Isoaimo presents petition on Konebada park authority

KAIRUKU-Hiri MP Peter Isoaimo presented a petition on behalf of his people to Parliament yesterday for the Government to terminate the Konebada Petroleum Park Authority (KPPA) board and ensure appropriate actions were taken to abolish the authority.
Isoiamo, who delivered the petition on behalf of the Porebada Besena Association (PBA), said the land, currently known as the Konebada Petroleum Park (KPP) in his electorate in Central, was acquired by colonial administration in 1898.
He said the local landowners wanted to participate in the development of the park through proper representation and the Government initiated the process and legislated the KPPA to oversee its development and management.
However, Isoaimo said the authority had not achieved its goal and had instead squandered funds and allowed illegal acquisition of large portions of land for unplanned and unregulated developments, some causing environmental damage to the mangrove vegetation and marine ecosystems.
“The landowners are extremely unhappy and very concerned on what is happening on the land Portion 578 which is referred to as Konebada Petroleum Park,” Isoaimo said.
“There is so much land grabbing by individuals with money and business entities with no proper physical plans in place so I stand with my people to petition this Parliament to take the appropriate actions to terminate the board of KPPA and suspend its operations.”
Isoaimo said the petition also called for an investigation into the authority’s operations including land audits; he said the landowners also wanted all development work to cease until the investigation was completed and a report made.