By MATTHEW VARI
Sunday, August 4, 2013 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)
VARIOUS guests present at the forum hosted by the Badu ILG (Incorporated Land Group) last week in Port Moresby,urged the landowners not to be the next Taurama- the calls were made regarding the ILG’s plans to put up their land for residential development for the city.
Reference was made to the failure of the Taurama valley project, which failed due to the unplanned nature and structure of plots, and the permanent sale of land. All against the very principles of maintaining customary land ownership.
Director for the Office of Urbanisation, Max Kep, said this while congratulating the Badu clan for their initiative to put up land for development.
“I am really impressed with what has been done- the project has been made independently and without any support, all by Badu itself,” Mr Kep said.
He said, being the first government agency responsible for urbanisation- they discouraged the permanent sale of land, just like what has happened in Taurama.
“We have to find ways to make sure customary landowners, who have already given away most of their land in the interest of the state during the colonial times, not just in Port Moresby but everywhere in PNG, on how best they will benefit from their remaining land.”
“To not be spectators but benefit sustainably so that they themselves and their children will continue to benefit in the future,” he added.
Mr Kep urged customary landowner, especially those in and around cities and town centres not to sell their land outright for fixed amount.
“The very people who sell it for K5,000, K7,000 will be licking their wounds, sitting on the side so ashamed that you sold the rights of their future children.”
“We are trying to build towns and cities with proper services such as water, sewerage, electricity, and roads- we want to build suburbs on customary land. We don’t want to turn customary land into slums.”
He pointed out that the Taurama Project had become a slum, referring to landowners saying they were the land owner and were selling for ridiculous amounts, which the office could not do anything about.
Sentiment that were shared by the Surveyor General, Luthor Sipiso, from the Department of Lands and Physical Planning who pointed to amendments to the Surveys Act, that gave the office more authority in what surveys should be accepted and the authoritative processes involved.
“We have built our capacity to meet the government’s 2050 vision to have 20% customary land available for development.”
“Land must be surveyed properly, demarcated properly, land investigation must take place, ILGs must be established to identify who the owners are, and that is the process that has come about through the amendments to the act,” he explained.
He challenge Badu ILG to treat the project as a baby, because the ramifications of not doing so would mean another Taurama, which he referred to as sad and an eyesore.
Sunday, August 4, 2013 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)
VARIOUS guests present at the forum hosted by the Badu ILG (Incorporated Land Group) last week in Port Moresby,urged the landowners not to be the next Taurama- the calls were made regarding the ILG’s plans to put up their land for residential development for the city.
Reference was made to the failure of the Taurama valley project, which failed due to the unplanned nature and structure of plots, and the permanent sale of land. All against the very principles of maintaining customary land ownership.
Director for the Office of Urbanisation, Max Kep, said this while congratulating the Badu clan for their initiative to put up land for development.
“I am really impressed with what has been done- the project has been made independently and without any support, all by Badu itself,” Mr Kep said.
He said, being the first government agency responsible for urbanisation- they discouraged the permanent sale of land, just like what has happened in Taurama.
“We have to find ways to make sure customary landowners, who have already given away most of their land in the interest of the state during the colonial times, not just in Port Moresby but everywhere in PNG, on how best they will benefit from their remaining land.”
“To not be spectators but benefit sustainably so that they themselves and their children will continue to benefit in the future,” he added.
Mr Kep urged customary landowner, especially those in and around cities and town centres not to sell their land outright for fixed amount.
“The very people who sell it for K5,000, K7,000 will be licking their wounds, sitting on the side so ashamed that you sold the rights of their future children.”
“We are trying to build towns and cities with proper services such as water, sewerage, electricity, and roads- we want to build suburbs on customary land. We don’t want to turn customary land into slums.”
He pointed out that the Taurama Project had become a slum, referring to landowners saying they were the land owner and were selling for ridiculous amounts, which the office could not do anything about.
Sentiment that were shared by the Surveyor General, Luthor Sipiso, from the Department of Lands and Physical Planning who pointed to amendments to the Surveys Act, that gave the office more authority in what surveys should be accepted and the authoritative processes involved.
“We have built our capacity to meet the government’s 2050 vision to have 20% customary land available for development.”
“Land must be surveyed properly, demarcated properly, land investigation must take place, ILGs must be established to identify who the owners are, and that is the process that has come about through the amendments to the act,” he explained.
He challenge Badu ILG to treat the project as a baby, because the ramifications of not doing so would mean another Taurama, which he referred to as sad and an eyesore.
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