Villagers of Namatakula, Komave and Biausevu in Nadroga were urged to invest their money as early as possible to be able to build wealth over time.
This following the launch of the ‘Noqu Vanua Investment Scheme’ by the Unit Trust of Fiji in Namatakula Village yesterday.
UTOF chief executive officer Vilash Chand said the investment scheme was specifically designed to help empower ordinary Fijians in the village settings the importance of saving and investing and generating competitive tax-free returns.
“We’d like to see that the villages across the country are able to save and invest for not only their future but for the future generation in the village as well,” he said.
“A lot of villages are receiving funds either from soli or from their resources through i-Taukei Land Trust Board (TLTB) so what we are encouraging the to do is to they continuously save money and invest for future use.”
He said the agreement was a mutual understanding between UTOF and the villages, with Namatakula being the first. “This particular scheme is also meant for the village whether it’s a vanua account, mataqali account or for church funds.
“So any child in the village can open an account as low as $10 and the parent or the guardian become the custodian of the fund whereas for any person above 18 years, they can open with $50.”
Village headman Josevata Nagasaukula said the investment scheme would help the villagers in terms of saving their money ‘for a rainy day’.
“A lot of us just put our money in the bank after that take the money out and we don’t think about our future,” Mr Nagasaukula said.
“I am grateful for the UTOF for choosing to launch it today (Monday) in our village as many will know now the benefits of saving money.”
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