Absence of boards in Madang a concern

Momase

The Madang government does not have a land, physical planning or land transport board.
Local advocate Arthur Abo said the inexistence of the land board had forced certain individuals and business houses to seek short cuts in Port Moresby to get land titles.
Abo said this caused several disputes among the Port Moresby shortcut title owners, landowners and other title owners who were now battling in courts over rightful ownership.
It was also discovered that inexistence of the land transport board hadresulted in PMVs operating without proper permits.
Madang transport officer Maskulan Gubag confirmed that there was no transport board but there were steps taken already to establish one.
Acting Madang provincial administrator John Bivi said a land board and physical planning board formed in 2014 by former Madang governor Jim Kas was not functioning any more.
Bivi said boards issues would be one of the many issues to be fixed by his administration.
Meanwhile, town residences have raised concerns about the types of buildings built in public places and residential areas.
Many people were using their private residences for business purposes while others were leasing their family homes to businesses.
Abo said people were operating at their own will because the physical planning board was not in place.
Abo said Madang was entering a new era where businesses were booming with certain big government projects developing in the province and needed active participation of the boards to keep places, people, businesses and land issues in order.