THE recent land case victory by the Commissioner of Lands, Alan McNeil, over two Asians who obtained a strip of land near the Honiara International Airport in East Honiara through fraudulent means should send a clear message to others planning to obtain land through any corrupt dealings.
The court has ruled that the duo have illegally obtained the piece of land through an abnormal process.
And this is a clear case of corrupt dealings between the men and someone in the Lands Office in the past.
Now, the new Commissioner of Lands has stepped into clear the mess. In the end, the two Asians have paid the cost of illegally obtaining that land.
No doubt there are many more cases like this whereby some people have illegally obtained land from the Commissioner of Lands in the past years.
Since the appointment of the current Land Chief, there have been cases of illegal transfers of land title being rectified.
Now the Commissioner of Lands does not have any powers to grant land titles but the Land Board.
All application for a land title now goes through the Land Board for scrutiny.
This is a way forward to address all land issues in Honiara and the country at large.
Land is becoming very scarce in many of the urban centres as more people continue to migrate from the rural regions in search of jobs.
There are people and investors who have obtained land but leave them undeveloped for ages.
It is time the Lands Office must revisit these pieces of land with the intention of reclaiming them.
If people or investors fail to develop the land-parcels they have obtained then get them out to make way for someone with the financial capability to do so.
There are people with money who are looking for land to develop.
It is also important for the Land Board to ensure they offer land to local people.
Government through the Lands Office must also work closely with the landowners so that some of their land which have been lying idle are developed for their benefit and that of the entire country.
In the meantime, lets commend the Commissioner of Lands for ensuring that justice is served for ensuring that the government is able to reclaim some of its land.
The public wants to see more of such cases taken to the courts so that people who obtained land illegally are held accountable for their corrupt dealings.
Good job and well down in fighting against corruption.
