A government delegation on a campaign awareness to gather local support to suspend logging operations in the Ihu LLG and bring operator Frontier Holdings to a review, has met stiff opposition along the Purari river.
Ihu's local level government president Charles Maiu and a team of his officials including journalists have been carrying out awareness across his government area, seeking support from villages to support Governor Havila Kavo's call for an immediate shutdown of the operations of the company until a review determines otherwise. However, the team was caught by surprise when they reached Purari Logging base camp to refill food rations and fuel for their boat. The Purari base camp area is a small but busy export port for Rimbunan Hijau's subsidiary Frontier Holdings. Locals supportive of the logging operations Frontier Holdings had a heated exchange with the government delegation, accusing President Maiu and Governor Kavo of neglecting them and attempting to sabotage their source of income, employment and livelihood. The opposing party led by a pro-RH landowner, Dominic Evere, John Cribb and others forced the delegation to go elsewhere to look for their supplies, saying companies services are, and should not be provided to those who oppose its operations. A physical confrontation almost followed after Evere and Cribb attempted to incite the logging camp to attack the government delegation. The opposing party is generally gathering support to stop the government from shutting down operations by Frontier Holdings, citing loss of employment, income, royalties and other benefits. But since operation of the Vailala-Purari project has expired last year, and has been overdue for review for almost a year, the government delegation is pushing for a stop to operations until a review establishes whether or not Frontier Holdings has been complying to its terms of agreement established under its logging permit PNG Facts/ NBC Comments are closed.
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