Over K300m in royalties in bank: Minister

Over K300 million for the PNG LNG Project landowners is parked at the Central Bank.

Minister for Finance and Tari-Pori MP, James Marape, confirmed the amount in a press conference in Port Moresby recently.

After launching the Landowner Beneficiaries Identification (LOBID) exercise in Hela on Wednesday, Finance Minister James Marape and Petroleum Minister Fabian Pok have assured the landowners that their royalty is still being kept at the Central Bank awaiting the completion of the LOBID exercise.

Minister Marape said the Government is ready to pay the landowners but the onus is now on them to get together and identify their land.

He added that the confusion among the LOs was the landowner identification.

He went on and clarified that most landowners got themselves mixed up with social mapping and thought that they were the genuine landowners.

Minister Pok launched the LOBID exercise in Hela on Wednesday and is confident that they will finish the task in two weeks.

(Tari-Pori MP, James Marape filepic)

Author: 
Freddy Mou