Nasfund contributors assured of security

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

ACTING Prime Minister and member for Wabag Sam Abal has assured the 40,000 contributors of Nasfund that their superannuation savings will be protected, The National reports.

He said he would not allow their lifetime savings to be burnt for a second time.

Abal assured unions that his priority (as prime minister) “is to protect contributors’ funds from being unscrupulously swindled by persons and institutions entrusted to protect their superannuation savings”.

“We are talking about an issue that is significant to ordinary Papua New Guineans, many of whom are contributors to Nasfund, the hardworking people of this country,” he said.

“I want to assure the contributors that I will deal with the matter of interest to them based on advice that is consistent with the laws of our land, particularly the Superannuation Act regulating the industry.

 “To my knowledge, the same contributors who tirelessly work for their living by allowing their savings to grow in superannuation funds such as Nasfund, have been burnt before.

“They have lost a considerable amount of their hard-earned savings, which has not been recovered.

“My interest right now is to protect the contributors’ funds.

“I refuse to stand here and condone sinister activities, especially by those in-the-know and allowing this same group of contributors to be burnt twice over.

 “There are many issues arising in relation to the transaction. However, in this instance, I must make sure that their exposure is mitigated.

“I intend to make sure that contributors will not be in any worse position than they were prior to this transaction,” he said.

Abal said the controversy warranted him taking some immediate remedial measures.

He said he was aware that the Central Bank, as regulator of the superannuation industry, had made some findings with certain recommendations based on these findings.

“Additionally, I am aware of the calls by the unions concerned to have certain persons involved in the unpopular deal removed.

“I will be pooling these findings and views of the unions, as well as information available to government together to form the basis of a decision whether to call an inquiry into the matter,” Abal said.

Former treasurer Peter O’Neill had earlier revealed that the transaction was illegal and that the report would be presented to parliament by the acting prime minister.

United Resource Party sacks Agiru

THE United Resource Party caucus has sacked party founder and Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru, The National reports.

The expelling of Agiru and Komo-Margarima MP Francis Potape stemmed from their alleged involvement in the sacking of URP leader William Duma as petroleum and energy minister.

URP leader and Hagen MP Duma and deputy leader and Eastern Highlands Governor Malcolm Kela-Smith announced in a short statement yesterday.

“The United Resource Party wishes to announce that on Friday, June 17, the URP parliamentary wing unanimously resolved to expel Anderson Agiru from membership of the party effective June 17.”

Duma said there were many reasons but they were “internal party matters that are best kept away from the public domain”.

Duma said there were several reasons for the expulsion of Agiru but the main reasons were his continued and persistent efforts to undermine the URP leadership, the party and its activities and his conduct and behaviour resulting in the his (Duma’s) sacking as minister for petroleum and energy.

“Despite numerous attempts to get Agiru and Potape to a meeting, they have been actively involved in my removal as minister,” Duma alleged.

“The URP parliamentary wing and party executives thank Agiru for his valuable contribution towards the development of URP as a partner in the NA-led coalition government and wish him well,” Duma added.

Kela-Smith said the URP was a disciplined party and Agiru had his own agenda and “continues to undermine the party leadership”.

With the sacking of Agiru and Potape, “the party is now solid with nine MPs siding with Duma and Kela-Smith”.

Duma said a letter outlining the reasons for the expulsion of Agiru had been given to him and signed by parliamentary wing members, including Dei MP Puri Ruing, South Bougainville MP Steven Kama, Middle Fly MP Roy Biyama and Kagua-Erave MP James Lagea.

He said the minutes of the meeting were attached to the letter of notice to Agiru.

When contacted last night, Lagea denied there was any caucus meeting last Friday and said he was not a signatory to the decision to expel Agiru.

Environment and Conservation Minister Benny Allan, who is the MP for Unggai-Bena, said he was not aware of the decision to sack Agiru from the party.

Family of victim wants Abal to pay

Caption: Theo Abal in court ... Theo Abal, the adopted son of Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal, is escorted out of the Waigani District Court by a police prosecutor. Theo, who was charged with the June 13 wilful murder of a Port Moresby waitress, made his first appearance in court yesterday. The family of Theresa Ori Taisu, a mother of four children, will petition the acting prime minister for compensation. – Nationalpic by EKAR KEAPU

 

By JUNIOR UKAHA and SAMUEL RAITANO

 

ACTING Prime Minister Sam Abal will be petitioned by the family of the woman whose body was found in his compound to pay them compensation, The National reports.

This came after his adopted son, Theo Abal, who police had arrested in connection with the woman’s death, appeared in court yesterday charged with wilful murder.

The family said Theresa Ori Taisu, who was allegedly killed on June 13, was the mother of four children who had been struggling to pay for their school fees.

A family spokesman Kakaito Kasi said the family had prepared a petition to give to the acting prime minister.

“We want him to compensate us for the death of Theresa. Her death has put unnecessary financial strain on us,” he said.

Kasi said the family had to dig deep into their pockets to meet obligations at the haus krai since last Friday.

He said the family wanted Abal to:

*Compensate the deceased’s children for the death of their mother;

*Compensate the family for the killing of their daughter and sister;

*Meet all haus krai costs and the costs of repatriating her body back to Karaeta village; and

*Reimburse the family for money spent on haus krai expenses.

Kasi said the family wanted to meet Abal to give him their petition.

He said they did not know why she was killed.

“We only learned of her killing through the media and went to the morgue last Friday to identify her,” he said.

He said at the time of her death, she had been living with a friend at Gerehu and worked as a waitress at the Sunset Lodge at Ela Beach.

He said Taisu’s children were in the village with Yeare Ori Taisu, seven, and Atu Ori Taisu, six; doing elementary at the Ila Karaeta Primary School in Kerema town.

Kasi said Theresa was a divorcee and the second child in a family of five sisters.

Theo made his first appearance at the Waigani District Court yesterday.

Theo, 21, from Pawas village in Enga, was charged by police last Friday.

Magistrate Cosmas Bidar told Theo in court that the maximum sentence for the offence was the death penalty.

Theo was read the charges against him before being escorted out of the courtroom.

The court ordered that Theo be remanded in custody at the Bomana prison and will appear in court again on July 21.

Reshuffle in cabinet

Leader of major coalition partner, O’Neill, dumped

 

A MAJOR cabinet reshuffle, announced by Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal last night, was done with election 2012 firmly in mind, The National reports.

It places the ruling National Alliance party in charge of the three most important positions – that of the prime minister, deputy prime minister and finance and treasury with the general election 12 months away.

With Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare on extended sick leave and was unlikely to return to the job, Abal had used the reshuffle to place the ruling National Alliance firmly in charge leading into next year’s general election.

The reshuffle saw the leader of major coalition partner, the People’s National Congress’ Peter O’Neill dumped from finance and treasury and the re-entry of Momase NA deputy leader Patrick Pruaitch to his old job.

O’Neill had been consoled with Abal’s ministry of works and transport.

O’Neill is the second coalition leader to be so treated.

Two weeks ago, the leader of the second biggest party in government, United Resources Party’s William Duma, was dumped from the petroleum and energy ministry.

The ministry was yesterday given to Francis Potape, who was purportedly sacked from URP last week.

Foreign affairs, trade and immigration, vacated by the decommissioning of NA highlands deputy Don Polye, goes to former agriculture and livestock minister Ano Pala (NA southern).

Pala’s old job had been given to Lagaip-Porgera MP Philip Kikala (NA highlands).

Potape’s old post as minister assisting the PM on administrative matters had gone to Alotau MP Charles Abel (NA southern), who voluntarily left the culture and tourism ministry to support Sir Puka Temu’s failed bid to oust Sir Michael last year.

Abal expressed full confidence in his new ministers, saying he believed that with his new team, stability and cohesion within government would be sustained including consistency in policy implementation.

“I have full confidence in the new ministerial line-up,” he said in a statement last night.

“I congratulate all of them and expect their full cooperation and dedication to the service of our people,” he said.

The URP is a divided house with a Duma faction and another faction supporting Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru.

The Duma faction yesterday also announced the sacking of Agiru but, in the reshuffle, it would appear Abal is siding with the Agiru faction in recognising Potape.

Still, the URP is one ministry short (Potape’s old job).

There was intense lobbying ever since the sacking of Duma and Polye for replacements but Abal was understood to have been consolidating his position and, particularly, strategising on how to place his party on a firm footing for the elections.

The fallout today will be noisiest from Abal’s own highlands region.

The Duma and Polye sackings had brought loud protests from Western Highlands and Enga.

Abal had added Southern Highlands with the demotion yesterday of PNC leader and Ialibu-Pangia MP O’Neill from the coveted finance and treasury ministry.

No significant changes in parliament since 2002

By REG RENAGI

Papua New Guinea will go to the polls  next year but there is no­thing for the citizens to get excited over.

Since 2002, parliament has been dysfunctional as the government has not demonstrated its political will and commitment to put in place the required wide-ranging political reforms.

The whole aim should be to improve PNG’s political and government systems and processes.

The government has no excuse for failing to deliver when it has the mandate to rule for two terms and resources at its disposal to use to make the system work.

The truth is our government is not really working for the people and country.

It is a sad state of affairs to now have a prime minister who should have called it a day a long time ago.

What has he really left behind? 

We do not even have a solid foundation of an “improved political system” for those who come after him.

As a result, these new members of parliament will now, it seems, take the country forward into an uncertain future.

Yes, our parliament and MPs certainly need more training so they know that what is required of them as elected representatives of their people.

The majority of our MPs are shirking their responsibilities as lawmakers at the expense of Papua New Guineans.

What I am going to say is not being patronising but the truth.

If they all tried hard, the 108 MPs will certainly learn something of value and substance from our only woman MP, Dame Carol Kidu, in what they should have done these past nine years.

It is a pity Dame Carol is not coming back in 2012.

The Dame has had enough of PNG politics and is taking her life back at her coastal home with her adopted Motuan people.

Thank you Dame Carol, you are a champion of the people. 

Your good deeds will not be forgotten for a very long time.

Basil asks: How is the State protected in terms of disputes arising out of resource projects?

Mr. Speaker,

 

I would like to direct my question to the Minister for Justice & Attorney General Honorable Sir ArnoldAmet,  Governor of Madang Province.

 Mr. Speaker, we are experiencing unprecedented resource sector boom and this government is signing agreements with foreign companies left-right-centre.

 Whilst we appreciate the benefits that the projects are generating, we also have to be mindful of the legal implications of the kind of agreements that the State is committed to.

Can the Justice Minister and the Chief Legal Advisor to Government tell this house how the State is protected in terms of dispute arising out of these projects?

 Mr. Speaker, the former Minister for Justice, Dr Allan Marat denied perusing through the full contents of the LNG agreement with the developers such as Exxon Mobil.

Up to this day, no one had seen the contents of the initial agreement, including myself.

This Parliament was and is led to belief that everything is okay, carried away by the promise of the unprecedented wealth.

 However, what is apparent now is that the LNG agreement was rushed through without proper consultation and meaningful involvement by the parties.

 Can the Justice Minister confirm or deny that there are 60-70 cases involving the LNG project are pending in the National and Supreme Courts and if so, does this confirm of a rushed agreement.

 Can the Justice Minister assure this Parliament and the people of Papua New Guinea that the LNG Project agreement as well all other recent agreements by this government, have in the agreement a clause for the PNG laws to apply when there are disputes between the State and the Developer?

 Mr. Speaker, we have learnt the Sandline Crisis case where the law to be applied to resolve the dispute was not the PNG laws, hence the State was ordered by an arbitration which was held in Queensland Australia where the State was ordered to pay US $18 million plus interests.

 Also, is it not true that Downer Construction Arbitration regarding the breach of contract over the Ramu-Madang road was conducted in Australia using Australian laws and that the State has to pay around AUS$35million (equivalent to K100m) of which around AUS$7million had been paid early this year.   

 Given those examples, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister for Justice assure this Parliament and the people of PNG that the contractual arrangements that this government is entering into have a clause in the choice of our national law?

 Can the Minister for Justice assure this Parliament that in his capacity as the Chairman of the Judicial & Legal Services Commission and the Minister responsible for Justice, he is ensuring that developers have confidence in our judiciary system when it comes to the preference of laws to apply?   

Helifix welcomes second Bell 407

By BOSORINA ROBBY

 

LOCALLY-owned helicopter company Helifix Operations Ltd, yesterday introduced its latest helicopter to its expanding fleet, bringing the total to 13 helicopters, The National reports.

Chief executive officer Robert Agarobe said the Bell 407 was the second of three, the first arrived in April and the third is expected before the year’s end.

He said the helicopter, which cost about K8 million, was bought in Germany, packed and shipped to Sydney, Australia, where it was assembled, and flown by Capt Sam Onno  and engineer Peter Kenos for 16 hours along the north and south coast of Australia and PNG respectively, to Port Moresby yesterday.

Agarobe said that 12 of these helicopters (Bell Long Rangers and Bell 212s) were in the country while the 13th was doing offshore work in Australia.

He said the company had grown since 2006 and with the oil and gas sector currently as a high profile industry, this challenged him to compete and operate his business especially in site work and seismic activities.

“We cannot sit back and be spectators but be a part of this,” he said. 

Helifix is a 100% nationally-owned aviation company which currently employs top-class expatriates and nationals.

Agarobe said the company also conducts trainings for staff to ensure transfer of skills take place as all employees were highly experienced and qualified.

He said the new helicopters were safe and modern and, though costs twice more than the others, it would do twice more work to take the company to the next level, getting bigger and better in time, also expanding the client base.