The National

Papua New Guinea’s Police Commissioner David Manning has declared emergency orders to safeguard infrastructure and residents in Porgera due to escalating law and order issues brought about by illegal miners.

Manning said police would be increasing the legitimate use of force to remove combatants in order to protect critical infrastructure, including the Porgera Mine, a critical asset for the national economy facing increasing threats.

Enga Governor Peter Ipatas on Sunday called on the government to implement a state of emergency due to escalating law and order issues in recent weeks.

Ipatas said: “if these security challenges are not addressed promptly, there is an ongoing risk of the mine being shut down to safeguard its operations and personnel, which could have significant economic impact for the country”.

Manning said: “This worsening situation is caused by illegal miners and settlers who are using violence to victimise and terrorise the traditional landowners.

“Emergency orders have been declared to protect life and important infrastructure in the valley, where I have directed police to remove illegal miners and settlers.

“We have 122 security personnel on the ground, including mobile squad, dog squads and Sector Response Unit as well as personnel from Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).”

He said Deputy Commissioner (Regional operations) Samson Kua was deployed to effect on-the-ground command in Porgera and would be aided by Assistant Commissioner Joseph Tondop.

“Security personnel will use legitimate lethal force where appropriate to protect the innocent, meaning that any person carrying an offensive weapon in public will be considered a threat and dealt with accordingly, with force,” Manning said.

“Porgera station is declared off-limits to people who are non-residents and a curfew is in effect between 6pm to 8pm, which will be strictly enforced along with a total liquor ban.”

Governor Ipatas issued an urgent plea to the government following a surge in tribal violence in Porgera Valley over the past few days.

“The violence has led to loss of many innocent lives, displacement of people, property destruction and heightened fears for the safety of local residents and businesses,” he said.

“This situation is dire. We have witnessed innocent lives being claimed and properties destroyed within days. The current situation can’t continue,” said Ipatas.

“The government must act swiftly to implement the SOE for Porgera Valley to restore peace and order.”

Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Women, girls, the elderly, and young boys have rushed to pack any vehicle they could as they escaped heavy tribal fighting that has erupted in Papua New Guinea’s Porgera Valley.

The sound of gunfire erupts in the peaceful valley, shouts of war follow the gunfire, and amid the chaos, women and girls have been hiding, ever keeping a close eye on the scenes unfolding before them.

The fight in the golden valley of Porgera started earlier this week when two factions of illegal miners fought among themselves and one faction of the group killed two men from the other faction.

And the fight erupted from then on. With no leader since the death of their local member of Parliament, Maso Karipe, the valley has seen fighting intensify since Wednesday.

Caught smack in the middle are security personnel who have tried their best to bring peace to the mining township.

Papua New Guinea celebrates its independence from Australia on 16 September 1975 this weekend with a national holiday tomorrow.

The PNG Post-Courier attempted to make contact with security personnel but could only hear gunfire as the men continued to protect the mining site and each other.

Mass exodus of 5000
Porgera has seen a mass exodus of more than 5000 people.

The 20 people killed include two local mine workers and the numbers increase steadily each day. The electorate is run by gunmen, with all local services stopped and prices of goods the highest the electorate has seen in years.

The main road via Mulitaka has been closed since the May 24 landslide. The bypass road is yet to be completed.

A state of emergency must be declared, says Lagaip member Aikem Amos as his electorate borders the mining township.

He said that the government had often said short-term pain for long-term gain. However, that had fallen on deaf ears as gunmen moved into the valley laying waste to those who dared stand up against them.

Akem has called on the national government to intervene to stop the recent fight that has escalated.

He confirmed that all the schools, hospitals, aid posts, and other government services, including the BSP banking service in Porgera, were all closed in fear of this tribal warfare that is flaring like wildfire, costing a lot of lives.

Warlords ‘in control’
He said the fight was not confined to the Porgerans themselves but men from Lagaip districts and Mulitaka LLG were also involved in this fight.

“The fight is said to be covering all the Porgera valley,” Akem said.

The Lagaip MP said there was no road network, no communications, and even the price of goods and services had sky-rocketed in the last few days due to the fight and the road reconstruction in Mulitaka.

“The only thing that seems to be working is the Porgera gold mine,” Akem said.

He added there were not enough policemen and soldiers to maintain peace in the valley.

A few security personnel who were there were protecting the mine site and the nearby area and outside the mine premises all was in the hands of warlords.

“I as the member for Lagaip call for the government to intervene and declare a state of emergency in Porgera Valley now,” Akem said.

‘Peaceful golden valley’ gone
“If the government takes longer time to stop the fight in Porgera now, we might never have a mine in the next two weeks or months and years to come,” he added.

He said that there was no leadership in Porgera and the place once called a “peaceful golden valley” was in the hands of warlords now as we were were speaking.

Akem said without the late Maso Karipe there was nobody in Porgera to provide leadership.

“I am a leader for the people of Lagaip and I cannot look after Porgera District too given the status of my capability. But as a leader, I will always call for the national government’s intervention,” he said.

Prime Minister James Marape and coalition members were reminded in Parliament this week that law and order was the number one priority.

PM Marape said: “In this meeting, this body of leaders, on behalf of the coalition government, has elevated the fight for law and order as a number one priority as we move our country into 50 years of Independence and beyond.

“We resolved that, in the face of many competing needs, this government must, at the very earliest, explore every possible means to uphold the rule of law in our country, strengthen law enforcement, and ensure that the police and all systems of justice are functioning properly.

Concerted effort needed
“While we work on the economy, fixing health and education, and developing infrastructure through Connect PNG, every concerted effort must be made in the area of law and order, including fighting corruption.

“This is the number one focus for our coalition government.”

Prime Minister Marape emphasised that this initiative built upon the government’s ongoing efforts in the law and justice sector, including targeted personnel training to bolster ongoing force and the broader justice system.

According to sources on the ground the New Porgera mine had shut down its operations for a day as fighting continued on Wednesday.

However, by Thursday, the mine had reopened.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Several teachers from a Papua New Guinean school in Porgera, Enga province, are now being investigated by police after they allegedly instigated the torture, burning and interrogation of four women over sorcery accusations on the campus.

The four women who worked as cleaners at the school were attacked after one of the teachers died suddenly last week.

According to Enga police commander acting Superintendent George Kakas, the women had been seen chatting with the teacher last week before he collapsed an hour after being seen with the women.

PPC Kakas said the women were then forced into the home of the deceased teacher and interrogated for 11 hours by the colleagues of the deceased and his relatives.

“Last week the teacher collapsed. He was believed to have conversed in a casual meeting with women earlier on in the day and collapsed in the afternoon,” Superintendent Kakas said.

“Relatives and some teachers and public servants accused the four women of practising sorcery and taking out the deceased’s heart.

“They were taken into the teacher’s house and brutally tortured with bush knives, axes and iron rods from about 5pm that evening until 4am the next day when they were rescued by security force members consisting of Porgera police and PNG Defence Force soldiers.

Relatives barred police
“When police tried to have a look at the body of the deceased, his relatives refused to let police near the body, saying that ‘the glasman was seeing the body and that the teacher was still alive’.

Glasmen are men who claim to be able to identify and accuse women of sorcery.

“I commend the work of the police station commander Porgera, Inspector Martin Kelei, who led the team to the teacher’s house after a tip-off and rescued [the tortured women].

“They were all driven safely to Wabag hospital where they are now undergoing treatment. I immediately instructed my OIC CID Wabag to do a postmortem on the body.

“The next day they confirmed the teacher died of a massive heart attack.”

Superintendent Kakas said: “There you have it. It’s a confirmed heart attack, and the ladies were falsely accused, tortured and nearly killed.

“We know the identities of the key instigators of the torture of the four women and are working to apprehend them.

“I will make it my personal business to ensure these perpetrators are arrested and charged.

I have an investigation team working on that through my OIC [officer in charge] sorcery accusation-related violence unit here in Wabag.”

Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

“It’s okay, we’ll just sit here and they can come kill us.”

These chilling words are from a defenceless woman (name withheld) who has seen first-hand the continuous killings in Papua New Guinea’s Porgera Valley, Enga province and accepting what could be the ultimate fate for her and her family.

Women and children in villages in that part of the country literally have nowhere to run since the killing spree has continued unabated in the gold valley, now tainted bloody and with ashes.

Attacks on villages in more than a year between warring clans of Nomali and Aiyala — not election related — can happen anywhere between 2 and 3 in the morning, and even during broad daylight.

There is nowhere safe, not even churches.

Police are outnumbered as the self-acclaimed thugs walk freely into villages and start firing indiscriminately with military grade weapons killing men, women, and children.

The hired guns are said to be there to make the kill and move on to the next victims.

Scared for their lives
The woman who spoke to the PNG Post-Courier said she and a large group of women and children were scared for their lives and the worry that it could be their last day to live.

“These warlords will walk into our villages destroying and burning down houses as early as 2am or 3am, even at dawn,” she said.

“We don’t sleep at night. All we do is pray to God for help. We don’t know where to go, we are helpless,” she said.

“My people fled the village and ran away. This week we heard that men were coming to attack us in the night.

“I did not know what to do so I just walked out onto the road and met some youths from my village, who told me plainly that there is nowhere for us to run too.

“So I said, ‘it’s okay let’s just sit here and if they come and kill us so be it’.”

She said mothers with children would have to run for their lives at any moment during the night to find the nearest hiding place for a few hours until dawn so they could look for a new place to go to within the besieged area.

No help in sight
This has been happening with no help in sight to address the tribal conflicts that have raged on long before this month’s general elections even surfaced.

With resources and concentration focused on the current polls taking place in the country, the self-proclaimed warlords have taken over the valley, raping women, killing people and burning down government and business properties.

Porgera has now turned into a killing field as public servants and those working in businesses in the valley have fled for their safety.

She said they had lost count of how many people had died.

“With the closure of Paiam Hospital, those who are injured very badly just sleep here under our watch, those in a critical condition will not make it,” she said.

“The roads out have been blocked, many have left with some more leaving but this does not stop the killing, every day we have a target on our backs,” she said.

Another community leader (name withheld) on the ground said the district needed a state of emergency declared.

21 killed by warlords
“Just today [Wednesday, July 20], a total of 21 people have been killed by unknown warlords. The victims are from Porgera, Tari and Kandep.

“Eight people were killed at Kanamanda Church area just next to Kia Kona at Paiam and a further seven were ambushed at Upper Maipagi, located at upper parts of Porgera station while they were looking for firewood in the bush,” he said.

“A young girl was killed among that 21 and others are fighting for their lives.

“It’s no more tribal conflict but a sort of genocide. Warlords hunting innocent lives even if they are not their enemies.

“This should have been prevented if the Defence Force deployed last month were not withdrawn straight after polling at Porgera.

“This time the government has failed us,” he said, clearly wondering whether their cries were being heard at all.

Melisha Yafoi is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A brutal massacre in Porgera town yesterday afternoon in which 18 innocent people were killed has rocked Enga province and shocked Papua New Guinea.

Local police chief acting Superintendent George Kakas was shocked by the act of violence in the wake of the country’s national elections — he was left speechless when told by field officers about the killings.

Last night, caretaker Prime Minister James Marape said Porgera was now in a state of emergency.

“We have called out additional manpower from both the military and police, not just for Porgera but for other areas that need special assistance as well,” he said.

“We will beef up security as election requirements have diluted normal police work and the present killing is related to an ongoing tribal fight.”

In his policing career, Kakas has seen worse but yesterday’s act was one he thought was the work of a deranged mob who had no respect for the sanctity of life.

Of the 18 dead, 13 were men and 5 were women. They were going about their normal lives when men armed with machetes and axes hacked them to death.

Hour of wanton destruction
It was an hour of wanton destruction in which no one in the path of the rampaging tribesmen was spared, Kakas said.

Pictures of the dead posted online showed a trail of destruction with murderous intent. It seemed none of the dead had any chance of escaping.

In one picture, a woman clad in a PNG meri blouse lay next to a young girl, probably her daughter.

In another, a man and a woman lie side by side, having fallen where they were attacked.

The woman is on her knees, cowering in a foetal position, probably having begged for mercy — a futile attempt to evade the inevitable.

Men examining the scene looking for relatives were shown carrying bush knives and axes.

In turbulent Enga these are normal weapons.

Disputed gold mine
Porgera is the site of the disputed giant gold mine which has been closed for almost two years.

A violent tribal fight between the Aiyala and Nomali tribes has been raging, which has severely affected the elections in that part of the region.

The 18 deaths brings to 70 the number of people killed in Porgera in the past four months.

Although an emergency was declared in Porgera, the fighting between Aiyala and Nomali has continued, Superintendent Kakas said.

Security forces are present in Porgera Town. Together with local police, there are about 150 police and army personnel, however they are outnumbered by the tribal warriors, who are heavily armed.

“The 13 men and 5 women were killed in Paiam and Upper Porgera on Wednesday afternoon,” Kakas said.

Of the 18, five people were killed in Upper Porgera Station and 13 people killed at Paiam.

“Out of the 18 deaths, 3 men from Porgera town area were killed by Kandeps. This killing related to the ongoing tribal fight at Paiam has now escalated to Pogera Town.”

Troops moving in
“Police Commissioner David Manning said last night the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) contribution troops for the task force were in the process of moving into Enga.

“There is no SOE declared, 120 soldiers from the 2nd PIR Bravo Company were sent in yesterday afternoon. They are based in Wabag and once all logistics are in place, they will further deploy to the electorates of Porgera, Laiagam, and Kompiam and join their RPNGC MS counterparts who are currently on the ground.”

Manning said the task force had 60 days to restore the rule of law in the electorates, secure the mine and provide protection for repairs to be done on damaged bridges –– especially on the Wabag-Kompiam road.

“We received reports of continuous killings in Porgera that began over the weekend. Priority deployment is to the Porgera valley, to quell the fighting between the local Porgereans and settlers from other parts of Enga Province,” he said.

“We have received urgent pleas to also evacuate non-Engans who currently work up there — for them to be escorted to safety.

“The 3 meter wide, 4-5 meter deep trench that was dug across the Surinki stretch of Wabag-Porgera road is still undergoing repairs. However, a temporary bypass has been constructed to allow traffic.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

About 100 Papua New Guinea security personnel have arrived in Porgera, Enga Province, amid the fighting that saw 17 dead, 100 families displaced and homes destroyed over the weekend.

The arrival of the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) in Porgera on late Sunday evening has eased the tension inside the mining township.

On Sunday about 5pm, more than 15 ten-seater vehicles with PNGDF soldiers arrived in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, to be deployed to Porgera.

The contingent arrived late in Porgera with only a few war cries heard around the township.

Police Commissioner David Manning said: “A significant number of police and military personnel will be on the ground to address the issue at Porgera”.

When asked if armoured vehicles may be deployed to Porgera, Manning said: “The vehicles will not be deployed for this incident, an assessment of the situation on the ground is requiring a quicker response and that is the option I took.”

Mobile Squad 5 arrives
Mobile Squad 5 has arrived in Porgera to assist PNGDF with provincial police commander Chief Inspector Epenes Nili.

Police in Enga are seeking assistance from the Enga provincial government.

“The provincial government will be assisting with logistics and other necessary assistance,” Chief Inspector Nili said.

“Mobile Squad 5 arrived in Wabag late yesterday afternoon.

“They got organised last night and departed to Porgera at 4am.”

He said the situation had cooled down.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Seventeen people have been killed, hundreds of families made homeless, dozens of houses razed and government services ground to a halt in Enga Province’s Porgera district in Papua New Guinea as warring clans took up arms against each other.

Calls for government help went unanswered at the weekend.

Police in Porgera said the number of deaths had shot up to 17 as fighting continued.

The sounds of gunfire could be heard as all government assets, including the Porgera mine staff, remained locked in their homes and behind gates.

An employee of the mine said the sounds of gunfire could be heard on Sunday evening with war cries echoing through the town centre of Paiam.

The fresh violence — which got worse following the withdrawal of security personnel to the provincial capital Wabag to prepare for election duties — ended a fragile, two-month peace truce between the warring Nomali and Aiyala clans of Paiam in Porgera.

The sitting MP of Lagaip-Porgera, Tomait Kapili, said the ongoing feud between two clans also meant the planned reopening of the world class Porgera mine was “slim” and “may not happen within the timeframe wanted by the government”.

Disappointed with ‘inaction’
Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas was disappointed with the inaction by the PNG Defence Force and police hierarchy.

“I have been asking for security forces for the last three weeks,” a frustrated Sir Peter said.

He confirmed with the Post-Courier that Prime Minister James Marape had been informed of the situation in Porgera.

Police Commissioner David Manning said that the violence erupted after a man from the Nomali clan was chopped on his hand by a man from Aiyala.

Last Tuesday, a security guard was attacked and slashed. He died of his injuries in front of the shop he was protecting.

The killing of the guard saw a confrontation flare up, which led to police firing several shots to deter the two clans.

In retaliation, the Nomali clan chopped the hand of a man from Aiyala on Friday morning.

Outnumbered by tribal fighters
“A fight broke out, with Mobile Squad 11 who were on mine operation in Porgera taking command of the township but were outnumbered by tribal fighters who were in possession of high powered firearms,” Manning said.

“The two clans have destroyed properties.”

On Saturday, battle lines were drawn as the two warring clans faced off in the streets of the Paiam.

Continuous gunshots could be heard as both clans continue a feud that escalated to the burning of several homes belonging to settlers around the mining town.

The confrontation continued with the withdrawal of police units back to Wabag to await further orders to be deployed into other provinces of the Highlands region.

The withdrawal led to a fierce confrontation between the two clans that saw more than 50 people injured, homes destroyed and the Paiam town centre coming to a standstill.

Local police could only stand by and watch the removal of property from homes as the two clans ruled the streets of the township.

Awaiting deployment orders
Police Mobile Squad 5 was supposed to be in Enga. However, it is understood the unit had yet to receive its deployment orders.

According to a source, new PNG Defence Force soldiers had been tasked to go into Enga, but this had been delayed given that the national government did not settle outstanding debts for service providers and troops.

Porgera remains without any security support, with reports that local police — who are grossly outnumbered and without support — are exhausted and could not do much.

Sources in Paiam also indicated that the Paiam district hospital was still operating but staff are scared because of the lack of security. They were only taking in emergency cases.

A medical officer said casualties from the tribal conflict were not taken to the hospital due to security fears.

He said the hospital had not been targeted by the clans but buildings around the hospital grounds had been razed to the ground.

In developments late Sunday afternoon, more than 15 ten-seater vehicles with PNGDF personnel had arrived for deployment to Porgera.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Allegations of “hijacking and manipulation” of a Papua New Guinea national government sanctioned validation exercise at the Porgera mine in Enga province have been raised, reports the PNG Post-Courier.

Tieni Wuape clan leader from the Special Mining Lease (SML) Janet Yuwi told the Post-Courier that a landowner group was allegedly misleading the Mining Department team in Porgera on unsanctioned venues for the validation process.

“A public notice published by the Ministry of Mining in the print media recently had sanctioned sites, villages and communities to be visited during the validation exercise but that was not happening,” she said.

Yuwi said she had waited in vain at Yarik Kanaga on the date scheduled which was on Monday, July 26, with other clan members.

She said the landowners were later informed that the voting was hosted by Mamai clan at Panadaka village which was totally unacceptable and not according to the sanctioned sites.

“We saw the Mining Department’s notice on the paper (print media) dated 19 Jul, 2021 and we were at the site at Yarik, Kanaga, and we waited the whole day and later we heard that it was done at Panadaka village,” Yuwi said.

She said the landowners were happy with the state’s decision to allow SML landowners to appoint their new clan agents since the original agents have passed on and some were replaced by their sons.

‘Good initiative’
“It is such a good initiative to appoint new agents for a new Porgera.

“For the last 30 years, clan agents have been hiding and never informed landowners of their share.

“From such experience, we will appoint new agents who will be honest and remain in Porgera and not in Port Moresby,” Yuwi said.

She said the state team should work independently and refrain from favouring one group of landowners.

She said Prime Minister James Marape’s government was anticipating the completion of the validation exercise to enable the appointed agents from the 25 sub-clans to participate in mining development forums and other government sanctioned forums.

Last month, Asia Pacific Report carried an article reporting that it would cost the Papua New Guinea state and Australian operator Barrick Niugini Ltd K630 million (US$180 million) to reopen the Porgera gold mine.

The reopening of the mine in early September will see Barrick paying out full benefits of all employees who were retrenched, including those in care and maintenance, and they will be recruited under the new Porgera mine structure.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It will cost the Papua New Guinea state and Australian operator Barrick Niugini Ltd K630 million (US$180 million) to reopen the Porgera gold mine.

The reopening of the mine in early September will see Barrick paying out full benefits of all employees who were retrenched, including those in care and maintenance, and they will be recruited under the new Porgera mine structure.

Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow said the refinancing of the mine for a 10-year operation period will be done by Barrick and it will recoup its 36 percent of the state’s share under state-owned Kumul Mineral Holdings Limited for the restart during the mine’s operational life.

The 36 percent is from the 51 percent stake in the Porgera agreement framework with Barrick on 49 percent.

Landowners will get a 10 percent stake and Enga provincial government 5 percent under the new agreement.

Bristow said it had cost the company K420 million (US$120 million) for the care and maintenance of the mine since the closure in April last year.

“We estimate that to restart will be another K630 million but as discussed with the full state negotiating team last Wednesday the quicker we start the mine the lower that cost is because that cost is funded by everyone,” he said.

“We will fund it and offset that against the revenue so it’s in everyone’s interest to try and reduce that cost but again in the spirit of not forcing taxpayers’ money into this,” Bristow said.

“We fund and recoup the money so that equity will start delivering value once we’ve recoup all the cost, so it focuses on everyone’s mind that one, we are efficient and two we don’t waste any money and three we get this mine running as quickly as possible especially with the gold price as it is because we have the opportunity to fast track the return of some of that investment.”

He said as miners it was their responsibility to take the risk as they were qualified to evaluate and decide whether that risk was manageable.

“We’re starting to plan the prestart of the mine with reemployment programmes under a new Porgera company.

“One of the things we were not prepared to do was put people at risk when the mine is closed so we retrenched everyone that wasn’t required for care and maintenance and we paid them their full dues and those on care and maintenance will get the same,” Bristow said.

“Everyone will start with no service and as soon as we finalise the legal documents and create a new company and when we move people into the new company and those employees who did not get their dues will get their dues,” he said.

Mining.com reports that the operation has been closed for a year, after Barrick and its Chinese partner, Zijin Mining, became embroiled in a dispute with the PNG government, when Marape refused to renew the companies’ mining licence.

The companies temporarily halted operations in response.

They also served Marape with a dispute notice arguing the licence extension refusal violated a bilateral investment treaty between PNG and Australia.

PNG authorities cited environmental and social issues for denying the permit renewal then. Instead the government gave it to Kumul Minerals.

Melisha Yafoi is a PNG Post-Courier reporter.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Ale Asa in Porgera

Eleven people – including three children – have been massacred when a fight between two warring tribes from Tari spilled into the Porgera Valley in the Papua New Guinea Highlands.

Three women and five men from Enga were also killed when the O Kiru and Miape tribes resumed fighting, this time Porgera.

Paiela-Hewa LLG president Sailas Ayeila, who was on the ground with the law and order team and security personnel, confirmed that those killed yesterday were from Enga in the Paiela, Porgera and Kandep areas but lived in the Suyan village near Porgera.

READ MORE: Scott Waide reports on the Porgera massacre
READ MORE: ABC report on the killings – Gunmen open fire in PNG highlands

He said this tribal fight had already claimed enough lives, including that of a young policeman recently.

Ayeila said the blood spilled by this fighting had been condemned by Porgera leaders, police and citizens.

He said that even though the tribes were asked to return home, the O Kiru warlords refused to leave and returned to Suyan village in Marenga area in search of their enemies – the Miape tribe – and slaughtered the innocent people.

Ayeila said the Porgera-Paiela leaders and their people were now calling on the national government to declare a state of emergency in the area.

‘Barbaric and animalistic’
“We Engans do have tribal warfare but we don’t kill in such a barbaric and animalistic way. We don’t kill women and children,” he said.

“I helped to recover those killed and transport the corpses to Paiam Hospital morgue, and I am terrified.”

“People of Porgera, public servants and mining employees are in fear now. Several weeks ago, the police and PNG Defence Force went on a raid after a young policeman was killed by these Tari tribes and the houses that were burnt to the ground by these security personnel belonged to innocent people,’’ Ayiela said.

He also requested the national government to begin a manhunt for the two warlords.

Ale Asa is a PNG Post-Courier reporter.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

COMMENTARY: By Scott Waide in Lae

Just into the fourth month of 2019, and resource projects in Papua New Guinea have come under scrutiny.

Early last month, senior ministers of government, including Petroleum Minister Fabian Pok, traveled to Komo in Hela for meetings with landowners of the gas project.

After 15 years, there is some progress. Or at least that’s the positive spin to it.

READ MORE: O’Neill loses in high stakes battle for control of US$1.4b PNGSDP

There appears to be some indication that royalties locked away due to legal battles and tangled by bureaucratic red tape were going to be paid – but only after landowner identification processes.

Finance Minister James Marape told the media three months ago, that K300 million (NZ$132 million) is parked at the Central Bank ready to be released. But landowners or people claiming to be landowners had to follow a process of “landowner identification” in order to be paid the money.

There is some hope of an end to disputes. However, the final settlement is still a long way off. That’s the reality. Many of the elders died waiting for the royalty payments they were promised.

Since becoming a new province, there is still a lot that needs to be ironed out. The Hela provincial government still has to work its way through layers of bureaucratic processes that continue to favour the Southern Highlands in terms of royalty payments from the gas project.

It’s all that and a lot more.

Background to complexities
Understanding the background to the complexities of the resource project in Hela means going back some 20 years when oil extraction ended and the promise of Papua New Guinea becoming the Saudi Arabia and Dubai of the Pacific faded as the crude oil taps shut off.

It is against that backdrop that the neighbouring Enga province is now looking at the Porgera mine’s renegotiation through a wardens’ hearing. This is a process that is reopened after the end of a mining lease.

Landowners and the Enga provincial government are looking at a bigger slice of revenues and benefits.

What did they get over the last 30 years? That’s a point of contention for pro-mining and anti-mining proponents.

What is visible to the international community is the campaigns against alleged atrocities committed against local people in Porgera and the desperate push by locals to get what little crumbs they can from a mine that has existed for 30 years on their land.

For the first time in more than three decades, it appears the national government is speaking a different language: One that calls for greater benefits into government coffers and landowner pockets.

This rhetoric has come after 30 years of gold extraction, 500 shipments of liquefied natural gas and billions of dollars worth of round log exports.

Production-based tax
In Lae, during the opening of the Central Bank’s Currency Processing Facility, Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel talked about a production-based tax. Instead of a profit-based tax for resource projects which will be signed from 2019 onwards.

The general thinking from the national government is that a profits based tax can be deceptive leaving the government with very little to collect if a mining company declares losses or breaks even.

While Porgera discusses mine benefits, a similar process is happening in Madang. Triggered by an agreement between the Chinese and the PNG Governments, Ramu Nickel’s expansion is in discussions ongoing between the government and the developer.

The processes are long and drawn out. The risk is that without proper representation, landowners could be left with another raw deal for several more decades before another opportunity for renegotiation presents itself.

Scott Waide’s blog columns are frequently published by Asia Pacific Report with permission. He is also EMTV deputy news editor based in Lae.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz