PNGBLOGS

by  Therow Zuaru ‎ The economy of the world and the way money is valued, is one of the biggest scams of the universe. Money and wealth are naturally backed by mineral resources, land, and basically physical commodities such as precious metals. But in Papua New Guinea, it is not so. It has created a view on national success as putting priority budget areas on financial assistance. It is amusing to watch our politicians continue to become researchers researching into international financial schemes like WB, IMF, Exim Bank, ADB, EU, Ausaid, UBS, EU for soft loans development funds, financial aid to survive. Virtually for almost 45 years these financial institutions have been the proud sponsor for Papua New Guinea existence. Papua New Guinea has been recipient of foreign assistance since independence and prepare our budgets factoring the aid dynamics into them. Important issue we must look at is the financial assistance has obviously been a primordial source of income for many Papu

by SAM KOIM At the 25th Papua New Guinea–Australia Ministerial Forum held recently in Madang, the Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) surprised the Australian Government Ministers in attendance by requesting the Australian Government to take a paradigm shift from its program and project based aid to direct budgetary support as was during early days of PNG’s statehood. Two reasons publicly given by the GoPNG for the request are that firstly, it is claimed that the Australian aid programs are running parallel to the GoPNG development agendas and secondly, it is perceived that a lot of middlemen are chewing up most of the funds that could otherwise be spent on tangible projects. It is understood such requests were made previously and Australia rejected it, but this time, the Australian Government had undertaken to consider it in an upcoming review on aid to PNG. Although the GoPNG denies the request is driven by the cash flow crises the country is facing, it is an open secret

Dear Honourable Members of Parliament.  Papua New Guinea is not broke but only one person is holding this country to ransom, and the consequences will adversely affect your political careers. if you allow Peter O'Neil to be in power after 13th June, 2016, the default date of the UBS loan, UBS will likely declare PNG insolvent. Meaning PNG government can print K3 billion but we do not have the foreign currency to convert this printed money. World Bank is already in the country, they are funding roads and infrastructures now, after we've been declared insolvent under Peter O'Neil. World Bank IMF will give us money for Budget Support with the following austerity measures: 1. No DSIP/PSIP 2. NO Free Education and Health Care 3. Budget cut by 60% 4. Customary Land Mobilisation Program The stoppage in DSIP/PSIP funds will affect most the programs you honourable MPs have created and you will end up loosing your seats. Many other consequences you might face. Tuesday is

by GREG POYA   Peter O'Niell should be worried about Australia's new Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull. Papua New Guinea's prime minister has signalled a partial back-down from recent comments that Australian consultants and advisers would be expelled from PNG by the end of the year. Peter O'Neill announced in July that his government would remove all foreign advisors and consultants from government departments because their presence was m aking locals lazy. There were also suggestions that the foreign, mainly Australian, advisers, were spying on his government. Mr O'Neill now says he prefers a change to contract officers who can be accountable to his government. He told AAP that his government is not that silly to displace families overnight, and that nobody is being thrown out on the street. Mr O'Neill says he wants to ensure people assigned to PNG show loyalty to the government and to service. Australia has 34 public servants on

Steve Lewis Rich contract ... rural sociologist Dr. Adiel Mbabu.   Source: The Daily Telegraph THEY'RE the Australian government officials you've never heard of - but most of them earn more than Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The combined salaries of a select group of AusAID-funded consultants - who offer advice to developing nations on everything from law and order to farming - totals millions of dollars a year. Kenyan man Adiel Mbabu, who advises Papua New Guinea on farming techniques, is the recipient of one of the richest individual foreign aid contracts, worth $1.089 million.Dr Mbabu's three-year deal - which will earn him just over $350,000 annually tax-free - was awarded after an "open international tender process", according to an AusAID spokeswoman. The Kenyan adviser provides "expert independent support" to the PNG National Agriculture and Livestock Department. He is just one consultant whose work in some of

Steve Lewis Rich contract ... rural sociologist Dr. Adiel Mbabu.   Source: The Daily Telegraph THEY'RE the Australian government officials you've never heard of - but most of them earn more than Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The combined salaries of a select group of AusAID-funded consultants - who offer advice to developing nations on everything from law and order to farming - totals millions of dollars a year. Kenyan man Adiel Mbabu, who advises Papua New Guinea on farming techniques, is the recipient of one of the richest individual foreign aid contracts, worth $1.089 million.Dr Mbabu's three-year deal - which will earn him just over $350,000 annually tax-free - was awarded after an "open international tender process", according to an AusAID spokeswoman. The Kenyan adviser provides "expert independent support" to the PNG National Agriculture and Livestock Department. He is just one consultant whose work in

CANBERRA TIMES The Gillard Government must stop paying huge salaries to aid officials working in poor countries, Australia's main foreign aid group said yesterday.  The strong reaction from the Australian Council for International Development came after Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the huge salaries paid to Australians administering aid programs would be trimmed by one-quarter. He confirmed the Government would axe 257 long-term positions from 11 different programs over two years. Council executive director Marc Purcell said reducing advisers must be the first step as part of a larger reform and questioning of what made foreign aid effective. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the high level of advisers' salaries had been raised with her by heads of state and foreign ministers from the region. ''This is a matter of concern to them, that Australian aid is being absorbed by payments to the officials in charge of the aid program an

CANBERRA TIMES The Gillard Government must stop paying huge salaries to aid officials working in poor countries, Australia's main foreign aid group said yesterday.  The strong reaction from the Australian Council for International Development came after Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the huge salaries paid to Australians administering aid programs would be trimmed by one-quarter. He confirmed the Government would axe 257 long-term positions from 11 different programs over two years. Council executive director Marc Purcell said reducing advisers must be the first step as part of a larger reform and questioning of what made foreign aid effective. Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the high level of advisers' salaries had been raised with her by heads of state and foreign ministers from the region. ''This is a matter of concern to them, that Australian aid is being absorbed by payments to the officials in charge of the aid progr

SMH AID workers in Papua New Guinea will be making health patrols to isolated villages, in the steps of predecessors who brought the New World to locals more than 60 years ago. Australian patrol officers, known as kiaps, often trekked for days in harsh conditions, spreading the idea of government and law and order to villagers who had never seen white faces before. A product of the colonial era, the kiaps brought much-needed health supplies and new tools. They provided basic education and prolonged villagers' life expectancies. Advertisement: Story continues below Since independence in 1975 PNG governments have failed to deliver in remote areas despite huge resource revenues. With the kiaps now a distant memory, PNG is filled with highly paid advisers and consultants who rarely get their boots muddy or leave their air-conditioned Port Moresby offices. But late last month, in a significant shift of approach, an Australian special forces soldier and a doctor and nurse team helped PNG

SMH AID workers in Papua New Guinea will be making health patrols to isolated villages, in the steps of predecessors who brought the New World to locals more than 60 years ago. Australian patrol officers, known as kiaps, often trekked for days in harsh conditions, spreading the idea of government and law and order to villagers who had never seen white faces before. A product of the colonial era, the kiaps brought much-needed health supplies and new tools. They provided basic education and prolonged villagers' life expectancies. Advertisement: Story continues below Since independence in 1975 PNG governments have failed to deliver in remote areas despite huge resource revenues. With the kiaps now a distant memory, PNG is filled with highly paid advisers and consultants who rarely get their boots muddy or leave their air-conditioned Port Moresby offices. But late last month, in a significant shift of approach, an Australian special forces soldier and a doctor and nurse team he

ABC Pacific Beat Papua New Guinea's former Prime Minister, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, has called on the Australian government to put more aid money into training and education to help PNG cope with the enormous brain drain being created by PNG's resources boom. In the PNG budget delivered last week, Treasury and Finance Minister, Peter O'Neill announced big increases in spending on education and health. Sir Rabbie Namaliu says these were made possible by the increasing revenue going to the government from the resources boom, but he says that is not enough to deal with the scale of the problem. The former Prime Minister, now chairman of Kina Asset Management, says money currently being paid to high-cost Australia aid advisors would be better spent on training Papua New Guineans. In Port Moresby today, Papua New Guinea's parliamentarians are debating the budget as Sir Rabbie Namaliu explains. Presenter: Pacific Economic and Business reporter, Jemima Garrett Speaker: Former PNG P

ABC Pacific Beat Papua New Guinea's former Prime Minister, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, has called on the Australian government to put more aid money into training and education to help PNG cope with the enormous brain drain being created by PNG's resources boom. In the PNG budget delivered last week, Treasury and Finance Minister, Peter O'Neill announced big increases in spending on education and health. Sir Rabbie Namaliu says these were made possible by the increasing revenue going to the government from the resources boom, but he says that is not enough to deal with the scale of the problem. The former Prime Minister, now chairman of Kina Asset Management, says money currently being paid to high-cost Australia aid advisors would be better spent on training Papua New Guineans. In Port Moresby today, Papua New Guinea's parliamentarians are debating the budget as Sir Rabbie Namaliu explains. Presenter: Pacific Economic and Business reporter, Jemima Garrett Speaker: Form