Board challenges NEC decision

By ELLEN TIAMU
despite a statement by chief physical planner Raphael Nagual that the Morobe physical planning board is illegal, the board is adamant it is a legitimate body.
The national government has gazetted a cabinet decision to suspend the board and notified it and the provincial administration.
But the Morobe provincial government disagreed and engaged Manaseh Lawyers to take the matter to court.
Morobe board chairman Masam Som said the Physical Planning Act 1989 gave the provincial executive committee the powers to establish a board and the same Act gave them the power to change, alter, suspend or terminate individuals or the board.
He said that was compatible with the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments (OLPLLG).
Som said all rules were followed for the setting up of the board and its decisions did not contravene any laws.
Som said the minister, officers or lands secretary had no say on who was appointed or removed from the board and “cannot dictate terms to the board”.
“The provincial physical planning board is responsible for carrying out provincial government directives,” he said.
Som said comments by the chief physical planner that the board was illegally appointed were incorrect as the only hitch was an administrative matter that called for representation from the Lae Chamber of Commerce and an alternate member.
He said the wrangle over section 41 lot 89 at Eriku was a resolution and direction of the Morobe government and had been sitting with the provincial lands adviser
for years and not implemented.
He said the rezoning of the sports and recreational area had already been done by the PEC before the new board came in and directions from the Lands Department were inappropriate.
“S89 L41 is now an issue because some people have benefited from it,” he said.
He described it as a dead issue “as the minister has approved and honoured the decision by the board”.
Som said much of the misunderstanding and bickering over land issues and allocation in Lae was because lands officers “are not liaising and cooperating with the board but instead taking matters directly to Lands Department headquarters in Port Moresby”.
The board has identified other areas in the city for sports and recreational activities.