PNGBLOGS

By Martin Kamu One area of our life where there shouldn't be silly little secrets is with respect to our national faith. Christian principles are the stated centerpiece of our nation.   Christian principles include honesty, and the open, willing sharing of information. Papua New Guinea MPs Theodore Zurenuoc and Loujaya Kouza have been in the centre of crazy activities in the past and are now on centre stage in the strange case of the donated American Bible. These realities unfortunately seem to be ignored by supposedly Christian leaders like MP Theo Zurenuoc and MP Loujaya Kouza, whose extremist versions of Christianity have already embarrassed PNG before the world.  Recall that it wasn't all that long ago that their axing away at the "evil carvings" in parliament house were laughed at around the world, while here in PNG their actions infuriated the very churches that first brought Christianity to this place.    MP Theo Zurenuoc made PNG into a wo

Former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Rt. Hon Sir Julius Chan – who has been pushing for the National Government to approve the New Ireland Autonomy Model for over 8 years since taking government in 2007 – says PNG faces the inevitable risk of breaking up if it continues with the inefficiency of central government machinery. The New Ireland Governor amidst the national state in which PNG is languishing near the bottom of the World Rankings of the United National Human Development Index – poorly thriving as the lowest developing country in Oceania and among the 10 lowest developing countries in the world national in the world – say the time is right for provinces to take up more powers of taxation, over natural resources, health, education and other sectors. This feeling was echoed at the recent Governors Conference hosted by the New Ireland Government in October last year for the 22 Provincial Governors, many of whom were frustrated at the lack of control their administratio

BY JAMES PEREYAP When America and its allies invaded Iraq and kicked out the dictator Saddam Hussein, the first course of action was to get the Iraqis settled down and rebuild their infrastructure. Invading officers requested USD $12-$14 Billion (not million) in $100 bills airfreighted into Baghdad for quick disbursement.  Most has never been accounted for and apparently was stolen [read the article here at: http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/10/13/lost-iraqi-billions-found/].  What lesson can be learnt from this story of gargantuan waste of wealth?   Simple:   No government should ever throw large sums of money at a problem all at once and demanding quick results if you want the money used properly.   In PNG we always think we know better and it is not surprising that the Pacific Games are following the Iraq strategy for dumping money down ratholes.  PNG can ill afford the painful results that are already appearing, such as widespread signs of shoddy workmanship.  So much

By CASPER DAMIEN When the current government introduces the Free Education Policy when it came to power after General Election in 2012, it was kind of relieve and add smiles to the parents of all children in PNG. The parents were happy that their children’s fees will be paid by the government. The introduction of free education policy means all school fees for children who are attending government schools from Elementary to Grade 12 will be paid by the government. In other words parents will not pay any more school fees. All will be taken care by the government.     Whether the free education policy is good or bad in the country is something for everyone to debate about. On the same note, whether this policy is a controversy or not, is something the government has to revisit and reconsider its decision. If the government thinks this policy is the best policy available to promote free education for all children and to ease the parents’ burden of difficulty in paying children’s fe

By BRYAN KRAMER Part 2 - Criminal Code So what is the Criminal Code? Criminal Code also referred to as Criminal Code Act are criminal laws or prohibited offences "enacted" by Parliament (hence the term "Act") to preserve peace and good order in PNG. The code defines each criminal offence and imposed penalty for breaking them. The code is arranged in nine main parts which are further categorised into divisions and sections also referred to as provisions. There are over 628 different sections that make up the Criminal Code. PNG Criminal Code originated from Queensland when PNG was still a territory of Australia. Following PNG's independence the Code was formally adopted by Parliament using its powers under the Constitution. In accordance with Section 37(2) of Constitution nobody may be convicted of an offence that is not defined by, and the penalty for which is not prescribed by, a written law, except for contempt of court. Hence the nee

By BRYAN KRAMER After reading the many comments in relation to our Members of Parliament being referred by Ombudsman Commission to Public Prosecutor on allegations of misconduct in office versus those being charged by Police for criminal offences it seems most are still confused about these two very distinct judicial processes. Therefore I thought it only proper to provide a brief insight to better clarify their distinctive differences. Those who have been following my articles over the past year would already be familiar with the subject matter. However I understand social media in PNG in recent times has exploded with a direct readership of 200,000 and word of mouth reach exceeding 1 million. So it's appropriate to revisit some of the points already covered in the past. What is the Leadership Code? Leadership code are laws established by the Constitution (Division 2) governing ethics (moral values) and code of conduct of those who hold leadership po

By JAMES PEREYAP A very reliable source has confirmed today that Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) has well over US$2.5 billion foreign currency exchange orders pending release. The source confirmed that ANZ Bank has well over US$900 million requests pending whilst it is believed Westpac and BSP Bank have similar or even more. Other foreign exchange dealers are also having difficulty transacting foreign currency and their requests are pending clearance. The total amount now stands above US$2.5 billion. BPNG has a foreign reserve of just under US$2 billion and if all the requests are cleared, it would still have US$.5billion outstanding to be cleared. It will be crises!!! PNG businesses that use foreign currency to import goods from overseas are seriously affected by this foreign currency shortage. Businesses and individuals who wish to remit more than US$10,000 out of PNG are cuing up at the Central Bank for an average of two weeks at least. This is and will have a lot of flow-on conse

By Bal Kama The recent revelation in the media from documents leaked by Edward Snowden, a former employee of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, of alleged spying operations in Pacific Island countries by Australia and New Zealand, may have serious implications for the region into the future. In 2013, Papua New Guinea expressed concern when it was alleged that the Australian Embassy in Port Moresby was used for spy operations on countries in the Pacific. Indonesia was also concerned at that time and recalled its Ambassador from Canberra. Media reports in March 2015 based on the Snowden documents alleged New Zealand was conducting mass surveillance through the telecommunications network, including the phones and internet of citizens across the Pacific. Some of the countries alleged to be spied on include Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Tonga and French Polynesia. Reported names of senior government offi

By BRYAN KRAMER Contempt of court is behaviour that opposes or defies the authority and dignity of the court. Contempt charges may be brought against individuals who party to proceedings; including lawyers, court officers; witnesses; people who are seated in courtroom or those protesting outside. Courts have great leeway in making contempt charges, and thus confusion sometimes exists about the distinctions between types of contempt. Generally, however, contempt proceedings are categorized as civil or criminal, and direct or indirect. Civil contempt - generally involves the failure to perform an act that is ordered by a court. (failure to comply with or defy court orders) A direct contempt - is an act that occurs in the presence of the court and is intended to embarrass or engender disrespect for the court." Indirect contempt - occurs outside the presence of the court, including public or media statements with the intention to belittle, mock, obstruc