Landowners funds in trust account

ALL business development grants and high impact project funds for Southern Highlands’ landowners are still being held in a trust account, parliament was told on Tuesday.
Minister for Finance James Marape said the provincial government would facilitate the payments in consultation with the economic implementation committee (EIC).
Marape said in the landowner benefit sharing agreement and umbrella benefit sharing agreement signed in Kokopo in 2010, the government had allocated the funds to the landowners and provinces for their projects, which then paved the way for the PNG LNG project.
He said since then the business development grants and the high impact project funds for petroleum development licences 3 and 4 and petroleum development licence 2 were in trust accounts held by the Central Bank and yet to be accessed.
He said an existing national executive council decision gave the task of facilitating the funds to the respective provincial governments and the Hela landowners were paid last
 year.
He said the funds for landowners in Southern Highlands were on hold until all processes were completed and that the funds would be disbursed through the consultation with the EIC by the provincial government. 
He said the funds were not handouts to landowners but were tied to projects and it was up to the provincial government to fund projects in impacted areas.
“These are not landowner funds, these are projects funds and should be accessed through the normal process, with approval from the LLG and the provincial government,” he said.
Marape said the money would be remitted to the provincial government when things were ready before the close of accounts.
Marape was responding to questions without notice from Southern Highlands Governor William Powi.
Powi said he was aware of a valueless cheque in the province for the Kutubu and Gobe projects but there were not funds in the provincial government account and he wanted the minister to explain when the infrastructure development grants and high impact project funds could be released to the province to facilitate payments to applicants.