Tete settlers appeal to NCDC

Community leader Kelly Kinamon addressing his concerns to the media *(Image: NBC News)*

More than 4,000 residents of the Tete settlement in Port Moresby will be affected when eviction takes place next month.

Among them, 75% are Western Highlanders, many of whom own taxis and PMV buses that provide daily transport services across the city. The community has voiced concern over relocating their assets, saying that the eviction could severely disrupt public transport and impact thousands of commuters.

The Tete settlement, home to more than 200 taxis and PMV buses serving in Port Moresby, faces a major disruption as 4,000 residents prepare for eviction on 24th July.

The court-ordered removal has sparked growing concern among PMV owners, who now struggle with the burden of relocating their transport assets and the i-covenant houses they have built.

Community leader Kelly Kinamon who has been at the forefront of negotiations, said the settlers respect the court's decision, but warned that many families will be displaced with nowhere to go.

Some of the i-covenant houses built by the residents at Tete *(Image: NBC News)*

"You talk about thousands of people here, where are you going to move them? Where are they going to go? It's in the middle of the year. They're school children going to school. People are operating buses here, taxis here, they've got loans to repay. This is a complex situation." Kinamon said.

Kinamon has urged NCD Governor Powes Parkop and the members of the Port Moresby electorate to take immediate steps to arrange relocation for the residents ahead of the scheduled eviction on July 24.

He emphasized that swift action is needed within the given time frame to ensure families are not left without shelter or support when the eviction takes place.

"If the eviction is going to come, Papua New Guinea must know that there's going to be about 3,000 or 4,000 people going to be affected by this eviction. And I want Papua New Guinea to know that," he said.

"The Governor has promised us this land and he has cancelled the title to the land, given it back. And now we are stranded here. You (Parkop) need to play a card right and come and tell us."

Meanwhile, Korowa Sua, a PMV owner at Tete Settlement, says he and other operators are deeply worried about where to relocate their buses and the homes they have built.