Finsch urged to deal with land case quickly

By ELLEN TIAMU
THE Finschhafen administrator and the officer in charge of lands in the district have been urged to fast-track the case regarding ownership of land in Saimanget in the Hube sub-district.
Interim chairman of the Nomu-Tapa Aituc clan, Bonza Wangi, made the call in light of increasing business interests in the district especially in the area of oil and gas.
Land and natural resource owners from four electorates of Morobe – Nawaeb, Bulolo, Kabwum and Finschhafen – have met to form the Morobe Oil Ltd and called on all tiers of government to assist them in getting their projects off the ground.
Initial tests have found gold, gas and oil in these areas and Wangi said the formation of Incorporated Land Groups could only happen if true landowners were identified and initial exploration and operations could commenced.
He said many natural resource operations and businesses in the country were coming to a standstill or were not fully operational because of the question mark over land ownership.
He said the issue of land ownership must be cleared before any exploration or initial work could begin.
Recent statements by the Morobe Oil Ltd said the four districts had identified landowners but the same could not be said for Saimanget in Finschhafen where the court was yet to rule on legal ownership.
In 2006, five clans in Saimanget disputed ownership of the land and the matter was pending in court.
“The ILGs, under the Land Dispute Settlement Act, calls for parties to settle ownership prior to development and the Land Groups Incorporated Act (1974) sets out guidelines for application and recognition under law that must be adhered to,” Wangi said