A police landcruiser patrols the streets of the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
Papua New Guinea prime minister James Marape says a new elite police team, invested with lethal powers, is to be established to overcome lawlessness and tribal fighting in the Highlands.
Marape has been in taking part in development forums for two major new projects - the relaunching of the Porgera goldmine and the soon to be finalised Wafi-Golpu goldmine.
Porgera is set to re-open this month but this has been disrupted by tribal fighting in Enga Province.
The government has promised police will be use lethal force and perpetrators will suffer life jail terms.
Marape said in the long term a new police team is to be set up to specifically deal with this type of lawlessness.
"I am not at a stage to disclose exactly what structure the police commissioner is setting up," he said.
"But a special unit is being pulled together, not just for Enga but anywhere in the country. We are setting up a special police unit, highly lethal, that will have a code of operation that is beyond the current police to deal with what we label as domestic terrorism occurrences in our country."
Prime Minister James Marape Photo: RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony
Mining arrangements
Meanwhile, speaking during a development forum being held in Lae for the planned Wafi-Golpu gold mining venture, Marape said the new arrangements the government is reaching with mining companies were among the best in the world for the indigenous landowners.
The forum follows a similar event in Porgera where the New Porgera Ltd is set to resume mining activity after a three year hiatus over lease talks.
The Wafi-Golpu gold mining venture remains under negotiation with the developers, Harmony Gold and Newcrest.
Marape said in both Porgera and Wafi-Golpu, the government has taken a majority stake which promises greater returns for landowners and the wider community.
"I think it is, in my view, one of the better resource harvest arrangements anywhere on planet earth," he said.
"Many countries on earth don't give respect to landowners, indigenous people. Papua New Guinea is a tribal based country, our people hold rights to the land and this process gives them access to the project agreement and allow them to negotiate among themselves about how the split what is in it for them."
Aerial view of the Porgera gold mine. Photo: Zijin Mining
Landowners for goldmine
As negotiations continue over the planned Wafi-Golpu goldmine in Morobe Province, the governor Luther Wenge said the landowners are generally for it.
Wenge said he has been speaking with landowners who will be affected by aspects of the mining project.
"The response from the people is that they want the mining," he said.
"Of course, we will negotiate on how much the landowners are going to get and how much we are going to give it to the affected area, from the royalties that we are going to share.
"But generally speaking the people want the mine to go ahead."
Marape said the mine will be majority owned by Papua New Guinea and this will allow the landowners and community to receive a greater return than on previous resource developments.