A portion of the 2- Mile Hill settlement in Port Moresby city saw great destruction in the last couple of days stemming from actions of criminals which resulted in the authority forcefully evicting the settlers.
Caught up in the middle of this dilemma are the innocent ones, the children, women and girls and the elderly who have been residing in the settlement for so many years. For them the question now is what is going to happen to them, where will they go?
The National Capital District (NCD) Governor, Powes Parkop, spoke out in a statement released on Monday 26th January stating that they (settlers) had it coming because for far too long calls have been made by the authorities to the community to address these crimes being committed by youths from the settlement, but nothing much had changed.
Still the public were being robbed, stabbed and slashed along the 2- Mile Hill Road, in the public transport buses and at the bus stops. The last straw was drawn over the weekend when criminals from the settlement attacked the police of all people.
Governor Parkop says the eviction at Rabiagini 2-Mile was forced on authorities after repeated failures by the community to renounce crime and violence.
He said the community had been given many opportunities to change, including a full community meeting in 2022, but the problems continued.
“We can’t continue to do the same thing expecting a different outcome. We have to do things differently. It was our plan to undertake an orderly relocation and resettlement, but this situation was forced on our hands” he said.
Describing the situation as unfortunate and regrettable, Governor Parkop said many innocent people, especially women and children, were affected by the eviction and many more had been affected by the continuous violence and criminal activities over the years in the area.
He acknowledged that some residents were third or fourth generation settlers who would face challenges resetting their lives but said the NCDC Administration was committed to resettling them and had catered for this in its 2025 and now 2026 Provincial budget.
“We had a planned resettlement program which we factored into our budget last year and this year. Last year, the anniversary and other emergencies like the 2-Mile Road collapse and the crack at the Hanuabada By-pass affected our plans.
We were also waiting for subdivision of our land at Ferea. We would have done a planned and smooth relocation and resettlement.”
He said the current situation meant the eviction had to be carried out in this way, adding that the community must accept responsibility rather than passing blame.
Governor Parkop said he has instructed the City Manager Ravu Frank and his NCDC team to work with the various communities at 2-Mile to help resettle and provide basic needs to the displaced communities.
The governor added that authorities would also begin relocating other communities at 2-Mile, mainly Simbu, Eastern Highlands and some Southern Highlands groups, as part of an orderly and planned relocation and resettlement process as early this week.
