Ministry of Lands welcomes another court ruling against Pari Development

The Ministry of Lands Housing and Survey welcomes the High Court orders handed down on Friday 14th March 2025 which ruled in favour of the Commissioner of Lands and Registrar of Titles against Pari Development Company. 

The claim was originally brought to the court by the company, objecting to the forfeiture of several Fixed Term Estates in Noro, namely Parcels 098-009-052, 098-009-054, 098-009-065,

098-011-145, 098-011-169, 098-012-545, and 098-016-001, covering a combined area of 671 hectares around the edges of Noro town in Western Province. 

The Commissioner of Lands forfeited these Fixed Term Estates in 2021 claiming that the company had failed to develop the land within three years of the dates they were granted to the company by the previous Commissioner. 

In the judgement, the court found there was no issue with the service of the forfeiture notices, and that the Commissioner did not waive his right of forfeiture. 

The court considered the question of whether the Commissioner had properly considered whether the company’s failure to develop the land was capable of being remedied within a reasonable time, and found in favour of the Commissioner. 

In a sworn statement to the court, the Commissioner included details of receipts allegedly paid by Noro residents to the company for land that was under forfeiture. 

The court put those details to one side, but noted that if the Commissioner is satisfied that land sales were taking place over land that was subject to forfeiture, it would amount to a serious fraud, and the Commissioner could refer these details to the Commissioner of Police for investigation. 

The Ministry of Lands and the Western Provincial Government both welcome the court’s ruling, although noting that the company has the option within 14 days to appeal the High Court decision. If an appeal is filed, the Commissioner intends to take all necessary actions to defend and uphold the High Court ruling. 

The company has previously filed an appeal against a High Court decision last year relating to other land parcels in Noro, and the Ministry trusts this case will be heard by the Court of Appeal soon.

For the present, the latest court judgement secures 671 hectares of prime land around the edges of Noro to allow for the expansion of the town and for necessary services for the community. Commissioner McNeil thanks the hard-working team at the Attorney General’s Chamber for representing him in this and all other cases before the courts. 

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MLHS statement