Lealea clan elects board director

By JACKLYN SIRIAS
LEALEA landowners have become the first group to elect a director to their company to look after their monetary benefits from the PNG LNG project.
Mineral Resources Development Company managing director Augustine Mano, who was at Lealea village yesterday to witness the election, said the villagers had set a precedent.
“The village is now the first of the four Central villages under the PNG LNG Projects Processing Plant Facility Licence 2 (PPFL2) area to elect its representative to the board of its trustee company Gas Resources PNG LNG Plant Limited,” he said.
Dikana Igo was elected director to represent the 18 beneficiary clans. The election was conducted by the Electoral Commission.
“The Lealea clans are the first of 79 beneficiary clans from the four villages surrounding the PNG LNG Processing Plant facility – Lealea, Papa, Boera and Porebada – who can elect a representative to the board of the trustee company.
“In compliance with the Mineral Determination published in the National Gazette (G692 dated 23 October 2015), the Mineral Resources Development Company facilitated the election process witnessed by stakeholders including the Department of Petroleum and Energy, ExxonMobil and Kumul Petroleum Holdings.
Mano said it had been a long journey to get to this point where the clans could finally see their royalty and equity benefits from the PNG LNG project.
“This first election of directors will set the precedence for all other clan beneficiaries in the PNG LNG Project from upstream to downstream,” he said.