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  • Juha landowners file court challenge, reject Ministerial Determination

    The Juha PDL 9 landowners from Hela province fronting up near the Department of Petroleum and Energy office in Port Moresby on Friday to air their grievances.

    Landowners of the Juha Petroleum Development Licence (PDL) 9 in Hela Province have opposed the recent Ministerial Determination on benefit-sharing arrangements.

    The landowners have formally lodged an objection with the Department of Petroleum and Energy (DPE) and filed court proceedings challenging the recent Ministerial Determination on the percentage identified in the benefit-sharing arrangements.

    The Juha PDL 9 landowners led by Timothy Tambu, James Hinupi, and Peter Andama, representing the Sinali region of Juha, say the determination unfairly allocates project benefits to Western Province interests. Their objection is supported by the Juha Hela faction and their paramount chief, Tami Hinarogo.

    The group has also filed court proceedings challenging the Ministerial Determination and the gazettal notices, alleging that “the process was hijacked” and the outcome “unfair and unlawful.”

    Mr Tambu, one of the principal landowners, said the determination “completely disregards the legitimate ownership of the Juha resource area under Hela Province.”

    “We are the legitimate resource owners of the Juha PDL 9 project impact area within the Topi and Umimi council wards of the Koroba LLG in Hela. There is no customary claim from any Western Province group over this land,” Tambu said.

    The landowners raised three key grounds in their objection letter.

    First, they argue that the allocation of Juha PDL 9 benefits to Western Province is unlawful and inconsistent with the project’s geographic and customary boundaries.

    Second, they accuse DPE of publishing “false beneficiary allocations,” claiming that 80 percent of the benefits were wrongly diverted to Western Province.


    Mr Hinupi said there were also some misleading statements by a Chief John Wabi Sala.

    “We reject the false and misleading claims made by Chief John Wabi Sala. These statements are incorrect and have created confusion. Juha PDL 9 lies entirely within the Sinali tribal land of Hela Province.”

    Thirdly, the group cited compromised coordination within the DPE process. They allege that certain officers “accepted inducements” and colluded with Western Province interests, resulting in “misrepresentation of landownership and unjust benefit allocation.”

    Peter Andama, the Chairman of Juha PDL 9, said the situation reflects “a serious breakdown in transparency.”

    “The Department has failed to verify land titles, consult the rightful landowners, or acknowledge our legitimate claims. The gazette was rushed and politically influenced,” Andama said.

    Paramount Chief Tami Hinarogo added his support, saying the Hela Juha faction stands united behind the Sinali landowners’ objection.

    “We are calling on the Department of Petroleum and Energy to retract the gazette and begin genuine dialogue with the real landowners for the good of all impacted communities,” he said.

    The statement follows the publication of the Ministerial Determination by the Minister for Petroleum and Energy recently.

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  • Supreme Court allow review of Napanapa land issue

    The Supreme Court has allowed a landowner group of Napanapa in the Central province to challenge a decision of the National Court that removed them as recognized landowners.

    Chief Justice Sir Gibb’s Salika, sitting as a single Supreme Court judge, granted leave to Pastor Hanua Gadiki and his Rokurokuna sub-tribe of Koita to challenge the 2012 decision of the National Court that removed them as the landowners of the customary land described as DA5 – a land where the Napanapa PNG LNG refinery is situated.

    Pastor Gadiki and his Rokurokuna tribe of Koita were initially recognized as the legitimate landowners of the DA5 land by the Provincial Land Court in 2010.

    However, the opposing party- the Kuriu Incorporated Land Group- led by a Daure Gabe Pundi, applied to the National Court to review the decision of the Provincial Land Court.

    The National Court on July 18, 2012, ruled upheld the review Pundi and the Kuriu Incorporated Land Group and declared them as the principal traditional landowners of the DA5 Napanapa Land, replacing Pastor Hanua and his Rokurokuna sub-tribe of Kotia who were the initial principal traditional landowners of the subject land.

    The National Court during the ruling, did not refer the matter back to the Provincial Land Court or the Local Land Court to rehear and redetermine the traditional land dispute.

    This prompted Pastor Hanua to apply for leave in the Supreme Court to review the decision of the National Court.

    He argued that the National Court had erred in law and breached Section 3 and 26 of the Land Dispute Settlement Act in determining or declaring the ownership of the traditional land in dispute when it has no jurisdiction to do so.

    Pastor Hanua through his lawyer submitted during the leave application that there were case laws that supports the contention and that leave should be granted for the full Supreme Court to hear and determine the substantive issue.

    The questions posed to the court include;

    Whether the National Court has jurisdiction to determine ownership of traditional land or determine who the principal landowner is?


    And whether it is fair and just to allow the decision of the National Court to stand, contrary to Section 3(1) and 26 of the Land Dispute Act and the Supreme Court decision in Louis Lucian Siu vs Wasime Land Group Incoporated, and Simon Ekanda vs Hon Pila Niningi, Attorney General of Papua New Guinea.


    The Chief Justice after assessing the submissions, was satisfied with the grounds raised by the applicant (Pastor Hanua), noting that the application raised arguable grounds and therefore granted the leave sought.

    This means the substantive issue will go before a full Supreme Court bench to be heard and determined.

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