‘Cash royalties breed laziness’

 DIRECTOR of Mamusi Advisory and Consultative Group (MACG) Benedict Lalepumanu has called on the government to reconsider laws on royalties, levies and grants payments to landowners because it is developing a handout culture.  

 Lalepumanu said spin-off benefits emanating from national projects should not be “in the form of straight cash handouts” as it would make landowners lazy to till the land thereby losing their “resourcefulness”.

“I think cash payments such as royalties, levies and business development grants, though good, can develop a type of  handout mentality,” he said. 

Lalepumanu, a principal landowner of the Mamusi constituency of Pomio, East New Britain, said that instead of giving money to the people in the form of grants and royalties, it should be invested in long-term projects such as schools, clinics, water, sanitation and roads. 

“Money should also be invested in human resource development,” he said, adding that when gold, timber, gas or oil run out people would still push the province on.