PNGBLOGS

by PHILIP TEE Should we all join the Minister for Justice, Hon Ano Pala to welcome the establishment of an office in Port Moresby by the global legal firm, Norton Ross Fulbright?. The Minister in charge of Justice matters in the country did so. The firm which was founded in 1794 has about 58 branches around the world and PNG will now be added to the franchise. The firm’s turnover for 2014 alone was around US$ 1.815 billion. It is believed the firm’s Sydney Office had been very instrumental in opening the Port Moresby Office. Whilst the firm’s long standing reputation as a global franchise in the legal industry is unmatchable, the firms Sydney Office has a special connection with PNG, especially the Peter O’Neill Government. There is a Sydney Partner of the firm called Anthony Latimer who has a very special relationship with two known fraudsters, namely Jimmy Maladina and Peter O’Neill. He had been facilitating a number of “legal work” for Jimmy and O’Neill for a number of ye

by STEVEN ANDRE Renowned Economists monitoring our economy are telling us that the "free health" policy is costed at only K20 million a year.  Clearly, this is nowhere near the level that would be required to actually deliver a "free health" service of any quality in PNG.” The National Budgets of 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 do show us that the Free Health Services was allocated only K20 million in all those years. The highly-acclaimed Vision 2050 envisions that PNG will be a healthier nation by 2050. Are we heading there? Has Peter O’Neill’s Government worked towards that goal? The reality is that, all the health services in PNG have deteriorated since O’Neill got into power. There is acute shortage of medical supplies, both equipment and drugs. Kundiawa General Hospital and Daru General Hospital were among the few that hosted fundraising dinners in Port Moresby to raise much needed funds for their daily operations in 2016. Recently, Dr Jacob Yackopua, directo

by JOE NASANOL Mr Mahesh Patel's high level appointments to Govt positions, Chairman, Director and such of our country's largest scale, most complex SOE, prompts curiosity about his qualification suitability and caliber. A simple check on his Linkedin bio reveals little, but education cited as "Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Education" - what is this you ask, further inquiry reveals somewhere between a online course and a live in course with acceptance criteria being payment of a fee, and NO post nominal qualification of anything whatsoever on successful 'graduation',, not even a lowly MBA qualification. Additionally he boasts a "Diploma in Pharmacy - Central Institute of Technology New Zealand" - what is this one - it is a Certificate level course allowing individuals to be an assistant in pharmacy work, a store assistant or similar, presumably to get a trading business underway in Fiji importing 3rd grade pharmaceuticals fro

UN announcement highlights recent problems with the PNG Government's payment of bills Comes after state-owned electricity provider cut services to several government agencies over failure to pay bills Five other countries — Venezuela, Libya, Sudan, Cape Verde and Vanuatu — have also lost voting rights for non-payment Papua New Guinea has lost its vote in the United Nations General Assembly because it failed to pay its annual contributions. Papua New Guinea has lost its vote in the United Nations General Assembly because it failed to pay its annual contributions. PNG needs to pay the UN at least $180,000 to regain voting rights. It is one of six countries whose voting rights have been suspended for non-payment — the others being Venezuela, Libya, Sudan, Cape Verde and Vanuatu. The UN's announcement highlights recent problems with the PNG Government's payment of bills. It comes after the state-owned electricity provider, PNG Power, cut services to the country's n

by PNGBLOGS STAFF WRITERS   It seems ICCC is in bed with Telikom’s Chairman Mahesh Patel on the so called merger of Telikom, Bmobile and DataCo issue. A number of key points for the public to note here: Telikom Board’s term of office has expired. As such, Telikom effectively has no Board to act on its behalf at the moment until a new Board is sworn in. How can Mahesh Patel claim to be speaking on behalf of the Board when insider information has it that there has never been a Board Meeting convened for this purpose? He therefore is acting alone, and for whose interest? Clearly, if you link the dots together, it would be in the interest of the team: The Prime Minister Peter O’Neill , Mahesh Patel himself, John Mangos and Michael Donnelly , the ousted CEO of Telikom PNG. This article has it that Mahesh, the Chairman of Telikom PNG went into discussions with ICCC boss, Mr. Paulus Ain. How can he, Mahesh, discuss the merger while acting as the Chairman of another

by MICHAEL PASSINGAN The Government’s Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari who heads the Country's Public Service machinery has once again come under the spot light of corrupt activities. Lupari who not long ago was identified to be at the center of the K3.7 million fraud by the Finance Department Commission of Inquiry. (but was never prosecuted). This time Lupari has been seen to be using the office of the Prime Minister and his position as the Chief Secretary to steal. On December 2015 Chief Secretary  Isaac Lupari advised the Prime Minister's Department by writing that the Prime Minister approved K1 million from the PM's Commitment Funds for the Ipatas Foundation Inc in which he is the Executive Chairman. The Ipatas Foundation Inc is a non-profit organisation established by the Enga Provincial Government. The foundation is registered and certified under the Association Incorporation Act of PNG and is run by a board who are appointed by the Enga Provincial Executive C

by STEVEN ROLLAND As the country is fast sinking into debt and economic ruin, we are seeking answers. We know Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is a failed businessman, having failed in three (3) businesses he started before joining politics. His true success in business came when he put his hands into the public coffers. The rest is history. We cannot expect miracles from him. He is like an inexperienced mechanic who enjoys stripping all the parts of a vehicle in the pretext of fixing it but really does not know how to fix it. It will be moments when he will disappear without fixing the mess he created. Behind O'Neill's shonky economic management were a number of spivvy characters. One that PM O'Neill relied most was Dr Jacob Weiss, who provided most of the advise on structuring and procuring more loans. Jacob Weiss would attend Government Caucus meetings and mislead all the clown/naïve Members of Parliament that it was okay to borrow excessive from overseas and domes

by STAFF WRITERS 1.  PIH is a business entity whose primary goal is to make money. No money, No treatment. 2.  PIH does not care about your health. 3.  PIH recruits a few good doctors only to boost its public relations image, just like any business. 4.  PIH  thrives on the health misfortunes of Papua New Guineans to a large extent. 5.  PIH is just part of  network of corruption that extends to government agencies and companies. Pacific International Hospital (PIH) was registered under suspicious circumstances. When the issue of registration came up with the Medical Board of PNG (chairman late Dr Pangatana), there were many issues the PIH had to fulfil before a licence was granted to operate as a hospital. The Health Minister at the time used his ministerial power to order the Medical Board of PNG to grant the licence. It was common knowledge at the time that the particular minister a “very close” friend of the principal owner of PIH. The ownership issue of PIH has to b

UNDECLARED DIVIDENDS OF K20 MILLION PAID TO KUMUL CONSOLIDATED HOLDINGS LTD AND SALE OF TELIKOM ASSETS; LANDS AND BUILDINGS The current interim Chairman of TPNG Mr Mahesh Patel’s National News Paper publication dated 6th February 2017 page 25, saying that Telikom PNG paid a K20m dividend to Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd is yet another lie from Mahesh Patel to justify his existence in Telikom PNG. According to Telikom PNG Monthly Management Accounts as at June 2016, Telikom PNG actually made a loss of K3.7m earnings before tax. Therefore, this K20m is an undeclared dividend payment. This ‘money was drawn from either; the cash savings from Telikom staff prematurely retrenched through the illegal Spill and Fill exercise carried out in 2015 or from unused capital works/project funds. The withdrawal of funds was most probably charged to the Government Capital Grants Accounts or the Owner’s Equity Account. If it was a dividend declared profit, then Chairman should have properly de

by AUGUSTINE EMIL Music Industry, like the Sports Industry,should be given a thought from the Government to generate income and revenue from the raw and unique talent that it possess. Sports and Music are fairly identical talent oriented fields in which the govt has overlooked the potential in the Music Industry to fund it, nurture it, and expose it abroad combining it with our unique diverse culture and the admirable tradition that we have anywhere in the World. Successive Govts have prioritised Billions of Kina in Sports in which I think its a complete desolate waste but should give a balanced nod on both fraternities alike. The heavily funded Sports like Rugby League, Union, Soccer, Basket Ball and others has never brought pride and jubilation to our country in the International arena. The rewards and achievements of Gold, Silver and Bronze attained by Sporting elites has no economic value in revenue aspects for PNG but remain simple household decorations that only the famil

by PAUL FLANAGAN Summary The recent IMF report indicates PNG’s international economic situation is much more frail than the picture presented by the O’Neill government. Indeed, the IMF calls the foreign reserves position ‘weak’. PNG has less than one third the recommended level in its international bank account. And this is despite the foreign exchange rationing that is hurting PNG business, investment and jobs. PNG’s published import coverage ratios are misleading and out of step with internationally accepted definitions. Specifically, PNG claims foreign reserves cover 13.0 months of imports while the independent umpire, the IMF, says the figure is only 3.2 months of imports. The suggested level for a country such as PNG is around 10 months of imports. PNG has less than one-third the prudent level. PNG says the import coverage ratio for non-mineral sector imports has increased by 28% over the last five years.  This appears to show a healthy improvement in PNG’s external

by MICHAEL PASSINGAN PNG BLOGS has learnt that Prime Minister PETER O'NEILL has directed Kumul Consolidated Holding  (KCH) Chairman and O'Neill rubber stamp PAUL NERAU to engage the services former Digicel PNG CEO, JOHN MANGOS as a super consultant to the Public company in a bid to sell off TELIKOM and its subsidiaries to DIGICEL and you guessed it REMINGTON Group of Companies. PNGBLOGS broke a story today about the recent engagement of Mangos in a plot to sell off three of PNG's State owned Telcos Telikom PNG, B-Mobile and DataCo. T elikom has a good track record of being independent unlike Air Niugini or PNG Power, they have diversified their business into the areas of television (EMTV) and retail (DATEC). JOHN MANGOS is Peter O'Neill's puppet and a Digicel plant to take over the Communications Industry in PNG through the sale of TELIKOM PNG and its subsidiaries. He has been around Papua New Guinea after he was promised the role to sell off Telikom and ma

by JACKSON PUNDU Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) has become a safe haven for thieves and robbers, both Papua New Guineans and foreigners. Unfortunately some leaders are allowing this to happen and are nurturing it, to be blunt. They know millions of Kina floats around KCH and they want to get in there and have a slice of it. This is squandering what is rightfully our people's money and assets. If you have noticed, there have been countless restructures in the recent past, all in the name of better alignment and efficiency but these are hog-washed tactics to cover up hidden selfish motives. KCH's recent changes to include Kumul Communications with its expanded vertical structure is nothing more than an attempt to wrestle the state telecommunication entities ( Telikom, Bmobile and DataCo ) out of the hands of the Government into private hands. This is the big picture at play, directly under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. They

MENDI AIRPORT RELOCATION MONEY FRAUDULENTLY WITHDRAWN. by GARY TEMO K2 Million out of a K10 million allocated by NAC for the Olama airport has been drawn by District CEO Joe Ingipa, District Treasurer Waita Wepi and serial thief and works Minister's son and  bagman Alex Awesa. Works Minister Minister and Imbonggu MP Francis Awesa says he is not aware. How can this daylight robbery go unnoticed by the Minister when it is being perpetrated right under his nose? Who authorized this theft of funds for a critical infrastructure project  that SHP is in great need of? The Works Minister cannot brush aside this and must be made to account for this theft of public monies by his political cronies. We now call upon all agencies of state to fully investigate this theft and daylight robbery.

by GABINA TAU Post Courier is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited . It's biggest PNG shareholder is Nambawan Super with almost 26 percent. Strangely NSL does not have a director on the board which gives the management free reign. The Managing Director Kevin Smith is gay and lives with a little gay boy (half kerema hula). Together with other corrupt managers they been busy building the private empires. Kevin Smith is close to Ozzie at Ela Beach Hotel and through him to Peter O'Neill. Smith and his management frequent Airways Bacchus bar where he has a private drinks cabinet for him and his gay lovers. Over the years Kevin Smith and the late editor Blaise Nagoi had a desire to win an award in the News Limited annual awards for excellence in journalism.  They got close once with Gorethy Kenneth who is a O'Neill girl and regular Paddy's stool warmer. So their luck struck when a conman named Simon Eroro dreamt up this unbelievably outrageous concoction of a

  by MICHAEL PASSINGAN Its not Rocket Science, Papua New Guineans should know that the country is crumbling. Bank of PNG Governor Loi Bakani’s explanation of the theft of K124 million in demonetised banknotes, and their illegal distribution across the country and on EBay, is pathetic. The theft is clearly an inside job and Bakani’s statement is an attempt to cover that fact up. It could only have been carried out with detailed knowledge of the bank’s practices for the destruction of notes that have been taken out of circulation. Even more alarming is that the scandal – yes, another one in the O’Neill Regime, one of the most corrupt governments in the world – comes at election time. It won’t be long before the money starts appearing in the Highlands as election bribes by PNC candidates and coalition cronies Some stories circulating in Highlands centres indicate that that is already happening. It’s an easy thing to do, as PNC’s crooked strategists surely know. Villagers in remot

by MICHAEL PASSINGAN One of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s movers and shakers in the Defence Force land fraud, and many others, is accountant Phillip Eludeme. Eludeme, chairman of the Central Supply and Tenders Board, has now been suspended by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill over his role in the corrupt purchase of land at Manumanu, Central Province. It was always an obvious suspension, given that Eludeme was directly involved in the fraud and benefitted personally. But, mysteriously, he was not one of the victims of O’Neill’s first response to the scandal when he made scapegoats of Defence Minister Fabian Pok, Public Enterprise Minister William Duma, and a range of senior officials. It was as if Phillip Eludeme, fixer and facilitator for O’Neill and his criminal crony Jimmy Maladina, did not exist on Monday when O’Neill provided details of his fake inquiry. Yet Eludeme has been named as receiving a kickback of K8.5 million from the Manumanu fraud. He also benefited directly as di

by  MYKALG WALGHE If there was a ranking for "the dumbest parliament" in the commonwealth then PNG would rank at the top , courtesy of 90% of its MPs who are unable to think critically, clearly, rationally, logically and contribute and debate constructively on national issues in the parliament. The PNG Parliament, the highest law making body of the land has become a laughing stock simply because our so called MPs have conducted themselves with less aptitude and intelligence over the last 20 years or so. It seems most of the MPs are loosing touch with the issues affecting the nation when they are supposed to be cognizance and on top of every issues as national leaders. Most of the leaders are caught off-guarded and are lost when important issues are raised in parliament and it's very embarrassing for them looking like fools in the parliament not knowing what to say. Most of the MPs hate parliament sittings badly and wish that the sessions would end quickly so t

by JAMES YOKA EKIP My name is James Yoka Ekip. I am from Hagen district, Western Highlands Province. I contested the Hagen Open seat in the last election (2012). Below is my opinion of what's happening with the Electoral Commission and the scamming and defrauding of funds from the State. I now see the “writing on the wall” clearly. Peter O’Neil is behind all the dirty politics that has been happening in Western Highlands and Hagen politics. My conclusion and that of most Western Highlanders and Hageners is that Prime Minister Peter O’Neil has created this problem between Mr. Duma and Mr. Wingti and he is using the two leaders against each other. In the process he is finishing both of them. He is talking to one leader and saying one thing and talking to the other leader and blaming that leader for some of his decisions going against that leaders favor. PM blamed Wingti for the none funding of Hagen City Authority in the 2017 national budget and Duma slaps Wingti on the floo