Disgruntled landowners of West Rennell are demanding answers while rubbishing claims that a 90-days notice was served for grieving parties to make an appeal to the Customary Land Appeal Court (CLAC) over the registered tenement (land) by APID for mining operation.
This came after government appointed lands acquisition officer Penrose Palmer and APID land coordinator Victor Ma’itaki who conducted the hearing claimed there notices being put up in four villages to make an appeal. See separate story.
However, landowners who attended the lands acquisition hearing at Tingoa, West Rennell said, no notices have been put up in four of the main villages namely Lavangu, Matahenua, Tingoa and Kangua.
The landowners said, claims made by Mr Palmer that they have put up a notice on four villages were not true.
“Because if it was true then you would see hundreds of appeals made against the APID’s registered land in CLAC.”
A landowner added Mr Palmer must stop lying to the people and the government because he is risking his own life if he visits Rennell again.
Landowners from the four villages denied having any knowledge of three months’ notice being put up in their village to inform them.
“Land is a very sensitive issue in Renbell and I would be very surprise if nobody in Lavangu, Matahenua, Tingoa and Kangua makes an appeals to the CLAC after they were well informed about the 90 days’ notice,” said a Rennell man.
He added that government has no choice to deal with the mining saga in Rennell other than setting up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate all the mining dealings by both APID and PT Mega Bin Tang Borneo.
The landowner also claimed that all these land acquisition processes by APID and Mr Palmer were done secretly after a meeting at the Provincial headquarter Tingoa.
“Without landowners’ knowledge Mr Palmer brought the report and presented it to the magistrate court without notifying genuine landowners.
“People only came to realise this three months ‘notice for appeal after they read it in the newspaper this week and if we want to prove this, just put up the appeal notice again and see for yourself countless appeals that will flood the CLAC,” the landowner stressed.
By AATAI JOHN