by DAVID LEPI
A swift and proactive intervention in the Bank of PNG and Puma Energy saga earlier could have avoided the spill over effect on Air Niugini - jet fuel shortage and now general fuel. It is the government's failure to intervene and arbitrate when the issue was snowballing and consequently the country's energy security is thrown into disarray.
Deputy Prime Minister Hon John Rosso who is now Acting PM in the absence of PM James Marape, is claiming with much pomp and fanfare that the Puma issue has been resolved this afternoon.
The government has to explain to country as to what extent this chronic issue has been resolved. Marape said the same thing upon return from Singapore after crawling into the Puma Energy headquarters.
No government in the past had experienced corporate bullying let alone foreign exchange shortages but thanks to Prime Minister James Marape for making himself a name in cleaning up the coffers dry and empty.
Now the light headed Marape convinently escaped to the Fiji islands and his playing golf letting Rosso and the boys to deal with Puma.
Make no mistake Puma Energy is not an easy push over.
Puma Energy's parent company is Singapore based Swiss Company called Trafigura. Trafigura is known for shadowy deals and corruption and has been on the radar of International Monetary Fund.
The government of Zimbabwe has blacklisted Trafigura subsidiaries operated by African tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei over allegations that they are responsible for “price instability and a spiralling exchange rate” leading to the ongoing downfall of the local currency.
Zimbabwe's Nehanda Radio reports that the IMF a few years back warned the Southern African country that state payouts to Trafigura, a company linked to global commodities traders, were pushing the shortages-plagued economy to the brink, reviving fears of corruption at the highest level of government.
Price instability and a spiralling exchange rate is exactly what is happening in Papua New Guinea.
If the PNG Prime Minister who lacks both business and financial acumen thinks dealing with Puma Energy is a child's play must think again when giving his back to the shadowy global giant that has operations spanning in 40 countries across 5 continents.
There is no better way to put it but Puma Energy is holding the balls of the PNG government in a tight grip and is squeezing whenever it feels like. I hear Marape is a choir master and that means when Puma squeeze the rest of the gang will sing soprano in the top of their voices.
