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COUPLED WITH CORRUPT REGIMES, JULIUS CHAN STARTED THE DOWNFALL OF PNG ECONOMY
In my one term of Member of parliament 1992 to 1997 , I , Daniel Bali Tulapi have stood up to Julius Chan ( PM) and foreigners when I was in NEC .
I was sacked by Prime Minister Chan as minister for standing up to him for "telling him what to do in NEC. "
I told PM Chan.. " I submitted a NEC policy to adopt the Saudi Arabia model of hard KINA policy and not to devalue the KINA at the world market currency trade market."
I told National Executive Council (NEC) cabinet not to listen to foreigners and foreign governments. " I said the Kutubu oil when exported will be paid for and purchased by USA our KINA not by USA Dollar.
That means and I said " K 1 = 3 USA Dollars. At that time K1 = 1.5 one Dollar 50 cents USA DOLLAR.
I said we PNG maintain hard KINA policy and adopt Saudi Arabia model of the Riyal currency of Saudi Arabia 1 riyal = 3 USA dollars.
Saudi Arabia was the largest oil exporter in the world at that time. Julius Chan had never being to a proper university so he was listening to Whiteman and foreigner governments.
Because of my stand and opposition he sacked me as minister and devalued our KINA without NEC DECISION AND APPROVAL.
Parliament did not vote to devalue the KINA. I remember Sir Michael Somare from Pangu pati complaining and supporting me as Minister of the Pangu party in Government when Chris Haieveta was Deputy Prime minister and minister for Finance at that time.
The devaluation of the Kina was to manipulate our Kina value and manipulate oil price and today that criminal Julius CHAN one man Decision to float the Kina on world currency market is killing PNG economy and development aspirations.
How can we be borrowing money when we are oil and gas . Copper. Gold exporting nation.
We are richer financially than USA and Australia by our resources.
Today my stand in the cabinet NEC of Prime Minister Julius Chan in 1994, 1995 has now come to haunted PNG. Economic corruption of PNG by foreigners.
We must now by parliament vote remove our Kina from world currency trade market. Parliament must adopt the model I submitted which is the Saudi Arabia Riyal currency model for the export and sales of our oil gas copper gold.
When foreigners buy our oil in Kutubu this is how our Kina will buy more USA Dollar into PNG Economy . K1 = 3 USA Dollars
K 3 billion KINA = 6 billion USA Dollars. That is our foreign reserves in USA Dollars are held by PNG BANK.
I studied Legal aspects of international Finance trade and investment laws. Peter O'niel. Julius Chan and others and accounts and economists in PNG never studied what I studied. They are brainwashed by Australian national university and law schools .
PNG please listen to me Daniel Tulapi and stand up let us fight for Justice and fairness.
In Parliament I stood up as opposition MP and I enacted by private members Tulapi bill "Fairness of transactions Act 1993 "which is PNG LAW to review the ownership of oil gas and copper gold and resources by foreigners and state of PNG.
Being opposition MP to make PNG nation law is heroic and super extra ordinary that no one in PNG PARLIAMENT has ever done and will ever do.
My Tulapi bill Fairness of transactions Act 1993 was voted as PNG LAW without dissent.
Prime Minister Paias and FORMER Ministers Michael Somare. Julius CHAN. Rabie Namaliu. Bill skate. All voted for my opposition Member of parliament 's private bill.
I was born to be leader of a tribe. Village. Province and Papua New Guinea 1000 tribes.
I am not ashamed to declared that I am one of the KINGS of the 1000 tribes of PNG. I will live as a headman and tribe King God has anointed not elected by Whiteman 's election plots.
Foreigners have interfered with me winning elections in SHP since 1997 elections.
In 1997 when I defended my Kagua Erave seat Chevron Texaco USA corrupted the election process and my votes were not counted and I was given Zero votes.
IN 2017 elections I stood on policies to review the Oil and Gas ownership sin SHP.
Oil search and Exxon Mobile and Peter O'niel and Peter Botton interfered and corrupted elections in SHP.
I was given Zero votes because of my policies for GOVERNOR Seat SHP in 2017 elections .
If ever my people of SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS PROVINCE and especially KAGUA ERAVE ELECTORATE give me any opportunity to be elected into PARLIAMENT .
I will correct the laws and foreigner liars and manipulators and give 100% ownership of oil and gas gold copper and all resources to landowners the natives Kanaka tribes PNG.
I will uphold the PNG Constitution that declared all land is customary land ownership . All gold copper oil gas is owned by the customary land owners not government of PNG.
PNG government must collect export . Import. Profit tax and income tax from landowners ownership of oil and gas. That is what USA government DOES today in USA.
Government does not own land and oil gas and copper gold and resources in PNG.
We must do what USA does . Make good fair tax laws.
Government must stop making laws to exploit our village people and stop making unconstitutional oil and gas Act and mineral laws which the constitution does not permit.
May God bless Papua New Guinea
Spoken by Honourable DANIEL BALI TULAPI LLB LLM FORMER MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT and Chairman of Constitution and Laws committee of the National Parliament of PAPUA NEW GUINEA and FORMER First Minister for Development of the Government of Papua New Guinea.
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We finally know the results of Papua New Guinea’s elections
Papua New Guinea’s parliamentary elections took place June 24 to July 8, and there was significant controversy. During the election, officials went on strike in the capital city, Port Moresby, and violence broke out at polling stations in Enga province, where at least 20 people died.
Election officials worked slowly to tally the votes, delaying the announcement of results as a way to protest lack of payment. It wasn’t until late September that the last undeclared seat was filled.
Despite these and other setbacks, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill formed a new government in Papua New Guinea in early August. Here’s what you need to know about this country’s complex voting system.
The electoral contest was particularly crowded
In Papua New Guinea’s ninth election since independence from Australia in 1975, 3,340 candidates ran in races for 111 parliamentary seats. Half of those candidates came from 44 political parties — including 25 new parties registered for this election. The other half of the candidate pool ran as independents.
Papua New Guineans selected their preferred candidates using a complicated voting system inherited from Australia known as the alternative vote. At the polls, voters rank their top three preferred candidates. If no candidate receives the absolute majority (50 percent +1) of first-round votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his or her votes transfer to the remaining second-preference candidates (and so on).
In his research on Papua New Guinea elections, political scientist Ben Reilly found that the alternate vote system encourages moderation in an electorate that would otherwise be divided by ethnic clan structures. Papua New Guinea voters almost always vote for someone in their own clan as their first preference. Majoritarian elections are often decided by which candidate wins more second- and third-preference votes.
The labor and time spent to count votes in an alternative vote system is significant. Although O’Neill formed a government on Aug. 2, there were still 20 empty parliamentary seats. With so many candidates running for so few seats, and because people tend to vote for candidates from their clan, thousands of ballots were exhausted. This means that none of their preferences were elected and their vote was eliminated.
From delays to violence, controversy plagued this election
The Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission briefly suspended voting in Port Moresby when the city’s election manager was arrested on suspicion of bribery in late June. He was found with the equivalent of $60,000 in cash in his car. He and other election officials were also caught with ballots that were already filled in.
The most notable delay in the election was the parliamentary seat that went unfilled until late September, when incumbent William Powi was announced the winner in the constituency representing the Southern Highlands province. Security issues and electoral violence delayed ballot counting.
Election-related violence led to at least 22 deaths in Enga. Students in Lae burned boxes of electoral ballots, protesting against officials bringing only 1,500 ballots while the university’s polling station was meant to serve 5,000 registered voters. Opposition politicians said they thought the current ruling party, in an effort to hold onto power, resorted to violence to distract citizens from voting.
The incoming parliament is lopsided and may be unstable
On Aug. 2, O’Neill was elected prime minister by 60 of Papua New Guinea’s 111 members of parliament — a significant decline from the 93 who elected him five years ago. O’Neill’s party, the People’s National Congress, won 29 seats in this election. Half of O’Neill’s 32-member cabinet come from the People’s National Congress.
The election left women completely out of parliament. Although 167 women were on the ballot, more female candidates than ever before, none were elected. Since 1972, PNG voters have elected only seven women to parliament. The current Papua New Guinea parliament is the first since 1997 without any female representatives.
Independents won 13 percent of the seats. This is similar to the previous parliament, with 14 percent of its members independents. Given, parliament members often switch parties during their term and with the significant number of independent members of parliament, there is potential for parliamentary instability.
Political instability in Papua New Guinea is nothing new. In fact, O’Neill is the only prime minister to retain power for an entire term in office. However, O’Neill’s power in the legislature has declined as his coalition shrunk. This unpredictability may result in “parliamentary supremacy” where the executive branch is beholden to the backbench.
The 2017 election raises questions about election integrity
Political scientists consider Papua New Guinea a model of democracy among developing countries, but problems have threatened the election’s integrity. The voter rolls were from 2012, which meant they were inaccurate and out of date. Some voters had multiple fingers inked, suggesting they voted more than once. And election returns in one province reportedly indicated voter turnout of 145 percent.
Election observers identified multiple needs requiring review before the next election. In addition to specific recommendations to update voter rolls and use higher-quality indelible ink, observers also called for funding the electoral commission earlier, and allowing the commission to deal more efficiently with significant logistics hurdles.
Whether Papua New Guinea is or is not a “model democracy,” the country is also an outlier. Despite peaceful turnovers after every election since 1975, Papua New Guinea has a weak and declining party system. The nation thus stands in contrast to the scholarship that suggests strong political parties sustain democratic institutions.
Political parties in Papua New Guinea seem even weaker after the controversial 2017 elections, and it remains to be seen whether the country will continue to be a beacon of democracy in the developing world.
Zoe Meers is a research assistant at the U.S. Studies Center at the University of Sydney. Follow her on Twitter at @zoe_meers1.
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K3MILLION DPE CVP FUNDS TO KPHL
PNG be informed that the Department of Petroleum & Energy was appropriated from the 100 days supplementary budget through the NEC of K3m to implement the S.47 of the Oil and Gas Act 1998 to compliment S. 167 & 168 benefits to be disbursed across the Png Lng affected Landowners, Provincial Governments and the LLG's.
There are also other associated benefits available in the various agreements (Gas Agreement, UBSA & LBSA). Sadly, the K3m will be transferred to KPHL to run the CVP/LOBID at the interest of DPE acting secretary & may be the responsible Ministers'.
This is a gross abuse of the Public Finance Management Act. KPHL is an entity created to manage the commercial Kroton Equity for PG's & Landowners investment per the UBSA Clause 6 in Kokopo.
Therefore if KPHL is willing to manage this funds, they must call for an immediate NEC review through submissions to transfer the K3m LOBID fund so they can manage this funds. This might be the right way for KPHL to be mandated authority in executing the fund usage.
These funds are earmarked for the integrated Png Lng project License area. If the intention is to offset the bills incurred during the State's commitment of K35m in 2016 in Hides areas then the DPE a/secretary and Minister's must reconsider.
Central Province has received their Royalty benefit after the then DPE Minister Nixon Duban gazetted the G:692 of 2015 under S. 169 of the Oil & Gas Act 1998. The question aftermath of this situation is that only 52% of the 28% from the downstream portion has been received. What will happen to the other 15 license areas in the Png Lng project?
The simple answer is to wait for another funding appropriation through the NEC.What a waste of time for the affected 60 000 plus Landowners in this project. They participated & the State received through Exxon Mobil and yet their benefits will prolong.
Please KPHL is PG and Landowner commercial investment entity and not to be a regulator. Stop duplicating the regulator's functions and let DPE execute according to the Oil and Gas Act 1998.
For this unwise decision by DPE and KPHL management, we landowners will wait for some more years again and we regret more disruption is expected and a reminder to you that project security is paramount as we are talking and we are on the move of this option.
Please, lets help our landowners through DPE and not other third-party entities which are questionable and will be a conflict of interest in terms of favouritism, nepotism in LOBID fund management.
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PNG ON A DRIP
The Member for Moresby North-West, Sir Mekere Morauta, said today that Papua New Guinea is like a patient lying on a sick-bed being drip-fed – one arm with a foreign exchange drip; the other arm with a cash flow drip.
“The patient is likely to get weaker if the drip-feeding continues,” he said. “What the patient needs are large doses of the medicine given in one hit, to allow the patient to recover, gain strength, start walking and begin gardening for the future.
“However, without appropriate action by the Government, it is possible that one or both of the medicine bags will drain completely, endangering the patient’s life.”
Former Prime Minister Morauta said that every fortnight the Government is scratching everywhere to find the K200 million needed to pay public servants’ salaries in full and on time. “I understand that the Government has been milking state-owned agencies such as Kumul Petroleum and the Gaming Board, to enable it to pay fortnightly wages,” he said.
“This is not a solution to the problem. It is just spreading the sickness wider, as raiding these agencies leaves them with less working capital and, in the case of Kumul Petroleum, less money for future investments.”
Sir Mekere said the Government also owes the private sector around K4 billion – over K2 billion to Nambawan Super in unpaid employer contributions and around K2 billion in unpaid bills to companies that have provided goods or services to the Government.
“There are hundreds of public servants, teachers, nurses and police officers who have retired but have not been paid their entitlements from the Government,” he said. “This is simply immoral.
“For the private sector, the debts owed to them by the Government are crippling their businesses. They have already spent money to provide these goods and services, badly depleting working capital which in turn affects the viability and profitability of their current operations – resulting in bankruptcies, reduction in employment and reduction in taxes payable.
“The lack of foreign exchange is also critical. I have been saying this for over a year, but the Prime Minister and the Governor of the central bank keep denying there is a problem. They have gone a bit quiet recently, now that both the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank have finally come out publicly to discuss the threat that the foreign exchange shortage is posing to the economy. The IMF has predicted that even with appropriate intervention, the foreign exchange problem will not be resolved until 2020, assuming the predicted economic growth assumptions are realised.”
Sir Mekere said people must remember that there is a demand backlog of over K2 billion to be cleared, on top of current requirements. The two together pose a very major problem. Papua New Guinea clearly has no ability to meet both.
“Why did the Prime Minister suddenly and secretly sell the nation’s shares in Oil Search – the shares he initially bought illegally, without Parliamentary approval for the loan,” Sir Mekere asked. “He had to sell those shares because the Government could not afford to pay the principal and interest on the loan on time.
“And now he is forcing Oil Search to supply Puma with half of its import requirements and be paid in kina, because Puma cannot get the foreign exchange to pay for its supply. So Oil Search is now a de facto central bank – we have the Bank of Papua New Guinea, and Oil Search. I wonder if the shareholders of Oil Search are fully aware of this sweetheart relationship with the Prime Minister.”
Sir Mekere said the foreign exchange shortage was an additional crippling agent for the private sector. Business turnover has been reduced significantly, as companies cannot get the foreign exchange they need to buy supplies.
The two factors together, arrears and severe foreign exchange shortage, have generated the current recession in the non-mining sector, on which most people depend for income and employment.
“PM, what are you going to do to enable the country to be taken off the drips and function normally,” Sir Mekere asked. “How long are we going to wait for you and your Government to address the problems? 100 Days are over. They have not relieved the pain. The Supplementary Budget is over. It has not provided any solution or set any clear direction that will lead to solving the problems. So how and when?”
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ELUH AS S.H. PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATOR?
by KIN POLOWA
The appointment of former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thomas Eluh, as the Acting Provincial Administrator of Southern Highlands Province will not go down well with many of us who have been following him closely in his commitment to combat corruption as a police officer. He was appointed by the National Executive Council on 2nd November 2017.
The NEC decision comes a week after Mr Eluh’s court challenge against his dismissal from the police force was handed down. Although the National Court Invalidated Police Commissioner Gari Baki’s decision to dismiss Mr Eluh from the Force, the Court refused to reinstate Mr Eluh –which effectively puts Eluh on the street as an ordinary person.
When I heard the NEC decision news, the first thing that came to mind was –Eluh has now been compromised, just like many others. Instead of taking my judgmental rant to social media, as usual, I decided to do some background check on Eluh. You have to know the person and the facts before making quick judgements.
HERE ARE THE FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Mr Eluh is a decorated police officer with an unblemished record for over 40 years. He has prosecutions and CID backgrounds – no ordinary cop! He also got a diploma in Prosecutions.
He was the one who prosecuted Prime Minister Peter O’Neill concerning the NPF saga. He was the one who served the arrest warrant on Prime Minister O’Neill on 16 June 2014 in relation to the ongoing Paraka Lawyers saga. He was the one who arrested and charged the Chief Justice, Sir Salamo Injia pertaining to the deceased estate of late Justice Hinchliffe during the political impasse period between 2011/2012. He was the one who arrested and charged former Prime Minister Bill Skate concerning some fraud at NCDC. So Thomas Eluh is no ordinary cop. He’s got the guts to do his job, even risking his own job.
Eluh is well respected within the constabulary and viewed by many to be the next Commissioner of Police who could restore the constabulary to its glory days.
Since 20th June 2014, only 4 days after he served the arrest warrant on PM O’Neill, Thomas Eluh was removed from his post as the ACP Crimes. Until two weeks ago, he has been on the sidelines of the constabulary. His skills and expertise were never utilized during this period, suffice to give moral support to Mr Matthew Damaru, Timothy Gitua and the National Fraud Squad team to continue with the PM’s arrest warrant case.
Considering Mr Eluh’s history with PM O’Neill, he will be the first person on PM’s list to eliminate as a threat and last person to be rewarded. When the court refused to reinstate Eluh, Eluh was effectively out of the Police Force and had no leverage to bargain for anything. PM would have seized the opportunity to get rid of Eluh for good or at the very least, appoint him to a place where it can be considered as punishment.
Instead, appointing him as PA for SHP, where it really concerns PM personally, not only because it’s his backyard, but more so he lost a substantial portion of his assets?? This doesn’t seem like a punishment to me nor an assignment to take Eluh out of the picture. Eluh was out of the picture anyway when NEC appointed him.
This has prompted me to collect some further insight to this issue.
The protracted counting period over the Provincial Seat of SHP has caused substantial disorder, disharmony and destruction to the province. The discontentment over the declaration has flared into the destruction of properties, loss of lives, the shutdown of vital government services and the situation is still tense up there. The Government decided to announce a call-out but as usual, Police Commissioner Gari Baki still complaining about K3 million to go up there so he can blow it up on hire cars with his cohorts. Even a Call-out cannot restore administrative issues. The Governor and previous Acting PA are taking refuge in Port Moresby and had never been up there since.
It is believed that the NEC was compelled to announce the State of Emergency. However, since SHP was the only province that had SoE’s so far, PM was reluctant to establish one but was inclined to appoint a very strong PA to take charge. It is believed Governor William Powi had a nominee for the PA for SHP but PM strongly objected to the nominee. Instead, PM was searching for a person with military or police background who could take strong command and restore normalcy. Geoffrey Vaki who took the fall for the PM is a likely candidate, as he is currently on the streets doing nothing.
For some reasons, when PM and NEC became aware that Mr Eluh has now been discharged from the Police Force as a consequence of the Court ruling, they made the decision to send him to SHP to restore normalcy as Acting PA.
Having considered the foregoing background, I am in a better position to answer the questions below:
WILL THE APPOINTMENT OF ELUH COMPROMISE PM’S CASE?
Eluh is out of the Police Force. The Supreme Court has heard the challenge to the validity of the PM’s arrest warrant case hence Eluh is in no position to influence the outcome. After the outcome of the Supreme Court decision, it will be up to Police Commissioner Gari Baki to decide.
One might argue that Eluh might still be around to do something but I see diminished chances of official involvement.
SHOULD ELUH REMAIN ON THE STREET JUST BECAUSE HE HATES CORRUPTION?
This is the most unthinkable demand from many ungrateful Papua New Guineans who fail to consider the plight of individuals who are at the forefront of the fight against corruption. These are not anti-corruption robots –they are human beings who’ve got family and day to day needs. Think about how Elah's family had endured for the last three and half years that Eluh was out of the Police Force.
Think about Eluh, though with the best of intentions, could not do anything to combat corruption in a real and meaningful way, because the power to do so was taken away from him. The more he remains outside, he will not be able to use his skills and knowledge to serve this country.
If we wanna see good people do something about corruption, give them jobs to do. It doesn’t matter who appoints them because it depends on the individual to either be his political master’s stooge or watchdog.
Sadly though, politics has blurred the line between administration and politics that it’s easy to infer all top appointments has got more to do with politics and less to do with merits.
WAS ELUH COMPROMISED IN THE APPOINTMENT AS PA?
I’m not privy to any suspicious information other than those publicly available so I cannot speculate. But one thing is for sure – PM appointed someone in Eluh, who is not is a best friend, but someone has trust will restore normalcy in SHP.
Time will tell if PM was genuine with this appointment.
I’m still convinced that Eluh is a man of impeccable standing and it would be very cheap for me to draw unnecessary conclusions on insufficient premises.
SHOULD ELUH ACCEPT THE APPOINTMENT?
The foregoing has led me to say YES. Having someone of his calibre will not only help restore order and administration in SHP but also gives Eluh a better appreciation of administration mattes so that if he, as a professional, can be able to manage other organizations, preferably back as Commissioner of Police, one day.
Eluh is not growing any younger so let’s be mindful that he’s got limited time to give to the country. If he is willing, he should accept the appointment and get his hands once again dirty in doing work.
He is a public servant and is at the disposal of the Government of the day to deploy him anywhere of their choice.
It takes time to build good people up with the appropriate skill sets. Let’s not be quick to destroy and discourage them for we do not have many around.
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AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BLAMES PNG GRASSROOTS FOR CORRUPTION
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in February this year, issued a country report on PNG. One of the issues addressed is corruption.
The old saying that the fish rots from the head down, is reversed by DFAT. They suggest that in PNG, the rot begins at the tail, within grass-roots communities, slowly travelling up the spine, to rot the head – senior politicians and public officials.
This is how the argument is framed by DFAT:
Corruption in PNG takes a number of forms. What outsiders call corruption may often reflect the wantok obligations of the individuals concerned. For example, virtually all politicians need to reward their supporters in material and tangible ways, ranging from providing projects to villages and districts which voted for them, to ensuring contracts are directed towards leading supporters. MPs (and candidates) are also under considerable pressure to assist their constituents pay school fees, funeral costs, bride prices and other expenses. Most PNG citizens accept such practices as being more or less consistent with their expectation of their elected representatives. Politicians who violate the basic understanding – that while they benefit from incumbency, their supporters should receive a share – are unlikely to be re-elected. These practices can create a permissive environment for much more systematic exploitation of the government system for personal benefit, with little or no pay-off for local communities.
Before we single out the Australian government, it ought to be noted other international donors, draw similar conclusions. Take the World Bank:
A particular characteristic of the traditional culture of PNG … is a system of relationships/obligations between individuals connected by a common origin, hailing from the common geographic area, sharing a common kinship and common language … [which] can provide a strong incentive for nepotistic and corrupt practices.
Remember, these views are not inconsequential. The Australian government and World Bank are not only major donors and funders, they also have considerable influence on policy and government action.
How they have managed to see everything upside down is a question for another day. But lets put things the right way up.
First, there is no evidence to support the conclusion that a significant portion of the national population, support politicians or public officials who misappropriate large pots of public money.
Second, wantok relationships, are not a cause of corruption in PNG – this is only a superficial appearance, that disintegrates under scrutiny. Evidence from a vast range of countries, harmed by grand corruption, suggest that close-knit relationships are essential to executing corrupt schemes.
In the UK it may be the ‘old boys’ club, bonded by their time at exclusive private schools such as Eton, while in PNG similar fraternal bonds of closeness and secrecy, may come from family and regional affiliations. The point is, it's not close bonds that cause corruption, rather it's the other way around, those engaging in criminal activities, need closed networks cemented by trust and secrecy. Accordingly, family and friendship, often go hand in hand with corruption.
Third, while there is evidence to support the contention that extended kinship ties are drawn on by aspiring politicians to build a support base for elections, the sort of funds lost to these types of relationship are pretty slender, compared to the resources and funds looted for very different reasons.
Primarily, we see international resource operators, legal firms, construction companies, service providers, and wholesalers, enter PNG because they can earn a rate of profit far in excess of what would be warranted under ordinary market conditions.
Coupled to this, a large cohort of national politicians and business people have emerged, spread across a range of sectors, who have failed to build careers on technological innovation, efficiency improvements or creative inventions – instead, a business culture has taken hold, which devotes the powers of professional creativity to fixing markets, exploiting governance weaknesses, and scamming the taxpayer, consumers and landowners.
Foreign donors and partners have often taken a notably silent stance when it comes to this type of activity. With good reason. First, foreign nationals are frequently key players, especially Australian nationals. Second, many of the illicit gains are syphoned offshore into their jurisdictions, benefiting foreign economies, but not the country in which the wealth was generated. Third, a corrupt national elite is an easily manipulated and controlled elite.
They will not make decisions in the national interest, instead, a corrupted national elite will often sacrifice the national interest, to foreign stakeholders, if the price is right. Such leaders can also be relied on to support initiatives promoted by foreign donors, especially if they are free to vacuum up the spin-off benefits.
It is not surprising the Australian government and World Bank suggest the fish rots from the tail up, their interests lie in maintaining this fiction. Were the head to be lopped off in PNG, metaphorically speaking, the country may not be quite so easily ravaged of its wealth for the benefit of offshore jurisdictions.
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Did the Lands Secretary grant six leases to himself?
In the National Gazette for 15th August 2016, the then Secretary for the Department of Lands, Luther Sipison, published a notice stating that he was granting, apparently to himself, substitute leases over six parcels of land at Erap in Morobe Province.
The leases were each for a term of 99 years with no rent payable and no improvement covenant.
The grant of the leases was subsequently evidenced by an entry in the Titles Register Lease Book.
Is this a case of the Lands Secretary granting leases to himself? If so, there are a number of important questions that need to be answered:
- Why did the Secretary apparently grant the leases to himself?
- How were the rather obvious potential conflicts of interest managed?
- Were the proper notices of the intention to grant the substitute leases ever published?
- Were all the relevant parties consulted including the landowners and previous lessees?
- Are all the relevant documents on file in the Department?
- Are the leases still held by Sipison, or have they been subsequently sold or transferred?
But these are not the only questions raised by the gazette notice; there is also the question of why, in the notice, Sipison used the postal address, P.O.Box 644, Gordons, National Capital District?
That postal address is currently being used, and has been used for a number of years by an Indian national, Nazar Hamer Babu Sabjohn.
Mr Sabjohn is a director and shareholder in the company, Zen Investment Ltd. In official company records, the address P.O. Box 644, Gordons is used as a postal address by Mr Sabjohn, the company itself and his co-director and co-shareholder, Zay Moe from Myanmar.
The address has been used by Zen Investments since the company was registered in 2013 and was used as recently as 18 April 2017, in the company’s Annual Return for 2016 [a copy can be viewed below].
P.O. Box 644, Gordons is also the registered postal address for another company, Aariz Investment Ltd. The sole shareholder and director is again Nazar Hamer Babu SABJOHN, who is also listed at the same postal address.
Similarly, Nazar Hamer Babu Sabjohn uses the address P.O. Box 644, Gordons in the records of Auto Care Limited where he owns 15% of the shares and Yumi Traders Limited, where he owns 25% of the company.
Nazar Hamer Babu Sa[b]john is also a director in N.H. Trading Limited. He was previously also a shareholder in the same company. Again, in the records of N.H. Trading, Mr Sa[b]john uses the address P.O. Box 644, Gordons.
Why, in August 2016, did Mr Sipison issue to himself six substitute leases using a postal address that is shared by the Indian businessman Nazar Hamer Babu Sabjohn?
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INSIDE THE SOMARE BRIBERY SCANDAL
by: PROFESSOR Kristian Lasslett
In 2016 eyes turned to Singapore. Close personal friends of Sir Michael Somare were imprisoned, for among other things, defrauding the PNG public.
It was claimed American national, Philip Doehrman, and his Singaporean wife, Lim Ai Wah, defrauded the country in order to bribe Sir Michael, his son, Michael Somare Jnr, and a number of Chinese business people.
Understandably, at the time, coverage focused on the scandalous nature of the case, given that it implicated the country’s greatest political grandee in a bribery scandal. But the devil is in the detail.
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Image: Sir Michael Somare, one of the nation’s founding figures.
In 2016 eyes turned to Singapore. Close personal friends of Sir Michael Somare were imprisoned, for among other things, defrauding the PNG public.
It was claimed American national, Philip Doehrman, and his Singaporean wife, Lim Ai Wah, defrauded the country in order to bribe Sir Michael, his son, Michael Somare Jnr, and a number of Chinese business people.
Understandably, at the time, coverage focused on the scandalous nature of the case, given that it implicated the country’s greatest political grandee in a bribery scandal. But the devil is in the detail.
For the first time, full access to the court decision is now provided. Delivered by Judge Hong, the decision features evidence which appears to show how elites amass fortunes, through practices that significantly increase the cost of living for the PNG public, and distort how national resources are applied.
The case of Wah and Doehrman centres on a simple and seemingly noble exercise, building colleges catering to marginalised learners. Judge Hong claims this scheme was exploited by its authors, so that a range of actors could take improper cuts from the PNG public. This had the effect of diluting the purchasing power of citizens, while the country’s wealth leaked offshore.
It may be one case. But its dynamics echo dozens more on the record in the National and Supreme Court, alongside Commission of Inquiries. It is yet another window then into how a country as rich and vibrant as PNG, could some forty years after independence, be staring at dashed dreams.
NOBLE PROJECT, DEVIOUS ENDS
According to the Singaporean court, sometime in 2008 a community college project was initiated by the Somare government, ostensibly to address the worthy end of addressing educational underachievement in remote rural areas.
The project aimed to create the infrastructure for classes to be delivered from a central location, then employing wireless digital technology, they could be beamed across PNG to remote classrooms in all 89 districts.
To administer the project, a trust was established – it was known as the ‘Inclusive Education for National Development for Community Education Trust’ (ITE Trust).
Oversight was provided by three Trustees:
Indian national, Father Xavier Alphonse, whose India Centre for Research and Development for Community inspired the project.
Michael Maiwa Somare Jnr, son of the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, and
American national, Philip Doehrman, a close family friend of the Somares.
Doehrman was able to sign contracts on behalf of the trust.
Australian lawyer, Greg Sheppard, through the law firm Young & Williams was responsible for administering the Trust’s funds, and advising it on legal matters. Sheppard is a former Queensland prosecutor and PNG based lawyer, who made headlines in 2015 following an SBS investigation into his practice conducted with Global Witness.
In the project’s opening phase, the Singapore court observed, the ITE Trust awarded contracts to Quest Petroleum (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Quest Investments (PNG) Limited in order to establish the first four colleges using portable containers purchased from Renhe in China. According to Judge Hong, these companies were owned by ITE Trustee, Philip Doehrman, and his wife, Lim Ai Wah, who was involved in the companies’ day to day management.
Lim alleged her husband ‘had the authority to sign all contracts on behalf of the ITE Trust’. She admitted ‘that Doehrman as a trustee of the ITE Trust was buying from her as a supplier’. The court remarked, in this respect, ‘Doehrman, as a trustee, must have known that he should not be involved in a vendor supplier relationship with his wife’.
Judge Hong further added: ‘Lim and Doehrman shared profits from the container sales [used for classrooms and accommodation] between 2008 and 2010, even after Doehrman became a trustee of the ITE Trust in 2008. It is also to be noted that Doehrman held 98.245% of Quest Petroleum’s shares, while Lim held a measly 0.255%’.
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Graph: Quest ownership structure and links with ITE Trust
According to Lim’s testimony, the companies earned a profit margin of between 10 and 30% on the ITE contracts. The money was paid by Young & Williams Lawyers, which managed the ITE Trust’s funds. At the time, Young & Williams partner, Greg Sheppard, was also director at Quest Investments (PNG) Limited.
Official government documents sighted by this author suggest the following costings for the first community college at Marienberg:
*8 x Teachers houses @ K200,000 per house. Total K1,600,000
*2 x 40 men student dormitories @K680,000 per dormitory. Total K1,360,000
*2 x 30 men fully furnished classroom @ K250,000. Total K500,000
*1 x Kitchen and mess hall @ K900,000. Total K900,000
*1 x Boys ablution block @ K50,000. Total K50,0000
*1 x Girls Ablution block @ K50,000. Total K50,000
*Freight costs @ K300,000. Total K300,000
*Parameter fencing @ K500,000. Total K500,000
*Multi-purpose hall @ K500,000. Total K500,000
*Project administration cost @ K3,000,000. Total K3,000,000
Total: K8,760,000
It is unclear from these records, if Quest Petroleum or Quest Investments, received all or part of the budgeted sum.
Nevertheless, by 2010 the company’s profit margins from the contract is said to have reached 49%. Then the project entered a new and much more ambitious phase.
'NO ONE SHOULD TAKE MORE THAN PM'
The community college project’s second phase saw it expand in size, as the ITE Trust sort to establish 13 more community colleges. Funding was secured through a Chinese EX-IM bank loan in the amount of US$ 35 million.
It was a loan condition that a Chinese company would be awarded the contract to oversee the second phase of the community college project. The controversial multinational, ZTE Corporation, was selected by ITE Trust to conduct the second phase of the project at a price tag of US$38,814,065.00. Last year ZTE Corporation was blacklisted by Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund over risks of ‘severe corruption’.
In order to secure this lucrative contract, Singaporean prosecutors alleged that ZTE Corporation paid bribes to PNG government officials, and certain fixers – including Doehrman and Lim – who helped set up the award. The bribe was evidently disguised through a British Virgin Islands (BVI) shell company and a sham work contract.
Lim claimed she set up the offshore company at the request of ZTE official, Stephen Li Weiming: ‘He told me that his bosses did not want to make any payments to Quest Petroleum [in Singapore] and wanted a BVI company’.
Judge Hong concluded this offshore vehicle was set up to manage a secret slush fund, that would be used to pay off decision makers.
![]()
Image: The British Virgin Islands are renowned for offering clients corporate secrecy.
Questzone director Lim Ai Wah claimed:
I understand that ZTE have to pay the PM, PNG in order to get the work in Papua New Guinea … if you don’t pay to the PM, PNG you will not be able to get business from Papua New Guinea.
Drawing on the evidence, Judge Hong claimed that the beneficiaries of this US$3.6 million fund, included:
ITE Trustee Philip Doehrman
Lim Ai Wah, the wife of Doehrman
ZTE manager Stephen Li Weiming
Prime Minister Michael Somare Snr
Michael Somare Jnr
Some of the US$ 3.6 million was also evidently set aside as a contingency fund to bribe PNG officials, who might otherwise block the community college contract with ZTE.
Oral evidence provided by Philip Doehrman – if accurate – offers a revealing insight into the considerable cost inflation the PNG public endures, as a result of politicians and public officials seeking bribes in order to award and action contracts, which have often been struck on extremely unfavourable terms, much to the profit of corporate suppliers.
With respect to the ZTE deal, Doehrman claimed:
According to Doehrman, this is symptomatic of a virulent rent-seeking culture in the PNG government. Public officials, and politicians, he argues often wont action agreements until a bribe has been paid. Doehrman recalled:
When dividing up the US$3.6 million, Doehrman claims Sir Michael was adamant – he and his son, were to receive the largest share:
The agreement was that no one should take more than PM and son combined, there was discussion on compensation to [Lim] Ai Wah due to the business opportunity loss as initially we were the ones arranging to source for the equipments for the project. The percentage for PM was 12.5% and his son was 12.5% [i.e. 25% of the USD$3.6 million]. It was agreed that compensation to Ai Wah should not be more than the share of the PM or his son.
In total, US$784,000, was paid from Questzone Offshore’s Standard Chartered Bank account, into the Standard Chartered Bank account of Sir Michael Somare, evidently for his own benefit, and his son’s benefit – who was also an ITE trustee.
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Graph: Payments from Questzone’s Standard Chartered Bank account
According to the Court, cheque stubs made out to Somare stated ‘Boss, services rendered’ and ‘Boss, oil search redemption’. The court concluded this was again an attempt to disguise the ‘true nature of the payment’.
Doehrman’s wife, Lim Ai Wah, indicated in her evidence to prosecutors that a similar system of corruption prevails in China. As a result, some of the ‘contingency’ fund was allegedly paid over to secure the EX-IM bank loan. She told Singaporean authorities: ‘I understand that [Stephen Li Weiming] needed to give his boss money so as to facilitate the loan from EXIM, China’. However, Lim later disowned this statement.
The court nonetheless concluded: ‘In my view, these [statements by Doehrman and Lim] were clear references to bribes. When asked about one Dominic Diya who demanded money, Greg Sheppard admitted it was bribery’.
Judge Hong continued:
U-KONEKT ALLEGATIONS
During the court proceeding, a number of serious allegations were also directed at U-Konekt Technologies, a company led by Julius Kera, which also profited from the community college project.
Kera, Judge Hong observed, had acted as a legal consultant to Quest Investments and Quest Petroleum. He even agreed to sign the Questzone-ZTE contract, a move Judge Hong concluded, was designed to conceal the conflict of interest this contract involved. In court, Judge Hong described Kera as ‘evasive’ and lacking in credibility.
With respect to U-Konekt, its shareholders include a range of companies, with owners that raise eyebrows:
P’ Oceania Resources Management Limited (20%) – owned by Julius Kera.
Quest Investments (PNG) Limited (20%) –owned by Philip Doehrman (50%) and Lim Ai Wah (50%).
Questicsys Limited (10%) – owned by Julius Kera (100%).
Koniye Enterprises Ltd (20%) – owned by Roger Maginde (17%) and Pauwe Maginde (83%).
PNGUKT Holdings Limited (20%) – owned by Julius Kera (100%).
Saet Ltd (5%) – owned by Michael Maiwa Somare (100%). Directors were Michael Thomas Somare (09/11/2007 – 28/3/2011), Betha Somare (09/11/2007 – 6/5/2016) and Michael Maiwa Somare (30/5/2007 – current)
ITE Trust (5%). Trustees include Father Xavier Alphonse, Philip Doehrman and Michael Maiwa Somare. Legal advisor includes, Greg Sheppard.
Its directors include:
Julius Kera (appointed 14/10/2011), and
Bonnie Kainge (appointed 6/9/2010).
The company secretaries are:
Julius Kera (13/1/2009 – 29/6/2011 & 14/10/2011 – current) and
Gregory Sheppard (29/6/2011 – current).
The company’s registered business address is Young & Williams Lawyers, Ground & 1st Floor, Investwell Building.
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Graph: U-Konekt Technologies ownership structure
According to the former Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of the company, ZTE sub-contracted U-Konekt to ‘install containers and establish parts of Wimax, a wireless network’, for the community college project. A contract was evidently signed with ZTE in June 2010 to provide this service.
However, the CTO made three allegations. It was claimed:
ITE Trust invested in the company, at a time when Doehrman held a beneficial interest, creating a conflict of interest.
Julius Kera embezzled approximately K1 million from the company.
The company doubled dipped, after it was paid by ZTE and ITE Trust for the same contract. He points to company minutes recorded on 14/11/2011
As this was not central to the prosecution’s case, these allegations were not deliberated upon in the court’s decision. It is impossible, therefore, to verify whether the company double dipped, or if money was embezzled.
However, it can be said more confidently, that ITE Trust paid ZTE Corporation US$38 million. ZTE then subcontracted U-Konekt for part of the project. U-Konekt’s beneficial owners included two ITE trustees, Philip Doehrman and Michael Somare Jnr. Additionally, U-Konekt appointed ITE legal adviser, Greg Sheppard, as its Company Secretary on 29/6/2011.
THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE?
Judge Hong observed:
In his decision Judge Hong points the finger at several PNG nationals who are alleged to have benefited from the proceeds of crime, including:
Sir Michael Somare Snr, who was the PNG Prime Minister at the time.
Michael Somare Jnr, who was an ITE trustee at the time.
This is not an accusation levelled by an anonymous individual on social media, unsupported by evidence, this is a finding of fact by a Judge, after reviewing a considerable body of evidence and testimony, in a context where the onus of proof was set at the highest level possible.
It has been over twelve months since Judge Hong delivered his decision. Given the seriousness of the allegations, the credibility of the judicial authority, and the stature of those accused, clearly it is of vital interest to democracy that the Government of Papua New Guinea disclose publicly what actions have been taken to investigate the role Somare Snr and Jnr played in this bribery scandal.
The PNG public also deserves to know whether a prosecution will take place or not.
If a decision is made not to prosecute, the public then deserve a full account explaining why.
Sir Michael himself stated in September last year that ‘I will consult with my family and legal counsel and consider how to address this matter’. He denies ever taking a bribe or inducement.
If Sir Michael believes that two close family friends have been imprisoned in Singapore on the basis of fraudulent evidence, or a grave miscarriage of justice, surely he has a responsibility to come forward publicly with exonerating evidence to free Doehrman and his wife, and to clear the Prime Minister’s Office of the stigma attached to it by the Singapore decision.
In addition to the above, Judge Hong cited testimony implicating PNG lawyer Julius Kera in misconduct. These allegations must also be followed up on.
It must be established once and for all whether this was in fact a truly laudable project abused by a number senior business and political figures, or whether it was only ever a palatable fig leaf designed to conceal the plundering of public moneys.
Lamentably the body best positioned to establish these facts, an ICAC promised by Peter O’Neill back in 2011, is on permanent hold. While the slated interim office chief, Rtd Judge Graham Ellis, has it appears been defacto disinvited.
The matter is thus left to a resource strapped anti-fraud squad to investigate – given the silence to date, it would seem optimistic to anticipate any more than a damp squib from the national government.
The case of Wah and Doehrman centres on a simple and seemingly noble exercise, building colleges catering to marginalised learners. Judge Hong claims this scheme was exploited by its authors, so that a range of actors could take improper cuts from the PNG public. This had the effect of diluting the purchasing power of citizens, while the country’s wealth leaked offshore.
It may be one case. But its dynamics echo dozens more on the record in the National and Supreme Court, alongside Commission of Inquiries. It is yet another window then into how a country as rich and vibrant as PNG, could some forty years after independence, be staring at dashed dreams.
NOBLE PROJECT, DEVIOUS ENDS
According to the Singaporean court, sometime in 2008 a community college project was initiated by the Somare government, ostensibly to address the worthy end of addressing educational underachievement in remote rural areas.
The project aimed to create the infrastructure for classes to be delivered from a central location, then employing wireless digital technology, they could be beamed across PNG to remote classrooms in all 89 districts.
To administer the project, a trust was established – it was known as the ‘Inclusive Education for National Development for Community Education Trust’ (ITE Trust).
Oversight was provided by three Trustees:
Indian national, Father Xavier Alphonse, whose India Centre for Research and Development for Community inspired the project.
Michael Maiwa Somare Jnr, son of the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, and
American national, Philip Doehrman, a close family friend of the Somares.
Doehrman was able to sign contracts on behalf of the trust.
Australian lawyer, Greg Sheppard, through the law firm Young & Williams was responsible for administering the Trust’s funds, and advising it on legal matters. Sheppard is a former Queensland prosecutor and PNG based lawyer, who made headlines in 2015 following an SBS investigation into his practice conducted with Global Witness.
In the project’s opening phase, the Singapore court observed, the ITE Trust awarded contracts to Quest Petroleum (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Quest Investments (PNG) Limited in order to establish the first four colleges using portable containers purchased from Renhe in China. According to Judge Hong, these companies were owned by ITE Trustee, Philip Doehrman, and his wife, Lim Ai Wah, who was involved in the companies’ day to day management.
Lim alleged her husband ‘had the authority to sign all contracts on behalf of the ITE Trust’. She admitted ‘that Doehrman as a trustee of the ITE Trust was buying from her as a supplier’. The court remarked, in this respect, ‘Doehrman, as a trustee, must have known that he should not be involved in a vendor supplier relationship with his wife’.
Judge Hong further added: ‘Lim and Doehrman shared profits from the container sales [used for classrooms and accommodation] between 2008 and 2010, even after Doehrman became a trustee of the ITE Trust in 2008. It is also to be noted that Doehrman held 98.245% of Quest Petroleum’s shares, while Lim held a measly 0.255%’.
Graph: Quest ownership structure and links with ITE Trust
According to Lim’s testimony, the companies earned a profit margin of between 10 and 30% on the ITE contracts. The money was paid by Young & Williams Lawyers, which managed the ITE Trust’s funds. At the time, Young & Williams partner, Greg Sheppard, was also director at Quest Investments (PNG) Limited.
Official government documents sighted by this author suggest the following costings for the first community college at Marienberg:
*8 x Teachers houses @ K200,000 per house. Total K1,600,000
*2 x 40 men student dormitories @K680,000 per dormitory. Total K1,360,000
*2 x 30 men fully furnished classroom @ K250,000. Total K500,000
*1 x Kitchen and mess hall @ K900,000. Total K900,000
*1 x Boys ablution block @ K50,000. Total K50,0000
*1 x Girls Ablution block @ K50,000. Total K50,000
*Freight costs @ K300,000. Total K300,000
*Parameter fencing @ K500,000. Total K500,000
*Multi-purpose hall @ K500,000. Total K500,000
*Project administration cost @ K3,000,000. Total K3,000,000
Total: K8,760,000
It is unclear from these records, if Quest Petroleum or Quest Investments, received all or part of the budgeted sum.
Nevertheless, by 2010 the company’s profit margins from the contract is said to have reached 49%. Then the project entered a new and much more ambitious phase.
'NO ONE SHOULD TAKE MORE THAN PM'
The community college project’s second phase saw it expand in size, as the ITE Trust sort to establish 13 more community colleges. Funding was secured through a Chinese EX-IM bank loan in the amount of US$ 35 million.
It was a loan condition that a Chinese company would be awarded the contract to oversee the second phase of the community college project. The controversial multinational, ZTE Corporation, was selected by ITE Trust to conduct the second phase of the project at a price tag of US$38,814,065.00. Last year ZTE Corporation was blacklisted by Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund over risks of ‘severe corruption’.
In order to secure this lucrative contract, Singaporean prosecutors alleged that ZTE Corporation paid bribes to PNG government officials, and certain fixers – including Doehrman and Lim – who helped set up the award. The bribe was evidently disguised through a British Virgin Islands (BVI) shell company and a sham work contract.
Lim claimed she set up the offshore company at the request of ZTE official, Stephen Li Weiming: ‘He told me that his bosses did not want to make any payments to Quest Petroleum [in Singapore] and wanted a BVI company’.
Judge Hong concluded this offshore vehicle was set up to manage a secret slush fund, that would be used to pay off decision makers.
Image: The British Virgin Islands are renowned for offering clients corporate secrecy.
Questzone director Lim Ai Wah claimed:
I understand that ZTE have to pay the PM, PNG in order to get the work in Papua New Guinea … if you don’t pay to the PM, PNG you will not be able to get business from Papua New Guinea.
Drawing on the evidence, Judge Hong claimed that the beneficiaries of this US$3.6 million fund, included:
ITE Trustee Philip Doehrman
Lim Ai Wah, the wife of Doehrman
ZTE manager Stephen Li Weiming
Prime Minister Michael Somare Snr
Michael Somare Jnr
Some of the US$ 3.6 million was also evidently set aside as a contingency fund to bribe PNG officials, who might otherwise block the community college contract with ZTE.
Oral evidence provided by Philip Doehrman – if accurate – offers a revealing insight into the considerable cost inflation the PNG public endures, as a result of politicians and public officials seeking bribes in order to award and action contracts, which have often been struck on extremely unfavourable terms, much to the profit of corporate suppliers.
With respect to the ZTE deal, Doehrman claimed:
I am aware that the money to be paid to PM PNG was a form of gift to him by ZTE Corporation so that the operations of the contract would be smooth and that part of the monies [USD$3.6 million] would be used to pay PNG officials in the course of their dealings with ZTE Corporation in PNG as and when the officials demand for it.
According to Doehrman, this is symptomatic of a virulent rent-seeking culture in the PNG government. Public officials, and politicians, he argues often wont action agreements until a bribe has been paid. Doehrman recalled:
… [T]here were PNG government officials who would demand monies from us before they would do their jobs and hence we need to set aside such contingency funds for such demands for monies from government officials and presently demanding for more and more as we are near sign off, in particular one request for up to USD 5 million by Ambassador Dominic Diya which was reduced to USD 1 million.
When dividing up the US$3.6 million, Doehrman claims Sir Michael was adamant – he and his son, were to receive the largest share:
The agreement was that no one should take more than PM and son combined, there was discussion on compensation to [Lim] Ai Wah due to the business opportunity loss as initially we were the ones arranging to source for the equipments for the project. The percentage for PM was 12.5% and his son was 12.5% [i.e. 25% of the USD$3.6 million]. It was agreed that compensation to Ai Wah should not be more than the share of the PM or his son.
In total, US$784,000, was paid from Questzone Offshore’s Standard Chartered Bank account, into the Standard Chartered Bank account of Sir Michael Somare, evidently for his own benefit, and his son’s benefit – who was also an ITE trustee.
Graph: Payments from Questzone’s Standard Chartered Bank account
According to the Court, cheque stubs made out to Somare stated ‘Boss, services rendered’ and ‘Boss, oil search redemption’. The court concluded this was again an attempt to disguise the ‘true nature of the payment’.
Doehrman’s wife, Lim Ai Wah, indicated in her evidence to prosecutors that a similar system of corruption prevails in China. As a result, some of the ‘contingency’ fund was allegedly paid over to secure the EX-IM bank loan. She told Singaporean authorities: ‘I understand that [Stephen Li Weiming] needed to give his boss money so as to facilitate the loan from EXIM, China’. However, Lim later disowned this statement.
The court nonetheless concluded: ‘In my view, these [statements by Doehrman and Lim] were clear references to bribes. When asked about one Dominic Diya who demanded money, Greg Sheppard admitted it was bribery’.
Judge Hong added:
… there was clearly deviousness or surreptitious planning involved and the falsifications were undeniably committed for Lim and Doehrman’s personal gains. They admitted that they intended to use the Questzone funds for their new home in Singapore. Part of the ill-gotten monies were also used to bribe PNG politician and officials. Doehrman’s flagrant and repeated breaches of fiduciary duties as a trustee of the ITE Trust made him more culpable than Lim in this criminal enterprise.
Judge Hong continued:
I agreed with the Prosecution that “Doehrman had the technical knowledge and the relationships with Li Weiming (“Li”) and Somare. Under the cloak of purported charitable good works, Doehrman got himself appointed as an ‘independent’ consultant to Somare and a Trustee of the Trust, and was instrumental in Quest Petroleum acquiring the self-advancing business of supplying containerized classrooms to the Trust, and reached an agreement with Li on securing the corrupt payment of US$3.6m from ZTE. Thirdly, his own handwritten evidence shows that Doehrman, Lim and Li determined the distribution of part of the US$3.6m to Doehrman and Lim, Li and Somare. Lim was either a pawn acting on instructions of her husband or, at its highest, an equal partner who participated in every aspect of the criminal scheme devised by Doehrman”.
U-KONEKT ALLEGATIONS
During the court proceeding, a number of serious allegations were also directed at U-Konekt Technologies, a company led by Julius Kera, which also profited from the community college project.
Kera, Judge Hong observed, had acted as a legal consultant to Quest Investments and Quest Petroleum. He even agreed to sign the Questzone-ZTE contract, a move Judge Hong concluded, was designed to conceal the conflict of interest this contract involved. In court, Judge Hong described Kera as ‘evasive’ and lacking in credibility.
With respect to U-Konekt, its shareholders include a range of companies, with owners that raise eyebrows:
P’ Oceania Resources Management Limited (20%) – owned by Julius Kera.
Quest Investments (PNG) Limited (20%) –owned by Philip Doehrman (50%) and Lim Ai Wah (50%).
Questicsys Limited (10%) – owned by Julius Kera (100%).
Koniye Enterprises Ltd (20%) – owned by Roger Maginde (17%) and Pauwe Maginde (83%).
PNGUKT Holdings Limited (20%) – owned by Julius Kera (100%).
Saet Ltd (5%) – owned by Michael Maiwa Somare (100%). Directors were Michael Thomas Somare (09/11/2007 – 28/3/2011), Betha Somare (09/11/2007 – 6/5/2016) and Michael Maiwa Somare (30/5/2007 – current)
ITE Trust (5%). Trustees include Father Xavier Alphonse, Philip Doehrman and Michael Maiwa Somare. Legal advisor includes, Greg Sheppard.
Its directors include:
Julius Kera (appointed 14/10/2011), and
Bonnie Kainge (appointed 6/9/2010).
The company secretaries are:
Julius Kera (13/1/2009 – 29/6/2011 & 14/10/2011 – current) and
Gregory Sheppard (29/6/2011 – current).
The company’s registered business address is Young & Williams Lawyers, Ground & 1st Floor, Investwell Building.
Graph: U-Konekt Technologies ownership structure
According to the former Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of the company, ZTE sub-contracted U-Konekt to ‘install containers and establish parts of Wimax, a wireless network’, for the community college project. A contract was evidently signed with ZTE in June 2010 to provide this service.
However, the CTO made three allegations. It was claimed:
ITE Trust invested in the company, at a time when Doehrman held a beneficial interest, creating a conflict of interest.
Julius Kera embezzled approximately K1 million from the company.
The company doubled dipped, after it was paid by ZTE and ITE Trust for the same contract. He points to company minutes recorded on 14/11/2011
As this was not central to the prosecution’s case, these allegations were not deliberated upon in the court’s decision. It is impossible, therefore, to verify whether the company double dipped, or if money was embezzled.
However, it can be said more confidently, that ITE Trust paid ZTE Corporation US$38 million. ZTE then subcontracted U-Konekt for part of the project. U-Konekt’s beneficial owners included two ITE trustees, Philip Doehrman and Michael Somare Jnr. Additionally, U-Konekt appointed ITE legal adviser, Greg Sheppard, as its Company Secretary on 29/6/2011.
THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE?
Judge Hong observed:
The ITE Trust was founded with the aim of including the excluded by providing accessible education to students in rural areas. What the accused persons have done was to take a significant cut of the public funds in the ITE Trust for pure personal gains.
In his decision Judge Hong points the finger at several PNG nationals who are alleged to have benefited from the proceeds of crime, including:
Sir Michael Somare Snr, who was the PNG Prime Minister at the time.
Michael Somare Jnr, who was an ITE trustee at the time.
This is not an accusation levelled by an anonymous individual on social media, unsupported by evidence, this is a finding of fact by a Judge, after reviewing a considerable body of evidence and testimony, in a context where the onus of proof was set at the highest level possible.
It has been over twelve months since Judge Hong delivered his decision. Given the seriousness of the allegations, the credibility of the judicial authority, and the stature of those accused, clearly it is of vital interest to democracy that the Government of Papua New Guinea disclose publicly what actions have been taken to investigate the role Somare Snr and Jnr played in this bribery scandal.
The PNG public also deserves to know whether a prosecution will take place or not.
If a decision is made not to prosecute, the public then deserve a full account explaining why.
Sir Michael himself stated in September last year that ‘I will consult with my family and legal counsel and consider how to address this matter’. He denies ever taking a bribe or inducement.
If Sir Michael believes that two close family friends have been imprisoned in Singapore on the basis of fraudulent evidence, or a grave miscarriage of justice, surely he has a responsibility to come forward publicly with exonerating evidence to free Doehrman and his wife, and to clear the Prime Minister’s Office of the stigma attached to it by the Singapore decision.
In addition to the above, Judge Hong cited testimony implicating PNG lawyer Julius Kera in misconduct. These allegations must also be followed up on.
It must be established once and for all whether this was in fact a truly laudable project abused by a number senior business and political figures, or whether it was only ever a palatable fig leaf designed to conceal the plundering of public moneys.
Lamentably the body best positioned to establish these facts, an ICAC promised by Peter O’Neill back in 2011, is on permanent hold. While the slated interim office chief, Rtd Judge Graham Ellis, has it appears been defacto disinvited.
The matter is thus left to a resource strapped anti-fraud squad to investigate – given the silence to date, it would seem optimistic to anticipate any more than a damp squib from the national government.
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Manumanu Land Deal: Aftermath
Manumanu Land Deal: Aftermath The Manumanu Land deal issue has subsided through time and all stakeholders affected have seemed to move on, the dust has settled. Let me refresh your memories on the issues again. The purported Manumanu Land Deal (MLD) for the relocation of the PNG Defense Force is alleged to involve five different transactions totalling an amount of K46 million. However, the dealings did not comply with established processes.
The MLD issue was raised in Parliament by Member for Kairuku –Hiri, Peter Isoaimo that eventually led to the sidelining of 2 Senior Ministers and suspension of 6 Departmental heads, CEO of State Owned Enterprise and chairman of CSTB. In a media statement on the 6th of February 2017 PM, O’Neil had announced a Commission of Inquiry (COI) headed by a retired Judge to investigate the claims made, referred the matter to the National Fraud Squad and the Ombudsman Commission also for potential breaches of the Leadership Code.
He further promised to return the land to the customary landowners. Investigations The COI established was later downgraded to an Administrative Inquiry headed by Queens Counsel John Griffin which was supposed to take 4 weeks to complete at a cost of K2 million with the report to be presented to the Parliament on 28th of March 2017. These inquiries were to look at the roles of Ministers, the responsibilities of Departmental heads and its officers and heads of various SOE’s. This report was never made available in the March sitting of Parliament.
To date, the outcome of Administrative Inquiry, National Fraud Squad and the Ombudsman Commission’s is yet to be made public. Appointment of Ministers Duma and Pok Member for Hagen Central William Duma and Member for North Whagi Fabian Pok were appointed Ministers’ for State Owned Enterprise and Defense respectively in the 10th Parliament. The irony is that both Ministers were sidelined in the 9th Parliament over the controversial issue of MLD. When PM O’Neil was questioned about these appointments by Member for North Fly James Donald MP, the PM defended the appointments by stating that there was no point in preempting the outcomes of the Administrative Inquiry, all citizens are innocent until proven guilty and so as mandated leaders they are entitled to occupy positions.
PM O’Neil has clearly backflipped from his earlier statement on the 7th of March 2017, in which he stated that the two Ministers and other departmental heads remain suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry. What about the Suspended Senior Gov’t Officials? These senior Government officials have built their career over time and were appointed to be heads of respective Departments and Organizations based on their qualifications and merit. These include Mr Luther Sipison Lands Secretary, Mr Daniel Rolpagarea State Solicitor, Mr Joe Wemin CEO MVIL and late Defense Secretary Mr Vali Asi. If PM O’Neil has retracted and bent on his earlier decisions to appoint William Duma MP and Fabian Pok MP as Ministers, in all fairness PM O’Neil must uniformly lift the suspension and reinstate all Senior officials concerned.
The CEO of MVIL Mr Joe Wemin was the Inaugural recipient of the Prime Minister’s Excellence Award in 2015 and was deemed to be one of the best performing CEOs of the State Owned Enterprise (SOE). With his stewardship, he has revamped MVIL from a cash-strapped SOE since its establishment to one that has paid handsome dividends to its Shareholder, last year alone MVIL paid more than K35 million to the Government of PNG. Inaccuracy in Suspension of CEO MVIL. All CEO’s of SOE’s have limited powers to make financial decisions, its Board of Directors does, likewise MVIL. Contrastingly Departmental Heads and Provincial Administrators have financial autonomy. The CEO reports to the Board unlike the Secretaries that reports directly to Minister responsible. Board of Directors decisions are independent of CEO’s influence.
The Board of the MVIL has the necessary authority, competencies and objectivity to carry out functions of strategic guidance and monitoring of management. It should act with integrity and be held accountable for their actions. If the PM needs to implicate anyone in MVIL, it should be the Board and its Directors. However, this Board has provided prudent management and guidance and taken control of expenditures well in order to make profits and pay dividends as required.
Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) is a trustee owner of all SOE’s as such all dividends are paid to KCH. One of KCH objective is to enter into and perform financial and other arrangements that in the opinion of the Corporation have as their objective for the development of the State or any part thereof. Therefore, the decision to enter into the MLD was done with the approval of the KCH Board supported by Minister Duma as Minister responsible. Then again, if someone is to be suspended and implicated, clearly it has to be the KCH Chairman and its Board.
The suspension of Mr Joe Wemin is illogical and absurd, one may assume that PM O’Neil was ill-advised on the operational aspects of SOE’s hence his suspension. Review Decision Since PM O’Neil is adamant that both Ministers Duma and Pok are innocent until proven guilty, it is his responsibility to pass fair judgment on all Senior Government officials suspended and to reinstate henceforth. Once the report from the Administrative Inquiry, National Fraud Squad and Ombudsman is ready, the recommendations can be acted upon swiftly.
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O'NEIL AVOIDS QUESTION ON EVIDENCE OF FRAUD
This morning I put the question to Prime Minister Peter O'Neill who I should submit evidence to establish he had misused public funds.
On account I had material evidence supporting the view he was guilty of conspiring with the former Member of Madang and a key member in his party to commit bribery and undue influence during 2012 General Elections.
My question was in response to O'Neill's statement the day before in Parliament when responding to Member of North West Sir Mekere Moratua. O'Neill announced to Parliament that he would resign should the opposition produce a single shred of evidence that he has misused or benefited from a single toea of public funds.
In March 2012 Peter O'Neill signed a letter in his capacity as Prime Minister to the then Chairman of Gaming Board instructing that the Board consider funding Yagaum Rural Hospital's project submission.
Gaming Board issued a K300,000 cheque payable to Yagaum Rural Hospital. The former Member Madang Open Nixon Duban who was then General Secretary of Prime Ministers People's National Congress Party and staff member of Prime Minister used the cheque to bribe and unduely influence voters during the 2012 General Elections for Madang Open Seat.
Duban was declared the winner of the election. I filed an election petition challenging the result.
On 3 June 2013 the National Court found Duban guilty of bribery and undue influence. The Court made the following findings
para 108 "A relevant matter to note is that the funds were secured personally by Prime Minister from the Gaming Board" The special relationship between the Prime Minister and the first respondent (Duban) lends supports to the view that presentation of the cheque to Yagaum Hospital on the eve of the general election was politically motivated."
para 109 "Further, the cheque was secured personally by Prime Minister under whose party the first respondent (Duban) stood for the 2012 general elections. All these factors point to one conclusion, viz the presentation of the K300,000 cheque to Yagaum Hospital on 11 June 2012 was to induce voters"
para 116 This in my opinion, was a act of Fraud by the First Respondent (Duban) in that he deliberately and dishonestly did not disclose the source of K300,000 cheque. This inference is supported by the fact that he tried to engage a private company associated with him, namely Red Rock Ltd to carry out the infrastructure development for Yagaum."
(Red Rock is owned by Garret Samuel Kising the then PNC President for Momase).
So Duban was found guilty of committing bribery and undue influence after presenting a Gaming Board cheque in the height of the 2012 General Election in a scheme to help him get elected. The cheque was procured (secured) through the office of Prime Minister.
The key question is whether it was done with the knowledge and authority of the Prime Minister. In that O'Neill was a party to the crime in a effort to help Duban get elected?
Well I have audio recording inferring he did and therefore guilty of the same crime.
This explains why O'Neill avoided answering my question in relation to who I should submit the evidence to trigger his resignation as the stated he would do on the floor of parliament.
It was obvious he was distressed and struggled to provide a direct answer instead making the comment I should be thankful the former Member of Madang has withdrawn his election petition against me and I should focus on serving the people.
In part 2 I will discuss the audio recording that supports the view that Duban acted with O'Neill's knowledge and authority. I will also post copy of the letter, cheque and National Court judgement.
What the Prime Minister needs to appreciate is that this matter is not going away anytime soon. Further still this will certainly be an interesting 10th Parliament.
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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: THE PACIFIC'S NEW HAITI
With improvements in Health, Wealth, Education and Justice in the 20th and 21st Century most countries in the world have to a large extent moved on from accusing and burning of witches in medieval Europe to accepting Wica (witchcraft) and sorcery in the west as mere “curiosities” that in reality are non-existent extensions of a warped mind.
However, in few emerging (or ‘yet to emerge’) states where poverty and social oppression within an environment plagued with deficiencies in Health, Wealth Education and Justice, there continue to be strong beliefs in witchcraft, sorcery and the occult. This is because the people find comfort in the supernatural to explain their ill fates because of their ignorance or deficiency in explaining the causes of deaths, loss of jobs, exam failures, passing the blame, bad luck, bad weather patterns, and crop failures, are all easily explained by Science nowadays.
There is a regression in society’s development with people embracing their ancestral supernatural beliefs and practices and adapting that to the modern settings. The Mass Hysteria and Adrenaline rush of Initiation Rites and Sanguma “Kangaroo Courts” against a backdrop of an environment devoid of the trappings of a good health, wealth, education and justice is complicit in ensuring that even the most educated of Papua New Guineans accept and participate in these beliefs. Police, magistrates, leaders and the educated are now no different than the ignorant in the propagation of this vicious cycle of beliefs.
Thumbs up to the Simbu culture of Sanguma (an imported brand) which has spread like wildfire throughout the settlements to the other highlands cultures and now into the highlands provinces and now the country. The coastal societies have their own brand of similar cultural concepts; Paipai of Milne Bay, Garamofa of the Markham and more which developed to explained what they cannot explain. All these cultures are now merging into the concept of Sanguma initiated by the Simbus.
Quite similar to the Congolese Voodoo religious culture which when brought to America by the West African slaves was merged with Catholicism and evolved into the modern day Voodoo religion. In Haiti ‘The elites preferred to view it as folklore in an attempt to render it relatively harmless as a curiosity that might continue to inspire music and dance…”. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere spurned initially by poor slaves after their revolt against their French masters and spurred on by the oppressive dictatorship of Duvalier and his descendants.
Here too poverty, lack of education, health services and justice provided fertile grounds for the growth of Voodooism. During the invasion of Haiti by the US Army the Voodoo priests and worshippers threatened to annihilate the US soldiers with the power of Voodoo, the US army landed and lo and behold absolutely nothing happened.
Papua New Guinea is now the new Pacific Haiti (Nouvelle Haiti), poverty-stricken, lacking in Health, Wealth, Education and Justice services. The only way forward is an improvement in leadership and distribution of wealth to avail to the population good Health, Wealth, Education and Justice.
STOP THE SANGUMA ACCUSATION NONSENSE NOW
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Real estate development is the push behind Port Moresby’s growth - Not Government
Descending into Jackson’s on a hot shimmering Port Moresby afternoon I see the once peculiar sun tanned brown savannah is now replaced by sprawling suburbs after suburbs of modern design of compelling style. The mirage or an optical illusion created by the hot surface below made it look like undulating waves of melting steel and glass cascading into an unforgiving white-hot furnace of the fast approaching tarmac. On the hills to the left, you see excavators carving terraces and flattening land for trenches for foundations, utility conduits, and drainage piping. And swarming with carpenters, electricians and plumbers and all manners of tradesmen eager to pitch in to permanently change the once periphery of National Capital District. This is the growth of a remarkable landmark that is now fast defining the Port Moresby landscape.
And who is behind all these concrete pouring and sounds of rhythmic hammers and whining power saws? Is it by some charity group or some long-lost ancestors from the papa lain? Of course not- who would want to throw away hard earned kina of quality abode for free?
It’s the real estate developers and their ingenuity. And thanks to Kennedy Estate for leading me through the arcane maze of the biggest gamblers of all the real estate developers. Real estate development is not just about mixing of one's labour with the land in order to achieve a predetermined end. It is a complex business and to start with one will require the knowledge of financing, legal restraints, business and market forecasting, and project supervision.
In urban centers like metro Port Moresby, it is quite challenging because development is often restricted by community zoning laws that segregate the uses of real estate (commercial, residential, recreational, etc.) into different "zones" and not to mention the politics that comes at a time. In order to change the use of a property, developers must usually receive permission from city planners and their uncanny rituals of compliance and rigid conformity.
It is a very risky business indeed. And it is a gamble in every sense where the developers purchase land and either create or renovate the property, risking their resources and capital in the hopes of investment reward.
Amidst the risk and high stake gamble developers such as Kennedy Estate, Glory Estate, Sky View Apartments or the state-owned Duran and Malolo Housing Projects believe that the newly designed and designated real estate will have sufficient value (and meet sufficient demand) to compensate for the time, labor and other resources devoted to the project.
These developments have completely changed what Port Moresby used to be. All these changes come about because of two things.
- The high demand for affordable houses made possible by the high volume of liquidity in circulation from the government’s high expenditure and expansions programs finally putting money into the pockets of many ordinary Papua New Guineans.
- The criss-cross of road network the government is putting in the nation’s capital as part of its infrastructure development agenda. Port Moresby will never be the same again. The road linkages have opened up once dead ends like June Valley now connected to downtown or connected trans suburbs like Gerehu and 9 Mile. These opened up new horizons of opportunity, prospectus and development.
Take Morata for instance. Once a periphery of the city and a no-go zone for many for its notoriety in crime- even the police wouldn’t dare to venture after dusk. Known as the home of crime kingpins and ruled by mobs and rascal gangs. And like the Hell’s Kitchen of New York, Morata was a city within a city where rules, governance and order that was applied to Port Moresby was totally nonexistence here rendering service and utility providers so difficult to collect rent and or upgrade their services.
Now with the road links from North Waigani to Gerehu, Gerehu – 9 Mile road and access to the Sir Hubert Murray Highway from Morata 3 and Wildlife, Morata has found its rebirth. Private entrepreneurs and even homeowners and ordinary families in Morata are now tapping into the booming market in real estate development in fixing and putting up their places for rent. The houses popping up in Morata’s suburbs are far divorced from the slums it was once used to be. These have become homes of the affluent and have quickly turned public perception, boosted confidence and very reassuring to the public now.
Morata is no longer the outskirt suburb of Port Moresby. Morata is now in the center of the fast-growing real estate and infrastructure development that is taking place around and within.
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BOARD CHAIRMAN OF TELIKOM PNG LTD MAHESH PATEL IS A FRAUDSTER
Outlined below are some of the most serious allegations that warrant the immediate termination of Mahesh Patel and appointment of a new Board chairman to take charge of the SOE. We will provide evidence once an internal investigation is set up.
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS AGAINST MAHESH PATEL.(Evidence Available)
1. 2012- VES (voluntary exit scheme). Mahesh Patel, being chairman of HR Sub- Committee went ahead and implemented the VES under the pretext of Government Reforms. The exercise was poorly planned and executed, which resulted in the termination of employment of approximately 500 qualified technical staff, engineers and support staff from their employment. As a result a skills gap was created, Telikom never recovered and recorded consecutive loss in revenue and never declared profit and paid dividends to the state up till 2017. The affected staff under VES in 2012 took Telikom PNG to court seeking damages to be awarded to them. In 2017, a three men Supreme Court Bench upheld the National Court Decision of 2015 and awarded damages to the tune of K14m and slapped that onto Telikom PNG Ltd. That damage claim bill was submitted to Telikom Management a couple of weeks ago and is pending settlement. This came about because of Mahesh Patel’s cunning tactics deployed in Telikom PNG. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for creating this situation that brought unnecessary liabilities to Telikom PNG Ltd.
2. 2015 Telikom’s Acquisition of EMTV for K27m- the PNGCWU including the Executive Management of TPNG understands beyond reasonable doubt that it was a poor investment decision because EMTV was not a profitable and viable business at that time. The board under Mahesh Patel decided to buy EMTV for K27m. No proper due diligence checks were done to establish its profitability prior to its acquisition. To date, EMTV is not making revenue to contribute to Telikom’s consolidated revenue. Instead, Mahesh Patel directed TPNG Management to pay EMTV K500, 000.00 every fortnight for staff salaries and K100, 000.00 every month to pay for EMTV’s operating costs. EMTV is a sick and lame cow that was a liability to its previous owner, a Fijian owner. Since Patel is a Fijian Indian, he collaborated with the then owner to offload that liability to Telikom PNG and pay a handsome price for it. Mahesh Patel should be Held responsible for this stupid business decision.
3. 2015-Controversial Spill & Fill Redundancy Exercise introduced in Telikom PNG by Mahesh Patel and CEO Michael Donnelley. After the successful elimination of qualified PNG nationals who applied for position of CEO, Mahesh Patel hops onto a plane to Australia to recruit a retired public servant known as Michael Donnelley and gave him the job as CEO of TPNG. They both arrive back in PNG with cargo especially tailored for Telikom PNG called Spill and Fill.
Little did Papua New Guineans in Telikom PNG know that the cargo, once unpacked will spell calamity for them. Yes, the Spill and Fill redundancy exercise literally unknown in PNG was unveiled in Telikom PNG in 2015, which pushed a further 300 employees out of their jobs and were unceremoniously dumped onto the streets across Papua New Guinea. The PNGCWU took Telikom PNG to court on behalf of its affected members and staffs following this illegal exercise which is against the provisions of the PNG Labour Laws and the Enterprise Based Award 2010. As a result, another massive court decision is looming for Telikom PNG to be slapped with further costs to be awarded to the affected staff under spill & fill. That court decision is due to be handed down anytime soon. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for the decision that will further eat into Telikom PNG’s finances.
4. 2015- K1.5m Fibre Optic Transmission link from Gerehu Telephone Exchange to City Pharmacy Head Office, Gerehu Stage 6. Mahesh Patel as Board Chairman individually gave verbal instructions for Telikom PNG Ltd to run a Fibre Optic cable for an internet super highway specifically for CPL Head Quarters from the Gerehu Telephone Exchange direct to CPL Head Office, located at Gerehu Stage 6. An approximate distance of 4 kilometres. This is a very expensive project just to suit one business house. For such Capital Expenditure Projects, normally it would be a shared cost arrangement where TPNG and the Customer would agree to meet costs associated with the project. In this case, CPL never met part of the cost. All costs were passed to Telikom PNG Ltd. There was no proper business case done on Return on Investment to see if it was a profitable investment for Telikom to venture into. It is understood that TPNG may have failed to recover the cost after the CPL Head Quarter was burnt down in June this year. The cost may never be recovered. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for this stupid business decision.
5. December 2015- Sale of former Telikom Business Office and Telephone Exchange located at Central Business District, Boroko, NCD. Customers and staff were caught off guard when they turned up to find the Business Office fenced off and access denied by new owner. This was the scenario in November of 2015. As a result, the Business Office was relocated from the Central Business District at Boroko to 4mile Operations Centre, which is not an ideal location for a Sales Office too be stationed. During the transition, TPNG lost revenue because there was no awareness done. It is believed that the whole building was sold to a Chinese Businessman for a depleted price, well below the market price for properties located in prime areas such as Boroko. Mahesh Patel, through former Telikom Properties Manager, Mr. Steven Morodu may have collaborated on the price fixing for the building to be sold. As a result of that sale, Mahesh Patel was implicated, he then turned around and ordered the termination of Steven Morodu to save himself. Mahesh Patel is very good at this too. He can use other people to get what he wants and dump them. Telikom lost good revenue from this dubious sale of its prestigious property, all because of Mahesh Patel’s greed. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for this stupid business decision.
6. 2017- K60m undeclared profit by Telikom PNG Ltd. News was published in the mainstream media, National Newspaper, dated 6th February 2017 page 25, by Mahesh Patel that Telikom declared a profit of K20m for the 2016 financial year. The PNGCWU and the Telikom Management were taken by surprise by this sudden declaration of profit by Mahesh Patel. This is an unaudited profit declaration. If true, then Telikom PNG Ltd staff should be paid 3% CPI across the board as per Enterprise Based Award 2010. Staff denied receiving any such payments following this declaration. Telikom PNG Management and Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd have confirmed that TPNG has not made any profits during that year. It is also not known if Mahesh Patel declared an after tax profit of K20m. All we know is that, this K20m is bogus undeclared dividend payment. This money was drawn from either; the cash savings from Telikom staff prematurely retrenched through the illegal Spill and Fill exercise carried out in 2015 or from unused capital works/project funds. The withdrawal of funds was most probably charged to the Government Capital Grants Accounts or the Owner’s Equity Account. No dividend was paid to KCH after the declaration to date.
In years prior to 2012, TPNG was managed by PNG National Boards and managements and declared profits and paid dividends to the state. SOEs like PNG Ports, Post PNG, NFA and others managed and run by PNG National have declared profits in recent times, Telikom PNG has failed miserably to declare any profit under Mahesh Patel. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for Telikom’s failure to declare profits.
7. 2016- MAHESH PATEL IN TOTAL DEFIANCE OF NEC DECISION# 360/2016. Among other provisions contained in the NEC Decision # 360/2016 signed by Prime Minister Mr Peter O’Neil and recommended by Mr. William Duma as Minister for State Enterprises and Public Investment, Mr. Moses Tedumo was appointed as Acting CEO for Telikom PNG. This did not go down well with Chairman Mahesh Patel. Around that time, Mr. Duma was sidelined as Minister pending investigations into the Manumanu Land Deal and Charles Abel was appointed Acting Minister. Mahesh Patel rushed down to Mr. Abel for a new NEC Decision# 44/2017 to be quickly formulated and signed, which removed Moses Tedumo as A/CEO, appointed John Mangos, Andrew Johnson and other controversial figure to the Telikom Board. Former CEO and close ally of Patel, Michael Donnelly was reinstated to continue as A/CEO. Mahesh Patel is the mastermind of defiance to NEC Decisions. We call on all good thinking Papua New Guineans to see this man, Mahesh Patel as a threat to our National Security, because of his defiance to lawful direction from the heads of our government. Mahesh Patel does not respect our Prime Minister and Ministers who are our policy and important decision makers. This is a serious breach of NEC decisions, an in any Commonwealth country, this warrants immediate termination and deportation out of PNG on the next available flight to Fiji. We should not tolerate this culprit to continue to this on our home soil. Surely, his relationship with the current State Enterprise and Public Investment Minister, Hon. William Duma is in troubled waters because of the contradictory actions taken by Mahesh Patel. Mahesh Patel is treating Telikom PNG as his own private business and thinks he can appoint anyone at will so he can manipulate decisions to suit his own greedy desires. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for insubordination to lawful directions from PM O’Neil and Minister Mr. Duma.
8. 2017 -Telikom 4G Data Bundles Price Fixing Scandal- In April of 2017, Mahesh Patel sent a damning email directly to staff of Telikom Products and Tariffs Division, directing them to provide confidential information on TPNG’s pricing on internet and voice bundles to him. Again, he has bypassed all proper protocols and chain of command in Telikom PNG. First of all, Mahesh Patel is not the right person to request confidential information to be made available to him. Secondly, Mahesh showed no regard and respect for the CEO and Executive Management by his ill- conceived actions. He then proceeded to issue verbal directives to staff to do new tariffs that were geared towards a term called “Market Allowance”, where competitors like Bemobile and Digicel were to be given exclusive rights to sell data bundles up to 499MB, while TPNG was to sell data bundles from 500MB and upwards. In simple logic, who in PNG is willing to spend K30.00 every day for internet costs? Well, according to Mahesh Patel, whether you like it or not, that’s it. This decision would mean big time revenue loss for Telikom PNG and shift in customer base. The PNGCWU, its members, Staff and Executive Management of TPNG reacted strongly against his verbal directions to increase rates unnecessarily. In retaliation, Mahesh Patel prevented Telikom PNG from fully launch its 4G mobile network across the country, and is affecting revenue as we speak. Mahesh Patel continues to treat Telikom PNG as his private business and should be held responsible for loss of customers and revenue in the mobile market for Telikom PNG Ltd.
9. 1st September, 2017- TPNG Writes Off Bemobile Bill of K43, 162, 896.56. Mahesh Patel issues verbal directives to Telikom Billing & Finance Division to write off a Bill of K43, 162, 896.56 that Bemobile owes to Telikom for co-siting arrangements and use of other utilities. No Board decision was made and minuted to give rise to Mahesh Patel’s decision to free Bemobile of its bills. Telikom took a great plunge in its revenue coffers just because Mahesh Patel and someone in Bemobile collaborated to waive this huge bill. We are reliably informed that there was celebration at the Bemobile office after news of the write off was received. Remember, Bemobile is also managed by Fiji Indians, and there is sufficient evidence to say that these Indians collaborated with Patel to rob Telikom of its hard earned revenue. Telikom PNG will continue to suffer in the hands of Mahesh Patel if he continues as Chairman. Mahesh Patel should be held responsible for writing off this huge bill that resulted in Telikom loosing revenue.
Conclusion
In May 2014, All SOE Chairman’s and CEOs signed a Good Governance Code of Conduct (Leadership Code of Ethics) to carry out their duties to the best of their ability to serve the government and people of PNG for service delivery in their respective roles. Mahesh Patel was a signatory to this good governance creed. However, his actions right after the signing of this creed up till today leaves a lot to be desired from this man. His continuous defiance to ministerial directives, insubordination, being disrespectful to PNG national Managers, silly business decisions, write off of huge bills, suspicious sale of Telikom assets and so forth are worrying signs that Telikom PNG will continue to loose revenue.
Continuous loss of revenue under Mahesh Patel will give very good reason to declare Telikom PNG as insolvent. All Papua New Guineans must strongly condemn this man’s action. TPNG is a national SOE and a foreigner like Patel is not the fit and proper person to be chairman.
PNGCWU is closely monitoring every move this man does and we will make sure the laws of PNG will catch up with him and give him very good reason to spend part of his life behind bars at Bomana.
Recommendation
1. It is for the Minister to take these serious allegations against the Chairman of Telikom PNG and immediately terminate his services, institute an internal investigation into all the allegations that we have labelled against Mr. Patel.
2. Immediately appoint a new National Board Chairman for Telikom PNG Ltd.
-PNGCWU
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2018 BUDGET: NICE WORDS POOR NUMBERS
The new Treasurer released his first budget on 28 November. This was an opportunity to demonstrate the second term of the O’Neill government would help turn the corner on PNG’s economic mismanagement. So how did it do?
Overall, there are some wonderful sentiments in this first Abel budget. My sense is that he is very genuine in what he is trying to achieve. But he seems to be let down by the realities of PNG politics. Protecting politicians electoral funds, finding money for APEC, trying to regain the upper-hand on the rhetoric of protecting health and education – all within the confines of fiscal responsibility – was simply too much. What has given way in this equation of trying to be responsible while dealing with the political spending pressures has been revenue credibility?
Ultimately, he fails in his attempts to explain why we should believe his claim that revenues will suddenly jump by over 20 percent in 2018. This is an increase of over K2.2 billion and an extraordinary reversal of collapsing revenues in recent years (see graph below).
Usually, such an increase can be justified by a major tax increase (there isn’t one), a major new project starting which actually produces revenue (there isn’t one in 2018), or a rapid expansion in economic growth (2.4% real growth is not rapid growth).
For me, Abel’s Achilles heel on his budget’s revenue credibility is his deceptions in the Budget speech. The new Treasurer is so wedded to the claims of his 100 Day Plan that he hides from numbers that show he is failing. Specifically, he continues to claim the deficit will not go above 2.5% of GDP. This is the first point in his 100 Day Plan, so it is understandable he is sensitive to this one.
But throughout his speech, he uses old 20117 revenue numbers when his actual Budget documents show an inconveniently lower number. 2017 revenues are now forecast, according to his budget but not his speech, to fall by K408 million from K10,979m at the time of the Supplementary Budget to the 2017 Revised Estimate of K10,571m (see Table 11 below from 2018 Budget Volume 1).
And with this official revision to revenue forecasts, and no indication of changed expenditure, then the deficit also increases in 2017 by K408 million.
PNG’s forecast fiscal deficit for 2017 is now 3.1% of GDP. The new Treasurer has failed to meet both elements of the very first point in his 100-day plan – deficits are bigger and debt is higher than he promised less than 100 days ago.
In many ways, K408 million is an understandable revision. Indeed, my view is that the actual revenue outcome will be some K500m lower than even this figure as the assumptions on dividend payments are still unrealistic. However, the point here is one of credibility.
And the games played by the Treasurer in his speech on hiding the real state of the budget does not inspire confidence.
Future blogs will provide a more detailed analysis of the 2018 Budget. A key issue with any analysis of the budget is that as revenues are unlikely to be anywhere near their claimed levels in 2018, then the rest of the budget begins to unravel.
One cannot spend what one doesn’t get.
So there will be real decisions ahead on which pet projects will not be funded. And my fear is that if there is a choice between APEC funding and electoral funds vs health and infrastructure spending, the latter will be the losers in the inevitable 2018 Supplementary Budget.
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MAJOR FRAUD AND SCAM AT THE IEA SCHOOL SYSTEM.
IEA school system has been hitting the headlines on the dailies in the last few weeks, and all for wrong and dubious reasons, it would seem. In doing so they may have unwittingly exposed a greater evil that belies IEA. It was only a matter of time anyway.
IEA and its Board, admitted its Chairman, Mr Mea Ravu, (Post Courier 1st Dec 2017), has voluntarily made press statements to a female National Newspaper journalist who published under the headline “ K7 Million Gamble Hits IEA”. That article was published by Mr Ravu and Mr Joe Lali the CEO, to explain why National IEA teachers had to suffer pay cuts and reduction in terms and conditions, while the Chairman himself, the CEO and Management, and expatriate teachers enjoyed pay and benefits increases at the same time.
The level of exchanges in the media has sparked my interest in this organisation and I started digging and asking around. I have an interest in this school system because I am a fee-paying parent, and over the years I have paid an obscene amount of money for my 4 children going through the IEA system. So obscene an amount I don’t want to talk about it. We have only one still at IEA school now.
At the outset, Mr Joe Lali the CEO, whom I am told was only a former Maths teacher at POMIS, is on a salary of K1.5 Million plus perks and privileges all amounting to almost K2 Million per annum. Can you believe that?
He gets more in salary alone than the Prime Minister! Certainly more than the Education Minister, and more than the Governor General of the country. It's even more than most CEOs of major SOEs. He gets a new vehicle every year. And he just gave himself another pay increase!
Folks we are looking at one of the most highly paid executives in the country, but only a few years ago he was an unknown maths teacher!
And in the face of this, the Chairman Mr Mea Ravu says that...” the recent reduction in salaries and benefits for teachers was designed to allow schools to lower fees by making the employment of teachers less costly”. Nice thought, but our sense of logic would not be so insulted if he took time to provide names of schools that will reduce their fees, and by what percentage in 2018, as a direct result of taking benefits away from national teachers.
But alas he does not, and I dare say he may not have that information. Neither does the CEO, Mr Lali, as he would have provided those pertinent details to the Chairman to release if he had them. It sounds all right, clever and smart, that’s why the Chairman said it, but there is no substance or truth to that excuse.
It is a comedy of the blind leading the blind at IEA.
It does not get any better with Mr Les Roas’ press statement, that expat teacher pays are maintained at NSW Teachers Levels while national teachers should be happy because they could have lost their jobs, but for the reduction in salary and benefits. This coming from someone who resigned to contest national elections twice, in 2012 and 2017, and each time he was re-employed by the CEO Mr Lali because they are mates. Looks like he got a promotion this time, so it is only right that he should protect Mr Lali’s back. But for Lali’s nepotism, he should be the one more grateful than the national teachers.
Needless to say no matter how Mr Ravu and Roai paint it, when the CEO and Management who are not at the daily coal front of education dealing with parents students and other teachers every day, decide in their nice air-conditioned offices, to give themselves and expatriate teachers pay rises, and cut national teachers benefits, then take out full page paid advertisement to mock the poor national teachers; it stinks with discrimination, and the injustice of the matter is so stark and naked.
It is a slippery slide for Mr Chairman Ravu and Roai to compare our IEA teachers to Government school teachers. Do I sense a tinge of disdain bordering on apartheid for thousands of government school teachers (and their conditions) who hold the national education system together? To compare National IEA teachers to the government teachers is a very poor choice and poor judgement for another reason I will elaborate further on.
IEA, I believe, followed deliberate localization policy and actually recruited and re-trained all of its national teachers, some even from the government service, at great cost. It has been paying them their relative worth. To now use serving government school teachers’ benefits as a benchmark to remove the contract benefits of IEA national teachers is a betrayal and slap in the face for many faithful national teachers.
What is particularly offensive about the Chairman’s press statement is that he is lying about IEA not being in a financial crisis. He has not produced any financials to support his story. He won’t be brave to produce any because a little bird says IEA may be trading insolvent. If IEA is not in financial crisis, why has IEA cut the salaries and benefits of the “goose that lays the golden egg”- national teachers, who are the back bone of IEA?
Then there is the CEO Mr Lali, one person, who is enjoying almost K2 million kina plus worth pay, perks and privileges, and he still wants more, but at whose expense folks?
Yes, you guessed it right, at the expense of national teachers teaching at the IEA school system, and ultimately at the expense of parents like me who are stupid and naive enough to send our kids to an IEA school and pay obscene fees.
The IEA Chairman and a Mr Les Roai’s full page Advertisement (in the Post Courier on 1st December 2017 p55), takes a swipe at a brave national IEA School Teacher who wrote to the media and complained about the injustice and unfairness of management practices.
Clearly Mr Mea Ravu and Mr Les Roai were trying to defend their own acts of open discrimination against national teachers. They must think the National Teachers and even parents like us are fools who can’t read between the lines and beyond the condescending meaningless flowery diatribe they put out.
We have been independent now for over 40 years Mr Ravu, Roai and Lali. Why discriminate and disadvantage your own people? You are happy to take our (national parents) money, but not as eager to treat our own kind the same when they do the same work as expatriates. What specie of humanity are you?
You cannot operate, and should not be allowed to operate a school system, one that educates our young children, founded upon unfairness, injustice and discrimination on the basis of their colour. What message are you imparting to our young children?
Chairman Mea Ravu, it is all well for you to have moved your children to go to school in Brisbane, but what message are you sending our children in IEA schools in PNG? That their teachers are less than their expatriate counterparts, therefore they are less than their expatriate classmates? You expect the “few vocal minority” national teachers to accept this obvious discrimination; and I suppose you expect all the national children going to IEA schools (and their parents) to accept this too?
Come Come gentlemen, you can do better than that! Or can you? You obviously lack peripheral judgement that is critical and necessary to operate this school system.
You cannot deny national teachers impact our children on the same level in the classroom as the expatriate teachers. In fact certain individual national teachers are simply brilliant with their subjects and how they communicate with our children and even their expatriate counterparts agree. Our children gravitate over the years more toward national teachers than expatriates, although there are some exceptions. Any curriculum and syllabus material can be picked up and taught by any trained teacher on a subject. Whether a teacher is performing or not and ought to be rewarded or not should not be based on age old discriminations of race colour and creed, but on merits of objective standards and criteria openly set for them as individuals. Group punishment based on black v white issues ought be something of the past in this country for a national entity like IEA.
The manner in which you have come out to squash one brave national teacher standing up to your patent discrimination raises more questions about IEA as an organisation, its core values, its moral code, the quality of its management and its Board, and what Mr Ravu and the team are doing in their property development etc.
The IEA school system is one of the most expensive Education establishments in the Southern Hemisphere. It is more than ten times more expensive than its comparable counterparts in Australia. It is comparable to any GPS schools like Kings or Knox Grammer in Sydney in terms of level of fees charged, but what it delivers is pitiful in comparison. Not a patch on Kings or Knox.
Every year the fees keep going up, but we don’t get any improvement in teaching standards or materials and facilities. There is no independent and regular audit system to keep standards in check with Australian or international benchmarking. There are no active extracurricular activities or special interests groups like we used to have 10-20 years ago. There are no music classes (including piano or horn classes) on levels experienced before, no dedicated instruments teachers or a range of foreign languages (apart from French) offered. The school system is going backward, while the fees keep going upward! Meanwhile Nero (Lali) is fiddling while Rome is burning.
IEA school Board and management under Mr Lali as CEO have clearly lost the plot. They should by now rightfully remove the suffix “International” from their name as a good start.
This brings us to the fundamental question of whether IEA is a scam or fraud? Who actually owns the IEA school system?
To answer this we have to look at how the school system was started. This means we have to go back in time and look at the very foundations of IEA and how it came to be.
Prior to Independence, Australia operated 2 systems of schools; the “A” schools and the “T” schools. The “A” schools operated with mostly expatriate teachers to serve the needs of expatriates living through-out the country. On independence these Australian government owned schools were transferred to the PNG government through the Department of Education by the Australian government, as it did with all other lands and assets the Australian government held.
The then Director for Education, Sir Alkan Tololo, on behalf of the government of Papua New Guinea, accepted the schools and the properties transferred by the Australian government.
The current IEA run schools and their properties therefore rightfully belong to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Therefore how IEA is now arranged and whats going on is a major scam, and a major fraud on the State and the people of Papua New Guinea.
In or about 1977, Sir Alkan Tololo approached then Education Curriculum Advisor to the Department and experienced Australian school teacher (who last taught in Awaba High School), Mr Alwyn Neuendorf about what to do with the schools and properties handed over by the Australian government. Mr Neuendorf then approached his friend Mr Steve Mead, a former Catholic Brother who taught at Fatima High School and POMIS, and advised him to set up a parallel school, to continue the expatriate school system, but hold the school system and assets in trust for the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
Mr Steve Mead did as he was asked and with the help of Alwyn Neuendorf set up IEA school system. The arrangement was for the schools and the properties to be held in trust for the State, but at same time maintain a competently run an international school system to better serve the growing needs of PNG and PNGians and remaining expatriate population.
Rightfully the shares in International Education Agency of Papua New Guinea Limited (IEA) should be 100% owned by the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, and the IEA school system should by right report to the Minister for Education.
IEA school system and all its assets belong to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. The State has not parted with these assets. Mr Mead was only asked to take care and set up a mechanism to continue delivery of international class education.
As a company, IEA did not pay for the properties, and the assets, and the business it was vested with. IEA did not pay one single Aussie Dollar or PNG Kina to the State. All properties and assets of IEA are rightfully public assets of the people of Papua New Guinea. The IEA school system is a public asset of the people of Papua New Guinea, period.
Therefore how IEA is now arranged and operated and what is currently happening as with all the media haranguing about the financials of IEA and how it is used or abused as with the failed property development costing over K7 Million, is a major scam, and a major fraud on the State and the people of Papua New Guinea.
Mr Alwyn Neuendorf is not dead. He can tell you straight up and down that no money changed hands and that the IEA schools were transferred to the State, and ultimately belongs to the people of PNG through State ownership. That Mr Mead was only asked to manage and operate it, not divest ownership from the State. That is why for some ten years since taking over running of the schools, Mr Mead always reported to and liaised with the Department of Education, even up until Mr Neundorf retired and beyond that time.
What is going on with Mr Mea Ravu and the waste of K7 Million Kina in failed property development losses and discriminatory actions taken against our own national teachers shows that clearly IEA has lost the plot and it now time for Hon. Nick Kuman, Secretary for Education Mr Kombra, and the State to take over this State asset and the IEA school system and bring it under some control and accountability under the Public Finances Management system.
There needs to be a Public Commission of Inquiry by the State into the running of IEA over the years and its financials to bring the Board and its management to account.
What Mr Mea Ravu and Mr Joe Lali are presiding over would have to be one of the biggest and best scams in the history of PNG. Certainly it is a fraud against the State and the people of Papua New Guinea to hijack public assets.
Proper controls, ownership and supervision of the State needs to be brought in urgently to stop all the nonsense going on at IEA. IEA’s shares must rightfully go back to the State and the Department of Education must appoint a Board to run the schools for the benefit of all Papua New Guineans, not just a bunch of self-righteous and self serving individuals like Mea Ravu, Joe Lali and Les Roas.
The Assets of IEA must be worth at least K1 Billion by now.
The situation calls for the Prime Minister and NEC to intervene and act immediately to set a proper Board and management in place and rescue the school system that the State rightfully inherited from the Australian government.
The government must step in, take ownership and make international class education system more affordable for all Papua New Guineans than what these jokers have been doing so far.
In this regard I know I have the support of the most important stakeholders, that includes most parents and almost all the national teachers at IEA.
Mr Daniel Polonski (Bubuleta).
East Cape. Milne Bay.
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EHP GOVERNOR PETER NUMU SHOWING HIS TRUE COLOURS
Words cannot fully express the disgust that is now felt throughout EHP on the stupidity, immaturity and criminality of the new governor of Eastern Highlands Province, Peter Numu. His ascension to power was never though a honest and fair game, Mr Numu himself cannot deny this fact! He was the only candidate in the 2017 National election in EHP that extensively used deceit, bribery, sorcery and external forces to get to power. Most of us at the counting venue know about these facts and also know that the petition case filed against him is a very competitive one, thus passing through listing and pre-trial hearings last month at Waigani National Courts without a single challenge to its competency and is listed early in February next year for trial. Just as this court was reaching its peak, Numu led mobs, street drug bodies and opportunists into looting the shop of the fellow candidate, who is also the petitioner. What a way to be a governor!
Numu was always a serial liar even at his early stages of student leaderships. He lied to EHP that he burnt the Australian flag during his student presidency at UPNG. He lied to EHP that he stands against corruption, all the while feeding from the fountains of O’Neil’s corrupt crony, Mr Joseph Tonde, who endorsed Numu under his party. After his victory, he ran back to daddy O’Neill. Few weeks into office, Numu announced on Facebook that he will build 14 Mini markets all throughout EHP but sadly not a single soil is turned even at the point of writing. The only visible progresses of this “Facebook projects” were just thousands of likes and comments on Facebook. He was very good at lying to his people to excite their emotions and prey on their illiteracy.
He is single handedly responsible for the 7 unreported election related deaths in EHP during the counting time. This was a history for the province as the peace loving kol peles never encountered election related deaths in their entire election history. During the counting, Numu’s scrutinizers deliberately moved papers of other candidates into his box. After a quarrel in the counting venue, his scrutinizers went to their disgusting leader, who in turn took it up onto Facebook and twisted the whole story around. Instead of owing up, he posted that all the candidates are jealous of him because he is leading by margin (Don’t be surprised when I tell you that that’s the same excuse he is using again to cover his recent foolishness on shop looting). Thus, this had led to a confrontation where Numu himself ordered his boys to clash with the rivalry candidates resulting in the death of more than seven people.
Now, fast forward to last Thursday, when he led a mob into looting the biggest shop in Goroka town, owned by the petitioner in the court case challenging his victory. Attached Loop news is just part of the whole story, the moderate part. I was at the scene of incident and here is the full account of the senselessness: Numu arrived at Bintangor Supermarket in town on Thursday. At the first glance, everyone realised that Numu was quite hung-over from excessive drinking the following night. (was later confirm by his close associates. And FYI, he is also a serial alcoholic, evident by the fast growth of his little beer-stomach and the numerous reports of his drunkenness in and around suburbs of Port Moresby like Dogura, Sabama, 6-mile, etc…with his Hagen families and cronies). Now, As Numu entered the shop, all the opportunists around the shop followed him in. In an attempt to impress them, he ordered everyone to get a rice bag each totalling up to K5000. When he went to the counter to pay, his card was rejected. Poor Numu didn’t realise that he had spent most of his savings on beer the other night. Frustrated and ashamed of his indigence, he told the shop manager that he’ll pay by check tomorrow (Friday) and walked out of the shop. On his way out, he openly told everyone to get anything, because he’ll be paying by check tomorrow. Well, the desperate street dwellers and mobs cannot be blamed for what they did because the directive came from the governor. Latest figure provided by the store management indicated the damage to over K1.2 million worth of properties and goods stolen. That’s the true color of Peter Numu right there!!
One thing silly Numu must not forget is that, Mr Simon Sia, owner of the Bintangor Store has been serving the poor people of EHP while Numu was hanging to his mama’s breast. Mr Sia is even among the top five philanthropists in the country and the only largest philanthropist in the province. He has done more in his 35yrs in EHP than what lousy Peter Numu will have ever done! Numu must not fool the province and the media that what has happened were attempts by rivalry candidates in an effort to tannish his name. That was his official response in other Loop news and TVWAN last night. He said, these are works of grievant candidates who are jealous just because he won the election by big margin and they (candidates) are only impersonating him. (Same old shallow bullshit, don’t you think?) What a very pathetic and inadequate reasoning! Let me tell Numu, you never have a name so don’t waste your time trying to make yourself play victim. What you did is in big daylight and no one is your stupid here. Most or not, all of the candidates have moved on in life and no one is interested in you anymore.
It is even very disappointing to note that none of this news, or any other post that reveals bad and truthful image about Numu, were ever approved by the administrators of the largest EHP Facebook forum (Eastern Highlands On Facebook) because few months ago, Numu warned the administrators for legal actions if they approve any of such posts, thus leading to him owning and controlling the point of view of the public on that forum. My continuous attempts to post this article were to no avail. Little EHP dictator!! What a low-life premature politician! Very sad term for EHP, a government runned by a criminal!
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HOW SIMON SINAI A O'NEILL STOOGE RIGGED 2013 MADANG BY-ELECTION
"For the benefit of the public" a coin has two sides ;
As far as this case is concerned the petition filed by Peter Yama against Nixon Duban for the 2013 Madang Open By Election has gone as far as the 3 men bench Supreme Court and slip rule .
Nixon Duban scored 18,000 votes, Bryan Kramer 7000 votes and Peter Yama 5000 votes. That’s the final 2013 By Election result.
Peter Yama filed an election petition on errors and omissions and requested a recount . His arguments were centered around 6000 papers found at his mother’s grave yard.
The 2013 By Election was done without any issue of missing ballot boxes or ballot papers either during the counting or polling .
How the 6000 papers ended up at the cemetery remains a fraud matter to be fully investigated. On record the ballot papers were never part of the Madang Open By Election.
All candidates who contested the election are fully aware of this fraud . Since Madang Open 2013 By Election was completed without any missing ballot papers or ballot boxes the Form 66A and 66B were satisfactorily reconciled.
Peter Yama asked for the papers found at the cemetery which he found himself to be illegally included in the count.
These ballot papers were presumed to be unused ballot papers stored with the Electoral Commission office in Madang.
His arguments were tested in the courts before Justice Bernard Sakora. The Judge hearing the case ordered the “ found ballot papers” to be included in the recount which was shocking as the papers were not part of the 2013 By Election.
Justice Bernard Sakora made a ruling for the benefit of the petitioner Peter Yama. He ordered a recount and asked for the illegal ballot papers to be counted too.
The judge was smart when he acknowledged the administrative powers of the Returning officer Simon Sinai. Electoral Commission is a constitutional office governed by its own jurisdiction.
When Simon Sinai conducted the recount he did it exceptionally well. In the presence of police and new counting officials a recount sanctioned by the courts was done.
After 2013 By Election the container containing all ballot boxes were left stranded at Jomba YC and not moved to the police station.
This resulted in the container being opened and all ballot boxes tampered . When the recount was underway officials noted all inner tags and outer tags of several ballot boxes were broken already .
Bryan Kramer and Nixon Duban plus few other candidates had thousands of their votes removed.
Nixon Duban as the winner of 2013 By Election with 18,000 votes lost 8000 plus votes which was removed by those who broke open the container.
Bryan Kramer who was the runner up with 7000 votes also lost many votes with other candidates .
Bryan Kramer ended up being the third runner up although he came second with 7000 votes.
All the sealed ballot boxes for each candidate that were carefully counted were all broken by fraudsters who forced open the container.
Usually all containers containing ballot boxes are moved to the police station for safe keeping .
In this case the container was left unattended at Jomba YC after the counting . Electoral Manager and Electoral Commission in Madang are the only people who had the key and control over the container .
As to why it was not moved to the police station is a question that the Election Manager must explain.
However , with all these anomalies exposed a recount was conducted by Electoral Commission sanctioned by Justice Bernard Sakora.
The officials opening the container noticed a lot of discrepancies when they found ballot boxes tampered with and there were no inner tags, no outer tags and few with missing seals.
These were made known to the scrutineers who also witnessed the crime committed.
The Returning officer was under a court directive with a set timeframe and he counted regardless of the discrepancies.
In the process he was so concerned about the legitimacy of the entire ballot boxes whereby the numbers practically were were rigged. As the Returning Officer he was surprised that this exercise was like a set up .
Failing to comply with the court direction would be deemed as contemptuous so he counted under duress. The Returning officer of the recount knew well his grounds as per his advice from the lawyers . He was guided well in administering the already rigged counting .
In deciding on all honesty he made it very clear that those 6000 plus ballot papers found at the cemetery cannot be included in the recount .
He was advised that he had the powers of the Organic Law on the National and Local Level Government Elections to undertake such a decision.
171. RESERVATION OF DISPUTED BALLOT-PAPERS.
(1) The officer conducting a re-count may, and at the request of a scrutineer shall, reserve any ballot-paper for the decision of the Electoral Commission.
(2) The Electoral Commission shall decide whether a ballot-paper reserved for its decision under this Section is to be allowed and admitted or disallowed and rejected.
(3) In the event of the validity of the election being disputed, the National Court may consider any ballot-papers which were reserved for the decision of the Electoral Commission, but shall not order a further re-count of the whole or part of the ballot-papers in connection with the election unless it is satisfied that the re-count is justified.
If you read the law carefully it states that where there are disputed papers the Electoral Commission has the powers to accept or reject them.
These are administrative powers bestowed upon the Returning Officer Simon Sinai.
Although the courts ordered for the 6000 papers to be included in the recount the discretion was always on the Returning officer to accept or reject.
When he refused to include in the recount Peter Yama tried to charge him for contempt .
Justice Bernard Sakora was irritated by the fact that Simon Sinai refused to include the 6000 ballot papers . He then directed strongly for the disputed ballot papers totaling 6000 plus to be included.
After the application filed by Peter Yama for the inclusion Simon Sinai counted the disputed papers but indicated that he will not include them as they never originated from any polling station .
It was clear that the Madang Public Cemetery was not a gazetted polling area and no polling was conducted in there on record.
On the conclusion of the recount sanctioned by the court Simon Sinai presented his recount brief to Justice Bernard Sakora. He never made any declaration as it was the courts business .
The good judge read the full account of the recount and accepted its findings and declared Nixon Duban as duly elected Member for Madang.
Justice Bernard Sakora understood well the Election law and ensured that the process was correct . He never threatened Simon Sinai for contempt or otherwise.
Peter Yama was not satisfied and appealed the decision to 3 men bench which again ruled against Peter Yama .
He then went for the last highest option for the court of law. He applied for slip rule and Peter Yama lost the final appeal .
The highest court in the country once again ruled in favor of Nixon Duban.
Peter Yama was ordered to pay full the bill of cost to Nixon Duban and a report exposing certain level of fraud were given to the police for further investigation.
So far the police have not acted on the report and it is now the business of Electoral Commission to defend their officer Simon Sinai if he has any issues with Peter Yama .
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Six things you should know about Sim Card Registration.
The mandatory SIM card registration peddlers are trying to sell you an old, costly and discredited idea. They say it is needed to fight crime. But a closer look would reveal that the measure suffer from the following fatal flaws:
1. It is impossible to implement: We have millions of SIM cards in circulation, with millions more roaming SIM cards used. These SIM cards are used not just for mobile phones, but also for tablets, payphones, landlines, modem, routers, and other devices. We also have thousands of tourists and visitors going into the country bringing in roaming SIM cards. Exactly how would all these SIM cards be registered? Is this even possible? Would it disrupt government services and businesses – for how long?
2. It is costly: The tedious registration process is expected to be costly, and there would be separate costs for setting up, maintaining and safekeeping the database. Who will pay for these costs? The telcos? The taxpayers? Consumers? Exactly how much? Would this involve a one-time payment or annual payments? Who would receive these payments and how?
3. It violates constitutional rights: SIM cards are the key not just to mobile phone services, but to online transactions. They bear our identity information, contacts and unlocks many other services. The Constitution bans any and all unreasonable and arbitrary searches and seizures; court-issued warrants are required. The proposed system is also prone to abuse by those who have control of or access to the proposed database – arguably, the first step towards surveillance. Further, it threatens the privacy rights of journalists, activists, businesses, and politicians.
4. It's not fraud-proof and will spawn new crimes: With registration of SIM cards is implemented, we have to brace ourselves for a new crime wave: the theft of SIM cards, illegal re-sale of stolen SIM cards, identity theft to fraudulently register SIM cards and others. Because we cannot expect criminals, scammers and syndicates to register SIM cards under their own names. The “solution” ironically becomes a new, perhaps lucrative, opportunity for criminals.
5. It is doomed to fail: Would the Prime Minister, Cabinet Members, Lawmakers, Judges, Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agents, Diplomats and their Families be exempt from registration? This we have to stress: just one rogue SIM card – stolen, fraudulently-registered or unregistered – would render this proposed system worthless. What more if batches of SIM cards go unregistered?
6. It is not future-proof: SIM cards are not forever. They get lost, damaged or replaced. What are the remedies in the proposed system for these instances? Would records be updated automatically? But more than this, we may soon see a future without SIM cards. In fact, phone manufacturers are now proposing the phaseout of physical SIM cards. If that happens, what happens to this proposed system?
Please also focus on thwarting other crimes and offenses like violations of consumer rights, sale of substandard services, harmful monopoly/oligopoly activities, and the like.
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RESPECTING THE OFFICE OF PRIME MINISTER
While the PM’s warrant of arrest saga has dragged into another kaleidoscope of a turn, valuable lessons can be learned from this experience. I particularly came across two important lessons.
First and foremost, it is extremely important to note that never allow personal vendetta and political ambition get in the way to overthrow a mandated government by using state apparatuses and slip in the law.
Perhaps not only legitimate but the most dignified and honourable manner in taking on a government in our parliamentary democracy is on the floor of parliament and square it out using smart political maneuvering, tactical statecraft or popular policy intervention in amassing the required strength in numbers to form a government or overthrow a government through the vote-of-no confidence. Resorting to other shabby and malicious means is for the weak and desperate.
It is said that in natural selection the weak always try to bring down the strong given their apparent inadequacies but this should not inherit in politics. It is like you resorting to poison-tipped bullets in conventional warfare- a thing totally degrading to humanity and utterly outlawed by the Geneva Convention.
Of the executive arm of the government the Office of the Prime Minister is the highest office on the land and its decorum must be respected. It is not to say that the Prime Ministers are immune to probe but the manner in which the warrant of arrest was pursued on the current PM is very alarming and is a concern now for anyone holding the Office of the Prime Minister in the future.
We have just witnessed people with intent and purpose known only to them have vehemently attempted to have the PM resign over unfounded allegation and accusations that are yet to stand the test of law in simply by a way of an arrest. We all have different opinions on how Rt. Hon Peter O’Neill is wielding power from the esteemed office but the argument here is squarely on protecting that office. The Office of the Prime Minister and the PMs in the future must not be subjected to false accusations, charged and forced to resign all based on unfounded allegations.
The warrant of arrest on the Prime Minister was defective all along. Even a person with little knowledge of the law could easily pick apart the warrant was clearly defective right from the start. The irony at that time and now begging answers is why the magistrate issuing the warrant at the District Court couldn’t pick up the defects there and then and safe us the trouble- and of all people the warrant was issued by a very learned person and a proponent of the law itself in none other than the Chief Magistrate Eliakim.
Could we simply brush it aside as an oversight on her part or pick on the bones as a deliberate ploy in the making? This question would likely pop up should there be an enquiry into the issuance of the warrant of arrest. Interestingly, it didn’t stop there. Another exponent of the law in former Attorney General Kerenga Kua and his band of merry man decided to peddle the defective warrant of arrest on the Prime Minister and plunge PNG into unnecessary years of legal turmoil. Now one would ask were there any relationship between Kerenga Kua and Magistrate Eliakim? And to what end our two esteemed people colluded?
The second thing I noticed is that the media summarily pass judgment when anything coming out into the open for public scrutiny or consumption. Gone are the days of investigative and balanced reporting. Whilst some media outlet have maintained professionalism and impartiality all along certain overseas based news agencies and the social media often took the case out of context or sided with their sponsors in pre-empting an uncanny judgement. This portrays a very bad image to the country and far greater damages particularly to the Prime Minister. Media outlets indulged in this unethical practice must now be responsible and promote the true sense of justice in fair and balanced reporting.
Whilst it is open for any interested party to apply for a new warrant of arrest against the Prime Minister as provided by the law, we must appreciate and accept the ruling of the three-man bench Supreme Court and allow reason and better judgment. One should not take this personally with resentment and start spilling it again on the media and pretend to be a do-gooder.
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