Acting lands commissioner

DEAR EDITOR, I would like to response towards the statements made by John Lobo in the public media on Saturday, July 15, 2018 about the condemnation of Mr Allen McNeill a foreign Australian citizen for his appointment by the government for the administration post as the acting lands commissioner within the ministry of lands.

What he stated doesn’t hold much weight because he has failed to indicate in detail what huge negative impacts would the nation face on the land issue when the Australian foreign citizen become an acting lands commissioner during the current development of undersea cable funded by the Australian government and the argument that insisted for the local to take up the post of acting lands commissioner.

I think it is too early to make such a comment in public media when we still yet to see the differences and changes in work-outputs between the local and foreigner within the administration post of lands commissioner.

The people of this nation do not care who is holding the post but significantly want to see some positive changes happening within that responsible ministry of lands that address the current systemic corruptions that deprive the rights of local citizens towards urban land ownerships and economical activities happening in our urban towns in Honiara and the provincial centres.

Since the post of the lands commissioner was localised after the nation gained independence 40 years ago corruption emerged at an alarming rate deprive the nation interest on land development without proper establishment of land strategies and policies to address the corrupted issues happening within the ministry of lands.

And so as a consequence of poor management and administration engulf with corruption within the land ministry the 80 to 90 percent of prime land sites in urban Honiara city has been sold and owned by the foreigners under the leadership of the local lands commissioners.

This ill attitude if not careful will soon spread to other provincial urban centres in our country.

It means Solomon islanders will be rated as second grade citizens of this nation because we have no reserve urban lands and for our future educated children to engage in commercial activities.

They have to prepare to meet the huge cost of accommodations that are benefited by the foreigners.

Most of our children will be spectators and slaving to foreigners in business making in our own land.

Who are we going to blame?

The ministry of lands need a lot of improvement in its strategies and policies and if local lands commissioners cannot be competent to do so let’s try foreigners.

What’s wrong?

Jacob Ofasia

Talise market

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