By Luana Paniu

The Department of Lands and Physical Planning has been given seven days to reconstruct 18 more title files to be submitted to the Commission of Inquiry into the Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases.

The files, which are part of the 75 SPABL cases now under investigation by the CoI, were reportedly destroyed or misplaced.

The Department’s Registrar of Titles, Henry Wasa said in an affidavit that the files were kept in a basement and that during reconstruction of the section of the Lands Department building, some had been misplaced.

Mr Wasa is the third witness from the Department to be called before the Inquiry after acting Secretary, Romilly Kila Pat and acting Deputy Secretary Adrian Abby.

Kila Pat and Abby both told the inquiry that a water leakage from the fourth floor (Lands Minister, Lucas Dekena’s tea room) on November 2010 either destroyed or damaged what was not filed away.

Chief Commissioner John Numapo queried whether the Department had back up files to which Mr Wasa replied that they only had hard copies.

“So in other words, these files are gone forever?” asked Chief Commissioner Numapo.
Mr Wasa however stated that based on the Departments Computer Database System, the Land and Geographical Information System (LAGIS), the files can be reconstructed however ample time is needed for this to be made possible.

Mr Numapo stressed the need for the files to be made available because the time frame of three months given by the Government had to be complied with and time was of great importance.

“This Inquiry is given a specific time frame and time is running out, locating these 18 files is important to this Inquiry for the 75 SPABL’s under the Terms of Reference,” he said.

So far, only 55 files have been produced with the discovery that two land titles were found to be unregistered before it was converted into the SPABL.

Mr Numapo asked how the Titles were issued without proper procedures followed.
In his capacity as Registrar of Titles, Mr Wasa is responsible for Registration of Titles under the Land Registration Act 1981 but stated that although procedures were followed, it had not reached his office to be registered and therefore was not regarded as Land Title.

The two land titles are for portion 16c Milinch Gona Fourmil Tufi, Oro Province and Portion 155C Milinch Baiyer Fourmil Ramu, Western Highlands Province.

The Lands officers were called before the CoI as part of the preliminary presentation on procedures and processes as required in the issuance of the SPABL’s and as stipulated in the Terms of Reference of the Inquiry under section (a) (b) and (c).

Meanwhile, Director of Customary Lease Andy Malo and Director of Incorporated Landowner Groups Iruna Roger Kila were asked to tender their affidavits due to time limits.

The Inquiry resumed at 9.30am today.