800 Manus land disputes unsolved

MORE than 800 land disputes, mostly relating to customary land matters, remain unsettled in Manus.
Provincial lands dispute committee chairman David Maliku said it was important that the provincial government and administration and the district and land courts work together to resolve these disputes.
Maliku revealed this at the closing of a week-long mediators’ workshop at the Tarangau naval base last Friday.
He described some of these disputes as being “serious and need to be addressed immediately”.
“Most of our land in Manus is customary; we need to attend workshops like these to educate us,” Maliku, who is also Manus lands committee chairman, said.
Manus MP and Inter-Government Relations Minister Job Pomat allocated K40,000 for the workshop.
The workshop started last Monday and ended last Friday. Twelve permanent LLG land mediators, 12 LLG managers, two ad hoc mediators and an observer participated in the workshop.            
The workshop was initiated by magisterial services through the Lorengau District Court and division of lands.
Pomat reminded the workshop participants and guests at the closing ceremony that the government’s wishes to deliver services would never materialise unless land disputes are resolved as soon as they happen.
“We need to work together to address and settle these issues so that government services could flow,” he added.