Parliament resumed sitting this morning only to be adjourned right after it commenced proceedings after experiencing power disruptions. Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Koni Iguan addressed the house saying that the continuous blackouts in the city of Port Moresby yesterday have badly affected the National Parliament’s standby power generators; hence, during the opening prayer this morning, the lights went out in the parliament chamber. “It’s already affected the aircon and while we were praying, you can see that we have a blackout.” “So, honorable members, I adjourn parliament to tomorrow (Thursday 5th June) 10 o’clock AM,” announced the Deputy Speaker. Much…
Author: Emmanuel MAIPE
The question pertaining to funds allocated to districts and provinces to celebrate the 50th Independence Anniversary of Papua New Guinea (PNG) was raised during question time in parliament this morning in Port Moresby city. West Sepik Provincial Member, Tony Wouwou, directed this question to the new Finance Minister, Thomas Opa, enquiring if the National Government will be giving additional funding apart from the K50 million already allocated in the 2025 national budget, for the celebrations. Minister Opa said the government through the Finance Department has given Financial Instructions to District Development Authorities (DDAs) and Provincial Governments to use K1 million…
The National Government imposed cut to the 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on thirteen (13) essential household goods and items is now in effect as of Sunday 1st June 2025, something which Trukai Industries Limited commends. Trukai Industries Limited, Papua New Guinea’s leading rice manufacturer, producing iconic brands such as Trukai, Roots Rice and Wantok Rice has welcomed the recent decision by the Government to implement a zero-rating for GST on essential goods, rice being one of those essential goods. Trukai Industries acknowledges the Government’s intention to provide direct relief to consumers during these challenging economic times, and the…
The issue of unemployment can be addressed through investments in the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) focusing on downstream processing, which can create thousands of employment opportunities. That was the massage from Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru when launching the official website for the 2025 SEZ Summit today in Port Moresby city. He said the problem has been Papua New Guinea (PNG) relying on the resource sector generating revenue and creating employment; however, as history would show, that has not been the case. “We now have eight (8) mining and petroleum projects on the run, including…
Police Commissioner David Manning has confirmed that senior officers of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will be investigated by police for alleged corrupt practices. Commissioner Manning in a statement, confirmed receiving a formal referral from the ICAC Commissioner, Mr. Andrew Forbes, pertaining to the conduct of senior ICAC officers. The referral includes allegations of finance irregularities and expenditure of public monies not approved by an officer authorized under the Public Finances (Management) Act 1995. Manning said the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) has commenced initial enquires. “In accordance with established procedures, initial enquiries are being conducted by police…
The people the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) can expect to see the Aropa Airport get some quality improvements to its facilities with the upgrade project now commencing. The project was officially launched over the weekend by Prime Minister James Marape, who said it aligns with the Papua New Guinea Government’s development plans. “The Aropa Airport has long required substantial upgrades, having last been improved over a decade ago. “This project aligns with the Government’s Medium-Term Development Plan IV (MTDP IV 2023-2027), aimed at boosting connectivity and fostering economic growth in the region,” Prime Minister Marape said. Awarded to China…
The Treasurer, Ian Ling Stuckey, was questioned in parliament this afternoon on whether there will be supplementary budget put in this year to realign expenses. The Deputy Opposition Leader raised this question during question time, raising some serious funding and financial issues that the country is currently facing, due to what he said was the Treasurer failing to generate the projected revenue as per the 2025 National Budget. “Are you as a responsible government going to bring in a supplementary budget and realign expenses, cut off the Connect PNG scam and focus on districts, provinces and key sectors like the…
The Government of Papua New Guinea is adamant to go into downstream processing of most of the country’s resources and what better way to do it than to learn from one of the leaders in the region- Indonesia. That is why the Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru is strongly appealing to Indonesia through the PNG Indonesia Ministerial Committee, to send its envoy to attend the PNG Investment Week planned from the 31st of August to the 3rd of September. “This is part of our independence celebrations,” said the minister when announcing this upcoming investment week at the…
The BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) and a local commodity buyer have teamed up to make things easier for cocoa farmers when it comes to making payments for their cocoa beans, through the bank’s new Wantok Wallet product. This was recently made possible when the commodity buyer- Elliven Limited in Lae city was recently commissioned as a BSP Payment Processor on Wednesday 21st May, establishing an innovative payment solution that would enable commodity buyers to transfer funds directly to growers’ and farm entry owners’ accounts- eliminating the need for cash payouts. BSP Agency Banking Senior Manager Stanley Seimoni said this…
Papua New Guinea (PNG) shareholders in the BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) continue to benefit from the bank’s good performance over the years than any other commercial bank, says the Board. The BSP Board Chairman, Mr. Robert Bradshaw, when opening BSP’s 2025 Annual General Meeting on Friday 23rd May, stated that the bank’s track record has been one of excellence in the past decade where most of the PNG shareholders get to benefit from. “Over the past ten years, BSP has delivered a compound annual return to shareholders of 16%, including both dividend and share- price appreciation. Few banks globally…