The Original IPIC Loan– Follow the Money for the Answers to the Truth

By SAM BASIL MP


Two weeks ago, I Sam Basil MP, in my capacity as Deputy Opposition Leader, issued a media statement on behalf of the Opposition regarding The Budget Accountability of the IPIC Loan.

In the statement, we exposed the lies behind the refinancing of the IPIC loan, to get back the Oil Search Ltd. (OSH) shares belonging to the State of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

This refinancing is to occur on the 14th March 2014 whereby the country’s OSH shares that was used as the collateral in acquiring equity in the Esso Highlands PNG Liquefied Natural Gas (PNGLNG) Project, can be returned to PNG and its citizens.

The Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, has already stated that the State will get back the OSH shares but with less than 4 weeks to go to the refinancing of the IPIC loan, the O’Neil Government does not have a plan for the return of the OSH shares and what the Opposition predicted, will occur:

The O’Neill Government will say the best outcome was addressed and give the PNG public a mundane excuse as to why the OSH shares did not come back to the citizens of PNG!

As stated in The Budget Accountability of the IPIC Loan media statement, the Opposition believe that Papua New Guineans need to know what is happening with the IPIC loan, originally financed in 2009. This is so that if the OSH shares are foregone as a State asset under the O’Neill government, then every citizen will know what they are trying to hide and judge them on the basis of truth rather than the lies that they give us.

Papua New Guineans need to assess the original funds given for the IPIC loan to finance the country’s stake into the PNGLNG project as well as the current refinancing. Because of this, the Opposition has since written to the relevant government authorities about the initial use and we believe, blatent abuse of the $US1.681 billion or about PGK4 billion loan from IPIC. The Opposition is further looking for the accounting of the funds as they are public monies and there was no transparency around the original deal. The Opposition want to understand if any party associated with a political figure in the current government or their family was a recipient of funds that were raised for the PNGLNG project equity. The Opposition believes that money was transferred in Singapore in the first two years, from 2009-2011, that meant no interest was received by the State.

SO WHERE DID THE INTEREST GO?

Added to the disappearance of the interest, three matters The Opposition want the nation of PNG to get the answers to, are the following:

1. Custody of the money in Singapore is with Bank of New York and also an Australian Bank.

The Opposition ask for the complete records of these accounts supplied by the banks to the relevant government authorities as well as to an independent auditor so that any form of corrupt money transfers can be determined;

2. Authority of the Singapore Account.

Is it true that the Managing Director (MD) of Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) has the authority to transfer funds and make decisions without acquiring approval from the National Executive Council (NEC) or any Government authority. This would mean that MD of IPBC could have done anything with the funds, and so transparency of all instructions need to be presented by IPBC to the relevant government authorities, to understand what transfers were made.

3. Did Kumul Holdings or the now National Petroleum Company of PNG disburse any funds for their own costs and what is the audit results of this money use?

The Opposition will not rest and firmly believe that there is no audit trail in place regarding the public monies associated with the IPIC loan and therefore request for transparent accountability of the funds usage within the original IPIC loan.

When Sir Mekere Morauta was the Privatisation Minister, he clearly stated that something was suspicious about the funds use and called for an investigation. The Opposition now calls for the same matter to be finalised and not just an empty promise from the current government.

To the current Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, this matter is of national importance in removing corruption and past corrupt matters and as respective government bodies go into panic mode to raise more funds for the refinancing of the IPIC loan, the old funds from the original IPIC loan must be fully accounted for.

The Opposition won’t accept your anticipated comments of the Opposition making up stories or that this will take time. As an accountant and in understanding the Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) Act and the Public Finances Management (PFM) Act, given you are the Prime Minister, all the details should be available as public knowledge. But we want Bank records as well so we have banks governed by the International laws on corruption and money laundering to provide their statements so there can be no attempt to change the record.

Follow the money is the way to the truth about this current O’Neill Government and its Ministers that are desperate to hold onto power to continue their corrupt practices while the average PNG citizen suffers. The Opposition believe the request and the follow through by the Opposition will make persons associated with this transaction very nervous much like the matter around the current Parakagate issue…But following the money provides the answers to the people of Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister O’Neill, you have been the decision maker in this refinancing of the IPIC loan and was one of the Treasurers during the tenure of the original IPIC loan. The Opposition looks forward to the answers to our questions as an urgent matter because the citizens of PNG are on the verge of losing an asset in OSH, a major catastrophic matter and we want you to be personally accountable for its success or its failure.

Will you, Prime Minister O’Neill, step down if the IPIC Loan is not settled on March 05th 2014 as you have promised the citizens of Papua New Guinea that we will get our OSH shares back?

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