PNGBLOGS

COUNTRYSIDE We are on the verge of untold riches. Gas, rocks, fish and our blue chip companies are raking billions of kina every year. Our country will become an El Dorado where our cities will be perched with gold. Our landscape will have opulent mansions and the people will have wealth like never before. Highways will be built and cars from every make will traverse on them. Super malls will spring up and they will be our playgrounds. However, like the enchanted city, conquistadors will come from all corners of the earth to marvel at its spectacle and burn with lust to consume its riches. They will shower us with their way of life, fill our bank accounts with emeralds and pollinate their beliefs. In all, our way of life will change. The question on everyone’s lips is the change for better or for worse. I don’t know but what I do know is that change usually attracts conflicts and conflicts if not managed properly, may cascade into a cesspool of war and destruction. Anti Chine

COUNTRYSIDE We are on the verge of untold riches. Gas, rocks, fish and our blue chip companies are raking billions of kina every year. Our country will become an El Dorado where our cities will be perched with gold. Our landscape will have opulent mansions and the people will have wealth like never before. Highways will be built and cars from every make will traverse on them. Super malls will spring up and they will be our playgrounds. However, like the enchanted city, conquistadors will come from all corners of the earth to marvel at its spectacle and burn with lust to consume its riches. They will shower us with their way of life, fill our bank accounts with emeralds and pollinate their beliefs. In all, our way of life will change. The question on everyone’s lips is the change for better or for worse. I don’t know but what I do know is that change usually attracts conflicts and conflicts if not managed properly, may cascade into a cesspool of war and destruction. Anti Ch

By: HON SAM BASIL MP In support of the Governor of the Bank of PNG Mr. Loi Bakani’s comment yesterday through the media regarding the wreck less investment made by the Somare government by placing K5b of the people’s money into trust accounts held by the commercial banks is uncalled for. The K5b belongs to the 6.5 million people of Papua New Guinea and any government that decides to play around with that kind of money to enrich the commercial banking system can be termed as a very bad investment deliberately executed for dubious reasons only known to them and their cohorts. Not only that but by placing billions of kina into hundreds of different trust accounts in the commercial banks also makes it untraceable leaving funds vulnerable to theft and misappropriation because the process does bypass the strict government procedures, guidelines and financial scrutiny. We have seen the NADP, DSIP, RESI and other funds kept in the trust accounts outside the Bank of PNG banking system were b

By: HON SAM BASIL MP In support of the Governor of the Bank of PNG Mr. Loi Bakani’s comment yesterday through the media regarding the wreck less investment made by the Somare government by placing K5b of the people’s money into trust accounts held by the commercial banks is uncalled for. The K5b belongs to the 6.5 million people of Papua New Guinea and any government that decides to play around with that kind of money to enrich the commercial banking system can be termed as a very bad investment deliberately executed for dubious reasons only known to them and their cohorts. Not only that but by placing billions of kina into hundreds of different trust accounts in the commercial banks also makes it untraceable leaving funds vulnerable to theft and misappropriation because the process does bypass the strict government procedures, guidelines and financial scrutiny. We have seen the NADP, DSIP, RESI and other funds kept in the trust accounts outside the Bank of PNG banking system were

SOUTH PACIFIC POST FORMER businessman and now minister for Finance and Treasury Peter O’Neill “definitely benefited from proceeds of the NPF Tower Fraud,’’ the final report of the NPF Commission of Inquiry states. The report says the commission made a thorough study of Port Moresby First Real Estate’s accounts and traced all monies paid in and out on account of Mr O’Neill. “This conclusively showed that Mr O’Neill had definitely benefitted from the proceeds of the NPF Tower Fraud,” it said. “It also shows that despite his denials, Mr O’Neill is the beneficial owner of Port Moresby First Real Estate.” The report says it is clear that there is a relationship between Jimmy Maladina and Mr O’Neill whereby they have benefitted jointly from the NPF Tower Fraud. The commission traced payments made from Carter Newell lawyers to Port Moresby First national Real Estate’s interest bearing deposit account with Nambawan Finance Limited. It highlighted an amount of K500,000 from Carter Newell on Jan

SOUTH PACIFIC POST FORMER businessman and now minister for Finance and Treasury Peter O’Neill “definitely benefited from proceeds of the NPF Tower Fraud,’’ the final report of the NPF Commission of Inquiry states. The report says the commission made a thorough study of Port Moresby First Real Estate’s accounts and traced all monies paid in and out on account of Mr O’Neill. “This conclusively showed that Mr O’Neill had definitely benefitted from the proceeds of the NPF Tower Fraud,” it said. “It also shows that despite his denials, Mr O’Neill is the beneficial owner of Port Moresby First Real Estate.” The report says it is clear that there is a relationship between Jimmy Maladina and Mr O’Neill whereby they have benefitted jointly from the NPF Tower Fraud. The commission traced payments made from Carter Newell lawyers to Port Moresby First national Real Estate’s interest bearing deposit account with Nambawan Finance Limited. It highlighted an amount of K500,000 from Carter Newell on J

ILYA GRIDNEFF (AAP) There are concerns in Papua New Guinea that Qantas flights to Port Moresby are threatening the survival of PNG's second biggest carrier Airlines PNG (APNG). The Australian airline entered into the PNG market in July hoping to capitalise on the country's $16 billion ExxonMobil-led Liquefied Natural Gas project. A subsequent price war resulted in flights to Port Moresby from Cairns being cheaper than to Sydney. But since the Qantas entry, APNG has reduced its once daily Cairns-Port Moresby run to twice a week. Qantas, which has a codeshare agreement with state-owned national airline Air Niugini on flights to Sydney and Brisbane, has declined to comment on how this has affected APNG. But a government letter, sighted by AAP, says "(There is) grave concern about the recent entry of Qantas into the Cairns-Port Moresby route. "The Qantas entry in its own right was forcing both national carriers out of the market and there could be removal of competition a

ILYA GRIDNEFF (AAP) There are concerns in Papua New Guinea that Qantas flights to Port Moresby are threatening the survival of PNG's second biggest carrier Airlines PNG (APNG). The Australian airline entered into the PNG market in July hoping to capitalise on the country's $16 billion ExxonMobil-led Liquefied Natural Gas project. A subsequent price war resulted in flights to Port Moresby from Cairns being cheaper than to Sydney. But since the Qantas entry, APNG has reduced its once daily Cairns-Port Moresby run to twice a week. Qantas, which has a codeshare agreement with state-owned national airline Air Niugini on flights to Sydney and Brisbane, has declined to comment on how this has affected APNG. But a government letter, sighted by AAP, says "(There is) grave concern about the recent entry of Qantas into the Cairns-Port Moresby route. "The Qantas entry in its own right was forcing both national carriers out of the market and there could be removal of comp

The National Report s that Keas villagers stormed the Wabag police cells on Monday night and freed four of their men who were locked up on Sunday afternoon. Enga police commander Supt Martin Lakari told The National yesterday that the Keas villagers, living near Wabag town, came in numbers at around noon, over-powered five policemen and used a bolt cutter to cut open the locks and freed the four detainees. Lakari said 16 other detainees were in the cell but decided against following the four out of the cells. He identified the four escapees as Pesara Pambai, William Pambai, Nilin Pambai and Minjuk Pambai. Lakari said the four, who are brothers, were charged with attempted murder, wilful damage and causing grievous bodily harm and were supposed to appear before Wabag District Court yesterday morning for mention. He said police arrested the four on Sunday for setting up an illegal roadblock and attacked a local businessman, damaging his vehicle. They resisted when police came to arrest

The National Report s that Keas villagers stormed the Wabag police cells on Monday night and freed four of their men who were locked up on Sunday afternoon. Enga police commander Supt Martin Lakari told The National yesterday that the Keas villagers, living near Wabag town, came in numbers at around noon, over-powered five policemen and used a bolt cutter to cut open the locks and freed the four detainees. Lakari said 16 other detainees were in the cell but decided against following the four out of the cells. He identified the four escapees as Pesara Pambai, William Pambai, Nilin Pambai and Minjuk Pambai. Lakari said the four, who are brothers, were charged with attempted murder, wilful damage and causing grievous bodily harm and were supposed to appear before Wabag District Court yesterday morning for mention. He said police arrested the four on Sunday for setting up an illegal roadblock and attacked a local businessman, damaging his vehicle. They resisted when police came to arrest

Those who have been waiting for the Full COI Report into the Department of Finance are now able to read to full report which has now been published online at PNGEXPOSED It is a 802 Page Document, it could take a long time if you have a slow connection to the internet. Read the Report here

Those who have been waiting for the Full COI Report into the Department of Finance are now able to read to full report which has now been published online at PNGEXPOSED It is a 802 Page Document, it could take a long time if you have a slow connection to the internet. Read the Report here

OP/ED NATIONAL security as a matter of debate has been “off the agenda’’ for many years and this may have led to an undesirable situation. Back in the 1960s and 70s, frequent border “incidents’’ kept the Papua New Guinea public on the alert as to what was going on in the border with Indonesia and to a much lesser extent, with Australia. The background was the oft reported aspirations of a former Indonesian President to subsume PNG as a part of the Indonesian “empire’’. But succeeding Jakarta governments have been at pains to dismiss such regurgitated aspirations and have made extensive efforts to show their wish for peaceful co-existence. Indeed a substantial part of our private sector now has an Indonesian component. We are on friendly terms with the Indonesian military in terms of defence cooperation, in a way that could not have been imagined back in the 1970s. Times have changed. The emphasis on border dealings is now much more focused on the unchecked movement of people and goods

OP/ED NATIONAL security as a matter of debate has been “off the agenda’’ for many years and this may have led to an undesirable situation. Back in the 1960s and 70s, frequent border “incidents’’ kept the Papua New Guinea public on the alert as to what was going on in the border with Indonesia and to a much lesser extent, with Australia. The background was the oft reported aspirations of a former Indonesian President to subsume PNG as a part of the Indonesian “empire’’. But succeeding Jakarta governments have been at pains to dismiss such regurgitated aspirations and have made extensive efforts to show their wish for peaceful co-existence. Indeed a substantial part of our private sector now has an Indonesian component. We are on friendly terms with the Indonesian military in terms of defence cooperation, in a way that could not have been imagined back in the 1970s. Times have changed. The emphasis on border dealings is now much more focused on the unchecked movement of people an

JOHN NONGORR Sir Michael Somares Government has again broken PNGs Constitution for temporary gain - to retain political power. The events that unfolded on the floor of the Parliament on July 21 were not only contrary to the Constitution but also a disgrace to parliamentary democracy. The fact that the Constitution was broken is clear. Sir Michael Somare, as Prime Minister, is responsible for Minister Paul Tiensten and Speaker Jeffrey Nape colluding to break Section 124 of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in 1999 and 2000. Section 124(1) says that the Parliament must sit for nine weeks in each year. In 1999 and 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that nine weeks means 63 days. In the year from August 6, 2009 to August 7, 2010, the Parliament would have sat for only 35 days. There is a shortfall of 28 days. The reason why Sir Michael Somare, in concert with Mr Tiensten and Mr Nape, broke the Constitution, was for short-term personal political power gain. As such, it is not

JOHN NONGORR Sir Michael Somares Government has again broken PNGs Constitution for temporary gain - to retain political power. The events that unfolded on the floor of the Parliament on July 21 were not only contrary to the Constitution but also a disgrace to parliamentary democracy. The fact that the Constitution was broken is clear. Sir Michael Somare, as Prime Minister, is responsible for Minister Paul Tiensten and Speaker Jeffrey Nape colluding to break Section 124 of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in 1999 and 2000. Section 124(1) says that the Parliament must sit for nine weeks in each year. In 1999 and 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that nine weeks means 63 days. In the year from August 6, 2009 to August 7, 2010, the Parliament would have sat for only 35 days. There is a shortfall of 28 days. The reason why Sir Michael Somare, in concert with Mr Tiensten and Mr Nape, broke the Constitution, was for short-term personal political power gain. As such, it is

COUNTRYSIDE One of the joys of growing up in PNG is to the big sing sings that happen yearly or even the colorful church activities. I vividly remember Independence Day and the host of color from all part of the country. From the majestic plums drifting on the head pieces of the mighty men and women of the highlands, electrifying rhythmic chants and drums from the New Guinea islands, carvings and dances that depict mystical stories of the Momase people and the spectacular nautical innovations of the tribes from the southern region. Credit: Messer Smith (http://www.messersmith.name/wordpress So things are not the same, we have lost some of our old ways and we are sometimes accused of not honoring our culture. But we have been progressive and as a result, we have forged an identity that resonates a nation of many tongues. From Patti Doi and Betty Toea’s music booming in PMVs that are owned by Highlanders, colorful fabrics that depict tapa patterns from the Orokaiva worn by our sister