A population census is very important in order to deliver services effectively to the project area landowners. This was the sentiments of MRDC Managing Director Augustine Mano as he continues to steer the organisation towards effectively managing landowner funds so the benefits are seen and felt on the ground.

NID officers taking photo IDs and collecting biodatas of individuals in Aberegerema village in the Manawete region on the OTML facilitated NID program.

This was the sentiments of MRDC Managing Director Augustine Mano as he continues to steer the organisation towards effectively managing landowner funds so the benefits are seen and felt on the ground.

Mr Mano says the company will soon be embarking on a project area beneficiary census program in order to capture the exact number of the population in these areas. This data will then allow for the organisation to plan and deliver services to the beneficiaries using the Community Infrastructure Trust Fund (CITF).

“Where responsible state agencies lack in being able to provide the data we need then we have to step in to assist if it means to help our people fully benefit from the projects.

“The data MRDC currently has is only up to the clan executive levels, which we need to open bank accounts where royalties are to be paid to” says Mano.

MRDC holds landowner bio data’s for clan executives only in the form of a benefit certificate, which is used to identify them by the Bank, DPE and for internal business.

Mano says the MRDC cannot just go in a build schools or hospitals everywhere without knowing the number of population these will service.

“I don’t want us to deliver white elephants. We must have the data to be able to manage and measure how effectively we are reaching the people through the infrastructure projects we build,” says Mano.

As part of MRDC’s long term plans for the census exercise, it has already begun the ground work. The company is currently part of an Ok Tedi Mine (OTML) community patrol team who are facilitating the rolling out the National Identification (NID) registration program for the population in the Community Mine Continuation Agreement (CMCA) regions in Western Province.

The information gathered will help OTML to better distribute compensation benefits to the population. MRDC will also use this data collected to know the exact number of beneficiaries under Mineral Resources CMCA Holdings (MRCMCAH) which holds their 12 per cent equity in the OK Tedi Mine to effectively deliver basic services needed by the people.

The team is observing the OTML exercise to be able to design and implement a similar program for the oil and gas project areas.

MRDC is also using the opportunity to visit and speak to the people about MRDC’s role in managing their trust company, MRCMCAH.