By Evah Kuson*

The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) officially opened their investigations into the Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases (SPABL) yesterday (8/08/2011) with presiding Chief Commissioner John Numapo with Messrs Alois Jerewai and Nicholas Mirou.

Acting Prime Minister Hon. Sam Abal has announced the commencement of the Commission of Inquiry into the Special Purpose Agricultural & Business Leases (SPABL).

On June 29, 2011, acting Prime Minister Sam Abal announced the Commission of Inquiry into the Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABLs) and Urban Development Leases.


Mr Abal appointed John Numapo as Chairman, Nicholas Mirou and Alois Jerewai as Commissioners and several other people were appointed to provide technical advice to the Commission. Abal expressed confidence in the team he had appointed that they will do a good job. The Commission was given three months to complete the task and present its report to the Government, which will then present it to Parliament.

By Luana Paniu

The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases (SPABL) will use relevant court documents and information from research institutes and various organisations including landowners to begin investigations. 


Director for CoI and Investigation branch of the Prime Minister’s Department, Mathew Yuangu said this will be a foundation for the CoI, which will include visitation to specific SPABL sites in the country.


By Luana Paniu (Post Courier)

THE Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Special Purpose Agriculture and Business Leases (SPABL) was recently announced and is scheduled to be completed by September but it has come under fire by a civil and legal rights organisation and a former academic.


The former academic, who was a lecturer at the University of PNG and is also a naturalised citizen, said that references within the CoI were ambitious for the government to achieve.


By Warren Dutton

Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal has established a Commission of Inquiry into the SABLs [special agricultural and business leases], which is a good and I believe well intentioned step.

However there are definitely forces within the system, and perhaps even within the process itself, that will be working hard to maintain the status of the bad SABLs, so the ECPNG [ecumenical council of PNG] really needs to present the strongest possible submission to the Commission of Inquiry.  

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.