Prime Minister James Marape has again assured existing and potential investors that the Government is pro-investment and business focused.
The Prime Minister also gave his firm commitment that the government will not harm the country’s reputation as a safe investment destination.
The Prime Minister made this statement when responding to former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill on the shutdown of Ramu Mine.
O’Neill had said the decision to close the mine was not economical.
However, Prime Minister Marape said that statement was irresponsible with a smear motive to paint a negative image, when responsible agencies of State are doing their job to ensure operations at Ramu Nickel is being assessed for its safety compliance after the spill.
He also gave his assurance that he will not compromise the safety of the people and environment and that reviews are undertaken so that the mine is safe from structural and systematic defects going into the future.
Meantime, the Mineral Resources Authority has granted permission for the operations of the mine on Oct 25 after a satisfactory site verification by the mines inspectors.
The mine was ordered to shut down its operations on Oct 18 after it failed to comply with orders of the inspectorate to rectify 16 defects that it identified during investigations into the August 24 slurry spillage.