Land Grabbing

Police see land grabbing as a breeding ground for lawlessness.

Lae police boss, Chief Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jr, said they will work in unison with other public stakeholders to crack down on illegal settlements.

“We will join forces with Lands and other stakeholders and demolish those squatter settlements. These are some of the sources of uprising law and order issues in the city,” he said.

Wagambie Jr said these agencies are ready to work but due to issues like harassment, they do not perform.

A prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, has announced that people involved in land grabbing and environmental destruction could be tried for crimes against humanity.

NRI, which has long been advocating for safeguarding the interests of landowners said this is welcome news for customary landowners in Papua New Guinea.

The first term MP says he is working on a submission and will present it to the National Capital District Commission for their input before it is sponsored as a private members bill in Parliament.

He said this without giving further details on the proposed bill.

“Land grabbing by expatriates must stop, for instance in my electorate at 8 mile, 9 mile and ATS a single company is owning more than 20 titles,” Amaiu claimed.

He said that “with state land less than 4 percent and with a lax land law, foreigners are using it to suit themselves’’.