Land-grabbing and the law

THE article by newly appointed Lands Minister Justin Tkatchenko (The National, Aug 14) is going in the right direct and is supported by the Customary Land Law Foundation-PNG, of which I am a founder.
We agree that the key to any successful development is customary land registration.
The “grabbing” of customary land can only be stopped by compulsory customary land registration and a land titles registry so that customary land is available to both the government and investors to acquire legally for development projects. The best option is the use of the customary land law which is the foundation of the IPA-incorporated company called Communal Land Development Ltd.  We are appealing to the lands minister and our political leaders to use the customary land law for the benefit of the landowners, government and investors.
It’s a win-win situation.

Dr Onne Rageau, MD
Director
Customary Landowner of PNG &   Founder of Customary Land Law of PNG