Papua New Guinea has become a land of lost opportunity with poor governance preventing the nation from reaching its full potential to enable growth, peace and prosperity for its 8 million people. The improper use of public funding and resources by individuals and state agencies and the lack of accountability and transparency in major government-funded projects have created an air of uncertainty and enabled a conducive environment for improper conduct.
The drafters of the Papua New Guinea Constitution in the pre-independence period called for the equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth among all citizens. But the appeal has over the years been skewed by individuals in position of power in their favor, marginalizing thousands of people and communities and ensuring that the wealth of the nation remained in the hands of an elite few. The country’s weak institutional structures continue to make the different arms of government and agencies vulnerable to poor governance.
The 20 cases have been grouped under 6 different clusters and were put under those different categories based on their thematic relationships. For example, under Cluster 1 (Risky State Investments) are Central City Project, Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone, 5-Star Boroko Casino Hotel and Sir Hubert Murray Stadium. These projects share the commonality of being projects where the State made a direct investment in the form of public funds (including concessional loans), the leasing of State land or tax holidays to the project developer or manager.
Review of Cases
This report is a systemic review of 20 selected corruption and poor governance cases in Papua New Guinea over a 10-year period (2007 -2017). It is mainly based on publicly-available information including newspaper articles, online reports, and telephone interviews and email correspondence with individuals familiar with the issues.
TIPNG’s intention in doing this review is to remind the public, our elected leaders and the media, that the cases need to be resolved through our concerted efforts- for the good of our country.
NO: | UNRESOLVED NATIONAL ISSUES | DATE ISSUE AROSE | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1.1 | Central City Project | Central City Project | Risky State investments | October 2007 |
1.2 | Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone | Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone | Risky State investments | November 2015 |
1.3 | 5-star Boroko casino Hotel | 5-star Boroko casino Hotel | Risky State investments | September 2011 |
1.4 | Sir Hubert Murray Stadium | Sir Hubert Murray Stadium | Risky State investments | September 2013 |
1.5 | Star Mountain Plaza Hotel | Star Mountain Plaza Hotel | Risky State investments | September 2015 |
2.1 | Special Agriculture & Business Lease | Special Agriculture & Business Lease | State-sanctioned land grabs | July 2011 |
2.2 | Konebada Petroleum Park | Konebada Petroleum Park | State-sanctioned land grabs | August 2015 |
2.3 | Manumanu Land Deal | Manumanu Land Deal | State-sanctioned land grabs | January 2017 |
3.1 | National Identification Card | National Identification Card | State agencies lacking accountability | November 2014 |
3.2 | Border Development Authority | Border Development Authority | State agencies lacking accountability | July 2010 |
3.3 | Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals | Borneo Pacific Pharmaceuticals | State agencies lacking accountability | May 2014 |
4.1 | Rehabilitation of Education Sector Infrastructure | Rehabilitation of Education Sector Infrastructure | State abuse of assets and funds | September 2011 |
4.2 | Boram Hospital | Boram Hospital | State abuse of assets and funds | March 2015 |
4.3 | National Housing Corporation | National Housing Corporation | State abuse of assets and funds | August 2015 |
5.1 | Independent Commission Against Corruption | Independent Commission Against Corruption | State laxness to critical bills | February 2014 |
5.2 | Whistle-Blower Legislation | Whistle-Blower Legislation | State laxness to critical bills | October 2009 |
5.3 | Sovereign Wealth Fund | Sovereign Wealth Fund | State laxness to critical bills | May 2014 |
6.1 | Department of Finance Commission of Inquiry | Department of Finance Commission of Inquiry | State travesty of justice | October 2009 |
6.2 | Djoko Tjandra | Djoko Tjandra | State travesty of justice | June 2009 |
6.3 | UPNG Police Shooting Inquiry | UPNG Police Shooting Inquiry | State travesty of justice | June 2016 |