PNGBLOGS

THE NATIONAL THE controversial K125 million loan from Nasfund to the Kokopo district was illegal and placed contributors’ savings at considerable risk, a confidential brief to the government reveals. The brief, from the Central Bank, was to have formed part of the report that was to have been tabled in parliament by Peter O’Neill on Tuesday, the day he was removed as minister for finance and treasury. The brief revealed that the loan, obtained via a Treasury Department mechanism called the sovereign community infrastructure treasury bill (SCITB), did not have approvals from parliament, cabinet, treasury and the Central Bank and was outside the national budget. It further revealed that middlemen companies and individuals received K20 million in fees and commission long before any project got off the ground in Kokopo. The bulk of the fees, K20 million, was said to have been paid to Malco, a company incorporated in 2008, owed by a single proprietor, one Alan Waters. Communications M

FIJI TIMES ONLINE INVESTMENT opportunities in Papua New Guinea are at an all-time high as a result of the economic boom experienced by the country's petroleum and mining sector, says PNG's permanent secretary for Trade and Commerce Moses Nangu. He said foreign investment was "speedier than ever" caused by the much-publicised liquified natural gas project. As a result of this investment environment, Mr Nangu said the need for skilled and semi-skilled labour was "becoming very important". He said it was therefore necessary that dialogue and negotiations on the subject with forum island leaders be pursued. The Melanesian Spearhead Group is drafting a memorandum of understanding on a skills movement scheme and further discussions will take place in the upcoming Trade and Economic Ministers meeting scheduled for Port Villa at the end of the month. Speaking at a meeting of the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), Mr Nangu said the mining sector als

FIJI TIMES ONLINE INVESTMENT opportunities in Papua New Guinea are at an all-time high as a result of the economic boom experienced by the country's petroleum and mining sector, says PNG's permanent secretary for Trade and Commerce Moses Nangu. He said foreign investment was "speedier than ever" caused by the much-publicised liquified natural gas project. As a result of this investment environment, Mr Nangu said the need for skilled and semi-skilled labour was "becoming very important". He said it was therefore necessary that dialogue and negotiations on the subject with forum island leaders be pursued. The Melanesian Spearhead Group is drafting a memorandum of understanding on a skills movement scheme and further discussions will take place in the upcoming Trade and Economic Ministers meeting scheduled for Port Villa at the end of the month. Speaking at a meeting of the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), Mr Nangu said the mining sec

POST COURIER The K125m Treasury Bills sourced through Nasfund and the unexplained expenditure of millions of kina in Keravat National High School were described as “stupid decisions” of a few leaders. That branding came from former Prime Minister and patron of Transparency International of the East New Britain chapter Sir Rabbie Namaliu during the recent “walk against corruption” in Kokopo. The former member for Kokopo Open led the TI-organised walk through Kokopo town and addressed thousands of men, women and children who joined him in one of the biggest show of disapproval and rejection of corruption by people in PNG. Walks were organised simultaneously in Alotau, Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Kimbe and Kavieng. Sir Rabbie Namaliu spoke out strongly against the unexplained Keravat National High School missing funds that resulted in the school’s closure this year. He also talked about the much debated K125 million Nasfund loan organised outside of the Central Bank and Treasury Department

POST COURIER The K125m Treasury Bills sourced through Nasfund and the unexplained expenditure of millions of kina in Keravat National High School were described as “stupid decisions” of a few leaders. That branding came from former Prime Minister and patron of Transparency International of the East New Britain chapter Sir Rabbie Namaliu during the recent “walk against corruption” in Kokopo. The former member for Kokopo Open led the TI-organised walk through Kokopo town and addressed thousands of men, women and children who joined him in one of the biggest show of disapproval and rejection of corruption by people in PNG. Walks were organised simultaneously in Alotau, Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Kimbe and Kavieng. Sir Rabbie Namaliu spoke out strongly against the unexplained Keravat National High School missing funds that resulted in the school’s closure this year. He also talked about the much debated K125 million Nasfund loan organised outside of the Central Bank and Treasury Depar

Nakovis  Why did Nasfund invest in APNG when the numbers did not stack up with K25 million paid out to Mr Wild Senior in Goodwill, and K90 million going to Wild family to retire debt. What were they buying, when they were only buying 40% of company and not even control or management? Why did Nasfund invest knowing there was going to be no cash to run the company or carry out promised expansion program? How was it financially justified and accommodated in the Prospectus how the 2 promised new Boeing 737 s were to be acquired and their operational aspects on the promised new Australian and Asian routes were to be effected? If the Wild family were taking the cash out, why didn't Nasfund ask the hard questions as to where the funding was going to come from? What has the Board of Nasfund done to discipline management staff who invested K23 million in a company that lost 50% of share value on the first week of listing, and has broken its promises of 2 new 737s and new Australian and A

Nakovis  Why did Nasfund invest in APNG when the numbers did not stack up with K25 million paid out to Mr Wild Senior in Goodwill, and K90 million going to Wild family to retire debt. What were they buying, when they were only buying 40% of company and not even control or management? Why did Nasfund invest knowing there was going to be no cash to run the company or carry out promised expansion program? How was it financially justified and accommodated in the Prospectus how the 2 promised new Boeing 737 s were to be acquired and their operational aspects on the promised new Australian and Asian routes were to be effected? If the Wild family were taking the cash out, why didn't Nasfund ask the hard questions as to where the funding was going to come from? What has the Board of Nasfund done to discipline management staff who invested K23 million in a company that lost 50% of share value on the first week of listing, and has broken its promises of 2 new 737s and new Australian

ISLAND BUSINESS Niue is backing Papua New Guinea in ending a 25-year relations with the United States, after it abrogated the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, signed in 1987. Making the statement a day after being re-elected Niue’s Premier, Toke Talagi said his country was on the same wavelength as PNG, which announced it did not want to continue under the present circumstances. The treaty allows US fishing boats limitless access to the Pacific’s tuna stocks. “We formally give notice to withdraw from the multilateral treaty on fisheries with the U.S.,” acting PNG Prime Minister Sam Abal was quoted as saying in April in the local daily newspaper Post Courier under a banner headline screaming “USA Ejected.” The decision effectively ended two years of fruitless negotiations to renew the treaty. “We’ve been begging them for years to update it, but they haven’t been listening at all,” said Sylvester Pokajam, a senior fisheries official in PNG, who is also the chairman of the Parties to the Nauru

ISLAND BUSINESS Niue is backing Papua New Guinea in ending a 25-year relations with the United States, after it abrogated the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, signed in 1987. Making the statement a day after being re-elected Niue’s Premier, Toke Talagi said his country was on the same wavelength as PNG, which announced it did not want to continue under the present circumstances. The treaty allows US fishing boats limitless access to the Pacific’s tuna stocks. “We formally give notice to withdraw from the multilateral treaty on fisheries with the U.S.,” acting PNG Prime Minister Sam Abal was quoted as saying in April in the local daily newspaper Post Courier under a banner headline screaming “USA Ejected.” The decision effectively ended two years of fruitless negotiations to renew the treaty. “We’ve been begging them for years to update it, but they haven’t been listening at all,” said Sylvester Pokajam, a senior fisheries official in PNG, who is also the chairman of the Parties to the Nau

JAKARTA POST State electricity monopoly PT PLN plans to seek additional natural gas supply from Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to overcome a shortfall that has led to a significant increase in the company’s operating costs. This year, the company is struggling to acquire more gas to reduce costs in producing power amid soaring global oil prices, PLN president director Dahlan Iskan said in Jakarta on Friday. “We need around 1,800 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd] of gas, but we only receive 800 mmscfd from the government. If we our supply of gas was adequately met, we could save up to Rp 60 trillion [US$6.97 billion] a year,” he said. Due to the shortfall, PLN currently only produces 9,800 megawatts of electricity from its gas-fired power plants, below the maximum capacity of 11,000 megawatts. As reported earlier, PLN is also considering the possibility of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran and Kuwait. The House of Representatives Commission VII overseeing

JAKARTA POST State electricity monopoly PT PLN plans to seek additional natural gas supply from Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) to overcome a shortfall that has led to a significant increase in the company’s operating costs. This year, the company is struggling to acquire more gas to reduce costs in producing power amid soaring global oil prices, PLN president director Dahlan Iskan said in Jakarta on Friday. “We need around 1,800 million standard cubic feet per day [mmscfd] of gas, but we only receive 800 mmscfd from the government. If we our supply of gas was adequately met, we could save up to Rp 60 trillion [US$6.97 billion] a year,” he said. Due to the shortfall, PLN currently only produces 9,800 megawatts of electricity from its gas-fired power plants, below the maximum capacity of 11,000 megawatts. As reported earlier, PLN is also considering the possibility of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran and Kuwait. The House of Representatives Commission VII over

TIMES OF INDIA Mexico and Papua New Guinea have come up with a proposal that could either end the continuing impasse at the UN climate talks or break down negotiations completely. The two countries have proposed that instead of working by unanimity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should decide on major issues by a simple majority. At present, the gathering of 195 countries cannot take a decision without consensus. Till recently, consensus meant unanimity. But at the last big meeting in Cancun in 2010, the host Mexico dramatically altered that by over-ruling a very vocal Bolivia and finalized the 'Cancun agreements'. The Cancun agreements operationalised the controversial Copenhagen Accord, which could not be adopted earlier as a UN decision because some countries had opposed the move. Bolivia had said the Cancun agreements were leading to a regime that would not stop climate change but be a fig leaf for all. The Copenhagen accord had remained just a political sta

TIMES OF INDIA Mexico and Papua New Guinea have come up with a proposal that could either end the continuing impasse at the UN climate talks or break down negotiations completely. The two countries have proposed that instead of working by unanimity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should decide on major issues by a simple majority. At present, the gathering of 195 countries cannot take a decision without consensus. Till recently, consensus meant unanimity. But at the last big meeting in Cancun in 2010, the host Mexico dramatically altered that by over-ruling a very vocal Bolivia and finalized the 'Cancun agreements'. The Cancun agreements operationalised the controversial Copenhagen Accord, which could not be adopted earlier as a UN decision because some countries had opposed the move. Bolivia had said the Cancun agreements were leading to a regime that would not stop climate change but be a fig leaf for all. The Copenhagen accord had remained just a political

OP-ED   It was too good to last. That is our conclusion when we view the political marriage between the National Alliance Party (NA) and the United Resource Party (URP) now. In a country where political alliances used to last no more than 18 months, nine years both parties have stayed together is a record of sorts in the political history of Papua New Guinea. The current NA led Government swept to power in 2002 and retained the Government after the 2007 National Elections. The electors endorsed the NA as the party to lead Government by voting in 22 MPs while URP joined NA as its major coalition partner with six MPs. The two were joined by several junior political parties. With men like Don Pomb Polye, Sam Abal, Patrick Pruaitch, Paul Tiensten, William Duma, Anderson Agiru and Peter O’Neill with other leaders of the minor parties at the helm, they provided the needed support to the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, to establish a stable Government for this country. That partnership remai

OP-ED   It was too good to last. That is our conclusion when we view the political marriage between the National Alliance Party (NA) and the United Resource Party (URP) now. In a country where political alliances used to last no more than 18 months, nine years both parties have stayed together is a record of sorts in the political history of Papua New Guinea. The current NA led Government swept to power in 2002 and retained the Government after the 2007 National Elections. The electors endorsed the NA as the party to lead Government by voting in 22 MPs while URP joined NA as its major coalition partner with six MPs. The two were joined by several junior political parties. With men like Don Pomb Polye, Sam Abal, Patrick Pruaitch, Paul Tiensten, William Duma, Anderson Agiru and Peter O’Neill with other leaders of the minor parties at the helm, they provided the needed support to the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, to establish a stable Government for this country. That partnership rem

Advocate for Indigenous Constructions Industry  The National Development Bank (NDB) has major plans on improving its current branch office buildings in preparation for the proposed NDB micro-bank by giving contracts ONLY to Foreign Construction Companies by overlooking qualified PNG Indigenous contractors. It has started with the NDB Wewak branch in East Sepik to be the first to undergo this new deve¬lopment with the construction of a modern two-storey building. The National Development Bank (NDB) and its management needs to be mindful that not all Papua New Guineans are daft. This is open letter of rebuke to the Government and the directors of the National Development Bank and its management team regarding the recent awarding and signing of a K4.9m contract to build NDB bank office in Wewak by a foreign/Malaysian own Construction Company as reported in The National on Friday the 10th June 2011 . Please correct me, Is this not the same National Development and people’s bank under the

Advocate for Indigenous Constructions Industry  The National Development Bank (NDB) has major plans on improving its current branch office buildings in preparation for the proposed NDB micro-bank by giving contracts ONLY to Foreign Construction Companies by overlooking qualified PNG Indigenous contractors. It has started with the NDB Wewak branch in East Sepik to be the first to undergo this new deve¬lopment with the construction of a modern two-storey building. The National Development Bank (NDB) and its management needs to be mindful that not all Papua New Guineans are daft. This is open letter of rebuke to the Government and the directors of the National Development Bank and its management team regarding the recent awarding and signing of a K4.9m contract to build NDB bank office in Wewak by a foreign/Malaysian own Construction Company as reported in The National on Friday the 10th June 2011 . Please correct me, Is this not the same National Development and people’s bank under

Associated Press Police were preparing to charge the son of Papua New Guinea's acting prime minister with murder Thursday after a 29-year-old waitress' body was found at the family home. A guard at the house told police he saw the son, Theo Abal, and the woman arrive home in the early hours of Monday and head for a garden on the premises. Police said the guard later heard the woman scream and that Abal confessed to killing her. Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal said he personally reported the "alleged murder" to Police Commissioner Tony Wagambie on Monday after the woman's body was found at the home in the capital, Port Moresby. He made no comment on his son's alleged confession. Theo Abal was arrested at a Port Moresby hotel Tuesday night and was still in police custody Thursday. Police spokesman Supt. Dominic Kakas said police would charge Theo Abal, 21, with willful murder Thursday. He will likely make his first court appearance Friday when he is indicted, Kak

Associated Press Police were preparing to charge the son of Papua New Guinea's acting prime minister with murder Thursday after a 29-year-old waitress' body was found at the family home. A guard at the house told police he saw the son, Theo Abal, and the woman arrive home in the early hours of Monday and head for a garden on the premises. Police said the guard later heard the woman scream and that Abal confessed to killing her. Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal said he personally reported the "alleged murder" to Police Commissioner Tony Wagambie on Monday after the woman's body was found at the home in the capital, Port Moresby. He made no comment on his son's alleged confession. Theo Abal was arrested at a Port Moresby hotel Tuesday night and was still in police custody Thursday. Police spokesman Supt. Dominic Kakas said police would charge Theo Abal, 21, with willful murder Thursday. He will likely make his first court appearance Friday when he is indicted

AAP PAPUA New Guinea's acting Prime Minister Sam Abal said his family were "immediate suspects" in a murder case today after the corpse of a woman was found inside his Port Moresby compound. Heading the Pacific nation while veteran leader Michael Somare recovers from heart surgery in Singapore, Abal said an "unfortunate and regrettable incident" had taken place at the family home at the weekend. "The alleged murder took place within the perimeters of my private home," Abal said in a statement published by the Post Courier newspaper today. "All family members living with me are immediate suspects and are subject to investigation and questioning by police," he added. Abal had recently moved to a hotel and was not living at the Konedobu address, the newspaper said. The prime minister said he had personally called PNG's police commissioner about the matter and promised to "fully co-operate" with the investigation. "We will not

AAP PAPUA New Guinea's acting Prime Minister Sam Abal said his family were "immediate suspects" in a murder case today after the corpse of a woman was found inside his Port Moresby compound. Heading the Pacific nation while veteran leader Michael Somare recovers from heart surgery in Singapore, Abal said an "unfortunate and regrettable incident" had taken place at the family home at the weekend. "The alleged murder took place within the perimeters of my private home," Abal said in a statement published by the Post Courier newspaper today. "All family members living with me are immediate suspects and are subject to investigation and questioning by police," he added. Abal had recently moved to a hotel and was not living at the Konedobu address, the newspaper said. The prime minister said he had personally called PNG's police commissioner about the matter and promised to "fully co-operate" with the investigation. "We w

The Australian FOREIGN Minister Kevin Rudd has rejected a request from former Papua New Guinea prime minister Rabbie Namaliu that he to fly to Port Moresby to rescue the Gillard government's floundering asylum seeker deal. A spokesman for the Foreign Minister said: "Mr Rudd has no plans to travel to PNG at the near future. The PNG leadership is currently focused on issues other than the proposal for a regional processing centre." Sir Rabbie told The Australian on Sunday that last week's sacking of foreign minister Don Polye "put the relationship with Australia in a situation where nothing will happen on the asylum-seeker issue while Port Moresby's focus is on domestic politics". He said the key to concluding the deal would be "for the Australian government to send someone senior to PNG -- and I think if Kevin Rudd came up, the proposal would be made to work". He said that Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal, who sacked Mr Polye for plotting to oust

The Australian FOREIGN Minister Kevin Rudd has rejected a request from former Papua New Guinea prime minister Rabbie Namaliu that he to fly to Port Moresby to rescue the Gillard government's floundering asylum seeker deal. A spokesman for the Foreign Minister said: "Mr Rudd has no plans to travel to PNG at the near future. The PNG leadership is currently focused on issues other than the proposal for a regional processing centre." Sir Rabbie told The Australian on Sunday that last week's sacking of foreign minister Don Polye "put the relationship with Australia in a situation where nothing will happen on the asylum-seeker issue while Port Moresby's focus is on domestic politics". He said the key to concluding the deal would be "for the Australian government to send someone senior to PNG -- and I think if Kevin Rudd came up, the proposal would be made to work". He said that Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal, who sacked Mr Polye for plotting to