Chan pleas for LLG leaders to be united

Members of the Joint District Priority and Budget Priority Committee (JDP&BPC) and Chairman Hon. Byron Chan at a recent meeting in Namatanai.

NAMATANAI MP Byron Chan has called on leaders of the five Namatanai Local Level Governments (LLGs) and appointed representatives to be united in their approach towards developing Namatanai.

The Member made the call during the Joint District Priority and Budget Priority Committee (JDP&BPC) meeting held in Namatanai recently.

MP Chan made special reference to Lihir and Simberi Island Gold projects as being the main drivers behind the districts’ development.

Lihir being the pearl of the Pacific and the driving force of development in the district and province, the Member reiterated “that Namatanai’s five LLG presidents and its people must stand united to support Lihir LLG and the people of Lihir as the MOA discussions and IBP review are almost underway.”

“The people and Lihir must develop as well as the rest of Namatanai and Kavieng,” said the member.

Mr Chan stressed that the Lihir MOA & IBP review must accommodate Namatanai District and the Malagan Declaration as per the JDP & BPC submissions by the respective Namatanai presidents and representatives to the New Ireland Provincial Executive Committee (NIPEC) for consideration during negotiations.

Meanwhile, Namatanai presidents and council representatives also called for additional 10 percent royalty for Namatanai District as decided by the NIPEC.