not having a referendum as per Article:
109. Amendment of Constitution - (1) Any of the provisions of this Constitution may be amended or repealed by Act, and new provisions may be inserted in this Constitution by Act, if a bill for any such purpose is supported at its third reading by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the total number of Members of Parliament (including vacancies) and if not fewer than 90 days elapse between the second and third readings of that bill:
PROVIDED THAT no bill amending, repealing or adding to the provisions of Article 102 or the provisions of this proviso shall be submitted to the Head of State for assent until it has been submitted to a poll of the electors on the rolls for the territorial constituencies established under the provisions of Article 44 and unless it has been supported by two-thirds of the valid votes cast in such a poll.
So in other words - do not fuck with Article 102 unless Article 109 has been followed to the letter. How can you say that in Samoa you cannot use customary land as collateral for mortgage? In case you didn't know A.D.B. provided further assistance to the hrpipi government in establishing the Customary Land Advisory Commission Act, 2013. In setting up the Customary Land Leasing Section and amending the Alienation of Customary Land Act, 1965 to allow the mortgage of customary land leases. Yes hrpipi amended ACLA 1965 to allow it. Yeah you say its unconstitutional to mortgage customary land lease but your uncle didn't care, he pushed this legislation through to satisfy the bank that promised more money for his regime.
Your argument there is no alienation of customary land because there is a leasehold payment from the lease holder to the lease owner every year is somewhat weak. Alienation of customary land in any form or term is alienation. All customary land leases is registered under LTRA. Customary land is then changed and registered as public land. I'm sure you've read Justice Tafaoimalo's verdict on the case between Return to Paradise Resort and customary landowners of Lefaga village. Were she ruled our Lands and Tittles Court and Lands and Tittles Court of Appeal have no jurisdiction over disputed customary land because it is registered as public land. So therefore it would seem the customary landowners have no rights and alienated from their land.
Under the old leasing protocol customary land leases were not allowed to be mortgaged and leases were usually 30 years with rights to renew. It is also registered with all those who had vested interest in the land. But under the amendment the lease is registered under one Sa'o/Matai of the aiga which according to LTRA gives them absolute and indefeasible rights as sole owner of customary land. If customary land lease is mortgaged at a financial institution, to make it viable the terms are much longer for example 99 years or more. Again that is alienation of customary land and in the event a lessee defaults on their mortgaged the banks will not simply return the land to the traditional landowners, the banks will on-sell the lease to another lessee/tenant until the banks money is recouped.
At the moment we don't know what will happen to the land if no one takes up the lease and banks cannot get the money back. If it is registered as public land which is also freehold land, I would say the bank will sell the land and the customary landowners have no rights to public land. This is one of the gray areas in this unconstitutional legislation LTRA 2008. And why does the minister sign the lease and get a bigger cut of the lease payments? Why pay money into MNRE instead of directly to landowners?
Sole our people are poor due to government corruption and incompetence. They line their pockets first by giving themselves huge wages, unlimited perks and expect big fat envelops at functions or ceremonies. Your uncle earns about WST$193,602 and the rest of hrpipi cabinet ministers base salary starting at WST$132,000. The 13 Associate Ministers and Parliament Under Secretary at around WST$68,400 each. I can go on and on about how these so called politicians pretend to be working in the best interest of our people but really they're self serving. Most of them and their associates are guilty of abusing and misusing government assets.
And some of these politicians are against wage increase for the private sector. How the fuck can they be against an increase when they earn 100 times more than the average labourer earning WST$2.30 an hour? No one wants to be poor we all want to earn good money to survive and live comfortably. The cost of living has skyrocketed because for years Samoa has simply not generated enough income to balance the trade deficit due to importing cost at 51% of GDP.
Government suckholes like yourself say people living overseas have no right to question or criticize the hrpipi government. Well I'm sure you are aware the country's second biggest revenue after taxes comes from remittance sent from overseas to family members back home and most of the inbound travelers are family members visiting for different reasons. If there was no money from family members overseas the country would go bankrupt. There is not enough employment opportunities for the population and not enough export markets for our farmers to sell their produce. Tell your uncle ua lava lena ua fiu tagata i le a malo pi'opi'o.
Hahahahahahahaha se fuams
Aua faavalea oukou Palemia i kou fanua ma measina a kou aiga e tau totogi ai aitalafu mai atunuu i fafo ao fea a o iai tama fanau Samoa e galulue ai aua faalata oukou tupe taimi gei ae vaai mamao mole lumanai mo tama fanau Samoa
Kalofae Samoa...Ua faamuamua mea e maua ai le mau"oa loo le ola ma fanua tagata Samoa na tigaina ai latou tuaa ma latou Matua e galue ai etc.... ua le "SAMOA MO SAMOA" ae ua "SAMOA MO ATUNUU MAI FAFO" Stand up for your rights n stop at nothing Samoa.
Faiga. LTRA. Tuilaepa. Ma. Lana. Auvaa. Gaoi. Tupe. Eleelefanua. Samoa. Valutausaga. Le. Totogia. Se. Tupe. I. Aiga. E. Ona. Fanua. Talofae,
O e kukuli ese ma susunu i lalo fale talimalò na prime minister has no rights to interfere to your land.A pi'opi'o atu fai loa e outou le faai'uga tonu
We need new prime minister.
Leai magi kupe o ALU ile malo ,kele ai fua kagaka I Samoa ma kele ai faamai eases IGA mau kagaka uma kamai akuguu ga faavalea e saiga .
A mumusu loa E lisi lakou fagua kuu loa E o lakou E fai ai gi faleese
na e sao kgk,tuu ai pea lakou fagua,e le lisia tuu ai pea
E pule tagata i ona fanua.
Oe lea Samasogi sogisogi ga'o le faaoga le mpugi leai sau feau ke aia ai fua I fagua ole akugu'u alu fufulu lou muli gae kaea .leai mse feau ale malo lisi ai fua a lisi lisi la le mfai ga koe kokogi kupe lae lisi ai e saiga oga a lea? Mea ga ouke fai aku ai alu fai se feau aoga kou aiga.Sui le malo
That is Trueeeee.leai se feau e loke ai fua measiga a aiga .!!!
O LOA E SUE SE LOIA NEW ZEALAND. AE FAASAGA I LE FAA FAAMASINOGA I APIA .
Load of rubbish these people SSIG or whoever are misleading Samoans in Samoa and overseas. You cannot lose the land because there is an ongoing connection with that land from the landowners and the leaseholders even if it is a 100 year lease. Why? because every year there is a leasehold payment from the lease holder to the lease owner (the customary owners of the land). How can you lose your land when someone is paying you to rent that land every bloody year? There is ongoing payment to you which reaffirms and confirms that your family is the owner of that land. Also, in Samoa a mortgage cannot use customary land as collateral. Why? because it is unconstitutional and the Land law itself (s9(4)) says so. So if the leaseholder defaults on his/her mortgage, the bank cannot take the land. Why? because it is customary land and the constitution forbids it. Why do you think Samoans are so poor and they have to leave Samoa to go work in factories overseas? it is because 80% of Samoa is customary land where they cannot get any bank loan to develop the land because the banks will not lend money on customary land. To make any money whatsoever on the land, there is leasing. But leasing has been around since 1965, however it is still hard (very hard) for leaseholders to get a mortgage.
The Prime minister and his Government are corrupt
The Lefaga case ruled upon by Judge Warren has just been released and it says: land that is customary and leased becomes public land owned by the government. so that is a clear alienation @@TogoUili
@@FSMTaua O le mafuaaga lea o loo aloalo ai le malo I le faamasinoga ona e maua ai le tupua o loo nana, o Satapuala le faataitaiga lelei ua fiu si alalafaga e finau ae o loo mimilo solo e le malo le case I latou fanua, aua o le mea moni o fanua lava ia o Satapuala lea ua faamalo e le malo, ae na o le tagata e tauaso na te leiloaina faiga ia faapolokiki a le malo I o tatou fanua.
@@TogoUili The Corrupt Maths of Faipule in Samoa
(Members of Parliament)
Faipule wealth =
faipule salary
+ private business interests (including million tala bonuses
from foreign corporations)
+ dividends from 65% of profit from public bodies
as shareholders (assets were owned by the people
now divided among HRPP faipule)
------------------------------------------------------------
= $ millions of tala
Average Samoan wage = T$ 2-3.00 per hour
Se laa fia pepe le malo ile palaaai o gei faipule ...