Treasurer prepares K606 million additional budget

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

TREASURY and Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch is expected to hand down a supplementary budget of K606.8 million against a backdrop of stronger  economic growth and high revenue for this year, The National reports.
He said PNG's economy was expected to grow by 9.3% this year, higher than the forecast 8%.
He said growth in the non-mining sector was expected to hit 10.2% –  well above world averages.
Pruaitch revealed the projected additional surplus budget when releasing the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook report for 2011 yesterday.
He said the total revenue and grants for 2011 were estimated at K9,935 million while total expenditure and net lending should be about K9,328.2 million as appropriated in the 2011 Budget. 
He said this gave a projected surplus of K606.8 million.
"The projected K606.8 million surplus is entirely a result of increased revenue projections, driven largely by higher personal income tax collections than expected, higher commodity prices and higher mineral revenue."
Pruaitch said no over-spending or under-spending were projected saying a supplementary budget was expected later in 2011.
He said the projected additional revenue could be allocated to high- priority expenditures in the key areas of health, education, infrastructure and law and justice.
He said there were also obligations to consider such as the PNG LNG-related commitments and the 2012 national election preparations.
He said this was driven by higher levels of economic activity in the non-mining sector and the construction of the PNG LNG pro­ject.
"If this positive growth rate eventuates, the economic output in PNG will have ex­panded for more than a decade, representing the longest period of uninterrupted eco­nomic growth in PNG's history."
He said the strength of the economy was reflective of stronger investor and consumer confidence following sustained macro-economic and fiscal stability as well as critical microeconomic reforms.
Pruaitch  said although the global eco­nomic recovery was expected to continue in the remainder of 2011, significant down­ward risks remained.
He said the risks included the European sovereign debt concerns, fiscal and financial imbalances in other advanced economies, and the effect of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on industrial production.
He said that emerging and developing economies were growing strongly although economic overheating was becoming a concern.
He said prices of PNG's major export commodities continued to climb, following strong demand from emerging and deve­loping economies and supply shocks.
"The prices of PNG's major mineral exports of gold, copper and oil have risen well above the 2011 Budget forecasts, and are expected to remain at elevated levels through the remainder of 2011.
"As a result, the price assumptions have been revised upwards for the MYEFO report, recording more than 20% for oil and 25% for gold and copper, compared to the price assumptions used in the 2011 budget.
"This has resulted in higher projected government revenue in 2011."
Pruaitch said rapid economic growth was now a major concern in PNG as it had a direct impact on inflation. 
He said annual inflation was now forecast to be 9% in 2011, an upward revision from 2011 Budget forecast of 8.2%.
"This is largely due to the high level of economic growth, a continuing shortage of skilled labor and land which underpinned wages and rental prices, and higher food and fuel prices from high global demand."
He said the appreciation of the kina since the start of the year had partially off-set the acceleration in these inflationary pressures. 
"However, there is also a concern that official inflation figures are under­esti­mating the true extent of inflationary pressures in the economy."

Opposition plans to vote in new PM

By JEFFREY ELAPA

A NUMBER of parliamentarians from the government coalition were reportedly in camp with the opposition last night, spiking speculations that a motion to vote in a new prime minister will be tabled when parliament resumes at 2pm today, The National reports.
Although the media was banned from entering the camp, hosted by Moresby Northwest MP Sir Mekere Morauta at his Toaguba Hill residence in downtown Port Moresby, inside sources said a faction from the government coalition, including senior cabinet ministers, were among those in attendance. 
Their attendance had boosted the opposition tally to 55 members, just over half the number required for a quorum and to form government.
The motion, if moved, would rescind the extension of leave of absence for sick Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and to allow parliament to elect a new prime minister.
Sources said by law, an acting prime minister could not be allowed to govern the country for more than three months.
"We have the numbers now and the support is overwhelming," a source said by mobile phone last night.
It was also understood that the government would seek an adjournment of parliament this afternoon.
Meanwhile, the reporter who went to confirm reports of the camp in town at 10 o'clock last night was denied entry by private security guards and police.
The entire car park and streets leading to Sir Mekere's house was filled to capacity with more than 100 cars

Sir Peter: Madang has become ‘rubbish town’

 SCENIC and idyllic Madang town has been described as "rubbish town" by the man who promotes it as the best holiday destination in PNG, The National reports.
Sir Peter Barter, who owns and runs the Madang Resort Hotel and Melanesian Discoverer cruises, said the "once beautiful and clean town, known as one of the most beautiful in the Pacific, has been littered with rubbish and plastic bags" of late.
He said: "It is not only the township, the waterways in the harbour, even offshore islands are a disgrace. Plastic bags, bottles, condoms as well as effluent have created an environmental nightmare created by man.   
"Apart from the environmental damage, plastic bags are creating serious economic problems by blocking water intakes on outboard motors and larger vessels causing severe damages."
Not a man to complain without taking action on his own, Sir Peter has mobilised his own Melanesian Foundation to clean up the town. Using children from the staff compound at the Madang Resort the foundation has set about cleaning up the fish market, Rotary Park, Bates Oval are public areas around the court house and behind the Madang Medical Clinic. 
In two days the workers filled two truck loads of plastic bags. They are now targeting the waterways around Yamilon Lagoon.    
Sir Peter said: "This should not be the sole responsibility of these children, the entire community should be involved and somewhere along the line all business houses must accept some responsibility to stop or reduce the use of plastic bags and to assist in providing rubbish bins around their stores with signs telling the public not to litter the place!
"Every store in Madang is using too many plastic bags, every store could reduce the number of bags dramatically if your staff were better trained and perhaps some of the business houses could begin to provide re-usable environmental bags and hopefully in the near future the Madang Provincial Government and MULLG will introduce and implement strict litter laws. In the meantime, all I can do as a citizen is ask every business house to help reduce the use of plastic bags by whatever means available."
And Sir Peter ended his call with a thinly-veiled threat: "If you have any desire to return Madang to its former glory, you will accept this suggestion seriously.  If you do not, a campaign will be funded by this foundation to recommend to the public not to patronise your business!"

Agriculture extension system needs revitalising

Caption: Joshua Lumba of Yamiufa village, Eastern Highlands province checking his rice field. Smallholder rice growers such Lumba could be supported through an effective extension system, thus improving smallholder rice production in PNG       

By JAMES LARAKI

           

 AGRICULTURE continues to be the economic backbone of Papua New Guinea, supporting the livelihood of over 80% of the population.

In recent years, PNG agriculture sector faced many difficulties and has not fared well, except for one or two sub-sectors.

A number of factors have been identified as responsible for the lack of or limited growth and poor agricultural extension has been one of the significant factors.

The dismal performance of extension began with the decentralisation of extension services from the National Department of Agriculture and Livestock (NDAL) to the provinces soon after independence.

This created 19 extension systems without any plans and adequate resources.

This followed with the creation of commodity boards and proliferation of NGOs, church-based extension services and other service providers, all with varied plans and client base.

This resulted in extension services becoming very fragmented, with most of the providers working on ad-hoc basis.

In addition, lack of partnership, collaboration and coordination of the extension system had led to duplication of activities, leading to wastage of resources.

All these have collectively led to decline in the extension services delivery systems.

The overall result is the stagnating performance of the agricultural sector since independence.

This scenario is likely to remain unless something is done to revitalise the agriculture extension system in the country. The situation here calls for a policy intervention more than anything.

A new policy on agriculture extension system is required to focus on the development of an effective and efficient extension system.

The new policy should aim to developing a cost effective and sustainable extension delivery mechanism that is market and farmer-driven.

It will encourage  the  various  partners  and  agencies  within  the  national  agricultural  extension  system  to provide  efficient  and  effective  services  which  complement  and  reinforce  each  other,  increasing the efficiency and productivity of the sector.

Existing national policies on agriculture are becoming increasingly irrelevant to farmers and other stakeholders in the sector.

While successive strategy and policy papers have emphasised agriculture as the most important economic sub-sector, their implementations have been impractical.

Agriculture extension forms a major component of the National Agriculture Development Plan (NADP 2007 - 2016) but its credibility has been seriously questioned over allegations of the alleged misuse of the K200 million allocated for its implementations.

 It is considered as a wasted opportunity with accusation of grants under this plan made to individuals and 'paper farmers' through dubious practices.

 As with the National Agricultural Development Strategy Horizon (NADSH 2002 – 2012), the NADP has been viewed poorly by many in the agriculture sector.

Some sub-sectors have queried the government's Vision 2050, claiming the projections of these commodities as unrealistic.

They claim the plan was put together by bureaucrats in Waigani without proper consultation with respective commodity organisations and other stakeholders.

The general consensus with this scenario is that agricultural development, in general, and extension services in particular, will continue to decline.

Thus, the need to revive agriculture extension and make it effective is of great concern nationwide.

The National Extension Summit (2004) noted the seriousness of extension delivery failures and the desire of the sector agencies to revive the extension system.

This summit called for the need to improve the performance of the agricultural extension systems through better coordination and linkages between the various sector agencies.

The recommendations of the summit to set up a National Extension Steering Committee (NESC) needs to be revisited and considered as the national coordinating agency.

Such committee will oversee and provide advice, guidance and direction on national extension delivery system and needs.

Currently extension services are being promoted without any consideration for their sustainability.

The establishment of NESC will ensure extension systems and packages are environment and community friendly, and address specific needs of the farmers in each sub-sector for effective stakeholder participation, benefits and sustainability.

The NESC would have guidelines in place to monitor and evaluate the performance of the national extension system on a regular basis.

Effective extension delivery systems also require enabling environment in terms of resources, coordination and capacity building.

Lack of credit access, declining road and infrastructure and inadequate marketing infrastructure are some of the reasons for the decline in the agriculture in PNG.

Women are resources and assets for development, but they are ignored in the development planning process.

The disadvantaged position of women is considered as a key constraint in developing the agricultural sector as women play a significant role in the production of food and other agricultural products.

Effective linkages between research and extension are very essential, to ensure innovations and technologies developed from research are disseminated to stakeholders on timely basis. Except for some of the export crops sector, integration of research, extension and the farmer is weak.

These linkages need to be prioritised based on national importance and on community needs.

Agricultural information development, promotion, and dissemination and capacity building have been on the decline, and this is unfortunate in this era of information and technology advancement.

There is a need to promote access to adequate information, resources and enhance capacity to effectively implement the national extension services.

Enhancing the capacity of extension agents and farmers through increased information, knowledge and skills will equip them towards improvements in agriculture production and productivity.

Other development issues confronting smallholder households such as climate change, HIV and AIDS, and food and nutrition security calls for all stakeholders to make a positive contribution to innovative agricultural development.

It is essential that government and responsible stakeholders intervene to revitalise the declining performance of the agriculture extension system.

This is because, unless the extension services delivery systems improves, improvements in agriculture sector which supports the livelihood of over 80% of the population will remain dismal and thus compromised.

MPs to debate bills, K1.9 billion payout

 THE health status of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare is expected to be made public soon, as parliament resumes tomorrow, The National reports.
Also on the agenda would be the debate on the reported K1.9 billion payment by National Planning.
There was also speculation that the opposition, with support from rebel MPs within government, would move for the election of a new prime minister.
People of Hela and Ji­wa­ka would also be watching closely for parliament to pass legislation for them to achieve full provincial status by next year.
The Electoral Boundaries Commission would travel to Tari this month in the first leg of a 10-day tour of the proposed provinces to gauge views on electoral boundaries.
Two weeks would be given for any objection to the proposal. 
A public inquiry would then be conducted to review the proposals.
At the end of next month, the commission would prepare the first report to be tabled in parliament.
Opposition parliamentarians were believed to be meeting in Lae and would return to Port Moresby before the sitting of parliament.
The bill to have women in parliament would also be debated in this session.

Sir Julius degrades parliament

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

FORMER prime mi­nister Sir Julius Chan says the current parliament is "shameful, shocking and a showground, with a kindergarten much better than parliament", The National reports.
The leader of the People Progress Party and governor of New Ireland told media per­sonnel in Mt Hagen last Friday that "the country is in a mess".
Sir Julius claimed this was the worst parliament he had come across in his political career.
He said there was "no fairness and justice in government; parliament is run by a dictator".
"The government system is fine but the players did not play their game properly. 
"The players have become touch judges and referees at the same time, there is hardly any control," he said.
Sir Julius said they did not discuss anything good in parliament because "the business of parliament was in a mess".
"This has created disunity."
He said the government "is for the rich and not for the poor; the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer".
He said under the World Bank and Asian Development Bank index, "more people are now living below the poverty level than in 1990".
Sir Julius said some government ministers built their own empire and set up many dummy companies at the ex­pense of ordinary people.
He named two dummy companies set up by a senior minister in his province and "run by his political cronies".
He said his deputy governor asked for an inquiry to be conducted this year into these companies but, so far, no investigation had been carried out.
Sir Julius said this was one of many companies established by people in power.
He said he and other coastal provinces were fed up with the government and "want to get autonomy for their provinces and run their own affairs".
He said there "is no bright future under this government

Ogio to receive report on PM

By SAMUEL RAITANO

THE report on the medical status of the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare will be handed to the Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio today by Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal, The National reports.
Ogio, after studying the report, will advise the speaker of parliament on whether it is necessary to call for the appointment of a new prime minister.
The report was prepared by Prof Isi Kevau, the prime minister's physician.
Parliament sessions start tomorrow. 
It is understood that Sir Michael would remain under medical supervision in Singapore.
He had undergone three operations and is in stable condition. But, certain functions in his organs were yet to be stabilised. 
According to the prime minister's media unit, information in regards to politics and the nation had been withheld from Sir Michael pending a full recovery.
It is understood that Sir Michael would need to get medical clearance to fly back to PNG.
Being in a fragile health status, flying in an aircraft would affect his breathing and he would need a medical clearance to do so. 
Abal did not comment on the prime minister's post being an agenda in this week's parliament sitting. But, the health report he would give the governor-general today would determine the next course of action as far as the country's leadership was concerned.
Abal said he would remain acting prime mi­nister until the governor-general notified par­liament after viewing the health report.

NA party crisis deepens

By JEFFREY ELAPA

THE leadership crisis in the ruling National Alliance has deepened with a caucus meeting last weekend confirming Kandep MP Don Polye as deputy leader highlands, The National reports.
The meeting in Goroka, which did not have a quorum, chose to ignore the election to that post of Sam Abal, the acting prime minister and Wabag MP, by 11 parliamentarians in a meeting in Port Moresby two weeks ago. 
The decision to elect Abal followed his suspension for two months by the party executives for making decisions deemed to be not in the best interest of the party.
Abal and some of the parliamentarians were not at Goroka for last week's meeting which confirmed Polye, who Abal had earlier this year sacked as foreign affairs minister, as the parliamentary deputy leader of NA highlands.
However, national party president Simon Kaiwi said the Goroka meeting was called by the current deputy leader (Polye) and conducted according to the party constitution.
But, he said, there was no quorum as three of the parliamentary members were away overseas and two, including Abal, were absent. Abal was at his village to attend his brother's funeral.
Kaiwi said although there was no quorum, the meeting recognised Polye as the deputy leader while Abal remained as deputy prime minister and acting prime minister.
He said Abal was not the deputy leader of the party and had no say on any party issue because he was on suspension.
Kaiwi said the charges against Abal would be determined by the party's national executives at their meeting in Banz this weekend.
He said Abal's election in Port Moresby was null and void because his appointment was unconstitutional in that he did not have any powers under the party constitution to call such a meeting.
"Abal is the deputy prime minister and acting prime minister and not a deputy parliamentary leader of the NA highlands caucus,'' he said.
"The party has suspended him and he remains suspended as member of the NA party before he appears before the national executives later for creating divisions within the party."
Polye said he was still the deputy leader and had the support of the party executives and five members of parliament. 
The party caucus meeting had been postponed to a later date and would be called by Polye as deputy party leader.
Meanwhile, Abal claimed yesterday he was the party deputy leader after his election by the parliamentary wing of the party in a Port Moresby meeting he organised.
He said honest leadership was needed by the people, referring to the party leadership issue getting much publicity.
He said his main concern was to protect what was in the best interest of the country. 
Abal said with the LNG project envisaged to generate revenue in the millions by 2014, honest leadership and stability in government were vital.
"Since 2002, NA has proved to be a stable government and has attracted multi-billion-dollar investors like ExxonMobil,'' he said.
"That stability must continue and I thank God for the Grand Chief who appointed me as acting prime minister for this nation," Abal said. 
He said there was a lot of politicking, even within his NA party, by those who wanted to confuse the people and tarnish his name. 
He said there were power-hungry people trying to create instability and "plunder the till" for the elections.

Musings: vexatious litigation and Al Capone

BY PAUL OATES

Vexatious litigation = Legal action which is brought, regardless of its merits, solely to harass or subdue an adversary

 

DURING THE LIFE of this current Papua New Guinea parliament, a number of high profile leaders have been referred to the Leadership Tribunal by the Ombudsman Commission.

Continual legal argument has, however, delayed the courts from determining an outcome on many occasions.
Often it seems like there is a never-ending stream of legal obstacles raised by highly paid lawyers that continually delay proceedings.
In the case put to the Leadership Tribunal about prime minister Somare, the facts were eventually revealed in court and the case proven.
However, could the subsequent findings in the prime minister's case give rise to speculation that all previous legal action to defer, delay or overturn the Ombudsman's referral seemed rather pointless.
It would have been unlikely that the Ombudsman Commission would have referred the case to the public prosecutor had the facts not already been established.
Further speculation might arise that a similar situation exists with other cases of the same nature currently continually being deferred on various legal grounds.
There could be questions asked about who pays for the high priced legal expertise initiating the blocking action aimed at delaying, deferring or dismissing the referrals. Where has the funding for this legal assistance come from? Surely, the PNG taxpayers haven't funding such personal and private legal defence.
On a totally different subject, it is interesting to note in the US in the 1930's that the only way Special Investigator Elliot Ness was finally able to 'nail' big time criminal Al Capone was to charge him with tax evasion.
Capone's other criminal activities proved impossible to pin down.
Ness and his small team realised that, until they were able to remove Capone's official protection, they would never be able to gain a conviction. So they first reduced his source of income by shutting down illicit alcohol production.
With Capone's alcohol production waning, Capone had no money to pay the government people who protected him from being convicted. By removing this source of revenue, Ness decided to go after Capone's Achilles heel and Capone's empire collapsed

BSP gives K20, 000 to Goroka Show

Caption: BSP Goroka branch manager Reuben Elijah (right) presents the K20, 000 to Goroka Show organising committee chairman Gideon Samuel.-Picture courtesy of GOROKA SHOW ORGANISING COMMITTEE

 

 

By MALUM NALU

 

Bank of South Pacific has given K20, 000 to the Goroka Show organising committee to help stage the 2011 show on September 16, 17 and 18.

The bank's Goroka branch manager Reuben Elijah presented the money to show organising committee chairman Gideon Samuel.

 Samuel said he was really grateful to the BSP management for coming on board to sponsor this year's show.

"Your sponsorship demonstrates your commitment to promote our culture, which is fast phasing out," he said.

Samuel further acknowledged BSP's green campaign which "is very vital in reinforcing positive values in the community".

 He said BSP contributed in a big way towards civic pride in Goroka through the weekly cleanathon conducted by Elijah and his staff, and donation of empty drums to the Goroka Area Authority last year.

 Samuel appeal to the people of Eastern Highlands to take ownership of Goroka and do their bit to keep the town clean.

He said Goroka would be chock-a-block with visitors next month for the show.

"We have got to portray a positive image by doing our bit to keep the town clean," Samuel said.

 Elijah said BSP was happy to assist such community events such as Goroka Show.

Goroka full of rubbish

Caption: A pig feasting on rubbish right along the Highlands Highway in the centre of Goroka, opposite the airport.-Picture by DAVID RUMBA RUMBA

By MALUM NALU

With just over a month to go before the world-famous Goroka Show, the town is stinking with piles of uncollected rubbish everywhere, which are feasted upon by pigs in full view of everyone.

Goroka resident David Rumba Rumba has called on Eastern Highlands Governor Malcolm Smith Kela, Goroka MP Thompson Harokaqve, lord mayor, town manager, and provincial and district administrators to urgently attend to this if the town is to save face.

Another source told me that rubbish drums set up around town by major Goroka Show sponsor Bank South Pacific – whose staff are involved in cleaning the town every Friday – have been removed.

"The sight is very distasteful and abhorrent," a concerned Rumba Rumba said.

" Rubbish everywhere, not just anywhere, right in the middle of town, opposite Bird of Paradise Hotel, next to the airport, the post office, the busy shopping fronts at popular West Goroka, vegetable market and highway bus stops.

"The whole of Goroka stinks!

"Rubbish heaps all around waiting for ever to be collected and disposed of.

"Even pigs are free to roam and feast on the rubbish!"

Rumba Rumba said there was virtually no attempt by the Goroka Urban Town Authority, provincial government and district office to fix up the mess the town was sliding into.

He predicted that tourists and visitors to Goroka would be shocked by the sight of the filthy town next month.

"What are we trying to showcase?" Rumba Ruma wondered.

"Our rich traditional cultures mixed with our unhealthy and filthy way of life which is very evident with the current state of Goroka town?

"The challenge is now on the Governor, Member for Goroka, lord mayor, town manager and provincial and district administrators to act quickly to fix up the mess and start beautifying the town.

"They must come along with dump trucks to clean up the town, including the drains, and dispose of the stinking rubbish properly.

"After a major clean up, they must enforce litter laws and start punishing law breakers.

"This is the way to go.

"There should be no excuses whatsoever.

"If steps are not taken to rectify this unhygienic and hazardous problem,  then the citizens of Goroka should be seriously thinking of instituting class action against the authorities for neglect of duty,  thereby endangering the lives and health of its people and putting residents' lives at great risk."