Plight of a humble people

QUEEN Emma of the South Seas has left behind a sour taste in the mouth, so to say, for the people of Vunanami, Karavi, Balanataman, and Ranguna, the original landowners of Malapau plantation in Kokopo, East New Britain province.
These people have been trying for more than 36 years to get the land title certificate for their land which was alienated by Queen Emma in 1942 just before the World War II.
There was a land court held at Bitakua Balanataman against Queen Emma in 1928. She had been trying to relocate the local landowners out of their land to make way for her plantation.
Regardless of the opposition by the local landowners, she went ahead and had the land surveyed and registered under the administration of East New Britain and titled it “Island Estate”.
Nothing much was said about the customary land at Malapau plantation and the landowners’ grievances associated with that land.
This was so, even after the setting up of the Mataungan Association in the 1960s.
In 1972, the general manager for CPL, Barry Hart, negotiated with Chief Ereman Tene (Ereman ToBaining’s father) to get the four original landowner clans of Malapau plantation to pay off new coconut trees and the few oil palm trees that were on the land.
This was to pave way for the transfer of the Malapau plantation land back to the people of Vunanami, Karavi, Balanataman, and Ranguna villages as the land was never bought in the first place.
A new Land Acquisition Act was implemented in1974 by the government of Chief Minister Michael Thomas Somare.
The late Jimi MP, Thomas Kavali was then the lands minister.
That same year ToBaining was nominated leader of the land distribution authority by the government and the Malapau Plantation land was subdivided into lots according to their customary lands.
Ereman ToBaining worked with the four original landowner groups of Malapau plantation and he called for the local landowners to organise themselves into their respective land groups and to have their land groups registered.
On Nov 14, 1974, the government paid CPL for its coconut trees and the oil palm trees on the land at Malapau plantation.
In 1978 the locals repaid K75,000 to the state the money that the government paid to CPL on Nov 14, 1974.
This was when ToBaining was premier of East New Britain.
From the original Portion 227 (Milinch Kokopo – Fourmil Rabaul), four lots were subdivided (Lot 6 – Vunanami, lot 5 – Karavi, lot 4 – Balanataman, and Lot 3 – Ranguna) and the local people were advised to register their land groups.
Vunanami, Karavi, and Ranguna did not register their land groups but Balanataman did and Balanataman Land Group was gazetted in the National Gazette in 1993.
A twist to the story is that  ToBaining was led to believe that the land title certificate for portion 227, lot 4 at Kokopo, East New Britain, was given to the Balanataman village business group, IaMavoko Business Group Inc.
While Balanataman Land Group Inc. was waiting for the land title certificate to Portion 227, Lot 4 at Kokopo to be transferred to them, IaMavoko Business Group Inc. successfully applied for and was granted a special purpose business lease for the entire lot 4 land totalling 128.6ha for a term of 99 years on Nov 28, 1999.
So where did the K75,000 paid to the state in 1978 for Malapau plantation by the people of Vunanami, Karavi, Balanataman, and Ranguna go to?
On March 13, 1969, Mildred Gray Costello (widow), of 42 Maclay Street, Potts Point, Sydney, who was the then owner of the free-hold land at Malapau plantation transferred the land title for the plantation land back to the administration of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
An encumbrance on the land title certificate calls for “The Director of District Administration – as a Trustee for Natives”  and states “The right of the natives of Karavia, Balanataman, Nanuk, Ngunguna and Rebar or Gunanbar to exercise over the said land the permanent, free and undisturbed right of dwelling and use” the whole land making up Malapau plantation.
The land was transferred to the administration on Feb 3, 1969, and had the welfare of the people and the recognition given them as the true landowners at heart.
The Government of Papua New Guinea has not transferred the land back to the people ofVunanami, Karavi, Balanataman, and Ranguna.
Maybe the Government never intends to do so.
This country is run by Papua New Guineans.
We understand our traditional land tenure system.
The concept of selling land is unknown, but land can be given out for others to use.
This does not mean that ownership has been given away.
Based on this mind-set, the government has over the past ten years or more called on local landowners to free up their land for sustainable development whereby local landowners and the government work hand-in hand to facilitate land development.
The local landowners of Malapau plantation did not sell their land.
Queen Emma alienated it from them for her own business interests.
The local people are already living on the land and pursuing their interests, as governed by the encumbrance on the land title certificate that had the land Transferred to the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
The local people of Malapau Plantation are now in the corridors of land development in Kokopo.
They need to contribute their land to this development and for them to do so, the government should fast-track giving them their free-hold LTC for the Malapau plantation land.
To this day, the land remains free – hold state land while some people say that  ToBaining has title over the entire Malapau plantation lot 4 land, and ToBaining thinks that IaMavoko Business Group Inc has the free-hold title to the land.
The government of the day needs to look at the plight of these people and to give them back their land.
These people need to be active and direct participants in land developments taking place around them at Kokopo.

About the writer:
John Bobola was until February 2011, Managing Director of B.U.P Development Co. a local land Development Company at Malahang, Lae. He is now doing private practice. He has over ten years’ experience in working with local landowners, establishing ILGs, marketing, and liaison work with the private sector and government agencies. He is currently on holidays and on a family visit to Malapau – Kokopo. (as told by Ereman Tobaining – former Premier for East New Britain and member for National Parliament).