LAND GRABBING AND CORRUPTION - Papuan Compound Playing Field Saga (Part 1)

Who would have wanted to get the title to a land owned by a community as their playing field for more than 60years? Who would have facilitated for a recreational land to be rezoned into a light industrial area so that the title can be issued to suit a person's business interest? Who would have bypassed the provincial lands board to have corrupt lands officers in Port Moresby to facilitate the issuing of it's title?

Obviously not someone who cares about development for the greater benefit of the city residents. Someone who doesn't care about the procedures and authorities in place to facilitate legal and transparent documents to obtain a land title.

The Papuan Compound community came to realise that their land was taken over by a certain Lae businessman in 2014. A petition was put together by the community, including the Milfordhaven Primary School administration who also uses the field to conduct their Physical education lessons. The petition was presented to then Morobe Deputy Governor Judas Nalau and relevant authorities for the land title to be revoked and the land given back to the community.

The community also took a court preventive order to stop any development on their playing field. Youths and members of the community also warned that anyone carrying out development on their playing field using that illegal title will be manhandled.

That same year, investigations revealed that a clerk in the Provincial lands office has fraudulently issued the title to the developer. The lands officer was terminated and the Papuan Compound land issue was put to rest since then.

In May 2017, the community was informed that a court order has been issued by the developer to have the land freed up for development. I was reliably informed that certain officers in the National Lands Office have proceeded to rezoned the Papuan compound field from a recreational area to a light industrial land area. Which allows for commercial development to be carried out on the land.

The Morobe Provincial lands office was unaware of how the land area was rezoned. Every land title application have to be processed in the provincial lands board before it goes to the National lands office.

A follow up on this issue was done by members of the community and the provincial lands board with the acting National Lands Secretary Mr Tiri Wanga. The Lands Secretary is yet to advise the community of Papuan Compound on what actions he is taking to address this issue and or preferably revoke the title being issued to the Lae businessman.

I was also reliably informed that the secretary has recommended that the developer conditionally surrenders the title to the lands department and be given an alternative land allotment in Lae or the Provincial lands board will proceed with revoking his title.

Whichever the outcome, I would still suggest that those corrupt lands officers involved in facilitating corruption in the National Lands office must be investigated and terminated. Their actions have spoken volumes of how they have been circumventing legal processes by accepting bribery to issue land titles.

If the Minister for Lands is also implicated in this mess, let him come out and explain to the community of Papuan Compound and the people of Lae and Papua New Guinea on why they are facilitating for illegal land grabbing.

In the next part of this report, I will be providing evidences of court documents and other papers which have been illegally obtained through fraudulent means, by bypassing provincial authorities and dealing illegally officers in Port Moresby.

The Papuan Compound playing field is being used by the community for sports and recreational purposes. With land grabbing issues on the rise in Lae and across Papua New Guinea, playing fields have also being illegally obtained titles by individuals.