Justin Tkatchenko

Justin Tkatchenko, Minister for Lands & Physical Planning, presented the lease to Gianluca Rampolla, United Nations Resident Coordinator, in a recent ceremony held at the office of Lands Department.

The issuance of the lease is a milestone for the UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes in Papua New Guinea.

However, Minister for Lands & Physical Planning, Justin Tkatchenko, believes 80 percent of them are fake.

He revealed this in parliament on September 6^th when asked by Komo-Margarima MP, Manasseh Makiba.

Makiba said he is facing difficulty in expanding programs in his district due to issues regarding land acquisition and compensation.

He said landowners were claiming exorbitant compensation amounts.

A result of these claims has resulted in the shutting down of the Komo International Airport.

This is from a drawdown of approximately K74.5 million.

Minister for APEC, Justin Tkatchenko, revealed this during his address to Parliament last Wednesday on APEC preparations.

Tkatchenko said of the remaining K18.2 million remaining from the K74.5 million drawdown, K5.5 million has already been committed awaiting payment.

He said the country was now in the business end of the APEC year and this would require a budget of over K120 million.

Minister responsible, Justin Tkatchenko, expressed disgust at the amount of falsified documents that the Lands team was able to dig out.

Minister Tkatchenko said the 373 land compensation files are from the highlands region.

“That’s Simbu Province, Southern Highlands, Eastern Highlands, Hela, Jiwaka, Western Highlands and Enga, that have been claiming for land compensation valued at K688 million. Now this is just absolutely absurd,” he said.

Minister Tkatchenko said the actions do not represent the people and the country and only tarnishes the work they are putting into preparing for APEC.

“It’s an absolute disgrace and total disappointment, what happened in Mendi by individuals for their own self greed and self gain.

“These people do not represent any of us at all or what we are trying to achieve in our country,” said the Minister.

“All the good work that we are doing to the lead up to APEC will not deter us at all. This event that has happened will not deter us at all.”

The iconic star passed away last night in the nation’s capital after he collapsed at the Lamana hotel.

As soon as word got out, many social media users on Facebook started sharing emotional posts about the death of the vibrant music sensation.

One popular post was that of the Minister for APEC and member for Moresby South, Justin Tkatchenko, who alerted his followers of the death.

The Minister who was still in a state of shock this morning, spoke about the vibrant nature of the late Tau who he stated was a close personal friend and supporter to him.

Called the ‘Dendrobium APEC PNG 2018’, the flowering plant is a hybrid created by crossing at least 3 different orchid species found within Papua New Guinea.

Minister Tkatchenko said Dendrobium APEC PNG 2018 is made up of orchid species from Central, Morobe, Sepik and the New Guinea Islands.

He said they decided to promote an orchid that is unique to our country to make the APEC event a memorable and different experience for the visiting nations. 

Minister Tkatchenko said it took 3 years to breed, grow and flower the Dendrobium.

Funded by the NCDC with a cost of K1.4 million, the gymnasium centre will house up to 300 people and will be managed through the Active City Program.

Officiating the ground breaking, Minister for APEC and member for Moresby South, Justin Tkatchenko, said with the help and financial support of NCD Governor Powes Parkop, Moresby South has seen a number of positive developments and will continue to do so in the long run.

Sipison said this in a media conference earlier this week following a meeting with Department management.

Sipison was reinstated following a National Court decision on April 16, 2018 quashing his suspension in light of the Manumanu land deal controversy.

Flanked by former Acting Lands Secretaries, Oswald Tolopa, and Tiri Wanga, and senior Lands Department Staff, Sipison, announced his resumption of duty as Lands Secretary.

He said he was relieved and glad to be back after 14 months of suspension.