DEPUTY PREMIER of Western Province, Wayne Maepio has called on landowners in Western Province to allow their land for development purposes.
“Understandably, customary land is not owned by just one person but collectively by the clan, tribes, families and so forth.
“The onus is on us to organise ourselves and allow our lands to be developed. Only through such forward thinking that we can progress and make life easier for us,” said Maepio when he officially handed over the completed Iriqila CHS double-storey building, Thursday last week.
Mr Maepio stressed that this does not mean logging, mining or other non-sustainable initiatives but basic service infrastructure and establishments like schools, clinics and other sustainable economic developments where communities can really benefit from.
“Such developments like what we are here today to witness entail a lot of hard work, time and money to put in place.
“And more so, they are not our money but money provided through taxpayers’ sweat and or donors’ assistance,” said Maepio.
The Deputy Premier has also appealed to people in Iriqila to take great care of the building.
“Look after it well so that it can be sustained and be able to benefit us for many more years into the future. We must take ownership and of it and treat it like our own,” he said.
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