Agiru: Hela benefits from LNG

 GOVERNOR Anderson Agiru says Hela province is a direct beneficiary of the LNG project even though it was yet to be formed when various beneficiary agreements were signed.

Agiru said the umbrella benefits sharing agreement (Ubsa) had made specific provisions for Hela to be considered as soon as it became a province.

He was responding to a statement by a group led by former Southern Highlands premier Albert Mokai last week claiming that all agreements had left Hela out as it did not yet exist as a province when the agreements were signed.

Agiru said: “Over 86% of the gas to be supplied to the project is in Hela. 

“The conditioning plant is in Hela. The beneficiary agreements were signed with the full knowledge that Hela was on its way to become a province.

“By operation of the Organic Law on provincial governments and local level governments and the Organic Law on national boundaries, all that is within the provincial boundaries of Hela remains in Hela.

“I announced when I was governor of Southern Highlands which at the time included Hela that when Hela becomes a separate province, it would pay some percentage of benefits to the Southern Highlands province. 

“It will happen. To suggest that all is parked with the Southern Highlands province is plainly wrong. “

He referred Mokai to Clause 24 of the Ubsa which said:  “The parties agree that in the event a system of provincial government and local level government is legally established in respect of Hela, the benefits given to the Southern Highlands provincial government under this umbrella benefits sharing agreement will be equitably shared between the new Hela provincial government and the Southern Highlands provincial government. 

“The terms of such a sharing will be stipulated in a deed of amendment to this agreement to be executed between the parties and the new province should it gain political and legal status.”