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Showing posts with the label Papua New Guinea

FRIGHTENING GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE IN 8 KEY AREAS OF THE ECONOMY

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NATIONAL BUDGET SPOOKS PRIVATE BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT IN PNG   by WILSON TALAG Economist Paul Flanagan's recent remarks that appeared in PNG Blogs and elsewhere highlight 8 key areas of what looks to be looming financial disaster.  Mr Flanagan's enlightening report is the basis for this discussion and why the performance of each one of the key areas has started to  spook business and investors.  The seriousness of PNG’s current financial situation is becoming very clear.   A little over a week ago the government came very close to failing to come up with the year end public servant pay.  This near disaster occurred despite supplementary budgets designed to avoid such unexpected money shortages.   Another red flag flying high and warning that behind the scenes, PNG's finances are rapidly deteriorating under the O'Neill government. The 8 key areas of concern are (1) Government lies over the actual size and growth of the PNG economy, (2) Discrepancies  ove

2017 BUDGET BLUES - K40 MILLION SLUSH FUND ALLOCATED FOR PM's PERSONAL USE

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by PNGBLOGS Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s greed and corruption is on show again in the 2017 Budget, with K40 million allocated for his personal use. The slush fund is a new allocation, under the Treasury and Finance Miscellaneous category, entitled Prime Minister’s Commitments. Also in this category is K3 million for “PM’s Official Staff Determination Payouts”. Treasury and Finance Miscellaneous can be viewed on Page 187 of Volume 2a, 2017 Budget Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for National Government Departments http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/national_budget/files/2017/Vol2a-Revenue%20and%20Expenditure%20National%20Govt%20Depts.pdf No details of the new slush fund have been given. No reference was made to it in the Treasurer’s speech. No details are available of who or what the K40 million is to be spent on. There is no evidence of any acquittal requirements. This is a slush fund pure and simple and the Prime Minister and his Treasurer are trying to keep it secret

PETER O'NEILL'S INFRASTRUCTURE SCAM FOR ATTRACTING VOTES:

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by ROBERT MORUMBU Several defenders of Peter O'Neill and his infrastructure scam commented on PNG Blogs when the article comparing dictator Kim Jong Un's (North Korea) infrastructure infatuation with Peter O'Neill's infrastructure infatuation. The point made was that both countries have been emphasising iheadlong dedication to infrastructure creation. North Korea has been doing it for years and it hasn't achieved much in improving their integral human development for the people as a whole. PNG is basically following the North Korea model and the results as a far as real development is concerned, is likely to be the same disappointment as North Korea is getting. Peter O'Neill's infrastructure boom is a scam for several reasons. First, a lot of it is built with loan money, which all has to be paid back with interest, using the taxpayer's money. Second and worse, when the infrastructure is built poorly, it falls apart before the loan money used to bu

IN A GENUINE DEMOCRACY, THERE IS NO FEAR ON WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT A PUBLIC FIGURE:

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by MICHAEL JOSEPH PASSINGAN You can say anything about them, show no respect to them at all, and treat them with personal contempt. You can make fun of them, laugh at them, point fingers at them, and never have a worry in the world that you'll be prosecuted or jailed. That's the way it is in genuine democracies. Who in Australia is ever prosecuted for saying something terrible about the Prime Minister? Or in Germany about the Chancellor? Or in Japan about the Prime Minister? Or in America about the President? Now that we have the new PNG Cybersecurity Act, about which our Prime Minister has come out in print, challenging those who have something critical to say about the government to come out with their names and faces. Very sinister indeed! The idea of the Act seems to be to intimidate people so that they stop making fun of the PM and his government or to reveal the deep darkest secrets about either one, for which there is usually never totally conclusive evidence,

BRIAN KELLY, CAN’T WHITE WASH WITH YOUR PURPORTED EXPLANATION.

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by LEKEM LAKI Australian Brian Kelly who took an article on Post Courier dated 10th June 2016, on page 8, titled, “CEO on Black Swan ownership”. Who is Brian Kelly trying to brain wash? Papua New Guineans aren’t all naïve and ignorant people to believe Brian Kelly’s bullshits. He purportedly came out publicly in the height of commotion on Wednesday (9th June 2016) to divert the public perception on the ownership of Black Swan International. There is no secret about who owns Black Cat, Phoenix, L&A, Global Construction, Remington and Black Swan international. Also, it is no secret about who is associated to pathological liar and master thief Peter O’Neil whether it be national or opportunist expatriates. Brian Kelly is closely associated to Peter O’Neil managing his Remington Company and we have vivid memory of Brian Kelly’s business connection and political affiliation to PO and PNC. It’s a public knowledge, Brian Kelly can’t erase it even with indelible ink

FOOLISH JUDGEMENT COSTING STATE MUCH NEEDED MONEY

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by LEKEM LAKI SHORT SIGHTED WITH NO BENEFIT AND COST ANALYSIS LEADING TO FOOLISH JUDGEMENT COSTING STATE MUCH NEEDED MONEY. I write to express my disgust and disapproval on the controversial judgement by a learned judge who presided over the election petition case between Hon. Don Pomb Polye and Alfred Luke Manase. The judgement is thought provoking, illogical, unmerited and senseless decision in totality. Compare and contrast the statistics courtesy of electoral commission and do a benefit and cost analysis of the episode of recount. Does it warrant such a judgement? Not merely the timing factor but the decision that is of no great benefit to the state at the crucial time when the country is rattled with gross mismanagement of country’s economy and proliferation of massive corruption courtesy of ruthless regime of PO. According to Electoral Commissioner Gamato’s testament, he needs three quarter of a million Kina (K850, 000.00) to do the recounting. In those disputed boxes, the t

HOSPITAL MONIES NOW DIVERTED BY O'NEILL TO GOVERNMENT MPs SLUSH FUNDS

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by MICHAEL JOSEPH PASSINGAN O’NEILL GOVERNMENT MPs PUTTING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF KINA FOR HOSPITALS INTO THEIR OWN SLUSH FUNDS Every day thousands and thousands of sick people queue up at hospitals and health clinics across the country seeking treatment or medicines for themselves or their loved ones. But as Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and his colleagues and cronies steal more and more money, borrow more and more money and waste more and more money, those people are increasingly being turned away. It does not matter how sick you are or who you are. Children with infectious diseases, pregnant mamas, bubus with heart illness, people suffering from malaria or TB, diabetes and hepatitis patients – all are being turned away. PETER O’NEILL SLASHING HEALTH BUDGET Welcome to Papua New Guinea under the O’Neill Regime. PNG Blogs recently revealed how the Prime Minister’s promises not to cut spending on essential services such as health were just lies. According to the 201

PM SHOULD HAND HIMSELF IN

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NO MORE EXCUSES FOR THE PRIME MINISTER On Tuesday April 5, 2016, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said: “We all know who are the real financial beneficiaries of the Paraka transactions. “I look forward to the facts seeing the light of day on this issue.” He now has a duty to go to the police and submit to an interview on Parakagate to provide them with these facts. His failure to do opens the way for him to be charged with further very serious criminal offences (see below). It insults the Office of the Prime Minister and the people of Papua New Guinea. NO MORE LIES. NO MORE DELAYS. Opposition Leader Don Polye voluntarily went to the police to tell them what he knows about Parakagate. He has done his duty as a law-abiding citizen. Every other law-abiding citizen in the country would do the same. So should the Prime Minister. WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE PRIME MINISTER? There is nothing special about the Prime Minister. He has no more rights than any other citizen. He should behave like any

PNG FISCAL WOES - WHERE IS ALL THE MONEY?

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by STEPHEN HOWES - DEVPOLICY BLOG There are widespread reports these days from Papua New Guinea of budgetary difficulties, from budget cuts to  church health services  to  government salary payment delays . Why? Total expenditure is budgeted in 2016 to be slightly below the 2015 level. But it is still 50 per cent above 2012 levels. (With the change in accounting rules, it is difficult to make comparisons going back before 2012.) That’s massive growth. So what is the problem? There are three. The first is a big shift in allocations. Since 2012, there have been big increases in interest payments (due to increased borrowing), payments to MPs through district and provincial funds, payments to schools (in lieu of school fees), and compensation to employees. Deduct these and there is an 18 per cent increase in spending compared to 2012 to fund everything else, which includes critical things like maintenance and church health spending. That’s the “discretionary spending” shown in Tab

BAD GOVERNMENT LOANS MADE PNGBC OBSOLETE, BSP ON THE VERGE OF REPEATING HISTORY

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by MICHAEL J PASSINGAN Bank South Pacific is increasingly propping up the corrupt and financially compromised O’Neill Regime, exposing itself to higher and higher risk and putting itself outside its prudential guidelines. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, who as head of PNG Banking Corporation drove the bank into bankruptcy, forcing its merger with BSP, has been pressuring BSP to lend more and more money to his Government and his failing SOEs. Since Mr O’Neill took Government midway through 2011, BSP’s lending to the Government and Public Authorities has exploded. At the same time corruption, waste and mismanagement within Government – especially in SOEs under Minister Ben Micah – reached record levels. And it continues to increase. In 2010 BSP;’s accounts showed it had a negligible K116 million in loans to Government and Public Authorities, or 3% of its portfolio. As at 31 December 2014 (the latest full-year BSP accounts available) the bank had K1.12 billion in loans to Gov