Officials say Lands, Levers responsible for land sale
By ANDREW FANASIA
THE Ministry of Lands and Levers Solomon Ltd should be held responsible for the dealing that led to the sale of the land where the Japanese war monument was located at Alligator Creek, east of Honiara.
That’s according to senior officials from Guadalcanal Province.
Officials told the Solomon Star that they sense something fishy is going with regards to the land and only former premier and its executive might know about it.
“I can confirm that the premier and he executive will not have any say in this issue,” the official told this paper on Wednesday.
But Minister for Police and Correctional Service and former premier Anthony Veke in his statement posted in the Guadalcanal Facebook Forum said that Guadalcanal Province did not sell the land.
Veke went on to stress that land at Alligator Creek belongs to Levers Solomon Limited (SLS).
“Levers and the Ministry of Lands should be held responsible for the sale of the Alligator Creek land,” Veke stated in his comment.
When contacted for further clarification and information surrounding this land, he could not respond to our queries.
The Ministry of Lands confirmed the PE title was held by the Commissioner of Lands.
Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey Chief Lands Officer Maeli Lubasia said that they cannot confirm the parcel that JQY had purchased from Lever’s unless they make a site visit.
“It is suspected to be located between two parcels as per attached map. Attempts to contact JQY for confirmation of which parcel they purchased from Lever’s also failed,” Lubasia told the Solomon Star yesterday.
Now prior to the new Guadalcanal Provincial Executive taking office it was alleged that Guadalcanal Province played a role in facilitating how JQY acquired the land.
It was also alleged that past Guadalcanal Provincial leader have links with JQY so this sort of arrangement can happen between leaders, JQY and Lever’s Solomons Limited.
Earlier, Team leader of the Japan Association for Recovery and Repatriation of War Casualties (JARRWC) Kazuhiko Kurito, who is currently in Honiara, said the decision was unfair and disappointing.
“The monument means a lot to us Japanese, in particular those of us who lost our loved ones during the war.
“With due respect to the landowners, the decision to sell the land was a slap on the face of all bereaved Japanese families.
“In our many visits to Honiara we use to bring in family members of Japanese fallen soldiers to visit that monument and also to do our rituals as we pay respect to those who lost their lives here during the war.”
