PNGBLOGS

THE LNG LANDOWNERS OPPORTUNITY TO BUY 4.22 % EQUITY FROM THE STATE ENDS ON 30 JUNE 2016; WILL PETER O’NEILL FIND THE MONEY TO MEET THE OBLIGATIONS? by ANDRE BILAK STEVEN PNG is already having a serious cash flow problem, and nothing can be more evidenced than the Minister for Finance James Marape’s statement few weeks ago that all MPs (who supposed to receive K15m DSIP funds) will receive K1 million each for this year. The cash flow crisis is affecting business houses, government departments and households like never before. The Bank of Papua New Guinea has about less than US$1.4 billion in reserves against pending foreign exchange orders of around K4 billion plus and the situation is not improving any sooner. The endless cue for sending funds overseas is unbearable and killing many import reliant businesses in this import-reliant economy. Many learned experts in economic management have advised O’Neill, since early signs of doom emerged, to take remedial actions immedia

Dear Honourable Members of Parliament.  Papua New Guinea is not broke but only one person is holding this country to ransom, and the consequences will adversely affect your political careers. if you allow Peter O'Neil to be in power after 13th June, 2016, the default date of the UBS loan, UBS will likely declare PNG insolvent. Meaning PNG government can print K3 billion but we do not have the foreign currency to convert this printed money. World Bank is already in the country, they are funding roads and infrastructures now, after we've been declared insolvent under Peter O'Neil. World Bank IMF will give us money for Budget Support with the following austerity measures: 1. No DSIP/PSIP 2. NO Free Education and Health Care 3. Budget cut by 60% 4. Customary Land Mobilisation Program The stoppage in DSIP/PSIP funds will affect most the programs you honourable MPs have created and you will end up loosing your seats. Many other consequences you might face. Tuesday is

PM TURNBULL by PETER WARINE Australia’s nearest neighour and only colony, Papua New Guinea, is on the brink of economic collapse due to grand corruption and mismanagement of the O’Neill Government. The Public coffers have run dry early last year (2015) and PNG has there seems not much left to keep its head above the water.  PNGs economic outlook is bleak. International Rating Agencies have all downgraded PNG to negative gradings. The O’Neill Government conducted roadshows around the world to secure some more loans to ease the cash flow and foreign reserve shortages but to no avail. Even treasury bonds were used to attract investors but were seen as mere toilet papers.  The economic crises has escalated and literally, there is no money to pay the public servants salary –something that O’Neill wants covered all the time as a measure of control public dissent. Whilst trouble is brewing on the island of paradise, life is as usual downunder. Australia has never raised any form o

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 JACK PALME JOHNSON Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and his heavily corrupt National Executive Council have, on Wednesday 16th December, approved to abolish the Limited Preferential Voting (LPV) System and revert to the old system –First Past the Post. We do not know the reasoning behind this regressive Christmas gift to PNG by the O’Neill Government but well-placed sources confirm the NEC decision. This decision does not come as a surprise to Papua New Guinea, the land of bountiful tolerance and wilful ignorance. It shouldn’t be surprising at all because O’Neill Government has lost its popularity on all fronts. Economic Mismanagement, Grand Scale Corruption, Evasion, Deception, Lies, and Manipulation are among the outstanding hallmarks of PNC Party and O’Neill Administration. PM O’Neill himself has the NPF case, the Paraka Case, the UBS Leadership Tribunal and the PNG Power Generators case still hanging over him and yet continues to run this country down. Thanks to our entire

by NEMO YALO*  The National (19.10.15) in its editorial labelled the Opposition’s move to bring a motion of no confidence against the Government as “premature”. Referring to the speculated motion of no confidence it opened with the line: “Has Papua New Guinea gone to the dogs?” This is a seriously preposterous and bias characterization of a healthy process of democracy. Whether a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister is tabled or not and what the outcome will be if it is voted is a matter for Parliament. What must not go unchallenged is The National’s lopsided and politically biased editorial. The editorial attempted to demonstrate balance by quoting what the Opposition and its members said in a recent press conference and then quoted the Prime Minister’s response to the Supreme Court ruling on 4 September 2015 which nullified the so-called “grace period” Constitutional amendment. The invalidated constitutional amendment granted a government 30 months i

BRYAN KRAMER BREAKS DOWN THE HISTORY BEHIND THE DECISION TO TERMINATE TWO SENIOR OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE ARREST OF PRIME MINISTER O'NIELL by BRYAN KRAMER   While many were jubilant and surprised by the news of National Court's ruling to stay (stop) Commissioner of Police Gary Baki's decision to terminate Assistant Commissioner of Police Thomas Eluh and Deputy Director of National Fraud & Anti-Corruption Directorate Timothy Gitua, for me the ruling was expected. The Judiciary operates under strict guidelines, rules, procedures and principles all based on several hundred years of precedent (previous court rulings). The judiciary is the branch of government which administers justice according to law. The two other branches are Parliament and the National Executive Council (NEC) made up of Government Ministers and chaired by Prime Minister , also referred to as the Executive Government or Cabinet. The role of Parliament is to make the laws, while N

by BRYAN KRAMER The Prime Minister's office released a media statement " Prime Minister Hon. Peter O'Neill Highlights the Importance of Political Stability - Notes Supreme Court Decision on Constitutional Amendments" Author of the press statement said the Prime Minister has received the Supreme Court ruling and parties respected the decision but it is important that the reasons behind the amendments are understood as it is an issue that will likely return again in the future. "This legislation was designed to further enhance the stability in the Government of the nation,” Prime Minister Hon. Peter O’Neill said. “This was for current and future Governments. “It should be noted that since the passing of the integrity law that came into effect in 2002, and these further amendments in 2012 and 2013, the country has enjoyed sustained economic growth averaging 8 per cent. “This is largely because of the political stability that is in our country. "As

by BRYAN KRAMER I came across an article and research paper by Dr Bill Standish Consultant, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group published back 1999. I've pasted a number of extracts from the article that interestingly enough are very much relevant today. CRISIS OF GOVERNMENT: THE SKATE ERA The Skate Government attracted international attention after its most senior ministers were videotaped discussing bribery and thuggery; and other personal scandals shocked the PNG community. Catholic bishops warned of popular revolt against declining levels of government services and increasing social misery and crime. It appeared that the independence of the Central Bank and the Judiciary had been seriously compromised. Having pushed through his harsh yet partly unfunded 1999 Budget, on 4 December 1998 Mr Skate used his numbers to adjourn PNG's National Parliament for over seven months. The effect of this was to delay by five months a motion of no-confidence which the Opp

PAUL REINBARA The recent Supreme Court Ruling on the reappointment of Sir Paulias Matane on Friday leaves a lot to be asked about this current government’s direction. There were a lot of questions asked when this matter was brought before parliament and if the parliamentary process to elect a new GG was stretched to its limits before Matane was drawn as the appointee. Between the two groups in Parliament we now see no debate at all, there is less time spent in addressing issues affecting the country, the game of cat and mouse and the cunning ability by the government to use its power in numbers with the usual puppet the Speaker have their ways before anything is even argued and a proper debate is held. Papua New Guinea needs to know the process we know called democracy and what it means in the Parliament, to me it sounds more to demonstrate craziness. Right now we have a bunch of monkeys in a zoo the so called House Tambaran fighting over bananas. We are fed with lies by cohorts such a

PAUL REINBARA The recent Supreme Court Ruling on the reappointment of Sir Paulias Matane on Friday leaves a lot to be asked about this current government’s direction. There were a lot of questions asked when this matter was brought before parliament and if the parliamentary process to elect a new GG was stretched to its limits before Matane was drawn as the appointee. Between the two groups in Parliament we now see no debate at all, there is less time spent in addressing issues affecting the country, the game of cat and mouse and the cunning ability by the government to use its power in numbers with the usual puppet the Speaker have their ways before anything is even argued and a proper debate is held. Papua New Guinea needs to know the process we know called democracy and what it means in the Parliament, to me it sounds more to demonstrate craziness. Right now we have a bunch of monkeys in a zoo the so called House Tambaran fighting over bananas. We are fed with lies by cohorts suc

OP/ED The 11th Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney, Australia kicked off yesterday. And in a packed room, PNG’s Oil Search Limited, a major partner in the LNG project, shocked the experts and government officials including ministers from both countries that it has spent a whopping K11.931 billion in oil benefits between 1992 and 2009. And that is nothing on the ground to show for this money, the company says. That is the verdict from oil industry supremo Dr Peter Botten of Oil Search Limited who said there was “no significant appropriate improvements in living standards” had occurred to Papua New Guineans from billions of kina received by landowners, provincial governments and the national government as resource benefits over the last 17 years. Today we are told some 200 people have died from cholera in Western Province. Apart from Cholera, TB, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Cancer and many other diseases are killing our people. The National Department of Health has admitted that our health

OP/ED The 11th Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney, Australia kicked off yesterday. And in a packed room, PNG’s Oil Search Limited, a major partner in the LNG project, shocked the experts and government officials including ministers from both countries that it has spent a whopping K11.931 billion in oil benefits between 1992 and 2009. And that is nothing on the ground to show for this money, the company says. That is the verdict from oil industry supremo Dr Peter Botten of Oil Search Limited who said there was “no significant appropriate improvements in living standards” had occurred to Papua New Guineans from billions of kina received by landowners, provincial governments and the national government as resource benefits over the last 17 years. Today we are told some 200 people have died from cholera in Western Province. Apart from Cholera, TB, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Cancer and many other diseases are killing our people. The National Department of Health has admitted that our heal

PNGEXPOSED The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, has recently published an information sheet about its support for the development of Special Economic Zones in Papua New Guinea. The information sheet concludes with remarks about the proposed Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) in Madang. “Is IFC involved with the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone? No” says the information sheet Then, to make it quite clear, it reiterates “IFC has not been involved with any of the arrangements for the PMIZ.” This is a far cry from the information the  IFC was putting out in June 2009 when it confidently declared its SEZ strategy for PNG… will also address the government’s plan to establish the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone promoting investment in onshore processing of regionally caught tuna.  The project made an important step forward yesterday when the PMIZ project’s National Management Committee and Technical Working Group, along with IFC representatives and members of t