DDA, LDC to recoup assets

MAPRIK Development Authority chief executive officer Stanley Mangulik says the district is still trying to recoup its assets which are still “in the wrong hands”.
Mangulik would not give details as the matter is before court.
He was reacting to a statement by the Livestock Development Corporation (LDC) this week which said it was in the process of reclaiming more than K1 million worth of assets.
According to managing director Terry Koim, the assets were under the care of LDC while in operation.
Koim claimed that after local MP Gabriel Kapris was declared in General Election 2022, LDC vehicles were allegedly taken by known affiliates of the MP.
Kapris could not be reached for comment yesterday.
But Mangulik denied the claim, saying the assets were not with any of Kapris’ affiliates.
“They’re not with the current MP’s affiliates,” he said.
According to LDC, the assets including two landcruisers, a tractor with accessories, a dinghy and two outboard motors were presented by Prime Minister James Marape in Maprik, last June, during the launch of a national rice project.
The corporation said while one landcruiser had been allocated for the cattle projects for Kwimbu (Maprik), Urimo (Angoram) and Wariman (Wewak), the other assets were allocated under the rice project in Maprik.