By ADRIAN MATHIAS, The National

ALOIS Jerewai, one of the commissioners in the inquiry into the Special Agricultural and Business Leases, says he is willing to repay at least K970,000 paid to him as wages to produce a report.

“I have assets to give back to the State because I (have) got nothing to lose,” Jerewai told journalists in Port Moresby yesterday.

He called the press conference to respond to a decision by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and the National Executive Council to refer the commissioners including himself to the Law Society and police.

“...I welcome the announcement by O’Neill in referring the matter of funding of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into SABLs to the police...,” he said.

“...But the CoI-SABL only received K7 million of the K15 million the prime minster said was spent on this inquiry..."

“I want to know where the other or balance of K8 million was spent.”

He said the funds released were not controlled by the commissioners.

“It was not as if the amount of K7 million was paid into an account controlled by the commissioners and who could raise payments from such an account.”

Jerewai, a lawyer by profession, said the funds were disbursed through the finance division of the Prime Minister’s Department and  the National Executive Council.

“All expenditures were committed through the CoI secretariat, an administrative body under the direct control and supervision of the Prime Minister’s Department,” he said.

“If there had been any misappropriation or fraud, I welcome the police investigation to investigate them (PM’s department) as well as the whereabouts of the K8 million this CoI never received.”

He said the commissioners’ referral to the Law Society was “just hot air”.

“How the Law Society can concern itself with matter which falls under a specific law, namely the Commission of Inquiry Act which governs the conduct of the commissioners, is a matter and venue which is just not there unless the statement is made as a public relations exercise,” he said.

He called on O’Neill to exercise his powers under section 17 of the CoI Act and direct the three commissioners – John Numapo, Douglas Mirou and himself – to produce only one final report to be tabled in parliament in November.

He said he had completed his report in October last year but was waiting for Numapo and Mirou to complete theirs before they could compile findings and recommendations and make one final report.