PNGBLOGS

By Lewar Kandep I am retired pastor ...and I know Sir Gibson Salika and his wife to be Christians. I have retired young to do law overseas and am on holiday in PNG. I have had Godly respect for the CJ until recently my admiration of him as a man of God dwindled into one of less admiration and ultimately to one of no admiration at all to this time I write this statement. I have given much thought prayerfully ...as to whether it was wise to write. I am at peace that it must be written because I HATE to see CORRUPTION encroach into the Judiciary. I want the Judges of the Judiciary to REALISE who the CJ is!!! The CJ is NOT a just man!!! His decisions from the bench are made by his wife or by him & her both as to their political favour or based on favours served them. Most of His decisions are NOT JUST. As a pastor I’AM a MAN of GOD!!! As a student I’ am training to become a lawyer myself. I have seen almost all systems of Government fail with compromises and corruption. God has

Public Statement by Rt Hon Sir Mekere Morauta Former Prime Minister and Member for Moresby North-West Port Moresby, 11 September 2019 New information about the scandal-plagued Mineral Resources Development Corporation has become available, reinforcing the urgent need for an inquiry into its operations and the status of the hundreds of millions of kina it manages on behalf of landowner companies. “There is now a mountain of allegations about MRDC and its landowner subsidiaries,” former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta said today. “I expect that in the coming weeks more will be revealed about their dubious activities and the real value of the investments they have made, purportedly in the interest of landowners. “The latest revelations affirm Prime Minister James Marape’s decision to hold an inquiry into MRDC, and add substance to existing allegations of possible fraud, misappropriation, abuse of office and breaches of various laws including the Public Finances (Management) Act, the C

By Essena Rose Hamura Over successive years mainstream media outlets publicized BSP's massive annual profits after tax. These publications showed that BSP attributed high profit surge to its loan products. One would wonder why BSP makes massive profits from loan products than other products. My loan experience and analysis is anticipated to inform BSP loan customers loan flaws and fraud at the backdrop of customer ignorance and unawareness. Why many people are attracted to BSP personal loans? Possible reasons: 1. Loan approval efficiency (same day approval and processing. 2. 35% interest rate. I had the opportunity to obtain loan from BSP to purchase my first ever vehicle (2Wheel Mazda Bravo). The purchase price offered by my friend was K10,000. I provided the relevant documents required and got approval and processing the same afternoon. According to the loans officer, my total loan would be K16, 000. From my layman perspective, I understood that the extra K6, 000 wou

by  KEVIN MANSONGE Prime Minister James Marape has given the directive that Board Directors of   State-Owned Enterprises shall from now on be appointed strictly on merit.   No more appointments of "wantoks" and "political cronies". Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH), the shareholding company of all   State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has taken out advertisements in the  newspapers inviting individuals, national or expatriate, to submit  expressions of interest in Board director positions. Only those with the  appropriate qualifications and business experience will be considered.  Applications must be forwarded to KCH Managing Director, Darren Young, who  oversees the screening process and makes recommendations to the NEC. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT DARREN YOUNG IS ONE OF FORMER PM  O'NEILL'S BIGGEST POLITICAL CRONIES. He does not hold an undergraduate  degree, which is one of the requirements under the KCH Act for the position  of MD, and he doe

by ALAN BIRD GOVERNOR, ESP Since entering parliament, I realised that when Government backbenchers ask questions of ministers, in most cases, they pre-planned the whole thing. The issue with it is that it's supposed to be Questions Without Notice. This means the minister responsible must NOT be forewarned of the impending questions. Questions without notice are intended to test the competence of the minister and his understanding of the portfolio he has been entrusted with. This week one such staged question occurred between the MP for Ijivitari and the CIS minister. The minister for CIS then proceded to read a 3-page prepared response to the questions. What is worse was the minister struggled to pronounce the words which were written for him. I had to raise a point of order which the Speaker agreed that I was correct. This kind of behaviour between Government ministers and backbenchers is simply unacceptable and implies that some ministers are incompetent. The Governmen

by FRANCIS KOTAPE James Marape has now made an infamous decision to advertise the positions of all Departmental Heads and Heads of Statutory bodies. This decision effectively means all career public servants have lost their jobs. Marape is the biggest hypocrite because he appointed his Chief Campaign Manager John Akipe as the Defence Secretary. John Akipe was fifth on the list of short-listed candidates for the position. The first four are most qualified for the job. The highest job John Akipe held was MD of Livestock Development Corporation, a small organization un-comparable to the PNGDF. Akipe can be likened to another well-dressed conman who goes around politicians to portraying himself as CEO material. Marape and his Defence Minister bulldozed the appointment of Akipe. They think PNGeans must be stupid. If Marape is serious about removing all the Heads of Departments and statutory bodies then he should sack John Akipe first. Seriously, get rid of your chief campaign m

by BUI WETAU The announcement by the newly appointed Treasurer of a Supplementary Budget in September is welcomed by us the landowners from the first PNG LNG Gas Project. In doing so, we ask the Treasurer and the Prime Minister and Minister for Petroleum to put their heads together to include payment of some of the outstanding landowner benefits which have remained unpaid for a long time since the initial commitments were made in 2009. We understand the Minister for Petroleum may have been reliably briefed of these outstanding benefits and the perceived repercussions if not addressed immediately, a case the learned Prime Minister who also being from the area would be fully aware of. The outstanding benefits include Business Development Grants, Infrastructure Development Grants, UBSA/LBBSA Commitments, Ministerial Commitments, MOA Commitments and High Impact Project Commitments amounting to well over K3 billion. Please note that had the previous Government been responsive to i