MRDC - Mineral Resources Development Company: Trustee of the People's Resources of Papua New Guinea

Yalanda, Kutubu, Friday 6th February 2009

Petroleum Resources Moran CITF Funded Aid Post Brings Joy to a small Yalanda Village in Kutubu

A village called Yalanda, situated on a high mountain range near Lake Kutubu, in Southern Highlands was a proud recipient of an Aid Post build by the Mineral Resource Development Company Ltd with funding from an (MRDC) managed Petroleum Resource Moran (PRM) Community Investment Trust Fund (CITF).

The village of about three hundred people celebrated the occasion of opening of the aid post with traditional signing and slaughtering of huge pigs to signifying the event. The village councilor Mr. Kuli Ipira stood up with expression of gratefulness to see the aid post service, which even the Kutubu Local Level Government Council over the years have neglected the service.. Council Ipira said that I have expressed tot he Kutubu Council who has been benefit from the Special Support Grant and the Kutubu MOA has neglected the people. He was grateful to MRDC and PRM who are CITF beneficiaries in the Moran Project under PDL 5 were able to recognize the need of the people and provided them with an aid post. To reach Yalanda the village the men, women and children have to walk up a steep hill to reach the top. Yalanda village is about 4-5 kilometres to the nearest road which ends at the neighbour Baguale village with the referral Health Centre.

Although, the village is on the referrals of the Kutubu Project PDL-2 licence boundary, and has been denied the services such as health and education services to their place.

MRDC managing Director during the open of the aid post told the Yalanda people that MRDC under his leadership will now ensure that the CITF projects looks at sustainable development of basic health and education services in the project impacted area. Mr. Augustine Mano said that it is quite disappointing to see that the MOA funds which is meant for development of project development in the project and this has not been the case. The MOA funds have not delivered the projects. He said it this trend continues than the oil project communities will become worst off than they were before. The denial of essential social services to the local communities that are impacted by the huge oil developments must be address. MRDC will need to do it's bit through the mange subsidiary Petroleum Companies to ensure that CITF funds are spend to some impact and sustainable projects with the project impacted area. " In my term as Managing Director & CEO of MRDC, unlike the previous Managing Directors of MRDC, I want MRDC to be in touch with the landowners of the resources projects", said Mr. Mano.

He said that MRDC through PRM has spend over K300,000.00 on the Aid Post and about half of the cost was for transportation of materials from Moro Airstrip to Yalanda by Chinook Chopper.

The sponsor of the project and PRM Director Mr. Tony Kila told his people to look after the aid post facilities and to support the health workers that walk to the aid post to provide services. Mr. Kila has donated K 20,000.00 to properly stock the aid post with basic medical supplies for use.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director Mr. Mano, Chairman of PRM Mr. Punga and PRM Director Kila made a joint commitment to fund the feasibility study for the road link to the Yalanda village to be funded. The landowners at Yalanda were told that they would do all their best to solicit funding of a road which will link the village to the rest of the world.