Kutubu landowners join Juha

KUTUBU landowners have instructed their lawyers to join in as a party to the current proceedings taken out by Juha landowners blocking the licenced based forum.
Chairman and former Southern Highlands governor Hami Yawari said yesterday that his group would be party to that court action because section 47 of the Oil and Gas Act had not been complied with.
Mr Yawari said the landowners signed the Universal Benefit Sharing Agreement (UBSA)  in Kokopo on the understanding that landowner identification and social mapping would be conducted before any Licenced Base Benefit Sharing Agreement (LBBSA)  in project areas.
This has not been done, and is a breach of sections 48 and 50 of the Oil and Gas Act, he said.
Mr Yawari said this after Kutubu landowners’ 24-hour ultimatum ended last Friday when the Government failed to address issues contained in a petition to the Prime Minister and Department of Petroleum and Energy.
He said Kutubu landowners would petitioned the government that the State had failed to honour its commitment in Kutubu PDL 2.
He said the LBBSA would not go ahead until the State honoored its commitments to pay outstanding MoA and SSG funds.
The Kutubu landowners are also calling for an increase in allocation of business development grants promised at Kokopo UBSA.
According to documents the National Executive Council in Decision No 122/2009 on August 19, detailed the break-up as Budget to Hides PDL 1 (K20 million), Hides PRL12 (K15 million), Kutubu (K10 million), Juha (K11 million, Angore (K12 million), Moran (K4 million), Gobe (K8.2 million), pipeline landowners (K10, 128 000) and LNG plant landowners (K17, 472, 000).
He said the State owed Kutubu K774 million in SSG and K1.4 billion in outstanding MoA.