Finance Minister and Kerema MP, Thomas Opa told Parliament yesterday that K80 million had been released for the Papua LNG Development Forum, prompting Opposition Leader James Nomane and East Sepik Governor Allan Bird to demand a detailed account of how the public money was spent.

Responding to a question without notice on behalf of the Petroleum Minister, Minister Opa said the National Executive Council had approved a spending ceiling of K112 million for the forum.

The funding had been provided to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in three tranches: K40 million, K20 million, and a further K20 million about a month earlier.

Nomane questioned how much of the funding had been spent overall and how much support had reached the more than 2, 000 landowners he said were connected to the forum.

He said the questions were especially pressing amid the El Niño related national crisis and complaints that many opposition MPs had not received their District Services Improvement Program (DSIP) and Provincial Services Improvement Program (PSIP) funds.

“Sources tell us that they have received more than 100 million,” Nomane said, referring to the forum, while asking why landowners were reportedly still without allowances for accommodation and meals.

He sought clarification on where the money had gone and what assistance participants had received.

Minister Opa said about 1, 200 landowners, mainly from Gulf Province and including plant-site landowners, were in Port Moresby for the forum.

He described it as a “tier one” process involving negotiations between landowners and state authorities and said most of the negotiations had been agreed on an 80-20 split between Central and Gulf provinces.

He added that most landowners had signed, while Gulf landowners had yet to do so.

Acknowledging concerns over the amount, Minister Opa said the exercise involved more than payments to landowners.

The state’s negotiating team, meeting venues, accommodation, meals, and transport to meeting sites also contributed to the costs.

He said participants were being housed across motels and other accommodation in the city, describing the logistics as a costly undertaking.

Nomane objected to what he called an understatement of the inequity. He contrasted the K80 million forum expenditure with districts that, he said, had not received K2.5 million in El Niño for assistance despite people facing hardship.

He again asked the minister to explain why landowners were reportedly still waiting for accommodation and meal costs to be covered.

Governor Bird also challenged the scale of the spending. Dividing K80 million among 1, 200 landowners, he said, would amount to more than K80,000 per person, and he questioned how that figure could be reconciled with reports that participants’ basic costs remained unpaid.

Minister Opa stressed that the K80 million was not solely for landowners and reiterated that it had been given to the NPA.

He said the authority would need to provide a breakdown after the development forum concluded.

The minister’s response confirmed the amount released but did not provide an itemized account of expenditure during the exchange.