Department teaches new land processes

 By JAYNE SAFIHAO

LAND custodians in Madang are not bothering to register their customary land because of the cumbersome processes and waiting time, director for customary land registration Andy Malo says.

She said not only was that problem faced by many.

 There had not been any provincial surveyor or valuer in the province for the past five years, she said. 

This was the general feeling after a two-day workshop organised by the Lands Department for provincial district lands officers and their administrators.

Malo said the importance of their regional awareness workshops since last year was to teach participants the new amended processes and procedures that needed to be applied to applications.

The voluntary customary land registration amended Act 2009 was done in March last year.

“Any application that does not comply with the requirements under the amended law will automatically be rejected from further action and referred back, such as the compulsory need to have birth certificates attached,” Malo said.

The three main requirements under the new amendment will be birth certificates, a sketch map of the existing land with all its assets and the compulsory inclusion of two women representatives as members on the incorporated land group (ILG) executive committee.

Malo said this was to ensure gender equality and to prevent foul play.

She said the requirement would ensure each person belonged to only one ILG or clan as well as stop unnecessary land compensation.

All involved would have a fair say on how their land would be used in future, Malo said.

Sixty participants graduated yesterday at the Jais Aben Resort.

The onus is on the district land officers, provincial administrators and ILG groups who attended to become trainers or do further awareness, she said.