Wampar villagers receive K330,000

WAMPAR villagers were yesterday paid K330,000 by the provincial administration for the purchase and lease of their customary land.
Provincial administrator Kemasang Tomala paid K100,000 to brothers Eliakim and Titus Elom for their land on which the Wampar sub-district headquarters is based, near the Nadzab Airport.
At a ceremony at the Huon Gulf district administration office, the brothers received a quarter of their asking price as down payment and expect to receive the other K300,000 next year for the outright purchase of the 400ha of land.
Another K200,000 was paid to landowners of Durung Farm, beside the Nadzab Airport, as part of a K1.2 million deal by the provincial government to own the land.
The provincial administration had so far paid K800,000 to landowners.   
The land is leased by the provincial administration to the Niugini Tablebirds, which farms more than 200,000 chickens.
Landowner Boas Eliakim received the cheque on behalf of his clansmen to build another roost.
The third payment of K30,000 was for the lease of the Nadzab Airport.
Landowners Frank Abel and Geyam Warrago received the annual payment and demanded that the rate be raised.
They were given A$5000 by the colonial Australian administration from 1973 to independence.
In 1983, the rate was raised to K10,000 and in 1993 to K20,000.
Since 1997, the provincial government took over the obligation to pay the landowners and had been paying an annual fee of K30,000 since 2003.