ACTNOW's blog

Source: PNG Exposed

Secretary for Lands Romily Kila-Pat has finally been suspended – you can read some of the newspaper coverage from last week below – but the corruption in the Lands Department has yet to be properly addressed.

Kila-Pat, like his predecessor Pepi Kimas, has overseen numerous illegal lands deals and was infamously involved in many of the unlawful SABL leases – but the corruption in the Lands Department runs far deeper and two important questions need answering:

Vilages in the Aitape Lumi District of West Sepik are sending a message to the Prime Minister they want the SABL land grab reversed and the leases cancelled.

"the Australian government, through its aid programme, could invest a lot more in NGOs in PNG"

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mercury and arsenic to be dumped into the sea at Lae, Madang and Port Moresby

Sulphur and fine particles to fill the air and lungs of nearby populations

Carbon emissions to increase climate change impacts

Photo: Port Moresby CBD.  RNZI / Koro Vaka'uta

Source: Radio New Zealand

Australia's aid programme in Papua New Guinea has been described as having enabled rather than remedied state fraud and market distortions in PNG

The damning indictment came in a submission by the International State Crime Initiative at an Australian senate inquiry into the aid programme in PNG.

SABL awareness continues on to the East Sepik Province. More and more people, mostly women and children are signing SABL postcards addressed to the Prime Minister calling for an end to the land grab. Signing has been ongoing in the West Coast area of Araimi, Kotai, Dogur and Makopin villagers.

By JOHN FOWKE

Papua New Guinea's seasonal production of coffee has declined substantially since 2011.

The annual crop has dropped from an average established over 24 years from 1987 of one million 60kg bags per annum, down to 800,000 last year.

A crop of no more than 700,000 bags is estimated for this year ending in December.

The crop  is expected to fall again by a significant factor in 2016.

Source: Pacific Beat, ABC 

Activists in Papua New Guinea say the cancellation of two leases in Port Moresby highlights the government's inaction in scrapping other controversial leases covering millions of hectares of customary land.

Last week the Secretary of the Lands Department cancelled two leases over Ela Beach after the local MP publicly alleged they'd been obtained corruptly - a claim disputed by the lease holder.

The government's long-term strategic plan, Vision 2050, grossly misinterprets the National Goals and Directive Principles in our Constitution.

This is the major finding of a new study conducted by Patrick Kaiku from the University of Papua New Guinea.

"Vision 2050 ignores the visionary work of the Constitutional Planning Committee and does not embrace the five National Goals and Directive Principles enshrined in the Constitution", says Patrick Kaiku.

Source: 350.org