PNGBLOGS

Papua New Guineans woke up yesterday to read that Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal could no longer hold office as Acting Prime Minister because he was not a minister. Constitutional lawyer Nemo Yalo pointed out that Section 3 (3) of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council Act, was specific…the Deputy Prime Minister ceases to hold office if he ceases to be a Minister. We are told that the Prime Minister’s own staff were caught by surprise when we broke the story. Now we are told that Sam Abal is the Minister for Immigration. We are told that when he made the reshuffle recently, he gave away his Works portfolio and took over the Immigration portfolio but that was not announced. Are these people working for the chief executive of this country in their right frame of mind? What do they take the people of this country for? This is not the first time Papua New Guineans have seen the Office of the Prime Minister move into damage control mode to fix what appear to be serious blunders l

Papua New Guineans woke up yesterday to read that Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal could no longer hold office as Acting Prime Minister because he was not a minister. Constitutional lawyer Nemo Yalo pointed out that Section 3 (3) of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council Act, was specific…the Deputy Prime Minister ceases to hold office if he ceases to be a Minister. We are told that the Prime Minister’s own staff were caught by surprise when we broke the story. Now we are told that Sam Abal is the Minister for Immigration. We are told that when he made the reshuffle recently, he gave away his Works portfolio and took over the Immigration portfolio but that was not announced. Are these people working for the chief executive of this country in their right frame of mind? What do they take the people of this country for? This is not the first time Papua New Guineans have seen the Office of the Prime Minister move into damage control mode to fix what appear to be serious blunders

Sydney Morning Herald Editorial   IN RESOURCE-RICH developing nations the noted Oxford economist Paul Collier has observed a corrosive political culture of the ''survival of the fattest''. Democracy notwithstanding, Collier argues that a sudden rush of money into a poor economy so distorts the function of government that it is the local big men - not society as a whole - who reap the rewards. As Papua New Guinea experiences an extraordinary resource-led boom, Canberra will be hoping that Collier will be proved wrong. Particularly as it enters a new political era with the retirement last week of the ailing prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, PNG's enduring political chief. In his 43 unbroken years in Parliament, Somare was dubbed ''The Great Unifier'' for his ability to hold together fractious groups in a society dominated by local and tribal loyalties. And as PNG's founding father and first prime minister, Somare has personified the link between

Sydney Morning Herald Editorial   IN RESOURCE-RICH developing nations the noted Oxford economist Paul Collier has observed a corrosive political culture of the ''survival of the fattest''. Democracy notwithstanding, Collier argues that a sudden rush of money into a poor economy so distorts the function of government that it is the local big men - not society as a whole - who reap the rewards. As Papua New Guinea experiences an extraordinary resource-led boom, Canberra will be hoping that Collier will be proved wrong. Particularly as it enters a new political era with the retirement last week of the ailing prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, PNG's enduring political chief. In his 43 unbroken years in Parliament, Somare was dubbed ''The Great Unifier'' for his ability to hold together fractious groups in a society dominated by local and tribal loyalties. And as PNG's founding father and first prime minister, Somare has personified the link betw

RADIO AUSTRALIA NEWS Sir Michael Somare Credit: ABC Papua New Guinea's government will send a medical team to Singapore to assess the health of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and his ability to continue as the country's leader. Sir Michael has been in intensive care in hospital since undergoing heart surgery in April. Earlier this week Sir Michael's son, Arthur Somare, said his father remained in intensive care and was "not in a good enough condition" to discuss retirement, so the family decided to announce his retirement on his behalf. In a statement, Mr Somare said complications from his father's heart surgery "further delayed the anticipated time in which Sir Michael was expected to recover and return to Papua New Guinea". "Therefore, on behalf of (his wife) Lady Veronica, I wish to announce that it is our family's collective desire that Sir Michael be allowed to recover at his own pace and therefore retire," he said.

RADIO AUSTRALIA NEWS Sir Michael Somare Credit: ABC Papua New Guinea's government will send a medical team to Singapore to assess the health of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and his ability to continue as the country's leader. Sir Michael has been in intensive care in hospital since undergoing heart surgery in April. Earlier this week Sir Michael's son, Arthur Somare, said his father remained in intensive care and was "not in a good enough condition" to discuss retirement, so the family decided to announce his retirement on his behalf. In a statement, Mr Somare said complications from his father's heart surgery "further delayed the anticipated time in which Sir Michael was expected to recover and return to Papua New Guinea". "Therefore, on behalf of (his wife) Lady Veronica, I wish to announce that it is our family's collective desire that Sir Michael be allowed to recover at his own pace and therefore retire,&quo

Steve Lewis Rich contract ... rural sociologist Dr. Adiel Mbabu.   Source: The Daily Telegraph THEY'RE the Australian government officials you've never heard of - but most of them earn more than Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The combined salaries of a select group of AusAID-funded consultants - who offer advice to developing nations on everything from law and order to farming - totals millions of dollars a year. Kenyan man Adiel Mbabu, who advises Papua New Guinea on farming techniques, is the recipient of one of the richest individual foreign aid contracts, worth $1.089 million.Dr Mbabu's three-year deal - which will earn him just over $350,000 annually tax-free - was awarded after an "open international tender process", according to an AusAID spokeswoman. The Kenyan adviser provides "expert independent support" to the PNG National Agriculture and Livestock Department. He is just one consultant whose work in some of

Steve Lewis Rich contract ... rural sociologist Dr. Adiel Mbabu.   Source: The Daily Telegraph THEY'RE the Australian government officials you've never heard of - but most of them earn more than Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The combined salaries of a select group of AusAID-funded consultants - who offer advice to developing nations on everything from law and order to farming - totals millions of dollars a year. Kenyan man Adiel Mbabu, who advises Papua New Guinea on farming techniques, is the recipient of one of the richest individual foreign aid contracts, worth $1.089 million.Dr Mbabu's three-year deal - which will earn him just over $350,000 annually tax-free - was awarded after an "open international tender process", according to an AusAID spokeswoman. The Kenyan adviser provides "expert independent support" to the PNG National Agriculture and Livestock Department. He is just one consultant whose work in

SOUTH PACIFIC POST The Government was supposed to have appointed two medical doctors to report back within 28 days on the condition of the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare when he went into hospital for medical treatment and also heart surgery on April 21. This is the view of a very senior legal officer in the Solicitor Generals Office. Had that been done, there would not be any confusion today on the way forward in relation to whether or not the office of the PM is vacant and when constitutional provisions should be invoked to elect a new Prime Minister. “The proper and moral thing to do after the PM was admitted to the ICU, was to appoint two medical doctors to report within 28 days, pursuant to Section 6 of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council Act 2002, and after three months, they could then certify that the PM is medically unfit to return to office,” the lawyer said. “That is to comply with the law, instead of allowing the PM to continue to hold the substantive post