The 3rd Pacific Water and Wastes Association conference will be held in Port Moresby from September 13-15 at the Holiday Inn.
Over 100 participants from the region including Australia and New Zealand are expected to attend the conference, themed – ‘Water Quality Challenges in the Pacific’.
These include water utilities, suppliers, and exhibitors.
Preceding the conference will be a ‘Water Quality’ Workshop at the Coast Watchers Hotel in Madang from September 9-10 sponsored by AusAID through City West Australia.
Governor General Sir Paulias Matane will officially open the workshop and State Owned Enterprises Minister Arthur Somare will give the keynote address.
Trade and Industry Minister Minister Gabriel Kapris will open the trade show (expo) which will coincide with the conference and will see displays from organisations involved in the water and sanitation industry.
Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare will be the guest-of-honour during a Pacific night on Tuesday while National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop will be the guest during welcome cocktail on Monday night.
Other guests include heads of departments, statutory organisations, SOE’s, high commissioners and members of the Pacific community.
There are three sub-themes of:
·Water quality;
·Water sustainability –challenges and opportunities; and
· Climate change.
Conference will bring together speakers from the region’s water utilities, donors and other stakeholders to share ideas and find innovative solutions to address the Pacific’s common water woes, thus, ensuring future access to safe and clean water for the Pacific.
Access to safe drinking water is vital for our health and well-being.
Conference is being co-hosted by the nation’s two water utilities – PNG Waterboard and Eda Ranu.
The Host Chair is Mr Billy Imar –General Manager of Eda Ranu while CEO & MD of PNG Waterboard Mr Patrick Amini is the current PWWA Chair.
Sponsors in cash and kind include National Gaming Control Board, Meddent, NCDC, IPBC, SP Brewery, PNG Waterboard and JC-KRTA Consulting Group
THE government has been called on to wake up to reality and address the unrestricted build-up of illegal firearms in the country, The National reports.
Law and order sectoral committee chairman Graham Ainui said to do so, the government must look at the recommendations of the guns committee and start implementing them including the placements of moratoriums.
“The unrestricted build-up of illegal firearms towards the 2012 national elections in Papua New Guinea could trigger a civil war,” Ainui told participants of a three-day national development forum in Port Moresby last Friday.
He said illegal possession of firearms was high, starting with politicians right down to the grassroots and youths on the street.
“We have allowed a huge build-up of firearms to the point where, if anything goes wrong, it could trigger a civil war because of the amount of guns floating around,” he said.
Former police commissioner and anti-fraud consultant John Toguata said PNG was leading the Pacific nations as the worst in the possession of illegal firearms or weapons and, yet, it had failed to make any statements on the issue at the United Nations assembly in New York last month.
He said it was embarrassing that PNG did not make any statement to the international committee in relation to guns.
“On the ground, we do not have a report on the guns issue.
“At the international scene, PNG ranks badly in the possession of firearms.
“Based on the current assessment on the build-up of firearms, what we have in the country is most frightening,” he said.
The committee came up with specific recommendations after the government had petitioned them. The report, containing 244 recommendations, was submitted to Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare who accepted it and tabled it in parliament. However, it was never discussed.
Out of that came 16 recommendations to be implemented by the police force with the help of the law and justice sector but nothing happened due to funding constrains.
FORMER prime minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu said corruption in government is a serious issue and urged ministers and senior advisers in government not to fear giving advice against bad decisions, The National reports.
Sir Rabbie, who had worked as secretary and adviser to Sir Michael Somare during self-government and independence before becoming a prime minister himself, said he had not feared giving advice against some bad decisions by the government during those early years.
“Governance issues are now a major concern to the people; and corruption is increasing.
“It takes a few bad apples to spoil our good name.
“It takes a couple of bad apples to rank the government corrupt.” Sir Rabbie said.
He was speaking at the 43rd birthday anniversary and fundraising of Pangu Pati last Friday night.
“I am raising this issue because for any party or government, if we want to be prosperous, it is something we cannot turn our backs on. We must take it head on.
“I enjoyed working with our coalition partners including the National Alliance, People’s Action Party and the others.
“I have been secretary and adviser to the current prime minister.
“I know the prime minister better than most of you. I made it a point that if I have to make an advice against bad government decisions, I made it.
“You cannot allow fear of losing your job or ministry against going against bad decisions.
“There are certain values that we must jealously protect for a strong robust democracy,” Sir Rabbie said.
He said people aspire to better standard of living, wealth generation opportunities, better road infrastructure, better education and health services.
Sir Rabbie said this government and future governments had the advantage with greater resources at its disposal to improve infrastructure, education, health and law and order.
He said the challenge was to have appropriate policies to develop this country and bring it forward.
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.
