“The National Government is conscious of the issue of land and encroachment of settlers into customary land.
“Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare highlighted this during his speech, at the Guadalcanal province 2nd Appointed Day Celebrations today.
“The Prime Minister acknowledged sentiments raised by the Premier of Guadalcanal province, for the Government to live up to its obligations under the now dismantled Townsville Peace Agreement (TPA).
“And that is to establish an inquiry into the lost and abandoned customary land to determine how their occupants occupied them in the first place.
“This is an issue which is not taken up in any land policy by all governments since the former TPA was dismantled and its relevant requirements and issues distributed to line ministries to implement,” he said.
“Prime Minister Sogavare said this is an area the National Government and the Guadalcanal provincial government need to work together to address.
“The Prime Minister adds that the Government is also equally concerned about the sale of alienated land on Guadalcanal by foreign investors.”
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