PNGBLOGS

Mr Riga A. Lua, OBE Chief Ombudsman Ombudsman Commission of PNG Ground Floor, Deloitte Tower P 0 Box 1831 Port Moresby 131, NCD Dear Chief Ombudsman INTEREST PAYMENT OBLIGATION OF STATE- USBS LOAN I refer to your letter of 15 May 2014 in response to my request for your approval to pay the interest of the UBS Loan. which was undertaken to purchase 10.01% of Oil Search Limited (OSH). In such letter you stated that you received my correspondence dated 14 May 2014 and noted the contents, particularly the reference to both the National Court's and the State's interpretation of the current effect of the directives. I note that you stated that you would analyse my request and respond to me in the next couple of days. I am required to inform you that time is of the essence and the State must act and I seek your understanding in this regard. The letter I sent concerned the payment obligations of the State under a current valid loan agreement, specifically to pay interest according to th

Mr Riga A. Lua, OBE Chief Ombudsman Ombudsman Commission of PNG Ground Floor, Deloitte Tower P 0 Box 1831 Port Moresby 131, NCD Dear Chief Ombudsman INTEREST PAYMENT OBLIGATION OF STATE- USBS LOAN I refer to your letter of 15 May 2014 in response to my request for your approval to pay the interest of the UBS Loan. which was undertaken to purchase 10.01% of Oil Search Limited (OSH). In such letter you stated that you received my correspondence dated 14 May 2014 and noted the contents, particularly the reference to both the National Court's and the State's interpretation of the current effect of the directives. I note that you stated that you would analyse my request and respond to me in the next couple of days. I am required to inform you that time is of the essence and the State must act and I seek your understanding in this regard. The letter I sent concerned the payment obligations of the State under a current valid loan agreement, specifically to pay interest

By SAM KOIM * I am thankful for the opportunity to speak at this forum today. This afternoon I do not wish to be dramatic, but would like to gently draw our attention to an issue that I believe really matters our two countries –corruption. Corruption is a global phenomenon and we can take a whole year discussing about corruption, its causes, trends, effects and the strategies to minimise it. The scale of corruption differs from country to country. Sometimes, it’s the way the society tolerates it. For instance:- • In one country, using one’s relatives (in PNG we call wantoks) for favours is illegal and unethical, whilst in another country, they may not have a wantok system owing to the fact that their society may not be communally structured hence they call it “network”.   • In one country, when a simple public official is receiving a bribe to supplement his salary to meet the necessities of living is called “bribery” whilst in other countries, the economic rents their multinational con

By SAM KOIM * I am thankful for the opportunity to speak at this forum today. This afternoon I do not wish to be dramatic, but would like to gently draw our attention to an issue that I believe really matters our two countries –corruption. Corruption is a global phenomenon and we can take a whole year discussing about corruption, its causes, trends, effects and the strategies to minimise it. The scale of corruption differs from country to country. Sometimes, it’s the way the society tolerates it. For instance:- • In one country, using one’s relatives (in PNG we call wantoks) for favours is illegal and unethical, whilst in another country, they may not have a wantok system owing to the fact that their society may not be communally structured hence they call it “network”.   • In one country, when a simple public official is receiving a bribe to supplement his salary to meet the necessities of living is called “bribery” whilst in other countries, the economic rents their multin

PM interferes in Constitutional Office of Ombudsman - what new illegality has PM now ordered? Peter O'Steal's illegal and corrupt USB loan is in crisis. The first repayment was due last week, and guess what? As everyone knew, the Ombudsman Commission's recent directives ordering a halt to all activities on the loan meant that payment could not be made. The Treasury Secretary, Daire Vele, wrote to the Ombudsman Commission saying state will be in default if the payment is not made, and asked if they could go ahead make the payment. The Ombudsman Commission said NO. The next thing Peter O'Steal himself rings the Ombudsman Commission and instructs it - INSTRUCTS THE OMBUDSMAN COMMISSION, A CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICE! - to allow the State to make the payment. Again, rightly, the Ombudsman Commission said NO. The toktok in Waigani is that Mr O'Steal is now looking for ways and excuses to sack the Ombuds. Of course this all raises some very important questions: Is the State alr

PM interferes in Constitutional Office of Ombudsman - what new illegality has PM now ordered? Peter O'Steal's illegal and corrupt USB loan is in crisis. The first repayment was due last week, and guess what? As everyone knew, the Ombudsman Commission's recent directives ordering a halt to all activities on the loan meant that payment could not be made. The Treasury Secretary, Daire Vele, wrote to the Ombudsman Commission saying state will be in default if the payment is not made, and asked if they could go ahead make the payment. The Ombudsman Commission said NO. The next thing Peter O'Steal himself rings the Ombudsman Commission and instructs it - INSTRUCTS THE OMBUDSMAN COMMISSION, A CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICE! - to allow the State to make the payment. Again, rightly, the Ombudsman Commission said NO. The toktok in Waigani is that Mr O'Steal is now looking for ways and excuses to sack the Ombuds. Of course this all raises some very important questions:

National Affairs Council of PNG Finally the K45 billion PNG LNG investment project undertaken by Exxon Mobil and their investment partners including the Papua New Guinea government which invested approximately K9 billion to acquire its mandatory shares of 22.5 % as provided for in the Oil and Gas Act of 1998 had gone into production with the much anticipated return on investment. The top brass of the PNG business leaders and government ministers had a week of champagne popping and excitement for the timely delivery of the gas shipment according to fixed project schedules given the difficult geographical terrain and the poor road conditions from the main supply port of Lae to the gas wells commonly referred to as Hides, named after colonial patrol officer Jack Hides who first patrolled through the area in what is now known as the Komo Magarima District in the Hela province. The distinct difference between the signing of PNG LNG AGREEMENT and the commissioning of the first shipment of LN

National Affairs Council of PNG Finally the K45 billion PNG LNG investment project undertaken by Exxon Mobil and their investment partners including the Papua New Guinea government which invested approximately K9 billion to acquire its mandatory shares of 22.5 % as provided for in the Oil and Gas Act of 1998 had gone into production with the much anticipated return on investment. The top brass of the PNG business leaders and government ministers had a week of champagne popping and excitement for the timely delivery of the gas shipment according to fixed project schedules given the difficult geographical terrain and the poor road conditions from the main supply port of Lae to the gas wells commonly referred to as Hides, named after colonial patrol officer Jack Hides who first patrolled through the area in what is now known as the Komo Magarima District in the Hela province. The distinct difference between the signing of PNG LNG AGREEMENT and the commissioning of the first shipm

By JOHN ENDEMONGO KUA Last week both Peter Oneil and Richard Maru scampered out out of a chopper soaked in urine after an over view of the fertile Sepik plains where they are scheming a grand oil palm project which will require a capital input of K100 million to lay down the infrastructure and other establishment costs in partnership with Wilmar International a leading agro industry corporation specialing in palm oil and other seed oil products. From the outset it looks promising for the local landowners and the people of East Sepik and the nation to actually undertake a major agriculture project that will roll out spin off benefits through employment and related industries which will create wealth and earn us the much needed export dollar needed to strengthen our economy and social welfare. However the shady part of the project is the lack of transparency and misinformation by the proponent of the project and the governments media unit that have failed to present the facts of the proj