THE people of Lower Watut, Labu and Huon Gulf areas are still waiting for a German scientific report their MP Sasa Zibe promised he would commission into the effects of the Hidden Valley gold mine on their lives, reports the Post Courier.
The Hidden Valley mine is owned and operated by Newcrest Mining and Harmony Gold.
Mr Zibe who is the Member for Huon Gulf electorate told a mining workshop at the Lae International Hotel in July last year that he would be bringing in scientists from Germany through the German Lutheran Church to conduct an independent study on the effects of the Hidden Valley gold mine on the Huon Gulf waters.
Mr Zibe was the former Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS in the Somare Government. To date, nothing has been heard of the scientists or whether they have carried out the studies Mr Zibe said they would do.
Yesterday Councillor Douglas Gedisa from Ward 5 of the Wampar Local Level Government called on Mr Zibe not to mislead his people about the effects of the mine on their lives.
“Sasa Zibe made a huge public commitment to help us with the scientific study and we are still waiting for him to come forward with the scientific report,” Councillor Gedisa said.
The Watut, Bulolo and other rivers in the Bulolo/Wau areas flow into the Markham River which empties into the vast Huon Gulf waters where Mr Zibe’s voters live.
The Watut River passes the Lower Watut area where the Huon Gulf electorate borders the Bulolo Open electorate on the south-western side of the Markham River. From there, it empties into the Markham and down to the Huon Gulf waters.
The Watut people have experienced elevated sedimentation of the river as well as dieback.
Peter Namus who is the Wampar Local level Government president comes from the Lower Watut area and expressed concern about this at last year’s Hidden Valley Mine Inter-agency Environment Advisory Committee Stakeholder Engagement workshop in Lae.
Mr Namus called for an independent study on the effects of the Hidden Valley mine on the Wampar LLG people who include the Labu people who live at the mouth of the Markham River on the south west side of Lae City. Mr Namus wanted the investigation to include the Labu people whose traditional fishing grounds will be severely affected if there is confirmed scientific evidence of chemicals in the Markham River and the waters of the Huon Gulf.
The presence of dangerous chemicals could have a serious effects on the livelihood of the Labu people as well as other communities further down the Huon coast whose fishing grounds would be destroyed as a result.
After listening to the results of studies conducted into the effects of the mine on his people, Mr Zibe said then that he was not entirely satisfied and announced he was inviting independent German scientists to conduct another study for the benefit of the Huon Gulf people. He said he had identified the experts and would be bringing them into PNG through the German Lutheran Church.
“Therefore, I called on him on behalf of the 27 wards in Wampar to produce the report and not take us for a ride. We don’t want empty promises…we are still waiting for Mr Zibe,” Mr Gedisa said.
Hidden Valley people? More like aspiring politicians challenging their rivals ahead of the 2012 elections. There are far worse thing happening in Bulolo and Huon Gulf Districts than the Hidden Valley mine!