PDA received K18.8 million, says Samar

THE Porgera Development Authority (PDA) has received K18.8 million out of a total allocation of K25.2 million in the last five years, according to the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA).
Managing director Philip Samar said MRA received the K25.2 million under the Porgera PIP to fund State commitments (under Porgera MOA) from 2011-2015.
He said that the PDA received K18,854,000 which represented 75 per cent of actual funds released by National Planning Department to the MRA for the years.
Samar said that while refuting a statement from the chairman of Porgera Development Authority Aken Puluku that the authority had not received funding from MRA for its programmes in recent years.
“The K18.8 million to PDA was paid as follows – K2,654,000 (2011), K6,200,000 (2012), K10, 000,000 (2013).
“How then can the PDA chairman state publicly that they have not received any funds at all from the government through the MRA?” Samar asked.
“The facts speak for themselves and that is that.
“The PDA received 75 per cent of the actual funds released by National Planning to the MRA since 2011.
“Such incompetent utterance by PDA begs the question of whether they really account for these public funds that they receive as they don’t seem to know how much they received and where these monies have been spent.
“The Porgera MOA funds received in any given year by MRA is only to fund the PDA.
“The fact is that these funds are received and managed by the MRA to fund state commitments under the Porgera MOA including maintenance of the Paiam township which is the responsibility of PDA,” Samar said.
“I state for the record that the MRA does not budget for the PDA, we budget to meet state commitments under the Porgera MOA.
“If the PDA Chairman cannot account for 75 per cent of the actual Porgera MOA funds released by the MRA from 2011-2014 then how can he still insist to receive funds from 2015 and 2016?
“He (Puluku) has to fully account first for this K18.8 million before requesting, or in this case challenging, the government through MRA for more money,” Samar said.
Earlier this month, Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas urged executives of the Porgera Development Authority (PDA) to acquit for millions of kina it received over the years.
Sir Peter said the board and management of the authority had to explain how it utilised huge sums of money it got from the government and the Porgera mine (Barrick).
He said that from a report released by the National Research Institute (NRI) in 2012 found that K130 million had been paid into PDA.