PETER O’NEILL’S ROLL OUT OF THE ILLEGAL K6 BILLION CHINESE EXIM BANK LOANS
by BARRY PISIMI On or around September 2012, immediately after Peter O’Neill was installed as the Prime Minister, he (O’Neill) took a huge delegate to China, organised by his sidekick, Ni Cragnolini. It was openly reported that a loan of K6 billion was obtained from the Chinese Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) to fund certain rehabilitation of ailing infrastructures. One would have thought that PNG Powers rundown and incompatible power generation and distribution equipment would be first priority. NO! The K6 Billion was never appropriated in the 2012 National Budget, nor was it captured in the subsequent budgets in 2013, 2014 and 2015. We really don’t know whether that loan was obtained and if so, did the money ever enter PNG? One of the mandatory conditions of Exim Bank loans is that a Chinese multi-national corporation, mostly State owned enterprises, has to be nominated to deliver the projects identified by the recipient country. Under this arrangement, the funds remain in Chi