Are the voters responsible for the corruption in the country?
Health Minister and Member for Wabag Dr Lino Tom seems to think so and he is partly right in his public statement on the matter in this newspaper last month.
In the last eight years, two finance companies and one equipment retailer have provided financing to at least 15 companies that are logging in PNG’s rainforests, new research by Act Now! and Jubilee Australia reveals.
The National | Letters | By Maus blo Garamut, Madang (May 4th 2023)
SINCE last year, the Papua New Guinea Forest Authority’s (PNGFA) Project Acquisition branch has been working to acquire forest areas in Madang and around the country.
And in this process, the rights of the landowner have been trampled on.
Economic discussions in PNG are always centered on extractive industries such as natural gas, mining, logging, tuna, and large-scale agriculture. However, these export-orientated industries are tiny when compared to PNG’s real mainstream economy, “small farming”.
Studies into rural livelihoods over the past decade show that customary land is highly productive, but its output and impact are neither measured properly nor publicly recognized.
The recently released 2022 SGS report regarding log exports in Papua New Guinea largely contradicts the Marape Government’s pledge to reduce round log exports and cease the issuing of new licenses to foreign owned logging companies.
Four linked companies - Cakara Alam (PNG) Ltd, Sumber Alam (PNG) Limited. Tzen Pacific Limited and Tzen Resource Limited - were together responsible for exporting 634954 m3 of logs during 2019-2021 from eight concessions in West New Britain Provinces and the Hawain Concession in East Sepik Province. Caraka Alam (PNG) Ltd and Sumber Alam (PNG) Limited are owned by Malaysian company C.A Investments Limited, which is registered in Lanuam, a tax haven.
Unrestrained Capitalism is a foreign idea that has been imposed on Papua New Guinea from outside. It is the root cause of many of the problems we face every day. We must find a better model for our development that relies on our Papua New Guinean Ways to enure a “Gutpela Sindaun Bilong Olgeta”.
Starting from the National Goals and Directive Principles in our Constitution, ACT NOW! has identified five key areas that will help create a gutpela sindaun bilong olgeta.
