Babuaf wants assurance

THE Babuaf people are sandwiched between the Watut River and the Golpu mountains and will be an alienated group when construction begins for the Wafi-Golpu mining project, says an official.
Babuaf Landowners Association president Jack Laban made the observation, saying the Watut River had been a constant threat.
“We usual move up to the Kunai at the top of the mountain when Watut bursts its banks, flooding the valley, but now where can we go?” he asked.
Laban said the Babuaf people could not be a displaced group of people on their own land.
He called on the Morobe government to ensure that his people were given a lasting and sustainable option.
“This is the only concern of our people, they want to be assured that if the say ‘yes’ and relocate to allow for construction to commence, their resettlement has to be sustainable,” he said.
Laban clarified that the concern being raised was not about money but welfare and other rights.
“When the people are settled comfortably with good infrastructures and facilities then the project can go ahead as planned,” he said.
Laban said this same concern was raised by Yangta and Hengambu landowners as well.
“We live in the lower Watut area and we have been highly dependent on cocoa as the sole generator of our daily, weekly, monthly and annual income and that mining project will take away the land that we use to grow our cocoa,” he said.
Laban explained that presently, the welfare of the Babuaf people was not guaranteed.
“The welfare of my people comes first before we can sigh papers to issue the special mining licence and that is the stance that I am taking on behalf of my people,” he said.
Morobe Governor Luther Wenge in responding to Laban said he has experience in delivering mining projects.
“I delivered the Hidden Valley mine project in 2005 by negotiating the best terms that were being enjoyed at the moment according to the law for the benefit of the future generations and I am doing the same for the Babuaf, Yanta and Hengambu people but the Wafi project negotiations has gone on for too long,” he said.
He said his government had pushed for better terms and had been given a good stake by the developers of the project.