PNGBLOGS

by BRYAN KRAMER MP Prime Minister Peter O'Neill was caught lying and misleading Parliament during question time when it resumed its first session in 2018 on Tuesday. O'Neill was responding to a question raised by the Governor of Western Province, Toboi Yoto asking when his people would benefit from Oktedi Mine and when they would receive the share certificates. Western Governor explained that since the O'Neill Government took over the mine in September 2013 it had failed to transfer the share certificates representing 33% interest in the mine to the Western Province people. Further, still, they had yet to receive their dividends. In response, O'Neill claimed when his Government took over the mine from BHP, who at the time wanted to shut down the mine for not being profitable. He said the Government inherited a loss-making machine. He confirmed his Government has yet to transfer 33% interest to the landowners, claiming it was because of stamp duties issue.

by PONOWI SIWI REMO WHEN PEOPLE NEED TO BORROW OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY FAST, THEY ALWAYS PAY THE PRICE:  They get less money at more cost and this is what Peter O'Neill is doing right now. He's not mortgaging PNG's wealth, he will be destroying it. China is a massive sea of humanity, 1.35 billion out of the total world population of 7.4 billion. Much of China's land is desert. There is a massive concentration of population along the coasts and fertile river valleys. As the population has continued to grow, land has become more short, and people struggle just to grow enough food to eat. The massive rural impoverishment has caused a spillover into urban areas. People are packed like tinned mackerel in many of the cities. They have virtually no living space and certainly will never own any land. They will never own their accommodation in most cases, unless it is a tiny little apartment where an entire family is packed. Think of how you would feel if you were fo

by JAMES PARAKISHAN Wobiro commented this week in the  media: "The first time I knew about the proposal for the State to take over the Ok Tedi Mine was when a Bill was presented to Parliament.” Comments to Martyn Namorong, son of WP, on EMTV on September 26 2013: “Well our view is that the changes have come at the right time. The mine has operated for over 30 years now and some things have worked, others have not, and it is now time to make changes, and so I welcome the change, I have been an integral part of the preparation towards this change.” Time to go to Cairns na hide lo tupla haus wantaim ol yangpla meri pamuk blo u. The government of PNG has demonstrated that it is incapable of safeguarding the funds of Non CMCA villages’(South Fly affected villages who didn’t sign the CMCA Agreement) being part of the compensation moneys paid by BHP/Oktedi, as a direct result of the Court case in Melbourne by Fly River Landowners. Certain funds being dividends from Oktedi were pa

by SIR MEKERE MORAUTA   Papua New Guinea needs to take urgent action to save itself from a looming economic and financial storm, former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta said today. Sir Mekere, an economist and former head of Treasury, the Bank of Papua New Guinea and other institutions, said the nation cannot continue on its present course. “The Prime Minister has had plenty of warning from his own expert advisers in Treasury and from eminent foreign institutions and observers,” Sir Mekere said. “Good senior people in Treasury have been side-lined or sacked, or shipped out if a foreigner. Anyone who raises concerns suffers personal attack from the Prime Minister. “Or, as with the peaceful protestors who gathered at Unagi Oval on 26 October, being set upon and bashed up by the Police, no doubt on orders from above. “He has ignored all advice, and now the nation is suffering the consequences.” The latest warnings come from the international ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S

Rowan Callick The Australian THE Bougainville mine's development was fast-tracked by the Australian government. This occured when pressure built at the UN for Canberra to grant early independence to Papua New Guinea. The mine was intended to provide the new nation with solid income in addition to aid. In the 17 years from 1972 to 1989, it contributed about 44 per cent of PNG's exports, about 17 per cent of the government's revenue, and 10 per cent of PNG's gross domestic product. It employed 2800 people. The mine had been built by Rio Tinto in the face of landowner opposition. Women -- through whom land in much of Bougainville is inherited -- lay down in front of bulldozers. It took until 1980 for the original compensation package to be signed with 600 families. PNG's decentralisation to 20 provincial governments resulted from Bougainville's threat to pull of PNG in 1976, a fortnight before Australia was due to declare it independent -- threatening to rob the ne

Rowan Callick The Australian THE Bougainville mine's development was fast-tracked by the Australian government. This occured when pressure built at the UN for Canberra to grant early independence to Papua New Guinea. The mine was intended to provide the new nation with solid income in addition to aid. In the 17 years from 1972 to 1989, it contributed about 44 per cent of PNG's exports, about 17 per cent of the government's revenue, and 10 per cent of PNG's gross domestic product. It employed 2800 people. The mine had been built by Rio Tinto in the face of landowner opposition. Women -- through whom land in much of Bougainville is inherited -- lay down in front of bulldozers. It took until 1980 for the original compensation package to be signed with 600 families. PNG's decentralisation to 20 provincial governments resulted from Bougainville's threat to pull of PNG in 1976, a fortnight before Australia was due to declare it independent -- threatening to ro