By Reginald Haureva. (Kokoda).![]()
PETER O'NEILL'S BUSINESS INTEREST AND FRAUD IS EXPOSED
PNG has entered a new phase in politics and public administration under Peter O'Neill as Prime Minister post-June 2014. The nation and individuals may or may not realize this fact but that is exactly where we are at. The recent changes in public administration and Ministerial reshuffles signal this change. It began with the sacking of William Duma as Petroleum Minister and Don Polye as Treasurer. Both these men stood in the way of Peter O'Neill achieving his secret ambition, to become the first multi-billionaire in PNG and the Pacific.
He has never been content with the Tens of Millions of Kina kick-backs he was receiving from major road and civil construction contractors. He was not content with directing government business to his Remington Group of companies, which includes the following businesses- Remington Office Supplies, RIFL ( Merchant Bank/Finance company), Insurance Partners, Paddy's Hotel, South West Air, Black Swan Security Contractor, and an Oil & Gas Contracting company operating in the Southern Highlands, Gulf and Western Provinces. Peter O'Neill has other companies which he operates in conjunction with or under other people, where other people hold his interests. For example his interests in L& A Brick Layers are held by the Cragnolinis, and his interests in the Pacific International Hospital and associated businesses are held by a shadowy character called Mohamed Sultan. He has numerous other interests that are held by a strong web of trusted friends.
His funds overseas are held in Singapore, Hong Kong and in Tax Havens under bearer stock. Some of his commission of the UBS deal was paid to a Singapore Account. The balance was paid through third party agents and into Tax Havens. All the wealth that Peter O'Neill has amassed over the last 12 years has been done while he was a Member of Parliament under a Parliamentary taxable salary of K3000 per fortnight. It was done while he was reporting his business interests publicly to the Ombudsman Commission. ( It is quite doubtful that he has been at all candid). I am sure he has not reported that as soon as the State took over Oktedi Mine, he directed his own company Black Swan to be the only major security contractor in
Ok Tedi, which is well over K150 Million per annum contract. The expat partner in Black Swan knows the details.
I am sure O'Neill has not reported that his interest in Insurance Partners is held in trust by his Chief Accountant in Remington Group. (Logically, you would think the lowly salaried accountant would be a rich guy about town. Insurance Partners makes enough profit each year (in the millions) for such an accountant with 40% stake, to sit back and enjoy his dividends, why should he labour hard at Remington- unless, of course, the 40% stake does not belong to him!). ONeill’s interest in L&A Brick Layers is an open secret, but it has not been accounted for and he has not disclosed it to the ombudsman, whilst L&A Bricklayers enjoy unimaginable financial favours from the O'Neill Government including contracts to tear down carvings and renovate Parliament at inflated contract price, awarding of untended contract worth hundreds of Millions of Kina to renovate Mourata Haus- extended to Pineapple building and Central Government Buildings, his shareholding and interest is held by Mrs Nee Cragnolini.
O'Neill has been paid hundreds of Mil lions of Kina by civil contractors like China Rail, Dekenai, Hebou, China Harbour, Global,etc collected through henchmen or paid off-shore. Normally, O'Neill knows what the bid price of the likely candidates and he asks them to inflate it by his share. An example is the Lae-Nadzab road. Only inflated it by over K200 Million, which was his share. You would think with this intricate web of interests held by other people, illicit payments he extracts, and a business empire already pushing the billion Kina limit, Mr O'Neill would be satisfied. But No, he had to push the envelope further. He decided to go for the big one in the UBS transaction. Now that’s greed at another level altogether! That’s greed gone crazy! On huge cattle farms in the Ramu Valley at the old Bruce Jepcott’s farm, as a youngster growing up in the valley, I used to observe an interesting micro-ecosystem that involved leeches and ticks feeding off the blood of the cattle. Then you saw half a dozen sparrows appearing to be taking a free ride on the back of a cow. What they were really doing was picking off the little blood suckers for lunch, but unknowingly they were making sure the parasites did not kill the cow.
So what is life under Peter O'Neill going to be like after June 2014? If you look to history so far of Peter ONeill’s reign, he doesn’t give any sector of the PNG economy any comfort. Okay O'Neill did an under the table deal with Solwara 1 Project and got paid in the millions and millions more when it is properly licensed (His Environment Minister John “Pretender” Pundari also got paid off but we won’t go there now). That is one industry with uncertain economic implications on our rich tuna and pelagic fishery, and O'Neill cant be on a winner approving that project. ONeill’s history as Chief Advisor and to Right Hand man with Bill Skate as Prime Minister saw this country robbed blind, and they left the economy in tatters. Other subsequent Prime Minister’s have re-built the economy. (The only comfort we can take from Skates era is that Bill was Prime Minister but he really didn’t know how to steal!).
The answer to the above question of life after June 2014 is very clear to me. Peter O'Neill is a parasite, but is not a good parasite. He is an extremely greedy and ambitious parasite. His greed is killing the host. The nation i s already feeling the effects of Peter ONeill’s personal ambition to be a multi-Billionaire at the expense of the 8 million people of PNG in taking out the UBS loan. The merits and demerits of the UBS loan have been sufficiently aired in the media and the overwhelming consensus by all learned economists and experts is that it was an unnecessary and stupid loan, a loan that PNG did not need.
( If you havetime read Dr Patrick Onguglo’s article on this blog on how O'Neill benefited personally).
Allow me to re-cap:
1. Peter O'Neill decided to borrow USD$1.3 Billion from the UBS Bank of Switzerland (same bank that Pius Wingti did the Ragianna deal with).
2. The Loan proceeds of $930 million (approx.) was used to buy 10% of Oil Search shares.
3. Oil search used the share sale proceeds to buy 40% of Interoil’s Elk-Entelope Project.
4. Peter O'Neill pledged a State’s 19% freely owned interest in the LNG Project to UBS ,along with an over-all Sovereign Guarantee pledging all the assets of the State. It goes without saying too that UBS is also holding the share-scripts of the 10% shares O'Neill bought in Oil search.
5. Peter O'Neill did all this without Cabinet approval of Parliamentary approval as required by law. He later sought Cabinet ratification.
6. Peter O'Neill took 19% unencumbered shares of this country in the LNG Project, 19% unencumbered immediate income flow for our gas being exported, and gave that to UBS for ONLY---LISTEN HERE PNG…ONLY 10% of Oil search shares. He has given away our cash income (supposed to be flowing in 2014) for a miserable 10% shares in a company that may or may not declare a dividend! How stupid is that?
7. Peter O'Neill benefited to the tune of USD300 Million (Over K1.2 Billion).
The effects of this stupid decision by one greedy man are beginning to show:
1. Peter O'Neill has borrowed against World Bank & IMF guidelines, and these institutions are very very concerned about the future of our economy. Our Moody's rating has dropped to level never before seen, except during Bill Skate's time.
2. O'Neill has put pressure on our balance of payments and our foreign reserves. We have used up our foreign reserves in interest payments on the UBS loan- which is in hundreds of millions. Now there is barely cover at Bank of PNG to cover 2 weeks trading.
3. The lack of foreign currency availability is driving so many businesses under at the moment. All foreign invoices have been delayed,but for how long? Soon the trading Houses have to cease business.
4. Normal family remittances for foreign workers to their families overseas is almost impossible with restriction by central bank to limit and cap such currency transfers.
5. The exchange rate has fallen, the kina has nose-dived, but is being temporarily and artificially propped up by the Central Bank under direct instructions from O'Neill.
6. When the reality settles in, the people will realize whats going on when the food shelves in the supermarkets get empty, the exchange rate drops to new low, you need more kina to buy the same packet of rice. This will put pressure on wages-(which has already been happening but no one has taken it up yet) of the lower wage earners and public servants on fixed wages.
7. Ok Tedi is not going to produce as much as was projected in the 2014 National Budget. This is already putting its own pressure on the State.
8. Corruption is already on the increase with O'Neill himself lying about not signing the Paul Paraka letter.O'Neill is the Prime Minister of the country. The person holding the highest office in the land ought to be above reproach. He has brought the Office of Prime Minister into disrepute.
9. Why did Peter O'Neill lie? The answer is very simple. He wanted to hang Polye and Marabe, for having made an improper payment. This was his way of getting rid politically these two men who looked smart enough to be a threat to him.
10. Recently, ONeill’s lawyers were arguing in court, the Paul Paraka Bills were legitimate, the approval letter of the PM (after forensic experts in Australia have confirmed that was Oneal's own signature) and the payments by the State were legitimate, therefore, the Prime Minister’s arrest warrant is illegal. This begs the question? Why did the PM lie to Parliament and the nation?
11. The disbanding of Task Force Sweep and compromising the top ranks of the Police Force, leaves two (2) institutions of the State to determine the future of this nation- the Judiciary and the Ombudsman Commission.
12. The people watch and wait with baited breath which way the Chief Ombudsman is going to go. We know Mr Lua was a good friend of O'Neill during his Public Service Commission days. Mr Lua was appointed Chairman of PSC by Mr O'Neill as then Public Service Minister under Somare. Mr Lua was ONeill’s choice to be Chief Ombudsman. The question of whether he will discharge his constitutional duties without fear or favour is yet to be seen. Or will he walk the same road of corruption?
13. The Judiciary is a troublesome one. No government in the history of this country has threatened and compromised the Judiciary to the extent the O'Neill-Nama, and now this O'Neill-Dion government, has. The judiciary has taken it all in its stride and soldiered on discharging its duties under the Constitution. The Chief Justice stood firm despite personal attacks and threats of physical violence by the O'Neill government. Rumors abound of Judges being bought off by big money being carried around at night by the Prime Minister and his henchmen.
14. The Challenge is now in the hands of the Judiciary and the Ombudsman to do their lawful duties. The Courts must discharge justice according to law, without fear or favour, or this country has gone to the dogs. Some of the Judges behave as though they dispense justice from an ivory tower divorced from the realities facing our people. The contrary is true, and they must realize they play an important role in the common welfare of our people and our nation. They must put personal tribal and other interests aside as that is what they swore before God to do.
15. It is clear that Peter O'Neill will not stop at anything or anyone. He will remove or compromise any State institution or Constitutional Officer who stands independently to discharge his duties under the Constitution, that will have the effect of holding him and his cronies to account. He has already demonstrated this toward the Judiciary and recently with Task Force Sweep.
Ordinary citizens must be prepared to take to the streets, stop work, and show your disgust and displeasure publicly on what is going on. Come on PNG, we must not tolerate these thieves. Enough is enough!
