PNGBLOGS

by SAM KOIM At the 25th Papua New Guinea–Australia Ministerial Forum held recently in Madang, the Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) surprised the Australian Government Ministers in attendance by requesting the Australian Government to take a paradigm shift from its program and project based aid to direct budgetary support as was during early days of PNG’s statehood. Two reasons publicly given by the GoPNG for the request are that firstly, it is claimed that the Australian aid programs are running parallel to the GoPNG development agendas and secondly, it is perceived that a lot of middlemen are chewing up most of the funds that could otherwise be spent on tangible projects. It is understood such requests were made previously and Australia rejected it, but this time, the Australian Government had undertaken to consider it in an upcoming review on aid to PNG. Although the GoPNG denies the request is driven by the cash flow crises the country is facing, it is an open secret

by STEVEN YANDARI REVELATIONS ON PNG BLOGS WOULD NORMALLY RESULT IN AN OUTRAGED PUBLIC RESPONSE BY THE PRIME MINISTER . Not against the publisher of the information, but a call to establish a Commission of Inquiry to get to the bottom of the multiple stories of massive sex-for-government-favours that the Dora Lu/Ru Lu stories are bringing out. Remember, however, that when Peter O'Neill came into power as PM, and his government established a set of about 10 priority action areas for the government, "fighting corruption" wasn't on the list at all. This was despite the glaring fact that PNG is in the top 15% of most corrupt countries in the world. There is silence from the Prime Minister and the government on the Dora Lu story. There is silence from The National, the Post Courier, and government owned EM-TV. Why is there such silence when, in fact, a journalist at any of these organisations could create a flashy reputation and good name if they investigated and fou

by JOSEPH GAWI PATRICK PRUAITCH STANDS OUT AMONGST THE WHOLE GANG OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALS IN PARLIAMENT: He honestly believes that no matter how corrupt he is, he will never be prosecuted. This belief is made ever more strong by the fact that he has been caught or nearly caught many times. But nothing ever results in a conviction and Patrick Pruaitch remains free to smirk at the world knowing he has his protectors. Is it true that he actually believes it is God's will that he remain free to perpetuate his life of bribery and kickbacks? Or is it actually the devil at work here? More than any other PNG politician today, Patrick Pruaitch is the symbol of a system of justice breaking down nearly in its entirety whenever it comes to prosecuting VIPs or virtually any white collar criminals. Yes, Paul Tientsen got prosecuted and sent to jail but that's because he wouldn't do things the way the loose knit mafia of politicians who run our country expected him to do. He wouldn&

by PAUL FLANAGAN PNG and Mongolia have much in common economically. Indeed, the latest World Bank Global Economic Prospects report portrays them as near economic twins despite their  historic, cultural and geo-political differences.   If anything, Mongolia was considered the healthier of the two countries. There is now one important economic difference – Mongolia last week  recognised  that it needed help from the international community. By doing so, it mobilised $US440 million in IMF funding and an estimated additional $US5.5 billion in additional cheap loan and grant assistance (much cheaper than Credit Suisse). In contrast, the O’Neill government has failed to concede its economic mismanagement requires a similar solution – low cost financing conditional on improved economic policies.  Foreign currency restrictions are the new norm for business, but this is hurting growth and discouraging further foreign investment. There is much good that a similar assistance package co

by APELIS TOKIVA PETER O'NEILL HAS DEDICATED THE LAST 4 1/2 YEARS TO PARALYSING ANY DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT DESIGNED TO KEEP CHECKS ON ANY LEADER AMASSING TOO MUCH POWER, THEN ABUSING IT:  He has successfully paralysed the ability of the police, fraud squad, ombudsman commission, auditor general, etc to investigate white collar crime or leader abuse of power by strangling them financially and if necessary, shutting them down physically.  He has successfully strangled the court system using his old strategy which has worked so well for his NPF fraud troubles and others in the past. Mounting endless court challenges passes time to the point the public forgets all about the case. That's when Peter O'Neill (and Jimmy Maladina) can make a deal, through bribery or intimidation (whatever it takes) to end the court case in his favour.  He has successfully castrated Parliament until it has become an easy to manipulate puppet, usually successfully warding of

PNGBLOGS In news just received from the Court House, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's legal warrior, Tiffany Twivey herself got committed today by the District Court to stand trial in the National Court. Mr Twivey who employed all manner of legal techniques to protect and prevent the arrest of her high profile clients including Peter O'Neill and Daire Vele had got herself entangled in the justice drag-net. Ms Twivey was charged with perverting the course of justice last year and today, the District Court found that she has a case to answer. This case relates to her trying to save her boy-friend Daire Vele. Details will be out soon. (Source: Court House Waigani)

by BRUCE HORRY Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s latest display of incompetence to abandon the much talked about Commission of Inquiry (CoI) and instead appoint an internal administrative inquiry into the controversial Manumanu Land deal comes with little surprise for a number of reasons. Firstly, as the Prime Minister, you should have been briefed prior to the announcement on which effective inquisitive avenues are to be invoked to attain maximum justice, if ever he was so interested in justice. Making a grand announcement for a CoI and later abandoning it raises so much suspicion. One that comes to mind is the fact that in an open commission of Inquiry, all persons would be compelled to testify openly. Information circulating within the corridors of power is that if they appoint a credible Commissioner for the CoI, it would unravel the different players in this deal and would inescapably incriminate Peter O’Neill himself. This to me proves to be a compelling reason for the abor

by PAUL FLANAGAN This is the third and final posting on PNG’s 2016 IMF Article IV report.  The two previous posts have focused on PNG’s growth rate being much lower than claimed by the O’Neill government and PNG’s weak external position. The focus of this blog is on fiscal and monetary policy. The IMF report estimates the 2016 budget deficit will be K628 million greater than estimated by the government (so reaching 4.4% of GDP), and this feeds into greater debt levels. Government debt at the end of 2016 is estimated to be K967.3 million greater than stated by the government (and this does not include build-ups in off-budget debt such as the K3 billion in borrowings for Oil Search shares). While commending the government for its actions in the 2016 Supplementary Budget and “prudent” 2017 budget, there are concerns about where expenditure cuts have been made, the lack of effort on raising revenues (in particular from the resource sector), and the need to improv

by PHILIP TEE Should we all join the Minister for Justice, Hon Ano Pala to welcome the establishment of an office in Port Moresby by the global legal firm, Norton Ross Fulbright?. The Minister in charge of Justice matters in the country did so. The firm which was founded in 1794 has about 58 branches around the world and PNG will now be added to the franchise. The firm’s turnover for 2014 alone was around US$ 1.815 billion. It is believed the firm’s Sydney Office had been very instrumental in opening the Port Moresby Office. Whilst the firm’s long standing reputation as a global franchise in the legal industry is unmatchable, the firms Sydney Office has a special connection with PNG, especially the Peter O’Neill Government. There is a Sydney Partner of the firm called Anthony Latimer who has a very special relationship with two known fraudsters, namely Jimmy Maladina and Peter O’Neill. He had been facilitating a number of “legal work” for Jimmy and O’Neill for a number of ye

UN announcement highlights recent problems with the PNG Government's payment of bills Comes after state-owned electricity provider cut services to several government agencies over failure to pay bills Five other countries — Venezuela, Libya, Sudan, Cape Verde and Vanuatu — have also lost voting rights for non-payment Papua New Guinea has lost its vote in the United Nations General Assembly because it failed to pay its annual contributions. Papua New Guinea has lost its vote in the United Nations General Assembly because it failed to pay its annual contributions. PNG needs to pay the UN at least $180,000 to regain voting rights. It is one of six countries whose voting rights have been suspended for non-payment — the others being Venezuela, Libya, Sudan, Cape Verde and Vanuatu. The UN's announcement highlights recent problems with the PNG Government's payment of bills. It comes after the state-owned electricity provider, PNG Power, cut services to the country's n

by PNGBLOGS STAFF WRITERS   It seems ICCC is in bed with Telikom’s Chairman Mahesh Patel on the so called merger of Telikom, Bmobile and DataCo issue. A number of key points for the public to note here: Telikom Board’s term of office has expired. As such, Telikom effectively has no Board to act on its behalf at the moment until a new Board is sworn in. How can Mahesh Patel claim to be speaking on behalf of the Board when insider information has it that there has never been a Board Meeting convened for this purpose? He therefore is acting alone, and for whose interest? Clearly, if you link the dots together, it would be in the interest of the team: The Prime Minister Peter O’Neill , Mahesh Patel himself, John Mangos and Michael Donnelly , the ousted CEO of Telikom PNG. This article has it that Mahesh, the Chairman of Telikom PNG went into discussions with ICCC boss, Mr. Paulus Ain. How can he, Mahesh, discuss the merger while acting as the Chairman of another

by STEVEN ROLLAND As the country is fast sinking into debt and economic ruin, we are seeking answers. We know Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is a failed businessman, having failed in three (3) businesses he started before joining politics. His true success in business came when he put his hands into the public coffers. The rest is history. We cannot expect miracles from him. He is like an inexperienced mechanic who enjoys stripping all the parts of a vehicle in the pretext of fixing it but really does not know how to fix it. It will be moments when he will disappear without fixing the mess he created. Behind O'Neill's shonky economic management were a number of spivvy characters. One that PM O'Neill relied most was Dr Jacob Weiss, who provided most of the advise on structuring and procuring more loans. Jacob Weiss would attend Government Caucus meetings and mislead all the clown/naïve Members of Parliament that it was okay to borrow excessive from overseas and domes

by PAUL FLANAGAN Summary The recent IMF report indicates PNG’s international economic situation is much more frail than the picture presented by the O’Neill government. Indeed, the IMF calls the foreign reserves position ‘weak’. PNG has less than one third the recommended level in its international bank account. And this is despite the foreign exchange rationing that is hurting PNG business, investment and jobs. PNG’s published import coverage ratios are misleading and out of step with internationally accepted definitions. Specifically, PNG claims foreign reserves cover 13.0 months of imports while the independent umpire, the IMF, says the figure is only 3.2 months of imports. The suggested level for a country such as PNG is around 10 months of imports. PNG has less than one-third the prudent level. PNG says the import coverage ratio for non-mineral sector imports has increased by 28% over the last five years.  This appears to show a healthy improvement in PNG’s external

by MICHAEL PASSINGAN PNG BLOGS has learnt that Prime Minister PETER O'NEILL has directed Kumul Consolidated Holding  (KCH) Chairman and O'Neill rubber stamp PAUL NERAU to engage the services former Digicel PNG CEO, JOHN MANGOS as a super consultant to the Public company in a bid to sell off TELIKOM and its subsidiaries to DIGICEL and you guessed it REMINGTON Group of Companies. PNGBLOGS broke a story today about the recent engagement of Mangos in a plot to sell off three of PNG's State owned Telcos Telikom PNG, B-Mobile and DataCo. T elikom has a good track record of being independent unlike Air Niugini or PNG Power, they have diversified their business into the areas of television (EMTV) and retail (DATEC). JOHN MANGOS is Peter O'Neill's puppet and a Digicel plant to take over the Communications Industry in PNG through the sale of TELIKOM PNG and its subsidiaries. He has been around Papua New Guinea after he was promised the role to sell off Telikom and ma