PNGBLOGS

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

by SIR MEKERE MORAUTA   Papua New Guinea needs to take urgent action to save itself from a looming economic and financial storm, former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta said today. Sir Mekere, an economist and former head of Treasury, the Bank of Papua New Guinea and other institutions, said the nation cannot continue on its present course. “The Prime Minister has had plenty of warning from his own expert advisers in Treasury and from eminent foreign institutions and observers,” Sir Mekere said. “Good senior people in Treasury have been side-lined or sacked, or shipped out if a foreigner. Anyone who raises concerns suffers personal attack from the Prime Minister. “Or, as with the peaceful protestors who gathered at Unagi Oval on 26 October, being set upon and bashed up by the Police, no doubt on orders from above. “He has ignored all advice, and now the nation is suffering the consequences.” The latest warnings come from the international ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S

by PAUL FLANAGAN Potential crisis – what does this mean? • 3 types of crisis observed in countries through time (talk will focus on first, and some comments on second) • Fiscal crisis (PNG – first and second 1990s crises) • Government runs out of money to pay its bills. • Potentially manifested by shortage of government cash, ‘out of the ordinary’ borrowings, printing money, much higher government security interest rates. • External crisis (PNG – first and second 1990s crises) • Running out of foreign currency to pay bills (either private or more particularly government) • Potentially manifested by various forms of exchange rate controls, tariffs and quotas, foreign currency borrowings. • Muddling down crisis (more African and South American examples) • Pattern of continuing poor decision making undermining sustainable growth. • Medium to long-term timeframe – a slow bubbling crisis that may extend over a decade. • Potentially manifested by pattern of poor eco

By Nemo Yalo: Principal of Nemo Lawyers   former Acting National Court Judge former Chief Legal Counsel for Ombudsman Commission There is in an ongoing public debate between the Government and the Opposition in Parliament regarding the receipt and application of the proceeds from the sale of the LNG. In its 2015 first half Environmental and Social Report, Exxon Mobil states that its US$19billion project loaded the 100th LNG shipment on LNG carrier Methane Spirit on 15 June 2015. The first LNG cargo was shipped on 25 May 2014 destined for Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. (TEPCO) in Japan delivered on 2 June 2014. The LNG Project is expected to produce nine (9) trillion cubic feet of gas over 30 years. It has the capacity to produce 6.9 million tonnes per year. The report reads in part: “The Papua, the first custom-built LNG carrier for EMPNG, arrived at the LNG Plant Marine Terminal on 22 February 2014 to begin loading its first cargo. The 172,000-cubic metre, 290-metre-long

  by SAM BASIL MP Low Oil Prices/Stockmarkets Share Prices Plummeting Further Exposing UBS Loan and impact on PNG’s economy As Deputy Opposition Leader (DOL), I have issued several statements about the mismanagement of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) economy since 2012 by the O’Neill-led government. I have revisited the reality of them in recent days following developments in Bulolo and the Morobe Province in delivery of services to the rural areas. As any elected member of Parliament regardless of party membership, it is our duty to make statements on our directions of PNG and what our future looks like under this PNC-led government. With Parliament member’s silence, they have deliberately exposed PNG to high debt spending with figures now stating that our economy is on the decline and rather than reduce DSIP’s/PSIP’s, they are now thinking of increasing GST, impacting heavily on our citizens; I will not be supporting the Bill, to increase GST/VAT! One specific decision that O’Neill dire

by JOSEPH KAWAGE So a warrant for the arrest of Treasury Secretary Daire Vele has been issued and is to be enforced. Not before time. As Treasury Secretary he has been running a number of illegal operations for the Prime Minister, the two biggest ones being the illegal UBS loan and the illegal purchase of two mobile power generators. Police want to arrest him on charges of official corruption, misappropriation and fraud. The basis of the charges is documents provided to the police, the Attorney-General, the Ombudsman Commission and Task force Sweep by a whistleblower at PNG Power Ltd, and these documents show that a very serious and widespread fraud conspiracy took place at the highest levels of Government, business and State-Owned Enterprises. Most of these facts were detailed In Parliament in early 2014 by the then Opposition Leader, Belden Namah. Responses were supplied by the Prime Minister himself, and his office, in a number of statements. All of the PM’s official state