PNGBLOGS

by TAENG KA The is the tale of PNG’s two newest Knights, or Sir’s as the Brits would have you say. It makes for a frighteningly intriguing tale of two MPs that hail from the same Province, Enga. One is the current governor for Enga, Sir Peter Ipatas, and the other is the current MP for Kompiam Ambum, in Enga Province. Both are long serving Members of Parliament. Both were knighted, same time, in 2022. Fascinating! This is probably where their similarity ends. So how did both become Knights? One is a true son of Enga, widely recognised in the country as the best Governor the country has ever seen. A truly remarkable and visionary leader who had the foresight to develop Enga’s intellectual capacity. He figured education held the key to the success of its people. His ideas are now being copied by other provinces, albeit a little too late. This is truly a tale of two contrasting people; one a leader that arguable deserves the knighthood more than any other person in PNG’s history, if servi

  by BEN YALO Our people in Papua New Guinea have to understand the character of Peter O'Neill to fully comprehend what damage and day-light robbery he had inflicted on ordinary Papua New Guineans, while he was running this Country. This article brings to light the dark side and unknown secrets of Peter O'Neill, the Member for Ialibu Pangia Electorate and the then Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. These uncompromising and compelling truths revealed here might surprise you, but you will not regret that you have discovered the deep secrets of his background and character unknown to the majority of Papua New Guineans and the whole world. During the political impasse since August 2 2011, I have supported the O'Neill/Namah regime against the Somare/Abel regime. The reason of my support was to change Somare’s unpopular regime that was deeply systematic and systemically corrupt. In the process, I admit that our constitution was tempered and violated. Even though our Supreme Cour

by LUCAS KIAP Some people are complaining about my everyday devotion on the issues and challenges facing our beloved country and our dear lives. They are growing sick and tired of reading my posts. They want me to shut up for good. They are saying I am a Facebook Governor for Western Highlands province because I have been attracting more followers on Facebook. Some are saying that I am going to be el iminated in the first count. Let me remind you all that I have been writing and advocating against corruption and about the issues affecting the development and progress of the country for the last 20 years since my young days at the University of Technology in 2001. I wish you all know me better; read my mind, hear my heartbeat and feel the flow of blood running through my veins. I wish it is that easy to give up. I wish I could easily forget everything. I wish I could find the courage to shut up and move on with my life. But I can't. Not even for a second. I can&

  by MICHAEL PASSINGAN Its not Rocket Science, Papua New Guineans should know that the country is crumbling. Bank of PNG Governor Loi Bakani’s explanation of the theft of K124 million in demonetised banknotes, and their illegal distribution across the country and on EBay, is pathetic. The theft is clearly an inside job and Bakani’s statement is an attempt to cover that fact up. It could only have been carried out with detailed knowledge of the bank’s practices for the destruction of notes that have been taken out of circulation. Even more alarming is that the scandal – yes, another one in the O’Neill Regime, one of the most corrupt governments in the world – comes at election time. It won’t be long before the money starts appearing in the Highlands as election bribes by PNC candidates and coalition cronies Some stories circulating in Highlands centres indicate that that is already happening. It’s an easy thing to do, as PNC’s crooked strategists surely know. Villagers in remot

by DILU GOMA Peter O’Neill’s argument against stepping down or resigning as Prime Minister in order to allow law enforcement authorities to do their job of investigating allegations of crimes or misconduct in office is that there is no ‘evidence’ of any wrongdoing on his part. Based on this, he has fought tooth and nail, both in court and out of court, to stay on in the office of Prime Minister of PNG. The out of court tactics he has used (killing the Task Force Sweep, changing justice minister, removing police commissioner, trying to remove the chief magistrate, etc) are clear signs of a power-hungry individual. The in-court battles he has fought will not come out in his favor in the end, because lawful processes of the Police, Prosecution, Leadership Tribunal, etc are all guaranteed under the Constitution, and the Supreme Court is likely to uphold this clear principle of good governance. Two fallacies of O’Neill’s argument concerning ‘lack of evidence’ are as follows. One,

by PAUL FLANAGAN   The PNG Government released its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook ( MYEFO ) on Monday – the update on the 2015 budget. The estimated budget deficit for 2015 blows out from an already high budgeted 4.4% of GDP to 9.4%. This would be the highest in PNG’s history. Public debt levels are expected to skyrocket from the earlier estimate of 27.8% of GDP to 41.3%. In Australia, such a rapid change in the estimated fiscal position would go well beyond being termed “a budget crisis”. PNG’s official figures are much worse than at the time of PNG’s last economic crisis at the end of the 1990s (see graph below). PNG expenditure and revenues as a share of GDP – with updated figures from 2015 MYEFO Note: The gap between the lines indicates the size of the government deficit or surplus. Both lines exclude grants (aid). The drivers for the rapid deterioration in PNG’s fiscal situation are the fall in international commodity prices, a growth slow down as well