PNGBLOGS

by BRYAN KRAMER The short answer is, Yes. This is evident following the O'Neill Government’s delayed payments of the public servant salaries last Wednesday. I was first made aware of the issue a week earlier when an article was posted on social media explaining that public servants would not be paid on time due to cash-flow crisis and that the Government would blame it on the payroll system. A week later its what exactly transpired. Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, Secretary of Treasury Dairi Vele, and Secretary of Finance Dr Ken Ngangan all claimed the delay was due to the payroll system and nothing to do with being broke. Secretary of Treasury Vele issued a public statement, "Papua New Guinea is not broke!” He added that the economy was estimated to have grown by 9.9 per cent last year, driven by the ramp up of the full year of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. He further explained PNG’s economic growth was among the highest in the wor

by PAUL FLANAGAN PNG is a high-taxing and very high-spending country relative to its Asia Pacific peers . Most of any adjustment to the fiscal balance should therefore occur on the expenditure side. PNG is planning to do this with a drop in the expenditure to GDP ratio from the highest level ever, of 38.1% in 2013, to its lowest level ever, of 24.6% in 2020. PNG has never attempted such a fiscal consolidation – not even to recover from the fiscal crises of the 1990s. Putting this into an international perspective, PNG is seeking to adjust government expenditure by 13.5% of the economy. This is more than double the government expenditure reductions undertaken by  Greece  of 6.3% (from 51.4% of GDP in 2010 to 45.1% of GDP in 2015). Of course, PNG is not facing a Greek-style fiscal crisis (at the start of its crisis Greece had a broadly similar deficit of 11%, but a much higher public debt level of 170% of GDP), but it is planning a similar or more draconian response. PNG is seekin

by PAUL FLANAGAN Potential crisis – what does this mean? • 3 types of crisis observed in countries through time (talk will focus on first, and some comments on second) • Fiscal crisis (PNG – first and second 1990s crises) • Government runs out of money to pay its bills. • Potentially manifested by shortage of government cash, ‘out of the ordinary’ borrowings, printing money, much higher government security interest rates. • External crisis (PNG – first and second 1990s crises) • Running out of foreign currency to pay bills (either private or more particularly government) • Potentially manifested by various forms of exchange rate controls, tariffs and quotas, foreign currency borrowings. • Muddling down crisis (more African and South American examples) • Pattern of continuing poor decision making undermining sustainable growth. • Medium to long-term timeframe – a slow bubbling crisis that may extend over a decade. • Potentially manifested by pattern of poor eco

by YAKAN LEPAKALI This article stems from Sunday Chronicle (July 26 2015) titled “Budget Cut and East Sepik to lose K276 million in 2016”. According to the above article, public machinery in ESP is into crisis management mood to make adjustments and take drastic steps with stringent measures to cut back on unnecessary expenditure and tighten up in readiness for 2016 budget cut. The article merely featured East Sepik Province; however, same is true with the other provinces in the country. Yet, intriguingly, nothing much is heard from the respective provincial administrations and perhaps waiting for the dream rainfall. Should K276 million cut in reality is somewhat true for all provinces, it is to the tune of K6 billion plus. We don’t know yet how many national departments and state institutions will have their share of the cut in 2016 budget. It was also speculated that DSIP will also suffer cut courtesy of this ruthless totalitarian regime. The predictability o

OP.ED It is sad really to read every week that rural people are fixing their roads with their hands so that cars can run to and from their villages, like the story we have today about that community at Kudjip in South Waghi, Jiwaka Province. They have to take up their spades and bush knives to do the work because the machines are not coming. It will cost money to engage machines and they are too poor to hire the heavy earthmoving equipment. But the story is even sadder when one learns that the road they are repairing is a provincial road or a national road – meaning the responsibility is with the provincial government or the national government. The road assets in this country are the lifelines of PNG, the arteries that pump the life sustaining nutrients to the body. It’s time MPs account for the District Service Improvement Program funds. In the name of transparency, accountability and good governance, this must happen. It is of interest to every Papua New Guinean in this country to

OP.ED It is sad really to read every week that rural people are fixing their roads with their hands so that cars can run to and from their villages, like the story we have today about that community at Kudjip in South Waghi, Jiwaka Province. They have to take up their spades and bush knives to do the work because the machines are not coming. It will cost money to engage machines and they are too poor to hire the heavy earthmoving equipment. But the story is even sadder when one learns that the road they are repairing is a provincial road or a national road – meaning the responsibility is with the provincial government or the national government. The road assets in this country are the lifelines of PNG, the arteries that pump the life sustaining nutrients to the body. It’s time MPs account for the District Service Improvement Program funds. In the name of transparency, accountability and good governance, this must happen. It is of interest to every Papua New Guinean in this country

PHILIP PUTAIJA There is a clear misuse of public funds which is indicated clearly on the Bank records (attached) of the Komo Margarima District Account. Millions of Kina from the district account has been diverted into the Acting District Managers personal account for personal use, which we believe is done in consultation or with the knowledge of the local Member of Parliament. The Acting District Manager should be terminated, arrested and locked behind bars for an investigation to begin. We write to your office expressing the concern of the huge misappropriation which occured in the Komo Margarima funds in a short span of time, 2007 2010. This Acting District Administrator for Komo Margarima District has terribly mismanaged the district funds. He illegally did direct fund transfers, made huge withdrawals over the counter under his own name, converting huge amounts of money into bank Cheques to direct transfers to PNG Construction Ltd, a company purportedly owned by the local member of

PHILIP PUTAIJA There is a clear misuse of public funds which is indicated clearly on the Bank records (attached) of the Komo Margarima District Account. Millions of Kina from the district account has been diverted into the Acting District Managers personal account for personal use, which we believe is done in consultation or with the knowledge of the local Member of Parliament. The Acting District Manager should be terminated, arrested and locked behind bars for an investigation to begin. We write to your office expressing the concern of the huge misappropriation which occured in the Komo Margarima funds in a short span of time, 2007 2010. This Acting District Administrator for Komo Margarima District has terribly mismanaged the district funds. He illegally did direct fund transfers, made huge withdrawals over the counter under his own name, converting huge amounts of money into bank Cheques to direct transfers to PNG Construction Ltd, a company purportedly owned by the local member

SAM BASIL MP P arliamentarians who have been mandated to represent their constituents are being intimidated and mistreated by their equally represented members of parliament who are in the executive arm of the legislature whom we know as ministers. While I also speak on behalf of some members of parliament who are still awaiting their developmental grants especially the DSIP funds that we all know was recently dished out to only the members of parliament from the government benches or who supported the government during the recent no-confidence attempt. The finance officers in Waigani have confirmed last week Thursday 09.09.10 that all remaining cheques of K2m especially for the opposition members of parliament was signed and released to the Finance minister’s office and are in his possession. So far all DSIP cheques from this eight parliament were physically handed out by the then Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch, Acting Finance Minister Hon. Arthur Somare, once by the Prime Minister

SAM BASIL MP P arliamentarians who have been mandated to represent their constituents are being intimidated and mistreated by their equally represented members of parliament who are in the executive arm of the legislature whom we know as ministers. While I also speak on behalf of some members of parliament who are still awaiting their developmental grants especially the DSIP funds that we all know was recently dished out to only the members of parliament from the government benches or who supported the government during the recent no-confidence attempt. The finance officers in Waigani have confirmed last week Thursday 09.09.10 that all remaining cheques of K2m especially for the opposition members of parliament was signed and released to the Finance minister’s office and are in his possession. So far all DSIP cheques from this eight parliament were physically handed out by the then Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch, Acting Finance Minister Hon. Arthur Somare, once by the Prime Min