PNGBLOGS

The Post Courier newspaper is creating an avenue for early campaign though its newly established column, Scan Your MP. I believe this column published every Tuesdays and Thursdays is a paid newspaper supplement run as an advert. However, in my view Scan Your MP is indirectly in breach of the Organic Law on National & Local Level Government Elections. This organic law prohibits candidates and their agents including the mainstream media from taking part in early campaign until the Governor General officially issues the writs. Then the campaign period starts thereafter.  However, Post Courier is creating a forum for sitting MPs, most of whom have money, to coerce the mindsets of the voters and impose undue influence on them as early as possible. What if an MP featured on this column has not delivered in practical terms some of those so-called services he professes on the media to have delivered using the DSIP funds? I am raising this warning as my MP who was featured

by PNGBLOGS The situation in Goroka at the Provincial Capital (Yanepa Haus) is very frightening. The incumbent Provincial Administrator is a state prisoner by virtue of his arrest and bail and is allowed to continue to occupy public office disbursing funds using the section 32 powers ( delegated powers from the secretary of finance who is the custodian of public funds and in doing so as a "  not fit and proper person " and awarding contracts  through the Provincial Supply and tenders Board whilst the people of EH continues to suffer, He is squandering public funds to remain in office using the courts ( through a restraining order, which ousted the former acting Provincial Administrator in Feb 2016) and siphoning peoples money through his dubious contractors and then collecting the same at the exit point to pay for his legal and bribery expenses to remain in office. The lawyers from Niuage Lawyers, law firm are making huge money out from the peoples purse and the

by WALI DAVID In the first part of this article, I began to outline the strategy that almost guarantees PNG winning the 2017 elections in a landslide and puts the Prime Minister in position to remain in power for as long as he wants, even for life.   There are 4 different parts to this strategy.   In Part1, the necessity of focusing the 2017 campaign on rural open seats and forget about urban electorates was explained.   Following that, the need to politicize the Electoral Commission so that it came firmly under PNC control but remaining a government body was explained.    We will now turn to the 3 rd strategy of the grand plan that would allow the PNC to win the 2017 election in a landslide.   GRAND STRATEGY 3-  AT THE BEGINNING OF ELECTION YEAR, BEGIN TRANSFER OF LARGE SUMS OF PUBLIC MONEY TO RURAL DISTRICTS This part of the strategy involves putting together a massive warchest to fund candidates.   Specfiically, it involves acquiring and sending large sums of p

by MICHAEL JOSEPH PASSINGAN O’NEILL GOVERNMENT MPs PUTTING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF KINA FOR HOSPITALS INTO THEIR OWN SLUSH FUNDS Every day thousands and thousands of sick people queue up at hospitals and health clinics across the country seeking treatment or medicines for themselves or their loved ones. But as Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and his colleagues and cronies steal more and more money, borrow more and more money and waste more and more money, those people are increasingly being turned away. It does not matter how sick you are or who you are. Children with infectious diseases, pregnant mamas, bubus with heart illness, people suffering from malaria or TB, diabetes and hepatitis patients – all are being turned away. PETER O’NEILL SLASHING HEALTH BUDGET Welcome to Papua New Guinea under the O’Neill Regime. PNG Blogs recently revealed how the Prime Minister’s promises not to cut spending on essential services such as health were just lies. According to the 201

by STEPHEN HOWES - DEVPOLICY BLOG There are widespread reports these days from Papua New Guinea of budgetary difficulties, from budget cuts to  church health services  to  government salary payment delays . Why? Total expenditure is budgeted in 2016 to be slightly below the 2015 level. But it is still 50 per cent above 2012 levels. (With the change in accounting rules, it is difficult to make comparisons going back before 2012.) That’s massive growth. So what is the problem? There are three. The first is a big shift in allocations. Since 2012, there have been big increases in interest payments (due to increased borrowing), payments to MPs through district and provincial funds, payments to schools (in lieu of school fees), and compensation to employees. Deduct these and there is an 18 per cent increase in spending compared to 2012 to fund everything else, which includes critical things like maintenance and church health spending. That’s the “discretionary spending” shown in Tab