PNGBLOGS

NATIONAL TEN out of about 1,140 government entities in PNG have proven to be accountable in 2009 with their use of public money, as heard during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) inquiry yesterday. This was made known to the PAC late last year by the Auditor-General George Sullimann. “Not one national government department, provincial government, local level government, hospital board or provincial commercial entity is included. “Hundreds of audits were disclaimed for want of information, records, accounts, reposts and other legally required records,” the PAC stated. This was revealed during an inquiry by the PAC into the best performing agencies in 2009 yesterday at parliament and was led by PAC chairman Martin Aini and deputy chairman Dr Moses Manwau. “The 10 entities made, kept, submitted and presented accounts, financial statements and necessary fiscal records to enable audit to occur and to satisfy the auditor-general that those records were reliable and gave a true and reliable s

NATIONAL TEN out of about 1,140 government entities in PNG have proven to be accountable in 2009 with their use of public money, as heard during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) inquiry yesterday. This was made known to the PAC late last year by the Auditor-General George Sullimann. “Not one national government department, provincial government, local level government, hospital board or provincial commercial entity is included. “Hundreds of audits were disclaimed for want of information, records, accounts, reposts and other legally required records,” the PAC stated. This was revealed during an inquiry by the PAC into the best performing agencies in 2009 yesterday at parliament and was led by PAC chairman Martin Aini and deputy chairman Dr Moses Manwau. “The 10 entities made, kept, submitted and presented accounts, financial statements and necessary fiscal records to enable audit to occur and to satisfy the auditor-general that those records were reliable and gave a true and reliab

AAP Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare hopes a last minute court challenge can stop a leadership tribunal probing allegations he failed to lodge yearly financial statements. Sir Michael, 74, who has been PNG's prime minister four times in a political career spanning more than 40 years, is due to face a three-member bench on Thursday, where charges dating back 20 years will be heard. This week, Sir Michael's lawyers filed a new Supreme Court challenge against the tribunal's proceedings, claiming the original Ombudsman Commission investigation into the prime minister was biased and had protocol and procedural flaws. Sir Michael's lawyers lodged the submission in an effort to either delay or derail the tribunal in what a senior legal source told AAP was "a very PNG situation", with the two proceedings running concurrently. Since 2008, Sir Michael has used the courts to fight the Ombudsman Commission - PNG's corruption watchdog - but his efforts fa

AAP Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare hopes a last minute court challenge can stop a leadership tribunal probing allegations he failed to lodge yearly financial statements. Sir Michael, 74, who has been PNG's prime minister four times in a political career spanning more than 40 years, is due to face a three-member bench on Thursday, where charges dating back 20 years will be heard. This week, Sir Michael's lawyers filed a new Supreme Court challenge against the tribunal's proceedings, claiming the original Ombudsman Commission investigation into the prime minister was biased and had protocol and procedural flaws. Sir Michael's lawyers lodged the submission in an effort to either delay or derail the tribunal in what a senior legal source told AAP was "a very PNG situation", with the two proceedings running concurrently. Since 2008, Sir Michael has used the courts to fight the Ombudsman Commission - PNG's corruption watchdog - but his effort

OP.ED PAPUA New Guinea is ill-prepared for the impact of LNG. Up to now, the project has been thought of as something that might happen and that, if it did, it would impact the financial and economic sectors of the country and little else. Such thoughts are drawn from the shallow pool of ignorance and PNG pays a hefty price for ignorance. Ill-prepared, both as a government and as a people, the full benefits of any resource project have overflown PNG entirely, leaving it to flounder in their wake and fighting over pet fodder such as royalties and taxes while the prized steak in substantial control and ownership and, in major spin-off contracts, have been left in the control of the multi-national conglomerates. Bougainville, Ok Tedi, Misima, Kainantu and Kutubu oil have come and go. There is absolutely nothing to show for them. The reason is simply ignorance. Ignorance and a rather peculiar reluctance to learn from past lessons. That especial, if tragic, trait of PNG’s persists today and

OP.ED PAPUA New Guinea is ill-prepared for the impact of LNG. Up to now, the project has been thought of as something that might happen and that, if it did, it would impact the financial and economic sectors of the country and little else. Such thoughts are drawn from the shallow pool of ignorance and PNG pays a hefty price for ignorance. Ill-prepared, both as a government and as a people, the full benefits of any resource project have overflown PNG entirely, leaving it to flounder in their wake and fighting over pet fodder such as royalties and taxes while the prized steak in substantial control and ownership and, in major spin-off contracts, have been left in the control of the multi-national conglomerates. Bougainville, Ok Tedi, Misima, Kainantu and Kutubu oil have come and go. There is absolutely nothing to show for them. The reason is simply ignorance. Ignorance and a rather peculiar reluctance to learn from past lessons. That especial, if tragic, trait of PNG’s persists today

ABC NEWS Papua New Guinea would welcome more investment from the US as the superpower continues its battle for supremacy with China, according to Bougainville president John Momis. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has issued a warning that PNG is one part of the Pacific where the US is engaged in a strategic competition with China over resources and leadership. Ms Clinton was blunt about US strategic intentions when she went before the foreign relations committee last week. She says China is "wining and dining" politicians from across the Pacific. "Let's put aside the moral, humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in and let's just talk straight, real politique," she said. "We are in a competition with China. Take Papua New Guinea - huge energy find. "Exxon Mobil is producing it. China is in there every day in every way trying to figure out how it's going to come in behind us, come in under us. They're supporting the dictatorial

ABC NEWS Papua New Guinea would welcome more investment from the US as the superpower continues its battle for supremacy with China, according to Bougainville president John Momis. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has issued a warning that PNG is one part of the Pacific where the US is engaged in a strategic competition with China over resources and leadership. Ms Clinton was blunt about US strategic intentions when she went before the foreign relations committee last week. She says China is "wining and dining" politicians from across the Pacific. "Let's put aside the moral, humanitarian, do-good side of what we believe in and let's just talk straight, real politique," she said. "We are in a competition with China. Take Papua New Guinea - huge energy find. "Exxon Mobil is producing it. China is in there every day in every way trying to figure out how it's going to come in behind us, come in under us. They're supporting the dicta

OP.ED It is sad really to read every week that rural people are fixing their roads with their hands so that cars can run to and from their villages, like the story we have today about that community at Kudjip in South Waghi, Jiwaka Province. They have to take up their spades and bush knives to do the work because the machines are not coming. It will cost money to engage machines and they are too poor to hire the heavy earthmoving equipment. But the story is even sadder when one learns that the road they are repairing is a provincial road or a national road – meaning the responsibility is with the provincial government or the national government. The road assets in this country are the lifelines of PNG, the arteries that pump the life sustaining nutrients to the body. It’s time MPs account for the District Service Improvement Program funds. In the name of transparency, accountability and good governance, this must happen. It is of interest to every Papua New Guinean in this country to

OP.ED It is sad really to read every week that rural people are fixing their roads with their hands so that cars can run to and from their villages, like the story we have today about that community at Kudjip in South Waghi, Jiwaka Province. They have to take up their spades and bush knives to do the work because the machines are not coming. It will cost money to engage machines and they are too poor to hire the heavy earthmoving equipment. But the story is even sadder when one learns that the road they are repairing is a provincial road or a national road – meaning the responsibility is with the provincial government or the national government. The road assets in this country are the lifelines of PNG, the arteries that pump the life sustaining nutrients to the body. It’s time MPs account for the District Service Improvement Program funds. In the name of transparency, accountability and good governance, this must happen. It is of interest to every Papua New Guinean in this country

OP.ED Former Madang Governor Sir Arnold Amet was Papua New Guinea’s second Chief Justice of the National and Supreme Courts. He took over from another eminent Papua New Guineans, Sir Buri Kidu, the late husband of Dame Carol Kidu, the MP for Moresby South. As Chief Justice, he was highly regarded and respected by the people of this country and overseas. Sir Arnold was seen as one of the pillars of this nation. Ordinary people used to think of him simply as a good man, a good Papua New Guinean. When he retired from the Judiciary, he provided consultative services to the public and private sectors because his views on the Constitution and laws of PNG were highly regarded and respected. When Madang MP Sir Peter Barter decided to quit politics due to health reasons, Sir Arnold was asked by Sir Peter to take on the challenge to represent the people of Madang. Sir Amet accepted the invitation and announced to the people of Madang and PNG that he was to contest the 2007 national elections. M

OP.ED Former Madang Governor Sir Arnold Amet was Papua New Guinea’s second Chief Justice of the National and Supreme Courts. He took over from another eminent Papua New Guineans, Sir Buri Kidu, the late husband of Dame Carol Kidu, the MP for Moresby South. As Chief Justice, he was highly regarded and respected by the people of this country and overseas. Sir Arnold was seen as one of the pillars of this nation. Ordinary people used to think of him simply as a good man, a good Papua New Guinean. When he retired from the Judiciary, he provided consultative services to the public and private sectors because his views on the Constitution and laws of PNG were highly regarded and respected. When Madang MP Sir Peter Barter decided to quit politics due to health reasons, Sir Arnold was asked by Sir Peter to take on the challenge to represent the people of Madang. Sir Amet accepted the invitation and announced to the people of Madang and PNG that he was to contest the 2007 national electi

TRUSTLAW A gang of security personnel at one of Papua New Guinea’s largest gold mines allegedly brutally beat and raped a woman and left her for dead at one of the mine’s waste dumps. When her husband discovered what happened, he demanded a divorce while she was still bedridden and recovering from her wounds. Another woman told Human Rights Watch (HRW)  that one of the guards at the Canadian-owned Barrick Gold mine in Porgera – a lush, remote and impoverished part of the country’s highlands – kicked her in the face for resisting a gang rape, shattering her five bottom teeth and three top teeth. Yet another said she and three other women were raped by 10 security personnel, one of whom forced her to swallow a used condom he had used while raping two other victims. Their stories and others, recounted by the rights group in a recent report on alleged abuses at the mine over the past three years, make for a harrowing read. Even worse, after apparently suf

TRUSTLAW A gang of security personnel at one of Papua New Guinea’s largest gold mines allegedly brutally beat and raped a woman and left her for dead at one of the mine’s waste dumps. When her husband discovered what happened, he demanded a divorce while she was still bedridden and recovering from her wounds. Another woman told Human Rights Watch (HRW)  that one of the guards at the Canadian-owned Barrick Gold mine in Porgera – a lush, remote and impoverished part of the country’s highlands – kicked her in the face for resisting a gang rape, shattering her five bottom teeth and three top teeth. Yet another said she and three other women were raped by 10 security personnel, one of whom forced her to swallow a used condom he had used while raping two other victims. Their stories and others, recounted by the rights group in a recent report on alleged abuses at the mine over the past three years, make for a harrowing read. Even worse, after apparently

POST COURIER Island of New Hanover sold for K4 million THE entire Island of New Hanover in New Ireland Province has been sold to foreigners for US$1.6million (K4m) in what has been described as the biggest scandal in the country’s short history. Documents obtained by Post-Courier clearly give details of the sale, entered between Tutuman Development Ltd (seller) and a Singaporean Company identified as Palma Hacienda Ltd (buyer) in June 2009. The documents are the Sale and Purchase Agreement and a Supplementary Agreement entered between the two parties. The deal to sell the island by Tutuman Development Limited whose directors include a former premier of the province and the foreign company was done without the consent of any authority from the landowners Documents show the purchase price was paid into a director‘s personal bank account with the Citibank Singapore Ltd. Ishmael Passingan, who is the company secretary for Central New Hanover Ltd, a landowner company, confirmed to this pape

POST COURIER Island of New Hanover sold for K4 million THE entire Island of New Hanover in New Ireland Province has been sold to foreigners for US$1.6million (K4m) in what has been described as the biggest scandal in the country’s short history. Documents obtained by Post-Courier clearly give details of the sale, entered between Tutuman Development Ltd (seller) and a Singaporean Company identified as Palma Hacienda Ltd (buyer) in June 2009. The documents are the Sale and Purchase Agreement and a Supplementary Agreement entered between the two parties. The deal to sell the island by Tutuman Development Limited whose directors include a former premier of the province and the foreign company was done without the consent of any authority from the landowners Documents show the purchase price was paid into a director‘s personal bank account with the Citibank Singapore Ltd. Ishmael Passingan, who is the company secretary for Central New Hanover Ltd, a landowner company, confirmed to thi

FRUSTRATED CITIZEN Papua New Guinea as we know is now totally corrupt, the Judiciary the last beacon of hope for PNG is not as impartial as it used to be. In recent months we very experiences Judges sitting in the National and Supreme Court have been made to quit without having their tenures extended only to be replaced by senior lawyers who have been part of this government’s grab of power and statutory corruption at the beginning. The recent appointments of Justice Kassman and Justice Murray is a slap in the face to the Judiciary, it paints a picture of how cheap the judiciary has become by allowing two lawyers involved with the government given preference to become judges. The Chief Justice handling of the Somare Tribunal is also a signal that the mechanisms held in place in the Judiciary is crumbling and so it seems when you hear of other Judges coming out in the national media lamenting decisions made is a signal that we have a country on the verge of falling like those with a dic

FRUSTRATED CITIZEN Papua New Guinea as we know is now totally corrupt, the Judiciary the last beacon of hope for PNG is not as impartial as it used to be. In recent months we very experiences Judges sitting in the National and Supreme Court have been made to quit without having their tenures extended only to be replaced by senior lawyers who have been part of this government’s grab of power and statutory corruption at the beginning. The recent appointments of Justice Kassman and Justice Murray is a slap in the face to the Judiciary, it paints a picture of how cheap the judiciary has become by allowing two lawyers involved with the government given preference to become judges. The Chief Justice handling of the Somare Tribunal is also a signal that the mechanisms held in place in the Judiciary is crumbling and so it seems when you hear of other Judges coming out in the national media lamenting decisions made is a signal that we have a country on the verge of falling like those with a

ROWAN CALLICK Plans are under way for the opening of one of the world’s biggest copper and gold mines, with resources worth about $US50 billion, as the China-driven commodities boom keeps rolling on. So far, so predictable, if awesome. But few people expected ever to hear of this vast pit ever again—except those canny investors who hung on to their shares for decades.   It is the Bougainville copper mine in Papua New Guinea, where production was suspended—the owners insist, not closed—on May 15, 1989. Bougainville Copper Ltd—which is 53.58 percent owned by British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd, 19.06 percent by the Papua New Guinea Government, and 27.36 percent by other shareholders—believes it will cost about $US3 billion to reopen the mine.   The vast trucks and electricity pylons may have been blown up or rusted or cannibalised, but the resources in the mine have not, of course, been damaged or diminished over the last 21 years. It contains 3.5 million tonnes o