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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: THE PACIFIC'S NEW HAITI

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by KLEO LEORNADE With improvements in Health, Wealth, Education and Justice in the 20th and 21st Century most countries in the world have to a large extent moved on from accusing and burning of witches in medieval Europe to accepting Wica (witchcraft) and sorcery in the west as mere “curiosities” that in reality are non-existent extensions of a warped mind. However, in few emerging (or ‘yet to emerge’) states where poverty and social oppression within an environment plagued with deficiencies in Health, Wealth Education and Justice, there continue to be strong beliefs in witchcraft, sorcery and the occult.  This is because the people find comfort in the supernatural to explain their ill fates because of their ignorance or deficiency in explaining the causes of deaths, loss of jobs, exam failures, passing the blame, bad luck, bad weather patterns, and crop failures, are all easily explained by Science nowadays. There is a regression in society’s development with people embracing

Manumanu Land Deal: Aftermath

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by KIN OPOSEPA Manumanu Land Deal: Aftermath The Manumanu Land deal issue has subsided through time and all stakeholders affected have seemed to move on, the dust has settled. Let me refresh your memories on the issues again. The purported Manumanu Land Deal (MLD) for the relocation of the PNG Defense Force is alleged to involve five different transactions totalling an amount of K46 million. However, the dealings did not comply with established processes. The MLD issue was raised in Parliament by Member for Kairuku –Hiri, Peter Isoaimo that eventually led to the sidelining of 2 Senior Ministers and suspension of 6 Departmental heads, CEO of State Owned Enterprise and chairman of CSTB. In a media statement on the 6th of February 2017 PM, O’Neil had announced a Commission of Inquiry (COI) headed by a retired Judge to investigate the claims made, referred the matter to the National Fraud Squad and the Ombudsman Commission also for potential breaches of the Leadership Code. He further

TOMATO – THE NEW MASTER OF INCONSISTENCIES

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by PNG BLOGS 1. Marked Boxes in Kandrian Gloucester in West New Britain were set aside and not counted for Sunday polling WHEREAS all boxes containing votes cast on Sunday for Ialibu Pangia Electorate in Southern Highlands were counted and the winner declared. 2. NCD Election Manager was caught red-handed with more than K180,000 cash and marked ballot papers with a purported agreement between a candidate. Secretary for Finance who administered funding for elections stated that all payments of allowances for electoral officials were directly remitted to their bank accounts WHEREAS Gamato claimed the substantial cash was for allowances for election officials (in a metropolitan area where most have their personal bank accounts???). 3. Joseph Tonde’s declaration for the Port Moresby North East Electorate was rejected because the Returning Officer was not the one on duty WHEREAS Nick Kuman’s declaration by a dead Returning Officer for Gumine Open was accepted. 4. William Duma’

Part 2 – Sweetheart deals cost taxpayers and landowners

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THE TRUE STORY OF THE UBS LOAN AND OTHER DEALS BETWEEN THE O’NEILL GOVERNMENT AND OIL SEARCH Part 2 – Sweetheart  deals cost taxpayers and landowners BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN SINGAPORE Comments by Oil Search executives and directors at the company’s annual general meeting earlier this year raise serious concerns about its knowledge of many specific instances of corruption in Papua New Guinea relating to its business, and its corporate behaviour. These instances are separate to the illegal UBS Loan which Oil Search helped to arrange, as detailed in Part 1 How Peter O’Neill and Peter Botten cost Papua New Guinea at least K1 billion. Some of these issues were the subject of questions in in the Australian Senate, but no satisfactory answers were provided by the Australian officials responsible. For example landowners in the PNG LNG project are owed hundreds of millions of kina in royalty payments and other entitlements, much of which is paid to the Government by Oil Se

Simple Facts on the UBS Loan Arrangement

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by DAVID LEPI Whilst the recent Oil Search share offloading by the government is attracting a vast array of discussions that are now gaining momentum by the day and the Prime Minister said to make public the facts surrounding the share sales perhaps it might be good we go back where all things started and take a look at the chronology of events. IPIC Loan It started in 2009 from what is known as the largest investment decision ever made by any PNG government. The Somare led government was investing in the 11 billion Exon-Mobil led LNG project in taking up equity of 16.8 percent by borrowing 1.68 billion Australian dollars from a little-known fund called International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) in the Middle Eastern oil state of Abu Dhabi. This took place at a time when the economy was feeling the global credit crunch and a dramatic drop in commodities prices that had made finding funds for new resource projects very uncertain. Arthur Somare, the then state enterprise m

EXCLUSIVE: THE TRUE STORY OF THE UBS LOAN: How Peter O’Neill and Peter Botten cost Papua New Guinea at least K1 billion

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BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN SINGAPORE Part 1 – How Peter O’Neill and Peter Botten cost Papua New Guinea at least K1 billion The Oil Search Annual General Meeting in Port Moresby earlier this year confirmed that the company is acutely aware of the extent of corruption in the Papua New Guinea government of Peter O’Neill. Oil Search executives privately commented to attendees after the AGM closed that "... everything here in PNG is corrupt …" “… the government is so corrupt …”, "… PNG has a lot of corruption issues …" and others in similar vein. The cost of O’Neill Government corruption is high, estimated to be several billion kina a year. Now the contribution of Oil Search’s own questionable dealings with the O’Neill Government has come under public scrutiny. Late last month stockmarket trading announcements revealed that the nation has lost at least K1 billion in an illegal sweetheart deal organised in secret between Prime Minister O’Neill and O

PNG FACES A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

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by PAUL FLANAGAN The press release from the latest mission of the world’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) – see here – highlights the difficult road ahead for PNG in dealing with recent years of bad luck and economic mismanagement. Challenges On the fiscal front, the IMF considers that the government will fail in the Supplementary Budget to bring the 2017 budget deficit back to the target of 2.5% of GDP. Rather, it estimates the deficit will be “a little over 3%” – so a gap of some K370 million relative to the 100-day target. The goal to reduce the debt to GDP ratio back to the legislated level of 30% as part of the 2017 Supplementary Budget is also recognized as infeasible. Instead, the suggestion is a medium-term objective of moving to a balanced budget by 2020 (and GDP growth will work to reduce the ratio). So the first two targets in new Treasurer Abel’s 100-day plan are likely to fail. Expected growth is also wound back from the 2.7% estimate in 2017 down to 2.4%.

PNG GOVERNMENT 100 DAYS ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN

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by  IVAN KEAS CPA Introduction PNG is a growing economy in market and business and it’s not limited in its investment capacity. It is open and wide that can efficiently allocate and distribute investment resource within its system. The West Minister Government and the Indigenous values have resembled this attributable development trait that complements the structure to adapt well with relative ease and it’s been appreciated as an integrated enabling cross-cutting culture that posses commercial and economic respect. The values have held the tenets of our democracy and loyalty to our heritage that affirms Human to be a distinguishable creature. We hold this truth as it stood the test of time in our Constitution. Papua New Guineas do not have any problem with its People, System, and Economy. She is young, cute, virgin, wealthy, rich, energetic, adventurous and attractive because of its beauty and its people. Notably, PNG Economy is an interdependent economy and majorly generates