A West Rennell landowner has called on the Renbel provincial government to recheck their formed task-force and ensure that its members are free of bribery, independent and non-affiliated to any logging or mining companies.
Speaking to the Solomon Star news last Sunday Rex Soaika stressed that the role played by the task force is highly commended by Renbel people, considering the overall objective of the move to reinstate rights of landowners.
“However, doubts and questions raised over this task force lies on the members whom most of them are affiliated to mining and logging companies, hence undercover behind the task-force to remove APID from Rennell, a motive based on greed and selfish attitude,” he said.
Mr Soaika reiterated the province has no choice but to remove members within the task-force, who have connections to companies that rival with APID over rich bauxite deposits and pencil cedar wood on Rennell Island.
He further stated the province must be neutral, therefore the task-force that was formed purposely to scrap-off land registration in the island must be independent as well as from these companies, so that the aim of this taskforce could be achieve, but if province failed to address this then it does not make any sense to de-register APID’s title over the land.
“On the other subject, I want the task-force to also investigate other land registrations done before APID registered the island, because the same land acquisition process they alleged was corrupted by APID is exactly the same thing done by those who registered plots in the island before mining came in,” Soaika stated.
By AATAI JOHN
