PNGBLOGS

OP/ED Papua New Guineans will today buy their newspapers to catch up on the news on the political developments in the Government. This is not surprising for politics affecting businesses, public services and, most importantly the lives of the ordinary people. There are about six million people in this country, they live on top of high mountains, on rich fertile valleys, on the coast and on beautiful islands, scattered around this country. They speak over 800 languages, have different customs and traditions and they all live as one people since 16th September 1975. It was on this day that young Michael Thomas Somare led a band of good Papua New Guineans to proclaim independence for this country and today – 35 years on, we have to ask how we have fared as a country. Today. Cholera is ravaging Western Province, taking lives and send many to hospital while HIV/AIDS is spreading like a bush fire throughout the country. Tuberculosis is another major killer, sending up to 4000 to their graves

OP/ED Papua New Guineans will today buy their newspapers to catch up on the news on the political developments in the Government. This is not surprising for politics affecting businesses, public services and, most importantly the lives of the ordinary people. There are about six million people in this country, they live on top of high mountains, on rich fertile valleys, on the coast and on beautiful islands, scattered around this country. They speak over 800 languages, have different customs and traditions and they all live as one people since 16th September 1975. It was on this day that young Michael Thomas Somare led a band of good Papua New Guineans to proclaim independence for this country and today – 35 years on, we have to ask how we have fared as a country. Today. Cholera is ravaging Western Province, taking lives and send many to hospital while HIV/AIDS is spreading like a bush fire throughout the country. Tuberculosis is another major killer, sending up to 4000 to their gra

SOUTH PACIFIC POST We were inundated with telephone calls from our readers all day yesterday for news on the latest political developments in Waigani from our readers throughout the country. All we did was to inform them that the updates were still coming in and by the end of the day; we will have something solid for them. By the end of the day, we learnt that the Highlands Bloc of the National Alliance Party was meeting with the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, which culminated in a petition to the Grand Chief to rescind his decision to replace Don Pomb Polye with Sam Abal as the Deputy Prime Minister. Abal, the son of one of the Highlands region most respect Parliamentarians in the colonial era, was not present at this meeting, we were told. The Prime Minister is yet to respond to the petition, or if he did late last night after we went on to print it, we are not aware so it is safe to assume that Mr Abal, the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration Minister is the new Deputy Prime

SOUTH PACIFIC POST We were inundated with telephone calls from our readers all day yesterday for news on the latest political developments in Waigani from our readers throughout the country. All we did was to inform them that the updates were still coming in and by the end of the day; we will have something solid for them. By the end of the day, we learnt that the Highlands Bloc of the National Alliance Party was meeting with the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, which culminated in a petition to the Grand Chief to rescind his decision to replace Don Pomb Polye with Sam Abal as the Deputy Prime Minister. Abal, the son of one of the Highlands region most respect Parliamentarians in the colonial era, was not present at this meeting, we were told. The Prime Minister is yet to respond to the petition, or if he did late last night after we went on to print it, we are not aware so it is safe to assume that Mr Abal, the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration Minister is the new Deputy

ROWAN CALLICK PAPUA New Guinea's veteran Prime Minister Michael Somare has pushed through a dramatic reshuffle of his cabinet. It was a desperate move to shore up his control as he faces being forced to stand down by the Supreme Court. Mr Somare has been accused of failing since 1995 to file annual returns listing his assets and business dealings, as required by law, to the Ombudsman Commission, which polices corruption by administering PNG's leadership code. The commission has also asked him to explain holidays he has taken overseas, including to Malaysia, in order to track who paid for them and why. Mr Somare fought a long series of actions through the courts to prevent the charges coming before a leadership tribunal, but last week he lost his final appeal. The case is now set to be referred by the commission to the public prosecutor. Earlier this year, Patrick Pruaitch, the then treasurer, was similarly referred to the public prosecutor over leadership code charges. He chall

ROWAN CALLICK PAPUA New Guinea's veteran Prime Minister Michael Somare has pushed through a dramatic reshuffle of his cabinet. It was a desperate move to shore up his control as he faces being forced to stand down by the Supreme Court. Mr Somare has been accused of failing since 1995 to file annual returns listing his assets and business dealings, as required by law, to the Ombudsman Commission, which polices corruption by administering PNG's leadership code. The commission has also asked him to explain holidays he has taken overseas, including to Malaysia, in order to track who paid for them and why. Mr Somare fought a long series of actions through the courts to prevent the charges coming before a leadership tribunal, but last week he lost his final appeal. The case is now set to be referred by the commission to the public prosecutor. Earlier this year, Patrick Pruaitch, the then treasurer, was similarly referred to the public prosecutor over leadership code charges.

SOUTH PACIFIC POST PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday axed his “close friend” Don Polye from the job of deputy Prime Minister and appointed another Engan MP and Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Abal as the new DPM. While Minister Polye still maintains his Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry, his removal as DPM is expected to spark a revolt from within the Highlands bloc of the National Alliance Party who claimed last night that the PM acted in breach of the party constitution which says the job of Deputy PM should be given to one of the four regional parliamentary leaders. Mr Abal is not a regional leader of the Highlands bloc and is therefore not a heir-apparent of the deputy PM’s job. Sir Michael’s axe also fell on Attorney-General and Member for Rigo Mr Ano Pala who was replaced by the Governor of Madang and former Chief Justice Sir Anorld Amet. Sir Arnold flew to Kokopo yesterday on the government-owned falcon jet where he was sworn in by the Governor-General Sir Paul

SOUTH PACIFIC POST PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday axed his “close friend” Don Polye from the job of deputy Prime Minister and appointed another Engan MP and Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Abal as the new DPM. While Minister Polye still maintains his Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry, his removal as DPM is expected to spark a revolt from within the Highlands bloc of the National Alliance Party who claimed last night that the PM acted in breach of the party constitution which says the job of Deputy PM should be given to one of the four regional parliamentary leaders. Mr Abal is not a regional leader of the Highlands bloc and is therefore not a heir-apparent of the deputy PM’s job. Sir Michael’s axe also fell on Attorney-General and Member for Rigo Mr Ano Pala who was replaced by the Governor of Madang and former Chief Justice Sir Anorld Amet. Sir Arnold flew to Kokopo yesterday on the government-owned falcon jet where he was sworn in by the Governor-General Sir P

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

PLATTS Work to reopen the world-scale Bougainville copper mine after a 20-year hiatus can potentially begin within two years, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare was reported as saying Monday. Restarting operations will cost an estimated $4 billion, Australian media quoted Somare as saying at the opening of the PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment conference in Sydney. The Panguna mine on PNG's eastern island of Bougainville shut down in May 1989 after sustaining damage during a secessionist uprising in which the issue of how income from the mine should be distributed was a key factor. Bougainville's local media reported Monday that an agreement paving the way for the reopening of the mine had been reached with local landowners over the weekend. "We are very satisfied on the meeting's outcome," the president of shareholder association European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper or ESBC, Axel Sturm told Islands Post's online edition. "This gives

PLATTS Work to reopen the world-scale Bougainville copper mine after a 20-year hiatus can potentially begin within two years, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare was reported as saying Monday. Restarting operations will cost an estimated $4 billion, Australian media quoted Somare as saying at the opening of the PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment conference in Sydney. The Panguna mine on PNG's eastern island of Bougainville shut down in May 1989 after sustaining damage during a secessionist uprising in which the issue of how income from the mine should be distributed was a key factor. Bougainville's local media reported Monday that an agreement paving the way for the reopening of the mine had been reached with local landowners over the weekend. "We are very satisfied on the meeting's outcome," the president of shareholder association European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper or ESBC, Axel Sturm told Islands Post's online edition. "This

AAP PAPUA New Guinea must accelerate development of its natural gas projects and lock in customers or risk losing out to other nations pushing coal seam and shale gas projects, an oil and gas expert says. Independent researcher and the chairman of FACTS Global Energy, Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, gave the warning at the 11th PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney today. The three-day conference has so far focused on the US$15 billion PNG LNG (liquid natural gas) project under development by ExxonMobil in PNG's Southern Highlands. The joint venture project with Santos, Oil Search Ltd and the PNG government is on track to deliver its first shipment of LNG in 2014. Dr Fesharaki says PNG must act quickly to secure Asian markets for that and other LNG developments, or face competition from the cheaper Qatar LNG currently being sold into the US market. "You have to be aware that this threat is there, so you have to act to shore up your customers,'' Dr Fesharaki

AAP PAPUA New Guinea must accelerate development of its natural gas projects and lock in customers or risk losing out to other nations pushing coal seam and shale gas projects, an oil and gas expert says. Independent researcher and the chairman of FACTS Global Energy, Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, gave the warning at the 11th PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney today. The three-day conference has so far focused on the US$15 billion PNG LNG (liquid natural gas) project under development by ExxonMobil in PNG's Southern Highlands. The joint venture project with Santos, Oil Search Ltd and the PNG government is on track to deliver its first shipment of LNG in 2014. Dr Fesharaki says PNG must act quickly to secure Asian markets for that and other LNG developments, or face competition from the cheaper Qatar LNG currently being sold into the US market. "You have to be aware that this threat is there, so you have to act to shore up your customers,'' Dr Feshar

OP/ED Last Thursday, Planning and Monitoring Minister Paul Tiensten called a press conference to talk about how the MP for Telefomin Peter Iwei was “stupid” and “naïve” when he was conned into depositing K10,000 into someone’s bank account. It surfaced that Mr Iwei was “authorised” to make the deposit to receive a K12.4 million cheque for works on a hospital and a market in his electorate. Minister Tiensten said Mr Iwei’s action amounted to corruption because he should not pay for a cheque to be cleared if he followed proper procedures and processes. And the cheque he was given was not a registered cheque of the National Planning and Monitoring Department. So, MP Iwei now knows what it is like to be conned. There are two very important issues that have risen out of this debacle. The first is the corruption in the National Planning and Monitoring Department. Why should members of parliament, government institutions or contractors to government pay public servants who are already paid by

OP/ED Last Thursday, Planning and Monitoring Minister Paul Tiensten called a press conference to talk about how the MP for Telefomin Peter Iwei was “stupid” and “naïve” when he was conned into depositing K10,000 into someone’s bank account. It surfaced that Mr Iwei was “authorised” to make the deposit to receive a K12.4 million cheque for works on a hospital and a market in his electorate. Minister Tiensten said Mr Iwei’s action amounted to corruption because he should not pay for a cheque to be cleared if he followed proper procedures and processes. And the cheque he was given was not a registered cheque of the National Planning and Monitoring Department. So, MP Iwei now knows what it is like to be conned. There are two very important issues that have risen out of this debacle. The first is the corruption in the National Planning and Monitoring Department. Why should members of parliament, government institutions or contractors to government pay public servants who are already paid

PNGEXPOSED BLOG The National newspaper has done it again – publishing the public relations spin paid for by its parent company as if it is news and, worse still, not having the common decency to point out its clear conflict of interest. The National newspaper in Papua New Guinea is owned by Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau which is frequently criticized for illegal and unsustainable logging and human rights abuses – not that those accusations ever appear in The National. Rimbunan Hijau employs a guy called Alan Oxley to defend its logging operations and publish flattering reports about its behaviour under the guise of his consultancy company ITS. Today The National published as a news item a story (see below) about Oxley’s latest report, commissioned no doubt by RH, which claims that restricting illegal and unsustainable logging would be bad for PNG. Not one word from The National about Oxley’s connection to RH, not one word from The National about its connection to RH. Apart f

PNGEXPOSED BLOG The National newspaper has done it again – publishing the public relations spin paid for by its parent company as if it is news and, worse still, not having the common decency to point out its clear conflict of interest. The National newspaper in Papua New Guinea is owned by Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau which is frequently criticized for illegal and unsustainable logging and human rights abuses – not that those accusations ever appear in The National. Rimbunan Hijau employs a guy called Alan Oxley to defend its logging operations and publish flattering reports about its behaviour under the guise of his consultancy company ITS. Today The National published as a news item a story (see below) about Oxley’s latest report, commissioned no doubt by RH, which claims that restricting illegal and unsustainable logging would be bad for PNG. Not one word from The National about Oxley’s connection to RH, not one word from The National about its connection to RH.

SMH AID workers in Papua New Guinea will be making health patrols to isolated villages, in the steps of predecessors who brought the New World to locals more than 60 years ago. Australian patrol officers, known as kiaps, often trekked for days in harsh conditions, spreading the idea of government and law and order to villagers who had never seen white faces before. A product of the colonial era, the kiaps brought much-needed health supplies and new tools. They provided basic education and prolonged villagers' life expectancies. Advertisement: Story continues below Since independence in 1975 PNG governments have failed to deliver in remote areas despite huge resource revenues. With the kiaps now a distant memory, PNG is filled with highly paid advisers and consultants who rarely get their boots muddy or leave their air-conditioned Port Moresby offices. But late last month, in a significant shift of approach, an Australian special forces soldier and a doctor and nurse team helped PNG

SMH AID workers in Papua New Guinea will be making health patrols to isolated villages, in the steps of predecessors who brought the New World to locals more than 60 years ago. Australian patrol officers, known as kiaps, often trekked for days in harsh conditions, spreading the idea of government and law and order to villagers who had never seen white faces before. A product of the colonial era, the kiaps brought much-needed health supplies and new tools. They provided basic education and prolonged villagers' life expectancies. Advertisement: Story continues below Since independence in 1975 PNG governments have failed to deliver in remote areas despite huge resource revenues. With the kiaps now a distant memory, PNG is filled with highly paid advisers and consultants who rarely get their boots muddy or leave their air-conditioned Port Moresby offices. But late last month, in a significant shift of approach, an Australian special forces soldier and a doctor and nurse team he