Locals want payment for pipeline

By JEFFREY ELAPA
BENERIA, Pagale and Japake (BPJ) Pipeline landowners are calling on the government through the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Charles Abel and Minister for Finance, Don Polye to pay them their business development grants.
The landowners made the call after missing out on the business development grants last year and this year.
They said if the government would give business grants to other landowner companies, then, they should also be paid their share as they were the landowners of segment two of the pipeline routes in the Moran PDL5 and PDL6 areas.
The landowners, numbering more than 11,000 people living along the pipeline route, had also questioned the criteria used to identify and verify legitimate landowner umbrella companies.
BPJ representative George Hato said their landowner company had missed out on the BDG due to inconsistencies in the manner in which the funds were distributed.
Hato said BPJ Holdings Ltd represented 250 ILGs and was a signatory to the LBBSA and UBSA.
He said he was surprised when the landowner umbrella company missed out on the grants and questioned the criteria used to identify legitimate landowner companies by the Department of Commerce and Industry.
“I am disappointed when other pipeline companies like Bepu Hoya Ltd, Bus Ltd, Hela Section Ltd and Wehene Ltd were paid their BDG while BPJ was not paid anything.
“This is unfair and the government and developers must understand that segment two of the pipeline will run through our land and, if we are not funded like others, then I have to make it clear that no pipeline will run through our land,” he said.
Hato said the issues of landowners were not over and the government should not think that they could go ahead and lay pipelines on their customary land.
“We are only asking the government to pay us before they can proceed with their business and the pipeline.
“This is not a false claim. It is a genuine claim and the responsible parties have to pay us first before they
can carry out any work on the pipeline,” Hato said.