Landowners

Ultimatum issued to Govt to pay up

They have warned that serious actions will be taken to make their call heard.

The landowners said they have been quiet for too long and it was time they came out to speak on the issue.

Representatives from the region say following the signing of the Umbrella Benefit Sharing Agreement (UBSA) and Landowner Benefit Sharing Agreement in 2009 for the PNG LNG Project, they were promised K19 million.

However they said they only received a fraction of that.

Rural subsistence farmers need a voice

Illegal land grabbing is a massive problem in PNG and has a big impact on rural subsistence farmers.

Once permission over the customary-owned land is granted to a company through a lease title, communities are displaced and to some point, disrespected.

Furthermore, with an absence of a Human Rights Commission, landowners lack support to present their cases.

As a consequence, the forest dependent subsistence farmers, mothers and children are greatly affected as their movement is restricted. They lose access to gardening grounds, fishing, hunting and sacred sites.

Girua airport LOs demand compo

The landowners are demanding the National Government to pay K15 million in outstanding land compensation or they will shut the airport permanently.

Spokesperson Barthimias Kaipa said for so long, their land compensation requests have been falling on deaf ears since 2006, when they lodged their claim.

He said their claims had been processed by government agencies and were paid to illegitimate landowners.

They have presented their petition to Girua Airport manager Eki Wally on behalf of Minister for Civil Aviation Alfred Manasseh last Friday.

Suspend logging: Landowners

Some of these landowners were in Port Moresby recently and aired their grievances, which they highlighted were long overdue.

Lawrence Komboguru, a spokesperson for the group, said more than 20 years has passed without the much-needed traces of development and infrastructure or services in one of the oldest logging areas in East Sepik Province.

The Hawain LFA landowners have raised their concerns many times, even at the provincial level, but to no avail.

Unresolved issues for Gulf: LOs

Changing the name from Papuan LNG to Gulf LNG Project and approving the Gulf LNG under the revised PNG Oil and Gas Act are amongst the list of agendas the people are pushing for the provincial and national governments and developers to resolve.

The people from Ihu, Baimuru and Kikori say they will not give away their petroleum and LNG resources cheaply without voicing their objections.

They are demanding for the government and developers to accommodate their views and clearly spell out their equity benefits before the project proceeds.

Govt queried on future plans

A Papa village ward councilor in Central Province is questioning what plans are there for the next 5 years considering the global issues that are affecting PNG.

Councilor Tarata Geita stated that it is important for the PNG government to inform the people on what the future holds for the LNG project in the country.

He said they are the most impacted and they still have some benefits outstanding as well.

They are adamant that the government initiate some kind of awareness or information programs so that they are aware of issues relevant to the gas project.

LOs welcome Govt’s announcement

Hides PDL 1 landowners say they are eager to finally benefit from the LNG Project.

However, they want the Government to stick to the schedule that the state has outlined in the roll out of the program or else there will be consequences.

In a media conference today, the landowners said it has been a long time coming for the landowner identification to be completed.

They said they were happy with the announcement and will work with the government to ensure that the process is completed.

Hides LOs want K35 million

Hides PDL 1 landowners from Southern Highlands said this should be part of the Government’s resumption of the Landowner Beneficiary Identification (LOBID), which was announced on Tuesday.

The landowners said the promise of being paid the compensation has seen them incur huge costs in the capital city.

The landowners say they have yet to receive the K35 million promised to them in August 2016 by the former Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Nixon Duban.

VIDEO: Need for clan vetting

This is the main reason why Highlands LNG landowners are demanding that no payment be made to their coastal counterparts.

 

Meredith Kuusa with more 

​PNG LNG LOs issue ultimatum

Landowner representatives from Angore, Juha and Hides gas fields held a joint media conference yesterday, calling on the Government to seriously address the nonpayment of landowners’ equities.

The LOs made their intentions known following media reports that landowners from the LNG Plant Site within Papa/Lealea were to receive their payments after successfully meeting all requirements as per the Oil and Gas Act.

The landowners aired their concern over the constant delay and lack of government pro-activeness in addressing outstanding issues.