Community advocacy group ACT NOW! has launched a petition calling on newly elected MPs to establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption within 100 days.
“Everyone knows corruption is a massive problem in Papua New Guinea" , says Campaign Coordinator, Eddie Tanago. "People are dying unnecessarily every day because of the rampant stealing and the mismanagement it causes.”
The government still has plenty of work to do to redress the injustice of the SABL land grab and illegal logging, according to community advocacy group ACT NOW!
ACT NOW! says it is cautiously optimistic the government is moving in the right direction by cancelling the SABL leases, but this is only a first step.
“We welcome statements from the Minister for Lands that the government has cancelled all SABL leases; if it is true, it is a significant move”, says Program Manager Effrey Dademo.
Someone must be held accountable for the failure to cancel unlawful SABL leases, says community advocacy group, ACT NOW!
“The Prime Minister has publicly blamed the Department of Lands for failing to cancel the leases, but unless people are made accountable, nothing is going to change” says Program Manager, Effrey Dademo.
The NEC decision cancelling the leases was made in June 2014, but since then not one lease has been revoked by the Department of Lands.
Community advocay group, ACT NOW! says it appears Lands Minister Benny Allen is blocking the implementation of government decisions to end the SABL land grab and return stolen land to its customary owners.
Since 2013, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has repeatedly promised the unlawful SABL leases will be cancelled, and in June 2014 the National Executive Council endorsed the recommendation from the Commission of Inquiry that the leases be revoked.
But Minister Benny Allen and the Department of Lands are still stalling on any action and have failed to cancel any leases.
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As the Prime Minister continues to delay the implementation of promises to cancel the unlawful SABL leases, a new international report has highlighted the plight of SABL affected communities across Papua New Guinea. |
Community advocacy group ACT NOW! is condemning plans by the government to convert unlawful SABL leases to another form of land tenure using Incorporated Land Groups. The Lands Minister revealed the government’s intention when speaking to the media last Friday. [1]
ACT NOW! says converting the SABL leases would not only repeat the injustice and human rights abuses inherent in the original SABL leases it will compound the problem by giving control over vast tracts of land to a small number of people overseen by a corrupt and dysfunctional Department of Lands.
A 10,000 signature petition is today being presented to the government calling for action on the SABL land grab.
The petition is being presented by Paul Pavol, who was last year awarded the international Alexander Soros Foundation Award, in recognition of his communities efforts to oppose four unlawful SABL leases over their land.
Mr. Paul Pavol, from the Pomio District of East New Britain, was awarded the Alexander Soros Foundation Award for Environmental and Human Rights Activism at a ceremony in New York last Thursday.
Community activist group ACT NOW! says the recent corruption case in Singapore involving former Prime Minister Michael Somare emphasises the need for Australia to do much more to crack down on money laundering from PNG.
The court victory for the Baining people of East New Britain in overturning two unlawful SABL leases only highlights the failure of the government to take action to protect landholders rights, says community advocacy group ACT NOW!