Don’t try to rip off landowners

Letters, Normal

AS a concerned landowner affected directly by the LNG project, I have been following various development issues taking place in Angore, specifically PRL11.
The issues brought me to Kokopo where I took part in the BSA.
Team Angore was made up of various tribal groups but under team leader John Ipidari Tambiabu, everyone’s opinion was taken.
Mr Tambiabu presented our stand on May 7 at Vunapope and we accepted the project.
Petroleum Minister William Duma was given our position paper and it was also distributed to all landowners to take home.
As member of team Angore, I take this opportunity to congratulate councillors Peter, Anes, Tambiawi and Minai, Pastor Eki, women reps Elizabeth and Teresa, landowners Simon Irame, Hamiya Yulai, Hetara Hekele, Tom Tomiape, Philip Papela and everyone who contributed in putting together our position paper.
The DPE and Esso must note that there are a number of clan associations and companies but no umbrella association.
The umbrella land company for PRL11 is Angore Oil & Gas Limited and chief Luke Lubia is the chairman.
Other umbrella entities will be established after ILGs are formed and a full scale social mapping, land investigation and vetting for ILG chairman are pre-requisites for forming an umbrella company, associations and other landowner entities.
For this reason, DPE and Esso must use the map compiled on June 12 last year, CA GIS No. C_00120 for fair benefits distribution and mitigation of landowner issues.
Once the pre-requisites of forming umbrella entities are completed, development licence must be granted to Angore.
However, in the absence of ILG, authentic landowner representative at this juncture is the UBSA team.
Unless the UBSA team comes as group representing the five blocks, DPE and Esso must not entertain individual group or clan claiming to represent Angore people.
Further community investment is captured in the National Content Plan (NCP).
Hence, Hela University Centre (HUC) must be assisted by Esso as one of its priority areas of corporate social responsibility.
HUC is a government-sanctioned establishment that requires Esso’s support as its entire training scheme is firm and industry specific but HUC can be assisted to train non-firm and industry specific trainings for development of holistic Hela human resource.
We demand that Hides Gas Development Company (HGDC) be scraped as its directors as per IPA records show that it is a clan company.
The directors must be representatives from Hides, Angore and Juha landowners.
The name also must be changed to one that reflects the representation of Hides, Juha, Angore, Benaria and Komo landowners.
Furthermore, if it is true that Angore gas will be piped to Hides in 2017 as per NCP, all Angore township development plan must be strategised together with the early works programme as a trade-off.
We do not want our billion kina gas to be traded off for a heath centre, a community school and a police post with few reserve policemen to man it.
Unless that is what a township is made up of, Esso and DPE must not insult our intelligence with these substandard utilities and demand a township as per our UBSA position paper.
To this end, we laud Mr Talita for his leadership in DPE and Mr Tambiabu for playing a neutral role.

 

Agau Kepanda
Angore