New Papua New Guinea leader a wildcard in Pacific power play

By Tom Westbrook, Colin Packham - Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) - When Papua New Guinea’s lawmakers started to shift their weight in their parliamentary seats in preparation for a tense vote on a new prime minister on Thursday, James Marape looked uninterested, his head lowered, fingers tapping his phone.

The former finance minister later explained he was preparing notes for a speech, should numbers fall his way.

They did, and the notes turned into a powerful series of addresses which signaled a desire to reset how the archipelago conducts business and diplomacy amid a strategic battle between China and the United States for influence in the Pacific.

“We are still struggling to economically free ourselves,” Marape told reporters moments after he was sworn in.“The nation needs to know that this is a break free ... and the emergence of a new group of like-minded leaders,” he said referring to himself and his supporters.

Marape became prime minister after receiving 101 votes to eight in parliament, a day after former leader Peter O’Neill resigned having lost the support of the house following almost eight years in power.

The new leader told the chamber he wanted to make his country the richest black Christian nation on earth, then headed to Royal Port Moresby golf club for his regular Thursday round, according to the club’s pro, Nelson Gabriel.

DEBT OF GRATITUDE

Formerly administered by U.S.-ally Australia, PNG has in recent years turned increasingly to China for financing as Beijing becomes a bigger player in the region, something Marape is being asked by colleagues to change.

“I would request that we take a long hard look at all Chinese arrangements,” one MP who shifted from opposition to support Marape’s leadership bid told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

PNG is rich in mineral resources and is close to both U.S. military bases on the island of Guam and to Australia.

China forged a particularly strong relationship with O’Neill, who was the first Pacific leader to sign up to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure-building program and who met President Xi Jinping more than a dozen times during his time in power, the former leader’s spokesman told Reuters.

In dollar terms, PNG has the biggest debt to China among its neighbors, representing about one-quarter of its total external debt.

Foreign diplomats are now scrambling to understand the new leader, and there is belief among some PNG lawmakers and western diplomats that China has the most to lose by the change in leadership.

“We are trying to get some face time with him,” a senior British diplomatic source told Reuters.

“I suspect China is too and will be looking to pitch him with promises, but Marape has protectionist sentiments. Chinese loans often come with requirements to use Chinese labor and companies - if Marape isn’t willing to accept those terms, it could be an opportunity for the West.”

A senior U.S. government source said Marape’s family has connections with the United States because his eldest son is enrolled at a North American university.


“Marape has always been a supporter of Western principles such as democracy,” the U.S. source said.

“As finance minister he warned about unsustainable debt levels. We are comforted and buoyed by these statements.”

China’s embassy in Port Moresby did not respond to requests for comment. Analysts say Marape’s former job as finance minister will make him a familiar and friendly face to Chinese diplomats.

“We will engage with the Chinese government and its people (and) so long as it is fair and friendly to us and in our terms, we’re happy with that,” Marape told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television.

SON OF A PREACHER
The 48-year-old son of a Seventh Day Adventist pastor, Marape hails from PNG’s poor but gas-rich highlands.

He supported a 2009 landowner agreement that paved the way for Exxon’s $19 billion PNG LNG project, according to local media reports at the time, but soon became a critic of the oil and gas giant after the anticipated tax-take came in lower than forecast.

On Thursday, he put some of the world’s biggest resources companies including France’s Total on notice over a perceived lack of wealth flowing from their projects back to communities.

Total’s Chairman and CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, told journalists in Paris on Wednesday that O’Neill had defended the interest of his country during the negotiations.

While Marape has indicated he wants to diversify the country’s interests and develop its tourism industry, he is not against resources development.


In his highlands electoral base, he has led disarmament initiatives to strip “gun-toting cowboys” of their weapons, who he has blamed for trying to interrupt gas operations.

Parliamentary colleagues are expecting him to shake things up.

“It is time for a transition, it is time for a new generation ... to move on and bring some of the change that our people have been crying for,” Charles Abel, who served as O’Neill’s deputy, told parliament after Marape’s election.

Reporting by Tom Westbrook, Colin Packham and Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; Writing by Jonathan Barrett; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

Go to this link for more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-papua-politics-idUSKCN1T10QY

New PNG PM pledges to 'take back economy' from foreigners

By Angus Grigg, Lisa Murray & Jonathan Shapiro - AFR Financial Review

Papua New Guinea’s new Prime Minister James Marape has put foreign companies on notice, pledging to change laws in the resources sector and “take back the economy”.

Delivering his first speech since easily winning a parliamentary leadership vote on Thursday morning, Mr Marape praised his predecessor Peter O’Neill while indicating he would move the country in a new direction.

“Who says one conglomerate from outside can come and tell me I can’t change the laws for my country,” he told parliament.

“I have every right to tweak and turn resource laws. We are all about maximising resources for our country.”

The nationalistic rhetoric marks a departure from the O’Neill Government and could delay a critical agreement with the government that is needed to proceed with a $US14 billion expansion of LNG as the new Prime Minister seeks to renegotiate the fiscal terms.

There are two separate ventures: Papua LNG, led by France's Total; and PNG LNG, led by ExxonMobil. ASX-listed Oil Search has a stake in both ventures. Shares in Oil Search closed 2 cents lower at $7.13.

At a press conference, Mr Marape pledged to table an Ombudsman Commission report into the government's borrowing of $1.2 billion from investment bank UBS - a complicated deal which cost PNG at least $400 million.

The investigation into the loan, which financed PNG’s purchase of a 10 per cent stake in Oil Search, was one of the main weapons used by the opposition to bring down Mr O’Neill.

Tabling the report, which found the deal may have resulted in 15 laws being broken, is the first step in bringing disciplinary action against Mr O’Neill.

Former PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill officially resigned on Wednesday. AP

“Now that he has been dislodged from the office of Prime Minister he can expect to face criminal prosecution,” opposition MP Brian Kramer said on Wednesday evening.

Go to this link for more: https://www.afr.com/business/energy/new-png-pm-pledges-to-take-back-economy-from-foreigners-20190530-p51svy

Introducing PNG's new leader: James Marape

By Johnny Blades, Radio New Zealand Pacific Journalist

On the face of it, Papua New Guinea's new prime minister is an odd mix: a humble Christian and a political heavyweight in a cut-throat parliament.

After all, rising to the top of PNG's political scene - so often a flock of vultures driven less by national interest than the need to feather their own nests - is not for the faint-hearted.

But James Marape has prevailed through a combination of timing and audacity. The MP for Tari-Pori became PNG's eighth prime minister by rolling the man who he had supported as a key lieutenant since 2011.

It was Mr Marape's resignation as Finance Minister seven weeks ago, citing mistrust with the prime minister, which triggered a series of mass defections from Peter O'Neill's ruling People's National Congress party and the coalition government.

A flood of grievances over PNG's ailing economy, deteriorating basic services, handling of the country's resource wealth and festering corruption allegations ultimately turned the tide against Mr O'Neill who resigned as prime minister this week after almost eight years in the role.

The new prime minister was elected by an overwhelming majority of MPs on Thursday. A Seventh Day Adventist who is a graduate of the University of PNG with a Bachelor in Arts and honours in environmental science, Mr Marape made a gesture of humility in his maiden speech as PNG's leader.

"I am not multi-talented, I am the first to admit this. I am neither a saint. I make mistakes - that I can promise you. But I will make honest mistakes and not deliberate mistakes. In my lack of total talent and knowledge, I will draw from every one of you."

In essence, the rump of the O'Neill-led government has merely reconfigured to remain in power with a new leader. However significant hopes for change are pinned on Mr Marape's emergence as prime minister.

James Marape (centre in black suit) walks back to parliament after being sworn in as prime minister of Papua New Guinea, 30 May 2019. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Melvin Levongo

Bold move

If Mr Marape had not been bold enough to leave the government and combine forces with the opposition, as the opportunity for a motion of no confidence against Mr O'Neill arose, there would probably have been no change in leadership.

Such has been Mr O'Neil's mastery of the PNG political scene that few MPs in government have been willing to risk the perks of government and access to district funds by deserting him. But the signs have been clear for some time that people across PNG have been suffering for lack of basic services, especially health, and want change.

While Madang MP Bryan Kramer may claim to have landed lasting blows against Mr O'Neill with his relentless Facebook attacks, it was James Marape who ultimately brought the government down. When Mr Marape left government, more MPs followed him. He is personable, has significant mana, and shares genuine friendships across the chamber.

As PNG's new leader, he likened himself to a choir master bringing different singers together to deliver a harmonious performance, and begged membersfrom both sides of the house to follow the music he sets.

"Combined we can make a song that our children shall truly deserve in this country. No child must be left behind."

Telling parliament that he wanted PNG to be "the richest, black, Christian nation on planet Earth" within a decade, Mr Marape prioritised addressing uneven benefits from the country's abundant resource wealth.

One of the central reasons he left Mr O'Neill in April was disatisfaction at how his people had not seen promised benefits from PNG's first major LNG gas project, operated by ExxonMobil, which is based in his province, Hela, and has been exporting successfully for almost five years.

The new-look government, whose cabinet is yet to be finalised, is to review laws governing mining, oil and gas and other resource sectors, with Mr Marape saying his leadership was all about PNG taking back ownership of its economy in which foreign entities play a dominant role.

"We don't need more foreigners to come in and export our forestry sector. Those players currently playing in this country, your time is now to go into downstream (processing) and not round log exports."

James Marape said he didn't intend to chase away investors, but rather he encouraged them. Yet he insisted that PNG must maximise gain from its God-given resources.

Peter O'Nell and James Marape celebrate election success in 2017 Photo: PMO Media

Patchy record

A lingering problem for James Marape is that he has been caught up in some of Peter O'Neill's most glaring scandals in recent years.

Both of them were implicated in an alleged fraud case over which police sought an arrest warrant for Mr O'Neill in 2014. The case has not yet fully made it to court because the arrest warrant and other machinations behind the investigation were subjected to myriad legal challenges by the former prime minister.

Along with Mr O'Neill, Mr Marape was referred by the Ombudsman for a leadership tribunal investigation over a controversial $US1.2 billion loan that the government took on from Swiss-based investment bank UBS in 2014.

The two MPs come from the same Highlands region where deadly violence broke out during the 2017 elections and raged on well into 2018. Much of the unrest was sparked over widespread perceptions that the polls were rigged.

Mr Marape was declared the winner by PNG's Electoral Commission with just over 50 per cent of a total of 60,000 votes that were reportedly cast in his constituency - which was remarkable given the electoral roll had only about 40,000 eligible voters in Tari-Pori electorate.

During this week's dramatic parliament proceedings, in which Mr O'Neill finally resigned after appearing to backtrack on an earlier commitment to stand down, Mr Marape admitted that as a member of government he had made mistakes, but these were not deliberate. It was the systematic mistakes, he said, that his leadership would be working to eradicate.

He reminded the chamber that all the MPs were humans, and humans are not perfect, for that is the way God planned it.

James Marape and his wife Rachael Marape signing the visitors book at Government House after arriving for his swearing in as Prime Minister of PNG. Photo: PNG PM Media

Go to this link for more: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/390979/introducing-png-s-new-leader-james-marape

Marape, 31 MPs break away from Laguna camp

Posted on The National

TARI-Pori MP James Marape and 31 MPs yesterday left the Opposition camp and held talks with the Government MPs on a candidate to succeed Peter O’Neill as prime minister.
The election of a new MP is the first order of business when Parliament sits today.
The Government MPs are camping at the Crowne Plaza. Opposition Leader Patrick Pruaitch’s group remains at the Laguna Hotel.
Marape’s group booked into the Grand Papua next to the Crown Plaza.
After Peter O’Neill announced in Parliament his resignation as prime minister, Abau MP Sir Puka Temu walked back to the Government side saying it was something he had promised if O’Neill resigned. He was followed by Ijivitari MP Richard Masare.
After Parliament was adjourned, Marape, Southern Highlands Governor William Powi, Pangu Party leader Ginson Saonu, Sir Peter Ipatas and 28 MPs jump on a bus and went to the Grand Papua.
O’Neill and his group also left through the same door for their Crown Plaza camp.
Later, Marape, Powi, Sir Peter and Renbo Paita left for the Crown Plaza and were met by Works Minister Michael Nali.
There was a big cheer when they walked into the Government camp. O’Neill and his team hugged them.
After about 45 minutes, Marape and his group left for their hotel.
About an hour later, O’Neill, Sam Basil and Sir Julius Chan left the Crowne Plaza to meet Marape and his group at the Grand Papua.
At 3.15pm, everyone returned to the Crown Plaza – a total of 76 MPs together.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/marape-31-mps-break-away-from-laguna-camp/

Marape’s wife vows to support husband

By HELEN TARAWA - The National 

RACHAEL Marape, the wife of Prime Minister James Marape, says she will continue to support her husband in his new role.
The mother of six, originally from East Sepik, told The National that she had always been behind the scene to support him.
“I have a responsibility as a mother and a wife which will not change. I am a simple woman and I do things for myself, even driving around.
“But that may change now. I am a simple and supportive wife. I will ways be there doing whatever I have to do for my husband.”
She was at the Laguna camp with her husband’s group of 28, then moved with them on Wednesday to the Grand Papua.
“After the hard work put in by all the MPs which I witnessed, I was moved in parliament when they were expressing themselves,” she said.
“This is politics – horse trading as they call it – and I was just watching. When I saw them in tears, I also felt for them.
“I know it’s a challenge.
“I’m always in the background just supporting my husband. So this is exactly what I will be doing.
“The Marapes have five sons and a daughter, including a set of twins.
“I informed my children three weeks ago that this was expected to happen and the older ones accepted.
“But the younger children said they did not like the idea because that would mean not having to spend time with their father.”

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New PNG leader 'taking back' economy, puts resources firms on notice

By Tom Westbrook, Jonathan Barrett, Sonali Paul - Reuters

SYDNEY/BRISBANE (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea’s new prime minister pledged on Thursday to “tweak and turn” laws governing how natural resources are extracted to help lift the vast South Pacific archipelago out of poverty.

James Marape, a former finance minister who became leader after winning a vote in parliament, put some of the world’s biggest resources companies on notice over a perceived lack of wealth flowing from their projects back to communities.

Marape, who hails from PNG’s poor but gas-rich highlands, had even quit the government in April after questioning a deal with France’s Total, which allows it, Oil Search Ltd and ExxonMobil Corp to begin work on a $13 billion plan to double gas exports.

He rode a wave of discontent over how taxes and royalties from a $19 billion Exxon-led LNG project were delayed and distributed, among other projects, into the top office.

“At the moment our resource laws are outdated ... we will look into maximizing gain from what God has given this country from our natural resources,” he said in his first address to parliament as prime minister.

“I have every right to tweak and turn resource laws for my country, then it will empower my citizens as well,” he told the chamber to cheers and applause.

“I truly want this country to be the richest black Christian nation on the planet,” he added.

Exxon said it looked forward to working with the new leadership. Oil Search said it did not comment on politics.

Total’s Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne told journalists on the sidelines of the company’s shareholders meeting in Paris on Wednesday evening that he would not comment on the political situation in Papua New Guinea.

“Our accord has been negotiated... the (former) prime minister very well defended the interest of his country during the discussions. It is a major project that would need some more work before it is launched,” Pouyanne said.

PNG also hosts significant gold mines operated by Newcrest Mining and, separately, Barrick Gold and Zijin Mining Group.

Newcrest, which runs the Lihir operation and is also developing one of the world’s largest untapped gold reserves in a joint venture with South Africa’s Harmony Gold, said it looked forward to working with Marape’s government.

POLITICAL DRAMA

Marape became prime minister after receiving 101 votes to eight in parliament, a day after Peter O’Neill resigned having lost the support of the house after almost eight years in power.

Political instability is not unusual in PNG, but Marape’s resignation from cabinet in April tapped into growing concern over governance and resource benefits not reaching the poor.

After losing the support of several high-profile colleagues, O’Neill quit last weekend but later said it was not a formal resignation as he waited for a court challenge designed to thwart a looming no-confidence vote he seemed sure to lose.

After losing control of parliament O’Neill formally resigned on Wednesday, but the political fight was not over.

Thursday’s parliamentary proceedings started late as last minute deals were brokered. O’Neill was unexpectedly re-nominated as a leadership candidate, only to withdraw again after a few minutes to throw his support behind Marape.

RESOURCE RICHES

After he was sworn in, Marape told a news conference he would focus on “taking back our economy” and proposed an overhaul of mining, forestry and fishing laws.

He said any changes to laws would not be retrospective.

“We are not here to break legally binding project agreements,” he told reporters when asked if he would consider reviewing the Exxon LNG deal.

But he added: “If we find any project agreement ... that has not fully complied with proscribed provisions of law, then we are open to reviewing and scrutinizing them.”

Santos Ltd, an Australian gas producer, said it did not expect project delays due to the leadership change in PNG.

“I don’t hear anybody talking about stopping or slowing down new developments,” said Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher, referring to the P’nyang gas agreement, a farm-in deal being negotiated to expand the Exxon-led project.

“It’s about getting the terms right. I think that’s fair enough. We just have to work through that process,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

PNG business leaders gave cautious support to Marape.

“I believe he is rational and seems to lean towards respecting and grandfathering current agreements,” said Isikeli Taureka, chairman of Kinabank and a former oil and gas executive at Chevron and InterOil, said in a text message.

The political uncertainty has knocked almost 6% from shares in Oil Search, an Australian partner in large LNG projects in PNG, since the challenge to O’Neill gained traction last week.

Oil Search shares climbed in early trade, but turned negative after Marape’s election to close down 0.3 percent in a broader market that also closed lower.

Many PNG residents listened and watched the political drama unfold on television, according to media reports, but were more sanguine about the outcome than politicians in the capital.

“I don’t know at the moment,” said Julie Sakol, a nurse at Mendi hospital in the highlands who watched Marape’s speech.

“They were a few good words, but after that, how he will actually proceed, we will wait and see,” she said.

Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY and Sonali Paul in BRISBANE; Additional reporting by Melanie Burton and Bate Felix in PARIS; Writing by Jonathan Barrett.; Editing by Paul Tait, Darren Schuettler and Toby Chopra

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Who is James Marape, 8th PM of PNG?

BY STEFAN ARMBRUSTER - SBS NEWS

Papua New Guinea's parliament has elected former finance minister James Marape as the country's new prime minister. Here's a look at the new leader.

James Marape was elected yesterday as the eight prime minister of Papua New Guinea, but he was already a leader.

Mr Marape is a leader of the Huli people - one of the largest tribes in the country - and he defines his life by their ancient customary code.

Trust and loyalty are central to Huli culture in the turbulent PNG highlands and it was those factors he cited when resigning as finance minister from his predecessor Peter O’Neill’s government in April.

After serving Mr O’Neill loyally for seven years, he felt his policy advice was being ignored and he no longer had the faith or trust of his leader. So he quit.

The 49-year-old graduated from the University of PNG in 1993 with a Bachelor in Arts and honours in environmental science.

First entering parliament in 2007 as a National Alliance Party candidate, he was appointed a minister for education in then prime minister Sir Michael Somare’s government.

When Mr O’Neill deposed Sir Michael in 2011, Mr Marape joined the new prime minister's People’s National Congress (PNC) party and after the 2012 election was made finance minister.

During the tumultuous O’Neill government, he loyally served and was the confidante of his leader.

Together they faced down arrest warrants issued by the anti-corruption body Taskforce Sweep that the O’Neill government established and then abolished.

James Marape (fourth from left) and Huli wigmen.

Supplied

His election in 2012 was in the seat of Tari-Pori in a newly created province called Hela.

Carved out from the Southern Highlands Province, the home of the world-famous Huli wigmen, it inherited little infrastructure, poor roads, little electricity, and a broken health and education system.

Mr Marape promised to fix this for his Huli people using the expected millions in royalties from PNG’s first LNG project. But progress was much slower than expected.

A combination of the battered global economy and over-optimistic forecasts wiped out revenues and the windfall from LNG never eventuated.

Along with Mr O’Neill, as finance minister he was heavily criticised by the Ombudsman’s Commission over a $1.23billion loan scandal with Swiss bank USB with which PNG bought a stake in ASX-listed Oil Search and enabled the LNG project.

He was re-elected in 2017 in controversial circumstances.

Voting was beset by violence and election observers questioned the excess ballots to the number on the electoral roll in the seat.

He was reappointed finance minister in the O’Neill government.

When Mr Marape resigned in April this year, he blamed being excluded from negotiations by Mr O’Neill on an even bigger $16billion LNG project with resource companies Total, ExxonMobil and Oil Search.

His move came as the 18-month, post-election lock-out period for a parliamentary “vote of no confidence” (VONC) in the government was nearing.

It led to the defection of dozens of government MPs and Mr Marape quit the PNC and joined the Pangu Party.

Mr O’Neill’s leadership was never put to the test in parliament. He resigned as prime minister which then saw Mr Marape elected with the support of 101 of the 111 MPs.

In his maiden speech as prime minister, Mr Marape promised to review “outdated” resource and mining legislation, not to be pushed around by foreign corporations and ensure services were provided for his people with a fair share of revenues.

He concluded by stating his vision was for PNG to become “the richest, black, Christian nation on planet earth”.

Go to this link for more: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/who-is-james-marape-8th-pm-of-png

A CALL TO DRAIN THE WAIGANI SWAMP AND SWAMP-DWELLERS

By Sam Koim-Posted on Facebook Page

I join the rest of the country to CONGRATULATE YOU on your election as the 8th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.

I’ll skip most of the pleasantries as I believe you have a bucket full of it by now. Please allow me to get straight to my message to you.

Prime Minister, you are taking the baton of leadership at a difficult time when our country is in a critical condition. The economic turmoil with fall in income and huge public debt, increasing law and order problems, and lack of basic services, are amongst the many development challenges we are facing. I believe you already know and have better plans to address them hence I do not wish to labour your time on it.

Prime Minister, your message to “Take Back PNG” and transform it to be the “Richest Black Christian Nation on Earth” brings so much hope and a sense of direction for the Country. I am one of those hopefuls, who, in the following passages, would like to put up some sign posts on the side so that you can achieve that goalpost for us all.

Like you, many before you had jubilantly entered this most coveted office with so much passion, vision and energy, but regrettably left without achieving much. They meant well and started well, but lost their path and got stuck in what I call “Waigani Swamp”.

May I take this opportunity to draw your fresh attention to the Waigani Swamp and swamp-dwellers that continue to undermine service delivery, sap energy, steal dreams, manufacture inertia and stifle development. That swamp is the “weak bureaucracy” which comprises of (a) Institutions (swamp) and (b) Public Servants (swamp-dwellers).

The bureaucracy is the fulcrum of the Government, for without it, nothing gets done. It is the lynchpin for the change that you envisage. It is the main driver of your new Government’s policies. It can propel you forward toward successes or bog you down in failure.

Unfortunately for you, Mr. Prime Minister, the bureaucracy that you are inheriting is sick hence weak and dysfunctional. The theme “Take Back PNG” is the clarion call we all share as it truly reflects the sick state of our bureaucracy and the need to restore it. It needs immediate treatment but not without proper diagnosis first. As medical practitioners would attest, it is a cardinal sin to offer treatment without first diagnosing the disease itself.

Curing the democratic deficits, augmenting regulatory fragilities, cutting-out red-tapes to restore institutional efficiency and agility, realigning policy and institutional coherence, and reinvigorating public servants’ sense of duty and improving their performance, are among the mammoth tasks ahead. It will require a pruning exercise. Pruning is always painful, but is always purposeful, for the health of our young democracy depends on it.

I am a strong advocate for institutional governance, for it is the institutions that run a country. Transient occupants of the office like yourself, those before and after you, are only drivers of this machinery of government. The driver’s role is to ensure that this machinery is well lubricated and in good running condition without tempering with the mechanical composition of it. Unfortunately, this machinery you’re inheriting is dysfunctional, inefficient and too weak to take you to the peak (“make PNG the richest black Christian nation on earth”) due to tempering and neglect by previous drivers since independence.

PNG needs powerful institutions; Not powerful individuals. We are a Country that must be ruled by law, not men. The ideal democracy should be one that is ruled by law, run by institutions and led by leaders. That is the robust democracy we should aspire to become.

Another major impediment to our development is of course, Corruption. There is growing public demand for establishing an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as a central anti-corruption agency. All eyes are on you whether you will complete the establishment of the ICAC from where it was left off by the previous government.

Whilst this may be an immediate action by popular demand, I have reservations for a quick fix to an endemic and rooted problem. In my experience and research of international literature, many ICAC (or ICAC like) institutions have failed whilst only a few have succeeded. Those experiences show that ICAC works well in a governance environment that is sound. In a weak governance environment such as ours where most of the existing integrity institutions are either weak or have collapsed, ICAC will become an added problem than a solution. Improve the existing institutions as I have proposed here to featherbed the creation of ICAC. Whilst more work is done on improving existing institutions and the establishment of ICAC, existing institutions can be enabled and coordinated to curtail the spread of corruption.

In the next few days, you will be deciding on who will run with you –your dream partners. Whilst you owe it to those who made you PM, my meaning of “dream partners” has more to do with competence than convenience. A coach who aims to win a game knows the ability of his players and positions them accordingly. I believe I am representing the silent majority to urge you to choose carefully. The pruning process can start with the selection of your dream partners.

The law guarantees you an uninterrupted balance of this term of Parliament to make decisive decisions and turn this country around. As you have experienced, our rather complex dynamics of convergence and divergence of governmental power gravitates around the seat you now occupy. I know there will be competing interests and unending temptations that comes with the territory that you have to constantly make judgement calls to balance with what is best for the country. The resolve is yours.

The task of draining the swamp (or curing it) may seem daunting and onerous for your short term, but it can also set the platform for another term if you perform well. Even if you do not return as Prime Minister after the next election, history will remember you for draining the swamp and rebuilding institutional governance. Remember, Goliath was too big to die, but he was also too big to miss a stone.

Our people have been promised before and are forever married to that hope, yet divorced from reality. Time and again, our people have been fed with political rhetoric but live in squalid conditions. They have been waiting and praying for service delivery, not knowing that the service delivery machinery was sick and in sick bed.

I believe that Corruption and bureaucracy are the two main development challenges that I would like to draw to your attention. Address these two issues and it will help you to effectively address other challenges. It is my hope that you will not join the former club of promisers, but stand out to trailblaze the delivery this Country has been earnestly seeking.

I believe you have acquired the experience to manage the politics, the knowledge for institutional governance and the heart to lead this Great Rich Black Christian Nation. May God grant you the Prime Ministerial wisdom.

Congratulations Again, Hon James Marape!

May God Bless PNG!

Sam Koim