All parliamentarians who have been referred by the Ombudsman Commission for failure to submit their annual returns must have all their overseas bank accounts frozen including those of their immediate relatives pending the outcome of the tribunals, says Bulolo MP Sam Basil.
Basil says hundreds and millions of kina had been siphoned off by parliamentarians and their cohorts and was believed to have been stashed in overseas bank accounts and properties that needed to be liquidated and returned to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, if they could not provide proof of how they had acquired the wealth.
Stacks of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports on misappropriation by politicians and their friends involving billions of kina were sitting in Waigani collecting dust while billions of kina was disappearing from numerous trust accounts where enforcement agencies were not interested to investigate, he claimed.
“Many leaders and top public servants are implicated whereby they have the power to frustrate the agencies which report to them therefore they themselves cannot be investigated and be prosecuted very easily.
“The Auditor-General’s office lack of funding and interest by the Somare Government over the eight years has partially crippled the office of A-G to effectively audit all public accounts therefore many unaccounted accounts are still pending while corruption is growing at an unprecedented scale. By the time their books are audited the concerned account managers and custodians, mainly the public servants and the politicians, would have been retired or living comfortable overseas.
“The only reason that I can think of why high profile members of parliament cannot simply compile their multiple annual returns is that they cannot justify their actual assets and cash against their parliamentarian wages or even against their small businesses that has an annual turnover less compared to the millions and billions that they stole,’’ the MP said.
“I call on the Ombudsman Commission to do justice to the 6.5 million people of PNG to freeze all overseas accounts of parliamentarians who have failed to submit their annual returns because it is more likely that the cash and properties worth billions of kina that they have acquired belong to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and its people,’’ he said.
Mr Basil claimed that errant leaders were influencing “the system’’ while having more time to dilute their loot into “invisible and undetectable trusts’’.
Send your own message of support to Sam Basil.
Source: Post Courier
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Comments
Excellent suggestion,Mr Basil. Leaders concerned and have some
Excellent suggestion,Mr Basil. Leaders concerned and have some idea what is going on should go further by asking foreign governments who sympathise with the general public but are silent on our corrupted government and leaders to investigate these matters. These governments could check on properties bought/sold under either pretence names,relative names or associate names along with transfer of monies in and out of either countries. This may not be possible with the foreign governments but worth asking as some of these countries are the main donors of aid and are concerned on what goes on in PNG.
The problem seems our laws are too soft on these crooks!
Sam Basil has hit the nail on the head. Good on you, Sam. Keep
Sam Basil has hit the nail on the head. Good on you, Sam. Keep questioning them and tell the authorities to face the music. I believe the public needs to be informed too by bringing this topic up. The more it is being published, the more the public will be informed. I have always asked myself many times and spoken to many concerned citizens about this. If you don't have an income that is sufficient to a million dollar or million kina, how can you purchase a property worth the mark? All these crooks need to file their returns on time. And the enforcement agencies need to arrest those who fail to do so. I don't see the difference between a common criminal who is locked up at Bomana for robbing a bank and a polly of the same calibre walking around free. There is something seriously wrong with the enforcement agencies in handling their job and getting their priorities right. Last word to Sam - KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! The silent majority is behind you. You may not hear the voices of the majority but that does not mean there is no support. The support is there.
Mr. Sam Basil is no pretender. He is a real contender. Is he PM
Mr. Sam Basil is no pretender. He is a real contender. Is he PM material? At this stage in his political career, I personally think he is not ready yet.
Mr. Basil had 2 main political agendas coming through the last election:
1) Service delivery to his electorate
2) Good governance
1) Service Delivery
Now we can already see that his first political agenda is coming to fruition. Mr. Basil has not only delivered the services to his electorate but he has gone one step further into ensuring that the services that he has put in place are being sustained; both short term and long term.
He travels by foot far and wide across the mountains and plains of Bulolo, a ready listener to the grievances of his people.
2) Good governance
Since the death warrant the Grand Thief has placed on Mr. Basil's head in the last parliamentary sitting,the member has become more adamant to root out corruption, and therefore fulfilling his second political agenda
Mr. Basil is every Papua New Guinean's beacon of hope.
When he stands in parliament to expose the corrupt deeds of selfish leaders, let's make it our business to echo his voice to the rest of our people who are voiceless.