By MT

THE people in the rural areas want the government to thoroughly investigate the issuance of Special Purpose and Agricultural Business Leases (SABL).
 This issue affects more than 90% of the silent majority who live in villagers and remote communities.


These people do not even know that their customary land has been given to corporations with the backing of foreign-owned multi-national corporations. 
I was shocked to learn that over than 300,000ha of customary land in my area was given to a corporate entity.


I travel to and from my village on a regular basis, and I can say with certainty that the people from my area do not even know that their land has been the subject of a SABL.


How was our land acquired? 


I understand there are more than 5.2 million hectares now covered under the SABL.


I do not need to stress the significance of landownership in this country.
 Our ancestors have been killing each other over land since time immemorial.
In the future, this problem has a tendency to escalate into civil unrest, bloodshed and total anarchy at the village level if people lose their customary rights to their land.


It is extremely important for the national government to address this problem now.


I commend the previous government for setting up a Commission of Inquiry into SABL but I believe the new government can do even better.
 The three-month time frame is unrealistic.


If the government is sincere in addressing this issue it must conduct a proper and meaningful inquiry.


This means COI officers going down to the ground to consult individual landowners to gauge their views and see if they really understood the legal and social ramifications of leasing their land to the state, and whether they have given their actual consent.


There should be a proper vetting process conducted on the ground.
 We cannot simply stay in Waigani and tick off boxes on a piece of paper.
I believe a proper investigation would take six to 12 months, given the huge area of land covered under SABL.


This is part of a bigger global issue of land grab committed by greedy government officers and multi- nationals at the expense of the powerless and ignorant citizens.


The government must ensure the COI is not a desktop job.


I call on the ministers and government departments concerned to put their foot down and get to the bottom of this, if they are genuine in their calls to eradicate corruption.


I am aware that some prominent members of parliament in the former government and the present government have been pushing for SABL.
 This is an opportunity to prove they are not corrupted by big corporations and are willing to go the extra mile to stop land grab in PNG.