PNGBLOGS

By OSHEAH PHILEMON Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is upbeat about creating thousands of new jobs for Papua New Guineans in the coming years.He, according to the PNG’s private sector, seems think he has the right recipe to create more jobs for young Papua New Guineans leaving the school system. But the engine for growth—the private sector—is not so sure about the claim. Top private sector chiefs say the lack of government action to protect the local industry is posing a serious threat to thousands of jobs now held by Papua New Guineans in the private sector. Furthermore, it is stopping the creation of many new jobs for young Papua New Guineans leaving school and preparing to enter the work force. This is despite all the hype about the Papua New Guinea economy growing at a rapid pace and creating new jobs as a result of the billion dollar-kina liquefied natural gas project in the Hela Province. The reality is that many companies are finding it difficult to do business in

By OSHEAH PHILEMON Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is upbeat about creating thousands of new jobs for Papua New Guineans in the coming years.He, according to the PNG’s private sector, seems think he has the right recipe to create more jobs for young Papua New Guineans leaving the school system. But the engine for growth—the private sector—is not so sure about the claim. Top private sector chiefs say the lack of government action to protect the local industry is posing a serious threat to thousands of jobs now held by Papua New Guineans in the private sector. Furthermore, it is stopping the creation of many new jobs for young Papua New Guineans leaving school and preparing to enter the work force. This is despite all the hype about the Papua New Guinea economy growing at a rapid pace and creating new jobs as a result of the billion dollar-kina liquefied natural gas project in the Hela Province. The reality is that many companies are finding it difficult to do bu

PNG maintained its position as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and the Pacific, according to the latest edition of the Pacific Economic Monitor, issued today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ADB report says preliminary GDP figures show growth of 9.2% in 2012, on the back of 11.1% growth in 2011. By June 2012 the number of private sector jobs in the economy had risen by 5%, building on a doubling of employment opportunities over the last decade. The Monitor notes that a number of factors point to a more challenging economic environment in PNG in 2013. In particular the 2013 $US6.5 billion national budget will be accompanied by a significant slowdown in government revenue growth over the medium term, as revenue from declining mining and oil output will offset modest growth in consumption, income, and company taxes. “As fiscal pressures emerge, it will be critical for the government to follow through with its 2013 Budget plan to wind back expenditure growth in 2014 an

PNG maintained its position as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia and the Pacific, according to the latest edition of the Pacific Economic Monitor, issued today by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The ADB report says preliminary GDP figures show growth of 9.2% in 2012, on the back of 11.1% growth in 2011. By June 2012 the number of private sector jobs in the economy had risen by 5%, building on a doubling of employment opportunities over the last decade. The Monitor notes that a number of factors point to a more challenging economic environment in PNG in 2013. In particular the 2013 $US6.5 billion national budget will be accompanied by a significant slowdown in government revenue growth over the medium term, as revenue from declining mining and oil output will offset modest growth in consumption, income, and company taxes. “As fiscal pressures emerge, it will be critical for the government to follow through with its 2013 Budget plan to wind back expenditure growth in 2

By RICHARD BAKER THE economic benefit of Papua New Guinea's biggest natural resources project has been questioned, with a report warning that ordinary citizens risk missing out because of corruption and contracts that favour the lead proponent, ExxonMobil. A report by anti-poverty group Jubilee Australia, to be released Wednesday, examines the predicted economic benefit of PNG's liquefied natural gas project and the Australian government's provision of $500 million towards it. The report highlights endemic corruption in PNG and warns that a government sovereign wealth fund and other official bodies established to handle billions of dollars in revenues could be defrauded. ''The governance and public life of PNG are to this day beset by political intrigue, self-interest of politicians and gross misuse of public funds,'' the report warns. Scheduled to begin production in 2014, the LNG project is valued at $22 billion and predicted to double PNG's gross dome

By RICHARD BAKER THE economic benefit of Papua New Guinea's biggest natural resources project has been questioned, with a report warning that ordinary citizens risk missing out because of corruption and contracts that favour the lead proponent, ExxonMobil. A report by anti-poverty group Jubilee Australia, to be released Wednesday, examines the predicted economic benefit of PNG's liquefied natural gas project and the Australian government's provision of $500 million towards it. The report highlights endemic corruption in PNG and warns that a government sovereign wealth fund and other official bodies established to handle billions of dollars in revenues could be defrauded. ''The governance and public life of PNG are to this day beset by political intrigue, self-interest of politicians and gross misuse of public funds,'' the report warns. Scheduled to begin production in 2014, the LNG project is valued at $22 billion and predicted to double PNG's gro

THERE can be no understating of the era of prosperity that beckons PNG. Since 1991, oil and gas investment is estimated to be more than K52 billion, making it the single largest contributor to national economic development. This year alone, led by the PNG LNG project, the sector has sunk K12 billion and predicts it will spend the same again next year, Oil Search managing director Peter Botten told the Sydney Mining and Petroleum Conference last week. And it is not only the PNG LNG project managed by ExxonMobil or even the second one proposed by InterOil. There are new oil and gas projects in the offing with the InterOil LNG development, projects led by Horizon, Talisman, Eaglewood and strong exploration in the Gulf of Papua and throughout the highlands. There are also very significant projects in the offing in the mining area which will help lay the foundation for growth and prosperity in PNG. Dr Ila Temu, President of the Chamber of Mining and Petroleum, told the same conference that

THERE can be no understating of the era of prosperity that beckons PNG. Since 1991, oil and gas investment is estimated to be more than K52 billion, making it the single largest contributor to national economic development. This year alone, led by the PNG LNG project, the sector has sunk K12 billion and predicts it will spend the same again next year, Oil Search managing director Peter Botten told the Sydney Mining and Petroleum Conference last week. And it is not only the PNG LNG project managed by ExxonMobil or even the second one proposed by InterOil. There are new oil and gas projects in the offing with the InterOil LNG development, projects led by Horizon, Talisman, Eaglewood and strong exploration in the Gulf of Papua and throughout the highlands. There are also very significant projects in the offing in the mining area which will help lay the foundation for growth and prosperity in PNG. Dr Ila Temu, President of the Chamber of Mining and Petroleum, told the same conf

By Sanjay Bhosale   Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's call for a thorough rethink of Australia's aid policy towards his country deserves serious consideration. On his first visit to Australia since his re-election in August, O'Neill delivered a thorough assessment of PNG-Australia relations and expressed his desire for a change in direction for AusAID. Addressing the National Press Club on November 28, O'Neill began with a complaint about the Australian media's coverage of PNG. ''It frequently disappoints me that journalists with most limited knowledge about Papua New Guinea describe my country as a failed state or a failing state. This is just simply, totally wrong,'' he said. ''I have no problems with journalists being critical of my government or my country. There are times when we deserve it … but such sweeping claims are harmful and quite frankly they are also very hurtful.'' O'Neill's grievance is just

By Sanjay Bhosale   Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's call for a thorough rethink of Australia's aid policy towards his country deserves serious consideration. On his first visit to Australia since his re-election in August, O'Neill delivered a thorough assessment of PNG-Australia relations and expressed his desire for a change in direction for AusAID. Addressing the National Press Club on November 28, O'Neill began with a complaint about the Australian media's coverage of PNG. ''It frequently disappoints me that journalists with most limited knowledge about Papua New Guinea describe my country as a failed state or a failing state. This is just simply, totally wrong,'' he said. ''I have no problems with journalists being critical of my government or my country. There are times when we deserve it … but such sweeping claims are harmful and quite frankly they are also very hurtful.'' O'Neill's gri

By GOVERNOR GARY JUFFA MP Sonoma was an old man who was well known for his legends. That’s what we grew up reading, in the Times, a PNG newspaper of yesteryear which featured PNG legends. Sonoma told many legends that explained the existence of various geographic anomalies or creatures and their relationship towards each other. His stories were entertaining. I reflected today about legends. I myself grew up like many other Papua New Guineans enthralled and entertained by legends by the fireside. It made me think of a modern day legend. Well not really a legend, but I thought it would be an interesting way to begin this Sunday rant. A National Security Policy is being developed by Papua New Guinea. This is according to recent media reports. One wonders why it took 30 years. One would imagine that such a policy would have been designed and developed immediately after independence. National Security is fundamental to economic progress for any nation as its primary intention is to ensure i

IMPLEMENTATION of basic social services like health and education, and basic infrastructure – access roads, bridges, jetties and wharves – has been one of PNG’s biggest problems since independence in 1975. In fact this is one of the main reasons why PNG is currently facing a whole range of development issues or challenges – lack of business opportunities for the people; poverty; poor standards of living and quality of life; high maternal and infant deaths; deaths from TB, malaria, breast and cervical cancer and the list goes on. Imagine the hundreds of millions of kina that have gone to waste over the years, simply because the country’s principal implementation agency – the Public Service – has failed to provide the manpower – public servants – to do the job. We have the Provincial Administrators who are responsible for provincial administrations at each provincial centre. The PAs are assisted by Principal Advisors of divisions like Health, Education, Agriculture & Livestock, Comme

IMPLEMENTATION of basic social services like health and education, and basic infrastructure – access roads, bridges, jetties and wharves – has been one of PNG’s biggest problems since independence in 1975. In fact this is one of the main reasons why PNG is currently facing a whole range of development issues or challenges – lack of business opportunities for the people; poverty; poor standards of living and quality of life; high maternal and infant deaths; deaths from TB, malaria, breast and cervical cancer and the list goes on. Imagine the hundreds of millions of kina that have gone to waste over the years, simply because the country’s principal implementation agency – the Public Service – has failed to provide the manpower – public servants – to do the job. We have the Provincial Administrators who are responsible for provincial administrations at each provincial centre. The PAs are assisted by Principal Advisors of divisions like Health, Education, Agriculture & Livestock,

By NATHAN DINGU You all must be pretty tired of this topic being repeated so often without anything being done about it but hey, the more we talk about it, expose it and ridicule it – sooner or later something will be done about it. So let me show you how our government is taxing its own citizens similar to that of foreigners or even more so. We have a so called minimum wage limit set at K8000.00, but hey, it is only for that group of people. The rest of us have to face the full brunt of the TAX man. Yes, all Papua New Guineans are taxed at a 30% flat rate right across (that is, if you are not married). This literally means that out of every K1000 you earn – we are subject to pay K300 to the government for its so called services. Yes that is ONLY 10% less than an expatriate would but we all know that all expatriates are exempted from paying tax because the companies who bring them in pay for their TAXES! What makes me sick about the above is that the tax rate is simply flat – our gover

By NATHAN DINGU You all must be pretty tired of this topic being repeated so often without anything being done about it but hey, the more we talk about it, expose it and ridicule it – sooner or later something will be done about it. So let me show you how our government is taxing its own citizens similar to that of foreigners or even more so. We have a so called minimum wage limit set at K8000.00, but hey, it is only for that group of people. The rest of us have to face the full brunt of the TAX man. Yes, all Papua New Guineans are taxed at a 30% flat rate right across (that is, if you are not married). This literally means that out of every K1000 you earn – we are subject to pay K300 to the government for its so called services. Yes that is ONLY 10% less than an expatriate would but we all know that all expatriates are exempted from paying tax because the companies who bring them in pay for their TAXES! What makes me sick about the above is that the tax rate is simply flat – ou

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has looked to the government of Peter O'Neill to help carve out a greater regional leadership role for Papua New Guinea, and hailed the mid-year elections as a beacon of democracy for developing nations. Senator Carr, who will attend the Australia PNG Ministerial Forum in Port Moresby tomorrow, backed Mr O'Neill's call to establish an anti-corruption commission and unveiled further health and education assistance. In his first visit to PNG as foreign minister, Senator Carr said the forum would also discuss how Australian aid must be recalibrated to assist the initiatives of the O'Neill government, particularly in building health and education capacities. "I think Papua New Guinea no longer has to hide its light under a bushel. The fact that it's adhered to the democratic past without veering off is a great advertisement for it and its people and its leadership," he said. Touching down in a western highland province yesterday morni

FOREIGN Minister Bob Carr has looked to the government of Peter O'Neill to help carve out a greater regional leadership role for Papua New Guinea, and hailed the mid-year elections as a beacon of democracy for developing nations. Senator Carr, who will attend the Australia PNG Ministerial Forum in Port Moresby tomorrow, backed Mr O'Neill's call to establish an anti-corruption commission and unveiled further health and education assistance. In his first visit to PNG as foreign minister, Senator Carr said the forum would also discuss how Australian aid must be recalibrated to assist the initiatives of the O'Neill government, particularly in building health and education capacities. "I think Papua New Guinea no longer has to hide its light under a bushel. The fact that it's adhered to the democratic past without veering off is a great advertisement for it and its people and its leadership," he said. Touching down in a western highland province yesterday morni

THE use of social media is instigating social unrest and political stand-offs in the country and needs to be regulated, a parliamentarian says. Southern Highlands Governor William Powi said people with malicious intent had been posting discriminatory and defamatory messages and circulating them using social media. Powi said that was becoming a concern and something should be done to regulate the use of social media in the country. Several leaders in the country had raised concern on the abuse of social media in the country and called on regulatory measures to be enforced. Powi made the comment after rumours of dubious payments being made to several people by his government were circulated around the country through messages using social media. He said he was unaware of and had not instructed anyone to make such payments. He warned people to be responsible and not to use social media to tarnish his reputation. “I’m not aware of any dubious payment from finance. “This is a malicious atta

THE use of social media is instigating social unrest and political stand-offs in the country and needs to be regulated, a parliamentarian says. Southern Highlands Governor William Powi said people with malicious intent had been posting discriminatory and defamatory messages and circulating them using social media. Powi said that was becoming a concern and something should be done to regulate the use of social media in the country. Several leaders in the country had raised concern on the abuse of social media in the country and called on regulatory measures to be enforced. Powi made the comment after rumours of dubious payments being made to several people by his government were circulated around the country through messages using social media. He said he was unaware of and had not instructed anyone to make such payments. He warned people to be responsible and not to use social media to tarnish his reputation. “I’m not aware of any dubious payment from finance. “This is a malicious a

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is working on improving its infrastructure and stamping out corruption, which will make it a more attractive place to do business, its Prime Minister says. Peter O'Neill also told a mining conference in Sydney on Monday that the PNG political environment had continued to stabilise since the elections earlier this year. He said the improved political stability would be of benefit to the resource companies seeking to do business in the country. "We have established a very strong and very stable political environment," he told the conference. "We will soon make it stronger and more stable." Mr O'Neill said the new government was also working hard to stamp out corruption, which was often an impediment to business, and had set up a taskforce to tackle the problem. "We will take an uncompromising stand against corruption that our people are now demanding," he said. "I will not pretend we can eliminate corruption completely but

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is working on improving its infrastructure and stamping out corruption, which will make it a more attractive place to do business, its Prime Minister says. Peter O'Neill also told a mining conference in Sydney on Monday that the PNG political environment had continued to stabilise since the elections earlier this year. He said the improved political stability would be of benefit to the resource companies seeking to do business in the country. "We have established a very strong and very stable political environment," he told the conference. "We will soon make it stronger and more stable." Mr O'Neill said the new government was also working hard to stamp out corruption, which was often an impediment to business, and had set up a taskforce to tackle the problem. "We will take an uncompromising stand against corruption that our people are now demanding," he said. "I will not pretend we can eliminate corrupti

By GOVERNOR GARRY JUFFA, MP In December from the 3rd -0 5th, 2012, the 12th PNG – Australia Gas and Petroleum Conference will be held in Sydney, NSW, Australia, organized by the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum. It will be held at the prestigious Sydney Hilton and once more all manner of people involved in the gas and petroleum industry in Papua New Guinea, either directly or indirectly will be there networking, hoping to impress one another with what they know, or who they are or who they know. There will be many current and ex politicians from PNG and Australia even, experts, gurus on this and that and econometricians, geologists, engineers, lawyers and accountants and so forth. There will be middlemen and agents, those who actually mine and those who mine the stock exchanges around the world, boosting their shares up with great news from the last frontier. In fact there will also be many experts on PNG, some who have actually lived there, some are even Papua New Guinean. Again, th