Angry landowners shut down college, police step in

By PATRICK TALU
POLICE are said to have assisted in restoring work at the Juni Technical College and communication towers after aggrieved landowners of Wita and Arua clans of the Tuguba Tribe of PDL 1 forced work to be abandoned.
Esso Highlands Ltd (EHL), public affairs manager Miles Shaw yesterday briefly confirmed this saying “we are back at Juni Teach work site”.
However, Hare Hengi, chairman of Wita Arua Holdings, the block company for the two clans, told The National from Juni, Hides, the facility remained shut until Saturday when the state team visited Juni to settle their demands.
He said more than 20 police officers with more than eight vehicles were sent into Juni and forced the local security guards manning the college gate to open it.
Hengi said on Monday, Hides Gas Development Corporation chairman Libe Parindali and EHL project manager Bryan Allen negotiated with him and his people to reopen but did not reach an understanding to reopen and the negotiation was unsuccessful.
“Parindali, Allen and all my landowners agreed that the facility would remain closed until our outstanding K170 million demand in commitments are brought to Hides by Saturday.
“Both men warned us that our act was illegal and police would come,” Hengi said.
He said police arrived early in the morning and removed all the locks that were used to lock up the Juni Technical School.
“However, today (Tuesday) at around 1pm we have approached the gate and shut the gate again,” he said.
Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru said yesterday that he was disappointed with the landowners’ actions as the matter about which they were fighting for was being looked at by the government.
“ExxonMobil will never take away the college after 30 years.
“It is an important infrastructure that will remain to educate our own people.
“I recognise the land­owners who are principal landowners but I do not condone the way they have gone about it when they know very well that the national planning committee and I are working on legacy issues and the umbrella benefits sharing agreement commitments.
“Sabotaging projects is wrong. It is a criminal act and unsustainable.
“If they do not restore work quickly, they will bear the full brunt of the law,” the governor said.