Lands and Physical Planning Minister, Lucas Dekena, has confirmed the government has handed out 99-year leases covering more than than 5 million hectares of customary land and revealed that the government intends to double the number of leases so they cover 20% of Papua New Guinea's land mass.

The Minister has rejected the widespread criticism of the Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABL) and said the state had no choice as it wanted to free up land for development because more than 95% of the land was owned by the customary landowners.


By Reginald Renagi

I invite the public to take time to read a series of interesting articles by a Port Moresby Street blogger, Martyn Narmorang in the popular Keith Jackson blog: PNG ATTITUDE. 

Here Martyn is very perceptive and  raises many real-life daily issues that confronts Papua New Guineans on the streets. I would like to just address a few aspects of what our young neotribalist talks about.

By Reginald Renagi

PNG has had a leadership crisis for some time now.

Today, the only way for our government to salvage its battered public image and credibility is start strengthening its leadership capacity, and governance performance standards.

A big change in leadership now will bring greater confidence to citizens and investors in the way we govern ourselves.

Due to what has recently transpired today, there are only a handful of capable leaders to take over from PM Somare at this juncture.

By Reginald Renagi *

Papua New Guinea is a failing state.  There, I’ve said it to get your attention.  I hope I did.

Because the leaders we trusted since Independence have all failed us like the state institutions they are now running into the ground.

So unless those who have the power and opportunity to do something for PNG themselves actually now find some motivation, it may soon be too late to get the ‘ship of state’ back on track.

The cries of Papua New Guineans go unheard. 

Past trends show that PNG’s current political regime will not drastically change its poor governance approach. 

It is now up to the next new leadership and government. 

PNG desperately needs a new progressive government after the 2012 elections that will totally transform PNG.

Since Independence, government policies have not regularly being reviewed, updated and broadened with a view to counteract any misconceptions about them. 

It’s only a year away before PNG has another election to get new leaders into parliament to run our country’s affairs. 

For the past 35 years nothing substantial has been done by successive PNG administration to strengthen the capacity of this important national security institution.

So as a concerned citizen, here is a reminder to the-powers-that-be to do something about it now. 

By Reginald Renagi

It is time our country needs to have a vibrant financial market for obvious reasons. 

PNG must now start opening up its financial markets as part of an interactive government-business initiated broad-based industry reforms process. 

Let’s now look at both offshore and onshore investment options.  Let’s not have foreigners now tell us we can’t do it here.

If they tell us that, we just go somewhere else and get ourselves independent advice from credible sources.

By Watut Reporter

MP Sam Basil has criticized the Department of Conservation (DEC) for failing to regulate the mining industry in Papua New Guinea and ensure its operations are environmentally safe.

"DEC has a responsibility on behalf of the Nation to ensure that mining operations are safe and will not damage the environment. Yet time after time the mines end up causing massive problems while DEC sits by and watches", says the MP.

While addressing members of the media and NGO groups, on Thursday 21st April, the Acting Secretary for the Department of Lands, Romilly Kila-Pat, made comments to the effect that the State has no control over business dealings between customary landowners and foreign businesses after a Special Agricultural Business Lease (SABL) title is registered.

This statement missed the point completely and failed to address the main issue and surrounding the controversial SABLs issued over 5.2 million hectares customary land throughout Papua New Guinea.

In a conference last Wednesday, the Lands Department vowed to take action on land deals in Papua New Guinea - deals in which control of more than 5 million hectares of land, 10% of PNGs land mass, has been taken away from local people and given to corporations.

While Acting Lands Secretary, Romilly Kila Pat, might have been personally sincere in his call to address the issues, he also said it was going to be a “long process”.