BackThe Ombudsman Commission’s investigation has resulted in the successful granting of the title of a property to the daughter of an elderly man (now ‘the deceased’) who had resided with his family in the property for more than thirty (30) years until his demise.
The deceased was employed by a supermarket in 1983 as a credit controller. During his tenure with the supermarket, he purchased 35, 000 worth of shares and became a shareholder of the company. In appreciation of the deceased’s long service as an employee of the company and a shareholder, the supermarket owners purchased a property (house) in town from the National Housing Corporation through its Cash Sale Scheme and allocated the property to the deceased. The deceased lived in the said property for over 30 years. After some time the supermarket owners sold their business and relocated overseas without formally transferring the title of the house to the deceased.
The deceased had been following up with several responsible government departments since 2014 after completing his payment. However, he did not receive any favourable response from the authorities concerned hence the delay which prompted him to lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman Commission in 2017.
A few years after registering his complaint with the Commission, he passed on. His eldest daughter was nominated next of kin through consent by all her siblings. The elder daughter provided assistance to the Commission with the investigation until the matter was resolved.
The Commission had taken all the necessary steps to ensure that the authorities complied with the conveyancing process and the property title was finally registered and transferred by the Department of Lands and Physical Planning to the daughter.
Source: The Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea
