WAFI-GOLPU LANDOWNERS: PNG GOVT SHOULD NOT RUSH MINING MOA

The Wafi-Golpu Landowners Association are denouncing the signing of the Wafi-Golpu Memorandum of Agreement and Development Contract of the K17billion Wafi-Golpu Mine in Morobe Province.

They says there are many issues that needs to be sorted out before the National and Provincial Government and the landowners can agree for the developer to commence operation on their land.

"If the Prime Minister goes ahead and sign this development contract with the developer without our consent, we will shut the project down. We will not allow any development on our land," says John Nema, Former President of Hengabu Landowners Association.

They say their concerns must be addressed through a development forum and interests must be captured in the package and every stakeholders must agree and sign before the development of Wafi-Golpu project goes ahead.

The landowners included the clan leaders from affected villages at the pit, the pipeline and the waste disposal sites. 

AHI landowners representative Holmes Kissing says there are too many issues that needs to be resolved before the signing is done;

Firstly, the landowners have been subjected to a divide and rule tactic by the mine developer over the last eleven years. They have to fight for their own rights to be heard in their own development. The mining developers have caused Hengabu, Yanta and Babuaf to fight amongst themselves and as a result there as been not much unity up in their in the mountains of Wafi. 

This is irresponsible by any developer. People like that should not be allowed to work in Morobe province and Papua New Guinea. Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (WGJV) has not done justice to any of the landowners by promoting any of the landowners agendas and issues.

All they have done well is to create an environment of divide and rule and as result of that the Babuaf Paramount Chief Ezra Kwako has taken a court order on August 17th 2018 restraining every stakeholders from developing the Wafi-Golpu agenda and to protect his possession and his people.

This development contract should not be signed until these issues are being resolved.

Secondly, is the divide and rule tactic played by local politicians who have gone on a land grabbing spree up at Zifasing and they jailed six innocent villagers just to gain access to the land that the landowners own. This is shameful and disgraceful and these politicians should be investigated by the Ombudsman Commission.

You cannot go into land that other people own and try to land grab and claim it just for the sheer sake of greed.

Prime Minister, Mining Minister and Governor Ginson Saonu, these things cannot continue to go on, we have many issues of contemption.

Thirdly is the social mapping of the landowners. Nothing has been done on ground zero. at the Mining conference in Sydney earlier this month the Prime Minister, the Mining Minister and the Petroleum Minister we have all said that we have to identify the landowners. the landowners must participate.

Prime Minister, this is another issue of contemption that has not happened and this must be rectified. What has happened in the past has been done and gone but right now what this government has to do is, before you sign the Wafi contract these issues must be looked into and must be dealt with.

Landowner identification and social mapping must be done. This is the first thing that needs to be done before you resource project.

Mining Minister, Prime Minister and Governor this contract must NOT be signed.

The environmental damage from the tailings will be irreversible. No amount of money will reverse any damage that comes out of these deep sea tailings waste disposals. This thing will be a catalyst for major ocean environmental damage.

This mine is NOT going to be there for five to ten years, this mine is going to be legacy mine, it's going to be a generational mine. It's going to be passed from grandfather, to father, to children and grandchildren. 

This is the reality of Wafi. Do you want our children to be poisoned over generations? Do you want those toxic wastes to be pumped into our oceans at the detriment of our people? The coastal villages; the three Labu villages all the way down  to Salamaua and Morobe Patrol Post, Yanga, Wagang and Bukawa all the way up to Finschafen. Is this what you really want for the people of Morobe?

This thing cannot happen, it cannot be allowed to pass. The deep sea waste tailings disposal concept must not be allowed to proceed. 

Our communities from Wafi, Wampar, Watut, Labu and Ahi are going to be affected from the toxic wastes. Every ocean-side village will be at risk along the Huon Gulf and  Papua New Guinea. what are your contingency measures to counter these? Newcrest and Harmony what are your contingency measures to counter these? Our fishing grounds are going to be poisoned.

The resettlement program for the Hengabu, Yanta and Babuaf people, where do you expect these people to go when you start developing this place? What measures have you got for their resettlement? How are you going to address the problems the transitory poverty that these people are going to encounter when you start to clear the place for development? These are serious contingencies that must be dealt with.

One thing that we must all consider is, where is the participation of landowners in this development? Nothing was said about this at the Sydney conference. How do they participate?

Having small grower cocoa farm? What has that got to do with mining development? They've got a K16.2billion mining development happening on their doorstep and you expect them to farm cocoa? This is unacceptable.  

If you are not willing to support initiatives of landowners, Morobeans and Papua New Guineans you take your mining and leave because there are lots of mining around the world. The Mining Minister, Prime Minister and Governor cannot sign the documents while these issues are yet resolved.

The lessons from Hidden Valley still stands and there is no sustainability plans for the landowners. The same people that mined Hidden Valley are now trying to mine Wafi.

Aren't our leaders going to stand up and serve the interests of Papua New Guineans or the developers?