The Ombudsman Commission’s investigation into the National Housing Corporation (NHC) resulted in a positive outcome where the complainant a 72-year-old man from Milne Bay Province smiled in happiness after receiving the original owner’s copy of a title to a property which he purchased under the Government Sell-Off Scheme (GSOS) on 28 July 1994.
The title of the property was officially transferred to the complainant after 11 years of patience and perseverance in pursuing the matter with the National Housing Corporation.
The complainant moved into the government-owned house in March of 1990 and became a tenant thereon and started paying rentals until he completed all the required rentals in 2012. In 2014, the complainant signed an agreement with the National Housing Corporation and started following up on the transfer of Title and Ownership to his own name.
His many attempts to have the title transferred under his name were unsuccessful and in 2016 he registered a complaint with the Ombudsman Commission and the Commission took carriage of the matter and commenced its investigation.
On 13 March 2023 after full investigation by the Ombudsman Commission, the National Housing Corporation had successfully transferred and registered the title of the property under the complainant’s name.
On 11 May 2023, the title of the property was officially transferred to the Complainant by an employee of the National Housing Corporation at its Alotau office and the event was witnessed by the Chief Ombudsman Mr Richard Pagen and his officers.
The employee of the National Housing Corporation expressed her gratitude towards the work of the Ombudsman Commission in ensuring that the conveyance process was done properly and completed successfully.
The Complainant in receiving the title expressed great satisfaction over the work of the Ombudsman Commission and thanked the Commission for everything it does to assist simple people like him in Papua New Guinea.
Chief Ombudsman sympathized with the complainant and stressed that it is sad to note that it had taken him many years to obtain a title that was rightfully entitled to him under the National Government’s housing scheme.
Mr Pagen highlighted that the purpose of the Ombudsman Commission under section 218(a) of the Constitution is to ensure that it is responsive to the needs and aspirations of simple people like him and the presentation of the title was a testament to the work of the Commission.