ToBaining urges Kokopo landowners to register customary land as town plans expansion

Kokopo MP Ereman ToBaining Junior has urged landowners in Kokopo District to register their customary land and obtain legitimate titles.

He made the call during the handing over of the ILG certificate to the Gelmon Clan in the Bitapaka LLG on Thursday last week.

ToBaining Junior said Kokopo will become a city and for that to happen, it needs to partner with traditional landowners to expand its city boundary.

“There is a government process and system that must be followed and no one should attempt to bypass it”, the Kokopo MP said.

The township has grown in the last three decades since the relocation of the provincial capital from Rabaul following the 1994 volcanic eruption.

Since the relocation, Kokopo has seen exponential growth. However, rapid urbanization has brought challenges.

The Kokopo City Authority that has been in charge of the town’s expansion knows all too well, if the city is to grow, there has to be land made available to cater for it.

Mr ToBaining Jnr., was part of an event on Thursday where the Gelmon Clan of Bitapaka Local Level Government received their ILG certificate, giving them rightful ownership to their customary land.

He used the occasion to remind the people that the Kokopo City Authority plans to expand its boundaries and partner with traditional landowners to transform Kokopo from a town into a city.

A City Boundary Committee has since been setup to carry out awareness and gauge views from traditional landowners living along the fringes of the town, such as the Gelmon clan and how they can actively participate in the town’s expansion.

The Kokopo MP says all untitled land must be titled so that when the government moves in with development, the very people to benefit will be the rightful landowners.

“Kokopo City Authority is trying to put you in a space of registering yourself to become a partner in the development of the city and the development of the province,” Mr ToBaining said.

In the coming years, the growth of the town would have doubled.

Issues of overcrowding, strain on public utilities and unplanned land use have sparked concerns among the town planners and even the landowners.

Expanding the city boundary would mean negotiating with the traditional landowners, who for the most part they may not be willing to give up their land.