17 May 2017

Solomons creates taskforce to deal with squatters

11:38 am on 17 May 2017

The Solomon Islands government has created a taskforce to deal with squatter settlements in and around the capital Honiara.

View towards Point Cruz and the Port of Honiara.

View towards Point Cruz and the Port of Honiara. Photo: RNZI/Koroi Hawkins

This comes after recent unrest to the west of the city after police tried to enact a court order and evict squatters from land belonging to a local company.

A house belonging to the company was burned down and angry squatters clashed with police and fire authorities.

A joint statement from the office of the prime minister and the ministry of lands says they were aware that squatters were being evicted from land both to the west and east of the city and were closely monitoring the situation.

It said resolving land settlement issues in and around the capital was a priority for government.

It said a land taskforce had been established and it was gathering data to inform government's future policies and actions.

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