Maso Karipe
Maso Karipe | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea for | |
| In office 22 July 2022 – 7 November 2023 | |
| Preceded by | constituency established |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Constituency | Porgera-Paiela |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 7 November 2023 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Papua New Guinean |
| Political party | Pangu Pati |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Maso Karipe (died 7 November 2023) was a Papua New Guinean politician of the Pangu Party.[1]
Biography
[edit]The customary indigenous co-owner of the Porgera Gold Mine, Karipe was one of the community representatives with the Canadian mining company Barrick Gold.[2] In response to violence within his community, he donated five tires to the local police to replace the used tires on their vehicles.[3]
In the 2022 legislative election, Karipe was an independent candidate for the newly created constituency of Porgera-Paiela. Shortly before election day, his personal property was destroyed by armed men from a neighboring community. However, he was still victorious on the platform of restoring security and order to his constituency, and he joined the Pangu Party shortly after entering Parliament.[4][5]
Speaking in Parliament after his election, Karipe announced that the intense violence made it difficult to reopen the Porgera Gold Mine and obtained funds allocated for maintaining order in Porgera.[6] He used his parliamentary funds to pay the tuition fees of students in his constituency,[7] as well as to contribute to maintaining order.[8]
The Porgera mine was partially nationalized at the end of 2022, with the Papua New Guinean government owning 36%, the indigenous community owning 15%, and Barrick Gold owning 49%.[9]
Suffering from stomach cancer, Maso Karipe frequently travelled to Australia beginning October 2022.[10] He died in Brisbane on 7 November 2023.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Kuku, Rebecca (9 November 2023). "Fourth MP dies". The National. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Principal Porgera Mine Landowner Maso Karipe becomes pioneer MP elect". Papua New Guinea Today. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Local businessman supports Porgera police". Porgera Joint Venture. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Hon. Maso Karipe, MP". National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.
- ^ "Porgera leader congratulates MP-elect". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "'Address law and order in Porgera'". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Prioritise education to help combat lawlessness, MP says". The National. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Law and order issues hinder re-opening". The National. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "PM Marape welcomes progress on Porgera and Wafi-Golpu mines". PNG Business News. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Judge stresses on balance and rights". The National. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ Mado, Nigel-Francis (8 November 2023). "Porgera Paiala MP loses battle to cancer". PNG Haus Bung. Retrieved 12 November 2023.