IMF/WB Board Chair, PNG Treasurer, Polye is major cause of 2014 PNG Budget Deficit
PNGBlogs
Exim Bank US$6bill was intended to patch the financial hole in 2012 budget and effect carried over into the 2014 budget. PM O’Neill’s own PGK600 million political commitment, including his alleged PGK71.8 million ‘Paraka Lawyers’ direction payout, as well as K1 does little to massage the economy either.
IMF/World Bank Board Chairman, PNG Treasurer Don Polye is alleged to have been personally involved in a PGK 500 million financial fraud, if established, would become the fraudulent deception of the decade. It will also firmly establish the basis for PNG’s spiraling unprecedented PGK7 billion budget deficit since independence.
While the eight million people of PNG, its public service and the business sector are absorbing the implications of the PGK4 billiion deficit budget handed down yesterday, it may be just a ‘smokescreen’ over an alleged conspiracy involving the Treasurer, PM O’Neill and Finance Minister James Marape. Government auditors and finance inspectors in the country are saying the Government’s off-budget commitments could well be in the PGK2 billion and that the realistic cumulative deficit could well be within the PGK10 billion mark.
PNG finance inspectors and officials are tight-lipped about the IMF/WB Chair’s role in creating a financial hole in this nation’s finances and the alleged desperate attempts to dress-up the 2014 “deficit” budget to cover-up and effectively indemnify his own part in the alleged defrauding of a nation’s public monies and the O’Neill-Dion Government from this biggest deceit against the people of PNG.
According to a highly confidential report prepared by the Department of Finance, and since circulated widely which contained material evidence of the Treasurer’s role when he was Finance Minister in 2012, quite clearly showed his involvement which began in August 2011 at the behest of the PNG political impasse.
Under the Public Finance Management Act, the Minister for Finance has power to direct for the movement of money from one vote to another. This power can also be delegated to the Secretary for Finance provided the expenditure for which delegated authority is being issued is a budgeted expenditure.
However, the confidential report revealed the Ministerial direction by Polye at the material time for the PGK500 million did not constitute ‘budgetted expenditure’. If confirmed that the expenditure was not budgeted, that could in fact be illegal expenditure.
It appears, the PGK500 million was directed for expenditure in disguise of ‘projects’ and paid into provincial and district treasuries in carefully selected provinces.
PNG Constitution under section 142 restricts Finance Minister to issue such directions when there is no money in the Cash Adjustment Vote (CAV).
On 14th October 2011, Ministerial direction was written requesting for money under the supplementary budget for three separate projects totaling PGK16 million for Madang roads; (K5mill) for WNB roads (5 mill) and K6mill for construction of Rural Health Workers Houses in South Fly under the supplementary budget. Foot noting by Acting Finance Secretary Steven Gibson and his deputy at that time, were done on the 14th of October 2011.
On the same date of the Ministerial letter, a requisition for expenditure (FF3s, FF4s) was done and cheques were printed on the same day.
Supplementary budgets, under normal financial practice are appendixes of the original budget (extension) to supplement uncompleted projects or activities planned for expenditure under the budget. No new projects can be created under the supplementary budgets. Logically, therefore no new funds, projects or activities can be requested under the supplementary budgets.
The PGK16 million was drawn from the CAV which, at the time the Ministerial direction was issued for action, only had PGK10 million.
Evidence with this paper further reveals the CAV was closed in 2010 but re-opened at the behest of the political impasse on August 2011, allegedly to bank-roll the take-over of the legitimate Somare Government.
This CAV was closed in February 2012 after a total PGK265 million was extracted. After achieving its objective, the CAV was renamed as General Reserve Account (GRA) purportedly to legitimize further extraction of state-held finances which total up to PGK259 million.
It is now common knowledge that the payment directed for payment by both the Treasurer Polye and Finance Minister James Marape has reached PGK2 billion kina. Those are illegal payments out of the budget and fraudulent in nature. Furthermore, it is not known whether financing is provided for in the 2014 Budget.
This is real cash deficit and the Treasurer and Chairman of the World Bank/IMF board, together with the Finance Minister and Prime Minister must say the truth.
It is believed the scheme was a deliberate ploy to finance political interest at the time.
Treasurer Don Polye’s own political party, namely, The Party’s Papua Region Chairman at that time, now back-bencher Chairman of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, Douglas Tomuriesa’s involvement in a PGK6 million ‘project’ provides example of the grand scheme designed to win over politics in PNG.
Without an industrial business profile, Quickspan Building Systems (QBS), seemingly a family ‘paper’ company, was a recipient of PGK6 million cheque, authorized by Secretary Gibson and paid to South Fly District Treasury, Western Province. The PGK6 million was intended for the Rural Health Workers Housing ‘project’.
Originally, it was not a budgeted project, but became one, soon after Treasurer Polye’s directive letter of 14th October 2011.
Then Minister for Sports and South Fly MP, Sali Subam and his First Secretary Andrew Marabu facilitated the extraction of the six million from South Fly District Treasury and made it drawn and paid to QBS Ltd.
Investigations found that QBS Ltd, a paper company owned by the Tomuriesa family with Tomuriesa and his wife as directors, were to construct the Rural Health Workers Housing project in Morehead, South Fly District.
However, investigations revealed between Daru and Waigani, the project scope changed to that of supply of building materials to all of South Fly District instead of Rural Health Workers Housing project. QBS Ltd engaged a Port Moresby-based building Company, Barlow Industries to be supplier of materials worth PGK3.2 million for South Fly.
QBS Ltd’s bank statement held by investigators indicate a lot of cash withdrawals of PGK2.8 million held under its account, namely, a ‘Douglas Tomuriesa QBS’, suggesting personal access, use, wastage and misappropriation of public funds.
It further provides evidence of the worst kind of systemic political conspiracy in a scheme to allegedly launder public monies for advancing personal selfish gains and political interest.
“This is a classic example of an unbudgeted illegal expenditure because it came out of the CAV. CAV’s only role is to replenish financial shortfalls in government agencies’ activities in a given financial year. It does not go up or go down. This account has PGK10 million. How did it go up to PGK500 million?
As Parliament resumes this week for its normal budget session, this issue and others including PM O’Neill’s own alleged fraud involving PGK71.8 milliion payout to Paul Paraka Lawyers from national accounts which the PNG Opposition Leader Belden Namah has been blaming the PM for will become the defining lining for a potential break-up of O’Neill’s coalition government
IMF/World Bank Board Chairman, PNG Treasurer Don Polye is alleged to have been personally involved in a PGK 500 million financial fraud, if established, would become the fraudulent deception of the decade. It will also firmly establish the basis for PNG’s spiraling unprecedented PGK7 billion budget deficit since independence.
While the eight million people of PNG, its public service and the business sector are absorbing the implications of the PGK4 billiion deficit budget handed down yesterday, it may be just a ‘smokescreen’ over an alleged conspiracy involving the Treasurer, PM O’Neill and Finance Minister James Marape. Government auditors and finance inspectors in the country are saying the Government’s off-budget commitments could well be in the PGK2 billion and that the realistic cumulative deficit could well be within the PGK10 billion mark.
PNG finance inspectors and officials are tight-lipped about the IMF/WB Chair’s role in creating a financial hole in this nation’s finances and the alleged desperate attempts to dress-up the 2014 “deficit” budget to cover-up and effectively indemnify his own part in the alleged defrauding of a nation’s public monies and the O’Neill-Dion Government from this biggest deceit against the people of PNG.
According to a highly confidential report prepared by the Department of Finance, and since circulated widely which contained material evidence of the Treasurer’s role when he was Finance Minister in 2012, quite clearly showed his involvement which began in August 2011 at the behest of the PNG political impasse.
Under the Public Finance Management Act, the Minister for Finance has power to direct for the movement of money from one vote to another. This power can also be delegated to the Secretary for Finance provided the expenditure for which delegated authority is being issued is a budgeted expenditure.
However, the confidential report revealed the Ministerial direction by Polye at the material time for the PGK500 million did not constitute ‘budgetted expenditure’. If confirmed that the expenditure was not budgeted, that could in fact be illegal expenditure.
It appears, the PGK500 million was directed for expenditure in disguise of ‘projects’ and paid into provincial and district treasuries in carefully selected provinces.
PNG Constitution under section 142 restricts Finance Minister to issue such directions when there is no money in the Cash Adjustment Vote (CAV).
On 14th October 2011, Ministerial direction was written requesting for money under the supplementary budget for three separate projects totaling PGK16 million for Madang roads; (K5mill) for WNB roads (5 mill) and K6mill for construction of Rural Health Workers Houses in South Fly under the supplementary budget. Foot noting by Acting Finance Secretary Steven Gibson and his deputy at that time, were done on the 14th of October 2011.
On the same date of the Ministerial letter, a requisition for expenditure (FF3s, FF4s) was done and cheques were printed on the same day.
Supplementary budgets, under normal financial practice are appendixes of the original budget (extension) to supplement uncompleted projects or activities planned for expenditure under the budget. No new projects can be created under the supplementary budgets. Logically, therefore no new funds, projects or activities can be requested under the supplementary budgets.
The PGK16 million was drawn from the CAV which, at the time the Ministerial direction was issued for action, only had PGK10 million.
Evidence with this paper further reveals the CAV was closed in 2010 but re-opened at the behest of the political impasse on August 2011, allegedly to bank-roll the take-over of the legitimate Somare Government.
This CAV was closed in February 2012 after a total PGK265 million was extracted. After achieving its objective, the CAV was renamed as General Reserve Account (GRA) purportedly to legitimize further extraction of state-held finances which total up to PGK259 million.
It is now common knowledge that the payment directed for payment by both the Treasurer Polye and Finance Minister James Marape has reached PGK2 billion kina. Those are illegal payments out of the budget and fraudulent in nature. Furthermore, it is not known whether financing is provided for in the 2014 Budget.
This is real cash deficit and the Treasurer and Chairman of the World Bank/IMF board, together with the Finance Minister and Prime Minister must say the truth.
It is believed the scheme was a deliberate ploy to finance political interest at the time.
Treasurer Don Polye’s own political party, namely, The Party’s Papua Region Chairman at that time, now back-bencher Chairman of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, Douglas Tomuriesa’s involvement in a PGK6 million ‘project’ provides example of the grand scheme designed to win over politics in PNG.
Without an industrial business profile, Quickspan Building Systems (QBS), seemingly a family ‘paper’ company, was a recipient of PGK6 million cheque, authorized by Secretary Gibson and paid to South Fly District Treasury, Western Province. The PGK6 million was intended for the Rural Health Workers Housing ‘project’.
Originally, it was not a budgeted project, but became one, soon after Treasurer Polye’s directive letter of 14th October 2011.
Then Minister for Sports and South Fly MP, Sali Subam and his First Secretary Andrew Marabu facilitated the extraction of the six million from South Fly District Treasury and made it drawn and paid to QBS Ltd.
Investigations found that QBS Ltd, a paper company owned by the Tomuriesa family with Tomuriesa and his wife as directors, were to construct the Rural Health Workers Housing project in Morehead, South Fly District.
However, investigations revealed between Daru and Waigani, the project scope changed to that of supply of building materials to all of South Fly District instead of Rural Health Workers Housing project. QBS Ltd engaged a Port Moresby-based building Company, Barlow Industries to be supplier of materials worth PGK3.2 million for South Fly.
QBS Ltd’s bank statement held by investigators indicate a lot of cash withdrawals of PGK2.8 million held under its account, namely, a ‘Douglas Tomuriesa QBS’, suggesting personal access, use, wastage and misappropriation of public funds.
It further provides evidence of the worst kind of systemic political conspiracy in a scheme to allegedly launder public monies for advancing personal selfish gains and political interest.
“This is a classic example of an unbudgeted illegal expenditure because it came out of the CAV. CAV’s only role is to replenish financial shortfalls in government agencies’ activities in a given financial year. It does not go up or go down. This account has PGK10 million. How did it go up to PGK500 million?
As Parliament resumes this week for its normal budget session, this issue and others including PM O’Neill’s own alleged fraud involving PGK71.8 milliion payout to Paul Paraka Lawyers from national accounts which the PNG Opposition Leader Belden Namah has been blaming the PM for will become the defining lining for a potential break-up of O’Neill’s coalition government
