Port Moresby: A Big Squatter Settlement

by WILLIAM KEP

According to a survey of world cities by the Intelligence Unit of The Economist 2014, Port Moresby is one of the world's least livable cities (ranked 139 of 140 cities rated).

Is the above statement and rating misleading and unacceptable at least to its residents? The answer to that, is that the rating is so true, the statement is not misleading and the rating is a bitter pill of reality of life for the residents and also visitors of Port Moresby. Question now should be, what are the reasons for the above result? The reasons are vast but the obvious are as follows.

• Standard of the infrastructure and utilities of the City
• Attitude issues, no care and reckless mindset of its people
• Social life in the City non-existent
• Social services in the City are unreliable and substandard
• Crime and rampant raskol gang activities

The reasons for the rating can be many (depending one’s own orientation), but the major one and the root cause is that Port Moresby is one big squatter settlement littered with patches of urban suburbs and business centers.  

Too many settlements in the middle, vicinity and surrounding the city and its suburbs.

A chronic lack of affordable housing has resulted in even professionals and public servants moving into informal settlements as they shun available but unattainably priced private homes. The situation is presenting a challenge to urban planners, breeding urban form of tribalism in the City. Rapid urbanization is putting pressure on infrastructure and public services in the urban Port Moresby with 60 percent of its population (2014 est. 1 million), spawning vast suburbs, called blocks, squatter settlements and slums.

The National Capital District Commission (NCDC) is struggling to build infrastructure capacity to match the rate of migration from rural areas. It is a challenge confronting the entire Country. The Third Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development held in Indonesia in 2010 declared the need for governments to proactively address urban development and plan for escalating housing needs.

Several factors have contributed to making these informal settlements home to approximately more than half the Port Moresby’s population, which is nearing 1 million. These include a decrease in the minimum statutory wage in the 1990s and high income tax rates of up to 42 percent. Many people in public service and formal private sector employment earning less than K500 per fortnight are unable to pay rental costs of K5,000 per week for a two bedroom apartment, or the average purchase price of K1.3 million for a three-bedroom house in central Port Moresby. The private housing market mainly services expatriates and workers living in employer provided accommodation.

Thus there are too many settlements in Port Moresby literally making it a one big slum.

It is evident that the problems faced by Port Moresby are a direct result of 60% of the City is made up of slums and squatter settlements. Slums and squatters have caused the following issues for the City.

1. Lack of proper planning and connection of services such road, water, sewerage, electricity and rubbish collection.

In recent years Port Moresby has been economically and infrastructure wise booming. There has been substantial building of housing, office towers and commercial establishments over much of it, apart from the once significant but now vastly depressed Boroko. This also escalated and accelerated the movement and development of new settlements.

Although the municipal administration (NCDC) has tried to provide and connect as much services to the mushrooming settlements as possible, it has proven to be near impossible to keep up with the rapid growth of squatters and provide adequate services.  

Town or City planning and development has been a nightmare for NCDC and its physical planning and building boards. Settlement have sprung almost at every vacant land, making proper planning and designing impossible. Settlers at most have no legal titles over the land they build on and this makes insurance, mortgage and land transfers impossible. There has also been constant clashes with settlers and property developers and road construction contractors in recent times. Hence most settlers and settlements have been seen as impediments to development and growth in the City.

Given the zero planning and commissioning of settlements mushrooming at every turn and corner, every vacant land and in some instances right at the middle of the City, Port Moresby looks like an unwelcoming rumble of rubbish and dirt from the air; especially to a new visitor.

2. Settlements are mostly dwelling of unemployed people

Settlements are the dwelling of mostly unemployed and people who are employment in the informal sector. There is also large number of people who live in settlements who are employed in the formal sector (government and private businesses) but because of affordability of houses being near impossible. The situation is the settlements is very attractive for low income earners and people in the informal sector.

The challenge for the NCDC and also the National Government is for a process of identification of social segmentation of the population in the settlements and addressing the needs of the settlements.

Recently there has been grand standing speeches by parliamentarians that land titles will be given out to those people who have settled illegally on a land and have no title. This free hand outs, they say, will assist to address the poor planning and luck of services in the settlements. No one can see the logic of these proposed “free land hand out” policy when the other half of the population are working hard trying to buy land and homes.

Further, more importantly this free land hand out policy by the parliamentarians will fuel and give rise to more land grabbing and settlements. It will be a “Gold Rush” situation where in, just grab what you can, and you will be rewarded with a land title for your efforts. So the problem of settlements in Port Moresby will not go away and but rather increase if this policy comes into effect.

3. Informal and illegal markets and selling

Port Moresby is filthy and its filth makes it a very unattractive City to the rest of the world. Rightfully so the NCDC has identified that most of the filth comes from the practice of beetle nut (buai) chewing and spitting. It is very depressing when one walks into the main supermarkets and markets and the buai is prominently thrown at your face by its pushers and the filth of it is everywhere.

Nine out of ten of the people selling and pushing the buai (and other items) on the streets, markets and at traffic lights live in the squatter settlements. These people with their no care and reckless attitude, no regard for the welfare of others push and sell even if the stuff they are selling have been made illegal to sell in public places.

The cause of the rubbish build up and filth in Port Moresby is driven by the informal markets and pushing anything and everything to sell by people who say life is tough for them as they are unemployed and live in the settlements. Addition to the filth is the cost involved to clean the filth and NCDC have to be commended for keeping in the fight for cleanliness for the City even if it means the fight is a never ending one.

4. Breeding ground for criminal gangs

It is no secret that settlements are notorious breeding grounds for criminals and violent persons. If your car is stolen, you safest bet will be that it will recovered in a settlement. If the bank is robbed, the first point to send the police detectives is into a settlement.

The issue of petty crime, theft and serious crimes in Port Moresby are so rampant because there are so many settlements in Port Moresby. All over the City there are squatter settlements thus the crime cannot be isolated to a particular part of the City.

5. Health social issues

Health issues are so rampant in the settlements as hygiene and healthy living standards and practices are nonexistent. The least of people’s concern is healthy dietary and hygiene in the harsh Port Moresby settlements. There are no running water, sewerage and power. Income levels are low and people at a frenzy every time to make enough money to meet the next day’s survival needs.

Further it is well known that people in the settlements drink (alcohol) every day, prostitution strives and also drug abuse are frequent there. It is like all the possible bad things exist in the settlements. Unfortunately the Port Moresby’s settlements are right in the midst of the City and thus Port Moresby’s poor image.

6. Tribalism in the settlements

The settlements in Port Moresby breed tribalism and regionalism in the City. People in the settlements connect with people from their own area, district and province to form a tribal group that serves like a social security in the squatter settlements. Whilst this may sound positive, the reality is that this groupings and tribalism encourages unlawful congregation/assembly and in numbers encourages arrogance and violence.

There have been reports of constant fights and destruction caused by one group against another regional group in the Settlements. Unfortunately, since the City is littered with settlements, the cost to the City has been immense in infrastructure damage, monetary cost and image.  

Conclusion: Some positives from having settlements

The Squatter settlements in many of 21st century urban cities are an inevitable phenomena and Port Moresby is no exception. Living condition in these settlements suffer from overcrowding, inadequate accommodation, limited access to clean water and sanitation, lack of proper waste disposal system and deteriorating air quality. Squatter settlements are increasingly seen by public decision-makers as ‘slums of hope’ rather than ‘slums of despair’. There is abundant evidence of innovative solutions developed by the settlement dwellers to improve their own living environments. Some advantages of having settlements in the City include the following.

1. Cheap labor supply for the business and government agencies.
2. It is well known that most of taxis and buses of the City operate out of the settlements.
3. Social catchment and security for the homeless and unemployed. Nobody is homeless in the City.

Suggested Solutions to Squatter Settlements in Port Moresby

There two solution for squatter settlements and they are as follows. The Motu and Koitabu villages in the City should also be included in the solution to the squatter settlements issue.

1. Construct High Rise Buildings and move all settlement dwellers into them

As was decided in the 1960s in Singapore and China, massive structures have to be built and move all the people who are in settlements into these homes. In addition speed up the home ownership scheme currently being run by the government and the Bank South Pacific Limited.

Other countries have addressed the settlement problems by providing affordable homes to the settlers and this involved high rise apartment homes. In the 1960s, Singapore had similar issues with slums and squatters as is in Port Moresby now. Their squatters and slums issues was analyzed and addressed turning Singapore into what it is today.

Port Moresby and the NCDC need to start planning and investigating to develop and implement such a solution to the settlement problem in the City. If we can transfer half a million people into housing estates, it would be really great.

There has to proper analysis and investigations be done for this to proceed for Port Moresby and the Country as a whole.  

2. Transfer the settlement to a location at least 40 kilometers out of the City

In the second option or plan, the NCDC and the National Government are to create a formal shanty town outside the City perimeters. That is the Port Moresby squatter settlements should be transferred out to a site at least 40 kilometers out from the City.

In this proposal, the model of Soweto in South Africa need to be studied and emulated to suite. This will require acquisition of major portion of land outside the City and a count of settlers and transfer them out to that location.

Established in the 1950s as a shanty town, Soweto now is a major City of its own. People live in Soweto and go for work in Johannesburg and other Cities and come back home each day. Thus same here, people will stay at the new shanty town and come to work in the City and go back home in the evenings.

3. Make Settlements illegal

With the above proposals and in any case, the NCDC and the National Government needs to pass a law that makes settlements and building homes and structures without proper land titles criminal and prosecutable by the Law. If trespassing is punishable by the law, illegal squatter settlements should face the same faith by the law.

The Department of Lands and Physical Planning must wake up from their slumber and enforce the land laws of the Country and prosecute when people are building without proper land titles and statutory approvals.

Result of Addressing the Settlements and Slums

The following are the results of addressing and ridding Port Moresby City of its settlements.

• Cleaner and Healthier City
• Less Crime rate and safer City
• Increased freedom of movement for City Residence
• More visitors and expatriate moving freely in the City
• International rating of the City to go up as a more Livable City.