Papua New Guinea’s 10th Parliament ends

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Papua New Guinea’s 10^th Parliament ends

PORT MORESBY: Prime Minister James marape says it is time to seek a fresh mandate from the people as he drew the curtains closed on the 10^th Parliament last night (April 21, 2022).

He also assured the nation that General Election 2022 would go ahead as planned.

“There have been (doubts) that this Government will not deliver the elections on time. As a responsible Government, I like to dispel the doubts and inform this nation that we will deliver the general election on time with a budget of K600 million,” he added.

The news updates were published by The National:

Final sitting

April 22, 2022The NationalMain Stories

By LULU MARK and LULU MAGINDE
PRIME Minister James Marape says it is time to seek a fresh mandate from the people as he drew the curtains closed on the 10th Parliament late last night.
He also reassured the nation that this year’s general election would go ahead as planned.
“There have been (doubts) that this government will not deliver the 2022 general election on time,” he said.
“As a responsible government, I’d like to dispel these doubts and inform this nation that we will deliver the general election on time with a budget of K600 million.”
The writs for the general election will be issued next Thursday, April 28, setting in motion the process of electing members for the 11th Parliament.
Voting is scheduled to start on June 18, and the return of writs is on July 29.
Marape said the Government had so far released K288 million to be used for the election preparations.
“Further funds will be released as required throughout this process,” he said.
“To facilitate a peaceful and fair election, my government has appropriated funding directly to our security agencies to coordinate and manage the security aspects.”
On the Commission of Inquiry into the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) K3 billion loan which implicated his predecessor Peter O’Neill, he said the report had been accepted by the House and that it was “time to work”.
He told The National that it was up to the police, Independent Commission against Corruption and the Ombudsman Commission to implement and enforce the findings.
“They can pick it (report) up and go to work,” he said. “They can look at the recommendation and who among us was named and what offence we committed.
“Basically the enquiry contains all the evidence on the main questions. So it makes the work of the prosecuting agencies much easier now.”
He said O’Neill could be facing two investigations on the charges of perjury and falsifying evidence.
Marape commended the people for supporting the Government.
“Papua New Guinea and its citizens have a great deal to be proud of,” he said.
“We have navigated the treacherous seas of a global pandemic, we have weathered natural disasters and economic challenges.
Opposition Leader Belden Namah told the MPs to ask themselves what their legacy would be after yesterday. Only two of the 22 bills tabled in the final sitting yesterday were not passed.

Permanent GBV committee mooted

April 22, 2022The NationalMain Stories

A COMMITTEE set up by Parliament to look into gender-based violence (GVB) has recommended that a permanent GBV committee be established.
It was one of the 71 recommendations in the committee’s report tabled in Parliament yesterday by its chairman and East Sepik Governor Allan Bird.
Bird said unless a GBV committee was set up, “we run the risk of encouraging this behaviour”.
The four major recommendations of the 71 listed in the report are:

• TO establish a permanent GBV committee;
• FOR the national GBV secretariat to have staff and funding allocated, to be supported by the Personnel Management Department;
• FOR more action in provinces where governors support their provincial GBV secretariats; and,
• FOR improved access to justice through the Government’s continued support and strengthening of the referral pathways available to victims/survivors.

“We hope this will provide guidance to the officials across the country who have responsibilities for addressing GBV and sorcery accusation-related violence (Sarv),” he said.
He urged MPs to support the national GBV secretariat in efforts to reduce violence.
“The report contains practical ideas about how to go about enforcing or implementing these recommendations, so that we can make our country safe again for our women, men and children,” he said.
He thanked the United Nations and European Union for their support.
The key themes of the other recommendations are based on leadership, taking more ownership, more coordination, funding and prevention and education or awareness.

Govt urged to establish UBS team

April 22, 2022The NationalMain Stories

By KELVIN JOE
PETROLEUM Minister Kerenga Kua has urged the Government to establish an independent team to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) K3 billion loan.
He said the country had lost more than K3 billion, so if it took another K30 million to investigate the loan, then anyone questioning it could have something to hide.
The report was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday by Prime Minister James Marape.

“I recommended (that) we should establish a strong and independent taskforce to take all the consequential actions on the recommendations in this report,” Kua said.
“If further action is needed, we must make available another K30 million because we want to demonstrate that Papua New Guinea refuses to be involved in corrupt practices, and we will no longer stand up to such practices.”
He said the country had gained nothing from the K3 billion.
“We need to build the roads and bridges, aid posts, schools and classrooms, and keep maintenance up to date,” he said.
“But we can’t do that because somebody gave that K3 billion away.”
Kua said the report would enable the Government to go through the loan process information which the people needed to know.
“(The) composition of this taskforce is important,” he said.
“(It should be) given all the financial assistance necessary to conduct all the consequential actions in the report.
“Follow up actions must not be in the county alone but overseas (too).
“We must chase them all the way.
“All those major law firms from Australia involved must be brought to account under their professional conduct rules.”

Process not followed, transaction failed: MP

April 22, 2022The NationalNational

AITAPE-Lumi MP Patrick Pruaitch says the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) K3 billion loan was a failed transaction the Government has ever entered into.
“It is a failed transaction because the process was not followed, the laws were not adhered to (and) Parliament was not involved,” Pruaitch said.
He said two transactions happened not too far apart – the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) loan in 2009 and the UBS loan in 2014.
“In 2009, we undertook the IPIC exchangeable bond to raise funding for us to participate in the Papua New Guinea LNG project which was completed with due process with every law complied with,” he said. “That project today is a success story for our country.
“Unfortunately the UBS loan did not follow the required process.
“I was a minister in cabinet. Unfortunately I was not involved in any of those cabinet meetings that gave approval for UBS transactions.
“I was not the treasurer then. It was at the (end) part of it that I came in as treasurer and rightly requested the then PM to handle the UBS transaction because I was not party to it and I had not much knowledge of that transaction.”

Juffa: Medical supplies must go through proper tender

April 22, 2022The NationalNational

THE procurement and distribution of medical supplies must be subjected to proper tender and appropriate international standards, says Northern Governor Gary Juffa.
Juffa, the chairman of the special parliamentary committee on public sector reform and service delivery, tabled the committee’s interim report in Parliament yesterday.
He said it was one of the significant financial results of the committee’s work which must be carried out.
The committee has also pushed for the stalled public service payroll audit.
“Once completed, and if followed through by the next committee, it should save millions of kina in restoring integrity to it by cancelling ghost names and dealing with multiple personalities (occupying) single positions,” he said.
The committee also told the National Housing Commission to address the allegations of mismanagement of public housing assets.
The committee’s secretariat held discussions with more than 40 state institutions and individuals “in the quest for immediate and strategic long-term reforms”.
“We intend to (continue) the current momentum right up to the formation of the next Parliament in August,” he said.
“(We) will not stop just because we are heading into elections.
“The public sector reform cannot stop, must not stop and will not stop.

“Therefore we recommend that this committee be made a permanent committee.”
He said the issue of public sector performance had everybody’s attention but the decades of neglect offered no quick solution.
The committee estimates that it will require at least up to five parliamentary terms “of consistent effort of change by leadership of the MPs to bear the fruits of change”.

Keeping environment safe vital: PM

April 22, 2022The NationalNational

Prime Minister James Marape during the Parliament session yesterday.

PRIME Minister James Marape says the country will keep the environment safe for investors to operate in.
He yesterday tabled 11 amendments to legislations related to the P’nyang LNG project which were all passed.
The amendments were for the Customs Tariff Act, Excise Tariff Act, Goods and Services Tax, Income Tax, Insurance Act, Income Tax Dividends Withholding Tax and Interest Withholding Act, Konabada Petrolium Park Act, Oil and Gas Act, Price Regulation Act, Resource Contracts Fiscal Stabalisation Act and Stamp Duties Act.
Marape said they included changes and insertions of the P’nyang LNG project into the law that would enable the project to progress.
The construction is expected to start next year.
“P’nyang is our signature project and we have to do it right,” he said.
“The PNG LNG Project is sustaining our country now.
“P’nyang is a K13 billion project.
“Papua LNG is a K20 billion project.”
Marape said the P’nyang and Papua LNG projects would “really grow the economy”.
He assured the people of Western in the Star Mountains and the Oslobip areas that a development forum would be conducted to address their needs
“This is what we have to do at the national level, for the benefits that we have secured from 59 to 63 per cent,” he said.
“We’ll go to the development forum where landowners’ benefits will be discussed, including infrastructure grants, business development and others that would be granted to the P’yang landowners.
“We have a four-year lead period from now till 2027/2028.”
Marape said the petroleum development licence would not be granted until they went into feed “so that we have enough lead time to try our very best to please the landowners in the star mountains”.