Who Says Our Politicians Don’t Read and React to Social Media? LR Group In the News Again.
By MARK MAINO
On Wednesday, 17 September, PNG Blogs ran another article on the mysterious
LR Group of Israel and its PNG activities (“Israel’s
Shadowy LR Group Graduates From Growing Veggies To Buying PNG Power
Corporation. Anyone Smell a Rotten Egg?”. In one part of the article it mentioned a
long ago announced LR Group project in PNG, “major industrial complex to cater for animal husbandry, crop
farming, training, storage and marketing” that thy would be developing,
starting in SHP. This was in 2011 and the author of the PNGBlogs
article questioned what had happened to this and was it ever built.
Only 2 days after that article came out on the social media, and
following 3 years of essentially no news about the project, a photo was published
in the PostCourier, showing none other than Anderson Agiru and James Marape
holding eggs at the LR Group’s starting operations in SHP.
Was the timing of the photo so soon after the PNG Blogs article
was published a coincidence? That the
photo showed 2 of the 3 politicians that the PNG Blogs article singled out and
made fun of (“Gamblin Andy” Anderson Agiru and James Marape, “whose personal
sticky dipping into Hela funds was documented several years ago through a list
of cheques drawn from public accounts that was published on PNG Blogs”) another
simple coincidence? Was Agiru and
Marape holding eggs in their hands also coincidence to the fact that the PNG
Blogs article title ended with “Does Anyone Smell a Rotten Egg”? Looks like many many coincidences all
coming at once. More likely the
PostCourier photo was the O’Neill government’s tok bokis attempt to slap PNG
Blogs in the face for suggesting that nothing had come of the LR
Group/government agricultural industrial complex project.
It’s obvious in this situation who is the dog and who is leading
it. Despite our politicians constant
strong denial that they read or respect anything written in the social media,
the indications come now and again that the social media drives them wild as one
corruption after another in the O’Neill government is uncovered and publicised
even though the government has the print media firmly under their control.
Looks like in this example, the O’Neill government is the dog and
it was PNG Blogs leading the dog to water in order to get a response. One wonders why someone in the government
couldn’t come straight onto PNG Blogs and give a reply. But we already know the answer. They’re scared to put themselves into any
situation where they are forced to answer follow up questions.
Anyways, the O’Neill government has now replied to the PNG Blogs
article, showing us that the article’s allegation that there was no LR Group
agricultural industrial complex was wrong and misleading. Fair enough.
PNG Blogs, apologise!
After the government celebrates this very rare victory of having
“got one” on the social media and we still have their attention on this topic,
perhaps they can help provide more information about LR Group and its chicken
farm operation.
1- How big is this chicken farm operation? How about providing a picture to the
PostCourier showing us how many buildings have been built, and telling us what
besides chickens and eggs are being produced?
2- If producing eggs is a big goal of the complex, why didn’t
the government get either Zenag or Mainland Holdings to set up the operation,
being that both have been producing millions of eggs in PNG for many years more
than anyone here ever heard of LR?
3- How is this LR Group chicken business going to make money
when PNG’s big players, Mainland Holdings and Zenag, are struggling to survive
against the O’Neill government policy of wide open imports of agriculture items
that can be produced much cheaper next door in Indonesia? PNG agriculture, from Ramu Sugar to Zenag are
slowly being forced out of business by unfair foreign competition. The LR Group chicken farm operation is much
smaller than either Zenag or Mainland Holdings. thus it must cost them more to
produce the same products. So why is
the Israeli fellow in the PostCourier photo smiling?
One especially wonders how LR Group can make a profit selling chickens
and eggs in SHP when it has to pay the lavish benefits given to its contractual
employees. Says one LR Group former
contracted employee on the internet: “awesome benefits. Comfortable working
hours.” Maybe that’s why the Israeli
fellow in the PostCourier photo is smiling?
This inevitably leads to the biggest question-who is paying for all
this? Who is paying for the Israeli
manager’s “awesome benefits” for an agricultural operation that all indications
suggest can’t be profitable? How much of
this agriculture industrial complex is being paid with government monies? Who will own the operation in the end,
considering that government is investing in it now? In Angola, it is reported that many LR Group
projects end up being subsidised by the government more or less
permanently.
Surely the LR Group’s agricultural industrial complex isn’t
being established as a new government
owned enterprise? We’ve been reading for
days that Ben Micah is trying to get rid of PNG’s government enterprises
through a privatisation exercise that will likely leave rural people with
fewer, more expensive services, while opening the door to politicians buying
equity in those businesses for cheap.
Is this chicken farm business going to be another example of an
enterprise established at huge government expense, then turned over to the
pollies at discount price?
The questions are many, O’Neill government, and growing by the
minute. The people need answers. The cover ups must stop.