By Ofani Eremae
Government is determined to take back all land titles owned by Levers Solomons in Guadalcanal.
And reappointed Commissioner of Lands Alan McNeil says he will ensure this happens during his next three years of engagement.
McNeil, an Australian citizen married to a Solomon Islands woman, took his office oath recently after the Government decided to re-engage his service for another three years.
The government sought to take back Levers land through a combination of forfeitures and compulsory acquisitions.
Levers have challenged these actions in the High Court, and the cases are still pending before the court.
Levers, a company established during the colonial days by the British government, and which is no longer operational, owned huge chunks of lands in the Henderson and Alligator Creek areas, east of Honiara.
McNeil told In-depth Solomons that there are a number of outstanding court cases which he would like to see through to conclusion.
“One of the cases is the Government’s efforts to take back all the land titles owned by Levers Solomons in Guadalcanal,” the Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, McNeil said he was honoured and humbled to have been re-appointed for another term.
“I look forward to serving the government and people of Solomon Islands for another three years.
“I don’t take this appointment lightly, and I mean every word of the oaths I swore in front of the Governor General recently.
“In my first term, my main focus was on rooting out corruption in the Ministry of Lands, and I strongly believe this has been largely achieved.
“The Land Board is an effective gatekeeper of government land in the country, and will continue to be so.
“While I continue to have an eye on anti-corruption efforts, I also want to focus for the next three years on implementing land reform measures.
“These include proposed amendments to the Land & Titles Act to recognise Cabinet-approved policies relating to the foreshore and on registering customary land titles.
“I also have a series of small amendments which I refer to as ‘housekeeping’, to tidy up loopholes and clarify certain processes.
“I also intend to spend more time on mentoring officers in the Ministry, so that they can readily respond to daily challenges in a consistent manner and in accordance with policies and the legal framework.”
McNeil was lately the subject of a major news story In-depth Solomons broke after Lands minister Ishmael Avui threatened to “slap” him.
This was in relation to Avui’s demand for McNeil and the Lands Board to allocate a piece of land in the Lengakiki area of west Honiara to a former government worker currently occupying the land.
The former officer happens to be Avui’s constituent and voter.
The Lands Board has been rejecting Avui’s demand on two occasions.
Avui admitted threatening McNeil but said he was “not feeling well at that time”.
He said he will take the case further up to Cabinet.
