Post Courier editorial

THE evidence now being presented to the Commission of Inquiry into the so-called Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABL) tell the story of a national shame of gigantic proportions. 

It is absolutely disgusting and no words can adequately describe the pain that small landowners feel about their land going into the hands of foreign corporations.
Former prime minister and now New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan said it well when he described it as nothing less than a conspiracy between the national Department of Lands international corporations to grab land from unsuspecting little landowners from the rural areas.

This is probably the worst of any government policy on agriculture development ever formulated by the government since self — government and the extent of its effects on the local landowners will only be known when the inquiry presents its report to the government.

We hope the report will be tabled in Parliament and be made public for the people of Papua New Guinea to know the truth about how this officially-sanctioned rip-off that has gone on for some time grabbing land from people who mostly had no idea what they were signing for.

Public servants and the departments they work for such as the Departments of Lands and Agriculture in this case, are paid to ensure that government policies protect the interests of the people of Papua New Guinea. They are paid to explain to the little landowners what any contract they are about to sign on the use of their land will mean for them and their children and future generations.

Yet, it seems that in this case this did not happen. Land owners simply were told to put their signatures on the contract documents without understanding the full implications of the deal. This is deplorable.

There should be mass resignations from the Department of Lands as a result of what is being revealed before the Commission of Inquiry. All public servants in that department who played any part at all in the SABL policy and its implementation should resign in shame right now. They are a total disgrace to this country and have no reason to continue in their offices.

The Department of Lands has lost all its credibility and integrity as the department responsible for all land matters in this country. We hope the inquiry will soon shine the light on the Lands Department and investigate any evidence of corruption by officers who colluded with the foreign corporations to rob the little people of PNG of their only resource – their land. 

West Pomio people now have a K10 billion bill before them if they try to break the agreement they signed with Gilford Limited, a subsidiary of the Malaysian-owned logging giant Ribunan Hijau who publish The National newspaper in this country. Where will they get the money from to repay the company? Simply put, they have signed away their entire life and that of their children, grand children and future generations. They are landless. This cleverly drawn up sinister policy has destroyed the lives and future of thousands of rural Papua New Guineans. The Department of Lands is responsible for this.

And we wonder how the owners of Ribunan Hijau and any other company involved in the SABL feel about the evidence now being presented before the Commission of Inquiry? They cannot simply say that it is a normal business deal and that the landowners had consented to it. What will these foreign corporations do now that the truth about the full impact of the SABL on the landowners is being revealed before the inquiry?