Landowners meddling with settlers’ royalties

ON Aug 5, 2005, the stakeholders of the Hidden Valley gold mine project signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) relating to the project, following the grant by the State to the project developer its mining lease 151.
Stakeholders included the State, the Morobe government, Morobe Consolidated Goldfields Ltd, Nakuwi Landowners Association Inc. (NKW), Wau rural local level government, Watut rural local level government and Bulolo rural local level government.
The settlers in the area were granted permission by the landowners to occupy and use land within the mining tenements prior to the signing of the MOA.
They were among the beneficiaries identified during the MOA agreement consultations and were entitled to 2 per cent of the royalties from the project, as per clause 3.3 (d) of the MOA.
Clause 3.3 (d) of the MOA requires that the settlers’ royalties be parked in a trust to be set up and managed by the company, but during the ensuing years up until now, there were no guidelines provided as to how these funds were to be used.
The royalties are for the settlers, which is for use by themselves, as per the MOA, on whatever development needs they have planned for in their communities, similarly to the other royalty beneficiaries.
However, in a sudden twist of events, a landowner and the Nakuwi Landowner Association Inc attempted to use the settlers’ royalties currently parked with the company for purposes of addressing law and order issues in Wau and Bulolo.
They are trying to access and use funds that do not belong to them and are using the law and order programme as a front.
Why would they decide to divert the royalty monies that belong to the settlers, as per the project MOA agreement, to other unauthorised purposes the MOA agreement?
One would wonder why the NKW Association Inc and the president brought this proposal to the attention of the other stakeholders when the proposal could very well have been presented to the Government as the responsible authority to undertake such an awareness programme.
The proposal was noted by Mineral Resources Authority officials and others during a meeting.
It is doubtful whether somebody representing the settlers was in that meeting.
I do not think the settlers are aware of this.
This move is suspicious and is one of many similar instances where there are attempts to pry into funds belonging to settlers in the area.

Settlers Community,
Wau-Bulolo