PNGBLOGS

David Robie Five months ago, he was the target of would-be assassins. Now he is the magnet for politicians wanting to rein in the powers of his state corruption watchdog. But Chronox Manek is one of the most popular public figures in Papua New Guinea and thousands of ordinary citizens flocked to a peaceful protest last week against a controversial draft law aimed at curbing his powers. And he charmed his way into the hearts of freedom of speech and free media advocates gathered in Brisbane for the annual two-day UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference marking May 3. Manek, Papua New Guinea’s Ombudsman is the scourge of the coalition government led by founding “father” Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare – and a problem for Opposition politicians as well. However, many journalists and public activists see him as a courageous and determined campaigner against corruption by public figures. More than 7500 citizens took part in Tuesday’s Port Moresby protest against legal amendments – the

David Robie Five months ago, he was the target of would-be assassins. Now he is the magnet for politicians wanting to rein in the powers of his state corruption watchdog. But Chronox Manek is one of the most popular public figures in Papua New Guinea and thousands of ordinary citizens flocked to a peaceful protest last week against a controversial draft law aimed at curbing his powers. And he charmed his way into the hearts of freedom of speech and free media advocates gathered in Brisbane for the annual two-day UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference marking May 3. Manek, Papua New Guinea’s Ombudsman is the scourge of the coalition government led by founding “father” Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare – and a problem for Opposition politicians as well. However, many journalists and public activists see him as a courageous and determined campaigner against corruption by public figures. More than 7500 citizens took part in Tuesday’s Port Moresby protest against legal amendments – the

The National - 10th May 2010 FORMER justice minister and attorney-general Dr Allan Marat claimed last Friday that Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has humiliated the people of his Rabaul electorate and himself in angrily demanding his resignation in front of other ministers and the government caucus. So saying, Marat has also withdrawn his Melanesian Liberal Party from the government coalition. In a statement, Marat said: “I am not crying over spilt milk. But I must set the record straight that I was not politely asked to step down. “I was not merely asked to resign. The prime minister, whilst in a very angry mood, demanded my resignation and humiliated the people of Rabaul Open Electorate in me as their representative.” Marat said he had told the government caucus meeting last Tuesday that the Post-Courier had misreported him about the Maladina amendments in its front page report titled “Maladina is Lying: Marat”. “I explained the misreporting to Esa’ala MP Moses Maladina just b

The National - 10th May 2010 FORMER justice minister and attorney-general Dr Allan Marat claimed last Friday that Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has humiliated the people of his Rabaul electorate and himself in angrily demanding his resignation in front of other ministers and the government caucus. So saying, Marat has also withdrawn his Melanesian Liberal Party from the government coalition. In a statement, Marat said: “I am not crying over spilt milk. But I must set the record straight that I was not politely asked to step down. “I was not merely asked to resign. The prime minister, whilst in a very angry mood, demanded my resignation and humiliated the people of Rabaul Open Electorate in me as their representative.” Marat said he had told the government caucus meeting last Tuesday that the Post-Courier had misreported him about the Maladina amendments in its front page report titled “Maladina is Lying: Marat”. “I explained the misreporting to Esa’ala MP Moses Maladina just b

Pius Ngalye Recent issue on changes to certain acts of constitution on leadership code, issue on Kapris interview, and others, raise suspicious, country’s development is crippled by corruptions at every level, our leaders should be alert in making decisions, we have too many changes on papers espejavascript:void(0)cially on vital areas of laws and regulations that we are confuse to implement, we lack bold actions, actions that not only should eliminate corruptions but prevent from increasing. Leaders are taking advantage of bulk of our population who are illiterate, uneducated enough, living in poverty and lacking courage due to compressed by these factors. We are losing touch on some important areas that we ought to concentrate on to see some results, though it takes certain period of time to yield results. Have we had started on the right footings and especially with consistency in the government we would have missed most of what is has happened and happening. We have grown rapidly i

Pius Ngalye Recent issue on changes to certain acts of constitution on leadership code, issue on Kapris interview, and others, raise suspicious, country’s development is crippled by corruptions at every level, our leaders should be alert in making decisions, we have too many changes on papers espejavascript:void(0)cially on vital areas of laws and regulations that we are confuse to implement, we lack bold actions, actions that not only should eliminate corruptions but prevent from increasing. Leaders are taking advantage of bulk of our population who are illiterate, uneducated enough, living in poverty and lacking courage due to compressed by these factors. We are losing touch on some important areas that we ought to concentrate on to see some results, though it takes certain period of time to yield results. Have we had started on the right footings and especially with consistency in the government we would have missed most of what is has happened and happening. We have grown rapidly i

The National "He wants Solidarity, meaning he will do anything to hold on to power.... even keeping Thieves and Rats around him! " PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday explained why he had asked Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat on Tuesday to resign from his cabinet ministry as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. He spoke exclusively to The National . “Cabinet solidarity is paramount and, when a government minister, particularly, the Attorney-General, goes and makes public statements that a cabinet decision, relating particularly to a constitutional amendment, is ‘wrong’, then that minister must be removed from office. “He had not honoured a government’s collective decision by going public and denouncing its (cabinet) decision. “As the prime minister, I was left with no option but to ask him to resign. “I am the captain of the ship, if something is not right, my friend, you leave me with no choice, you have to go ...” It was the first time since Tuesda

The National "He wants Solidarity, meaning he will do anything to hold on to power.... even keeping Thieves and Rats around him! " PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday explained why he had asked Rabaul MP Dr Allan Marat on Tuesday to resign from his cabinet ministry as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. He spoke exclusively to The National . “Cabinet solidarity is paramount and, when a government minister, particularly, the Attorney-General, goes and makes public statements that a cabinet decision, relating particularly to a constitutional amendment, is ‘wrong’, then that minister must be removed from office. “He had not honoured a government’s collective decision by going public and denouncing its (cabinet) decision. “As the prime minister, I was left with no option but to ask him to resign. “I am the captain of the ship, if something is not right, my friend, you leave me with no choice, you have to go ...” It was the first time since Tuesda

Mathias Kin The LNG project has generated much expectation on the benefits it will bring to the people of PNG. These expectations are to a great extent exaggerated by the government of the day. I have spent some time studying this Somare government. This government is cunning in its tactic as it attempts every day to portray a sovereign pretence that it is in control of the destiny of this country to the people of PNG and governments and organizations world wide. The recent much hyped Vision 2050 after the other national plans like the MTDS are evidence to this mood of this government. MTDS did not deliver and was deemed a failure. The Prime Minister has even boldly declared that by 2030, this country will be a prosperous nation and the people’s standard of living will be equal to other nations of the world. That is a big statement! When we go back in history, Michael Somare said these very words at independence in 1975? Since then, after 35 years, all the billions

Mathias Kin The LNG project has generated much expectation on the benefits it will bring to the people of PNG. These expectations are to a great extent exaggerated by the government of the day. I have spent some time studying this Somare government. This government is cunning in its tactic as it attempts every day to portray a sovereign pretence that it is in control of the destiny of this country to the people of PNG and governments and organizations world wide. The recent much hyped Vision 2050 after the other national plans like the MTDS are evidence to this mood of this government. MTDS did not deliver and was deemed a failure. The Prime Minister has even boldly declared that by 2030, this country will be a prosperous nation and the people’s standard of living will be equal to other nations of the world. That is a big statement! When we go back in history, Michael Somare said these very words at independence in 1975? Since then, after 35 years, all the billions

Nationalist ONE minister fell victim this week, not to the will and power of the people, but to his own ill-timed public utterances on matters of government policy. Attorney-General and Justice Minister Dr Allan Marat has paid the ultimate price so, the less said on his case, the better. One issue relating to Marat’s sacking and, indeed, the whole furor over the so-called proposed Maladina bill did warrant amplification, if not for anything then to point out to our leaders that they were performing like so many rats to the piper’s tune and blindly heading towards goodness knows where. In the case of Marat as principal legal adviser to government, he alone, of all ministers, had the opportunity and the band of legal advisers at his beck to call on and take a closer look at every contract entered into by the state with any company. That would include the LNG project, the Ramu nickel-cobalt mine and the deep sea mining proposal by Nautilus. He would have been the first one to advise gover

Nationalist ONE minister fell victim this week, not to the will and power of the people, but to his own ill-timed public utterances on matters of government policy. Attorney-General and Justice Minister Dr Allan Marat has paid the ultimate price so, the less said on his case, the better. One issue relating to Marat’s sacking and, indeed, the whole furor over the so-called proposed Maladina bill did warrant amplification, if not for anything then to point out to our leaders that they were performing like so many rats to the piper’s tune and blindly heading towards goodness knows where. In the case of Marat as principal legal adviser to government, he alone, of all ministers, had the opportunity and the band of legal advisers at his beck to call on and take a closer look at every contract entered into by the state with any company. That would include the LNG project, the Ramu nickel-cobalt mine and the deep sea mining proposal by Nautilus. He would have been the first one to advise gover

Sam Vulum Sunday Chronicles When other arms of government disintegrate, the judiciary always prevails, holding Papua New Guinea together in its growth and development. The country’s constitution and its political system have on several occasions been put to the test by major challenges, some of them taking the country to the brink. But it has always been the solid and vibrant judiciary that averts the worse. However, this once irrefutable judiciary is now showing signs of weakening in its unyielding independence with accusations of conflict of interest among judges, wear and tear in its administration, undue delays in the delivery of judgements and other issues being rife in its system. The legal system is further threatened when scare tactics are reportedly used against lawyers in ongoing high profile cases. That carries significant implications for the safety of lawyers and the judiciary. One such example is the Australian law firm Gadens Lawyers, which was representin

Sam Vulum Sunday Chronicles When other arms of government disintegrate, the judiciary always prevails, holding Papua New Guinea together in its growth and development. The country’s constitution and its political system have on several occasions been put to the test by major challenges, some of them taking the country to the brink. But it has always been the solid and vibrant judiciary that averts the worse. However, this once irrefutable judiciary is now showing signs of weakening in its unyielding independence with accusations of conflict of interest among judges, wear and tear in its administration, undue delays in the delivery of judgements and other issues being rife in its system. The legal system is further threatened when scare tactics are reportedly used against lawyers in ongoing high profile cases. That carries significant implications for the safety of lawyers and the judiciary. One such example is the Australian law firm Gadens Lawyers, which was representin

JUSTICE Minister and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat said yesterday he was quitting after he was bluntly told to leave the government caucus meeting in Parliament and resign as a minister. Marat confirmed in an interview yesterday that the prime minister “was not happy” with him and “asked” him to leave the meeting and to “resign by tonight”. What about Francis Marus Deputy Speaker, Patrick Pruaitch Finance Minister and Tony Aimo CIS Minister who stole K300,000.00 from BSP after supporting high profile criminal William Kapris. We have a very stubborn Prime Minister who turns a blind eye on people from his own area, his own MPs and Ministers in Government and goes out to attack a honest open MP who is not afraid to fight against graft and illegal practices in the high places. The government caucus meeting took place in the B-3 conference room in Parliament at about 1pm, just before Parliament sat at 2pm. The caucus meeting was to discuss the morning’s protest march against the Ma

JUSTICE Minister and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat said yesterday he was quitting after he was bluntly told to leave the government caucus meeting in Parliament and resign as a minister. Marat confirmed in an interview yesterday that the prime minister “was not happy” with him and “asked” him to leave the meeting and to “resign by tonight”. What about Francis Marus Deputy Speaker, Patrick Pruaitch Finance Minister and Tony Aimo CIS Minister who stole K300,000.00 from BSP after supporting high profile criminal William Kapris. We have a very stubborn Prime Minister who turns a blind eye on people from his own area, his own MPs and Ministers in Government and goes out to attack a honest open MP who is not afraid to fight against graft and illegal practices in the high places. The government caucus meeting took place in the B-3 conference room in Parliament at about 1pm, just before Parliament sat at 2pm. The caucus meeting was to discuss the morning’s protest march against the Ma

Named and shamed Lawyers recommended for criminal prosecution: Dawa Agu Klewaki, Paul Paraka (over three cases), Kumuro Sino, John Goava, Peter Pena (over two cases), Simon Norum, Guguna Garo, Eric Kiso, Francis Damem (over two cases), Francis Kuvi, Mundua Kua, Zacchary Gelu, Joseph B. Nanei, and Paul Paraka's legal clerk Billy Bonner. The above are recommended for referral to the Lawyers' Statutory Committee, as are also: Nicholas Tame, Danny Gonol, Bob Marley Nani, Gaure Odu, Daniel Kop, Jeffrey Abone, Meville Devete and Laias Paul Kandi. A judicial commission of inquiry into corruption in Papua New Guinea's core public offices has revealed that a disturbingly large section of the country's legal profession has for years been plotting and reaping massive cash rewards from scam compensation claims against the government. The commission's report recommends that 14 prominent lawyers be subject to criminal prosecution, and that they and a further eight lawyers be refe

PAUL BARKER It may have come as a surprise to many hearing of the Prime Minister talking in New Zealand about PNG becoming an aid donor. Sounds good perhaps before an international audience, but most within the country and many internationally realise how hollow it sounds, or out of touch with current realities of PNG, suffering the lowest social indicators in the Pacific region, the highest maternal mortality rates and only about 50% school intake. Notions such as independence or becoming a donor have emotional appeal, but practicalities like access to basic health services, schools, jobs and income earning opportunities, and not being threatened by lawlessness are of greater practical importance to most people. Bougainville has autonomy, with some seeking independence, but in reality (despite social and environmental problems) they are now far more dependent than before the crisis, with its former vibrant economy, sound health, educational and income-earning o