Micah to visit Hela landowners

 PETROLEUM and Energy Minister Ben Micah, pictured, is expected to visit landowners in Hela this month to address outstanding landowner issues.

The meetings will discuss outstanding payments to landowners.

Department Secretary Rendell Rimua told The National that they were still in the planning stages. But he said the meetings would include landowner leaders in the PNGLNG project area in Hela, Western, Southern Highlands, Gulf and Central. 

They are still to decide on the venue of the meetings. Micah recently said his focus in the new ministry would be to resolve outstanding landowner issues going back 25 years to the days of the Kutubu and Moran (projects).

He said the Government and companies had failed to honour the commitments they had made under the various memoranda of agreement with provincial governments and landowners in the project areas.