Governor Powes Parkop has stood by his decision to issue a stop work order and a demolition order for the fencing work carried out on portion 2129, known as the Jack Pidik Park.
The stop work order is being taken against Capital Centre Limited, a subsidiary of the TST Group.
Governor Parkop said on Friday, 13th August, a stop work order was issued to the company to cease fencing of the park. The order was ignored and the NCDC issued a demolition order the next day for the demolition of the constructed fencing.
The land in question has been in the courts for the past 30 years, and was formerly under the Boy Consultancy Services Limited, now known as Capital Center Limited.
Boy consultancy Services had acquired a 99-year business lease on the 14th of April 1991 for portion 2192, in exchange for a parcel of land given to enable the extension of the Port Moresby General hospital. This is something that the governor says is unreasonable and crass.
“The government at the time decided to trade off Jack Pidik Park without consulting NCDC and this is the situation we are faced with now. This is a legacy problem.
“The National government made the decision and only the national government can correct it. We have impressed upon them so many times to correct it, but up to now instead of correcting it. They continue to reaffirm it.
“The matter went to the National court because NCDC has to protect public interest, public recreational space. Initially the national court rules in favour of NCDC because if you have a license, you don’t have a title. You have no right over that land. Boy consultancy only had the license over that land at 3 mile, they did not have a title. NCDC successfully challenged that in the National Court. Then TST Group of Companies took the matter to the Supreme Court. In 2014, the supreme court somehow, me as a lawyer too I can say that it defies logic too, but somehow the supreme court ruled in favour of the TST Group. Between then and now, we have been trying our best to see if we can resolve this matter.
“NCDC and I we don’t have land powers, so we try to manage it on a planning basis. So in terms of planning, what is gazetted is that Jack Pidik is a public recreational space. So, after 2014, TST Group has been making submission to develop it commercially, but when it comes to physical planning, we have been refusing because it is gazetted as public recreational space.
“So if you own it and want to develop it for public recreational space, yes we will approve. But if you own it and would like to develop it for some other purpose, especially commercial use, then we cannot approve that,” the Governor explained.
Governor Parkop also said that the court order relied on by Capital Centre Limited granting approval for the fence, and the Survey plan of the area CAT 49/1882 to identify boundaries, a survey he claims, does not satisfy the court order, but one that was only used to grant the title.
“When the title was created in 1991, it was properly surveyed. The title clearly shows, and it says, and everybody accepts, including TST Group of companies that this title is subject to survey. So all this time we have been waiting for the surveyor general to do a proper survey, verify the survey so that we can work out what belongs or should go to TST group pf companies, in whatever name; Capital Centre Limited, to Boy Consultancy Limited; whatever they’re parking the title under.
“The survey must be done properly and demark what is going to be commercial and what remains as public property,” said Governor Parkop.
The Governor added that the fence at Jack Pidik would be demolished by NCDC because the powers to put up any physical structure over 3 meters in the city, including fences, remains with the Physical Planning Board. He said the courts might have granted Capital Centre Limited leeway of the portion, but they have not suspended the board’s powers.