Revised laws to benefit customary landowners

CUSTOMARY landowners will better bene­fit from their land with two amended legislations on land passed by parliament in 2009, an official says.
Constitutional and law reform commission deputy secretary Isaiah Chillion said the revised incorporated land groups and new voluntary customary land registration system paved the way for landowners to directly benefit from the land.
He said this at a three-day workshop hosted by the Lands Department in Mt Hagen on Land Groups Incorporation (amended) Act 2009 and Customary Land Registration (amended) Act 2009.
More than 60 participants from the seven highlands provinces including district administrators, deputy provincial administrators, provincial administrators, land officers and surveyors attended the training.
During the registration and induction on Monday, workshop programme manager Chillion said they were now trying to implement the amendments.
Chillion said the training was very important for the participants to fully understand the two important laws before implementing them in their districts.
He said the land problem was affecting development in the country.
He said the two amended laws would help address most of these land issues and at the same time help customary landowners to benefit more from their land.
Chimbu provincial administrator Joe Kunda Naur commended the commission and the Lands Department for taking a step in the right direction to address land issues.
Kunda said in the past injustice had been done to the people during the acquisition of their customary land.
He said now it’s a win-win situation.
He called on the Lands Department to have land officers, surveyors and other officers in every province in the highlands to successfully implement the laws and help the people to register their land.