Morobeans settle land payment to honour 1995 committment

A LAND settlement payment of more than K25,000, two pigs and other food items were presented to the Koiari people of Behori  in Central province, by settlers of Morobe province at 9-Mile settlement, outside Port Moresby, on Nov 28.
This presentation was to honour a 1995 memorandum of understanding signed between the two groups.
The agreement was made to allow the Morobe people to settle in Behori land.
A section under the agreement required the Morobe settlers to contribute a certain amount of money to the Behori clan on a monthly basis.
But this never happened for the past 14 years prompting the Behori clan to evict the Morobe settlers for not honouring the commitment.
This forced the settlers to contribute some money to settle the outstanding payments to the Behori clan.
On Nov 28, more than 300 people gathered to witness the occasion which took place at an oval near the 9-Mile public cemetery.
The programme involved singing groups and drama performances by youths from the Morobe community followed by speeches from the community leaders.
The official presentation of the money and goods were made later that day to the leaders of the Behori clans.
The ceremony was chaired by Atupe Bapa, secretary of the organising committee, and Daniel Mega, president of the Morobe community.