DEPUTY OPPOSITION LEADER SUPPORTS VAGRANCY ACT AND WARNS CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Hiri-Koiari MP and Deputy Opposition Leader Keith Iduhu :File Picture
Hiri-Koiari MP and Deputy Opposition Leader Keith Iduhu is positive that the passing of the Vagrancy Act will tremendously assist in restoring dignity and law and order issues in urban centres, but will face challenges in the practical implementation of it.
Iduhu explained that he voted in favour of the Vagrancy Act because of the safety of families in urban centres.
“However, in my opinion, this Act is an urgent Band-Aid solution to a wound that has been festering due to years of policy neglect,” Iduhu added.
Iduhu said that true leadership requires a long-term plan that balances urban order with rural opportunity saying no to “Squatter’s Rights” but Yes to Lawful Housing where the giving away of land in urban centres simply because it has been occupied informally for years sets a dangerous precedent undermining the very foundation of property rights.
“We need affordable, properly planned residential plots with access to water, power, and sanitation,” Iduhu said.
Iduhu, who is also the Chairman on the Special Parliamentary Committee on Customary Land and Land Reforms, mentioned that the land is the country’s system.
“While we restore order to our cities, the Special Parliamentary Committee on Customary Land and Land Reforms has been working to fix the “push factor,” he said.
Iduhu said in Papua New Guinea don’t have a state-funded “dole” or pension system but the Social Welfare System is the Customary Land where it is the birthright of every Papua New Guinean.
He added that the Opposition has a vision for National Restoration calling for the dignity for Papua New Guineans starting with a roof, clean water, and a plot of land they can legally call their own, whether it’s a planned urban allotment or their ancestral soil.
