Umbrella companies anger over project

The legal battle surrounding the rights of people from the impact areas of the PMIZ project is only beginning。

Vice chairman and director of Rempi,one of the five umbrella companies done in haste,Frank Don,said outside the National Court  building today that a separate summons would be given to the State。

Don said that the State needed time to make changes to their documents as their names had been included in the State’s original summons without their consent and therefore the need for further time。

"We,Francis Gem,deputy chairman of KIL umbrella company and former Karkar Local Level Government President, Bager Wamm, were signatories to a joint communique with Commerce,Trade and Industry Minister,Richard Maru,with benefits promised us in 2013"。

"We had started initial court proceedings but were duped into signing the communique with better promises and pressured into shelving and eventually withdrawing the case。Now we are with the other 500 plus signatories,”he said。

According to Don they are seeking compensation for damages in terms of defamation of character by the  State for wrongfully suing them after they had withdrawn the first case as plaintiffs also then.

"We are now directors with the umbrella company,”he said。

The five hurriedly formed umbrella companies are KIL,Rehamb,Hapadoma,Yabnid and Riwo。They cover the Kananam,Riwo,Baitata and Riwo villages along the north coast area。

Don reiterated that the provincial government was “in the dark’’ over the goings-on of the PMIZ project but that didn’t stop Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather from instigating his own battle to protect the environment and their rights。

"I now call upon the Madang MP Nixon Duban to make his stand also in this issue。In fact all the other MPs should unite and take a stand like the fearless Fairweather,” he added。

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jwaeda