By Pasifika Wardrobes Media Consultancy

Landowners and interested citizens are still anticipating the outcome of the Special Agriculture Business Lease (SABL) taskforce, since the appointment of the taskforce in late October this year by Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill.

Many who have followed the issue of SABL since the Commission of Inquiry have questioned the Government why it has taken too long to cancel all SABLs and return land titles to the rightful landowners.

Partners with Melanesian’s Executive Officer, Ken Mondia says the wait for immediate action is long overdue and it is about time the Government acts on the inquiry’s findings and recommendations.

Mr Mondia landowners have waited and the issue of SABL is of great public interest, stressing that “the longer we wait, companies that were found illegally operating in the country under SABLs will continue to log or harvest whatever is left of their operations.”

“The findings are crystal clear and the Prime Minister himself term SABL as a miserable failure to Papua New Guineans, so why appoint another long time and fund consuming taskforce to look into these recommendations,” questioned Mr Mondia.

Paul Barker from PNG Institute of National Affairs said the SABL investigation has come a long way and it is of public interest that the Government acts immediately to address the recommendations set by the inquiry as it concerns our landowners.

“Why has the Government appointed a taskforce consisting of the very governmental departments that failed PNG and its landowners...that failed the SABL system and made it so corrupt,” questioned Mary Bainakia, a landowners from a SABL in Pomio that was investigated and labelled failed by the inquiry.

Bainakia is calling on the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to take action to speed up processes with the taskforce, adding “those mentioned in the findings must be prosecuted.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill when announcing the formation of the taskforce said the team has been given two months to look into the recommendations of the inquiry and to carry out further consultations.   

It is expected that the taskforce will release a report in either December 2013, or early January 2014.