EXXONMOBIL is facing more protests for allegedly failing to consider local companies in contracts for the early works at the LNG sites, The National reports.
For almost three weeks now, there has been stop work at the project sites in the Southern Highlands, as landowners and workers in Hides, Komo, and Gobe protest poor working conditions and lack of participation by their companies in the early works.
Landowners there were also demanding the immediate release of business development grant promised by the government, totalling K120 million.
Now, landowners of Papa village outside Port Moresby have warned Exxonmobil they would sue the giant American if they were not given the control for the marine jetty at portion 152.
Papa is one of four impact village in the LNG project, and would be the most affect. That is why the villagers there formed a landowner company called Papa Resources Development Limited to bid for spin off businesses for the villagers.
They see the construction of the jetty as a project they can become involved in, with their backing of their Australian partner believed to be Leighton, a giant construction company with global reputation.
The cause for the Papa landowners, to be involved in this project, has in fact recieved the backing of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma, who have separately written letters in support of the villagers and their partner.
The prime minister wrote to Duma in July, instructing him to impress upon Exxonmobil the need for local content, the inovlvement of villagers and landowners in EPC3, or early works at portion 152.
In the letter, Sir Michael urged Duma to remind Exxonmobil that the government was an equity partner in the project and was obliged to ensure that local content was maximised “through meaningful participation by landowners like PRDL who have the support of reputable partners”.
Duma also wrote to Exxonmobil, telling them he was impressed with the partnership arrangement between PRDL and Leighton, and urged them to consider their bid.
He also stressed the importance of local content, or landowner participation in the project, saying both Exxonmobil and the government have a duty to promote the aspirations of local businesses in this life changing project.
The Papa villagers delivered their petition in Exxonmobil in Port Moresby last week, after they were told they would not
be considered for the marine jetty project which is worth about K1billion.
Papa village chief Nao Nao, who is also a director of PRDL, said section 129 of the Oil and Gas Act made it mandatory for Exxonmobil to consider their proposal favourably, and allow them to be involved in the project.
Nao said if their petition was not considered favourable, they would launch an action in court.
A court action would cause further problems for the project, which is already facing delay as a result of landowner protests.
It can reach two meters in its prime and has the ability to travel long distances.
Unable to fly because of its body weight, this animal has adapted well.
With its powerful claws, and muscular hinds, it defends well and is effective in overpowering preys.
Even in the presence of a hunting party, it can easily overpower, arrows, buckshots.
It indeed is a powerful animal.
However, like all animals, it has its vulnerabilities and for the cassowary, it is the prism above its head, its brain.
Meticulous planning, surveillance must be carried out before hinting it.
The conventional way many tribes in PNG catch them is by chasing a herd into dense scrubs by burning the forests.
There they will force the cassowary to adapt to this environment.
With the fear of losing its balance, the cassowary is left with little option but hide.
In this state, the hunt is virtually over as the big bird is fully exposed.
However, the fact that its alive, extreme caution is taken and usually from afar, the final blow is made.
The Finance Commission of Inquiry Report is burning through the cyber forest and has taken the crooked muruks into the dense scrubs to hide.
Maurice Sheehan has indeed confirmed the rumors of siphoning resources through institutional corruption at the Finance Department is very real.
From the inflammatory deed settlements to ridiculous retainer contracts, the report is clear; a bunch of folks simply stole a whole heap of money.
So as we sharpen our spears and walk closer to catch these crooked muruks, we have to respect its ability to strike first and therefore, careful planning must prevail.
The gag orders will be coming, the defamation suits are being prepared and the favorite for every criminal is to cut the paper trail and find ways of killing the hounds.
But this is the great news Papua New Guinea, they are busted.
You see, Sheehan's team has the paper trail, that's right sufficient evidence to throw them in jail.
Evidence cited in the report indicated fraud, false pretence and yes, misappropriation.
All are indictments and as such the Police Commissioner, Chief Ombudsman (OC) and the Public Prosecutor (PP) have the basis to move into enforcement mode.
Usually, the muruk will apply a gag order but they have two main limitations.
First, is time and secondly its specificity.
The latter is of particular interest.
If they want to stop its publication, distribution and so forth, it may do so but the evidence derived from the report cannot be stopped.
Therefore, it is essential that the Police Commissioner commences a clandestine operation to attain the evidence and commence the investigations.
The following needs to take place.
The Police Commissioner needs to instruct the Fraud Squad to attain all evidence collected from the Inquiry to commence building indictments to those implicated.
The beauty is, they virtually don't have to do anything as the evidence compiled is catalogue and clearly cited in the report.
These investigative officers than need to liaise with the OC and the PP so as to identify the appropriate charge.
Once this is ascertained, the PP can than issue a Nollie Proseque to issue indictments.With the evidence already present, the objective is for the police to immediately charge them.
As for those leaders, they should be killed in a Leadership Tribunal first.
This is because the leadership tribunal will remove them as leaders and this will allow, in theory, for them not to hold any leadership position.
Although one has to be mindful of the Diro case.
Nonetheless, this should proceed and thereafter, the PP should issue a Nollie on the leader for further prosecution.
In a similar approach, all lawyers citied in the report should be referred to the Lawyers Statutory Committee for immediate hearing.
This committee within the PNG Law Society is responsible for penalising lawyers of misconduct.
After this process has been exhausted, the PP should issue a Nollie as well.
Several factors are crucial.
First, the Fraud Squad needs to do this in a clandestine manner.
No public announcements, no statements as this will attract challenges.
You see, unlike previous inquiries, the evidence is not prima facie but substantive.Expert witnesses in the fields of forensic accounting, cyber crime experts and conventional investigators have done an exceptional job in compiling and cataloguing the evidence.
The Report makes explicit reference to their existence.
The second factor is the PP and his top Prosecutor to ensure the evidence is tight.
From the looks of things they are.
So when the Nollie is issued, charges occur simultaneously.
By pegging an indictment and charged taken, the rest is mere procedure.
However for many of them, their lawyers will probably tell them to enter verdict of guilty as this will give them some wiggle room for a plea bargain and this may mean a lesser conviction (reduced charge e.g. misappropriation, indictment,to false pretence summery) and sentencing (reduced time).
The public should monitor this exercise as the crooks may cut deals to expose other deals.
As we go into the kill zone to catch this beast, spare a thought for the great men and women who are fighting the fight.
Many have endured assassination attempts, rape, marital problems, and whispered damage of their personal property.
In spite of these travesties, they plotted on to complete the inquiry.
May your passion for righteousness be endearing for generations to come.
And may God rise up leaders never to walk in the path of these crooked muruks.
The Governor of the Bank of PNG Mr Loi Bakani’s comment yesterday through the media regarding the reckless investments made by the Somare government by placing K5 billion of the people’s money into trust accounts held by the commercial banks is uncalled for.
The K5b belongs to the 6.5 million people of Papua New Guinea and any government that decides to play around with that kind of money to enrich the commercial banking system can be termed as a very bad investment deliberately executed for dubious reasons only known to them and their cohorts.
Not only that, but by placing billions of kina into hundreds of different trust accounts in the commercial banks also makes it untraceable, leaving funds vulnerable to theft and misappropriation because the process bypasses strict government procedures, guidelines and financial scrutiny.
We have seen the NADP, DSIP, RESI and other funds kept in trust accounts outside the Bank of PNG system and disbursed through hand written cheques often signed by ministers, finance secretaries or their appointees.
In 2004, 2005 and then again in 2008, Public Accounts Committee has repeatedly ordered Finance Department and Finance & Treasury Ministry to close down those hundreds of trust accounts held at the commercial banks.
The report explained precisely what the current Bank of PNG Governor has indicated including the concerns raised by his predecessor, Mr Wilson Kamit.
The order was ignored because they all think that they are above the law while continuing to open new trust accounts and closing down accounts with depleted funds.
At this point in time, there will be no way the ordinary grassroots people of Papua New Guinea will know about the billions that have been parked in those trust accounts, as by now all may have been spent.
It is strongly believed that more than half of those funds have been and will be stolen through misappropriation or theft.
The Somare regime commenced office after the 2002 national elections and two years on, the PAC delivered its report for the Financial Year 2004.
The committee reported that trust accounts had failed to ensure the proper and lawful handling of public monies, accountability by the trust account trustees and responsible officers.
By 2004 there were no improvements, and the auditor general could not audit the trust accounts due to lack of records or accounts for individual accounts.
The report also indicated that there was widespread and significant misconduct, and misappropriation by trustees including the Department of Finance.
Trustees continued to breach their duties and obligations with no fear of detection and punishments.
By that report alone I can assume that the agencies responsible to detect and punish are non-functional even to this day.
There was no register of trustees, accounts, bank accounts, trust instruments or monies held in trust accounts.
Neither the committee nor the government know or can ascertain the number of trust accounts, the amount of money in them, the true balance of trust accounts, the identity of trustees, the terms of trust instruments or any other incident of trusts with daily abuse and mishandled with regular overdraws.
The 2004 report was repeated again in 2005, and then worse still in 2008 and keeps on getting worse every year.
The windfall gains from the mineral sector pouring into those trust accounts - a good K10-K15b - may have been transacted through those trust accounts without the knowledge of all concerned agencies and the public.
Those monies have definitely been stolen as indicated by the PAC report.
For how long will we all keep on watching those legalised white collar criminals stealing from the public purse?
Something must be done now!
The Ombudsman Commission and the Auditor General’s office are deliberately underfunded and have no capacity to audit or conduct investigations.
Therefore, the public cannot count on these institutions; leaving the big question of what shall we all do now?
Do we just keep on watching these wild animals in sheep’s skin stealing our monies under our nose?
The recent appointment of the current finance Minister Hon. Peter O’Neil, as we all know, has broken the protocol and procedures of the political coalition parties from which he has two party MPs in government but was rewarded with a very powerful finance ministry.
That alone can leave us all to wonder if his predecessor Patrick Pruaitch - now under Leadership Tribunal - has purposely placed him there to protect something.
All monies in those trust accounts are rightfully owned by the 6.5m people of this nation and they must now raise up and question those in power as to why, since 2002 up until now, there is no accountability in all those missing billions from the trust accounts as those years reflects the regime’s time in power to this present day.
I believe that the only way to fix this problem is to have this eight-year old regime changed by that we can see proper investigations into all trust accounts.
Members of parliament and public servants who stole must be held responsible by the laws of this land.
Some laws needs to be changed including maximum penalty by execution for trustees who steal public monies amounting to more than K1m, and life imprisonment for stealing public funds amounting to no more than K500,000.00.
This regime must be stopped now as billions of kina are continuously missing from the trust accounts.
If the new finance minister Peter O’Neil is keeping a tight lid on this issue then we must all be suspicious of him at all costs.
The 1960s and 1970s are remembered as a creative epoch in Papua New Guinea
history when some of the country’s best-ever poetry, prose, performances and
publications were produced.
These memories were rekindled at the Book2Buk2 conference at the University of PNG
this week by the great Peter Trist, a household name in PNG literature and
radio production at that time, as he took a spellbound audience at UPNG’s main
lecture theatre on a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Trist, now 74 but still looking fit as a fiddle,
specifically discussed the influence of the inimitable Ulli Beier and his
equally-unflappable wife Georgina on the
development of PNG literature and also found time to talk to The National about his own experiences
in radio production.
Beier, still alive but not strong enough to travel at age
88, asked his good friend Trist to travel to PNG from Australia and make the presentation
on their behalf.
Trist hopes that the memories of those glory days of PNG
arts and literature will be a rallying call to the present generation of
creative Papua New Guineans.
“It could show them that was achieved once, can be done
again!” he extols.
“I know that would be my wish, and also Ulli’s
“The past, for all of us, is just another country – but is
also very useful.
“It contains our history and experiences that can be
inspirational, and of great value to the present time.”
An emotional Trist broke down while speaking about memories
of another day of the UPNG campus which he first entered 44 years ago.
“Along an often-muddy track leading from Boroko to the
‘swamp lands’ (as Waigani was known), this university grew rapidly as the first
centre of higher education in the country,” he recalled.
“Under the determined leadership of Dr John Gunther, the
first vice-chancellor, I was fortunate to be part of the inaugural staff from
1966.
“Some outstanding academics were soon assembled by Dr
Gunther.
“These included Charles Rowley, Ken Inglis, Anthony
Clunies-Ross, Gerry Ward, Frank Johnston, Ruth Latikefu, Ralph Bulmer and Ulli
Beier
Decolonising The Mind by the great Ulli Beier
“In Decolonising the
Mind, his vivid memoir covering those early years (1967-74), Beier recalls
the sense of excitement and promise felt among students (only 300 or so) and
staff at this university.
“This was understandable, as independence was approaching.”
Beier, as the inaugural senior lecturer in literature, had a
problem: where were the books relevant and accessible for his students?
Existing publications on PNG in those days were hard to
find, with propaganda pamphlets from the Australia department of territories
– insisting on the enlightenment of Australian colonial rule – not appealing.
Early novels were often racist and unrealistic, by writers
such as Beatrice Grimshaw, while adventure yarns by Errol Flynn (who wisely
gave up writing, for a career as a Hollywood
star), were inappropriate.
Equally unappealing were missionary tracts, World War 11
narratives from American and Australian perspectives rather than Melanesian,
and of course anthropological tomes by Margaret Mead, Malinowski and others.
None of these publications offered Beier any promising
material for young and enthusiastic PNG students.
In the university preliminary year in 1967, students were
taught sufficient English skills to follow a university course, with those who
opted to study literature armed with a tape recorder to record and translate
oral literature from their village.
Some of these translations were later collected and
published as parts of the Papua Pocket
Series, which are now being republished by the UPNG Bookshop.
Aia, Mekeo songs by the great Papuan ‘poet laureate’
Allan Natachee, first published in 1968, and reprinted by UPNG Bookshop in 2006
Beier produced 25 volumes of poetry, and the series was
continued (after his return to Nigeria)
by Prithvindra Chakravarthi, with a further 11 volumes, making 36 in all, and
have become collectors’ items worthy of republication.
In 1967, Vincent Eri, then a student, brought Beier a story
about Moveave in the Papua Gulf, and was encouraged to expand the story into a
novel.
Thus Vincent Eri became the author of the first Papua novel The Crocodile.
Another literary achievement during those crucial years was
the autobiography Kiki: Ten Thousand
Years in a Lifetime by Albert Maori Kiki.
The first PNG literary magazine was launched in this period.
Elegantly produced and designed by Georgina Beier, Kovave was published 1969-1971.
On the Beier’s return in 1974, a new journal was established
called Gigibori (1974-1978) with an
emphasis on PNG culture.
“During this time,” Trist remembers, “Ulli had become
director of the Institute
of PNG Studies.
“Here, his drive to produce relevant PNG material increased.
“The institute published 72 general publications on
folklore, architecture, art, religion and music; 36 discussion papers on
topical cultural, social and political issues; Wanpis, a novel by Russel Soaba; many works by John Kolia and the
journal Gigibori.
“The areas of theatre, radio production and performance
promotion was where I had the closest association and support from Ulli Beier.
“Here at the university, in 1967, I founded the Drama and
Arts Society.
“Our aim was to involve the university with the wider
community and provide entertainment.
“This endeavour co-incided with Ulli’s arrival on campus, so
he was asked to join the society.
“Students involved included Leo Hannett, Meg Taylor, Kathy
Abel, Ekeroma Age, Leontine Ovia, Jerry Tamate, Rabbie Namaliu, Kumulau Tawali,
Kakah Kais, Pia Leitao, Russell Soaba, John Waiko, Tony Siaguru, John Saunana,
Peter Malala, John Kadiba, Elijah Titus, Janet Regione, Apisai Enos and Arthur
Jawodimbari.
“Many of these people were writers, whose plays were
produced, and others excellent actors.
“Most went on to outstanding careers after university.”
One memorable production was of Leo Hannett’s political
parable, The Ungrateful Daughter, in
which Hannett played an important role.
Students from Beier’s writing classes were motivated to use
drama to express their concerns, and to reach an audience through productions
by the Drama and Arts Society.
“Soon after came student’s own plays such as John Waiko’s The Unexpected Hawk; Rabbie Namaliu’s
comedies The Good Woman of Konedobu
and Kannibal Tours; Kumulau Tawali’s Manki Masta; Russel Soaba’s Scattered by the Wind; and Arthur
Jawodimbari’s The Sun.
“Most of these plays were performed in the forum area near
the library, where the concrete steps formed a sort of amphitheatre.
“Later, a performing space known as the Outdoor Theatre was
formed on the campus grounds, and was used for plays, dancing and festivals.
“With the formation of the Creative Arts Centre close to the
university (again an initiative of Georgina
and Ulli Beier’s) with its National Theatre Company led by Arthur Jawodimbari,
the drama role of the university was transferred.
“I was appointed as part of the arts centre board with Arthur,
Nora Vagi Brash, Jonbili Tokome, Rose Kekedo and William Takaku.”
Plays like MyBrother,
My Enemy by John Kasaipwalova (a satirical look at the conflict on PNG’s
border with what was then Irian Jaya), Peter Kama Kerpi’s Voices from the Ridge, comedies from Nora Vagi Brash such as Which Way, Big Man? were successfully
presented by the company and its paid troupe of actors/dancers.
“Ulli gave that great PNG actor/writer William Takaku his
Nigerian comedy The Fall (very
loosely based on Genesis),” Trist adds.
“Takaku translated the dialogue into Pidgin and the play’s
settings and characters into PNG references.
“The Fall’s
forbidden fruit, which in the Nigerian version was the fruit of the palmwine,
became PNG’s betelnut,
“Pekato Bilong Man,
as Takaku called his adaptation, was a great success and the play was included
in a country-wide tour.
“Unfortunately, many of the scripts for these plays were not
printed, and are now only memories.
“These ‘lost treasures’ include another William Takaku
adaptation.
“This was the classic Greek drama Medea, with dialogue changed to Pidgin and the Greek setting
transposed to the PNG Highlands.
“The play’s ‘outsider’, Medea, was played by the Australian
actress Helen Jones, whom William had met while both were students at NIDA in Sydney.
“Helen bravely performed in Pidgin and traveled with the
company on tour with this play.
“Sadly, this script was not preserved or printed.
“Examples like these show the need to have a printed record
of drama scripts, for future performers.”
THE 2010
budget would have a surplus of K533.3 million, 2.1% of the gross domestic
product (GDP), according to current estimates released by Secretary for Finance
and Treasurer Simon Tosali, The National reports.
Tosali said
the estimated surplus was due to the strengthening of global economic recovery
and strong domestic economic growth.
“The
additional revenue of K533.3 available would be spent through a supplementary
budget as government continues to have competing expenditure pressures such as
the LNG commitments and legal obligations,” Tosali told participants at the
three-day national development forum in Port Moresby organised by Consultative
Implementation Monitoring Council (CIMC).
He said
total expenditure was expected to be K7.6 billion this year, with K4.2 billion
in recurrent budget and just over K2 billion
for the development budget.
He
explained the higher recurrent budget in 2010 reflected the expected overspends
in personal emoluments, by national departments and provincial governments.
“The
Department of Treasury has taken action by establishing a payroll project team
to investigate the causes of these overruns … it has also written to the heads
of those agencies seeking their explanations of their overruns,” Tosali said.
On the
development budget, he said the increased development component is for the
payment of remaining business development grants related to the PNG LNG project
while grants and ITC had also increased this year.
Tosali said
total government revenue and grants of K1.8 billion was a lot higher than the
outcome last year and this due largely to the higher receipts from the mining
and petroleum tax (MPT) collected in the first of the year.
The higher
MPT estimate is due to an upward revision to commodity price assumptions.
“PNG’s
economy is expected to strengthen this year with the commencement of PNG LNG
gas project and other mining-related projects as well as a rebound in a number
o sectors following softer conditions last year.
“In
addition, growth is also expected to be supported by the improvement in global
trade as commodity prices of PNG’s major exports strengthens on the back of
growing confidence in the global economic recovery.”
These Papua New Guinean children are special; either
their parents are dead or have deserted them, The National
reports.
But, a loving couple, Marai and Hane Lagaru, and the PNG
Children Foundation have taken all 21 under their wing and care for them 24/7.
On Tuesday, they all gathered around a huge cake and blew
out the four candles, marking the foundation’s four years (Aug 17) in existence,
which would not have been possible without charitable hearts like founding
president Yiannis Nicolaou (of the Lamana fame) and long-time donor Sanjay Shah.
The Lagarus are supported by four housemaids, an
education supervisor and a driver, all operating out of their Boroko location.
They were joined at the celebrations on Tuesday by two
entrants of the 2010 Little Miss Princess fundraising quest and foundation
adviser Nene Sta Cruz, digging into the pizzas and cakes and an assorted supply
of fruit drinks, courtesy of Taurama Super Value Shop
(SVS).
A STUDENT,
who pleaded guilty to taking part in the bashing to death of a fellow student
two years ago, told the court yesterday he thought he was initiating the
deceased into his “cult group” and did not mean to kill him, The National reports.
The student
asked Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika for mercy, saying he wanted to continue
his schooling.
Salika
slammed authorities for allowing such practices to prevail.
He
described the practice of “generation system” as one of the many cases of the
government’s school system “falling apart” and “going back to the dark ages”.
“There is a
need for a big overhaul in our education system,” Salika told a packed Waigani
courtroom yesterday morning.
He said an
overhaul was needed to ensure discipline and order within schools.
“The
(education) system is falling apart; schools’ boards of governors do not seem
to care whether their schools have strict rules and guidelines for students to
follow.”
Salika
said: “There is no parental guidance of students; no parental discipline of
their children in homes. The system, everything has gone (backwards) to the
dark ages.”
Many
students from selected schools in the NCD were brought into court to see and
hear for themselves the consequences of being part of the “generation system”
or the cult of paitim bros, what could go wrong and the punishment that awaits.
The judge
was hearing the final submissions on sentence for a Grade 11 student in an NCD
school who had, two years ago, allegedly killed a Grade 6 student, aged about
12 or 13, while trying to initiate him into the “skelim bros” cult group.
The accused
student is a son of a policeman.
When asked
what he wished to say, the student pleaded “guilty” to the charge of one count
of manslaughter under section 302 of the Criminal Code Act.
The offence
was committed on Friday, April 27, 2007, between 10am and noon at Rainbow near
Gerehu.
Court
documents indicated that the accused was in the company of two others when the
killing occurred.
On that
day, the students had all skipped classes and were drinking homebrew. Afterwards,
they held the victim’s hands behind his back and took turns punching him on his
chest. The victim was knocked unconscious and, later, pronounced dead at the Port Moresby GeneralHospital.
Prosecution
lawyer Miglshi Giruakonda said cult practices were prevalent in high schools
and senior high schools throughout the country.
“These
psychological, demonic and satanic practices have compromised the future of our
elites.
“It is time
for all stakeholders to join forces and fight this evil that has taken over our
schools.”
Dick Korowa
Kipoi, counsel for the accused, asked for a wholly suspended sentence because
the accused was sorry for his actions.
