Governor hails set up of commission in province

EASTERN Highlands Governor Peter Numu says the provincial government supports the establishment of the Extractive Industries Transparency Commission in the province.
Numu said this during the lower highlands consultation workshop on the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Commission Bill.
He said the State needed to be accountable and make sure developers were transparent in the extraction of natural resources.
“Our government recognises the need to have transparency and visibility of revenue received from the extractive projects and other sectors in the country particularly in our province,” Numu said.
He acknowledged the importance of having factual data from the sector to ensure that the Government and stakeholders make informed decisions.
Numu said Eastern Highlands contributed significantly to the economy through agriculture particularly coffee as well as in mining through the K92 gold mine.
He said miner K92 Mine Ltd paid K25 million to the State last year and continued to support the province despite hard economic times.
“Our government also recognises the importance of supporting the work of the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in transitioning to an independent entity to fully implement the EITI requirements and best practice and standards that PNG has signed up to implement for our benefit.”