By FRANK ASAELI
TIMBER royalty payments will be increased by 200% to K30 per cubic meter as minimum payment to forest resource owners starting sometime next year, Forest Minister Belden Namah announced.
At present, the minimum royalty under the Forestry Act is a meager K10.
“Royalty now will be increased to K30 as minimum so that resource owners have maximum benefits from their resources,” Mr Namah said.
He revealed this at the PNG Forest Authority (PNGFA) Christmas party in Port Moresby last Friday, adding he will give recognition to resource owners.
He said during his term as the minister, he will give more recognition to the resource owners, whom he said are the true and rightful owners of timber resources in the country.
Mr Namah said it had been noted that in the last 32 years, there had been problems within the industry and among the landowners.
He stressed that one of his major development initiatives was to increase royalty benefits to the resource owners as in the past the Forestry Act allows for K10 minimum in royalty payments.
“As the new minister, I have made two major constitutional amendments to the Forestry Act -– and that is the Forestry Amendment Validation Bill and also for Section 90 of the Forestry Act,” Mr Namah said.
He said basically, Section 90 was to complement the Government’s development initiative to use forestry as a spring board for economic growth.
He said for far too long, forestry had been seen as an industry that only cuts logs and ships them overseas.
“We will now do away with that kind of perception – we want to move into a perception where forestry is seen as an agency of not only exporting logs, but also promoting conservation, promoting carbon trade, promoting plantations and rehabilitation of our forests,” Mr Namah said.
He disclosed that he was also talking with the Australian and New Zealand High commissioners to realise the carbon trade issue.