|
We want our land back: Ahi
AHI clan chiefs of Butibum village in Lae yesterday converged on the old
Lae airport with their people demanding the return of the entire
property to their business arms.
They displaced placards alleging corrupt deals in allocation of portions
of the land by politicians and bureaucrats in both the national and
provincial governments.
One placard read: “Corrupt government, give back our land” and another
made reference to a memorandum of understanding signed between the Ahi
people and the Morobe provincial government in 1999, where the
government was “desirous to make a firm commitment and undertaking that
a number of prime commercial and residential allotments within the old
airport development shall be identified and made available to the Ahi
people”.
It said the allocations of these parcels of land should be by way of
exemptions and direct grant by the Morobe provincial land board and it
further committed to paying 25% of all GST collected from developments
to the Ahi people.
The leaders claimed yesterday, the government had failed and there was
corruption and foul play involved in the allocation of the Urban
Development Leases (5) and the various allotments leaving the villagers
as mere spectators, while outsiders had gone in and grabbed the land.
They were particularly incensed last week when the media published
stories of a corrupt deal involving the alleged forgery of Governor
Luther Wenge’s signature in the selling of a large block of land for
K700. The buyer then mortgaged the property for a K900,000 with the ANZ
Bank of Lae. When the man defaulted, the bank repossessed the land and
sold it for K4 million to a large supermarket chain in Lae. This issue
is now before the Lae National Court.
In a statement read out to the media at the old airport where they had
moved onto last weekend, they said, Ahi Holdings Ltd, the business arm
of Ahi Association Inc, had been negotiating with the government to
obtain leases over the old airport and believed in maintaining
principles of good governance and all its dealings.
“The landowners are fed up with numerous understandings and promises
made by the Morobe government and the State to us … and we will pursue
this understandings with a view to obtaining proper UDL … for portions
360, 361, 362, 359, 358 and 365,” they said.
“We want our land back,” they said, claiming the Minister for Lands Dr
Puka Temu had promised them in Oct 2, 2006 to forfeit all current and
existing leases because “they had been fraudulently obtained”.
The statement was signed by Ahi Holdings chairman Mr Muttu Gware, Mr
Suguwic Kwalam – leader pf Agactuc clan, Mr Elijah Kissing – Wapiguhuc
clan, Mr Malac Nathaniel – Apo clan, Michael Gialli – Busulum clan, Mr
Kamakan Pom – Gwatuc clan, Mr Ali Isaac – chairman of Agactuc clan, Mr
Jethro Mindring – chairman of Wapiguhuc clan, Mr Noah Giali – chairman
Apo clan and Mr Mesach Philemon – chairman Busulum clan.
They said the movement of containers to the old airport was only a
temporary measure to assist Riback Stevedores to free-up space in its
yard for some maintenance work, but Ahi Holdings Ltd would maintain its
presence on the old airport land in according with wishes of its
shareholders.
 
|
