Landowners represented in deal, says official

THE landowners of the Wafi-Golpu mining project are represented in the memorandum of agreement, says the head of external relations at the Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture David Wissink.
Wissink was responding in a statement to a claim by the Ngewima clan of the Yanta tribe in the Mumeng local-level government of Bulolo in Morobe, that they were the rightful landowners of the land.
He said people of Yanta were represented in a memorandum of agreement by the Yanta Development Association through president Genesis Siliwana.
“The memorandum of understanding signed (last month by the State and the two developers) does not determine any issues of benefit-sharing between the national and provincial governments or landowners. It only deals with matters between the State and the developers,” he said.
“All matters relating to Morobe and the landowners are being dealt with via separate negotiation and consultation processes, including the development forum and memorandum of agreement process.
“The main opportunity for landowner aspirations to be discussed is through the development forum process facilitated by the Mineral Resources Authority.”