Find land to settle evicted families, PM tells dept

PRIME Minister James Marape has instructed the Lands Department to find State land in Port Moresby to re-settle families being evicted.
He was responding to the eviction of around 5,000 people on Monday from a piece of land belonging to a church in the middle of Port Moresby.
Marape, in a statement, asked those using court orders to evict people living in the city, including those at Garden Hills, to stop while the Lands Department and City Hall arranged to resettle those being evicted elsewhere.
Marape told the Lands Department to find vacant state land to relocate the families to, thus, converting settlements into suburbs.
“This is a government policy in line with the National Capital District Commission efforts to convert existing settlements to suburbs,” he said.
“People would be relocated properly if they are employed or have lived in the city for more than one generation.
“I understand the frustrations of title holders with respect to settlements on their (land).
“But ample warning and time must be given to people, working with city authorities to ensure minimal or no social and welfare issues will affect displaced families, especially at this time of Christmas.”
Marape said he wanted the eviction halted “until we are able to move the people to new sites if they are employed or have SMEs”.
“Recent city immigrants will be relocated back to their home districts to ease the pressure on the socio-economic life in Port Moresby,” he said.