THE Governor for Central Province, Rufina Peter recently witnessed the swearing-in of the newly appointed board members of the Central Provincial Land Board.
The swearing in of the board members marks a significant milestone in the administration, development and governance of Land in Central Province.
The Central Provincial Land Board is headed by Paul Sai as the Deputy Chairman, with Members, Ruben Kaiulo, Anna Bais, Elliot Mark and John Orea. They were sworn in by Central Provincial Senior Magistrate Alex Kalandi.
The five (5) newly appointed Board members will deliberate and make decisions on state leases application, including other responsibilities pertaining to land in Central Province.
In congratulating the newly appointed board members, the Governor said Central Province has a lot of land issues that must be addressed.
“The issues that my province faced within the land functions include the common illegal land grabbing, and provincial boundaries between Central province and NCD, and more recently between Gulf and Central province,” the Governor said.
She also challenged the board members to uphold the principles of transparency, impartiality and accountability.
“Your role as members is to ensure land resources are allocated in a fair and equitable manner, protecting the rights of our people, and promoting sustainable land use and practices,” she said.
Also there to witness the swearing in was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning John Rosso, the executive management team from the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, and members of the Central Provincial Executive Council.
Deputy Prime Minister Rosso said: “A land board that can better manage and administer the affairs of land in Central Province is critical to the development of the province.”
Minister Rosso added that a highly technical Lands division in the province is also critical to ensure better framework are in place for the board members to deliberate and make their decisions.
Deputy Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning, Customary Lands, Mr. Lazarus Malesa in his remarks, gave his assurance that the department stands ready to work with the board to address land issues in Central province.
Deputy Secretary Malesa said: “Land Grabbing and other land related issues in central province, is a result of a lack of effective communication between the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, and the Central Provincial Government.
“Going forward, we must work hand in hand to manage customary land and other state land in central province.” Malesa said.