Wednesday 14 December 2011

CAVEAT EMPTOR - BUYER BEWARE

We read of villagers losing their land to foreigners for a relatively small payment on 99 year leases. We read that the people who conducted the lease were not the real landowners.

If I bought a vehicle that did not belong to the sellers, the vehicle would be immediately forfeited to the real owners.

There is a village way of doing business. Village business requires all to be present to witness proceedings. There will be hold-up in the arrangement if people are not present at the village to witness.

Why does this not pertain to sale of village land and payments as we have seen with LNG? Years ago, I helped as mediator to a foreign company that had to renew a lease on land on which they had built a tower on the mountains in from Mumeng.

A group travelled to the village and I was the Tok Pisin interpreter. The problem was that the men who came to the Alcatel office, signed the contract and took the money were not village land owners. Alcatel had been conned. Now it was time for them to do it all over again.

The traditional way is for all such business to be conducted on the grass in the middle of the village. Then every one knows what is going on. It is called ples klia or clear place - out in the open.

If a landowner, I would be damned if I allowed a foreign company to take a 99 year lease on my land if I was not part of the deal. My friend, I would not hurt you for the world. But you are standing where I am about to shoot.

So much today is not conducted in ples klia. Politicians who stand for parliament make promises in the electorate in ples klia.

But once they are elected the DSIP funds are spent in ples hait or hiding places. The money for electorate projects is spent on their own clan. Rival clans do without even though they are in the electorate.

No schools, roads, bridges and health centres for rival clans. Why can the project spending for every politician not be set out in the media at the end of every year?

That can not be done. It would make all politicians accountable to the electorate.

When the Australian kiaps or patrol officers were in the country, they made sure that all village business was conducted in ples klia. It was just as the kings and queens of England did it in their court.

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