The topic of Christianity was hotly debated in parliament yesterday afternoon after the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Pila Niningi, presented a bill to amend the Constitution to declare Papua New Guinea (PNG) a Christian Country. The Minister said that this proposed amendment to the Constitution should not be a surprise to anyone because the 2011 Censors showed that 96% of Papua New Guineans align themselves to the Christian Faith and therefore, it is imperative that this fact be anchored in the Constitution. It is for this reason that in 2020, the National Executive Council (NEC) in its Decision No. 234/ 2020 directed the Constitutional Law Reform Commission (CLRC) and the Department of Community Development and Religion to consult the people on their views in declaring PNG a Christian country. That consultation took 12 months and at the end of it, the report came out in two volumes. The prime minister then presented the final report of the CLRC to the NEC, and it approved its recommendations and the final report was presented to parliament on its Decision No. 227/ 2021. Mr. Niningi said the CLRC made six recommendations in its final report that was approved by the NEC. These six recommendations can be grouped into two categories; (1) Legislative Reforms and (2) Policy Reforms. “This amendment forms part of the recommendations on Legal Reform. It seeks to amend the Preamble and Section 1 and 3 of the Constitution to declare PNG a Christian country,” said the minister. “In terms of Policy Reforms, the Department of Community Development and Religion have started work on the draft National Policy on Religion, which is almost 60 percent complete awaiting the outcome of this Constitutional Reform, for completion.” However, that did not go down well with the Member for Vanimo Green, Belden Namah who challenged it, saying that the amendment would prevent other religions to practice their faith in PNG and would also hinder foreign investments, and that there was no need to make changes to the Constitution when the whole identification on PNG as a Christian nation, was already embedded in the Constitution by the country’s forefathers. “Section 45 of our Constitution states very clearly, freedom of conscience, thoughts and religion,” said the MP. “There is no need for us to bring in a bill to parliament to declare PNG as a Christian country, it’s already been addressed by the founding fathers, who crafted this Constitution.” He added that when the government makes a legislation declaring PNG as a Christian State, then that means the country will not be tolerating other religions to practice their faith, like Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Judaism to name a few. He also claims that the proposed amendment would be bad for PNG’s business dealings with its bilateral partners in the future. “The legislation will scare many development partners who will come and invest in this country. This will have a collateral effect on our country.” He said this because PNG deals with countries like China, India and Indonesia, which are countries with different religious beliefs and backgrounds. “This legislation will scare these important bilateral and multilateral partners.” However, the Minister for Finance and Government Business, Rainbo Paita, who intervened on behalf of Minister Miningi, stated that the whole amendment was straight forward and that was for PNG to be identified as a Christian nation and nothing other than that. Meanwhile, the amendment bill passed the first reading on the floor of parliament with an 80 to 10 vote by the Members of Parliament. The second vote has been adjourned to two months from the date of the first vote as required by the Constitution. The amendment bill will have to be read three times before it can be passed in parliament in order for the changes to the Constitution to be made.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has thanked the Members of Parliament and his coalition for having faith in his leadership and voting in confidence of his leadership today on the floor of Parliament. Marape, when giving his statement after the Vote of Confidence where the majority of Leaders voted for him, said there is much to deliver this year and that every Member needs to focus on this instead of trying to weaken the government through a Vote of No Confidence (VONC). Marape also said that the vote of 84 to 0 shows also the number of the government as opposed to the Opposition side of the house, suggesting that there is no point of a VONC as it will only take up time for the government to implement the projects and activities set for 2024. "My side of government will not run away from our responsibility, and the number as we've seen shows that.” Marape wants to see stability so that the major projects such as Wafi Golpu, Papua LNG, SME support and efforts to address unemployment can go ahead this year. However, PM Marape said there is nothing preventing a Vote of No Confidence to go ahead but said the numbers today that voted for him shows confidence in his leadership, something the Opposition should consider going forward.

The Opposition has walked out of the Parliament chambers in protest after the Speaker of Parliament made a ruling to entertain a Vote of Confidence in Prime Minister James Marape. The Opposition argued that the move by Minister for Government Business, Rainbo Paita, to hold a Vote of Confidence was no part of Parliament procedures, but the Speaker said the precedence was already set in previous parliaments and will go through with it. The Speaker allowed the vote to go ahead with the majority of the Members of Parliament voting in favor of Prime Minister James Marape, 84 to 0. The Opposition team returned to the Chambers after the vote had been made.  

The prime minister has given assurance to parliament that allegations made about abuse of funds from the Connect PNG program will be fully investigated starting with the Department of Works (DOW). Prime Minister (PM) James Marape when responding to question from Member for Ialibu Pangia Peter O'Neill, said the Finance Department has been called to conduct an independent audit into DOW and anyone found to be involved in corrupt dealings will be dealt with. "We will get a full look into what is happening, a full inquiry into it." The MP for Ialibu Pangia asked the PM to tell the truth about the contract being awarded and whether certain Ministers, MPs and even Marape himself have business links and interests. The questions where raised from information about payments that were made under the Connect PNG program, which he tabled as well. Meanwhile, PM Marape said that he has no connection what so ever to the companies mentioned, but did not fully disclosing if other MPs and Ministers have links and interests in the construction companies named. The PM then stated that the information which O'Neil presented and tabled should also be referred to ICAC or the Ombudsman Commission, the proper authorities to investigate. Marape later said the Works Minister will present a full statement on the Connect PNG program, which should outline the payments and contracts awarded.

The Opposition yesterday submitted the Vote of No Confidence (VONC) motion against the prime minister to the office of the Speaker of Parliament in the hope that other Members of Parliament (MPs) see the real reason behind their move and switch sides to support them. In a press conference held in the afternoon after the first parliament sitting of 2024, the Opposition team said the VONC now opens up a pathway for MPs in the government side of the house to make the right decision and put the interest of their people first, and join the Opposition and supporting their VONC. Former prime minister and MP for Ialibu Pangia, Peter O’Neil said they hope to convince the other MPs with this VONC, that is now in motion, to join them by telling them and the public the truth about the dealings of the prime minister and how things are being run by the current government. “We know that we don’t have the numbers today, but we need to put this motion on the floor to test, and we want every Papua New Guinean to watch their Members of Parliament and see what do they stand for,” said Mr. O’Neil. O’Neil claimed that during the term of Prime Minister James Marape, the country has experienced a lot of turmoil in terms of increase in prices of goods and services, increase in unemployment, no job creation or opportunities for the youths, crime increase and the country’s economy in recession. This he said is alarming and the only way forward is to remove Marape and have a new prime minister take the helm. Former Petroleum and Energy Minister and now current Opposition Member, Kerenga Kua, echoed O’Neil’s sentiments by saying that it’s not about the numbers of MPs to move the VONC, but it is about the reason for doing it at the first place. “We understand where we are without numbers, but the responsibility of crossing the divide, bringing the numbers in and Papua New Guinea more hope into the future, is for every sons and daughters, fathers and mothers out there in Papua New Guinea to go behind elected MPs sitting in the government side and tell them to understand what the reality is, and get the support for us.” Meanwhile, the Opposition team has the backing of two former prime ministers, one being Mr. O’Neil and the other is Sir Julius Chan, the last remaining founding fathers of the national who is still very much active in politics. The two renowned leaders pledged their undying support to the Opposition and would work with the team to remove the prime minister and bring in a new one, for the betterment of Papua New Guinea.

The opposition has announced that East Sepik Governor Allan Bird is the alternate prime minister as they move a Vote of No Confidence motion against Prime Minister James Marape. Governor Bird accepted the nomination and now has the support of the few Opposition Members who are optimistic that more Members will join them as the parliament session continues. Former prime minister and Member for Ialibu Pangia Peter O'Neill gave his support to the alternate prime minister, saying that despite PNC Party having the majority of members, he rather see someone else nominated as alternate PM. Just this afternoon the Opposition filed the motion for the VONC with the office of the Speaker of Parliament Meanwhile, the deputy opposition leader Douglas Tomuriesa has been confirmed now as the Opposition Leader as the team moves with the VONC motion.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has reassured Parliament that those who were involved in causing the Black Wednesday riots on 10th January, will be identified and dealt with accordingly through the Commission of Inquiry (COI). Marape said again that the incident was unfortunate when police stopped work for 10 hours, leading to the riots and looting and destructions of shops and warehouses resulting in a total of K480 million worth of losses. He said apart from the COI run by a judge, the police is also conducting a criminal investigation into what had happened. "The first stage of investigation is complete and I will make a statement on it on Wednesday," said Marape. "I want to give commitment that we will not allow ill- discipline in our forces." PM said the COI into the police and even the Defence Force and Correctional Service, of which few of their members were involved in the protest that led to the riots, will find the root cause and who was involved. "We will not be taking this lightly," said the prime minister.

The Acting Speaker of Parliament, Koni Iguana, has announced that he has received a Vote of No Confidence (VONC) motion from the Opposition this afternoon at 1:45pm, setting now into motion the process of a VONC against Prime Minister James Marape. He said as part of the process, tomorrow the Private Business Committee will go through the motion to ensure that the motion meets all requirements as per the constitution. What the Committee will be looking at in the VONC motion is the name of who will be the alternate prime minister, if the motion is second and if the motion has the required number of signatures from Opposition Members. If the committee is satisfied, the process will move to the motion being listed on a notice paper and then proceed on to the actual VONC, which should take place after a week as per the standing procedures.

The business houses in the city of Port Moresby that were affected by the Black Wednesday riots are hoping that the government comes good soon on the relief package promised to them, now that the first parliament sitting for the year will commence tomorrow. According to the President of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry (POMCCI) Mr. Rio Fiocco, they are hoping that the National Executive Council (NEC) gets to approve that relief package this week when NEC meets. However, he said this could be delayed a bit due to the parliament session and the looming Vote of No Confidence (VONC). “The government assistance for the affected business houses will be a mixture of cash and non-cash benefits,” said the POMCCI President. For the non- cash assistance, Mr. Fiocco said it was suggested that they will come in the form of reduction in the import tariff to support the rebuilding costs because of the import of building materials for the rebuilding phase of the destroyed properties. Other suggestions for the non- cash assistance include early access to Foreign Currency to allow companies to restock with goods, and tax reliefs for the affected business houses. Mr. Fiocco also said that for the cash assistance, the assistance should go into assisting the business houses pay their employees as well who were affected by the riots after the shops closed down. Some of whom had to be placed in other branches or sections of their respective companies to work, while others are now unemployed. Meanwhile, as another possible VONC against a sitting prime minister nears, the expectation now for the business community in Port Moresby is that this does not cloud or delay the efforts by the government to provide this much needed assistance for the affected business houses.

The State Team working on the Community Development Agreement (CDA) for the Porgera Project, have just completed a two-days pre-CDA meeting that was aimed at preparing the landowners and stakeholders for the upcoming CDA forum. The meeting, which was held in the city of Mt Hagen from February 08th to the 09th, involved the 25 Special Mining Lease (SML) landowner agents, and Ward Councilors of the Porgera Rural Local Level Government, which hosts the Porgera Mining project. The purpose of the meeting was to provide the State’s response to benefits, proposed in position papers by these stakeholders, and submitted to the State last year in Alotau and Wabag. The State has already responded to position papers from the Enga Provincial Government (EPG). Position papers are documentation that capture landowner’s, Provincial Government’s and other stakeholders’ development aspirations and benefits. In the meeting, the state provided responses to propositions relating to benefits including equity, royalties, Business Development Grant (BDG) and Special Support Grant (SSG) amongst others. The Porgera Land Owners Association (PLOA) Chairman, Mr. Mark Tony Ekepa, said he was happy with the outcome of the meeting, and that his association was looking forward to the CDA proper negotiations. Porgera District Administrator, Mr. Jerry Maku, expressed satisfaction that the government had invited the Porgera Rural LLG to be a party to CDA negotiations, something which was not done in the past 30 years of the life of Pogera Mine. The State Team that was involved in the meeting, comprised of officers from the Departments of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (PM&NEC), Commerce & Industry, Treasury, Labour & Employment, Lands & Physical Planning, National Planning & Monitoring, State Negotiating Team (SNT) and the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA). Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited (KMHL) representatives attended as observers. The Porgera Mine hosts 11 million ounces gold reserves, produces 500, 000 ounces dori and 5% gold as concentrate per annum. The project is jointly owned by the Papua New Guinea Government and Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL). The PNG Government and its partners own 51% equity while BNL owns 49%. The 51% owned by PNG, comprises 36% - Kumul Minerals Holdings Limited (KMHL), 10% - SML Landowners and 5% - Enga Provincial Government (EPG).

The Minister for Forest and Member for Angoram, Salio Waipo, has come out to say that he respects the decision of his governor, East Sepik Governor Allen Bird, to resign from the government, but says that he himself has no intentions to leave at this time. Mr. Waipo said this following the very recent resignation of two more Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Marape-Rosso government, one of whom is Governor Bird. “I respect my governor’s decision to resign from government, but I am here to ensure the Marape Rosso government that Angoram will not venture into new waters,” said the Minister. “This government supports the growth of the Greater Sepik and I will not deny the outstanding performance done by this cabinet on Sepik soil.” Waipo stated that his loyalty to Prime Minister (PM) James Marape will never be challenged. “Angoram will stand with the Prime Minister who respectfully agreed not to burry one of its sons and founding father of this country Late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, on Independence Hill.” “I stand with Prime Minster James Marape, not because I am a current Portfolio holder. I’ve turned down Ministries in Marape’s last government, I tell you this to clarify that I stand with the prime minister either with or without a portfolio.”

In light of a looming Vote of No Confidence (VONC), the prime minister has indicated that he is confident that the number of Members of Parliament in his coalition government will withstand it, should it go through. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape, after arriving in Port Moresby today from his trip to Australia, said in a press conference that the government number of members is still above the absolute majority level. “My Pangu Pati has a caucus number of 53 and growing and my senior coalition partners maintain full support,” said the PM. Marape also went on to say that the allegations made against him in the Paraka case and the Connect PNG program, are merely attacks from his political opponents and designed to destabilize the government, but he has a lot of confidence in his coalition members to hold the fort. “I am blessed to have a strong solid caucus who know inside of me, not the outside of me. The men I have beside me are not men who could be easily bought or sold on a market place of politics.” However, Marape did mention that if any member who feel that he is not qualified to be their prime minister, have every right to resign and move on to the opposition benches. So far, 11 Members of Parliament have resigned from the government and moved over to the other side of the house, citing corruption in the Marape- Rosso Administration.