Deal forces families out

 By PISAI GUMAR

NEARLY 500 families at Begesen settlement along the road to Yanga and Wangang villages in the Ahi council in Lae were displaced after a company claimed to have acquired the land title.

State lease land portion 363 Malahang was acquired by Home State Corporation Ltd from a Monica Kerro for K1.3 million in 2012.

Kerro claimed ownership of the land, which the company paid for and acquired. The land title included six units on the land.

Ahi council manager Daniel Wasinak was not sure how the state lease land was acquired from an ordinary person by a company.

“It’s illogical because State lease land is not purchased outright. It is only leased to interested companies for development purposes.”

“There was no record or proof for the transaction from Kerro.”

Verification is required from the provincial lands division and National Department of Lands for land purchase, Wasinak said.

He said that portion 363 was partly State lease and partly customary owned that required clear transaction records in place to establish legitimacy of the dealing. 

“We are not against development but the status of land transaction needs to be justified before development activities.” 

Home State legal coordinator Clive Kalake said the land was allotted as a residential area but the company acquired the title after paying Kerro K1.3 million and converted the title for light industrial purposes.

Settlers took the company to court for equitable rights but it was recommended that it be settled out of court for which several mediations were chaired by Ahi LLG president Sam Agi.

Thirty-four households demanded K200,000 from the company after private valuation.

The company decided to pay K120,000 and provide logistics to settlers if they wanted to repatriate but the settlers were reluctant. 

The company then issued a 14-day eviction notice on Nov 12 last year until eviction was executed from Tuesday.