By
MALUM NALU
National Planning Minister Sam Basil today
(Thursday, December 22, 2011) defused what could have been a nasty situation
involving Southern Highlanders in Vulupindi Haus.
A huge crowd gathered outside the building today
demanding that the government pay them immediately all outstanding claims
relating to the LNG project.
As Basil and his departmental secretary Dr Peter
Kora emerged from a press conference relating to a completely different matter,
they were surrounded by a vocal group of landowner representatives, who had
been allowed into the building.
They said they had been sent to Department of
National Planning by officers from Department of Finance and Treasury.
Visibly-angry Basil and the landowners then went to
finance and treasury, where a senior woman official denied telling the
landowners to go to national planning.
Dr Kora was shouted down by landowners when he tried
to speak, however, they were persuaded to quiten down and listen to him.
He said funds were available, however, there were so
many people wanting to be paid and wanting projects to be set up.
Basil bluntly told them
that some of them paid kickbacks to corrupt public servants and politicians to fast
track their payments – which they cheered him for.
He told them to come
back next Monday and discuss the matter, and that he was a new minister, who
was not aware of the landowner complexities.
Basil quickly called up
Southern Highlands MP John Kekeno and told him to help solve the problem next
Monday
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