Prime Minister James Marape has accused younger MPs of misrepresenting Cabinet decisions for political attention after concerns were raised in Parliament over the distribution of PNG LNG equity benefits.
PM Marape in a statement said comments made during Question Time by Hiri-Koiari MP Keith Iduhu risked misleading the public about the government’s decision on the 4.27 percent PNG LNG equity allocation.
Related news: https://www.postcourier.com.pg/pm-marape-cautions-young-mps-against-misinterpreting-cabinet-decisions-for-political-mileage/
He defended the arrangement, saying all five beneficiary provinces and affected landowners were included in the structure.
PM Marape also challenged Central Province leaders to explain how PNG LNG revenues received since 2014 had been spent.
Speaking after Tuesday’s Parliament session, PM Marape responded to questions raised by Iduhu during Questions Without Notice regarding the 4.27 percent equity benefit from the PNG LNG project.
“I want to counsel all young Members of Parliament to be mindful of giving out information,” the Prime Minister said.
“In this day and age where social media is dumping information out there, we must be careful in our use of words such as ‘divisive’ and ‘suppressive’, which he used today in Parliament.”
PM Marape said MPs should avoid chasing sensational headlines and social media attention through platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
He said Iduhu had misunderstood the Cabinet decision and was not fully aware of its contents.
“The decision is explicit in its content to embrace all five provinces-all their provincial governments and all their landowners,” PM Marape said.
“This includes his province, Central Province and landowners of the plant area.”
The Prime Minister clarified that the current special purpose vehicle was only a temporary structure and that a permanent arrangement would later include representation from all five provincial governments and project landowners from impacted areas.
“Just like the provincial representations, the landowner representations from the Petroleum Development License area, pipeline and plant site areas, are also represented in the structure,” he said.
“Basically, on the board of the Special Purpose Vehicle set-up, no one misses out. The intention is that at the permanent structure level, everyone will be on the permanent structure.”
PM Marape said the arrangement followed the Umbrella Benefit Sharing Agreement and the national principle of “one people, one nation, one country.”
He said benefit distribution had already been outlined under the PNG LNG agreement, and the government would not create new entitlements outside that framework.
“What is meant for the plant site landowners is already quarantined in the benefit distribution structure,” he said.
“We do not want to make a bigger board so that it becomes too big. We want to keep it light.”
Under the current arrangement, governors of Hela and Southern Highlands hold permanent seats on the board because of the scale of resource extraction in their provinces. Central, Western, and Gulf provinces are also represented, with Gulf holding an initial seat while Central and Western rotate representation.
PM Marape also called on beneficiary provinces to account for revenues already received under the PNG LNG agreement, including Central Province.
“In the meantime, I ask all the beneficiary provinces to utilize resources they are currently earning,” he said.
“Those that are entitled by law, the benefits are being funneled and passed to the provinces. Central Province knows exactly how much it has received from PNG LNG. Likewise, Gulf, Hela and Southern Highlands.”
Related news: https://www.thepngsun.com/pm-marape-defends-png-lng-equity-restructure-amid-parliament-questions/
He challenged Iduhu to explain how funds transferred to Central Province since 2014 had been used.
“The Honorable Keith Iduhu should answer to the people of his electorate what he and his provincial government have done with the funds they have been receiving since 2014 – millions of Kina transferred to Central Province as a result of PNG LNG,” PM Marape said.