Lands Department completes capacity audit program in West New Britian
The Department of Lands and Physical Planning [DLPP] has successfully concluded the Capacity Audit Program in West New Britain Province, aimed at assessing the province’s readiness to take on the administration of all land in the province.
The high-level delegation led by DLPP Secretary Benjamin Samson, comprised of directors and managers representing key technical divisions within the Department of Lands and Physical Planning.
These divisions include the Customary Lands ILG, Customary Land Registrations, Customary Land Development, State Land, Office of the Chief Physical Planner, Officer of the Surveyor General, Office of the Valuer General, including Human Resources and the Policy and Legal Services.
The team visited the West New Britain Provincial Lands Office, including Nakanai and Talasea Districts, as part of a comprehensive assessment.
The focus of the visit was to physically assess whether the West New Britain Provincial Lands Division has the institutional capacity, technical expertise, and infrastructure to perform both state land and customary land functions in the province.
The Capacity Audit will also determine if the Provincial Administration is ready to take on key functions of the Land Board and the Physical Planning Board.
During the visit, the DLPP team engaged directly with the Provincial Administrators, as well as District Administrators, Provincial Planners, Surveyors, and Lands Officers to gather data and identify areas in need of institutional support and technical capacity building.
A formal report, including a proposed structure for the Provincial Lands Division, was presented to the West New Britain Provincial Administration for review and potential integration into its Provincial Administration Structure.
“We need to establish whether provinces have the capacity to host their own Land Boards and Physical Planning Boards. This is essential to ensure land matters are managed locally, rather than relying on the National Lands Department.
"When provincial services are unavailable, people turn to national boards. These functions must be decentralized to effectively address land and development issues within each province.” Secretary Benjamin Samson said.
Mr Samson further added that, the Capacity Audit is a crucial step in empowering provinces to better manage their own land matters.
The West New Britain Provincial Government welcomed the findings of the Capacity Audit and expressed its commitment to strengthening institutional capacity for land governance.
The Provincial authorities further acknowledged the importance of decentralizing land administration functions and affirmed their readiness to collaborate with DLPP, to improve land administration in the province.
The Capacity Audit findings and recommendations will inform future planning, resource allocation, and staff development to ensure provinces can independently manage both state and customary land matters in their respective provinces.