Workshop teaches landowners about changes to laws on customary land

LANDOWNERS need to be aware of the new amendments to the Incorporated Land Groups and Voluntary Registration of Customary Land, according to participants at a workshop.
The participants were attending a highlands regional workshop conducted under the national lands development programme at the Highlander Hotel in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands last week.
They said landowners needed to be aware of the changes to the new laws because land was a sensitive issue in Papua New Guinea.
It was suggested that a regional incorporated land group office be established in Mt Hagen to help land groups in the region register their land.
Workshop director Isaiah Chil­lion assured participants that greater awareness would be conducted in remote districts where the bulk of the population lived.
Chillion said changes to the Incorporated Land Group Act 2009 and Voluntary Registration of Customary Land were passed by Parliament on March 1.
“Soon after the law was passed we went straight to conduct workshops and are embarking on an awareness drive to disseminate information and implications of the new laws to help landowners register their land, get titles, lease to developers and have greater benefits,” Chillion said.
District administrators from the seven highlands provinces, including Jiwaka and Hela, attended the workshop with district lands officers. The workshop will cover the Momase region this week and continue to Kokopo for the New Guinea Islands region.
Momase will be followed by New Guinea Islands in Kokopo, East New Britain.