SABL

However, he says it is not entirely the department’s fault as some leaseholders have taken out court orders stopping the cancellations.

“So it is not because the government does not want to do anything, we have given instructions that is yet to carried out. But now we have a new management at Lands Department and those who have been  doing the wrong thing have been arrested and we hope to clean up more and protect our people’s land,” O’Neill says.

He assures that his instructions for the cancellation of all SABL stands and that all leases will be returned to the people.

“O’Neill received the reports on SABL on June 2013 describing misappropriation of 11 percent of our country land.

“Prime Minister Peter O’Neill in presenting SABL reports to Parliament in September 2013 said that they describe a shocking trend of mismanagement and corruption.

“He promised in Parliament, his government is going to start protecting landowners. We will no longer watch on as foreign owned companies come in, chop down our forests and take the proceeds off-shore.”     

Deputy Secretary of Land Services at Lands Department Lawrence Ndrombut said the department is awaiting a decision from the government on how previous SABLs will be handled.

Recommendations on how the government will move to deal with the SABLs are before the National Executive Council for consideration.

The program will officially begin today and wrap up this Friday the 16^th of October.

The officers will undergo this training before heading off for placements in Australia in November. 

Head of the AFP PNG Deployment, Assistant Commissioner Allan Scott in a recent interview said that this program is a way for the PNG police to get hands on experience in the various policing concepts and techniques in place with their Australian counterparts. 

That’s the reality in PNG, according to Oro Governor, Gary Juffa in an exclusive interview with PACNEWS recently.

Since the tabling of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the SABL in October 2013, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill promised in Parliament that the reports were to be made public, and action would be taken immediately.

Campaign coordinator Eddie Tanago says it would be an excellent opportunity to remind the government of its record on Special Agriculture Business Lease and land grab issues.

He says many landowners whose land had been taken under the SABL system had not yet been given back their land.