By MATTHEW VARI
THAT was the response from Prime Minister Peter O’Neill when responding to calls by Rabaul MP for the Rabaul Open Dr Alan Marat on the issue of settlements and the lawlessness associated with them
Dr Marat referred to the number murders, stabbings of people, break and enter, and burglaries are committed to people and businesses in Rabaul’s Takubar business district.
“While citizens of this nation have the constitutional right of the freedom of movement, what is your government’s policy on allowing the continued existence of settlements and illegal squatters?” Marat asked.
“Does the government have any plans to review and amend section 52 of the constitution which provides for the right to freedom of movement with the view to completely obliterate this evil of illegal squatting?”
In his response, the PM expressed concern on hearing of the issues in the town, however, he reiterated that there was no intention by the national government to impede the freedom of movement of citizens in the country.
“I am saddened to hear that some of our illegal settlers have continued to cause hardship to many of our residents around the Takubar area in Kokopo,” O’Neill said.
“No I will not adjust Section 52 of the constitution, because the last thing any government should do is to interfere with the rights of our people including the freedom of movement.”
“I know that it is easy and very tempting to try and introduce acts like the Vagrancy Act but we must never forget that these are our people that need our help and we must be innovative in our programs like public houses and the availability of land; those are the things that we should encourage.”
He said that as the national constitution provides, they can not stop the movement of people throughout the country where they want to go.
“The settlements must take place in settlement areas where they are legally entitled to settle, not where the land belongs to customary or villages who rightly own those land and as a result all these settlements are taking place in this country.”
“One of the things that this government is pursuing today is trying to have planned settlement- like what we have been piloting here in Port Moresby where we are trying to put up titles to the settlers in many of the settlements throughout the city so they can move into planned settlement area where they have got access to a titled serviced land and have access water, sewerage and power.”
“Many of the settlers in illegal settlements are also workers we see everyday and are not just anybody- they are our citizens and we need to look after them, it is our neglect that has allowed them to go and find settlements in areas, and I am certain that they do not want to settle either.”
He added that as a responsible government and as a solution to address issues tied into the influx of citizens into settlements the government is embarking on planned settlements in all the major towns and cities throughout the country.
“We are starting off in Port Moresby but this program will be extended to Lae, kokopo, Mt Hagan where government will acquire land, if it doesn’t have the land that is sitting there that is state owned without development will be compulsory acquired back and will be titled, subdivided and given back to citizens so that they can settle in those areas.”
“Government’s next major project will be public housing program. We will fully go into the public housing program.”
“Every settlers who is settling in illegal settlements will be encouraged to move on to those titled areas, so that they will have clean water, they will have better road access, power supply going to those areas and of course they will most of all have a title that will rightfully belong to them.”
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