Domestic Politics. Papua New Guinea press review
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG) Hon. James Marape has denied speculations of any cabinet reshuffle. But he also hinted that there will be a minor reshuffle based on performance of Ministers in a review after one year in office.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and Attorney General Davis Steven, says that Singapore Court of Appeal ruled to dismiss the appeal by the State of Papua New Guinea against PNG Sustainable Development Program Limited (PNGSDP), which is aimed to promote sustainable development and advance the general welfare of the people of Papua New Guinea, particularly those of the Western Province, bordering with Indonesia.
In addition, Mr. Steven stated that the PNG Government is concerned that the current directors of PNGSDP failed to provide the level of improvement to the lives of the people since its incorporation in 2001, despite purported expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on development projects in Papua New Guinea, and the Western Province.
The unsatisfactory manner in which PNGSDP has been run since 2012 has resulted in a significant decrease of PNGSDP’s total assets of about US$144 million – from US$1.513 billion in 2012 to US$1.369 billion in 2018. The depletion of PNGSDP’s assets are partly due to excessive and unjustified expenditure by PNGSDP on administrative and governance expenses totaling over US$65 million from 2013 to 2018.
Mr. Steven concluded by stating that the government will take all steps necessary, including pursuing further legal proceedings against PNGSDP to ensure that PNGSDP is accountable to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (PNG) has acknowledged the government’s commitment to table a full audited report of Covid-19 SoE funding in Parliament when it resumes on June 2.
TIPNG chairman Peter Aitsi commended the government on taking the first steps towards breaking a trend of administrations evading public scrutiny that has plagued PNG emergency public procurement in recent years.
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TIPNG) chairman Peter Aitsi commended the government on taking the first steps towards breaking a trend of administrations evading public scrutiny that has plagued PNG emergency public procurement in recent years. TIPNG has acknowledged the government’s commitment to table a full audited report of COVID-19 SoE funding in Parliament when it resumes on the 2nd of June.
«It is very encouraging to note that our government has now made this commitment to table a fully audited COVID-19 SOE funding report at the earliest available opportunity when Parliament resumes on 2 June 2020. This demonstrates that they are taking the responsibility to set a better example in the way that emergency public procurement can be managed,» said Peter Aitsi.
http://www.looppng.com/png-news/govt-pursue-legal-proceedings-92081
https://www.onepng.com/2020/05/png-pm-marape-denies-rumours-of-cabinet.html
