In the recent past, many projects were launched by the government, starting in Eastern Highlands, then Madang, followed by East Sepik and Sandaun provinces.
The launches were not only the airport projects that were in the plan sometime ago (funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB)) and the electrification project (funded by United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand) but they were also other projects. Were all those projects in the budget or just insincere announcement without any money at the eve of a pending vote of no confidence (VONC)?
The 2019 budget of approximately K16 billion comprises; provinces (K3b), administration (K4b), debt services (K2b), health (1.6b), education (K1.4b), Law and justice (K1.3b), transport (K1.3b), economics (K0.74b), community and culture (K0.14b) and utilities (K0.62b).

By Michael Ipa
Government will come and government will go but corruption in Papua New Guinea  is here to stay regardless. Former PNG Prime Minister Sir Meckere Morauta has stated very clearly, that corruption is "systematic" and I believe the only way to eradicate corruption is also systematic.
All governments have changed in our short history because of corruption. Everyone wants to change government because of corruption. Everyone screams corruption and votes in New government but why it continues unabated regardless of government change is a dilemma to ponder on.

THE DARK KNIGHTS OF PALADIN! Mercenaries, Missing Millions, Money Laundering & the Minister responsible for one of Australia’s biggest scandals

February 18, 2019 Serkan Ozturk 6

EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars missing. Bribes. Money Laundering. Mercenaries, Military, Militias. Gina Rinehart’s dead family bodyguard. Swiss bank accounts. Senior politicians and officials in both Australia and PNG involved, or turning a blind eye for years. While one thousand refugees remain trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare. That’s the cost of doing business on Manus Island. Thanks to this terminal Federal Government and Peter Dutton’s shady Paladin. Serkan Ozturk with this deep investigation.

MADANG Governor Peter Yama has argued that the ammount of K8.5 million to fix Parliament should be paid by all MPs.
He said all MPs should chip in to pay for the People’s House.
An irate Yama also said that all security personal involved, including any politician involved in conspiring with security force to rampage parliament, should be punished and appropriate charges laid against them.
He told the Post-Courier in an interview that the Parliament House is for the people and should be treated with respect.

SOUTHERN Highlands acting administrator Thomas Eluh has hinted at the cause of the chaos in Southern Highland Province.
The former top cop was appointed by the National Executive Council to the position just before the election and the election-related violence last year.
Mr Eluh said people wanted transparent leadership because there were a lot of problems which he felt if left unchanged would spell doom for the province.
“People are speaking from their hearts that they need a transparent leader. My appointment is for a short term of only three months. I accepted it and went there because I have talents and the abilities that are able to fight corruption,” he said.
“The real problem in the Southern Highlands is about having access to the money bag. We may think it is politics, but I did my assignment when I was there and I saw that it was not politics. Politics is just adding fuel to the fire and politics is already divided.”
Mr Eluh revealed that there were a lot of empires out there, so when it came to election time, there was the only opportunity to elect their own man into the governor’s seat so they can have easy access to the money bag.
“That’s the real problem. So our leaders should understand the real cause of why Southern Highlands is in a real mess at the moment.
“But I found my way into the core of what the real problem is. The real problem is about having access to the money bag. They play around with people’s money and sign cheques in the hotel rooms or elsewhere in Port Moresby,” he said.
Mr Eluh said when he was told to sign cheques to access people’s money, he was reluctant to sign.
“I told them that I will not sign people’s money elsewhere. The chair that they, the government and the people gave me, was the only place where I can sign. It’s very unfortunate that I saw plenty speculations, and as I speak, there is already two submissions before the NEC to make changes to replace me,” he said.
“I am not hungry for jobs because I am a true policeman and a true policeman to the bone. I was able to weed out these corrupt practices and they now are playing politics to remove me. I am not here for politics but to serve the people of Southern Highlands Province and restore peace and order in the province.”....submit  a corruption notice for us to publish here: email us :  pngfacts@gmail.com

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​By: Roderick Kanama

The Scandal involving Powes Parkop and the engagement of his mistress revealed in the infamous video is very wrong at all levels. It is for this reason that I have been vocal about it on facebook. But unlike other issues I have been vocal about, I have some very interesting documents relating to financial management at the City Hall. So I intend to pursue this further through both the Ombudsman Commission and the Police Fraud Squad.

The justifications offered by Powes Parkop and his Officer Manu Bobola actually reveal that they had not thought through the whole thing. The response actually demonstrates that the whole thing was designed deliberately from the outset to circumvent proper and expected process. In considering this matter, you must ask yourself, “What is the proper thing to do?”

The law, when it is written, has intent. The obvious intent is that it is the right thing to do. But it is also enacted so that it serves the benefit of the majority. That is where the balance of probability comes in and it is that intent that underpins the primary purpose of Governments and the core objective of a municipal authority.

NCDC is a Government institution created for public service, specifically for inhabitants of Port Moresby. This being the case, NCDC is an embodiment of the law itself. That fact alone makes this transaction unethical and illegal. Can something be unethical but still legal? The frank answer is yes. And we have seen many such situations played out in 0ur Courts. However, this is not one such case so try as they may, Powes Parkop, Fazilah Bazari, Manu Bobola and even the NCDC Board cannot offer any possible explanation that will absolve them of any wrong doing.

Why is this particular transaction unethical? It is unethical because the transaction is borne out of a personal relationship. The law anticipated this and, as I stated in an earlier post, enacted a piece of legislation that forbade such transactions. The piece of transaction I refer to is, I believe, found in the leadership code. So this transaction is unethical and therefore illegal. Mrs Jean Parkop has been affected by this whole saga but elects not to say anything so I urge you Powes and Fazilah to show some decency in your efforts to deny any relationship exists between the two of you.

The Yumi Lukautim Mosbi program is a specific program aimed at keeping Port Moresby clean and safe for its residents and visitors. It is a sanctioned program and within the NCDC core responsibility. Activities under this program are carried out so that Port Moresby City residents’ lives are enhanced without them having to participate to experience a better life.

The Yoga walk for life program on the other hand was specifically created to facilitate the engagement of Fazilah. The difference between these programs is that Fazilah still gets paid regardless of whether people attend or not whereas the Yumi Lukautim Mosbi basically seeks to improve the locality. So you have to ask, how do the many city residents who do not participate in the Yoga Walk for Life benefit? Walking is not an activity that must be carried out at a specific time to gain a higher level of satisfaction. It can be done at any time at anyone’s leisure. Just like Yoga. So why pay someone an exorbitant amount of money for activities that can be done at everyone’s own leisure? Now that is the real K250,000/month or K3 million/year question.

If the yoga thing is part of a program run by the City Hall, every person engaged under the program ought to be an employee. That means all the costs are taken up by the City Hall to deliver the program. Consultants can only be engaged on short term basis and for purposes of training, advice and services that are one off. Foreigners can be engaged too but not as businesses unless appropriately certified. The proper thing to do in this instance would have been for a video to be done of the Yoga moves and played on the NCDC program on EMTV so City residents can engage in it at their own leisure and convenience. That would have cost a one off payment of K250,000 or may be less and would have been the prudent thing to do. Not K3 million/year. That right there is not prudent management as required by the Public Finance Management Act and is therefore illegal. The simple truth is this whole thing was deviously and devilishly orchestrated to misappropriate public monies.

When you are managing public funds, it is imperative that you make decisions that serve interest of the majority. That is the reason why public service organizations focus on public service activities. If you talk about health, you have to look at adequately equipping public health centers, not create privately owned and managed programs at the expense of the public. Makes one wonder why Gerehu Health Center has recently received some very important equipment donated by Malaysian Association and not NCDC who is diverting funds to personal programs.

A young promising Papua New Guinean died very recently – Kato Otio. I understand he was first taken to Gerehu Health Center but it lacked the equipment required to attend to him so he had to be transferred to another facility. If Gerehu Health Center has these life-saving facilities, could Kato have been saved? May be not but he should have been given that chance. And that risk still exists for every other city resident. Should that K3 million go to a program that can be delivered for a one off payment of K250,000 (may be less) or to equipping city health centers with life-saving equipment? Powes Parkop, this is a question I pose to you.

I did get in touch with you Powes because a friend asked me to. I knew the circumstances and I agreed with your stance then. Perhaps there is more here to be uncovered. Perhaps you should have surrounded yourself with people who wanted to do the right thing… perhaps this is all your own doing…whatever the case, I am putting you Powes Parkop, Fazilah Bazari and the NCDC Board on notice. I will structure this post into a letter and serve to the Police Fraud Squad and the Ombudsman Commission, along with some documents that have found their way to my fold.

Foreign nationals can be seen living and working throughout Papua New Guinea, whether in urban centres or even the most remote logging and mining sites. Of course there is nothing necessarily wrong with this. Expatriate workers and their families can bring important new skills and employment opportunities, train local workers and contribute to a vibrant and forward looking society.

But when we see foreign nationals labouring on building sites, wielding chainsaws in our forests, serving in trade stores or driving heavy machinery, all jobs that many Papua New Guinean’s would love to have, it is right that we question the robustness of our immigration laws and how they are enforced.

We should also remember that many of these foreign workers are often themselves the victims of fraud or abuse, as the case of Bangladeshi national, MD Alamin Shak illustrates.

Documents and other evidence provided to PNGi shows how Mr Shak was apparently lured to Papua New Guinea through a fabricated job offer and was defrauded of K40,000 before being forced to work in a tucker shop. Imprisoned in the store, he says he was subjected to verbal and physical abuse and made to sleep on a mattress on the concrete floor.

The alleged perpetrator of this fraud is Afazuddin Mohammad, another Bangladeshi national and the owner of Sonar Bangla Trading Limited.

A DREAM JOB
MD Alamin Shak is a 24 year old University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business management from Daka University.

After leaving university, Alamin says he worked for 18 months at a large supermarket in the Bangladeshi capital. But the ambitious young man was always looking to extend his career, and he says he jumped at the chance to come to Papua New Guinea, believing he had found his dream job.

According to Alamin, Afazuddin Mohammad told him he owned a shopping mall in PNG and was on a recruitment drive for new staff. Alamin says he was offered the role of Sales and Marketing manager in Port Moresby on a salary of K3,500 a month with free accommodation and food allowance.

The only catch was that Mr Mohammad told him it was very expensive to travel to PNG and Alamin would need to raise K40,000 to cover the costs.

Alamin says he was forced to turn to his parents for help. By selling part of their traditional land and their shop in Daka and taking a bank loan, his parents were able to raise most of the funds, K38,000. The funds were duly sent to Afazuddin Mohammad in PNG with the offer to repay the balance of K2,000 once Alamin started work.

But Mr Mohammad insisted the extra K2,000 had to be paid in advance.

Eventually the funds were secured and sent and soon after Alamin received his PNG Work Permit and airline ticket. Alamin says he was surprised to see the work permit and airline ticket together cost just K7,000, ‘I wondered where the bulk of my money went to. I resolved to find out when I arrived in PNG’.

ARRIVAL IN PORT MORESBY
“In September of 2015 I arrived in PNG. As I stepped off the plane and inhaled the unpolluted PNG atmosphere and looked about me I smelt success and better life for me and my family ahead in PNG. I had just stepped into my dream world.

“Mr. Afazuddin was at Jacksons airport to pick me up. As we drove past Vision City Mega Mall my heart leaped thinking this is where I would work or in a similar establishment.

“Instead Afazuddin drove me to some places at the fringes of the city and parked beside a tucker shop. He told me to get my stuff out and go settle into the tucker shop. Flabbergasted I asked whether this was my residential area or place of work. He said “both”.

“My dream world fell apart and I almost lost consciousness. I asked “Where is the shopping Centre”, He said “this is the shopping centre” I was lost for words and moreover lost in a strange country. He barked at me to stop asking questions and settle in. As I was unpacking my luggage I told Afazuddin that it only cost about K7, 000.00 to come to PNG. So I asked what he did with the balance of my money which is about K33,000.00. Afazuddin coldly starred at me and said that he gave the money to government officials to facilitate my travel into PNG so I must never ever talk about that money again.

MD Alamin Shak says he was given a small empty room with a thin dirty mattress on the bare concrete floor to sleep in. He was forced to wake at 4.00am and cook sausages and ‘flour fish’ for sale in tucker shop ‘kai bar’. After two hours cooking every morning, he opened the shop and served customers all day before counting the takings and cleaning up. His working day ended at 9.30 or 10pm.

Alamin says he was not allowed to eat or take any of the food he cooked each morning. Instead he was allowed just the left over food at the end of the day which he ate before collapsing, exhausted into bed.

After telling his parents of the conditions he was facing, Alamin says Afazuddin Mohammad assaulted him and confiscated his phone. He was not allowed to ever leave the shop. Mr Mohammad locked the perimeter gate and took the keys when he left each evening. Even the shop counter was barricaded with wire mesh, preventing any escape.

“I was detained against my will and subjected to servitude as a slave for Afazuddin”

After the first month, Alamin says things got even worse:

“After a month of living alone and working under slavery condition Afazuddin brought his brother and another Bangladeshi man to live with me. I thought my condition would improve but it further deteriorated. I was regularly assaulted and forced around to do what they told me to do. They all expected me to do all the hard work while they rested or slept”

In August 2016, almost a year after he arrived in PNG, Alamin managed to escape the tucker shop compound and found sanctuary with other Bangladeshi nationals living in Port Moresby. With their assistance, Alamin says he reported his abuse to an officer at Gerehu police station and to a Dominic Ampa’ou, Manager Compliance and Borders Division, at the immigration department.

However, no official action appears to have been taken against Afazuddin Mohammad, either by the police over the alleged financial fraud or immigration authorities over the alleged fraudulent work permit application.
SONAR BANGLA TRADING
Afazuddin Mohammad’s company, Sonar Bangla Trading Limited, was registered with the Investment Promotion Authority in April 2015.

At that time the company had two shareholders, Afazuddin Mohammad and Peter Patho. Although Mohammad, a Bangladeshi citizen, held 51% of the shares and Patho, a Papua New Guinean, 49%, Sonar Bangla Trading was registered as a local PNG company.

Peter Patho though did not retain his shares for very long. According company Board Minutes, in August 2016, Mohammad made the decision to remove Patho as a shareholder, apparently as Patho ‘had not contributed financially towards the running of the business since its inception’.

Although it is not at all clear that Mohammad, as ‘Director. Chairman & Secretary’ had the legal power to remove Patho as a shareholder, a notice of share transfer was duly lodged with the IPA. According to the notice, Patho’s shares were transferred to Afazuddin Mohammad, making him the sole owner.

There is another anomaly in the records of Sonar Bangla Trading. In its Annual Return for 2015, the only one it has filed, it says in that year the company had no full-time and no part-time employees and no assets and no liabilities.

Yet we know from the documentation, Sonar Bangla Trading was granted a Foreigner Work Permit to employ MD Alamin Shak in July 2015 and Mr Shak arrived in Port Moresby and started work in September 2015. Why is he not included as an employee in the Annual Return? And how can a company with no assets and no employees apply for and be granted a foreigner work permit?

It is an offence for a director to lodge false or misleading returns with the Registrar of Companies.

Source: http://pngicentral.org

Report reveals more than half of leaders were elected through bribery

BY MICHAEL ARNOLD/Post Courier

More than half of leaders in the Highlands were elected through bribery in the 2017 National Election, international corruption watchdog, Transparency International PNG says.

The TIPNG observation report of the election, which was launched yesterday, showed that electorates within the Highlands region boasted the highest prevalence of bribery and intimidation.

About 54.4 percent of voters claimed that they had experienced evidence of bribery or intimidation of voters during polling in June and July.

The region with the second highest prevalence of bribery was the New Guinea Islands, which recorded a 20.4 percent prevalence of bribery and intimidation.

Despite these appalling statistics, PNG Electoral Commissioner, Patilias Gamato, said in response the report attested to the success of the 2017 National Election.

Mr Gamato attributed the success to the fact that elections in all 111 electorates had achieved an outcome by the end of the process.

He said he had promised not to fail any election in the leadup to the 2017 National Election and was able to deliver on that promise.

TIPNG chairman Lawrence Stephens, however, highlighted that resulting outcomes alone could not determine the success of the election. He said the readily apparent abuses of the election process challenged the credibility and the legitimacy of the exercise.

“That has tended to be the response of many people over quite a long time now. To say, well we’ve got an outcome and the outcome is that we have a government. Yes, that’s been said in 2002, 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2017. However, the reports from all these elections have shown that there are major flaws. What we want to hear is that people are paying attention to those flaws and realising that those flaws do have implications on the legitimacy of the government of the day; the legitimacy of the position being awarded to people,” Mr Stephens said.

“If seven ballot boxes can be filled in an army barracks with videos taken of the illegal behaviour and we are later presented with a member for that particular electorate, as a legitimate member; then of course people have to ask questions,” he said.

Ultimately, both Mr Stephens and Mr Gamato agreed that there have been many recurring concerns in successive elections. Both agreed that all responsible stakeholder agencies needed to take ownership of the failures in this election and work together to refine the process.

A MEMBER of Parliament says he is paid each fortnight around K12,700 in net salary and allowances, which is nothing compared to what ministers, governors and MPs appointed to various offices get.
Madang MP Bryan Kramer, who aims to expose government processes and systems he believes are unfair and unjust, told The National that citizens were footing the bill. Ordinary MPs such as him, not elected or appointed to other positions in parliament, receive around K12,756 a fortnight – K2158 in net pay and K10,598 in allowances, he said.
“It is the lowest compared to the salaries and privileges MPs who hold ministerial portfolios, governors or those appointed to positions in the government system,” he said.
He said his gross fortnightly salary was K4038 from which a tax of K1274 and 15 per cent Superannuation (K605.81) were deducted, leaving a take-home pay of K2158 per fortnight.
“Such an amount seems rather reasonable to what most middle to senior managers in a medium-size company would receive,” Kramer said.
“But the difference is the K10,598 in allowances received, comprising accommodation (K2486), electoral allowance (K3036), electoral vehicle (K3082), electoral vehicle operating costs (K475), personal vehicle allowance (K1142), personal vehicle operating costs (K298) and utilities (K79).
“It seems that an MP, depending on the office he is appointed or elected to, receives cash allowances for everything but the kitchen sink,” he said.
He said the allowances were tax-free.
Kramer said based on the fortnightly K12,756, an ordinary MP would be paid  K331,657 a year, or K1.6 million over a five-year parliamentary term.
“So where does all this money come from? It’s from the ordinary citizens,” he said.
Kramer said Cabinet ministers, the Opposition Leader and his deputy, Speaker and those chairing parliamentary committees were paid much more in salaries and allowances.
Ombudsman Richard Pagen, during the induction for new MPs earlier this year, said ministers were getting well over K20,000 a fortnight.
Personnel Management Secretary John Kali said yesterday that MPs received different amounts a fortnight.
“I cannot confirm whether a MP receives K12,000-plus a fortnight because all members receive different salary rates,” he said.
“Different members according to their positions as ministers or deputy or chairman of a parliamentary committee or open members and regional members, whatever, receive different allowances.
“Their salaries are different. So it’s very difficult to say that they all get the same amount of money.
“Their payroll is controlled by Parliament.”
Kali said salaries of parliamentarians were determined by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) which he is a member of.
“The terms and conditions of leaders, appointed leaders and elected leaders, department heads, provincial administrators, constitutional office holders, judges, MPs, are made by the SRC,” he said.
“That’s different from the Salaries and Conditions Monitoring Committee (SCMC) which looks at the terms and conditions of employees in public authorities.” The National

Stop Corruption in Papua New Guinea
Please send in any information you think is/are deemed Corrupt practices. Your name will be withheld during publication. Email: pngfacts@gmail.com 
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Commentary by PETER S. KINJAP

The O’Neill-Dion Government is the most corrupted regime in the short history of Papua New Guinea. It has tempered with the national constitution, forced to bend it or even create new laws to escape being held responsible and avoid passing tougher legislation to fight corruption. It’s so sad, a sad scenario for PNG indeed.  

Before going into elections in 2012, Peter O’Neill promised the nation to curb corruption; setting up the Investigation Task Force Sweep (ITFS) which did an excellent job exposing and prosecuting corruption deals but why did O’Neill disband it? Why did Police Commissioner Garry Baki put a “vetting” on the high-profile investigating cases that includes O’Neill’s case?

At the 2012 Alotau Accord, the coalition partners pledged to table in the Parliament the Anti-money Laundering Legislation, Whistle-blowers Legislation, Freedom of Information Legislation and Independent Commission against Corruption Act (ICAC). But during PNC’s reign from 2012 to 2017 with its coalition partners, none of these legislations got passed in the Parliament as promised to fight corruption during campaigns. Instead O’Neill sees fit to legislate Cyber Crime Law and even proposing amendments to change election dates and nomination fees.      

Several times the Opposition blasted the Government for ‘sitting’ on the Whistle-blowers protection Act and not tabling in the Parliament. Even the National Court Justice Martin Ipang spoke of the need for the Whistle-blowers Act in the court room when ruling Western Governor Ati Wobiro’s case.

Citizens needed to be protected if they heard about corruption or if they seen it or if they become victim of corruption and wanted to report. PNG needs the Whistle-blowers Act. This is a very important law for PNG together with the ICAC. But PNC failed and fooled the nation. A new government that will be formed after the 2017 elections must see to pass these laws.

People would be asking why time and again ‘most’ corrupted politicians are not exposed and brought to justice. Here is an answer from one politician with his observation. Samuel Basil, a two term Bulolo MP had to say the following, “PNC's best bet (if they lose government) is to have another veteran MP's political party to take reign. Why? Because it's like having partners in crime taking control over once again or simply put it as corruption changing hands.
If they bring their brothers down they will all go down together, it's like they all have been closely knitted together.”

Only fresh new MPs without any connections with the current and past regimes can clean this country up, there is no other way.

There has to be a scrubbing period and that is to have every citizens of all walks of life to face the judiciary to clean anything against them.

Your vote in 2017 means to save PNG or destroy it. Over to you.

The End