Pruaitch warned of false info

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has warned Opposition Leader Patrick Pruaitch not to be deceived by “misinformation” about the deal regarding the PNG Sustainable Development Programme.
He said “the facts are irrefutable that PNGSDP Limited is a private company with (board chairman) Sir Mekere Morauta as its first listed shareholder”.
“A recent companies search confirms that Sir Mekere Mourata, and three other individuals, are shareholders of this private company in Singapore,” O’Neill said.
“There is no trust arrangement on behalf of the people of Western province or the Western provincial government.
“To claim that this is some kind of charitable fund is simply a lie. This is a private company that is not accountable to anyone in Western province or any Government oversight agency.”
O’Neill was responding to a statement from Pruaitch calling on him not to “derail” PNGSDP programmes for Western people.
O’Neill said the filing of the annual return by a local company “certified by the Singapore Government Register of Companies and Businesses, and the Singapore High Court confirmed these details”.
“There can be no denying that our people have been deceived by Mekere’s claims,” he said.
He said the Government would continue to pursue the matter to ensure control of the funds was given to the people of Western.
“The environmental devastation that came from the Ok Tedi mine, under the control of BHP as one of the world’s largest companies, killed and poisoned thousands of our people,” he said.
“The PNGSDP money was supposed to help rebuild lives and must be given to the people of Western Province.”