Posts

Showing posts with the label Papua New Guinea

CENTRE-PIECE OF CABINET: KRAMER & KUA

Image
by JOHN KAMA The new Marape-Davis government has created a centre-piece in the cabinet that the entire country is drawn in with so much interest in the appointment of Kerenga Kua and Bryan Kramer among the 33 cabinet ministers.The following are the uniqueness about their appointment, hence, became the centre-piece of attraction: 1. They were members of the opposition who never voted for PMJM. 2. Their appointment to ministry as opposition members was unconventional in the WestMinster System. 3. They were the two top critics of the last government whom PMJM & majority of his current cabinet members were part of. 4. They both stood for zero tolerance on corruption at all levels by both citizens and non-citizens. 5. They were both outspoken on white collar corruption and the arrest of former PM Hon. Peter O'Neill and his cronies. 6. They both understood every letter of the law and were willing to use the courts as their strongest weapon against anyone. Why PMJM appointed

O'Neill demonstrates traits of sociopathic/narcissistic and is a pathological liar - Bryan Kramer

Image
by BRYAN KRAMER MP Last week Friday was International Women's Day to coincide with the occasion Prime Minister Peter O'Neill announced he would bring to Parliament a proposal to introduce four regional reserved seats for women. It was “only fair” that there is more debate about women’s role “at the leadership level”. There are currently 111 Members of Parliament in Papua New Guinea, representing 8.3 million people and not a single woman MP" O'Neill is reported saying. O’Neill said it was a “sad fact” that women’s interests were neglected. So is O'Neill genuinely concerned about women's interests? Short answer is No. He is perhaps the most hated person in PNG, so it obvious his announcement was nothing but a publicity stunt in a desperate effort to gain public support. O'Neill has a record for saying anything with absolutely no intention of honoring it. Soon after illegally occupying the Prime Minister seat in 2011 he announced his Governm

From arrows to M16s: PNG tribal fights get ever deadlier

Image
by ANDREW BEATTY -AFP Tribes in Papua New Guinea's rough and rugged highlands have fought each other for centuries, but a recent influx of automatic weapons risks turning minor beefs into all-out war. Israel Laki misses the old days -- just a few years ago -- when clansmen would settle fights in what he deems the proper way: with bows, arrows, axes and spears. It was honourable, he insists, even if an arrow once thumped within millimetres of his heart as he tried to axe a rival tribal fighter to death. The wiry 69-year-old still carries the scars and spirit of the old ways from this picturesque part of central Papua New Guinea, which westerners only reached in the 1930s. Even today, the modern state is little more than an abstract concept in the isolated region, where few respect the government. Old rivalries persist, as do fights over rape, theft and tribal boundaries. But tradition is increasingly melding with modernity, to devastating effect. Locals now speak d

MORE CORRUPT PRACTICES INSIDE THE NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE

Image
by SEVA MAURI Advertisement of the Chief Fire Officer closed on Friday 14th of June 2018. A good majority of qualified professionals have applied and we wish them good luck. This is to expose the Devil and his Dark Angels within Fire Service which the Depts. of PLLGA, DPM & Ombudsman Commission have failed to address reported allegations of misappropriation and corruption since March 2018. Acting Chief Fire Officer Bill Roo since November 2016 has defied then DPM Secretary John Kali's Instructions to advertise the Chief Fire Officer Position and no disciplinary action was taken on him. Since then, he has ceased the opportunity to steal, employ relatives, friends, promote relatives, friends, terminate firefighters, engage in business partnerships with whom he has interest in. 1.  While acting in Chief Fire Officer Position, Mr Bill Roo has been receiving HDA and EXL4 salary, which is facilitated by Fire Service acting HR Manager Gilbert Hickie & DPM's Gilb

BOARD CHAIRMAN OF TELIKOM PNG LTD MAHESH PATEL IS A FRAUDSTER

Image
Outlined below are some of the most serious allegations that warrant the immediate termination of Mahesh Patel and appointment of a new Board chairman to take charge of the SOE. We will provide evidence once an internal investigation is set up. SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MAHESH PATEL.(Evidence Available) 1.    2012- VES (voluntary exit scheme). Mahesh Patel, being chairman of HR Sub- Committee went ahead and implemented the VES under the pretext of Government Reforms. The exercise was poorly planned and executed, which resulted in the termination of employment of approximately 500 qualified technical staff, engineers and support staff from their employment. As a result a skills gap was created, Telikom never recovered and recorded consecutive loss in revenue and never declared profit and paid dividends to the state up till 2017. The affected staff under VES in 2012 took Telikom PNG to court seeking damages to be awarded to them. In 2017, a three men Supreme Court Bench upheld the N

Real estate development is the push behind Port Moresby’s growth - Not Government

Image
by DAVID LEPI Descending into Jackson’s on a hot shimmering Port Moresby afternoon I see the once peculiar sun tanned brown savannah is now replaced by sprawling suburbs after suburbs of modern design of compelling style. The mirage or an optical illusion created by the hot surface below made it look like undulating waves of melting steel and glass cascading into an unforgiving white-hot furnace of the fast approaching tarmac. On the hills to the left, you see excavators carving terraces and flattening land for trenches for foundations, utility conduits, and drainage piping. And swarming with carpenters, electricians and plumbers and all manners of tradesmen eager to pitch in to permanently change the once periphery of National Capital District. This is the growth of a remarkable landmark that is now fast defining the Port Moresby landscape. And who is behind all these concrete pouring and sounds of rhythmic hammers and whining power saws? Is it by some charity group or some long-

The Rot within the National Broadcasting Corporation

Image
by IAN S JOHNS The National Broadcasting Corporation(NBC) has been an iconic institution ever since the pre-independence era. It is the largest media organization in PNG. This organization has provided vital news and information through its broadcast to the general population such as Government policies, the school program broadcast, current affairs, sporting news, health information, entertainment, weather reports and much more. The population of this country has been kept abreast with vital information from NBC over the last 40 years. This once prime media organization has seen its demise in the last decade since the exit of MD Dr. Ninkama. Successive management has further pushed this organization deeper into oblivion. The current management had its acting Managing Director is confirmed by the cabinet to the position for a period of 3 years, the MD and his new batch of senior management inclusive of the Board were seen as the savior of this organization. However, this is on

PNG FACES A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

Image
by PAUL FLANAGAN The press release from the latest mission of the world’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) – see here – highlights the difficult road ahead for PNG in dealing with recent years of bad luck and economic mismanagement. Challenges On the fiscal front, the IMF considers that the government will fail in the Supplementary Budget to bring the 2017 budget deficit back to the target of 2.5% of GDP. Rather, it estimates the deficit will be “a little over 3%” – so a gap of some K370 million relative to the 100-day target. The goal to reduce the debt to GDP ratio back to the legislated level of 30% as part of the 2017 Supplementary Budget is also recognized as infeasible. Instead, the suggestion is a medium-term objective of moving to a balanced budget by 2020 (and GDP growth will work to reduce the ratio). So the first two targets in new Treasurer Abel’s 100-day plan are likely to fail. Expected growth is also wound back from the 2.7% estimate in 2017 down to 2.4%.

KEY QUESTIONS FOR INVESTORS IN PNG

Image
by PAUL FLANAGAN Following are three key questions which potential investors should be seeking answers for at the PNG Investment Conference being held in Sydney on 7 and 8 September. First, what are my peers doing? While a good business investor will be open to finding a niche market with great potential, it is relevant to know what their investment peers are doing. There was a rather disingenuous Bloomberg article last week titled “Australia Would Rather Invest in Papua New Guinea Than in China” – see here. A more comprehensive set of figures, based on total Australian investment in these countries is shown in the graph below.   [Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Catalogue 5320 Table 5 issued 10 May 2017.] Three key elements.  First, one should consider more than just direct investment.  This dominates the PNG picture but is a much, much smaller element than in China where investment options are much more diversified. Second, investments in Hong Kong are also rele

PNG’S 100 DAY PLAN – A SLOW KICKSTART WITH SOME POSITIVES

Image
by PAUL FLANAGAN PNG’s new Treasurer and DPM, Charles Abel, has released the promised 100 Day Economic Stimulus Plan (see  here ). Overall, there are some positives in the plan. But politics is already circumscribing necessary actions to get PNG back onto the right economic path. Starting with the positives, even having a 25 point plan is a useful statement that the new government recognises PNG’s economic challenges. The five elements of the plan are appropriate. There is a focus on raising revenues as well as fiscal discipline. Population policy is given priority.  The plan announces the suspension and review of some scary micro-economic policies in areas such as land, agriculture, bio-security and mining. Some politically brave action is foreshadowed to at least temporarily reduce politicians’ discretionary electorate spending (PSIPs and DSIPs). There seems a commitment to on-going sensible strategic budgetary and planning processes. There is no mention of the absurd “gold bu

PNG’S FIENDISH FISCAL FIGURES – A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Image
by PAUL FLANAGAN Using PNG’s updated GDP numbers, there are new insights into PNG’s economic history. In particular, they show how bad the last four years have been: PNG’s budget deficits over the last four years are the worst in PNG’s history. From 2012 to 2016, deficits have totaled an extraordinary 23.8% of GDP This is nearly three times higher than the next worst five-year period for spiraling deficits (8.7% from 1992 to 1996 with five-year periods based on parliamentary terms). These daunting deficit figures are the driver behind the explosion in public debt from 17.3% of GDP in 2011 to 35.5% in 2016. In the 1992 to 1996 period, debt started at much higher levels (28% of GDP) but still didn’t reach 2016 levels (34.4% in 1996 vs the current 35.5% level using 2016 FBO numbers and IMF figures on 2016 GDP). There are two drivers for these historically high budget deficits. First, the massive increase in expenditure in 2012 was the largest in PNG’s history – a