Porgera mine closure affecting people: Pakea
By ELIAS LARI
HUNDREDS of people from Porgera in Enga are badly affected by the closure of the mine there and want the Government to address it urgently, president of the Porgera Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nickson Pakea says.
He said negotiations between the Government and the developer (Barrick Niugini Ltd) concerning the reopening of the mine should consider the stress and pressure the people were facing.
Pakea said the mine was closed on April 20, last year, over rejection of renewing the mining lease by the state.
He said 11 months of the mine closure and economic impasses had hit the local economy and simple dependents on the mine hard.
“Many contractors lost their business,” Pakea said.
“Employees were terminated and are on the streets. Banks have retained machines and trucks purchased on loan and others sold their business assets.”
“Since the mine was closed, PMV buses reduced their normal operation because the movement of the people have come to a standstill and owners are finding it hard to repay the loans.
“Most properties are on the list for the banks to retrieve and sell.” Pakea said.
One thought on “Porgera mine closure affecting people: Pakea”
Porgera mine was in operation for last 30 years and the returns over the years should be more than enough for the landowners to sustain over the shut period while negotiation and discussion between the State and the Investor is on foot. There should be no issues on the Contractors because they should have diversified the contract base from the sustainability point of view. There is no need for the landowners and any group to exert undue pressure on the State and the Investor to speed up the negotiation. If it needs to take 5 years, then be it. Every good things comes with cost and nothing comes on a golden plate.
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