A tribal chief, claiming to represent the true owners of the customary land where the Government intends to develop the Bina Harbour project, has challenged the DCGA Government’s reconciliation ceremony held recently, in which a MOU was signed with the apparent resource owners. The tribal chief said that the DCGA Government was dealing with settlers and not with the rightful owners of the land. (Source: Solomon Star, 16 May 2019)
Disputes over the ownership of customary land is par for the course whenever there are talks of commercial development taking place on customary land. Previous Governments have tended to view such disputes as a hindrance to national development when it should probably be viewed as part of the process. There is a process, provided under law, by which such disputes can be adjudicated – which should ordinarily lead to the customary land being made available for commercial development – but this depends on Government funding to meet the costs of the adjudication process. The availability of funds to adjudicate land disputes should therefore be a matter of Government priority. In the case of Bina Harbour, unless the land earmarked for the project is legally acquired by the Government and legally registered as registered land, it would be a risky exercise to commence any development while the land remains customary land and subject to competing and unresolved claims over ownership – as evident here. The DCGA Government’s policy of land reform may be a way forward for unlocking customary land for development.
#ackchyually
Solomon Business Blog 