PM was misinformed, says Works secretary

WORKS secretary Joel Luma yesterday accused certain advisers of misinforming the prime minister on issues relating to the Highlands Highway rehabilitation programme (HHRP).
Also yesterday, acting chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc wrote to the prime minister advising him that Luma and Works Minister Don Polye had done a commendable job with the HHRP and there was no need for his office to do another audit.
It appeared from the memo by Zurenuoc that the functions and responsibilities of HHRP would remain with the Works Department, and not transferred as directed by the prime minister in his Oct 14 letter.
Luma said what he and the minister had done over the years was in the best interest of the state and should be acknowledged.  
He said although the landowners deserved to be paid, only genuine landowners must be identified and not “ghosts” to defraud the state.
The Works secretary said he took up the HHRP matter in 2007 and was not responsible for any irregularities as the evaluation exercise started in 2005 when the people in charge engaged Valia Valia Consultant Ltd to do the job.
He said he tried his best to correct the wrongs by engaging a private consultant, Mori Consultants, to help in the verification and evaluation exercise but the recommendations from this joint exercise sent to the government in Sept 23 was collecting dust somewhere in Waigani. 
Luma said the prime minister was misinformed about the whole exercise.
He said if the issue was not handled properly, money would fall into the wrong hands like in the past “where K54 million went into the pockets of paper landowners” and not the genuine claimants.
Meanwhile, Zurenuoc said in his memo he was satisfied with the verification of claims undertaken and damages assessed at K8 million in the Chimbu section of the Highlands Highway.
He said the Works Department had requested for the claims to be settled, and he hoped funds would be provided in this year’s supplementary budget.
Zurenuoc said the Works Department would work with the Department of Simbu to make the payments.