PNGBLOGS

By: Sekinolo Sawala  Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea continues to be tainted by racism inherent in Australia's predominantly  European society. In many respects, Australia has its doors closed on Papua New Guinea, be it in politics, economics, business, or in social and cultural domains such as sports.  Australia treats PNG at a different level of cooperation characterized by racially discriminatory attitudes, which is very unbecoming of regional power. It is pretty difficult for a PNG native to enter Australia and access its goods and services which other Pacific Islanders can do with ease.  Some examples of incidents that come to mind are;  Papua New Guineans are not at all considered for taking up citizenship in Australia. In other words, PNG remains the least considered country by Australia for awarding citizenship.  In 2022, there were only 2 native Papua New Guineans, apart from a mixed parentage, playing first-grade rugby in the NRL despite the fact that PNG h

UNVEILING ‘BLACK STOCK’ CORRUPTION AT LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION LIMITED  This week the Transparency International (TI) PNG launched its report naming PNG at 30th placing out of 100 countries in the world on the Corruption Perception Index.  TIPNG country chairman, Mr. Peter Aitsi said while there have been some improvements, PNG still has a lot more to do to change the perception as “one of the most corrupt country in the world”.  Tackling Corruption Already PNG has adopted a Whistleblower (protection) Act 2020 and had the newly established ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) body additional to existing crime and corruption fighter bodies such as the police Anti-Corruption and Fraud Investigation Directorate and the Ombudsman Commission however, blowing the whistle against corrupt activities in PNG remain a high-risk task where only the brave could stand up and withstand.  Below is a presentation by one such brave whose report to the police Assistant Commissioner –

  The Road Traffic Authority is currently struggling and sinking as a result of grave incompetency and lack of foresight from the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. The demise is exacerbated by a lot of administrative issues ranging from blatant abuse of funds – revenues and levy from MVIL- unsettled HR matters of existing and former NRSC and RTA officers; gross abuse of Office, manipulation of due processes and procedures; and non-compliance to certain enabling legislations (Public Finance Management Act 1995; Public Service Management Act 1995; Road Traffic Act 2014(with amendment). The incumbent, Mr. Nelson Terema appears to be an inchoate bureaucrat lacking foresight and management skill thereby derailing the rightful functions of the Authority.  The RTA is now into its Ninth (9th) year in operation since its establishment and nothing tangible has been achieved at the national level. There is no major KPI or project of national importance being achieved; even its own structure

by Martin Abini The recent announcement by Prime Minister James Marape for a shift in the country's election process is a welcome news. Specifically, he has urged citizens to consider voting for the prime minister directly in the upcoming 2027 National General Election. While I support this call, I believe that the implementation of biometric voting using fingerprint and National Identification Card (NID) as identity viewer could pose significant challenges that must be addressed without delay. One of the main issues with the current NID project is the lack of proper project structure. Despite operating under the pretext of the PNG Civil and Identity Registry, there is an urgent need to establish NID with a proper structure to ensure effective implementation. Without proper project structure, the NID project may not meet its objectives, which could ultimately undermine the success of biometric voting. Another issue with the NID project is that the registration process is centralize

In a week’s time, the 3months acting appointment of the Managing Director & CEO for the National Airports Corporation, Joseph Tupiri will expire whilst the issues that have been the reason for his acting appointment whilst Kiponge is on suspension seem to have been swept under the carpet or may have been lost with time, as we have yet to hear any updates on the following issues that were raised by the Minister for Civil Aviation Hon. Walter Schnaubelt. 1. Regulatory Compliance – The renewal of the Aerodrome Operating Certificates (ADCOs) for Nadzab and Kiunga Airports respectively have not been done to date since both airports were closed by CASAPNG last year for ADOC expiry. This was raised on the floor of Parliament by the Minister for Civil Aviation and should have been the first agenda to be addressed by the acting MD/CEO. Why has this not been addressed? Minister Civil Aviation would you care to explain to the public and the users of the airport why to date an update on this

PNG BLOGS broke a story two weeks ago on the conflict of interest at NDB by the Chairman Mr. Darrel Seeto. To date, the Chairman or KCHL have not come out to say anything against these allegations made. Unexpectedly, the CEO of NDB Mr. Johnson Pundari has come out with a statement denying these claims of conflict of interest of the Chairman of NDB. Anyone can see this is a diversion and cover-up tactic by CEO Pundari and it can be deduced that he is part of the plot at NDB. Why can’t Chairman Seeto come out and deny these accusations if they are not true? Why does he use his CEO? What is the CEO’s stake in this? He must also be benefitting from this scheme and it is not surprising because both Chairman and CEO were appointed by the same Minister so obviously, they are a team and operate in the same circles. It is highly likely they all colluded in this scheme and are benefiting together.  The CEO and all those involved must hang their heads in shame for trying to cover up what is a sca

By Alfred Kaiabe LLB ML The National Gas Corporation Ltd is the short-term and long-term answer, and has the answer, to the current energy and energy crisis and to the long-term national energy security. But the National Gas Corporation Ltd must first go to court. 1 The Puma BPNG crisis The Puma BPNG crisis is the end result of 15 years stupidity of Arthur Somare, Willam Duma and the six men Ministerial kitchen cabinet, in collusion with the PPL licensees of Hides, Juha and the Angore gas fields, to export all gas resources in those fields under section 69 of the Oil and gas Act (OGA), thus deliberately refusing to read and omitting the mandatory prerequisite OGA section 68 (2) which provides for all natural gas in PNG to be processed on shore through petroleum processing facilities in PNG, by the National Gas Corporation Ltd under powers conferred on it by section 179 of the OGA. Petroleum Processing facilities includes both Oil refineries and Natural Gas processing facilities, And th

The National Development Bank Chairman Mr. Darrell Seeto has been associated with a K40-K50 million kina contract with NDB's subsidiary, People's Micro Bank Limited which is a blatant example of conflict of interest. Does BPNG have an Integrity and Compliance unit? Is KCHL as the shareholder of NDB going to allow this to go unchecked? Do basic principles of good governance apply anymore to our banking industry or state owned enterprises? Or are these institutions run by a network of cronies who choose to look the other way? Important and vital state institutions have gone to the dogs if this is the case. This is an appalling lack of good governance being allowed by those responsible for regulation and oversight. The Bank of PNG Acting Governor and KCHL Managing Director, including the respective Boards, must make a statement now and conduct an investigation into these allegations. Why so silent? Shame on all of those responsible for allowing this to continue. The public deserve