Micah: No decision on bemobile’s future yet

By MALUM NALU

Minister for Public Enterprises and State Investments Ben Micah says the government has not yet made a decision on the fate of bemobile.

He also said that Telikom was getting a “major upgrade”.

Micah said this yesterday when asked by The National about a due diligence being done on bemobile which suggested that it was seriously looking for investors, as well as a proposal being made that Telikom be broken up. 

Micah addressing the SOE forum on Monday.-Nationalpic by MALUM NALU

“The government has not made any decision (on bemobile) as yet,” he said at the state-owned enterprises forum at parliament.

“I think the bemobile board has actually put out requests for expressions of interest.”

Micah said Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) owned 47% of bemobile, 47% by Hong Kong-based Capital Way, and the balance by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).”

He said of Telikom: “Telikom is going to undergo major upgrading.

“Part of the (K6 billion) loan from China is coming to SOEs.”

Micah said the use of lines by PNG Power for electricity and Telikom for communications could be integrated into one.

“Transmissions lines of PNG Power can also be used for communications,” he said.

“They will be integrated into one.”

Commenting on the recent ADB report on SOEs and the two-day forum, Micah said: “A major announcement will be made soon.

“A policy submission will be made for a way forward to cabinet.

“That will be the policy on SOEs.”

Later, when closing the forum, Micah commended all who participated.

“We as a people have come of age,” he said.

“We have no more excuses to make decisions that will only benefit ourselves.

“The future of the country is trapped in the minds of all of you (participants).

“Everything that you said today, I will listen to them on tape.

“I will be guided by these ideas.”

Bakani: Agriculture and mineral commodity prices continue to decline

By MALUM NALU

All agricultural and mineral commodity prices continued to decline in the second quarter of 2012, according to Bank of PNG Governor Loi Bakani, The National reports.

He said in the bank's June Quarterly Economic Bulletin released on Tuesday that this included the international price of crude oil to around U$86 per barrel mark reflecting weak global demand, and above-quota production by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 

Loi Bakani

“This trend is expected to continue for the rest of 2012, depending largely on the recovery of Europe and the growth in China and some advanced economies,” Bakani said.

“Although commodity prices rebounded in the first quarter of 2012, it remained below the end-2011 levels.

“As of  September 21,  2012, the price of gold was US$1,736.74 per ounce after a high of US$1,741.63 at the beginning of the year, while the price of crude oil continue to remain volatile, trading at an average of US$86 per barrel.

“Prices of agricultural export commodities are expected to remain low in 2012, compared to 2011.

“If prices of export commodities continue to decline and remain relatively low, together with the strengthening of the kina, it is likely to impact adversely on the export income and government revenue, and lead to further shortfalls in the national budget.”

Given these developments, Bakani warned that if government spending was not curtailed in the second half of 2012, there would be serious consequences on the budget outcome for the year.

“Inflation in advanced economies eased in the second quarter of 2012 and is expected to ease further due to declining commodity prices, fall in global demand and improved supply conditions,” he said.

“On the back of these developments, the IMF projected inflation in the advanced and emerging and developing economies to be at 1.8% and 6.5%, respectively.

“International food prices have declined as indicated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI), showing a significant drop in the index points to 213 points in August 2012, compared to 231 points in August 2011.

“Crude oil prices declined, although it continued to remain volatile. “

 Bakani said the low commodity prices and low inflation levels overseas would have favorable impact on domestic inflation.

He also highlighted:

• Given the low inflation outcome in the June quarter of 2012, the Bank of PNG eased its monetary policy stance by reducing the Kina Facility Rate (KFR) by 100 basis points, from 7.75% to 6.75% in September 2012;
• In the second half of 2012, the upside risks to inflation will arise from the high import prices, strengthening of export commodity prices, depreciation in the kina exchange rate as well as domestic demand pressures associated with the construction of the PNG LNG project, continued private sector investments and increased Government spending;
• The kina exchange rate depreciated against the US dollar, Australian dollar, Japanese yen and the pound sterling, while it appreciated against the euro; and
• The level of gross foreign exchange reserves decreased from K8, 662.4 (US$4,149.8) million at the end of June 2012 to K8, 382.6 (US$4,069.8) million as at end of September 2012.

Australia aid has now become an industry

 By Kevin W. Trueman

The most common perception of aid is that it is help given to a person or persons in their time of need and given without the recipient being obligated to pay for the assistance rendered. However, nowadays in the Pacific on a government-to-government basis, you could be forgiven for thinking that nothing is further from the truth. Canberra has now coined the phrase “Aid for Trade”.

Australians and New Zealanders are generally speaking generous people and they want to help Pacific Islanders without looking for reward. This is aid done mainly through their charities and their service clubs and organizations without the razzamatazz and self-glorifying publicity of TV shows that seem to be the present style of government aid agencies that are bent on promoting themselves.

So many of these so called AusAID projects seem to employ large numbers of highly paid staff either on very high  salaries or consultancy packages and the majority produce little in return  except huge bills for the Australian taxpayer.

In the past, aid projects used to be run by whoever was managing the project and there were no enormous administration overheads. The managers had to be capable competent and persons

 of integrity. To be on the safe side, there was usually a six- monthly audit done by a skilled auditor who might have a dozen or more such projects under his wing. Accountability, profitability, transparency and honesty were not just expected but demanded as the norm.

I remember when the former Labor Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam came to power in Australia, and he proceeded to push Papua New Guinea to earlier than expected independence. His explanation to the Australian public was that this would save them a fortune in taxes and that the percentage of profits from Bougainville Copper’s earnings that would be paid to Port Moresby would more than compensate the Australian contribution of funding to PNG.

In addition all of the senior Australian public servants who worked in PNG would be given a “golden hand shake” once they handed in their resignations. A lot of these people had more seniority than many of the senior public servants in Canberra.

What has the result of this been? Maintaining the old colonial administration would have been cheaper for the Australian taxpayer than the present Australian aid programs with the highly paid advisers who pay no tax themselves to Australia or elsewhere. In addition there has been a civil war in Bougainville because the people of Bougainville resented their huge mining revenues going to Port Moresby while they remained in relative squalor.

 Whenever we get a Labor government in Australia, the size of the public service sector increases, not usually by increasing the actual number of public servants, but by engaging consultants, recruited through consultancy agencies. This increases the cost to the Australian taxpayer considerably. And makes some people in the know extremely wealthy.

A few days ago Australia’s Prime Minister announced that Australia and New Zealand  would establish an education fund for Pacific Islanders of $40 million dollars for tertiary education in New Zealand and

 Australia over the next ten years.  If the average cost of a degree is $50,000 per year and the average course is four years, it will represent about 200 scholarships or the equivalent of ten scholarships a year. What is embarrassing for Australians is that New Zealanders seem to be paying the bigger share.

The twisting and bullying by the present Australian Labor government on the Pacific Island Forum and the Pacific Islands generally, is detrimental to Australia’s interest. The beneficences are China, Indonesia and India, countries that are all making tremendous inroads into the region.

If Canberra had more dialogue with Australians who were in business and had lived in the Pacific for some time, they would gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the region and its differences. The Australian government needs to show more respect for the sovereignty of their Pacific neighbours and get back to the genuine friendship that was there once. The present bureaucratic arrogance shown by the government of Australia to her Pacific neighbours only increases the influence of China, Indonesia and India in the region at a geopolitical and economic cost to Australia.

Regional unity and a better and more prosperous state for Australia and her Pacific neighbours will depend on enlightened aid and cooperation by the governments in the region.

Kevin Trueman has had considerable business interests in Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific and South East Asia, in trading, building, shipping, agricultural and pastoral enterprises. He’s currently in business in Vanuatu and lives at Port Vila.

O’Neill: Radical reforms for SOEs

The National, Wednesday 10th October, 2012

By MALUM NALU
 
PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill says state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have not been complying with their statutory obligations so radical reform is needed.
Speaking at the National Research Institute forum on public enterprises at parliament yesterday, he said since Sir Mekere Morauta took government in 1999, and championed the reforms in SOEs, there had been no real progress in the way SOEs had been managed.

O'Neill addresses the forum.-Picture by MALUM NALU

“Therefore, since last year when we took over government, with Sir Mekere still with us as an MP, we have been trying to reveal the opportunities that we’ve missed out over the last nine years,” O’Neill said,
“Looking back, we have not made much progress between 2002 and 2011, so what we need now is radical reforms.
“Many of us know that SOEs are in ICU (intensive care unit), borrowing Sir Mekere’s words. They are in need of life support and need radical surgery.”
O’Neill said when the new government was formed last year; it was trying to bring a level of “sensibility” into those who were managing SOEs.
“We have seen that many of our SOEs are not delivering,” he said.
“Some people are saying that we are not delivering the services they expected from us.
“As a result, the reforms were brought in to try to improve on this. These reforms are continuing.
“The minister (Ben Micah) has had the time to review many of the board and management structures, and some changes will be made over the next two weeks.
“But we are not there to make changes just for the sake of making changes.
“What we want to do is have some humility in the management.”
O’Neill said PNG could learn from Singapore, where the government owned several major businesses, which were reaping huge dividends for the state and people.
“Look at the case of Singapore,” he said.
“Most of the big, big businesses are owned by the Singapore government, and yet, they are able to provide services that their people require, are able to make money, are able to make profits and continue to pay dividends back to the state and the people as shareholders.”

PNG loses K3.8 billion in graft to Australia

AUSTRALIA’S anti-corruption agencies and its banking and financial system are condoning PNG’s burgeoning corruption industry by turning a blind eye to it, Task Force Sweep chief Sam Koim says, The National reports.
He told a meeting in Sydney last Thursday that while Australia preached good governance and anti-corruption, never once had it repatriated any proceeds of corruption back to PNG.
He said half of the country’s development budget over three years had been fleeced off in corruptive activities. That is a staggering K3.8 billion out of the PNG government component of K7.6 billion for 2009, 2010 and 2011 (see separate story on page 2).
Said Koim: “A few months ago, it was reported in a Cairns newspaper that PNG residents are the largest investors in the far north according to the latest figures from the Registrar of Titles.
“It is also understood six known politicians have invested in million-dollar properties up north and central Cairns to a tune of A$11.45 million (K24.5 million) – A$3.8 million, A$1.9 million, A$2.3 million, A$2 million and A$1.45 million respectively.
“It was also recently reported that PNG’s investment in Australia reached US$1.2 billion according to Asian Development Bank country economist Aaron Batten.
“Not all these investments can possibly be derived from legitimate funds. So is the banking industry in Australia doing business with ‘dirty’ money?
“For those of you thinking that Australian authorities would surely have prevented this if the money was not ‘clean’, or at the very least, seized and returned the money, I have some sobering news.
“Australia has never repatriated any proceeds of corruption to Papua New Guinea.”
Koim said PNG politicians and those doing business with them had bought properties and other assets, put money in bank accounts, gambled heavily in Australian casinos and “have never been troubled by having their ill-gotten gains taken off them”.
“Unless the money can be prevented from leaving our country or prevented from entering Australia, the bad guys win and the rest of Papua New Guinea suffers,” he said.
“And PNG is suffering. Of the seven million Papua New Guineans who live in the country that is Australia’s closest neighbour – a country so close that you could paddle a boat to it from your Northern islands, 90% do not have access to electricity, 57% live on less than A$2 a day; 31% have access to a safe water supply, 46% complete primary school.
“Imagine a country richly endowed with natural resources, sometimes called an ‘island of gold,
floating on a sea of oil’, so rich yet its people are so poor. “How frustrating it is to watch the richness of your land vanish in the hands of a few.”
Koim said rampant corruption had forced Australia to shift its aid from untied cash grants to tied project aid managed mostly by AusAID.
As a result, Australia spends more aid money managing its aid in PNG nowadays, he said.
Others such as the Asian Development Bank were following suit.
He said: “We believe that Australia understands us more than any other country, owing to our historical and continued mutual relationships.
“And so based on that premise both countries can, and should, collaborate in devising mechanisms that can help detect and combat money laundering and cross border corruption.”“Not all these investments can possibly be derived from legitimate funds. So is the banking industry in Australia doing business with ‘dirty’ money?
“For those of you thinking that Australian authorities would surely have prevented this if the money was not ‘clean’, or at the very least, seized and returned the money, I have some sobering news.
“Australia has never repatriated any proceeds of corruption to Papua New Guinea.”
Koim said PNG politicians and those doing business with them had bought properties and other assets, put money in bank accounts, gambled heavily in Australian casinos and “have never been troubled by having their ill-gotten gains taken off them”.
“Unless the money can be prevented from leaving our country or prevented from entering Australia, the bad guys win and the rest of Papua New Guinea suffers,” he said.
“And PNG is suffering. Of the seven million Papua New Guineans who live in the country that is Australia’s closest neighbour – a country so close that you could paddle a boat to it from your Northern islands, 90% do not have access to electricity, 57% live on less than A$2 a day; 31% have access to a safe water supply, 46% complete primary school.
“Imagine a country richly endowed with natural resources, sometimes called an ‘island of gold, floating on a sea of oil’, so rich yet its people are so poor.
“How frustrating it is to watch the richness of your land vanish in the hands of a few.”
Koim said rampant corruption had forced Australia to shift its aid from untied cash grants to tied project aid managed mostly by AusAID.
As a result, Australia spends more aid money managing its aid in PNG nowadays, he said.
Others such as the Asian Development Bank were following suit.
He said: “We believe that Australia understands us more than any other country, owing to our historical and continued mutual relationships.
“And so based on that premise both countries can, and should, collaborate in devising mechanisms that can help detect and combat money laundering and cross border corruption.”

#PNGNewVoices: Engaging future leaders

by Danielle Cave

 Photo by Flickr user Ikhlasul Amal.ption

 

 

 Social media will be a key feature of this year's New Voices conference, which will be held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The event, hosted by the Lowy Institute, begins on 22 October and will provide a platform for PNG's young leaders to discuss and debate the big issues affecting their nation and its place in the world.
As our closest closest neighbour, PNG is one of Australia's most important international partners and should be one of our top foreign policy priorities.
PNG New Voices brings together 80 business, government, civil society and media representatives from across the country to talk about the nation's economy, the changing role of civil society and media, the political power of social media and PNG's international choices and place in the Asian Century.
Papua New Guinea is undergoing a period of extraordinary transformation, politically, socially and economically. We hope PNG New Voices will play a role in shining a brighter spotlight on a country that Australia's senior elected officials need to pay far greater attention to, now and into the future.
To ensure debate is not limited to the conference venue we will encourage participants to use social media through the day with analysis and big ideas from each session posted on PNG Facebook discussion group Sharp Talk and on Twitter using the hashtag #PNGNewVoices. I encourage interested people to monitor and engage with us on social media for real-time updates on the event.
 PNG has limited resources to commit to a growing crop of both domestic and international challenges. In such an environment, PNG's thirst for new ideas and creative policy thinking has never been so great. A strong national discourse and a dynamic public discussion are not just the principal ingredients for good public policy – a robust debate also counteracts poorly constructed and ill-informed policy by ensuring that questions are asked and decisions are publicly contested. PNG New Voices will help support a strengthening of this public debate and facilitate new ideas into the policy realm.
There are few people better qualified to speak on and input into the current and looming challenges that PNG faces than those participating in next month's Lowy Institute New Voices conference. It is the younger generation that will wear the consequences of decisions made today by PNG's politicians, business people and government officials, so it is vital their opinions are heard and their ideas feed into both the debate and policy that will shape PNG's future place in the world.

PNG New Voices draft agenda.doc (95.00 kb)

PNG asylum facility ready within weeks

By Ehssan Veiszadeh and Eoin Blackwell of AAP

The Australian government says asylum seeker processing on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island will start within weeks, as another 33 would-be refugees arrived at Nauru's offshore processing centre. The group of 18 Sri Lankans, 14 Afghans and one Iranian arrived on a chartered aircraft from Christmas Island on Friday morning.
This brings the number of asylum seekers currently on the island to 181, after three people opted to return home in September.
The government in August committed to offshore processing of asylum seekers who arrive in Australian waters by boat on Nauru and Manus Island.
The coalition joined Labor in the Senate in September to pass the legislative instrument allowing Nauru to be used for offshore processing.
A similar legislative instrument is expected to be introduced into parliament in the coming weeks, which would allow Manus Island to be reopened.
Meanwhile, a war of words has erupted between Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's office and his opposition counterpart Scott Morrison about claims the minister rejected Mr Morrison's request to facilitate a visit to Nauru and Manus Island.
Mr Morrison claims shadow ministry entitlements do not provide for such overseas trips and that he'd be happy to use the regular charter services already being paid for by the minister's department to visit the two sites.
"The refusal to facilitate a visit seems very petty," Mr Morrison said in a statement.
He said Mr Bowen should reconsider given the coalition provided the support in parliament to re-establish offshore processing and given the government will need support again in relation to Manus Island.
A spokesperson for Mr Bowen denied the minister was blocking Mr Morrison's request.
"The minister is happy to ask his department and overseas posts to facilitate access for Mr Morrison to the processing centres, just as we have facilitated every requested visit to an onshore processing centre by him in the past," the spokesperson said.
"The government will not, however, make specific financial provision to fund such a visit."
Mr Bowen met with PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill on Friday to discuss progress on reopening the Manus Island processing centre, which is on a naval base on the small pacific island.
"We've worked very closely together on ensuring the facility is ready soon, and I very much welcome your agreement and announcement that we can begin making the first transfers in the coming weeks," Mr Bowen said at a joint press conference in Port Moresby on Friday.
"We have a process to go through in Australia, a parliamentary process, which we will pursue and make those transfers in the coming weeks."
In other news, Christmas Island's retiring administrator Brian Lacy warned on Friday that more riots could break out in the immigration detention centre if overcrowding again becomes a problem.
In March 2011 the detention centre went into lockdown after 200 people threw rocks and burned tents to the ground.
Mr Lacy said the riots arose out of overcrowding after an influx of asylum seekers at the time.
He cautioned the same thing could happen again.
"In recent times a growing number of asylum seekers are coming to Christmas Island," he told ABC radio.
"Even though they are transporting some of them to Nauru, there is, as I say, still the potential for that number to exceed the number they can actually hold without causing any problem there."