Tenants waiting for 25 years

Tenants currently occupying houses or flats at Salamander
Street, in Lae, have been waiting for the past 25 years or so to be offered the chance to buy these houses or flats.
Tenant’s rights and eligibility to purchase and subsequently own these State-owned houses or flats had continued to be blatantly ignored by the relevant authorities over the years.
The National Executive Council,
during the early 1980s and 1990s, made numerous directives and decisions under the Government’s various home-ownership schemes to sell the properties (houses and flats) to the tenants.
It is very unfortunate that the relevant State institutions have failed to implement these NEC policy directives, thus unnecessarily denying the tenants their rights to own these properties.
Since the early 1990s, the Morobe provincial government greatly assisted Salamander tenants, by way of having the land duly sub-divided and surveyed.
The Morobe government even assisted some of the tenants to acquire their land titles, some of which are still with the Lands Department.
These were effected as a gesture to giving effect to implementing NEC decisions.
The above short brief is basically provided here to compel Housing Minister John Kaupa and his National Housing Corporation managing-director to immediately look into having the properties here at Salamander Street sold to the tenants.
The declaration, once made, would be giving effect to implementing the NEC decisions and also comply with NHC’s relevant enabling provisions of its NHC Act in providing adequate and suitable housing to tenants.
By undertaking this course of action, both the tenants and the NHC, being the State’s agent, will then proceed with the necessary processes and requirements.
These processes and requirements are to settle any differences over outstanding rentals, as well as the cost of the houses and flats, to finalise the purchase.

Lawrence Billy
Salamander Street, Lae