Sold provincial oil palm shares to be investigated

PRIME Minister James Marape says the Government will take corrective measures on the issue of shares for three provincial governments allegedly being sold if proven to be true.
Marape was responding to questions by Northern Governor Gary Juffa on the shares, in oil palm companies that operated in those provinces, which were held by Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) on behalf of the three provinces.
Juffa claimed shares were sold to Sime Darby when they should have been offered to the state in order for national control of oil palm facilities and the means of production.
Marape said: “I am not privy to the full information behind the shares. If it is true that the national government or IPBC sold the shares off that were rightfully belonging to the three provincial governments named then we will take corrective measures.”
He said he would appraise the alleged sale of shares and the circumstances surrounding it before making a formal response to Parliament.
According to Juffa, the dividends were paid to IPBC at that time but none of them were remitted to the affected provinces.
“It was an undertaking of the Skate government that these shares would be transferred to these provinces,” Juffa said.
“The O’Neill government took up that undertaking and promised to transfer those shares but it never happened.
“Monies due to these provinces in hundreds of millions of kina have never been remitted to them causing significant problems to oil palm growers in these provinces and the provincial governments.
“We were told that the shares sold between K90 and K100 million were used to offset bmobile debts.
“We want to know if this new Government is going to remit or pay the dues that are owed to these provinces?”