Saonu wants city authority to benefit entire province

MOROBE Governor Ginson Saonu, pictured, says he agrees with moves to create a Lae City Authority (LCA) but wants an arrangement that will benefit the entire province and not just Lae.
Saonu made his intentions known during a breakfast with members of the Lae business community on Tuesday where he and MP John Rosso were guests.
Saonu said he agreed in principal with the LCA but wanted to see the benefits spread out across the province so that indigenous Morobeans could benefit.
“In relation to the Lae City Authority, in principal my government is in agreement to the concept,” he said.
“However, I will seek wider consultation from stakeholders on what is covered in the act and more importantly the advantages and disadvantages in the Lea City Authority Act before we can seek consensus to move forward.
“I would be keen to have case studies of the National Capital District Act and its consequences on the operation of Port Moresby city and the real benefits to the host province of Central.
“I also want to see why the City Council Act is limiting the (Lae) city council from operating like other city councils in our immediate neighbourhood like Australia and New Zealand.
“I do not want to create another white elephant in Lae that does not benefit the Morobe province as a whole.
“Therefore, there must be a win-win situation for Lae city and the immediate indigenous landowners and the wider province in terms of benefit sharing.”
The Lae City Authority was given the approval by the previous government under Prime Minister Peter O’Neill but lack of funding coupled with lack of cooperation from the previous Morobe government and Lae MP Loujaya Kouza had resulted in the project being stalled.