Radio New Zealand

Papua New Guinea’s government has appointed a ministerial committee to review the recommendations and findings by the Commission of Inquiry into the Special Agriculture and Business Leases.

The Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, speaking on Radio FM100, said the committee has been given two months to complete a review.

He said Government agencies such as the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, Forestry, and the Department of Agriculture and Livestock will execute the review.

By JIMMY KALEBE

FRUSTRATION has build up for landowners in Turubu LLG whose land has been the subject of Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) in East Sepik Province.

Photo: Landowners gathering in Mundawin village for the meeting to put pressure on relevant authorities to give back their land title on portion 144c in Turubu LLG in East Sepik on Monday. Pihoto: JIMMY KALEBE.

By Nalau Bingeding*

By Jimmy Kalebe

AFTER a successful move by many landowners, civil societies and individuals in the country, Prime Minister O’Neill has received the SABL report.

Following that a concern landowner in Turubu LLG Fr Willie Suai has made a call to the Prime Minister to honor the report and cancelled all leases granted under the SABL which were found to be null and void.

Source: Radio New Zealand

Transparency International in Papua New Guinea fears the outcome of inquiries into the controversial Special Agricultural Business Leases will be ignored.

There has been wide criticism of the abuses of the SABL system and last month in parliament prime minister Peter O’Neill tabled a report from a commission of inquiry which detailed widespread corruption and mismanagement.

The report found the vast majority of the leases failed to secure consent of landowners.

By Joey Tau, Freelance Journalist Pacific Media

The Special Agriculture and Business Lease (SABL) is a failed concept, and must be done away with in Papua New Guinea.

That’s according to the Director of the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute, Dr Thomas Webster in Port Moresby recently.

Dr Webster said the recently Commission of Inquiry into SABL revealed that only four out of the rest were credible, while the rest had illegalities.

A new radio advert on the SABL land grab has hit the airwaves in PNG.

The advert calls on Prime Minister Peter O'Neill to cancel the fraudulent SABL leases and stop the illegal logging.

Peter O'Neill has released two Commission of Inquiry reports that expose widespread fraud in the issuing of SABL leases over more than 5 million hectares of customary land.