By Reginald Renagi *

Papua New Guinea is a failing state.  There, I’ve said it to get your attention.  I hope I did.

Because the leaders we trusted since Independence have all failed us like the state institutions they are now running into the ground.

So unless those who have the power and opportunity to do something for PNG themselves actually now find some motivation, it may soon be too late to get the ‘ship of state’ back on track.

The cries of Papua New Guineans go unheard. 

Past trends show that PNG’s current political regime will not drastically change its poor governance approach. 

It is now up to the next new leadership and government. 

PNG desperately needs a new progressive government after the 2012 elections that will totally transform PNG.

Since Independence, government policies have not regularly being reviewed, updated and broadened with a view to counteract any misconceptions about them. 

It’s only a year away before PNG has another election to get new leaders into parliament to run our country’s affairs. 

For the past 35 years nothing substantial has been done by successive PNG administration to strengthen the capacity of this important national security institution.

So as a concerned citizen, here is a reminder to the-powers-that-be to do something about it now. 

By Reginald Renagi

It is time our country needs to have a vibrant financial market for obvious reasons. 

PNG must now start opening up its financial markets as part of an interactive government-business initiated broad-based industry reforms process. 

Let’s now look at both offshore and onshore investment options.  Let’s not have foreigners now tell us we can’t do it here.

If they tell us that, we just go somewhere else and get ourselves independent advice from credible sources.

By Watut Reporter

MP Sam Basil has criticized the Department of Conservation (DEC) for failing to regulate the mining industry in Papua New Guinea and ensure its operations are environmentally safe.

"DEC has a responsibility on behalf of the Nation to ensure that mining operations are safe and will not damage the environment. Yet time after time the mines end up causing massive problems while DEC sits by and watches", says the MP.

While addressing members of the media and NGO groups, on Thursday 21st April, the Acting Secretary for the Department of Lands, Romilly Kila-Pat, made comments to the effect that the State has no control over business dealings between customary landowners and foreign businesses after a Special Agricultural Business Lease (SABL) title is registered.

This statement missed the point completely and failed to address the main issue and surrounding the controversial SABLs issued over 5.2 million hectares customary land throughout Papua New Guinea.

In a conference last Wednesday, the Lands Department vowed to take action on land deals in Papua New Guinea - deals in which control of more than 5 million hectares of land, 10% of PNGs land mass, has been taken away from local people and given to corporations.

While Acting Lands Secretary, Romilly Kila Pat, might have been personally sincere in his call to address the issues, he also said it was going to be a “long process”.

More than 100 men, women and children have been issued verbal notices to move out of their government flats in a Madang where they have been living, some for as long as 26 years. 

The flats are reported to have been sold by the National Housing Corporation by the Papindo group of companies. The tenants have been told that the Papindo bought the units for 2 Million kina. 

But The National Housing Corporation Branch in Madang says it has no records of the transaction. 

A new poster that warns of the dangers of Papua New Guinea's land grab has been published. A pdf version can be downloaded below for printing and display.

The real resources curse for PNG is not necessarily economic in nature. As an immature nation still struggling to achieve modernity, it is possible that the intra-national conflict fuelled by competition for the considerable monetary spoils of the resources boom will threaten the very political existence of PNG as a nation....

By Susan Merrell*