The National | Letters | Barr Tisne

Have you ever wondered how the colonial explorers took our land?

Source: Gorethy Kenneth | Post Courier, February 2, 2024. 

Head of Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) Gordon Kega said there are challenges in conducting audits of the provincial and district, including LLG Service Improvement (SIP), due to insufficient funding and remoteness of these areas.

Wednesday 10^th January marks a dark day in PNG’s history. The nation’s capital came under siege, Parliament house stormed, Manasupe’s Haus breeched, the city was pillaged, business houses looted and set aflame after failure to reconfigure what is said to be a technical glitch in the payroll system that caused the Police and public to protest.

Mr. Nicholas Booth / UNDP Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea.*

On Saturday, December 9, 2023 we marked International Anti-Corruption Day. This year, the day was dedicated to raising awareness of the link between anti-corruption and sustainable development. That remains a relevant issue in Papua New Guinea.

The National | January 11, 2024 

The amount of funding pumped into the Government’s Service Improvement Programmes (SIP) has increased dramatically, yet service delivery has been a matter of great concern, University of Papua New Guinea School of business and Public Policy economics lecturer Maholopa Laveil spoke to reporter Jesher Tilto about Sip funds in the country.

Evidence from official government sources suggests the PNG Forest Authority may be breaching a moratorium on new Forest Clearing Authority projects.

A twelve month moratorium on the issuing of new FCAs was announcd by the National Forest Board in February 2023 in response to widespread concerns the licences are being misused.

The PNG Forest Authority has confirmed there are multiple issues affecting the Wammy rural development project in West Sepik province but denies the logging company is misusing its Forest Clearance Authority (FCA).

The unlawful use of Forest Clearing Authorities as a cover for illegal large-scale logging operations by foreign-owned companies has been further exposed in a new report published by ACT NOW! 

New addendum added below on 20 November 2023

There is a very high risk that almost all logging occurring in natural forest areas in Papua New Guinea is illegal.

This is the damning verdict in a new Timber Legality Risk Assessment published ACT NOW!

Morobe Timber Consortium and people from Labuta (Image: EMTV)

By Nalau Bingading, Customary Landowner and Forest Scientist

Morobe Timbers Consortium Limited has attracted a lot of media recently with claims it has reached some kind of agreement with Wagangluhu landowners of Labuta LLG in the Morobe Province, to set up a Forest Industrial Park on 2,000 hectares of customary land.