Allegations of “hijacking and manipulation” of a Papua New Guinea national government sanctioned validation exercise at the Porgera mine in Enga province have been raised, reports the PNG Post-Courier.

Tieni Wuape clan leader from the Special Mining Lease (SML) Janet Yuwi told the Post-Courier that a landowner group was allegedly misleading the Mining Department team in Porgera on unsanctioned venues for the validation process.

“A public notice published by the Ministry of Mining in the print media recently had sanctioned sites, villages and communities to be visited during the validation exercise but that was not happening,” she said.

• READ MORE: K630m to restart Porgera mine with new deal for PNG landowners

Yuwi said she had waited in vain at Yarik Kanaga on the date scheduled which was on Monday, July 26, with other clan members.

She said the landowners were later informed that the voting was hosted by Mamai clan at Panadaka village which was totally unacceptable and not according to the sanctioned sites.

“We saw the Mining Department’s notice on the paper (print media) dated 19 Jul, 2021 and we were at the site at Yarik, Kanaga, and we waited the whole day and later we heard that it was done at Panadaka village,” Yuwi said.

She said the landowners were happy with the state’s decision to allow SML landowners to appoint their new clan agents since the original agents have passed on and some were replaced by their sons.

‘Good initiative’
“It is such a good initiative to appoint new agents for a new Porgera.

“For the last 30 years, clan agents have been hiding and never informed landowners of their share.

“From such experience, we will appoint new agents who will be honest and remain in Porgera and not in Port Moresby,” Yuwi said.

She said the state team should work independently and refrain from favouring one group of landowners.

She said Prime Minister James Marape’s government was anticipating the completion of the validation exercise to enable the appointed agents from the 25 sub-clans to participate in mining development forums and other government sanctioned forums.

Last month, Asia Pacific Report carried an article reporting that it would cost the Papua New Guinea state and Australian operator Barrick Niugini Ltd K630 million (US$180 million) to reopen the Porgera gold mine.

The reopening of the mine in early September will see Barrick paying out full benefits of all employees who were retrenched, including those in care and maintenance, and they will be recruited under the new Porgera mine structure.

By Meriba Tulo in Boera village, Papua New Guinea

After more than three years and 200 shipments, landowners of Boera village in Papua New Guinea’s Central province have became the first beneficiaries from the PNG LNG Project to receive royalties.

This followed the release of royalty benefits for PNG LNG Petroleum Processing Facility Licence 2 (PPFL2) area landowners to the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) from the Department of Petroleum and Energy, Department of Finance, and the Central Bank.

Royalty payments for the four villages of Boera, Papa, Porebada and Rearea are in line with the Ministerial Determination number G692, 2015, which will see 83 clans receive a share of K15.6 million (NZ$6.7 million).

According to the Oil and Gas Act 1998, only 40 percent is to be paid as cash disbursement to landowners, with the remaining 60 percent to be set aside in two trusts – the Future Generation Trust Fund (FGTF) and Community Investment Trust Fund (CITF).

Royalty Payment Allocation:
1. Cash Payment to Landowners: K6,250,701.00
2. Community Investment Trust Fund: K4,688,026.00
3. Future Generation Trust Fund: K4,688,026.00

From the K6,250,701.00 cash allocation, this is further broken up according to the following:
1. Rearea Village: K1,746,946.00
2. Papa Village: K1,746,946.00
3. Boera Village: K1,352,027.00
4. Porebada Village: K1,154,755.00
5. Others: K250,028.00

Meriba Tulo is a senior reporter and presenter and currently anchors Resource PNG as well as EMTV’s daily National News. EMTV News items are republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

By Charles Yapumi in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s former Treasury Minister has welcomed the Estimates Committee of the Australian Senate’s probe into non-payment of royalties to LNG area landowners.

“It is pleasing to see the concern expressed by Senator Scott Ludlam for the plight of LNG project landowners who have not received any royalty payments three years after annual exports worth billions of dollars have commenced,” said Patrick Pruaitch, leader of the National Alliance Party.

Pruaitch was dumped as Treasurer by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill last month after claiming the economy was “falling off a cliff”.

Senator Ludlam expressed concern at a recent meeting that the Australian government’s Export Finance Insurance Corporation (EFIC) had not taken measures to ensure royalty payments — now totalling K904 million (about NZ$420 million) — had been distributed to landowners in the PNG LNG project area.

He noted that the loan to the PNG LNG project was the biggest ever foreign loan made by the Australian government.

“While the inquiry highlighted EFIC’s silence and non-action towards protecting Australia’s interest, more significantly for PNG, it raises the government’s negligence and lack of responsibility to the people of PNG, specifically the wellhead landowners and beneficiary groups in the PNG LNG project,” Pruaitch said.

“By right, the clan-vetting exercise to determine the rightful people to whom royalties should be paid should have been completed well before the first LNG shipment left PNG’s shores in May 2014.

“The O’Neill government has to date failed to resolve this issue,” Pruaitch said.

Landowner patience running out
Senator Ludlam was right in expressing fears about project risk because the patience of landowners has been running out.

“I thank Senator Scott Ludlam for his courageous position in seeking EFIC’s explanations as to why the Australian export credit agency that financed the mega LNG project in Papua New Guinea had, to date, not initiated at the very least a telephone conversation between the Australian Foreign Minister and PNG officials to raise the concern about non-payment of PNG LNG project royalties to project area landowners.”

Pruaitch was the former Treasurer in the Somare government in 2009, and was also the chairman of the Ministerial Sub-committee on Economic Matters responsible for the delivery of the PNG LNG project.

“The senator’s probe has highlighted the fact that international companies also have a corporate responsibility to adhere to international principles and best practices and EFIC should also do its part to protect Australia’s investment while, at the same time, honouring the letter and spirit of the project agreement.”

Charles Yapumi is a Loop PNG reporter.

• PNG protesters angry about unpaid royalties picket LPG plant