Morobe will get 40pc: PM

PRIME Minister James Marape has assured landowners, provincial government and the people of Morobe that the Government will give 40 per cent from its share of the Wafi-Golpu project to the province.
He said whatever the results of negotiations between the developer, the Government, and the landowners, the landowners would receive what they had asked for which is 40 per cent of the State’s share.
“With whatever that we will get, 40 per cent will be given to Morobe where the money will then be split 50-50 between the Morobe government and the landowners,” Marape said during a consultative forum on Wafi-Golpu mine in Lae yesterday.
Marape said the Morobe government also asked for K1.2 billion in infrastructure development grants (IDG) and the Government had agreed and would pay this over a number of years.
He urged them to use the money well.
“Don’t misuse such money.
“We will agree during the development forum and fund important projects over a period of time,” Marape said.
The prime minister also called on the stakeholders to tell the Government what development projects they wanted done and the money would be put into them.
“In any projects happening in the country now, we want 50 to 60 per cent of total benefits and we are negotiating this.”
Marape said the Government was doing its best to ensure the people benefited fully from the development of their resources.
He said K50 million has been given to districts who will be affected by the mining to prepare for the mine operations and another K50 million is still with the government as IDG.
Morobe Governor Ginson Saonu said the developer, provincial government and the Government must all work together to get the mine going.
“We had so much talk over the years,” Saonu said. “We had some much talks over the years and we expect greater ownership and participation in this project.”
He told Marape that they (provincial government) will not stand in the Government’s way regarding Wafi-Golpu but all his government want is additional equity.