Parliament dying slow death

OP/ED

Whatever has happened to the bi-partisan committee on Asian-owned and operated businesses?
It was tasked to produce a report within 12 months. Two years later, it appears to have ceased to exist.
It has failed to perform the task for which it was set up. While Parliament or its committee might wish away the problems, it festers still and simmers as the influx of foreign workers for the LNG pro­ject increases and Papua New Guineans watch from the sidelines.

Like many things that have been enthusiastically introduced, the will to sustain the enterprise is always lacking.

In this particular case, parliament will be found to have erred grievously if the ugly head of anti-foreigner sentiments were to rear again. The next time there might be no stopping it.

The parliamentary committee was established on May 21, 2009, to investigate and report on the root causes of a series of riots directed at Asian-owned and operated businesses in several towns in PNG.
A protest march in Port Moresby on May 12, 2009, by the city’s aggrieved informal sector degenerated into a fully fledged riot targeting Asian-owned and operated businesses.

For a week thereafter, the riot spread into the cities of Lae and Mt Hagen, and the townships of Kainantu, Goroka and Madang.
Only quick police action quelled what could have been a far serious scenario which could have spread further and caused far greater destruction to properties and possibly ta­ken lives.
As it turned out, many hundreds of thousands of kina worth of properties and goods were destroyed or looted.

Meeting on May 21, parliament named a 15-member bi-partisan committee to investigate into and report on the root causes for the riots.
Anglimp-South Waghi MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham was named its first chairman.
The committee made a first progress report to the June parliament of that year basically summarising its preparatory work and summarising similar uprisings in the region and around the globe.

The membership was changed in November 2009 following the resignation of chairman Maxtone-Graham. David Arore became the new chairman.
The bi-partisan committee commenced its inquiries late in November 2009, five months after it was tasked by parliament to inquire into the May riots.
The reason for this substantial delay was the failure by government to release any funding for the committee to commence work.

Evidence was taken from 14 public sector agencies and a few individuals.
The evidence gathered was astounding.
The committee was told of grave weaknesses in coordination, communication and other processes with state agencies dealing with foreign interests that PNG is a “time bomb” tic­king away towards disaster in the words of the National Intel­ligence Organisation.

It appeared from the evidence gathered that PNG itself is a big part of the problem with foreign interests.
If PNG is a “time bomb” ticking away towards disaster, it would seem we have set the timer itself.
The key departments and agencies which greet the foreigner, both corporate and individual, at PNG’s international gateways and escort them into or out of Papua New Guinea are PNG Immigration &; Citizenship Services; the work permit division of Labour & Industrial Relations, Customs Services, and the Investment Promotion Authority.

On hand to ensure Papua New Guinean interests are protected are the National Intelligence Organisation, the police force, the PNG Defence Force and the In­ter­nal Revenue Commission.
In an ideal environment, all these gatekeeper organisations should be cooperating as one unit.
Information should be exchanged on a regular level and action taken in concert.

Evidence from these gatekeepers indicates now that they operate in isolation, do not have regular meetings or communication with each other, are severely understaffed and un­der resourced.
There is no common coordinating body and each operate out of separate offices although a one-stop shop building was proposed nine years ago.

This is the pathetic state of affairs that greets PNG’s dealings with foreign interests. PNG stands dangerously ex­posed with no capacity to protect both its economic interests and indeed its citizenry from harmful foreign influences. This is no exaggeration.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MARAPE & PAITA ABOUT TO SIGN AWAY PNG GOLD

HIGHLANDS FRAUD F*CKS RUNNING GOVERNMENT AGENCY,,,

Connect PNG Unveiled: A Tale of Ambition, Scandal, and the Quest for Accountability

James Marape's Missteps Openly Exposed at Australian Forum

PNG GOVERNMENT MINISTER IN PORN VIDEO

James Marape: A Complex Political Trajectory

IS THE PM'S WIFE INVOLVED IN LAND GRABBING?