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By JEFFREY RUNDUALI Prime Minister Peter O’Steal, is making a last desperate attempt to get his hands on as much taxpayers' cash as possible before his leadership tribunal sits this month. Ministers are complaining that he is putting heavy presssure on them to get NEC submissions in as a matter of urgency - especially submissions involving large multi-million-kina contracts or large spending items. One well-placed political source says O’Steal is telling his Ministers to fast-track submissions for rubber-stamping so that money is available as quickly as possible. “PM is panicking that he will not have access to cash once the tribunal sits,” the source says. “He is trying to get as much money as possible for himself and his cronies  for 2015.” The source says Ministers are being told to bypass the usual checks and balances in readiness for a series of NEC meetings. They are also being told to look at other ways of fast-tracking spending within their own portfolios, and to no

Adopting a Socialist approach to development also known as State capitalism as opposed to the World bank IMF Model. By GABRIEL G RAMOI LLB China is said not be a nation state but a State encompassing a civilisation that is now re asserting itself as a central power and a middle kingdom under the direct mandate of heaven. According to sinologist like the former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd by 2019 China will become the first non European power since the last 300 year going back to the reign of King George the II of England to sit in the apex of world power and domination . As PNG moves to host the APEC Leaders meeting in 2018 what can we learn from China and of our own experience with the Westminster Model of representative parliamentary democracy and Liberal economic theory and what do we hope to achieve in the next 3 years in particular to show case to the world in 2018. Firstly PNG cannot showcase its tribal fights , its lawlessness, its unimaginable lev

Transferring massive mining industry profits into improving the health, education and wellbeing of a struggling population is a key challenge for Papua New Guinea, says the author of a new UN report. Glenn Banks, an associate professor in Development Studies in Massey University’s School of People, Environment and Planning, was lead author of the Papua New Guinea National Human Development Report 2014: From Wealth to Wellbeing: Translating Resource Revenue into Sustainable Human Development, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In it, he identifies the “paradox of plenty” and the “resource curse” as a features of the PNG economy, which is leading the world in economic growth rates with predictions it will increase by 20 per cent next year. Meanwhile, nearly half the population is living at or below a ‘basic needs’ poverty line. The report reviews the state of human development in Papua New Guinea in terms of the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, soc

IF THE GOVERNMENT TOOK NOTE AND ACTED WOULD MAKE ALL PAPUA NEW GUINEANS CHEER AND WEEP WITH JOY BY GOVERNOR GARY JUFFA MP We are now at the halfway mark of the 9th Parliament. Apparently much has happened by way of significant infrastructure development. Contractors especially have walked off with oodles of money from their inflated contracts. Not all but a fair few. No doubt the horde of con men and consultants who wander the corridors of Waiganis Government Offices and parliament, who brokered such “great” deals, got their finders fees. Of course no doubt some politicians benefitted from these “great deals” directly or indirectly. The 2017 elections are not far off and many parties and individuals are already preparing for that. Horses are now being reviewed and stables are being prepared for the big race where many in PNG are taken for a ride…by the same horse… A substantial number of bills have been passed in parliament, supposedly all for the good of Papua New Guinea and Pa

Look at this story from www.bbc.com: While the Chinese are tough on bribe and graft cases in their own country, even if it means taking down the mighty, Papua New Guinea allows itself to be a easy, miserable target for crooks. By God’s grace, lets all take that small step in 2015 , to fight corruption that is tearing up our beautiful land. Hong Kong billionaire sentenced to five years jail Hong Kong billionaire Thomas Kwok is sentenced to five years jail in the high profile graft case Continue reading the main story Related Stories         HK tycoon found guilty of corruption         HK tycoons in major corruption trial         Who are the Kwok brothers? A Hong Kong property tycoon, Thomas Kwok, has been sentenced to five years in jail for corruption. The former co-chairman of Sun Kung Kai Properties, was fined HK$500,000 ($64,440, £41,327) in a highly publicised graft case. He was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public

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By JAMES PERIAP In September 2013 in an ABC’s Four Corners program television interview with Peter O’Neill, Mr O’Neill was impeached with the allegation of his involvement with Parakagate and the NPF inquiries. He responded with the words “If there is evidence suggesting that in my dealing with anybody was corrupt, I am answerable to the same laws like anybody else. The challenge is on my critics….“ http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/09/23/3852506.htm O’Neill was tested against his own public pronouncements when an arrest warrant was served on him in June 2014. Instead of living up to his promise, he wielded power, removing all persons involved in his arrest including the anti-corruption team he established. On the same day, he ran to court and obtained a temporary stay order, forestalling his arrest. The temporary stay order was immediately discharged and further applications to the District and Supreme Courts were refused, paving way for O’Neill to be arrested. On 5th Ju

By   Paul Flanagan   on   December 20, 2014 PNG must adjust to lower LNG/oil prices to avoid a crisis. The PNG LNG project is still extremely important but many of the benefits of the production phase of the project have vanished because of lower prices – probably for at least a decade. This note outlines the impact of the recent oil price falls on PNG’s budget, growth rates, and balance of payments and international reserves. The broad conclusions are that: there will be  no  tax revenue from the PNG LNG project for many years; deficit and debt levels will become even more unsustainable; the 2015 growth rate will more than halve; the balance of payments will be in overall deficit even with the PNG LNG project coming to full capacity in 2016; and, without an exchange rate depreciation, PNG’s international reserves will be exhausted in two years. A policy brief  is available  which provides the technical detail of this analysis. The key findings and policy recommendations are set

By  Sam Koim ,  Grant Walton  and  Ashlee Betteridge  on  December 19, 2014 The head of Papua New Guinea’s anti-corruption coordinating body, Taskforce Sweep, Sam Koim, was recently in Canberra to present the challenges of fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea. You can read an edited version of his speech  here  and listen to the podcast  here . In between appointments Koim was interviewed about his work, politics and corruption in PNG. Perhaps the most alarming news about Taskforce Sweep is just how close it is to ceasing operations. After the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, ordered Taskforce Sweep be shut down earlier this year, the National Court placed  a permanent stay order  on this decision. We asked how the Taskforce was faring in light of this decision. Koim replied that the court order allowed them to continue to operate, but they are in a perilous position.  He said that: The government hasn’t given us a single Toea [the country’s smallest unit of currency] this y

By RAGA LOHIA Office of Higher Education (OHE) is becoming a “rosy garden’. Although having a few positive triumphs like completing the quality assessments of the six universities, awarding accreditation to five new institutions of higher education and having a new legislation that endorses the Office to become a Department, more thorns are growing behind closed doors at Mutual Rumana Building. Following from an earlier blog in March 2014 titled, “The Curious ways of OHE Director General David Kavanamur” this adds more smell to David’s “rosy garden.” Most of the operational decisions and changes in policy directives of the OHE are evolving from the so-called Executive “Exotic” Branch instead of Senior ranking directors and branch heads. The name sounds right but who is in this ‘Executive Exotic Branch’? The Exotic branch is not made of all senior officers like Directors and Assistant Directors but consists of; three secretaries- which is a waste of both human resources and financia

By SAM KOIM I would like to share with you some of my experiences in fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea. My story is not unique. Stories like mine are unfortunately replicated across far too many countries around the world. I have dedicated the last few years to combatting corruption in PNG. My journey, though dangerous at times, and uncomfortable and unpleasant for my family, has been personally rewarding in ways that I could never have imagined. The challenges of fighting corruption in PNG The challenges of combating corruption in a resource rich, communal, yet diverse cultural setting such as PNG, are multifaceted. Here I outline some key factors that make the fight against corruption in PNG challenging. The first challenge is cultural . In PNG the big man syndrome – the perception that leaders in responsible government positions are beyond reproach because of their elevated status in society – shapes relationships. There is also a lack of national consciou