PNGBLOGS

CHANGING PORT MORESBY CITY LANDSCAPE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, COMPLACENCY IN COMPLIANCE AND STANDARD COMPROMISED. INCOMPLETE STADIUMS: by LEKEM LAKI The metropolitan city of Port Moresby is booming in construction in all form and shape. Contrasting with rest of the country, the scale of construction happening in Port Moresby is unprecedented. The economic values of all gigantic infrastructure developments are in alarming proportion. If not doubled, it is tripled the factual cost of putting up the projects. Should independent expertise is engaged to study and do variation on the costing; surely extravagance unscrupulous spending would be revealed. Particularly sporting venues, in haste, trying to meet the deadline and delivered incomplete jobs and remain as such. Sir Hubert Murry stadium is progressing at snail’s pace. The sport’s Minister exaggerated and today date, he over exaggerate claiming, under his ministry, he has delivered world class stadiums

Madang Sunrise ; Photo Credit Jan Messersmith by MARINA WAITA PMIZ promises spin-off business for landowners but would not allow locals to participate. When one talks of project development, three major parties are involved; the investors, the government and the landowners.  There would be consultation and understanding before any agreement is signed, finalized and launched before operations begin. But has this been the trend here in Papua New Guinea? For the case of Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) in Madang Province, the answer is a big NO. There has never been proper consultation between the National Government and investors with the landowners of the Vidar site where the PMIZ project is located. The landowner’s constant struggles to make the government understand that they do not want the project seem to be falling on deaf ears. As they continue to raise concerns for the environment, potential creation of social problems and lack of real benefit in regards to

by YAKAN LEPAKAILI   The action of the deputy and acting Speaker of Parliament in the last Parliament session was well calculated and his action is not surprising but demeans the parliamentary process and democracy to say the least. This is in the light of opposition moving the motion of no-confidence notice. Initially, when deputy opposition leader sponsored the MONC, acting Speaking called it defective. The approach acting Speaker taken to make the ruling was it proper and followed the tenets of the Parliamentary Standing Orders leaves lot to be desired. The acting Speaker then returned the defective MONC notice to the sponsor to rectify the anomaly and surely resubmitted. In the second time, acting Speaker, on a Thursday, received the amended MONC notice. Whilst the opposition camp was throwing heart and soul into moving the MONC, those in the opposing team had counter plans on foot to outpace opposition. Typically, with Westminster system of governance

by PAULUS KANAMBO Peter O’Steal, the biggest liar, thief and konman in PNG history, has been exposed again by new facts revealed about the 2016 Budget. He said the 2016 money plan was “a conservative budget that carefully manages spending to ensure essential services are delivered to the people. Core services for our grassroots including school fees and access to healthcare will continue to be properly funded. “Our law and order programs will continue with more funding for police, the courts and correctional services. “Funding for critical infrastructure will be maintained in order to provide ongoing stimulus for business and for job creation.” Each and every one of these statements by O’Steal is a lie, as shown by the latest economic research by the prestigious Lowy Institute in Sydney. THE FACTS ABOUT PETER O’STEAL’S LIES Core services for grassroots have in fact been savagely cut because of O’Steal’s corruption, waste and mismanagement. Education sp

by SAM BASIL MP  Deputy Opposition Leader As Deputy Opposition Leader (DOL), I have continuously criticised the mismanagement of the economy by the O’Neill government and their continuous lies that the economy will recover back to pre-2012, when PNG was in a surplus budget. My predictions on the negative high spending and reliance on oil and gas prices, from as far back as 36 months ago when the 2013 Budget was handed down, is now very real; the citizens of Papua New Guinea (PNG) don’t have to look far on the basic figureswhen they’re experiencing: i) The high costs of goods and services acknowledging the high inflation rate that I predicted which current figures don’t acknowledge, and ii) The rapid devaluation of our exchange rate reflecting a slowdown in the economy because- a. The exporters aren’t getting the revenue they used to get, as well as b. The importers awaiting their products to reach our shores because there is a lack of foreign reserves available, to pay o

NIUGINI OUTLOOK The now infamous John Mangoes of PNG Power CEO fame was Digicel PNG CEO until the end of March. Mangoes competency at Digicel was questionable as Digicel service was frequently erratic and some things just seemed never to be fixed. But this past January, it was under Mangoes direction that the new Digicel customer service unit was establis hed under a returning Lorna McPherson and the much hated "no warning message before the voicemail charge" policy was finally done away with. At least that's what we thought. But the voice mail warning has come back on, with no advance warning, in the typical "we don't give a Sh!t about our customers" way. What happened to the supposed commitment to customer service? Enter Maurice McCarthy, another Irishman seeking to shovel as much money as possible towards Irishman Denis O'Brien, as he struggles under an overall Digicel debt of around USD $6 billion. The last 2 years of Digi

by BRYAN KRAMER It seems Digicel has not taken heed of my last article in relation to ripping off its customers nor have they taken corrective measures to discontinue violating our consumer rights. In recent weeks I've been busy taking to task the head of Government, a Prime Minister who evades arrest and facing corruption charges over misuse of public funds. I would rather commit all of my time pursuing that cause than expend my time bringing to account a billion kina foreign company on allegations of corrupt and deceptive practices, stealing from our illiterate and impoverished people. I intend to write two in-depth articles about Digicel: The first under the above headline and the second to discuss in detail the legal process of a class action lawsuit. We will look into their earnings, profits and capital expenditure. We will consider the facts that support my opinion that Digicel has been ripping off PNG, its No.1 earner. Both articles will leave Papua New Guineans gri

by BRYAN KRAMER The news of O'Neill Government's decision to adjourn Parliament to March 2016 brought a smile to my face. A decision that was very much anticipated and welcomed. As predicted Peter O'Neill would do so to avoid facing the motion of vote of no confidence. It's my view it is typical of O'Neill to act like a coward demonstrating weak leadership by manipulating democratic processes to serve his own interest. Evidence of this fact was when Fraud squad members served him a warrant of arrest in June 2014. They kindly asked him to accompany them to be interviewed, he instead fled like a common criminal to hide out in Parliament House. Section 155 (Parliamentary Privileges) Constitution states Members of the Parliament are free from arrest for civil debt during meetings of the Parliament and during the period commencing three days before, and ending three days after. At the time Parliament was not even in session but nonetheless it didn't stop O

by CASPER DAMIEN   Introduction Why is Sorcery/witchcraft a problem for people in Papua New Guinea? Sorcery and witchcraft beliefs have affected our life and the way we think and perceive things in relation to other people in our society. As such, sorcery/witchcraft is something that is very real for us Papa New Guineans. It is experienced every day and its activity becomes normal to all in our society. Accepting the reality of sorcery/witchcraft as normal in everyday life makes us affirm it as an institutionalized reality. It becomes part and parcel of the community. The witchcraft beliefs and practices are deeply rooted in the social structure of the society. Thus, it becomes a way of life that is affirmed by our beliefs and actions of our people. Why violence against women In PNG women are the targeted victims of sorcery related violence. There are many reasons why women in PNG are always victims of sorcery related violence. Women are seen as second to men in PNG so

STATEMENT by Rt Hon Mekere Morauta, KCMG November 4 2015 The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea has once again singled me out for attack for expressing a view on current national issues. My assessment and analysis of the severe economic and financial difficulties facing the nation and the adjustments that need to be taken are entirely my own. My statements were made to promote public discussion and were published at my personal expense. Every citizen has a right to speak about national issues and challenges, and those rights should be respected by the Government.  The Prime Minister’s extraordinary attacks on me as an individual should be seen as part of a broader campaign of intimidation and attempts to shut down dissent, by force if necessary. Dissent is a sign of a healthy society. It is a sign of a robust democracy. The right to freedom of speech and the freedom to gather together publicly to express our views are precious public commodities. The Prime Minister claims t

by YAKAN LEPAKAILI This articles stems from Anir land owners from New Island province, through Island Resource Owners Association (IROA) asking Mineral Resource Authority (MRA) to revoke the exploration lease licence (EL 2096) issued to an Australian based exploration company known to be Mayur Exploration Limited. According to Sunday Chronicle, Sunday October 25, 2015, pg 13, MRA through Mining Advisory Council (MAC) audaciously ignored the land owners call and instead recommended to the Mining Minister to grant the lease license to an applicant company in question. The action of MRA through MAC tantamount to bullying in nature bulldozing decisions to the dismay of simple people; the resource owners on the ground. Reckon people should have the final say but it isn’t the case with Anir people of New Island. I am tempted to form an opinion that one party is collaborating with the other and in this case, MRA is conspiring with Mayur Exploration Limited denying the land owners

by JAMES PEREYAP The name “Rogue Police” is synonymous with Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC), a stigma that other innocent and hardworking cops have to also live with. Today, civilians are more fearful of the police than criminals. Police ill-discipline is part of a bigger problem that had been neglected for a long time and grown to be inherent in the RPNGC. The consequences of it are manifesting. These inherent problems are now being sustained and exacerbated by the current O’Neill Government’s use of RPNGC as a political tool to suppress opposition. With the added ‘political will’ of the current government, the Police will use it as a ticket to go all-out and abuse their powers and commit more crimes. PNGBlogs published a number of stories concerning O’Neill’s interference with the police force including this one. http://www.pngblogs.com/2015/10/politically-corrupt-running-police-force.html But nothing could be more worrying than this one. In order to create blindly fol