Land grab
THE popular Unagi Park, used by Port Moresby city residents for sporting activities and meetings, appears to have been fraudulently allocated to private companies, individuals and organisations.
The National Capital District Commission, which was the custodian of the land described as Section 122, Allotment 1&2 was apparently not aware when meetings were held for the land to be subdivided and the titles issued.
Sources disclosed that initially, the land was reserved in the custody of the Port Moresby City Council (which later became NCDC) as recreational land.
The NCDC learnt that they had long lost the custody of the land only recently, when it decided to construct the Kennedy Road and was faced with legal threats purportedly by the new landlords.
The issuance of licences was gazetted in National Gazette G75 on the June 17, 1999.
This resulted in NCDC engaging two consultants, Lands & Associates and Sedrac Services to compile a list of all reserve land and recreational parks and facilities.
When the consultants’ reports were furnished, a meeting was called between NCDC officials including Wilson Thompson (deputy city manager), Wilson Punim (policy officer), Leahy Saup (Lands manager) and Department of Lands officials Pepi Kimas (Secretary), Valuer General (rates) and the Register of Titles in November 1999 on the issue of Section 122.
The position of NCDC was that the land was vested the custodian of Trust Land and City Hall was appointed to manage it. It was common knowledge that S122 was a recreational land frequently used by the public.
There was a purported Lands Board meeting on the 17th of May 1999 which never occurred but a gazettal notice G75 appears to have been fraudulent issued.
Due to the construction of the Kennedy Road, it was agreed between NCDC and Lands in that meeting that the allotment were to remain 1 and 2 but to be surveyed in relation to the road division whilst other allotments such as the Filipino Associations (S122, L2) remained. It was also resolved at that meeting that gazettal notice to be issued and the titled be granted back to NCDC. The Ombudsman Commission, Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee were also supposedly asked to investigate.
A legal challenge ensued after the road construction and the purported lessees took NCDC and the State to court and NCDC Lawyers were reportedly instructed to defend vigorously.
At that meeting, it was also resolved that NCDC to immediately put up public notices and infrastructure around the land and object to any future Physical Planning application and refer the original Section 122, allotment 1&2 solely for recreational purposes.
Then Deputy City Manager, Finance and Administration Wilson Thompson agreed that the land portion in question was fraudulently subdivided and gazetted into 15 different allotments by Lands Department.
“At our meeting with the Lands officials, we learnt that the purported Lands Board meeting of 17th May, 1999 which approved the subdivision of Section 122, Lot 1&2 into 15 allotments never occurred and that gazettal notice G75 was therefore fraudulent,” Mr Thompson said.
He said there was also no advertisement in the newspapers to affect such when such is a legal requirement.
A title search this week (17/04/08) revealed the following title holders; Progress Auto Machinery (S122,L12), Virgo N0.65 P/L (S122,L13 & 14), Fairhaven No.72 (S122,L15), Landbanks Holding P/L (Consolidated L7&8), Philipino Association (S122L2 & 10).
Allotment 9 has been queried and no title has yet been issued.
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