After the swearing at the Government House yesterday, Prime Minister James Marape highlighted the Government’s focus on land reforms.
“We have to deal with land issues head on. Land is the key component of economic development. Only 3 percent of total land area is alienated, while 97 percent is under customary ownership,” he said.
He said the government needed to unlock the potential for land from a productivity standpoint.
“Formalization and codification of our land assets under 97 percent ownership of our people has the potential to unleash important economic activity for all people as long as the legislative bedrock is sufficiently crafted to suit our specific situation,” said PM Marape.