PNGBLOGS

by JACK WIRIPI The recent outburst by the Attorney General has a lot to be desired coming from a Senior State Minister considered by many to be one of the last remaining upright and good leaders of this nation. However, it seems there is a lot more than what meets the eye. Our knight in shining Amour appears to be a devil of the highest order. A lot of information is intentionally concealed and withheld to deceive the general public and so the government of the day. And to what end, one may ask. Is this a ploy to remove a hardworking and honest woman who has been knocking out dubious claims from the minister and his cronies and may be, other personal reasons the Minister is not telling? We’ll soon find out. He may not be as honest just like the current crop of ministers in parliament. Ministers of the current government are frantically fighting for their own self-interests and he is no exception. If he was honest, he would have addressed some very high-profile corruption cases that h

by JAMES PARAKISAN I’m compelled to write about the most recent turn of events that unfolded before us in the light of Mr O’Neill’s desperate moves to cling onto power. A case in point is the unpopular and unconstitutional tactics applied to withholding the K2 million DSIP cheques for all opposition MPs for the last 4 weeks. That is 2 Provinces and 21 districts suffering as a result of such evil agendas being pursued relentlessly by people who are not yet done with corruption. If average population for each of the 21 districts is 40,000 and 200,000 in average for the two provinces than you are looking at more than a million people in this country are suffering for this gross neglect. Realistically there could be close to a quarter of the entire population in PNG suffering as we speak. As if the people haven’t suffered long enough due to their deliberate failures to fairly appropriate care and now has the audacity to hide and keep the DSIP cheques for 4 weeks in a row now. These money

by ANDREW BEATTY -AFP Tribes in Papua New Guinea's rough and rugged highlands have fought each other for centuries, but a recent influx of automatic weapons risks turning minor beefs into all-out war. Israel Laki misses the old days -- just a few years ago -- when clansmen would settle fights in what he deems the proper way: with bows, arrows, axes and spears. It was honourable, he insists, even if an arrow once thumped within millimetres of his heart as he tried to axe a rival tribal fighter to death. The wiry 69-year-old still carries the scars and spirit of the old ways from this picturesque part of central Papua New Guinea, which westerners only reached in the 1930s. Even today, the modern state is little more than an abstract concept in the isolated region, where few respect the government. Old rivalries persist, as do fights over rape, theft and tribal boundaries. But tradition is increasingly melding with modernity, to devastating effect. Locals now speak d

by TONY CHARLES KEROWA Papua New Guinean development aspirations are all jumbled up and not in order. The National Government should invest its resources including Money where it will improve the lives of its people. From my observation and experience, there is more grandstanding on the political level building statuesque and echo more than planning on bringing tangible development to communities and towns by elected representatives from both sides of the house. The following important key development areas should be prioritized. 1. Improving Road and Bridges : Opening up and connecting the rural PNG communities through improved Road and Bridges will give an opportunity for our people to work on their land by converting ideal land to economic value by planting cash crops and livestock on a commercial scale. The Department of Works should be reviewed and upgraded to function independently. The Department should operate as independently as possible 2. Improving and empowerin

by JOHN ENDEMONGO KUA The prime minister Peter O'Neill has not resigned as yet with his deputy prime minister and minister for Treasury Charles Abel after passing a string of fake budgets over the years including the 2019 appropriation bill which was distraught with fraud as it did not capture the existing foreign debts , especially from the Republic of China and the component of debt servicing which would be as high as 50 percent leaving very little to maintain concurrent services. The moral and ethical benchmark for proper conduct has declined since independence forcing inductees over the years to become prototypes of their predecessors who themselves were swimming in corrupt behavior. To begin with the grand statesman Sir Michael Thomas Somare was found guilty of misconduct in office by a leadership tribunal Court for failing to report his financial statements as a public office holder and yet he clung onto public office as if it was his God given inheritance , not to mention

by CAPTAIN NOBERT BAN It is so sad the PNGDF Air Element has been hijacked by certain PNGDF pilots and Engineers for sinister reasons. It is amazing to note that the same thieves within PNGDF have been abusing the aircraft by way of engaging into commercial operations at the expense of Tax Payers to make millions in clear profit. On 13 July 2016, whilst doing one of such commercial flights from Telefomin to Vanimo, the aircraft developed reduced oil pressure on its right hand engine Propeller Reduction Gearbox (PGB). The crew procedurally shut down the affected engine on reaching 18000 ft cruise altitude. Indications of imminent failure were detected whilst passing 15000ft on climb...thank God didn't happen on take off roll or immediately after take off. After shutting down the engine, it was realised that the Propellers of the affected engine didn't feather. This resulted in creation of aerodynamic drag and reduction in performance. To maintain altitude,

[Press Release by Rt Hon Sir Mekere Morauta] Prime Minister Peter O’Neill should stand down and submit himself to an independent external inquiry into very serious allegations of personal and corporate impropriety. The allegations concern his then wholly-owned construction company Wild Cat Developments Ltd and a bridge-building contract with the Asian Development Bank. The bank investigated the contract and found it to be improperly and incompletely implemented by Mr O’Neill’s company. The bank found proper tender processes had not been followed, rigging of the tender process, misrepresentation, financial management deficiencies, potential integrity violations, serious procurement irregularities, contravention of contract terms, and lack of qualification to tender. Reports by the Guardian newspaper and the PNGi network state that the 2015-2016 project in West New Britain Province “was fraught with problems, requiring the ADB to temporarily stop payments and send in inspector