By Julia Daia Bore

Irregularities are rife at the second stages of the Special Agricultural and Business Leases (SABL) where third parties are involved, a commissioner involved in the SABL investigations says.

Speaking on Monday in a special hearing in Port Moresby of the SABL inquiry, Commissioner Alois Jerewai said based on his observations, the irregularities occurred when third parties were involved.

“Third parties here are the developers,” he said.

By Grace Tiden

“We want our land back” was the response of two female landowner representatives when asked to comment during the extended Commission of Inquiry into the acquisition of Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABL) in Kokopo yesterday. 

Scolar Konpunrea and Sekunda Gwemor from Portion 196c (Pomata Investments Limited) in the Memalo Integrated Project area in West Pomio represented other women landowners and more are expected to give evidence today. 

By Todagia Kelola

A Commissioner to the Commission of Inquiry on the Special Agriculture and Business Lease has expressed concern that from preliminary observation the true loss of customary land occurred when the land was sub-leased to a third party.

Commissioner Alois Jerewai made this observation yesterday when highlighting the need for the inquiry and its support staff to co-operate fully in order for the investigations into the SABLs to fully reveal the defects.

By John Pangkakatana

Jacob Samo of Bairaman Village is one of those prominent landowners taking a strong stand against foreign logging company Gilford Investment destroying their land in the hard-hit remote West Pomio, East New Britain Province, reports the Post Courier.

By John Pangkatana

Many “unanswered questions” were believed to have forced an extension to the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the acquisition of Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABL) in West Pomio, East New Britain Province.

This is due to revelations about forged signatures and lack of consent by women witnesses at the close of the inquiry at Vunapope, Kokopo on Friday.

A LAWYER assisting the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) in the New Ireland Province was physically assaulted by a group of men who ambushed his vehicle on his way back from visiting an SABL site on Saturday, reports the Post Courier.

It is now reported to be the second assault case to have happened during the Commission of Inquiry in the province, the first assault also occurred earlier that day to a witness from New Hanover Island who gave evidence last Thursday.

The National newspaper has been cautioned not to be biased in its reporting over the Commission of Inquiry into Special Agriculture Business Leases in the Pomio District of East New Britain Province, reports the Post Courier.

Gregory Moses of NBC East Sepik

Landowners in East Sepik are fuming over a report that close to 117, 000 hectares of their land is being taken over by two Malaysians under a Special Agriculture and Business Lease or SABL.

Lawyer representing the landowners Herbert Wally of BS Lai Lawyers says that the agreement was signed in Port Moresby without the landowners consent, and they only learnt of it just three weeks ago after sighting documents.

By Roderick Kanama

New Ireland Governor and Former Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan has described the Special Agriculture Business Leases ( SABL’s) Commission of Inquiry’s findings that the National Planning Department had “misplaced” documentation for 31 of the 74 total SABL’s granted so far, as convenient with progress as non-existent since the establishment of the COI on May the 6^th  2011.