By Todagia Kelola

A Commissioner to the Commission of Inquiry on the Special Agriculture and Business Lease has expressed concern that from preliminary observation the true loss of customary land occurred when the land was sub-leased to a third party.

Commissioner Alois Jerewai made this observation yesterday when highlighting the need for the inquiry and its support staff to co-operate fully in order for the investigations into the SABLs to fully reveal the defects.

“Allegations of alienation of almost 5.2 million hectares of customary land that is owned by Papua New Guineans is not a matter to be taken lightly and as already seen in the preliminary stages and even at the point of now – the individual inquiry into individual SABLs, is beginning to reveal very, very serious flaws” he said

But the worst that have been revealed in a more serious situation that the commission did not anticipate earlier, was that the true loss of or alienation of customary land occurred on the second stage where after the issuance of the State lease, on a lease-lease back to the customary landowners, the sub-lease to a third person, was where the loss actually took place, and that was where the alienation took place, he said. Third persons are the developers, to whom the land has been sub-leased to develop the land.