LIS court action

It appears the Hela Provincial Government are taking the LIS to court.


http://dev.postcourier.com.pg/News/hpg-and-huli-faction-oppose-land-investigations-report/#.


HPG and Huli faction oppose land investigations report.

By ANDREW ALPHONSE

THE Hela provincial government (HPG) and the Huli factions of the landowners have opposed the recent land investigations report (LIR) on the Mt Kare Gold Mine project situated on the border of Hela and Enga provinces. The HPG and Tagali Mt Kare Peoples’ Association (TMKPA) have jointly filed National Court proceedings last week at the Waigani National Court to nullify the LIR findings filed by land consultant Victor **i and presented to the Enga provincial government (EPG) last week by developer Summit Development Limited (SDL), a subsidiary of Australian based company Indochine Mining Limited.

The HPG led by incumbent Hela provincial administrator William Bando and the Huli landowners led by respected Tari businessman and interim chairman of TMKPA, Mr George Tagobe have filed court proceedings (Originating Summons (OS) # 725 of 2014) as plaintiffs to seek legal actions on the much publicized LIR which they claimed is biased and full of loop-holes.

The HPG and TMKPA called on the relevant government agencies like the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) not to recognize the LIR as the study was presented to Enga provincial government and administration by developer SDL without the knowledge and presence of any Huli landowners nor the HPG. TMKPA public affairs officer Mr Michael Parali yesterday produced court documents to nullify the LIR of the project, stating that the original LIR carried out by social scientist and former University of Papua New Guinea (UOPNG) academic Vincent Warakai and presented to both provincial government representatives at the Highlander Hotel in Mt Hagen on the 07-08 July 2014 be used as the valid and legal LIR of the Mt Kare gold project.

Mr Parali said the HPG and Huli landowners of the Mt Kare project through its umbrella association the TMKPA believed that the developer SDL and the EPG may have conspired to tamper the original LIR for their own advantage without taking into account that the majority of the landowners in the Mt Kare project are Hulis. Another landowner leader from the Enga side of the project Mr Simon Kambe is the third plaintiff in the court proceedings as he claims that genuine and customary landowners from Huli side especially the Heli Aka clans have being denied their customary land rights ownership of the project in the current LIR compiled by Mr **i for developer SDL.

The defendants in the proceedings are Mr Andrian Abby- Deputy Secretary (Customary Lands) - Department of Lands and Physical Planning as first defendant, Romily Kila Pat, Secretary- Department of Lands a& Physical Planning as second defendant, Independent State of PNG as third defendant, developer Summit Development Limited (SDL) as fourth defendant, Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) as fifth defendant and Enga provincial government (EPG) as sixth defendant. The HPG and TMKPA seek the court to declare that the LIR conducted by SDL or its consultants on the Mt Kare project area (Exploration Licence- EO# 1093) and presented at Highlander Hotel on the 07-08 July 2014 and witnessed by both Hela and Enga provincial government representatives is proper and lawful.

The HPG and TMKPA seek declaration that subsequent LIR conducted after the 07-08 July 2014 by SDL or its consultants with or without amendments, variations and alterations of the findings of the original LIR is illegal and has no legal effect. The HPG and its landowners are also seeking interlocutory orders restraining the Lands Department and MRA from accepting, approving or causing registration and gazettal of the LIR findings for the Mt Kare project until the resolution of the substantive proceedings.