Protect State land: Tkatchenko

National

STATE land belongs to the people and must be protected, Lands and Physical Planning Minister Justin Tkatchenko says.
Tkatchenko said he wanted to ensure that all State land around the country were “protected from selfish individuals, companies or foreigners who used it for business”.
“The Lands Department door will always be open to provincial governments who wish to secure land titles for public space and recreational areas,” he said.
“I want to work with governors and ministers to ensure that all public land in their provinces are protected for people to use.”
Tkatchenko said he had obtained 23 land titles for the National Capital District and had also secured public spaces for East New Britain and Western Highlands.
The land titles will allow provincial governments to use such land for recreational purposes.
“In every city, there has to be public space and my ministry wants to ensure that all public spaces are protected so that they could be developed for the people to use,” he said.
“We have stop thinking of ourselves and start thinking of our people. We must all work together to ensure that the land is protected.”