Health budget in air

Posted on The National

TREASURY Minister Ian Ling-Stuckey says the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s K320 million in budget support for Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s health sector that is due in November is in limbo.
“This is solely due to (Peter) O’Neill regime’s record of economic mismanagement. The regime’s so-called free healthcare policy and massive cuts to the health sector since 2015 are now threatening a delay in the release of the ADB funds for a cheap yet well-designed health policy reform assistance.
“This is just another part of the disgraceful mess left by the O’Neill regime that we are discovering in our due diligence check of his cooked books,” Ling-Stuckey said in a statement yesterday.
He said on almost all health indicators, PNG ranked in the bottom few of the 43 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
“This must be turned around. The ADB has been an extremely valuable partner for PNG. It has been supporting development in our country even before our Independence.
“It has taken on difficult tasks that others feared. It has stuck with us through good times and bad. 2019 was the second year of a major programme of health sector reform totalling just over K1 billion from 2018 to 2020.
“This was a policy-based loan. PNG gets budget support if it meets certain health and budget reform conditions. All required health reforms had been undertaken.
“However, the extraordinary economic mismanagement of the O’Neill regime means we have not met the required standards for budget policy,” he added.
Ling-Stuckey said there was a very important meeting last Thursday between senior visiting ADB staff and the Prime Minister, National Planning and Monitoring Minister and State Enterprises Minister.
“We need to expose the truth and propose sensible solutions. This includes actions in a planned Supplementary Budget so that PNG starts to live within its means again.
“We will continue to work closely with the ADB to restore confidence and build on the ADB’s valuable work in PNG. We have, thus, discussed options for ADB’s support for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
“(State Enterprises) Minister (Sasindran) Muthuvel has been leading these negotiations and is building a good reform agenda for our SOEs to deliver better services and to provide some of the key enablers of growth, such as reliable power supplies and cheaper, faster communication systems,” he added.
In an immediate response, O’Neill claims Ling-Stuckey is playing politics with the economy and attacking his former Government’s eight years of policies and programmes that current premier, James Marape, was a member.
He said: “What he (Ling-Stuckey) has to appreciate is that the policies of the O’Neill Government are the same policies as the Marape Government.
“Marape was then the Finance Minister with Patrick Pruaitch as Treasurer. They evolved with my Government after the 2012 General Election.
“Our record has seen continuous and uninterrupted growth despite challenging conditions. This has been observed and commended by many international organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
“Our credit ratings had been stable and economic fundamentals were solid and sound.
“That is our record and we are proud of that,” he added.
“Members of Parliament know that the O’Neill Government, with James Marape, delivered the most sensible approach to economic development and overcoming the challenges we face in the domestic and international economy.
“We all know that the new Treasurer brings with him a huge questionable experience of managing New Ireland Province that sadly led to bankruptcy when he was Governor through his famous Lemus Structure.
“If the Treasurer thinks that what he calls the O’Neill solutions are not working, then now is his time to offer credible alternatives, not just issue press statements.
“Managing the government of the nation is as complex as it is common sense, and the Treasurer needs to draw on both if he is to do his job properly.
“Name calling is below the high office of the Treasurer, so for the good of this nation I hope he can focus on the future,” he added.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/health-budget-in-air/

K500,000 for Hela Privincial Health Authority Doctors Incentives

By Amos Libe

Today a cheque presentation of K500,000 was made to the Hela Privincial Health Authority (HPHA) as doctors incentives by Hela Governor Hon. Philip Aja Undialu on behalf of the Hela Provincial Government (HPG). This was from a commitment he made early on in the year.

Getting in qualified and experienced health professionals has been one of the major challenges of the HPHA in the past couple of years. Hela is seen by many as a challenging place to work. Hence, this funding support will go a long way in retaining as well as recruiting new qualified and experienced, specialist medicial professionals to take up specialised roles in the HPHA.

The Hela Provincial Government under the Political leadership of Governor Undialu as well as Provincial Administrator William Bando have continuously supported the HPHA. In the recent past they also gave a K1million funding support early last year. This funds have been used in many of the capital works programs currently happening within the Tari Hospital premises. This includes changing the face of the hospital with the new Accident and Emergency building being erected in front.

On behalf of the HPHA board and administration under Dr. James Kintwa , I would like to extend my appreciation to Governor Undialu, all the Hela Assembly members and the HPG for this timely support. We appreciate your efforts to maintaining a healthy and commited working relationship between HPG and HPHA. We also look forward to your continued support in the future.

Health is everyone's business and the HPG has shown commitment to this cause. This is appreciated by all stakeholders. Especially the people to which we owe and who deserve nothing less.

Pressure on MRDC to come clean on LNG revenue

By MEKERE MORAUTA - PNG Attitude
MP for Moresby North-West and former Prime Minister

PORT MORESBY - The Mineral Resources Development Corporation (MRDC) needs to publish up-to-date audited details of its group finances since PNG LNG gas production began in mid-2014.

MRDC manages landowner equity interests in both mining and petroleum projects and is chaired by chief secretary Isaac Lupari.

It is estimated that almost K1 billion in landowner royalties has flowed into its coffers since then, but virtually none of that money has reached its rightful owners.

And, contrary to claims by MRDC last week, I am advised that the company has not paid any dividends on the investments it has made on behalf of landowners from their royalty payments.

Hundreds of millions of kina have been invested, but are these profitable, sound investments?

MRDC can make flowery statements, empty promises and false and irrelevant denials, but the fact is that, without publishing its accounts, it cannot prove what it says is true.

It cannot demonstrate that it is operating according to the law, or that landowners are receiving a fair return on their funds.

MRDC’s independent auditors have refused to sign off financial statements. The auditor-general has refused to sign off financial statements. And MRDC has not supplied financial statements to the auditor-general or the Investment Promotion Authority as required.

This is why it is so important that the public inquiry into MRDC proposed by prime minister James Marape goes ahead as soon as possible. In the meantime MRDC should immediately come clean on the state of its finances.

It is in the landowners’ interests that current information verified by independent auditors and the auditor-general is made available.

Failure to supply that information will only heighten public suspicions that all is not well at MRDC. Has there been waste, abuse and mismanagement? The public, as owners of this state corporation, has a right to know.

The information required includes details of trust accounts and other accounts holding landowner funds, the cost and current value of MRDC’s investments, returns on those investments to landowners, withdrawals of landowner funds and details of board approvals for them, payments to all directors and management, fees charged by MRDC to subsidiary companies, and payments to suppliers.

A media release issued last week by MRDC consisted of spin and misinformation. The dividends the company claimed to have been paid are not dividends from MRDC’s investment of landowner funds. They are dividends paid from underlying resource projects as a result of equity participation negotiated by the State.

Nor can MRDC legitimately claim any increase in asset values because its financial statements have been called into question by its independent auditors and the auditor-general.

The value of MRDC’s investments using landowner funds is singled out for criticism by its auditors and the auditor-general. There are other question marks over short term deposits, receivables, related party balances, income tax and financial statement disclosures.

Other comments made by MRDC have an equally unsound basis – none of the documents or processes it refers to in its media release are open to public scrutiny. MRDC, unlike most other state-owned enterprises, does not even have a website.

Everything MRDC does is shrouded in secrecy. It has not provided up-to-date information or full information or even correct information for years.

Now is the time to provide it.

Go to this link for more: https://www.pngattitude.com/2019/09/mrdc-must-come-clean-on-png-lng-revenue.html

IN MY COUNTRY

By Daniel Kumbon

In my country there are many different cultural groups speaking over 800 different languages

Four of us from three regions of PNG waited for another person interested also in books and how important it is for school children

Caroline, her husband and two children from Oro, Betty from Hela and me from Enga waited but decided to leave after an hour for he is a busy man too

Cr Paul Kurai called me 15 minutes later to say he was nearly there, where we had been at VC

I am just as happy I was able to introduce Caroline’s small reading book ‘In My Country’ on my own.

The book is one of many children’s books Caroline has published, a book I instantly felt was suitable for Grade 1, 2 & 3 pupils in Elementary Schools

I would have liked Caroline, her husband and Betty to meet Cr Paul Kurai

For he is also interested in books and the education of all children in PNG

He has published his own autobiography and established Kurai Memorial Primary School In memory of his father who had been a Councilor and paramount chief on ‘The Ridge’ at Kaiap in Wabag

We might meet Cr Paul Kurai in the next couple of days as we wait for a chance to present a petition to Prime Minister James Marape to get the government to recognize literature as a tool to develop PNG

‘In my country, you will find lots of fresh food’ is a sentence taken from Caroline’s reading book - In My Country

So, Cr Kurai, his wife, a family friend and myself hit the Magi Highway where we indeed found lots of fresh food for sale and ‘kulau’s to quench our thirsts.

Talks on internet prices

Posted on The National

NATIONAL Information and Communication Technology Authority (Nicta) is in consultations with PNG DataCo to set the wholesale internet price at US$100 (K341.12) per mbps (megabytes per second) when the Coral Sea Cable is commissioned, chief executive officer Charles Punaha says.
He said that would be the anticipated starting price which would decrease over the years as utilisation levels and demand increased.
Punaha told the recent PNG Business Regulators Summit that the wholesale bandwidth in PNG currently cost US$300 (K1030.18) per mbps which was the highest in the Pacific and the cost needed to be lowered.
“We have to be competitive to what other countries in the region are also offering,” he said.
“We are now consulting with PNG DataCo to make sure that they are in agreement with what we are proposing.
“The cost of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services is very high and we are trying to bring that down both for business and individual Papua New Guineans.
“We started a public enquiry process looking at pricing principals at how the country will benefit from this facility with so much capacity that will be now available to the market.”
He said the ICT industry in Papua New Guinea would be transformed once Coral Sea cable network was commissioned for use with much higher internet speeds.
“The total capacity of that cable will be 20,000 gigabits which equates to 20 terabits that’s almost 1,000 times more than the capacity we have at the moment,” he said. “That will totally revolutionise PNG’s ICT industry.
“When it lights up at the launching, the capacity will be 200 gigabits which is more than 200 times what we currently have.”

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/talks-on-internet-prices/

Kase asked to step aside, allow probe

By REBECCA KUKU - The National

HEALTH secretary Pascoe Kase, pictured, has been asked to vacate his office so an investigation can be done into the department to ascertain issues raised by the National Doctors Association, Prime Minister James Marape says.
Marape said Kase was asked to step aside and take some time off to allow a committee to investigate.
He said when he met with the National Doctors Association (NDA) to receive its petition, they agreed that he appoint one investigator, the health minister would appoint one and NDA would appoint one.
“I appointed one, Health Minister Elias Kapavore appointed one and NDA delayed for a week and finally appointed one a week ago,” he said.
“So we will now ask the secretary to step aside for a week, vacate his office and take time off as investigations are carried out.
“My Government will never compromise the health of our people so we are sending in these investigators to ascertain the issues and matters that were raised.”
Marape said if the investigations found that there were some individuals in the department who needed to respond to some of the issues discovered, then they would deal with them.
The NDA presented a nine-point petition to Marape on Aug 27 that included:

• A need for new leadership, and secretary to be replaced;
• solutions sought for ongoing pharmaceutical crisis;
• seeking reasons for the delay (two years) in the formulation of the Radiation Bill for cancer services; NDA recommended immediate lifting of suspension of senior officers who were wrongly penalised, as they were crucially required to develop Regulations of the Radiation Safety & Control Act 2018.
• stopping the recently-created illegal department restructure which was single-handedly done by Kase with input only from some so-called foreign “advisers and consultants” with vested interests;
• reviewing of PHA boards, medical and pharmacy boards, National Health board and other policy-making and regulatory bodies;
• reviewing of existing laws that compromise health service delivery, (for example, pending amendments, pending new Bills such as the Health Practitioners Bill, formulation of Regulations (for example, the Regulations for Radiation Safety & Control Act 2018;
• full funding and implementation of National Health Services Standards rollout, which is the blue print of the National Health Plan 2011-2020;
• non-implementation of some existing NDA awards based on an MoA 2014-2017 (Health Insurance Premium outstanding payments, Medical Academics backdate and new remuneration package, home ownership scheme; and,
• Addressing the shortage of doctors by strategising immediate term solutions

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/kase-asked-to-step-aside-allow-probe/

PM cancels costly trip

Posted on The National

PRIME Minister James Marape, pictured, has cancelled his trip to United Nations General Assembly in New York because it will cost the government K1.2 million to send 55 officials to accompany him.
Marape told a press conference yesterday that he directed the travel for the majority of the delegation to be cancelled.
“That is not acceptable and I have personally directed that travel for the majority of the delegation be cancelled,” he said.
“Just five or six essential staff members will travel with Foreign Minister Soroi Eoe, who I have every confidence in, with the assistance of our highly capable team at Kundu New York, will represent our interests when the General Assembly meets.
“I want to place, on record, my belief in the importance of the General Assembly meeting and the role of the United Nations.
“This is particularly the case in relation to climate change, which remains a very real and urgent issue for PNG and the islands of the Pacific.”
Marape said he had Bougainville, along with several internal issues, to attend to and nominated Eoe and Environment Conservation and Climate Change Minister Geoffery Kama to attend in his place.
“The United Nations General Assembly session is going on and I decided not to attend due to pressing matters at home,” he said.
“As you all know, I am to address the United Nations this week (Sept 27).
“It is also a very important date for us, especially for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“The writs will be issued for the referendum on Sept 27 and I thought it was more important for me to stay at home.
“The security, the success of our nation and matters that are of more importance for us to address.
“I conveyed our apologies to the United Nations general-secretary as an organisation that I will not be attending.”

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/pm-cancels-costly-trip/