NRI

Dr Yala also extended the call to the government and warned against the recent proposed amendments to the Land Act 1996 being mooted by the Minister for Lands and Physical Planning Benny Allan.

He said the amendment will see certain segments of the Lands Department whose actions will see customary landowners deprived of their land through continued use of the SABL leases.

Dr Yala added that the proposal to keep the terms of the current SABLs intact, and the idea of increasing the alienation of customary land to 20 percent, constitutes land grabbing.

Dr Yala in a statement said as exposed by the Commission of Inquiry Report, the SABL system has unnecessarily exposed customary landowners to poverty.

“In recent times, we have witnessed successful cases involving SABL titles being quashed by the courts.”

Dr Yala, when acknowledging the Government for creating the Office of Customary Land Development (OCLD) said  this office, which will report directly to the Minister for Lands and Physical Planning which will facilitate the development of customary land through the Voluntary Customary Land Registration (VCLR) system.

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 country’s think-tank, National Research Institute in its economic modelling research project report revealed that so long as development is a priority of Government, “business as usual” investments in the enablers rather than “austerity” is the best policy approach, even in the face of global and domestic economic challenges.

The modelling results are obtained within the context of declining world prices for PNG’s export commodities due to changing demand and supply conditions abroad, and also domestic challenges like the El Niño.

That is the warning from the country’s think tank, the National Research Institute (NRI) Director Dr Charles Yala.

Launched in February, this is the first blue print endorsed by the National Government to grow the sector to 500,000 small businesses by the year 2030.   

 “SME Policy is wrongly articulating Papua New Guinea business development with protectionist policies,” Dr Yala said.

“That is going to kill foreign investment in the country.

NRI Director Dr Charles Yala in a statement said it is an opportunity for the people to consult and get involved in the Review of the Land Act 1996.

Dr Yala said, NRI has been closely involved with Land Reform issues in the country for the last 10 years through the National Land Development Program (NLDP).

Hence, there is sufficient experience, which will be used to make a formal submission.

This was highlighted in the National Research Institute’s (NRI) latest report: “A Scoping Study to Provide an Assessment of SME Policy Priority Areas for Papua New Guinea.” (NRI Discussion Paper 146).

Released on Thursday, this report is relevant for the current Government policy/drive towards SME development as it identifies some priority policies that could address the constraints facing the country’s SME sector.

The Institute had undertaken a review of the relationship between city growth and urban development plans of Port Moresby and Lae.

The report entitled, “Improving Urban Development in Papua New Guinea” (Discussion Paper No.145) presents a set of recommendations for reforms to the structure of urban cities and towns, urban planning and land administration legislations such as the Land Act 1996, Physical Planning Act 1989, Surveying Act 1969, Valuation Act 1967 and Surveying Coordination Act 1967.

The reports are focusing on districts and provinces and will centre on three indicators which are access, retention and quality of primary education.

The Institute is now working on completing reports for 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015, which are long overdue.

NRI director Dr Charles Yala said researchers will focus on collecting data at the provincial and district level to find out trends and how well the education system works at these levels.

This was the message by National Research Institute  Director, Dr Charles Yala, during a seminar presentation by housing developer, South Pacific Homes.

Dr Yala said a house became an asset only when you had the title to the land and built a home with proper infrastructure and utilities.  

“If you are going to be talking about housing as an asset then the land must be properly planned, they must have all the infrastructure, water, sewerage, and toilet.