The 2024 PNG Investment Week is all set to commence on the 6th of December in Sydney Australia, where the issue of Security and Development will be at the forefront of discussions. A high-powered panel will be discussing on the need for Papua New Guinea to improve Security and Development, to improve investor confidence. When providing an update on the 2024 PNG Investment Week, PNG CORE President Anthony Smaré said that because security was the top concern of any potential investor in PNG, it was important that a prominent session was dedicated to the issue on Day 1 of the Conference. “Improvement of PNG’s security environment is the number one concern for investors and operators in PNG,” stressed Mr. Smaré. “We know that there is a lot of work being done to improve PNGs’ security environment, by the National Government and with support of our international friends such as Australia and the US, and we are pleased to announce that PNG Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Justin Tkatchenko, and PNG Internal Security Minister Hon. Peter Tsiamalili will be representing the PNG Government to speak during this session to provide an overview of initiatives that are being taken to improve security within PNG.” “They will be joined by an Australian representative who will provide an Australian perspective on their Foreign Affairs & Trade Programs, as well as the Bilateral Security Support to PNG.” For the first time, PNG Investment Week will also feature a United States perspective on Development and Security Support, which will be presented by Nitiana Mann, the US Legal Attache of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, based in Canberra who will discuss what the FBI does and what potential assistance and support from the US could look like to assist PNG. “Improving security is an important discussion which PNG must have now, so that we can secure our future. This is the reason why PNG Investment Week is a must attend event.” Meantime, the 2024 PNG Investment Week will commence on 6th December and wrapping up on the 11th of December at the ICC in Sydney.

A very controversial proposed law to amend the Constitution on the Motion of No Confidence Law got past the first vote in parliament despite being strongly opposed by the Opposition during the afternoon session yesterday. The proposed law to amend the Constitution was presented by the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Pila Niningi for its Second Reading and the first required opportunity for debate and First Vote in parliament. The proposed law seeks to amend section 145 of the Constitution, so to make changes to the 18 months grace period to allow a government to operate right after a National General Election, before a Vote of No Confidence (VONC) can be attempted. According to the Minister, Section 145 of the Constitution will be amended by adding immediately after Subsection (4), the following new Subsection: “(5) Where a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister is unsuccessful, a subsequent motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister or the Ministry after the unsuccessful motion of no confidence, shall not be moved for another period of 18 months commencing on the date that the motion of no confidence is unsuccessful.” Now this means that if a VONC against a sitting Prime Minister is unsuccessful, another possible VONC can be lodged only after 18 months from the time of the defeat of that VONC, and not just any time after that unsuccessful vote. Minister Niningi stressed that this proposed amendment to the constitution aims to enable stability and confidence in the government, which would then lead to confidence from the public service, the private sector, the people, and the investors and donors in the government’s ability to lead, and with that enable efficient services and developments to reach the people. However, this justification of the proposed amendment did not settle well with the Opposition team, with most of the MPs on the other side of the House strongly debating against it and pleading with the MPs on the government benches to join them in rejecting it by voting against it. Most of the Opposition MPs said this proposed amendment serves only to protect the prime minister, allowing him to continue to sit on the chair despite numerous calls for a change in leadership over his poor handling of the affairs of the country. Meantime, most of the Government MPs were in favour, echoing very much the same reasons as that of the Justice Minister. PM James Marape weighed in saying that the amendment will not totally remove the Motion of No Confidence in the Constitution, instead extends the time frame. One MP who also contributed to the debate was the MP for Finschhafen Rainbo Paita, who recently returned to the government benches with his 14 members of his ‘OUR Pati’ after defecting from the Opposition. Mr. Paita said he and his party members fully support the proposed legislation, describing it as a shield and a sword for the prime minister to utilize to do some good work to improve the current situation faced in the country. “Prime Minister, we will support you with this legislation,” Paita declared. “You must now make strong calls, reforms, agendas, laws so that after 50 years we must see new boundaries, new sets of record. We must do it as a government.” “Take it as a confidence for you to make some hard calls and for us to progress forward,” he said. Meanwhile, the proposed amendment received unanimous support from the MPs, 79 to 14 allowing it to pass the First Vote. However, this proposed piece of legislation will need two more votes to come into effect. At this stage, the Second Vote has been adjourned for at least 2 months as required by the Constitution.

This news just in! The second motion of a Vote of No Confidence submitted by the Opposition this morning will not be placed on the parliament notice paper, meaning it will not be entertained by parliament. This was announced by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Koni Iguan, following the decision of the Private Business Committee after deliberating on the submission at 12:30pm in the office of the Speaker, stating constitutional implications. Meanwhile, the Opposition argued otherwise stating that the decision by the Committee was not informed well and yet another move to prevent another VONC on the prime minister. The Deputy Speaker made it clear that the Committee's decision stands. However, the Opposition vowed to continue to challenge this decision. More on this story on the 5pm Legend FM, Yumi FM and Nau FM news. Keep following PNG HAUSBUNG for more updates.

The Opposition has lodged it's second Vote of No Confidence (VONC), summiting the motion this morning to the office of the Speaker of Parliament at 9:40 am. In that submission paper, the Opposition listed Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas as the Opposition's choice for alternative prime minister. Governor Sir Peter Ipatas in an official later from his office dated today, Wednesday 27th November 2024, acknowledged his nomination by the Opposition and confirmed his voluntary acceptance. "I take this nomination with the greatest honour and I thank the leaders for proposing and supporting me in this regard for the national interest," Sir Ipatas stated. Meantime, the VONC submission is now before parliament and would normally take one week to through the constitutional process of verification if all requirements are met before it can be actually moved on the floor of parliament, just like in the previous VONC motion some months back.

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Koni Iguan this morning announced that the Opposition has filed another Vote of No Confidence (VONC) motion against the sitting Prime Minister (PM) James Marape. The speaker then advised that Parliament received the VONC motion from the Opposition at 9:40am this morning before Parliament resumed sitting. He said Parliament will suspend at lunch for the Committee to deal with the motion. More on this story on the Legend FM, Yumi FM and Nau FM News at 12pm. Keep following PNG HAUSBUNG for more updates.

Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Pila Niningi, has announced that he would be asking the Supreme Court to clarify whether a second Vote of No Confidence (VONC) motion is allowed to be moved against the same prime minister. Minister Ninigi will be seeking clarification on two sections of the Constitution and has instructed lawyers to institute proceedings under section 19 of the Constitution to seek the Supreme Court’s interpretation and application of constitutional provisions relating to the process of a VONC. “As the country’s principal legal advisor to the National Executive, I am seeking guidance from the Supreme Court on certain aspects of VONC under s.145 and s.142 of the Constitution,” said the minister. “I will be asking the Supreme Court to provide clarity as to whether a second VONC can be moved against a government that has already been the subject of a VONC.” The Minister said his decision is to make sure that the spirit of the VONC provision as envisaged by the founding fathers is kept and not abused as seen many times in the past from numerous VONC motions being brought against prime ministers. “Papua New Guinea’s founding fathers, in their wisdom through the Constitutional Planning Committee, have included VONC as a means by which an Executive Government is held accountable by the people through their elected representatives in Parliament." “It was intended as a mechanism to measure government performance over the first 18 months in office and make change if this was vital." “For the Marape-Rosso Government, it has passed this ‘test’ by an overwhelming majority vote of 75 – 32 on 12 September 2024 on the floor of Parliament.” Minister Niningi said that through the questions being posed in the section 19 refence, he is seeking the Court’s assistance to clarify whether an executive government should be subjected to another ‘test’ by way of a second VONC and if a second VONC reflects the spirit of this provision as envisaged by the Constitutional Planning Committee in drafting the Constitution of Papua New Guinea (PNG). “I am concerned that since Independence, VONC has been abused for self-interest of a few politicians and has lost its intended purpose as envisaged by the Constitutional Planning Committee." “Since Independence, I have witnessed countless VONCs brought against prime ministers which have all been accompanied with instability in government and the Public Service, and a loss in investor confidence.” "Seeking the Supreme Court’s clarification in this important area was good for the country’s benefit and the development of jurisprudence for PNG," he said.

Parliament got off to a slow start this afternoon in Port Moresby city for the November session, but once things were underway, the issue of law- and- order once again dominated question time with the MP for Wabag, Dr. Lino Tom asking what the police minister is doing to address it. Dr. Lino’s questions mostly stem from the law-and-order issues in the Enga province and some parts of the Highlands region that continue to experience tribal conflicts and other forms of crime, including misconduct at public administrations and corruption. He also questioned why there have been a lack of arrests of perpetrators of conflicts, despite the suspects known to law enforcement authorities, questioning also the capacity of the police force to diligently carry out its constitutional duties without fear or favour. Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jnr said the Marape- Rosso Government continues to do its best, highlighting some of the efforts and initiatives being undertaking, including intelligence with the US government, police reservists training partnership with provincial governments, and recruitment of regular police personnel. The minister said the government is doing this to beef up police manpower and the capacity to address the matter of law- and- order going forward, but perhaps the most important of all is a domestic terrorism bill in which he will be presenting to parliament tomorrow. “This is what we are doing already and so when you are asking of our plans going forward, I will be bringing a bill tomorrow that will help our policemen to elevate how we are going to counter situations that we deemed are to be an act of terrorism, and I will expect everyone to support that bill going forward,” said Minister Tsiamalili.

Today, the National Capital District (NCD) wardens started their engagement with the police at Boroko and Gordons following their introduction on Monday by the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) in partnership with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary. This morning, they were up as early as 5am to start their first day at work. At Gordons, the Police Station Commander (PSC), Senior Inspector Gabriel Kini was there to receive them and place them at locations that he thinks they should base to do their job. The public is encouraged to work with them to help make our city clean and safe. “Nothing will change overnight, so we the police, the wardens are all humans, and we will need 100 per cent support from the public,” said the PSC. The introduction of the City Warden Initiative is in response to the rising crime rates and serious safety concerns in Port Moresby city. NCD Governor, Powes Parkop at the launching said this initiative aims at enhancing public safety to critical transit points throughout the city. The Initiative imposes measures to known hotspots in partnership with police, government agencies and local communities. This is because police manpower is underwhelmed with less than 900+ police personnel in NCD managing over a million people. ” Safety and security are our priorities, and with collective efforts from everyone, we can make this city a better place, a place that is safe and conducive for everyone to move freely at any time of the day as they wish,” said the governor. Through this partnership, trained youth will be deployed to take over public space, especially bus stops and identified hotspots in the city. The first phase of this initiative will involve the deployment of 150 trained youths at the Boroko and Gordons precincts. These youth have undergone two weeks of induction and three days of specialized skills training conducted by professional instructors, including former and current servicemen from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. The training covered basic life skills, health and hygiene, code of ethics, appropriate dressing and behaviour, crisis management, self-respect, and adherence to a chain of command. Through this training, Defence instructors have equipped them with the skills to perform their duties efficiently and confidently, knowing what to do and what not to do as wardens. This will help eliminate crime in the city. The standard operating procedures for the NCD wardens include: ● Making their presence known in public spaces, ●Monitoring public movement, ●Discouraging illegal vending, ●Providing security for women, girls, and other vulnerable individuals, and ●Addressing unethical behavior in public spaces. These wardens will serve as the eyes and ears of frontline police officers, working closely with them to maintain peace, safety, and security in public areas.

PRICE OF COOKING OIL TO INCREASE IN COMING MONTHS The country’s consumer watchdog, the Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) is warning consumers to brace for an increase in the price of vegetable cooking oil. The ICCC has made it clear that the increase is solely due to international price increases in vegetable oils, which the ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Paulus Ain further elaborated that the looming price increase is attributed to the diminishing supply of palm oil from Southeast Asia, coupled with surges in global demand. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also showed this expected rise in price when it indicated vegetable oil prices have risen in the final quarter of 2024, following a period of decline since peaking in March 2022. “PNG consumers will see increased vegetable oil prices in the coming months,” Mr. Ain said. “A number of traders have been approaching the ICCC to increase the prices for vegetable oil recently. We thank these traders for their initiative and cooperation and also encourage other traders to do the same.” The ICCC has been also closely monitoring the prices of key food items, to ensure that there are not any deceptive or unfair pricing practices during the post pandemic period. Meantime, Mr. Ain further urged the business houses to comply with the current Price Control Measure (Measure No. 4) being implemented by the ICCC under the National Pandemic Act. “Business houses must seek the ICCC’s approval should they wish to increase the prices of goods sold. Mr. Ain also warned and stressed that necessary actions will be taken against non- compliant shops if they fail to comply with the requirements of Measure No.4.

The West New Britain (WNB) Provincial Government was just recently recognised for its efforts in improving financial inclusion by the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) and the Center for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI). This recognition came in the form of a Provincial Engagement Award, which was presented on Friday 22nd November at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby city in the Financial Inclusion Excellence Award, hosted on the evening following the inaugural Financial Inclusion Forum held during the day. There to receive this prestigious award was Mr. Leo Makmani, the West New Britain Provincial Administrator (PA). “It’s a privilege for us to be recognised for what we are doing in the financial inclusion space in West New Britain,” said Mr. Makmani. The PA went on to thank BPNG and the Executive Director for CEFI for all the support provided to the province to roll out the financial literacy programs that was delivered to communities in all districts and Local Level Governments (LLGs) in West New Britain. Mr. Makmani also extended is gratitude to his team in the province who took lead in driving these programs to bank the unbanked population in West New Britain, and in so doing, improving the economy in the province. “I say thank you to my officers within the district and the LLGs and to CEFI, and we look forward to a prosperous 2025.” Meantime, the Milne Bay Provincial Government was also awarded the Provincial Engagement Award, recognising the provincial government’s great work in the financial inclusion space.

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) AFL national men’s team, the Mosquitoes (Mozzies), will bring home the Pacific Cup after a magnificent performance in the inaugural 2024 AFL Pacific Cup yesterday in the grand final showdown against Nauru at the Sunshine Coast, Australia. The Mozzies were crowned inaugural Pacific Cup Champions after defeating Nauru Chiefs 62 to 19 in the Open Men Grand Final on Saturday 23rd November, wrapping up what has been a tough challenge for the PNG national teams that participated in the Under 17 (U17) and the Open divisions against some of the best countries in the sport of AFL (Australian Football League). The PNG Flames also did exceptionally well, sitting on the fourth place on the Open Women’s ladder and heading into the 3rd and 4th place playoffs against Tonga Storm also on Saturday. The PNG girls too good for the Tongan girls, defeating them 71 to 22, winning the Bronze Medal Playoff and setting a women’s record score in the AFL Pacific Cup. The Mozzies’ victory at the Maroochydore Multisport Complex topped off what has been a great performance by the PNG teams in the 10 days of heated AFL competition. Earlier in the U17 division, the PNG Kurakums also took home the Pacific Cup after defeating Fiji Junior Vonu in the final match on Sunday 17th November with a massive 68 to 9, victory. While the PNG Binatangs boys came runner up in the U17 division. Meantime, this amazing show of talent and skills can be attributed to AFL PNG and AFL Talent Academy teams’ excellent efforts in selecting and preparing these outstanding PNG athletes, bring them onto the international stage and achieving good results in the sport of AFL for Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has fired back at the Opposition on claims that the government is withholding funds to districts and provinces represented by Members of Parliament who are in the Opposition, calling it a lie and stating that funds have been fairly distributed. Prime Minister Marape in a statement said that he will prove this once the Finance Department makes available printout of the funding, which he would have it published for public scrutiny the distribution in service development funds of District Services Improvement Program (DSIP) and Provincial Services Improvement Program (PSIP). Marape, in turn, criticised Members of the Opposition who have taken to the media to spread this misinformation for the sake of political mileage, adding that these MPs were covering up their lack of service-delivery in their own districts and provinces under the guise of their public outcries. He also reiterated that his government has no intention of making Opposition MPs suffer and that every MP is treated fairly when it comes to development funds. “This government does not weaponize the budget to discriminate against Members of Parliament,” said the PM. “This Pangu-led Government knows our responsibility to the country. Since 2019, our budget use is clear evidence of how we distribute funding. “All districts and provinces, whether they are in the Opposition or Government, receive their DSIP and PSIP. We support all provinces in their functional grant and monies for all Provincial Health Authorities." “We allocate fairly to all. When cash flow is available, we remit the funds that we collect.” PM Marape said Members in the Opposition take to social media to sensationalize government matters to get out political mileage yet have no courtesy to acknowledge Government when they receive these funds. “Once these funds are delayed slightly, they go mouthing off to rally public sympathy, but hardly will you see them acknowledge Government for the granting of these monies for their districts and provinces,” he said. The Prime Minister said, since 2019, a large amount of funding has been transferred from Waigani under his administration to provinces and districts, yet local MPs and provincial governors are not held accountable for non-delivery of services in their districts and provinces.