Two of the most senior people appointed to Papua New Guinea's Commission of Inquiry into the country's enormous land grab may have serious conflicts of interest that could taint the whole Commission process if they do not step aside.

Papua New Guinea's land grab has seen control of over 5 million hectares of land taken from customary landowners in dubious Special Business and Agriculture Leases that are often seen as a smokescreen for the logging industry.

The confusion over whether a Commission of Inquiry has been appointed to investigate Special Purpose Business and Agriculture leases, which we first reported on 3 days ago - Confusion over Land Grab Commission of Inquiry - has deepened with the publication of a further newspaper advert, this time in The National.

There is great confusion in Papua New Guinea over whether a Commission of Inquiry has been appointed to investigate the issuing of Special Agriculture and Business Leases over more than 5 million hectares of customary land.

The Acting Prime Minister, Sam Abal, announced on May 6 that he would be setting up a Commission of Inquiry, but no instruments appointing the Commissioners or any further details were released.

The advert below was published in the Post Courier newspaper today, Friday 24 June.