PNGBLOGS

by PAUL FLANAGAN SUMMARY The IMF report indicates the O’Neill government has overstated the growth rate in the PNG economy by 12.7 percentage points during its term. Primarily by 5.9 percentage points in 2014 and a further 5.2 percentage points in 2015 (see graph below). The IMF indicates the PNG economy is K6.3 billion smaller in 2017 than claimed by the government (and K5.4 billion smaller in 2016). This means the debt to GDP ratio is 33.5% in both 2016 and 2017 according to the IMF – above the 30% limit set in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The greatest concerns about economic management relate to BPNG’s control of the foreign exchange rate and reserves with more breaches of international norms than admitted. The Governor of the BPNG should explain serious discrepancies between his statements on 25 January (full page adds in the local press on 26 Janaury) and what the IMF report actually stated on 27 January (see below). While commending the government for its actions in

GIANT LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR PNG - THE K6 BILLION EXIM BANK LOAN, SUPPOSEDLY FOR 'HIGHLANDS HIGHWAY REHABILITATION':  In 2012, then Treasury Minister Don Polye, an ignoramus in economics and financing, was asked by then Finance Shadow Minister Joseph Lelang about the massive K6 billion Exim Bank Loan from China. He said: “The K6 billion (US$2.85 billion) loan is equivalent to 70% of the country’s total internal revenue and will increase PNG’s total public debt from K8.6 billion to K14.6 billion.” Polye, PNG's premiere political prostitute and Peter O'Neill's partner in crime at the time, replied that the loan was a sound investment. Now we know better. The Highlands Highway was the main target of the K6 billion Exim Bank loan and big political billboards picturing Peter O'Neill's face went up all along the highlands highway. But the only visible change that ever occurred was in the Markham Valley, the part of the Highlands Highway least likely to suff

by PAUL FLANAGAN The Bank of PNG, the legislatively independent central bank for the country, lost significant credibility in its recent justification for why PNG has joined the bottom 2 per cent of countries in refusing to release the standard IMF Article IV report on countries (see here ).  It remains the only country in the East Asia and Pacific not to release an IMF Article IV report undertaken in 2016. BPNG provided six “critical issues” for refusing to release the report.  However, on closer examination, there was only one critical issue (fake GDP numbers used by the PNG Treasury).  And that should be the responsibility for the PNG Treasurer to release a statement on why the PNG was suppressing an independent assessment  by the IMF of the PNG economy. What is the O’Neill government trying to hide on its management of the PNG economy? International investors will easily through see this statement. PNG’s economic standing and credibility has received a severe down

NIUGINI OUTLOOK THE WORST THING TO DO AFTER YOU’VE MADE A MISTAKE IS TO LIE AND TRY TO COVER IT UP: ENTER POST COURIER “JOURNALIST” DIANNE WAKETSI! “Journalist” Dianne Waketsi has had a few jobs since she graduated from Divine World University with a degree in journalism. On the surface it looks like she is an experienced reporter, but it is becoming quickly apparent that she’s not on a career upswing, but stuck in a rut at the Post Courier. The most likely reason is her poor journalism skills which have now backfired royally into her face as she has shamed Papua New Guinea generally, and Western Highlanders specifically, as being addicted to using the internet to seek out porn. The facts do not support this at all. In some instances it is clear that Dianne Waketsi outright lied in her story. In other cases, she couldn’t be bothered to understand the statistics she was reporting on, and got it all wrong. But she admits none of this and is trying to spin the controversy over her art

by JOHNSON OMBUNPAI In 2012 the O'Neil - Dion Government passed a NEC resolution asking the Department of Defense to relocate Murray Barracks. In 2014 both URP Leader and Mt Hagen MP William Duma and Chairman of Central Supplies and Tenders Board (CSTB) philip Eludeme went out to Manu Manu outside Port Moresby and got some land. Philip Eludeme got 20 hectares  (ha) and MP William Duma got 800 hectares. These were old farming land thus there were state lands this saw both men apply to government to get these lands. They then collaborated in the last 2 years to sell those land to the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense only acquired approximately K20 million to purchase those lands. This saw their close friend Defense Minister Dr Fabian Pok come into the scene. Duma and Eludeme cooked up a scheme to sell those Manu Manu lands to the Department of Defense. Subsequently Duma became was appointed Minister for Public Enterprises so the scheme w

  by POROLO PERIAP Ru Lu aka Dora Lu graduated from university in Shanghai in English Literature. She went to work for a Chinese State cultural agency as a researcher in Taiwan Affairs. At the age of 23, she was seconded to a second Chinese State Agency to secure access to funding for the cultural agency. Unbeknownst to her, she was groomed to be the mistress of the head of her new employer. She lost her virginity to the head of the state agency, her former employer got access to all the funding it required. In time, she married a man who was migrating to Australia as a way of escaping her circumstances. She bore a daughter, Catherine, who is now 8 years old.  However she returned to China to beg the man to who she was once a mistress, to giver her work. This man is now a very powerful figure in the PRC Government. He directed all SOEs from the PRC with interests in Oceania, to use Dora Lu as their agent to facilitate and secure contracts in the region. 

by BRYAN KRAMER   On 22nd December 2016 social media exposed an illegal land grab over two parcels of prime public land in Madang involving Minister of Petroleum & Energy and Member of Madang Open Nixon Duban and the Minister of Lands Benny Allan. On 5th December 2016 Minister of Lands Benny Allan issued a notice under Section 72(d) of the Lands Act (Powers of Minister to Grant State Lease Directly) granting a business lease for development of commercial complexes and residences over land described as Sir Donald Cleveland Park and Yabong Sports Field to a paper company Dawan Investments Ltd. Minister of Land's decision was made following the request of Member of Madang Nixon Duban in a letter dated 16 November 2016. Duban claimed that the Madang District Development Authority (DDA) resolved to develop the two parcels of land for the purpose of the 2018 APEC meeting. Duban goes on to claim that it was also the Board's (DDA) decision that Dawan Inves