Duma must apologise, says Phembi landowner

PHEMBI Landowner Association Incorporated chairman John Wabisala has called on Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma to apologise for making misleading comments in the media.
Wabisala was responding to the Duma’s comment in The National last Wednesday that he (Wabisala) was claiming leadership over Western landowners.
In the report Duma said Wabisala had been a councillor on the Southern Highlands side of the border and as soon as gas was discovered in Western he moved in to claim land on the other side of the border.
Wabisala said Duma’s statement that he was not from the Juha Petroleum Development Licence 9 (PDL9) area was not true.
He said his parents were from the Uwo clan, of the Phembi tribe, on whose land the five oil heads were located and for Duma to say otherwise showed that he was misinformed.
Wabisala said, as chief and one time councillor, he was a leader of people living along both sides of the border and not just his own people.
He said the five oil heads were located on the Western side of the border and the Uwo tribe from the Phembi clan owned the land.
He said only a small portion on one of the six blocks under the PDL9 was owned by the Kori clan from Toguba, Western.
“The people from Levani village, in North Koroba, on the Southern Highlands side, are given sufficient recognition and are allocated 8% off all the benefits due from revenue generated from the development,” Wabisala said.
He said all documents including social mapping as well as government authorities recognised him as the leader and chief of the Juha people.
He said if Duma was not convinced he should conduct a separate social mapping study or go to court to resolve the issue.