Malum Nalu

Will the 2012 General Election breach the Constitution?

2012-01-28T15:50:00.000+10:00

By Barry Holloway and James Macpherson

TheDanger

The next Parliament risksunconstitutional membership. Electionsfor provincial and open electorates could breach the Constitution.

Such a breach would undercut anational strength: our Parliament.

This Parliament needs to makeinformed decisions quickly so that elections to the next Parliament areconstitutional.

Achievementsof this Parliament

Parliament has enacted the firstchanges to its electorates since Independence.

Provision for Jiwaka and Helaprovincial electorates is the first change to boundaries of any electoratesince before Independence.

Amendment of the Constitution toprovide for women’s electorates shows willingness to consider radical changesby the overwhelmingly male majority.

These achievements can form afoundation for a stronger Parliament.

UnconstitutionalElections for Provincial Electorates

Elections to provincial electorateswill breach the Constitution. Section 126 of the Constitution requireselectoral procedures defined by an Organic Law. Parliament has repealed provisions in the Organic Law on National and Local-level Government Elections forelectoral procedures for Provincial MPs. Election of Provincial MPs could be challenged in Court.

Will Parliament amendthe Organic Law on National andLocal-level Government Elections to provide for election of ProvincialMPs?

Will Parliament gointo the next General Election in breach of Constitutional requirements forelections to provincial electorates?

UnconstitutionalNumber of Open Electorates

The number of open electorates inthe present Parliament and for the next Parliament breaches the Constitution. The OrganicLaw on National and Local-level Government Elections requires between 110and 120 open electorates. There are 89 openelectorates.

It is too late for a BoundariesCommission during this Parliament to recommend new electorates for the 2012General Election. To preventconstitutional crisis the Organic Law should be amended to provide a range ofOpen Electorates which includes 89 open electorates.

Will Parliament amend the OrganicLaw on National and Local-level Government Elections to make constitutionalthe number of Open Electorates?

Will Parliament gointo the 2012 General Election in breach of Constitutional requirements for thenumber of Open Electorates?

Women’sElectorates

Parliament has enacted amendments tothe Constitution to provide for women’s reserved electorates.

The gap in legislation parallelsthat for provincial and open electorates. The Organic Law on National andLocal-level Government Elections should be amended to provide fordefinition of the electorates and elections to them.

Will Parliament use the gap in the OrganicLaw on National and Local-level Government Elections to prevent electionsfor women’s reserved electorates in 2012?

Will Parliament use parallel gaps in the Organic Law on National and Local-level Government Elections forelections to provincial electorates and number of open electorates to preventelections to provincial and open electorates in 2012?

Timelines and the 2012 General Election

Constitutional laws require onemonth notice and two months opportunity for debate. Parliament’s Constitutional Laws and ActsCommittee must recommend on legislation before the first opportunity fordebate. Amendments to the Organic Law on National and Local-levelGovernment Elections require a three quarters absolute majority.

The Legislative Working Group,appointed by NEC, has drafted amendments to the Organic Law required to make constitutional:

Elections to provincial electorates;
The number of open electorates; and
Elections to women’s reserved electorates.

If these amendments are not enacted,the next Parliament will be unconstitutional.

The legislative program to create aconstitutional Parliament must start now.

Colonel Yaura Sasa a "one hit wonder"

2012-01-27T18:40:00.000+10:00

By REG RENAGI

After yesterday's "One-Day Wonder" petering out to a low key whimper by the end of the day...many people with good intentions have since asked me for my thoughts on this whole fiasco.

I told them it was most unfortunate that we had to come to this.

But before any self-righteous Christians amongst us cast the first stone at former retired colonel Yaura Sasa, let me say that he did have noble intentions.

But the former soldier went about resolving the current political impasse, the wrong way.

Many of you reading this have been avid critics of the government recently by complaining on FB that we should all times, safeguard our constitution and judiaciary.

Well believe it or not, that's what Yaura Sasa was in his 'misguided way' trying to do too, but did not succeed for many reasons.

The reasons are many, and I will not go into them here.

So I wanted to pen a good 25 word piece (a 30 second read) this morning, but our FB blogger Osborne Sanida beat me to it by summing up this whole thing very well.

So here is what he says as my "comment of the day" today.

"The Col may have good intentions, but obviously the method used to try to achieve those intentions was clearly illega

l. Using an illegal means to try solve an alleged illegal action doesn't make sense. "2 wrongs don't make a right"'.

Well said Osborne ...and that's what I would tell anyone thinking of doing something similar in future - PLEASE DON'T TRY IT!

To Watut with love

2012-01-27T18:33:00.000+10:00

ByMALUM NALU\

In June 2008, nine-year-old Ngaru Nen left home inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, USA to visit his father Aral’s home in remote Watut,Morobe province, Papua New Guinea.

It was the trip of a lifetime for Ngaru, who hadnever travelled out of America before, to his mama graun and it had a profound effect on his life.

The trip was a special one for Ngaru, because he isthe elder son of the Nen's and according to Sangark clan of Watut, needs to go throughan initiation ceremony and be declared as a chief.

One thing that bothered him was the large number ofchildren roaming around because of no schools, no school fees and no space.

Father and son...Aral and Ngaru Nen in Green Bay Packers colours

He was also surprised to learn that schools in Watuthad very little school supplies and books, and had to sit on the ground andlearn, because there were no classrooms.

“I could see that this really bothered Ngaru becausehe kept on asking me ‘why’,” his father recalls.

“I had to explain to him the truth of the situation,and also told him that it happens in many other very- remote areas in thecountry, and even urban areas.

Ngaru was heartbroken, so much so, that he vowedthat that upon return to USA, he would collect whatever books and schoolsupplies he could, and send them to the children of Watut.

Thus began a three-year labour of love, collectingbooks and school supplies, however, the young man hit an 11^th-hourhitch.

His dad, Aral, tried so many shipping companies,however, the fees were so high and father told son that the books would go toAfrica instead of Watut, as there was a Rotary club which could ship to thatcontinent.

A teary Ngaru was heartbroken and prayed for amiracle to happen.

God must have heard his prayers, for in far-off PNG,Morobe Mining Joint Ventures general manager - sustainability & external relations,David Wissink, turned Good Samaritan as he read about young Ngaru’s plight onFacebook.

On Monday this week, thanks to Wissink, a containerload of books and school supplies left Milwaukee for Lae, final destinationWatut.

“When I was in Papua New Guinea, one of the thingsthat struck me most was that so many people would go barefoot, be able to liveso far away from hospitals and also have no health care,” Ngaru tells me fromMilwaukee.

“I was also surprised that the schools in Watut hadvery little school supplies and books and had to sit on the ground and learn.

“I know I have a lot of books and supplies I candonate to them.

“I told my dad that, when I return to America, I'dlike to collect books and school supplies and send them to Watut schoolsbecause I feel sorry for all these kids.

“My dad and family agreed and helped me collectbooks and supplies over three years.

“Now we have a problem with transportation.

“My dad tried so many shipping companies but thefees were so high for us to afford.

“Sadly, one afternoon, my dad told me that, thebooks would go to Africa instead of Watut, because we cannot afford it andthere is a Rotary club which can ship only to Africa.

“Also, since our garage was so full of boxes ofbooks and winter was approaching, we needed to get rid of those books somehow.

“My heart was broken and I prayed in my heart thatthe Good Lord will know the struggles of my people and will help me get thebooks and supplies to Watut.

“While we were packing and taping the boxes forAfrica, my dad got a message from someone in PNG ( David Wissink of MMJV), offering to pay for shipping costs from mygarage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, to Lae, then to Watut.

“We thought it was some crazy guy, but the longer wecommunicated with him, it seemed real.

“I call him my guardian angel.

“Without him, this would not have been possible.”

AralNen first came to America in April of 1995 after meeting his wife, MaryJohnston Nen, at Dregerhafen High School in Finschhafen when she was anAmerican Peace Corps Volunteer teaching at the school.

“Iwas raised and brought up in Lae during the later part of the colonial era,” hetells me.

“Mydad was a police officer and we used to live at Bumbu Police Barracks.

Iattended Bumneng, St Paul and Igam primary schools during my childhood.

“Bumayongwas my high school and UPNG was my college.

“Aftergraduating from UPNG in 1982, I spent some time between Lae and Chimbu doingodd jobs.

“In1986, I completed a one-year post-graduate diploma in education and was sent toDregerhafen High school the following year to teach.

“Itaught there until 1991 and was transferred to Bugandi in 1992.

“In1993, I was again transferred to Lae High School.

“Iresigned from teaching the following year.

“WhenI first came to America, I had to get adjusted to life, culture, weather,people, food and many other things.

“Everythinghere is done in a different mode as PNG and I have to keep up, otherwise, Iwould

beleft behind.

“Ihad to work odd jobs at factories and supermarkets to get money to pay for my collegeschool fees in order to get my American teaching license.

“Idid not last for more than three months, because I could not keep up with howthings are moving here.

“Ikept on going back to PNG and returning over some years before I got used todoing things here.

“Rightnow, I am fine living in America and PNG.

“Imade sure my children know where they came from by visiting their country and hauslain and getting to know theirpeople, tribes, and origin from my end.

“Iam currently teaching high school students here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“Mydaughter Betty Nen visited Lae, Finchhafen, and Kundiawa in June of 2005 and myson Ngaru Nen visited in 2008.

“Itry to save up every summer to visit mamagraun PNG.

“Itis very hard for me to forget about Watut and PNG.”

Nenknows he has to do his bit to help PNG move forward by way of assisting thosewho genuinely need help.

“Ihave sponsored two students from Bumayong High School, my ex school; one atGordon High School; set up and supportLae Volunteer Service to clean up Lae City; contributed money to send a Goilala family backto their village via AIDS Foundation; contribute to Sir Peter Barter'sMelanesian Foundation to help Manam volcano victims; contribute via Lae VolunteerService toward cholera victims at Angau and Sialum landslide victims; and alsoa Simon Mane from Chimbu, whose house was burnt down to the ground at Five-Milea couple of years ago.

“Mycurrent project is Lae Volunteer Service and Lower Watut Tournament, whichis held every June -July.

“Myson Ngaru's project was sponsorship of a grade five student at Bubia PrimarySchool two years ago and now the books and school supplies for schools in LowerWatut.

“Iknow I have a lot of blessings from God and I must not be greedy but mustextend or share them with those in need.

“Lookingback, I think I enjoyed Lae and PNG in the very good old days where respect,peace and harmony prevailed, unlike today

“Ilove those good old days where Lae was so peaceful, clean and many people knewhow to respect and live peacefully amongst each other.

“Ialso think that God has taken a good care of me and my family and is using usto help others.

“Mygreatest thank, to my parents Mr and Mrs Nen (deceased) for all theirsacrifices to bring me up to where I am now.

“Iwould also like to thank PNG and the tax payers for the education, experiencesand support though national scholarships.

“Withoutsuch support, I would not have made it.

“Iwould like to see the young generation of today to work very hard together inhonesty, pride, respect, love, peace, and put the people and the country in ourhearts.

“Getinvolved in preserving our wonderful cultural diversity and natural environment.”

Like father, like son and charitable Ngaru sweatsthat he will be back in Watut.

“When we travelled to Watut, I was so fascinated bythe beauty of the nature and how people use the environment to survive,” hesays.

“I love PNG and will save up to see my Sangarktribe, my land, my people and my two coconut trees I planted while there.

“God bless PNG.”

· mnalu@thenational.com.pg

Was it a military coup?

2012-01-27T07:38:00.001+10:00

This is what my brother, former PNGDF colonel, Reg Renagi, says about the whole shit:
"Was today a military coup?
"A military coup is a violent action taking by the military to over throw a government.Today, this did not really happened but the rogue elements of the PNGDF's action were still mutinious in nature.
"Military rules and regulations were directly breached so punishment must be metered out accordingly.
"The defence command must now take tough actions so that a clear and strong message goes to the troops in all defence communities that what happened today, must never ever be repeated in future.
"As a result of today's events in Defence Headquarters, Murray Barracks, here is what must happen now and quickly.
"Even if the mutiny situation has somewhat calmed down now with the renegade soldiers returning to their units at Taurama Barracks or elsewhere, the mutineers have seriously breached military discipline.
"Hence, the perpetrators of this highly illegal act against superiors and their own defence command must still be charged under the Military Code of Discipline, investigated and punished.
"In addition, after being tried; the renegade soldiers should then be handed over to the civil authorities for custody; followed by the appropriate civil legal proceedings before being sent to jail.
T"his very critical incident has now not only tarnished the good image and professional reputation of the PNGDF, but whatever credibility the military had until now with the government and public, has being lost forever.
"The military never crosses the line into the realm of politics, but sadly today it did, where it should not have dared ventured into; no matter what may be the compelling reasons.

Mutiny over

2012-01-26T18:21:00.003+10:00

Just got a call from Murray Barracks that Col Yaura Sasa and his mutineers have surrendered.

This has been confirmed by former PNG Defence Force officer Reg Renagi.

"I just spoke to my inner circle military contacts within defence headquarters now," he said.

"Things have quietened down now.

"General Francis Agwi's office keys have been returned to him.

"The renegade soldiers have also returned their arms back to their superiors.

"The situation within Murray Barracks is simmering down down so all's well, ends well."

NGO activist Noel Anjo calls on mutineers to step down

2012-01-26T14:30:00.000+10:00

Non government organisation activist Noel Anjo has given 24 hours to renegade colonel Yaura Sasa and his mutineers to step down or he would organise for NGOs and the public to march to Murray Barracks.
"I call on the renegade government to stop what they are doing," he told NBC radio.
"The O'Neill government is the legitimate government of Papua New Guinea.
"I'm giving them 24 hours to stop what they are doing, if not, NGOs and civil society will march to Murray Barracks.
"They are criminals.
"Apologise to the 6.7 million people of Papua New Guinea."

Air Niugini flights cancelled

2012-01-26T13:42:00.002+10:00

Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah has cancelled all Air Niugini flights to Wewak, Lae, Vanimo and Kiunga.
It is believed that PNG Defence Force troops based in these four areas will be brought in to bring down the mutineers.

Colonel Yaura Sasa warned to turn himself in by 4pm today

2012-01-26T13:07:00.000+10:00

Retired colonel Yaura Sasa has been warned by deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah to turn himself in by 4pm today or be arrested.

Namah made the call as Sasa claims to be in charge of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force after placing commander Francis Agwi under house arrest.

He has threatened to use"necessary actions" to resolve the country's political stand-off.

Sasa said soldiers under his control fired several shotsthis morning as they stormed barracks and took Agwi hostage under house arrest.

Sasa said the action did not amount to a military mutiny or takeover, butsaid he had been appointed commander by former prime minister Sir MichaelSomare.

He called on Sir Michael and primeminister Peter O'Neill to return to parliament to resolve what he called thecountry's constitutional impasse within seven days.

If that did not happen, he warned hewould use "necessary action" to "restore the integrity andrespect for the constitution and the judiciary."

"This is not a militarytakeover," he insisted.

Earlier, at Taurama Barracks, frustrated soldiers surrounded the commanding officer's house and demanded that he vacate the house.

"But he has locked himself in the house and refused to come out," a source said.

"The door of the house has been broken down by soldiers and the CO is still locked in one of the rooms. "They claim that the commander of PNGDF has been changed and therefore demand (CO) Lt Col Kari be removed.

"It's really a serious issue.

"These NCO soldiers could be charged for criminal offence because they have used brutal force to break and enter the house, demanding the removal of an officer of PNGDF, swearing, shouting abusive word to the CO to come out of the house.

"It could be politically motivated, I assume."

No further bodies recovered today

2012-01-25T21:11:00.001+10:00

No further bodies recovered at the landslide disaster site today, NBC news reports on its 9pm bulletin.
Work will continue after National Executive Council meeting tomorrow to discuss the issue.
Prime Minister Peter O'Neill visited the disaster area today.

National Research Institute: Don’t monopolise rice industry

2012-01-25T20:29:00.002+10:00

THE National Research Institute (NRI) wants the governmentto abandon its plan to monopolise the rice industry, saying it’s devastating topeople’s welfare.

The government’s leading think tank is calling on thegovernment to learn from failed agreements like InterOil, claiming that asidefrom natural monopolies which can be justifiable, protectionist monopolies asin this case are generally considered to be detrimental to overall welfare.

“Current competitive markets in the rice industry in PNGhave proven to be of public benefit as the proposed rice monopoly has thepotential of undoing the benefits of competition including lower prices,variety of rice products and food security currently enjoyed by the general public,”it said,

According to NRI, terms and conditions of project proposalsshould be thoroughly screened by independent qualified experts apart from thegovernment team through a detailed cost-benefit assessment to not onlydetermine project viability but also the opportunity costs involved.

National Research Institute also raised the issues ofprofiteering and transfer pricing if Naima Agro Industries, a foreign-ownedcompany is going to be involved, arguing that the proposal promotesanti-competition and contravenes the ICCC Act (2002) that propagatescompetition and fair trading.

“At one point in time Trukai Industries monoplised the riceindustry in PNG and only through freeing up of the industry through competitionthat PNG has now a competitive rice industry with competitors, even thoughTrukai industries commands a larger market share,” NRI argues.

It is calling for a free and competitive market andsupports continued competition as it did for the mobile phone industry and theaviation industry.

Deal with institutional decay now (Part 2)

2012-01-25T19:47:00.001+10:00

By Dr HENRY OKOLE

Political Elites and State Legitimacy

As the new political elite around independence acquired personalinterest in the new state structure as well as continuing colonial institutions– including the economy - an opportunity to serve the public withoutreservation was then missed.

It came topass therefore that political elites and public servants carried out theirresponsibilities but with a foot each firmly placed in their respectivetraditional societies and the modern state.

To be sure, PNG was not unique in this regard.

All the same, it became a problem for thecountry when the state system was compromised by individuals who took advantageof public institutions and laws to serve their private ends – even whendecisions were legitimately taken.

What is seen today is the existence of a hybrid national politicalculture that has evolved over time out of the hundreds of cultural units.

It defines the way the government exist andstate institutions operate.

It is this political culture that offers legitimacyto the country’s political practices.

It does not mean that the practices arealways beneficial, lawful and public-centred.

It simply means that they are theway things are done, understood and sometimes condoned – i.e. the PNG way ofdoing things. Recognition and acceptanceoffers credibility and legitimacy.

Thisin turn becomes the basis for political authority.

State legitimacy therefore derives itsmeaning and intent from other additional sources of authority quite apart fromthe country’s body of laws and conventions.

The weakness of public agencies to impose the will of the state in turnreinforces the credibility and even public acceptance of these extra sources ofauthority.

The Weberian state’s claim to the monopoly of power is thenmarginally true in the country.

Three or two Arms of Government?

What was starkly evident over the last few months in this standoffhas been that the traditional separation of powers among the three arms ofgovernment now exist in law and theory only.

There are in effect only twofunctional arms of government: the judiciary that for a large part has alwayspersevered to maintain its independence, and the executive.

What has transpired is the latter has slowlyusurped the authority of the legislature.

This caused Hon Carol Kidu to describe the situation as having a “parliamentarydemocracy with NEC dictatorship.”

Theexecutive dominates everything even to the point where perhaps it is fair tosay that the opposition can either be accommodated or isolated – depending onthe mood of the government of the day.

The fact that there is a gravitational pull towards the government sideis to be expected.

To survive, most MPssee the need to align themselves with the government of the day just to ensurethat they have access to pork barrel resources and other perks.

However, byswelling the side of the government over the opposition, legislature itselfloses its grit in its oversight role.

The parliamentary committee system has not been functioningproperly over the last 20 years.

The committees normally should have cateredfor the backbenchers in the government as well as members of theopposition.

Instead we have seen theincreasing use of Vice-Ministers which again strengthens the arm of theexecutive.

The committees have importantroles to play to enhance oversight in Parliament, shore up accountability inthe public service and establish another opening for dialogue between MPs andthe public.

Then there is the role ofthe Speaker’s office that is supposed to be impartial.

In all, there is a serious need to reviseParliamentary Standing Orders.

While ‘majoritarian rule’ isthe core of our Westminster system of government, it does not bode well withweak political parties and voters’ perception of MPs who are judged asdeliverers of tangible goods and services - and much less as legislators.

Therein lay the principal causes ofparliamentary instability: (1) a legislative design that consistentlyguarantees the dominance of the executive over the legislature, and (2) voterswho mistake their elected representatives for deliverers of goods and services,which in fact is the role of the state.

The MPs on their part entertain the expectations of the voters becauseit matters for their political careers.

Then there is the role of money politics that has conveniently servedas a lubricant either to form or break coalitions.

Money politics is palatable to power politicsgiven that securing the executive comes down to amassing the numbers on thefloor of Parliament through financial inducement, be that as personal gain orconstituency projects.

Another trend associated with the dominance of the executive hasbeen a propensity to amendment existing laws and provisions to suitcircumstances of the day.

Understandably, such changes can only be done withsufficient numerical strength in Parliament.

The rather raucous manner in which piece-meal amendments have been made,or new pieces of legislation have been pushed through without proper debate,have led to poorly conceived government undertakings over the years.

For instance, the merits of the provincialgovernment reforms in 1995 are yet to be fully understood today.

The present women’s bill is in danger ofbecoming another farcical law if its potential implications are not alignedproperly with the existing political reality on the ground.

Possible Way Forward

If it took a national consultation process under the ConstitutionPlanning Committee (CPC) to place the foundation of the country in the early1970s, perhaps it is high time a similar exercise is commissioned to review thepillars of the state.

It is truly a pitythat the consultation process that was set up to lay the ground work for thePNG Vision 2050 was not capitalised on to assess the merits and performance ofstate institutions.

ACPC-like consultation process SHOULD NOT be a licence to alter the NationalConstitution.

On the contrary, it shouldoffer opportunities to explore ways that protect and strengthen theConstitution.

Very often, it is not theprecepts of the Constitution and other laws that are out of vogue with realityin the PNG society.

Rather, the laws areoften unfairly projected against people’s conniving actions and behaviouralissues. Inherent to our politicalculture has been a tendency to “bend the rules” to accommodate private interestsrather than allow the rules as intended to guide community conduct.

Without public consultation, the onus toaddress issues of institutional decay will be in the hands of the MPs.

The challenge therefore is a question ofpolitical will.

And even if politicalwill is granted, it then becomes a question of whether MPs will be willing tomake the hard choices that may end up jeopardising their politicalcareers.

Moreover, a nationalconsultation process would allow more credibility and legitimacy to theproposed changes.

For all of the above, thecountry needs to go back to the starting blocks and allow the public to decidewhat is best for them.

Terms ofreference for the review can be appropriately drawn up, but the underlying rationaleis that it is high time the public stands up and remind the MPs that they aremere caretakers of their interests.

Thedanger with not doing anything is it is almost guaranteed that anotherstandoff, perhaps of another type, is bound to happen. The pillars of the stateare already out of synch with the political reality in the country.

* Dr.Henry Okole is a Senior Research Fellow under the Institutional StrengtheningPillar at the National ResearchInstitute

Deal with institutional decay now

2012-01-25T19:20:00.001+10:00

ByDr HENRY OKOLE

I invariably give a dual response whenever my views are sought onthe current political impasse in PNG: the developments that led to the twolegitimacy claims to the prime minister’s post.

The other response I give relates to a serious problem of institutionaldecay in the country.

This is not a new subject and has been raisedsporadically in the past.

Institutional decay stems from the inability ofexisting institutions (be they laws and inherent features of the governmentsystem and public service) to accommodate change as society undergoestransformation.

Change is an inevitableprocess and therefore parts of the state structure ideally should be reviewedor reformed where and when deemed necessary.

The O’Neill-Somare stand-off can be solved, provided the two sides agreeto measures that can allow an opportunity to unlock the stalemate. Institutional decay is enduring and wouldincapacitate the state system if not addressed promptly with constructivesolutions.

Political Will and Survival

An apologetic argument is often invoked stipulating that we are ayoung democracy and therefore we should falter first in our attempts before weperfect our democratic and administrative practices.

Frankly, I do not subscribe to such a lameexcuse.

This line of reasoning issimilar in assumption to the now defunct linear-stages-of-growth model that waspopularised by development economists in the 1950s – 1960s.

It suggested that developing countries couldachieve the development status of the major capitalist countries if only theycan replicate the appropriate economic and investment policies.

The fact is, the success of democratic andeconomic growth depends on smart planning, good leadership and the rightattitude to drive policy implementation.

Hence, countries need to deal with characteristics inherent to them asthey try to achieve the shared universal democratic goals.

Furthermore,such an apologetic argument would hold if PNG was trying to do its best but yetfalling short due to reasons such as limited manpower or scarce financialresources.

That is not the case.

Theblatant disregard for proper governance and administrative practices byindividuals in places of responsibility seems to suggest that these qualitiesare not prioritised.

We elect some individuals into Parliament who for onereason or another are more focused on the content of the public purse more thanthe people’s welfare in general.

Thepublic service that is supposed to brace the main pillars of the state has beenoverly politicised since the 1980s.

Neither should one say that there have notbeen any warnings of perils ahead if appropriate changes were not made.

Individuals and civil society organisationsas well as the donor community have consistently offered warnings and suggestionson a plethora of issues while giving the legitimate right to PNG governments tomake policy choices.

The politics behind thethree waves of public reform during the 1980s - 1990s revealed the type ofthinking and resolve that should have served on hindsight as reference pointsfor self-reflections as to why reforms were necessary in the first place forparticular sectors and areas.

Initiatives to undertake decisive reforms were often killed off byneglect and procrastination. Maintaining the status quo was often regarded asnecessary for political survival.

Forinstance, the first-past-the-post electoral system was already producingunrepresentative results in the 1980s given that more candidates were winningseats with smaller percentages of votes.

Yet the country had to wait anothertwo decades before the electoral system was changed.

Sir Mekere Morauta, asprime minister, knew that procrastination was not an option.

Under the conceptof ‘Date with Destiny’, he instituted important reforms.

Apart from the change of electoral system tothe limited preferential voting system, Sir Mekere also saw through theadoption of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties andCandidates (OLIPPAC), and the controversial privatization programme thatcovered some state owned enterprises.

Regardless of successes and failures ofthe reforms in hindsight, the point is Sir Mekere saw the value in institutingchange.

State Building in PNG

Understanding institutional decay should start with a proper graspof how the PNG state was built.

Our state system was superimposed on thousandsof ethnic and social groups starting around the 1950s but more so in the 1960s.

Political institutions that were developed and refined over hundreds of yearselsewhere were introduced to PNG in less than 20 years.

The first national elections were held in1964 for the House of Assembly and a mere 11 years later, PNG was grantedsovereign statehood with all the trappings of a fully-fleshed modern state.

The rushed transition of authorities from colonial control toindependence left the state institutions with little room forpreparations.

The small band of educatedelites was overawed by responsibilities at hand, though on hindsight theyperformed admirably.

However, the state institutions were simultaneously leftopen and vulnerable to opportunism and manipulation by actors and agents who,by virtue of their vantage positions in the state hierarchy, found it to theirconvenience to step into gaps for personal enrichment and benefits.

The factthat there were overlapping forms of authority, both formal and informal, leftthe fate of the state at the mercy of those within its hierarchy.

Then there was the design of a new constitution that would definethe identity of a population that had a limited sense of nationalism and whoseclaim to a national history were derived from developments in two separatecolonial territories.

A national visionwas framed into a constitution and substantiated through a preliminary nationalconsultative process with an audience, many of whom were relatively ignorant ofthe significance of statehood.

Thevision was steered in part by the inspirations drawn particularly from formerAfrican colonies.

In essence, whattranspired was the development of a ‘home grown’ constitution for a peoplewhose thoughts and aspirations were guided to a future ideal society.

The process required the adoption of foreignpolitical institutions and a public service while an impending vacuum was aboutto be created by the departing Australian colonial administration.

In this milieu, democracy and the rule of lawwas expected to take root.

TheWestminster model of government was considered most appropriate for thecountry.

*Dr. Henry Okole is a Senior Research Fellow under the InstitutionalStrengthening Pillar at the NationalResearch Institute

Harnessing the internet for agriculture development

2012-01-25T17:09:00.003+10:00

By JAMES LARAKI of NARI

INTODAY’S information age, new developments in informationand communication technologies (ICT)are offering many exciting opportunities and new challenges in rapid andeffective dissemination of agricultural innovations and technologies to stakeholders.

Withsuch technologies, exchange of information andexpertise to a large number of people is also possible.

Jimmy Maro (left) ofNARI showing these officers representing various organisations on how enterdata into a horticulture database. With Web 2.0 tools, this process could covera lot more people, with them also contributing in the process

One such technology that ismaking this possible is the second generation internet or Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 is amini internet revolution that is proving its effectiveness among users,enabling each user to share his or her knowledge, opinions, insights,experiences, and perspectives with each other.

Web 2.0 is proving to be a different way of working together andsharing information using free tools on the internet.

It is something thateverybody could use and benefit from using it. Web 2.0 includes discussion forums,blogs and wiki style encyclopedias, where users actively contributing to thesites.

Web 2.0 doesn't just give us information, but interacts withusers while giving that information. In other words, one as a reader alsobecomes a writer.

It is unlike a one-way street media where we can read anewspaper or listen to report on television, but we have very limited abilityto give our thoughts on the matter.

Web 2.0 tools, on the other hand, is a two-way street that givesus the ability to share our thoughts.

While Web 2.0 tools are alreadybeing used to share information and expertise in agriculture development issueselsewhere, the Pacific including Papua New Guinea is lacking behind.

This is so with limited or nointernet access.

While this may be so, efforts arebeing made to explore the use of social media or Web 2.0 tools to shareinformation and expertise relating to agriculture development in the region.

With support from regional andinternational organisations such Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Technical Centre for Agriculturaland Rural Cooperation (CTA), Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural ResearchInstitutions (APAARI), Global Fund for Agricultural Research (GFAR) inpartnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), efforts willbe made during 2012 to see how best to use Web 2.0 tools and ICT in general toshare information and experience for agriculture development in the region.

A number of training workshops are beingplanned to discuss the opportunities offered by the social media and also thechallenges of using these applications.

The workshop will look at the role of theinternet and how social media can facilitate information sharing andcollaboration among organisations and experts in the region.

The SPC is spearheading this in the region andis hoping member countries and relevant organisations have in place relevantinformation and communication technology (ICT) policies to facilitate thisprocess.

SPC is working towardsensuring the use of ICT tools such as the mobile telephone and internet toolssuch Web 2.0 are fully appreciated and used by the people region to improvetheir livelihoods.

Lack of access to internet in many countries in theregion is not allowing the people to fully realise the benefits andcapabilities of the different Web 2.0 tools.

SPC is currently using Web 2.0 applications in its ICTsector and thereby creating a new environment conducive to economic and socialdevelopment, and organisations in the regions will do likewise.

Director of land resources division of SPC,Inoke Ratukalou, says technology, particularly those relating to the internetand computers, is transforming our lives at unbelievable speed and is makingconversations, dialogue and interactions possible.

He believes that Web 2.0 is changing the way we do things and the way we perceive thingsand it empowers people to create awareness about the impacts of global issuessuch as climate change, environmental degradation, sea level rise and foodsecurity through the use of digital media, social networking tools ande-learning technologies.

It also gives avoice to people.

Ratukalou says CTAand other organisations that are in the forefront of Web 2.0 training andapplications in agriculture development in ACP countries recognise the need toimprove management of agricultural information in the region and will partnerwith his organisation to see how best the people in the region can tap intousing these tools.

Through this collaboration, countries in the regionwill discuss on the adoption and further dissemination of appropriate, lowcost, simple and replicable internet-based technologies and applications.

In PNG, some reports have indicated an increase in theuse of the internet and social media tools such as blogs and Facebook.

However,the use of these facilities is still a struggle for the agriculture sector andefforts will be made to promote the use and application of Web2.0 tools to enhance effective information exchange.

With support from regional andinternational partners, efforts will be made to promote the use and applicationof Web 2.0 and social media tools in providing information to users inagricultural innovation and market chains especially through participatory andopen information and communication exchange.

While this remains a challenge in PNG,we believe it is possible to make some progress through collaborative efforts.

Vele Ila’ava is new DAL acting Secretary

2012-01-25T16:46:00.002+10:00

ByMALUM NALU

Department of Agriculture and Livestock has a newacting Secretary.

He is Dr Vele Pat Ila’ava from Viriolo village,Central province.

New DAL acting Secretary Dr Vele Ila'ava

Ila’ava, a former CEO of the Cocoa Coconut Instituteand team leader of the technical advisory team involved in preparing PNG Vision2050, took office as of Monday, Jan 16.

He replaces Anton Benjamin, who has been acting inthe position after his contract expired last year.

During a brief handover ceremony, Ila’ava commendedBenjamin for his leadership and contribution to the department, commodityinstitutions and the agriculture sector in general.

Ila’ava said his immediate task was to position thedepartment to provide the leadership and assistance for key stakeholders in thesector to get on with their activities and business.

He is committed to establishing a positive andconstructive dialogue with key stakeholders in the sector and is lookingforward to working with them.

He said as a key player in the nation’s PNG Vision2050, the challenge for the department and the agriculture sector was how bestto leverage and manage the huge financial gains from the energy and miningsectors to build a vibrant and sustainable economy for the future.

Ila’ava met with senior management of DAL andoutlined his plans for the department as expected by the government.

He has instructed senior officers to work on oneimpact project for each of the 20 provinces, which would be submitted forfunding through the National Agriculture Development Programme.

After planning the road map and work plan for thenext three months, he plans to meet with commodity boards, donors and privatesector next month.

Lae clash an outcome of development issues

2012-01-25T16:13:00.005+10:00

By Dr GAE GOWAE

The recent ethnicclash in Lae is a spill over problem of lack of development in the otherprovincial centres of PNG, particularly the Highlands and the Momase provinces.

Very often theoutsiders living in Lae and Port Moresby claimed that they develop these twocities and not the locals from which these two cities are located.

The questionis, ‘then why couldn’t they develop their own centres the same as Lae and PortMoresby?’

The fact of the matter is that Lae and Port Moresby are the centresof opportunities and that’s why these people migrate to these two centres tolook for opportunities to make their livings, thus creating social issues.

After 36 years ofindependence, the townships of other provinces are both stagnant ordeteriorating while Lae and Port Moresby are expanding.

However, these two so-calledcities in PNG are slowly turning into traditional village-style livingenvironments.

People left their villages and come to live in these two citiesin the settlements and convert the overall living environments of these twocities into traditional village-style living environments.

The high risebuildings and modern office complexes are overshadowed by these villagelife-style living environments with the ugly beetle nut spittle and the filthlying around the place.

A very degrading environment compared to the smallcities of the neighboring Pacific Island countries, which are of very high livingstandard environments.

One wonders, whatare the aspirations of the so-called political leaders in terms of the developmentsin their own electorates and provinces?

Every politician should have theaspiration to develop their electorate and province to provide equalopportunities to their people.

The recent PNGMillennium Development Goals (MDGs) reports showed that the NGI region isranked number one in terms of the overall development indices, followed by theSouthern region, Momase and the Highlands region the last.

Relating theseindices to urban migration showed that the majority of settlement dwellers arefrom the Highlands region, followed by Momase, Southern and NGI region theleast, which clearly reflected the developments on the ground.

Every province andits leaders should compete for equal development opportunities for theirpeople.

Urban settlement and law and order problems can be resolved if equalattention is given to the development of each province.

More importantly, regionalgovernance should be encouraged with the revitalisation of RegionalSecretariats with clear functions and funding to create regional developments.

Highlandsregion with so much natural resources by now should have the third or if notthe second biggest city in the country.

It is totally unfair that the revenuesgenerated from the region are used elsewhere while the provincial centres fromthe region remained stagnant.

The onus is on the leaders from the Highlandsregion to make it happen reflecting the level of revenues generated from theregion, not to mention the billion dollar LNG project in the new Hela Province.

Aconcerned citizen

DrGae Gowae

P.O.Box 74

University

NationalCapital District

Tel:326 7227

Fax:326 0369

Email:gygowae@gmail.com

Kokopo MP Patrick Tammur passes away

2012-01-25T11:09:00.000+10:00

Kokopo MP and Communications Minister in the Somare regime. Patrick Tammur, passed away in Port Moresby this morning.
He had been suffering from diabetes and had one of his legs amputated in Singapore last year.
A son of firebrand Tolai leader, the late Oscar Tammur, Patrick Tammur came to power in 2007 when he ousted longtime Kokopo MP and former Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu.

MP: Two villages hit as people slept

2012-01-25T10:17:00.001+10:00

LOCAL MP Francis Potape told Radio Australia’s Tok Pisin service, the massive landslide completely covered two villages as people slept, The National reports.
“The landslide is about a kilometre long and about 300 metres wide.
“There are people buried underneath and a number of them are, from what I have heard, children,” he said.
Tari resident Joseph Warai told Radio Australia about 40 people were missing.
“About five big trucks have also been covered and gardens and houses all destroyed,” Warai said.
Officials from the National Disaster Centre in Port Moresby were expected to travel to the area today to assess the damage.
The Australian High Commission told Radio Australia that all Australians reported to be in the area had been accounted for.
A project spokeswoman said the main road in the area had been cut, and work at the site and a nearby airfield had stopped

Bodies retrieved as search begins

2012-01-25T10:07:00.000+10:00

By JUNIOR UKAHA

FOURTY bodies have been recovered as the search continues for villagers trapped in their homes after a major landslide hit them at dawn yesterday, The National reports.
A bus and another vehicle with people on board were also believed to be trapped under the rubble.
Locals from Belopa village and officials from ExxonMobil continued searching yesterday.
They said it could take months to clear the area.
The landslide hit the village between 3am and 6am yesterday.
Tuguba-Bebogo landowner leader John Gana, whose garden and property were damaged by the landslide, said the disaster was the biggest witnessed in the area.
The villagers are blaming drilling activities in the area as the cause of the landslide which hit villagers from Belopa near the Tumbi quarry area, in Hides 4-Nogoli Junction.
Luke Andaya, Esso highlands community liaison officer who is at the village helping the families affected, said it was a natural landslide caused by forces of nature.
Andaya, who yesterday called The National from the scene of the landslide, said: “The exact number of people and homes buried is not yet known.
“We believe most of the people did not make it (escape) because it occurred early in the morning.”
He said soil moved by the landslide was about 50m high in some places and covered a 2km area in Belopa.
Enoch Beropo, the occupational health and environmental safety officer with Wagner Ltd, a sub-contractor with Esso Highlands, said 40 bodies had been pulled out while the search for others continued.

60 killed in landslide disaster

2012-01-25T09:55:00.002+10:00

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

MORE than 60 villagers reportedly died and many more unaccounted for after a major landslide buried homes, vehicles and properties at dawn yesterday, The National reports.
The disaster near the Tumbi quarry of the PNG LNG project near Hides, Southern Highlands province, occurred between 3am and 5am.
Papua New Guinean authorities were responding.
According to initial reports, the whole side of a nearby mountain collapsed covering an area stretching about 2km and 500m wide.
It cut off road access to the Komo international airport construction site, LNG conditioning plant site and the Komo township.
LNG developer Esso Highlands in a statement said that the landslide occurred around 6am.
“It is unclear where the landslide started, or what caused it. Esso Highlands has been in communication with government, including the national disaster and emergency relief office.
“Our main concern is for the safety and well-being of our workforce and the community in the area. We have offered our support to the government and the local community.”
Hides Gas Development Company chairman Libe Parindali said it was a major national disaster at the heart of the LNG project.
He said initial reports from the disaster site puts the figure of 60 people buried alive when the mountain side came down after heavy rain.
It caused a landslide stretching 2km from the mountain covering Tumbi quarry into Tagali river, burying everything in its path.
“From initial report more than 60 people, a couple of vehicles, buses and heavy machines and trucks are underground,” Parindali said.
He said people from Enga, Western Highlands and parts of the region had settled in the area looking for work with the PNG LNG project.
He said project developers were cooperating with the locals to search for bodies.
“The main focus now is to retrieve the bodies of those buried. It will take time to get the bodies out,” Parindali said.
Major contractors MCJC and CCJV and the project developers have agreed to stop construction activities and mobilise their resources in the disaster area.
The HGDC board met with its management team comprising general manager Richard Champion, JV manager Andrew Pitman and human resources advisor Rueben Aila.
The company announced an initial support funding of K20,000 to assist the retrieval of bodies.
Its business partners KK Kingston will provide relief assistance including water bottles, torches and food supply.
The company was willing to pay return airfares for an officer each from the Red Cross, National Disaster and Emergency and Department of Petroleum and Energy to visit the disaster site and assess the damage.
Juha Landowner leader Hengebe Haluja told The National by mobile phone that 42 houses, including a guest house in which 20 guests were staying overnight, were buried.
He said three vehicles, five heavy machinery including graders and excavators and 20 constructions workers were believed to be buried under the landslide.
“The road from Hides PDL 1 to PDL 7 has been cut off by 700m to 800m wide roadblock.”
Haluja has called on Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma, Treasury and Finance Minister Don Polye and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to visit the disaster area.
Another leader, Peter Laki, said it was a major tragedy that needed immediate government attention for the sake of the PNG LNG project.
Laki said the people of Hides were in mourning for their tribesmen who were buried alive.
“It will take months to recover the bodies considering the amount of dirt that has piled up from the landslide.

An eyewitness account of today's landslide disaster in Southern Highlands

2012-01-24T21:12:00.000+10:00

Family near miss...the family is trapped

On top of where 10 houses used to be

Road from Tari to Hides


Villages buried under the earth

At0600hrs this morning, it was very calm, still and quite. Family’s were stillsleeping, while the mothers woke up and prepared breakfast for their family, others were preparing to taketheir stalls and stuff to the road market when all over sudden, without warning........the land slide and covered the entire village.

Tumbiarea has three villages and is located along the road leading to Hides 4 and Komo.The three villages are along the road and are scattered in hamlets. Some live abit further up in to the side of the mountain.

When theland slipped, it covered the three-villages, the people going to the market, a 2-seater with passengers inside and a Land Cruiser from Komo, nine employees fromvarious companies waiting for pick-up and other unaccounted people.

From anestimated figure including the three villages it is believed that 100-plus peoplehave been buried under the earth and that includes, mothers, children, fathers,their relatives, vendors, employees and the passengers in the two-vehicles plusthe unaccounted.

It isreported that a HGDC vehicle is also buried under the earth hence yet tobe ascertained. Two rivers on both side of the village are buried and dam is buildingup slowly at the top. If the river banks give way, it will cause more damage tothe villages living further down the river.

We arenot yet sure whether some of our local guards are buried under the earth. Wewill do stock take and see. It is a very sad and a tragic day for all of us.One or the other it will also affect us.

We justpray that the good lord will give strength and peace to the relatives of themissing one’s.

Conspiracy bid claim

2012-01-24T20:48:00.005+10:00

By JUNIOR UKAHA

THE ongoing leadership tussle claimed another victim yesterday with police charging a prominent lawyer with perverting the course of justice, The National reports.
Plainclothes detectives arrested David Dotaona after he walked out of a court room in Port Moresby yesterday morning.
Police claimed he tried to bribe a police lawyer into signing legal documents recognising his client Fred Yakasa as the police commissioner.
Yakasa had gone to court seeking orders that he was the legitimate police chief because Sir Michael Somare had appointed him.
Dotaona has been representing Yakasa since his appointment by Sir Michael following the Supreme Court ruling on Dec 12. The Peter O’Neill-led government appointed Tom Kulunga to the job.
He was charged with one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice, contrary to section 136 of the Criminal Code.
Dotaona’s arrest followed an operation order by NCD-Central assistant commissioner of police Francis Tokura on Jan 11. It called for him and Yakasa to be arrested immediately after the National Court ruling and conveyed to ACP Crimes for processing.
Deputy police commissioner (operations) Simon Kauba said Dotaona, in his position as Yakasa’s counsel, and others allegedly attempted to bribe Kulunga’s lawyer to sign documents to recognise Yakasa as the police commissioner.
“Lawyer David Dotaona was arrested and charged with attempting to solicit a bribe to pay off Police Commissioner Toami Kulunga’s defence,” he said.
Kauba said it was a “conspiracy bid” to have legal documents signed to declare Yakasa as the duly appointed acting Police Commissioner.
“Dotaona allegedly colluded with two senior politicians and attempted to solicit a substantial amount of money to bribe Kulunga’s legal counsel. This criminal matter came to light after the intended victim filed a sworn affidavit and tendered it as evidence to police investigators,” he said.
Kauba said the interim restraint order obtained by Yakasa on Dec 16 last year, restraining police from arresting him explicitly extended only to members of the police force linked with him, adding that Dotaona was not protected under that order.
He said the matter was quite serious and police had to respond quickly.
Dotaona was alleged to have committed the offence between Jan 7 and Jan 8 while the case between Yakasa and Kulunga was pending in court.
NCD metropolitan supt Peter Guinness said Dotaona was picked up by police at 9am and taken to ACP Crimes Mark Kanawi at police headquarters.
Then he was taken to the Boroko Police Station at around 3pm and formally arrested and charged.
Dotaona was later released on a K2,000 police bail and would appear before the Waigani Committal Court at 9am today

Somare accused of recklessly spending K76.6 billion

2012-01-24T20:44:00.001+10:00

SIR Michael Somare’s regime has been accused of spending K76.6 billion in the past six years without the country seeing any tangible changes, The National reports.
Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah, while launching his PNG Party’s first provincial electoral office at 14-Mile outside Lae last Saturday, said a few “selfish and corrupt ministers” in the Somare regime had benefited from the money.
He claimed they were the same people fighting to have Sir Michael back as prime minister so they could have access to state funds to benefit themselves and their families.
He called on voters to be careful who they gave their ticks to in the general election.
The Vanimo-Green MP said the government wanted to make sure that the people got what was owed to them.
He mentioned the free education policy and free medical services for the people.
He revealed initiatives by the government to push for 100% ownership of resources by landowners with the government receiving taxes and fees benefits.
A new ministry - ministry of religious affairs - would be created by the government with one tenth of the country’s budget to be used to further the work of recognised Christian churches in the country.
“The prime minister and I have a good working relationship and believe in the cause to change the nation,” Namah said.
The government was also committed to making sure work on the Lae port begins next week, he said

Team to assess K5 billion rice project

2012-01-23T16:53:00.001+10:00

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

A STATE negotiating team will assess the K5 billion Central province commercial rice project that will see Papua New Guinea produce rice on a larger scale, The National reports.
Agriculture Minister Sir Puka Temu told parliament last Friday that the Central commercial rice project was initiated by the former Somare government under the leadership of Ano Pala.
The project is valued between K3 billion and K5 billion.
“As far as the injection of capital is concerned, it covers 60,000 to 100,000ha of land which will be the first of its kind in the country.
“For the past 30 to 35 years no investor has put his hand up to invest this kind of capital in commercial rice production,” Sir Puka said.
He said commercial rice production was a high risk low yield area and this would be the first time an investor was looking into this possibility.
“The challenges are there and the previous and the current government are assessing particular deed of agreement.”
Sir Puka expressed disappointment at the sector for jumping up and down, including taking out a full-page advertisement.
“I do not know where they are coming from. Issues raised through the media are that the proposal is anti-trade.”
Sir Puka said there was an assumption that the price would increase but the government was looking at that among other issues.
He said the exclusivity of the import of rice for a specific period was under negotiations.
Sir Puka said the state negotiating team comprised Treasury and Finance, National Planning, Internal Revenue Commission, Environment and Conservation, ICCC and Lands and Physical Planning.
“Some people are putting the cart before the horse but, at the end of the day, national interest must come first.”
He said for commercial rice production, “PNG does not have land and the single biggest land available is in the Kairuku-Hiri area where landowners and leaders have agreed to venture into this project”.
“Rice must be exported and become cheaper. The long term gains negate the short term pains,” Sir Puka said.
He said the Trukai agreement would be reviewed this month and the government hoped to come with a win-win situation for all parties.

Public enterprise business plans and budgets approved

2012-01-23T12:19:00.000+10:00

ManagingDirector of IPBC, Mr Thomas Abe, said today the IPBC board had approved 2012business plans and budgets for public enterprises.

“The planssubmitted to IPBC for approval are now the official internal framework underwhich each public enterprise will operate,” he said.

“IPBC and the national government will closely monitor compliance with the plans.”

Abe said IPBCand public enterprises would renew their focus on continuous improvement toentrench commercial disciplines in their operations. Reform and rehabilitationwill continue, with greater energy and commitment.

The emphasiswill be on more-efficient organisational structures, cost-effective andproductive practices at all levels, full compliance with due process and makingcustomer service the number one priority.

"It is clearthan from past years that public enterprises have lost their way," Abe said.

"For example not one single enterprise has paid a dividend since 2007.

“That isunacceptable, and indicates the extent of the problems within these criticalservice providers.

"The practiseof paying dividends was devised in 2002 as a way of enforcing commercialdiscipline within public enterprises, and making a return on some of theState’s investment in them.

"Public enterprises must remember that they are owned by the people of Papua NewGuinea, and they are funded by the people of Papua New Guinea through taxes,licences and charges.

"People areentitled to expect a return on their funds to be put to good use – for examplein the government’s decision to provide free medical care and to rehabilitateour public hospitals.”

Abe saidthe O’Neill-Namah Government had refocussed the efforts of IPBC and the public enterprises it controls, giving more emphasis to service delivery.

This is reflectedin the 2012 business plans, which focus on customer service standards, goodgovernance and due process, financial efficiency and conformity to applicable policiesand legislation.

The majorprojects and plans for each public enterprise are also outlined, includinginvestment plans and targeted actions.

Abecongratulated Eda Ranu, which won two international awards during the year, andAir Niugini for achieving full and unconditional approval for their businessplans. Conditional approval was given to the following enterprises:

Telikom, subject to further review and consultation on capital expenditure and organisational restructuring.
MVIL, subject to further review and consultation on capital expenditure and its investment policy.
Post PNG, subject to further review and consultation on proposed strategies for financial services, logistics and investments.
Water PNG, subject to further review and consultation on its organisational structure and its debt to the State.
PNG Ports, subject to further review and consultation on major capital expenditure items.

The NationalDevelopment Bank’s business plan and budget was not approved, pendingconsultation with IPBC.

Abe said: "Ourreviews are showing there is a long way to go with reform and rehabilitation.

"But the hardwork put in by IPBC and public enterprises over the past six months has shownus a way forward."

Border agency under scrutiny

2012-01-23T11:33:00.004+10:00

By JEFFREY ELAPA

INVESTIGATIONS into the Border Development Authority start this week, Minister for Finance and Treasury, Don Polye says, The National reports.
Polye said this in response to questions raised by Milne Bay Governor John Luke during question time in Parliament last Friday.
Luke said the vessel Milne Bay Atolls had been bought from Indonesia at a cost of K5million, an inflated price when the actual price was a K2 million.
He said there were so many fishy deals involved in the purchase of the vessel as many people had benefited through commissions.
He said instead of serving its purpose, the vessel had been leased for five years and was now in Pomio, East New Britain.
He said the purpose of buying the vessel was to serve the people of Milne Bay but it had ended up in another location and not a border province.
He called for an investigation into the use of funds and the abuse of assets by the authority “before every asset disappears in the wrong hands”.
Western Governor Dr Bob Danaya voiced concern that his province was still waiting for two vessels to operate in his province and for surveillance along the border of Indonesia and Australia.
Polye agreed it was a very serious matter as there were many questions about the manner in which the authority had operated.
He said he had learned that the purpose and aim of setting up the authority had not been fulfilled.
He said the government had appointed a new chairman two months ago and an investigation will be conducted, starting this week.
He said the functions and powers vested under the Minister for Finance and Treasury would be transferred to the Department of Provincial Affairs when all investigations had been completed

Court rejects Asian’s request to leave PNG

2012-01-23T11:28:00.003+10:00

By ANGELINE KARIUS

XUE Zhufu, one of the suspects charged with the attempted assassination of Chinese businessman Jason Tan, has been denied permission to leave the country, The National reports.
He had asked the National Court to leave the country on Jan 25 and return in time for the trial in March. He will now remain in the country until his trial.
His application for bail variation was denied based on insufficient evidence to satisfy the National Court.
He had paid K20,000 to the court registry and K5,000 as commission for bail and forfeited a 20% share from one of his company.
Zhufu filed the application, saying he wanted to seek medical attention and see his wife and child in China, whom he had not seen for the past two years.
Police alleged that on Jan 2, 2010, Zhufu and Gao Changjiang – from Fujian province in China – in the company of others, drove along Bougainville Crescent, Paga Hill, in downtown Port Moresby, parking about 15-20m from Tan’s home, near the junction of Hayes Street.
They were believed to have been driving in a grey Nissan Sunny sedan, registration BCS 925, at the time.
Tan had left his JMart supermarket at Erima between 5pm and 6pm escorted by his property manager to his home when a gunman, who came out from the left hand side of the road, fired five to six shots at Tan’s vehicle with the intention of killing him, police say.
Tan was shot on his right hand.
The escort vehicle tried to run over the gunman to stop the attack but he jumped to the side, ran to the waiting vehicle and drove off.

Roll will be ready before June 23, says Trawen

2012-01-23T11:25:00.001+10:00

THE electoral roll update for the 2012 general election is on schedule and should be ready before polling begins on June 23, Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen said, The National reports.
Trawen assured the people of Papua New Guinea that the Electoral Commission expected to release preliminary rolls in early February for public display and objections before they were finalised.
His response came after claims the roll update work was failing and it would not be ready in time for the start of polling.
“The electoral roll update work is progressing well on a 24-hour basis, with the recruitment of additional data processing officers, roll auditors and checkers plus the purchase of additional 30 computers to speed up work,” he said in a press conference yesterday.
On claims that the elections would not be free and fair, Trawen said the election was everybody’s business and he appealed to everyone to “take ownership of the elections that they are free, fair and safe”.
He said the delay in enrolment of eligible voters in some parts of the country was caused by the untimely release of funding by Treasury.
“Had the funding for the electoral roll update work been released by the department in a timely manner or front-loaded instead of on a ‘piece-meal’ basis all field work in the provinces plus electoral data should have been completed by now,” Trawen said.
He said as of yesterday, 22 million voters had been registered in the roll-out of approximately 4.3m eligible voters for the 2012 election.
“That’s like half of the voters already registered and the remaining should be done in the next few weeks.”
The electoral roll updates for the regions and provinces are:
lSouthern region – electoral data entry has been completed and preliminary rolls printed and ready for public display and objection for NCD, Central, Northern and Milne Bay. For Western, electoral data for North and Middle Fly electorates were yet to be sent in for data processing;
lNGI – West New Britain has completed the electoral data entry and printing of preliminary rolls, while East New Britain and New Ireland have their data entry almost completed, with parts of preliminary rolls printed and ready for public display. Field work is still in progress for Bougainville, with data yet to be submitted for processing;
lMomase – preliminary ward rolls for East Sepik, West Sepik and Morobe are almost printed and ready for objection while electoral data entry for Madang is still in progress; and
lHighlands – Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Hela and Southern Highlands have parts of their preliminary rolls printed and ready for public display and objection while data entry is still progressing. For Jiwaka, Western Highlands and Enga field work is still in progress, with data yet to be submitted for processing

O’Neill: Election is on schedule

2012-01-23T11:21:00.004+10:00

By JEFFREY ELAPA

THE 2012 general election is on schedule, says Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, The National reports.
He cleared the air on speculation that it could be delayed because of the slow progress in completing the electoral rolls, saying if it was up to him, the election would be moved forward.
“I deny speculations that the election will be delayed,’’ he said.
“If it was for me, I will have called for an early election but the laws are there and that the election will be conducted as scheduled although there have been problems with the electoral roll.”
O’Neill called the press conference to also confirm that the heads of the two disciplined forces – military and police – would remain in their posts throughout the election.
He assured the nation he had no plans to make any changes in the two forces because stability was required to conduct the election.
Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga and Defence Force Commander Francis Agwi were present during the press conference.
“We are getting ready for election and the two forces are ready with their election budgets and the overall plans are in place and we have to respect that,’’ he said.
“Therefore, I assure the people of PNG that there will be no change in the post of the commissioner of police or the commander of defence as I have confidence in both men to lead the force and conduct a successful election.”
Meanwhile, confidential documents obtained by The National revealed that the Minister for Defence Guma Gau and Public Service Minister Bart Philemon had prepared a cabinet submission to replace Agwi.
The correspondence, dated Oct 19, Dec 7 and Dec 12 last year by the two ministers to the public service commission, also listed the five names of colonels – who have overseas experience, training and exposure - as possible candidates for the post.
The documents stated that Agwi had to be suspended because of serious concerns over his conduct and performance which had led to morale and capacity problems in the force

Court bid sought on Prime Minister's post

2012-01-23T11:17:00.001+10:00

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

PARLIAMENT will file a special Supreme Court reference to determine whether the law permits a person who is not a member of parliament to be prime minister, The National reports.
It will ask the court’s opinion on whether parliament has the power, by virtue of the Constitution and any other constitutional law, to rescind its previous resolutions and decisions.
Leader of government business Moses Maladina moved the motion seeking parliament’s approval last Friday, claiming Sir Michael Somare ceased to be an MP after Dec 9, 2011, and cannot hold the office of prime minister.
“I have taken advice and believe that the heart of the matter is the question of whether Sir Michael is still an MP after Dec 9, 2011,’’ he said.
“This is the date parliament endorsed a motion to rescind its earlier decision of May 17, 2011, which granted leave of absence for Sir Michael for the May meeting of parliament.
“We must realise that Fred Yakasa and the others are lying on the opinion of the court on Dec 12. The court made that opinion without being informed of the decision of parliament on Dec 9, 2011.
“Secondly, the court opinion did not invalidate any decisions that were taken by our government between Aug 2 and Dec 12, 2011.
“This means the court was not informed of the decision of parliament on Dec 9 to rescind its earlier grant of leave for Sir Michael.”
In his motion to parliament, Maladina said the court had only made a ruling based on a set of facts as of Aug 2, 2011.
He said everything that transpired after Aug 4 was not negated by the court.
“If Sir Michael was not a member of parliament after Dec 9, 2011, then the court has no power to install an ordinary citizen who is not an MP into the office of the prime minister,” Maladina said.
“The court’s opinion is good but the orders are not enforceable,” Maladina said.
“We have faith in the court system and must, therefore, go to court and seek redress.
“All these claims by Yakasa, (Hudson) Ramatlap and (Gabriel) Yer will fail automatically if the court agrees that Sir Michael ceases to be a member of parliament as of Dec 9, 2011.
“This parliament has the power to make laws. There is only one way that these laws can be set aside. This happens if the court finds that any sections, or parts of these amendments, are unconstitutional.
“The laws are superior to ordinary opinions or rulings of the court. Subject to the question of constitutionality, the laws made by parliament are paramount.
“We all know that rulings, decisions or opinions of any court can be negative by a law made by parliament.”
Maladina said neither Sir Michael nor Sir Arnold Amet had filed proceedings in court to challenge the validity of these laws.
“Surely, if Sir Michael ceases to be an MP after Dec 9, 2011, then the appointments by him of Yakasa, Yer and others are automatically null and void.
“Let us not play around with the cases of Yakasa, Yer, Ramatlap and (Graham) Osborne. Each of the claims is entirely dependent on whether Sir Michael is still an MP.
“If he is no longer a member of parliament, as this parliament has ruled, then he cannot hold the office of prime minister and appoint ministers, departmental heads and constitutional office holders.”
He said the motion was for parliament to file a special Supreme Court reference under section 19(1) of the Constitution:

Authorise the speaker to sign the reference on behalf of parliament to make such amendments to the reference as he considers necessary or appropriate from time to time;

Authorise the speaker to appoint a law firm and lead counsel to act for and represent parliament in this reference; and

To endorse the following questions for an opinion from the Supreme Court:

Does parliament have the power, by virtue of the Constitution and any other constitutional law, to rescind its previous resolutions and decisions? and

Does section 141 of the Constitution permits a person, who is not a member of parliament, to hold office as prime minister?

Polye to launch political party

2012-01-23T10:39:00.003+10:00

By JEFFREY ELAPA

MINISTER for Finance and Treasury Don Polye will launch a new political party today - after de-registering the National Alliance party, The National reports.
He and the 22 members of his faction would launch the Triumph Heritage Empowerment (THE) party at the Granville Motel in Port Moresby today.
Polye said “triumph” meant that as humans, “everyone shall use their intelligence given by God to creatively triumph over all shortcomings, problems and obstacles”.
He said “heritage” meant that every person recognised their heritage which emphasised family values, the main source of strength and character in a multi-cultural Papua New Guinea.
Polye said “empowerment” meant that as a party, “everyone shall pursue people empowerment policies and programmes that enable our people by giving them the mental as well as the physical capacity and strengths to make independent personal choices and decision for themselves and their families”.
He said the launching of the new party was the result of the resolutions passed to de-register the National Alliance in Mt Hagen early this month.
The parliamentary members of his faction are Jeffery Nape, Lukas Dekena, Sailon Beseo, Benjamin Poponawa, Yawa Silupa, Benjamin Mul, Miki Kaeok and Tom Olga from the highlands region.
Ano Pala, Mathew Poia, David Arore, Sali Subam, Mark Maipakai, Pitom Bombom, Alphonse Moroi and Andrew Mald are from the Papuan region; Peter Humpreys, Michael Sapau and Leo Dion from the New Guinea Islands.
Members James Gau and Buka Malai are from the Momase region.
The party has nine ministers in the O’Neill Namah government, five from the Papuan region and four ministers and the speaker from the highlands

Belden Namah on the state of PNG public enterprises

2012-01-22T16:02:00.000+10:00

Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister for Public Enterprises,
Hon Belden Namah, MP, Member forVanimo-Green River,
to IPBC/Public Enterprise Chairmen and CEOs,
Grand Papua Hotel, Port Moresby, Thursday January 19 2012

Good eveningchairmen and CEOs of IPBC and its public enterprises.

The IPBC boardhas met and has made some extremely important decisions that will have abeneficial impact on our citizens.

Thosedecisions, to be implemented by IPBC and individual Public Enterprises, willshape the provision of essential services to the people of Papua New Guinea,not just in the next 12 months but for a long time to come.

The O’Neill-NamahGovernment is determined to improve service delivery across the nation, andexpects decisive action from IPBC and Public Enterprises.

The approvalof Business Plans and Budgets for every one of IPBC’s Public Enterprises is thestarting point.

Servicesdelivered by these institutions include aviation, water and sewerage, motorvehicle insurance, harbors and ports, power supplies, postal services andtelecommunications.

They are alsoresponsible for managing State equity in the LNG project, providing financial supportfor economic and business development in rural areas, and for holding thestate’s share in a number of private businesses such as BSP Limited.

These arecritical roles and responsibilities that have not been fulfilled satisfactorily duringthe past 10 years.

Therefore my Governmenthas made clear its intention to reform Public Enterprises through a program ofcontinuous improvement.

As of now,they nowhave the finances and the plans to get on with the job.

There is a lotto do. For the past 10 years Public Enterprises have been allowed to floatalong without clear direction from the top and without clear plans andprocesses of their own.

The results ofthis lack of leadership, direction and decision-making have been revealed byIPBC audits, commissioned by the new Government, of all Public Enterprises.

We examinedtheir finances, whether they are meeting their community service obligations ordelivering services at an acceptable standard, and whether their corporategovernance and accountability practices are satisfactory.

Some detailedinvestigations are still being carried out, but already it is obvious thatthere is room for significant improvement in different areas across all PublicEnterprises.

Mostimportantly almost all Public Enterprises have failed to meet their minimumservice standard requirements and have not focused on their customerrequirements.

That is notgood enough. The people expect much more from their taxes and the money theypay for services.

No PublicEnterprise has paid a dividend to the National Government since 2007.

That is notgood enough, either. It shows that efficient and responsible managementpractices, tried and tested in the commercial world, are not being followed.

Publicenterprises must remember that they are owned by the people. The money investedin them comes from taxes, charges and fees paid by ordinary Papua New Guineans.

Some of themoney invested in Public Enterprises must be returned to the people as adividend.

TheO’Neill-Namah Government this week decided to provide some free medicalservices to the public, and to rehabilitate the nation’s hospitals.

Some of themoney to do this will come from Public Enterprise dividends. So I urge you thisevening to redouble your efforts to make your businesses more efficient, and topay dividends to the State.

Ourinvestigations also show, worst of all, that Public Enterprises are ignoringdue process.

We have seenthat from some of the financial disasters of the last 10 years that are nowbeing uncovered:

TheK3 billion-plus Abu Dhabi loan which we have had to top up by K900 million;
Thedisappearance of K100 million of MVIL money, invested without properauthorisation, into a mystery bank account in rural Australia;
Theloss of more than K50 million by IPBC and PNG Ports in failed investments;
Unauthorisedexpenditure and borrowings, in the case of Telikom alone of K800 million;
Theneed to keep injecting millions and millions of kina a year into publicenterprises, when that money should be spent on roads, education and health.

These types of failures over the past10 years have contributed significantly to the inability of Public Enterprisesto pay dividends.

The O’Neill-Namah Government has movedvery quickly to start the reforms required to improve service delivery and tokeep prices rises as low as possible.

The people of Papua New Guinea are theultimate owners of all Public Enterprises, and the National Government on theirbehalf is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that they perform up toexpectations.

All Public enterprises requirerehabilitation and recapitalization, some more than others.

To do that we have given IPBC and itsPublic Enterprises new boards and in some cases new management.

We are already seeing some signs ofimprovement.

For example Eda Ranu has recently wontwo international awards, and has been given full approval by the IPBC boardfor its business plan. Air Niugini likewise has won full business planapproval.

There are other signs of efficiencygains within other Public Enterprises, and most importantly some innovativeactivities.

So there is some light at the end ofthe tunnel. The O’Neill-Namah Government will continue to monitor theperformance of Public Enterprises over the coming years, and take appropriate actionto encourage this sort of continuous improvement.

It is IPBC’s role to make sure thatthe new Government’s reforms succeed, and that the nation benefits fromprofessionally managed, competent and efficient Public Enterprises.

I am confident that IPBC and itsPublic Enterprises now have the skills, the financial resources and thecommitment to make big improvements to service delivery in the coming years.

Thank you.

Jails Minister mourns passing of Sinake Giregire

2012-01-22T13:23:00.001+10:00

SaiSailon Beseo, Minister for Correctional Services and Kainantu MP expressed sorrow and condolences to the people of Goroka and Daulo and thefamilies and relative of the late Sinake Giregire, president of Country Partyand the Highlands Farmers & Settlers Association, on behalf of the Mmnistryand the people of Kainantu on the passing of a great leader.

Sir Sinake Giregire at his coffee garden at Asaroka, Eastern Highlands, in July 2000.-Picture by MALUM NALU

Beseosaid that immediately after Giregire left school in Finschhafen, he commencedhis lifelong interest and work on the land by engaging in work as agriculture assistant at Aiyura agriculture research station and in saw milling and gold panningoperations at Kainantu.

Giregire also planted his first coffee at Avinakeno andwith the wealth and knowledge he accumulated, he went back to Goroka in 1953 wherehe pioneered in coffee, vegetable farming and general trading business and inpolitics.

Later, he expanded his planting of coffee at Asaro and Banz and inintroducing forestry-approved trees around Goroka, Daulo and Yonki, Eastern Highlands; and Minjand Banz, Western Highlands.

"Sir Sinakehad a long association with Kainantu where he started his career that propelledhim to be successful in his life and become a role model and encouraged andmotivated many to work and live on and from the land," Beseo said.

"The people of Kainantu are proud that in his politicalambitions he had continued to promote agriculture and utilisation of land sinceentering the political arena in 1957 as president of Asaro Watabung local government council.

"Kainantu district is proud to have provided the opportunityin knowledge, business and income for Sir Sinake to contribute to business,economics, agricultural and political development of this country.

"Sir Sinakeis synonymous with promotion of rural development and agriculture as the keyfor the prosperity for the country.

"The people of Eastern Highlands will lose amentor and a role model however, we are proud that Giregire made importantcontributions in business, politics and growth of this country and will remainthe true father of the Constitutionas being the only member of House of Assembly who served on all three comittees (Constitutional Development Committee, 1964-1968; 1968-1972; andConstitutional Planning Committee (1972-1975); and one of the four nationals whenhe was appointed Undersecretary to Administrator (Public Utilities &Services) from 1964-1968; Ministerial Member for Agriculture, Livestock &Fisheries and Post & Telegraphs from 1968 to 1972."

Beseo said that Giregire was architect of Eastern Highlands as one of first council pesident, member of the Eastern Highlands Advisory Council and the Eastern Highlands Area Authority, first coffee plantation and factory owner and involvement with various business enterprise such as Highlands Commodity Exchange,Collins & Leahy Ltd and Farmset Ltd, among others.

Beseo said that Correctional Services valued his contribution to thiscountry and would provide pall bearers and necessary honors at his funeral inGoroka or as required by protocol.

Basil calls for unity on Indonesian military jet incident

2012-01-21T14:18:00.002+10:00

Minister for National Planning and Monitoring Sam Basil today urged the nation to remain united over the Indonesian military jet incident involving the Falcon jet.

“No nation, however large or small, however rich or poor, however large or small its army, should be allowed to intimidate, coerce, manipulate and dominate another,” Basil said.

“That is one of the pillars that hold up the United Nations and the basis upon which Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah raised the issue on the November 29, 2011 incident.”

Basil was referring to the much-publicised issue on an intercept by two Indonesian military jets on the Air Niugini-managed Falcon jet.

Namah and his business partners together with Minister for Police ohn Boito and Basil were on-board as well flying over Sulawesi in the Indonesian air space when the incident happened.

“I am urging Papua New Guineans not to be swayed by malicious and untrue suggestions that the Falcon jet was carrying US$250 million," Basil said.

"That is a red herring – a mere diversion from the real issue.

“The Falcon jet was chartered by the Bewani oil palm project and was ferrying business partners in the project which included Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah, Minister Boito and myself.

“I was there because the trip offered insights into oil palm project management which is useful in the light of the Tekadu oil palm project in my Bulolo electorate as well as the Markham Valley oil palm project in Morobe generally – not to mention that as National Planning and Monitoring Minister I would sooner or later have to deal with oil palm-related issues.

“As a commercial chartered aircraft, all of us were subject to the rigorous checks required under customs, immigration and civil aviation laws of the various countries where we landed.

"That includes declaration if any one of us was carrying more than the equivalent of K10,000 in cash which we all complied with.

"“With the kind of portfolio held by Boito and my own strong stance in fighting corruption shown in the Investigative Task Force Sweep, why would we be a party to money laundering or any kind of illegal activity for that matter?

“If there was the slightest sniff or suggestion of money laundering or illegality of any kind, I personally would have distanced myself from the trip.”

The Bulolo MP added: “Spearheaded by Mr Namah, we formed the new O’Neill-Namah Government that wants to see issues like lying over shares one holds, resisting and delaying legitimate Ombudsman Commission processes through the court system, unexplained missing Taiwan dollar-for-Ddplomacy funds, breaking multitude of PNG, Solomon Islands and international aviation laws highlighted in the Defence Force Inquiry into the Julian Moti Affair and extensive waste of funds in the Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Finance with no one charged or prosecuted to date.”

Basil said that the Deputy Prime Minister, a national leader of Papua New Guinea hasdexpressed concern based on what was observed and the reports of the pilot and co-pilot on the incident involving the two Indonesian military jets.

A diplomatic note has given to the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia who have in turn responded suggesting discrepancies in dates approved when the Falcon jet would be using Indonesian air space and as justification for the actions of their military jets.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, as executive head of Government has accepted the response subject to clarification on the dates and assured the Republic of Indonesia on the importance of amicable bilateral relations between our two countries.

Basil said that he personally finds the Indonesian Embassy response shallow and wanting.

Referring to the Occurrence Report - O471-11 Apparent Intercept by Military Jet Aircraft over Indonesian Airspace by Captain Christopher Smith, Basil said that the Falcon jet despite being on course and on altitude was given a traffic alert on their traffic collision avoidance system and a resolution advisory which caused Captain Vincent Kipma to disengage the autopilot. He had to make a steep climb “to avoid a collision”.

Following the “bizarre confrontation”, Captain Smith radioed Ujung control asking if they had the Falcon jet’s overflight permit which was issued on November 27, 2011 and valid for seven days.

The report states: “After several minutes, they responded with an affirmative. A phone call was then placed to Universal Weather from the flight phone explaining the engagement and to check the validity of the Overflight Permit.

"They acknowledged that it was valid and said they would follow up with Indonesia on their end.”

Basil concluded: “I agree there is a discrepancy.

"Someone is not telling the truth – and the truth as a way of sipping out despite best efforts to cover up – even by nations.”

Progress made on Purari hydro project

2012-01-20T17:44:00.002+10:00

National Executive Council hasendorsed a submission to take the next step towards development of the proposedPurari hydroelectricity scheme in Gulf Province.

The submission, presented toNEC jointly by the Minister for Public Enterprises, Sir Mekere Morauta, and theMinister for Petroleum and Energy, William Duma, envisions a project worthbetween $US5 billion and $US10 billion (K12-25 billion).

It would be the biggest powerproject in the Oceania region and one of the biggest projects of any sort inPapua New Guinea’s history.

“This is a very significantproject that can transform the economy of the nation and in particular theSouthern Region,” said Acting Public Enterprises Minister and deputy PrimeMinister Belden Namah.

“It can bring power to hundredsof thousands of people in the Gulf, Western and Central provinces, create jobsin some very-disadvantaged areas, and spur agricultural and industrialdevelopment.

“The impact on nationaldevelopment and local economic opportunity of this one scheme should not beunderestimated, and neither should its beneficial impact on living standards.”

The project is being promotedby the Government through IPBC in partnership with PNG Energy DevelopmentsLimited, a 50-50 joint venture between PNG Sustainable Development Limited andOrigin Energy of Australia.

Substantial equity will beoffered to the Government if the project goes ahead.

Cabinet supported the proposedscheme and directed that a working group of relevant departments and governmentagencies be formed to liaise with PNG EDL on a range of issues includingownership of assets, state equity, taxation arrangements and State, provincialand landowner royalties.

It also agreed to targetedimport duty exemptions for the project and to consider exemptions from GST.

A K250-million study underwhich PNG EDL is looking at the project’s technical, social and environmentalfeasibility has already begun.

Preliminary studies show thatthe project could generate up to 2500 megawatts of electricity, almost fourtimes the nation’s entire present generating capacity.

Its huge output could feed intothe Port Moresby and Highlands grids and allow for the development of newindustries, particularly in the Southern Region, as well as the export ofelectricity to Australia.

Power from the scheme would alsobe used for rural electrification in the Gulf and Western Provinces.

About 5000 local families couldbe supplied with power in the early stages, and up to 300,000 families whenfully operational.