PNGBLOGS

HERALD SUN An Advertiser investigation has found AusAID is investigating 175 fraud cases across 27 countries. Documents released under Freedom of Information expose a criminal trail in some of the world's poorest countries with widespread theft of cash and forging of receipts. They also show how food and other supplies are diverted from dirt-poor communities and sold on to the black market at inflated prices. While AusAID insists it is improving fraud control, the documents also reveal police are often reluctant to charge local criminals - frustrating the agency's attempts to recover missing aid money. In one case, the Eritrean Government in 2006 seized food and other supplies from the United Nation's World Food Program, saddling Australian taxpayers with a probable loss of $1.25 million. The revelations will do little to boost public confidence in a foreign aid program that is forecast to nearly double by 2015 to $8 billion a year. Papua New Guinea has emerged as Corrupti

HERALD SUN An Advertiser investigation has found AusAID is investigating 175 fraud cases across 27 countries. Documents released under Freedom of Information expose a criminal trail in some of the world's poorest countries with widespread theft of cash and forging of receipts. They also show how food and other supplies are diverted from dirt-poor communities and sold on to the black market at inflated prices. While AusAID insists it is improving fraud control, the documents also reveal police are often reluctant to charge local criminals - frustrating the agency's attempts to recover missing aid money. In one case, the Eritrean Government in 2006 seized food and other supplies from the United Nation's World Food Program, saddling Australian taxpayers with a probable loss of $1.25 million. The revelations will do little to boost public confidence in a foreign aid program that is forecast to nearly double by 2015 to $8 billion a year. Papua New Guinea has emerged as

AAP The United Nations has sent Papua New Guinea's government a please explain letter about millions of hectares of land allocated for what some say is "logging by stealth". In October last year AAP reported PNG villagers in Western Provinces were outraged the government had given away more than a million hectares of pristine forest for Special Agricultural Business Leases (SABL) without their knowledge or consent. Western Province now has half of PNG's allocated 5 million hectares of SABLs - close to ten per cent of the entire country. The leases are for projects like oil palm farms. But some view them as a backdoor way for foreign companies to log pristine forest. PNG has one of the world's largest and most precious forest resources and the build-up of SABLs has enraged green groups, NGOs and numerous government officials who have raised concerns that the forests were under threat by what they describe as logging by stealth. The chairman of the UN's Committ

AAP The United Nations has sent Papua New Guinea's government a please explain letter about millions of hectares of land allocated for what some say is "logging by stealth". In October last year AAP reported PNG villagers in Western Provinces were outraged the government had given away more than a million hectares of pristine forest for Special Agricultural Business Leases (SABL) without their knowledge or consent. Western Province now has half of PNG's allocated 5 million hectares of SABLs - close to ten per cent of the entire country. The leases are for projects like oil palm farms. But some view them as a backdoor way for foreign companies to log pristine forest. PNG has one of the world's largest and most precious forest resources and the build-up of SABLs has enraged green groups, NGOs and numerous government officials who have raised concerns that the forests were under threat by what they describe as logging by stealth. The chairman of the UN's C

Asian Development Bank Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) economy should grow by 8.5% this year and 6.5% in 2012 largely due to the recent rise in commodity prices and new project investments in the resource-rich Pacific nation. Farmers make up the majority of the PNG population, so higher agricultural prices will support local consumption. Gross domestic product expanded by 7.0% in 2010 and 5.5% in 2009. The monitor credits the $15 billion ExxonMobil-led Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project as being largely responsible for boosting growth in PNG. “Private investment is strong in PNG as businesses seize the opportunities generated by the LNG Project,” said Charles Andrews, Country Director of ADB’s Papua New Guinea Resident Mission. “The challenge is to ensure the sound management of the revenues gained from these opportunities, and the government has already made some prudent steps in this area.” Still, rising international food prices, the depreciation of the kina in 2010 and some s

Asian Development Bank Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) economy should grow by 8.5% this year and 6.5% in 2012 largely due to the recent rise in commodity prices and new project investments in the resource-rich Pacific nation. Farmers make up the majority of the PNG population, so higher agricultural prices will support local consumption. Gross domestic product expanded by 7.0% in 2010 and 5.5% in 2009. The monitor credits the $15 billion ExxonMobil-led Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project as being largely responsible for boosting growth in PNG. “Private investment is strong in PNG as businesses seize the opportunities generated by the LNG Project,” said Charles Andrews, Country Director of ADB’s Papua New Guinea Resident Mission. “The challenge is to ensure the sound management of the revenues gained from these opportunities, and the government has already made some prudent steps in this area.” Still, rising international food prices, the depreciation of the kina in 2010 and s

OP.ED BETWEEN 2003 and 2008, the Somare government amassed a whopping K6 billion in extra revenue. That is money over and above what was budgeted each year. The excess billions were parked in trust accounts and drawn down in one-off payments which were approved in a number of mid-year supplementary budgets. Much of that money, we were told, was to be used for maintenance and new infrastructure - the major road networks in the country being a priority. Some of it was to retire PNG’s huge external debt, then standing at K6 billion. Outstanding government debt with the Public Officers Superannuation Fund (POSF) was to be paid off and outstanding awards to public servants were also to be paid. Some of the money – about K600 million – was to be used by the government on the new gas project. By the time of the global economic meltdown in the latter part of 2008, the last of this excess revenue was used up. It was back to borrowing from the banks and from our own future earning to fund last