Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape has successfully thwarted a vote of no confidence after 75 MPs backed him and 32 voted for the opposition.

But the session was not without drama.

Just after 10am, after the opposition leader moved a motion for a vote of no confidence announcing Renbo Paita as the alternate prime minister, Parliament Haus descended into momentary chaos as members questioned why Speaker Job Pomat refused to allow debate after the motion.

The opposition had intended to use the opportunity to highlight pressing concerns that caused MPs to move to the opposition.

The Member for Madang, Bryan Kramer, a former minister of justice and police, challenged the Speaker to follow standing orders to the letter as stipulated in the constitution while Wabag MP Lino Tom accused the Speaker of “stifling the people’s voices” by not entertaining debate.

“The people of this country paid our salaries to debate this. The people need to know why we put in a vote of no confidence,” Tom said.

“This is the right forum where our voices need to be heard”

Speaker admits error
After intense exchanges between the chair and the opposition, the Speaker admitted to making an error in parliamentary process.

But he still proceeded to call for a vote.

PNG’s constitution allows a government a grace period of 18 months before a vote of no confidence can be brought to Parliament. Since 1977, every sitting prime minister has had to fend off threats of votes of no confidence.

James Marape himself, came to power in 2018, through a vote of no confidence.

While Prime Minister Marape may have been successful this time, he still faces the possibility of another vote of no confidence if the opposition musters enough numbers to do so.

Speaking after the vote, Marape said that while votes of no confidence were an essential part of democracy, Section 145 of the constitution, which provides for the process, had been abused in many instances.

“Provincial governors have five years to work. Provincial legislators have five years to work. The most important chair of the land has 18 months . . . and managing 18 months of politics and doing work, comes with great cost.”

The pressure is now on him to prove that that he has the ability and the political will to stem instances of corruption, fix the ailing economy, stem inflation and address crime — the biggest concerns for Papua New Guineans.

Over the next few days, the Prime Minister will announce a cabinet reshuffle to fill vacancies left by MPs who have left.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Conflict group of islands in Papua New Guinea’s Milne Bay province cannot be sold to foreign interests, Parliament has been told.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands John Rosso said yesterday the privately-owned controversial islands would instead be turned into an environmental marine conservation area.

Irked by the potential sale of the islands for a substantial amount of money, Rosso has issued a ministerial directive for an immediate investigation into the acquisition of titles and the alleged sale.

The 21 islands have been owned by retired Australian businessman Ian Gowrie-Smith who placed the atolls on the open market.

They include among the named islands Panasesa Island, Madiboiboi, Gabugabutau, Tubinagurm Island, Lutmatavi Island, Panaboal, Ginara Island, Panarakuum Island, Panarakiim Motina, Muniara Island, Auriria Island, Panamaiia, Parapaniian, Panaiiaii, Kisa, Itamarina and Ilai Islands.

The Conflict islands are in PNG which put them closer to the Australian mainland and the potential sale has raised alarm bells in that country, which has been wary of the controversial security pact between Solomon Islands and China — and also China’s rise in the Pacific.

In Parliament yesterday, Kiriwina-Goodenough MP Douglas Tomuriesa took Rosso to task, demanding action from the government to stop the sale of these atolls because of the cultural significance and traditional values they had on the local people.

Traditional hunting grounds
“This group of islands is the traditional hunting grounds for our people and our people cannot be allowed into these islands due to the owner being strict,” Tomuriesa said.

“These are traditionally resting and hunting grounds. Today, our people cannot do that.”

It is understood the islands were being sold for substantial amounts, a sale that has not only angered the locals but caused heartbeat to Australia as it poses a national and regional security risk to its sovereignty, given the Chinese conglomerates that have allegedly put up their hands to buy the islands.

Rosso told Parliament that these islands would never be sold under his watch and that the government would make sure they would be kept as conservative and protected areas.

He warned that the investigations could also lead to the revocation of the lease but was subject to the completion once initiated.

“The Conflict islands cannot be sold to non-citizens and that is my stand, and the PNG government stand, there will be an investigation to establish the status and the way the title was awarded in the first instance,” Rosso said.

“The islands will be declared as a conservative and protected area to be administered by special purpose vehicle to protect it for our children to benefit from in the future.

Status of titles probe
“I have already asked the Department of Lands to institute an investigation to establish the status of these titles which are freehold and ascertain the way these titles were created and granted to, we believe, a non-citizen.

“I would like to encourage the current titleholder to come forward voluntarily and discuss these issues with me.

“The position of the government of PNG through the Minister for Lands and Physical Planning is that these islands and the sea belong to the broader community because it is part of their marine and sea life to sustain the marine and pristine ecosystem.

“Therefore, PNG as a custodian of these parts of marine eco-system intends to declare the Conflict Islands as a conservation protected area to be administered by a special purpose vehicle that has the same status as Australia Great Barrier Reef, that is my view and I will be pursuing.

“I will be working closely with the Milne Bay provincial government to ensure that this is carried out.

“For the temporary timing, I will not allow the Conflict islands to be sold under my watch.

“I will be pursuing properly talks with the current owner to see a way forward for this but with a very firm view that we will not allow these islands to be sold, likewise other protected areas in PNG.

“The Conflict islands, the sales and transfer can be made only to a PNG citizen.

“How did the titleholder, believed to be [not] a PNG citizen come to own these freehold titles for 20 years.”

Gorethy Kenneth is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s incumbent leader, James Marape, has been returned to the top job as the country’s ninth prime minister, reports the ABC’s Port Moresby correspondent Natalie Whiting.

“Marape was voted in as prime minister unopposed, with unanimous support from all MPs present in the first parliamentary sitting following the country’s controversial, and at times violent, national election,” she reported today.

Both the NBC state broadcaster and the independent news website Inside PNG reported live streams of today’s election and the swearing in.

Pangu Pati’s Marape is expected to be leading at least 17 parties in a coalition government.

The Prime Minister ousted his predecessor Peter O’Neill after a controversial walkout in Parliament three years ago, and has survived attempts to unseat him.

The PNG Post-Courier’s Miriam Zarriga reported today that Pangu, the party that had led PNG to independence in 1975, had been formally invited to form government in Parliament.

The invitation by the Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, as prescribed in the Constitution, was issued at 10.20am yesterday.

Pangu Pati invited
Sir Bob said in his address: “I have been advised to invite Pangu Pati to form the next government.

“It is an honour to formally announce this message.

“By virtuous [sic] of the powers conveyed by Section 63 of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates of Papua New Guinea and all other powers, acting in and in accordance with the advice of the Electoral Commissioner, hereby invite Pangu Party incorporated which has endorsed the greatest number of candidates elected in the 2022 National Elections to form the Government.”

As the formal invitation had been handed over to Pangu, the next step was to ensure that the party had the numbers in the 111-seat Parliament — with counting still going on in 13 seats — and the nominee for prime minister was ready today.

James Marape returned as PNG’s prime minister after tense election https://t.co/9blE8Y9xVo

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 9, 2022

The Pangu-led coalition last week announced James Marape as their nominee with 15 parties signing an MOU to work with Pangu to form government.

Many commentators have described the election as the “worst in living memory” — and the most violent.

Two women have been elected to Parliament for the first time in a decade, Central province Governor Rufina Peter and Rai Coast MP Kessy Sawang.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

In a historic first, the Papua New Guinea Parliament has installed Pangu Pati leader and Tari-Pori MP James Marape by a unanimous majority as the country’s ninth Prime Minister.

Immediately, in his address to the House and streamed live to the nation, Marape stuck to his belief in the mantra “Take Back PNG” and his vision to make every Papua New Guinean rich in the “richest black Christian nation on earth”.

While Marape was making his rambling victory speech to the nation, a rousing message filtered through that a second woman had successfully been elected to Parliament.

Kessy Sawang was declared winner of the Rai Coast seat and she joins Central Governor Rufina Peter in Parliament.

Marape was elected unopposed by 97 MPs in the House which included eight opposition MPs, becoming the first Prime Minister to be voted in unopposed since 1975 — the year of independence.

Only his sworn adversary and former PM Peter O’Neill abstained from voting by walking out of the chamber before the vote was taken.

O’Neill later said it was a matter of “conscience” that forced him to walk out the chamber.

Elevated to top job
The first time Marape became Prime Minister was on May 30, 2019, when, through a serious of twists and turns — including instigating a vote of no confidence which forced O’Neill to resign as PM — Marape was elevated to the top post by a parliamentary majority of 10-8, another historic moment in PNG’s oft-times fractured Parliament.

The nine MPs of O’Neill’s People’s National Congress (PNC) party who voted for Marape were: Pomio MP Elias Kapavore, Milne Bay Governor Gordon Wesley, Alotau MP Ricky Morris, Aitape Lumi MP Anderson Mise, Ambunti Drekikir MP Johnson Wapunai, Central Governor Rufina Peter, Ijivitari MP David Arore, Kiriwina-Goodenough Douglas Tomuriesa and Kandrian Gloucester MP Joseph Lelang.

After a slight mix up of the standing orders on the person nominating a PM, East Sepik Governor Allan Bird’s nomination was superseded by Manus Governor Charlie Benjamin and seconded by Western Governor Toboi Yoto.

PNC party leader Peter O’Neill walked out of the chamber as Speaker Job Pomat read out the notice and calling for nominations for Prime Minister.

Marape said that his election was for the people and that “whatever happened yesterday, Pangu would always put the country’s interest first”.

“I seek to anchor my statement on the remarks [made on 30 May 2019]. I wanted Papua New Guinea in the next decade to be a K200 billion (NZ$90 billion) economy.

“I wanted Papua New Guinea to be the Richest Black Christian Nation on Earth. My statement recognised that our political forebears have ushered in political independence in 1975,” he said.

‘Crafted legislation’
“They crafted legislation, built institutions, wrote policies and established relationships to deliver us political independence.”

But Marape’s speech failed to hit home with ordinary Papua New Guineans, leaving the population pondering what to expect in the country reeling from high unemployment, huge law and order issues and rising prices of basic store goods.

As Pangu and its coalition hunker down to prepare their 100-day plan, Papua New Guineans are taking to social media to raise simple questions like “when will our children return safely back to school?”, “a bag of five kilograms of rice is now K20? (NZ$9)”, and “when will the minimum wage of K3.50 (NZ$1.60 an hour) be raised to correspond with the costs of living which has spiked as a result of inflation?”.

Some are venting their anger at the lack of medicines in the biggest referral hospitals in the country — including Port Moresby General Hospital, where patients have to fork out their own money to buy panadol.

Marape continued: “This generation of leaders must deliver economic independence to Papua New Guinea.

“That Pangu has secured the mandate from Papua New Guinea can only mean that our people in the length and breadth of this country support this intention.

“It is my humble privilege to address this house as the Prime Minister. In 2019, I secured the mandate to be Prime Minister on the floor of Parliament.

‘Three very hard years’
“I served for three very hard years with the support of a lot of you.

“Today, I have secured the mandate from the people of Papua New Guinea.

“They have empowered, emboldened, and mandated me and the party to lead to be in government.

“I am privileged to lead a coalition of likeminded leaders to be your government.

“The 2022 national general election brings our country to the cusp of 50 years of nationhood.

“hree years before we turn 50 years old as a nation, Pangu gets a further opportunity to deal with some fundamental issues confronting our country.

‘Fair, healthy, happy society’
“The onus and responsibility now rest on each member of Parliament to rise up to the occasion and renew our commitment to pass on a better Papua New Guinea to the next generation.

“We are consistent with the Vision 2050 on the development phases of our country to be smart, wise, fair, healthy, and a happy society by 2050.

“It aligns nicely in that we are called to deliver economic enablers to fast-track development.

“Fastrack we must, as we do not have the luxury of time to wait around for things to happen at their pace.”

Gorethy Kenneth is a senior journalist with the PNG Post-Courier. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s incumbent leader, James Marape, has been returned to the top job as the country’s ninth prime minister, reports the ABC’s Port Moresby correspondent Natalie Whiting.

“Marape was voted in as prime minister unopposed, with unanimous support from all MPs present in the first parliamentary sitting following the country’s controversial, and at times violent, national election,” she reported today.

Both the NBC state broadcaster and the independent news website Inside PNG reported live streams of today’s election and the swearing in.

Pangu Pati’s Marape is expected to be leading at least 17 parties in a coalition government.

The Prime Minister ousted his predecessor Peter O’Neill after a controversial walkout in Parliament three years ago, and has survived attempts to unseat him.

The PNG Post-Courier’s Miriam Zarriga reported today that Pangu, the party that had led PNG to independence in 1975, had been formally invited to form government in Parliament.

The invitation by the Governor-General, Sir Bob Dadae, as prescribed in the Constitution, was issued at 10.20am yesterday.

Pangu Pati invited
Sir Bob said in his address: “I have been advised to invite Pangu Pati to form the next government.

“It is an honour to formally announce this message.

“By virtuous [sic] of the powers conveyed by Section 63 of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates of Papua New Guinea and all other powers, acting in and in accordance with the advice of the Electoral Commissioner, hereby invite Pangu Party incorporated which has endorsed the greatest number of candidates elected in the 2022 National Elections to form the Government.”

As the formal invitation had been handed over to Pangu, the next step was to ensure that the party had the numbers in the 111-seat Parliament — with counting still going on in 13 seats — and the nominee for prime minister was ready today.

James Marape returned as PNG’s prime minister after tense election https://t.co/9blE8Y9xVo

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 9, 2022

The Pangu-led coalition last week announced James Marape as their nominee with 15 parties signing an MOU to work with Pangu to form government.

Many commentators have described the election as the “worst in living memory” — and the most violent.

Two women are understood to have been elected to Parliament for the first time in a decade.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

He said he was not willing to “sacrifice the health of our elected leaders while at the same time, observe the parliamentary process that can pose an immediate and real danger to our MPs, their staff and families”.

“I have rallied Members of Parliament on either of the House to consider this threat as serious and to ensure that our safety is not compromised,” Marape said.

Parliament was adjourned to August 10 after 42 parliamentary staff and an MP tested positive to covid-19.

This came shortly after the opposition amended its vote-of-no-confidence motion and named former prime minister Peter O’Neill as the alternative prime minister.

Marape said it was incumbent upon the government, with its numbers, to exercise care and responsibility to ensure that MPS were protected from the potential spread of the virus.

“I note that while the [Pandemic] Controller has classified these workers as essential workers for the purpose of the Pandemic Act 2020, the physical risk of a potential outbreak in Parliament can never be underestimated,” he said.

‘About us as human beings’
“This action is in the interest of all who sit in Parliament and all who work there.

“It is not about the government and the opposition; it is about all of us human beings, who are susceptible to the virus.

“We have to be responsible for lives, including the lives of politicians.

“Parliament, in its debate, confronted the loss of the former Member for Kerema to the virus.”

Members of the media queried the necessity of a four-month adjournment, when the incubation period for the coronavirus was two weeks, to which Marape said though the incubation period ends after two weeks that did not stop the spread of the virus.

Rebecca Kuku is a journalist with the PNG Post-Courier.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Papua New Guinea’s parliament has adjourned for almost four months, dashing an attempt to oust Prime Minister James Marape.

The adjournment allows Marape to avoid a no confidence vote.

Earlier, the opposition had tabled a motion of no confidence against Marape.

The opposition listed the former prime minister Peter O’Neill as its nominee for alternate prime minister.

However, PNG’s constitution doesn’t allow confidence votes against a sitting prime minister in the 12 months before an election.

The country is due to go to the polls in July next year.

The opposition is expected to challenge the adjournment in court, with O’Neill alleging it was in breach of rules around parliament’s minimum number of sitting days.

Covid-19 outbreak
But the adjournment was deemed necessary by government after the announcement of figures indicating a quarter of staff at Parliament are infected with covid-19.

Papua New Guinea crossed the threshold of 10,000 covid-19 cases yesterday, with 91 known deaths. However, health officials believe the true number of cases is much higher.

Parliament’s speaker, Job Pomat, told MPs that from preliminary sampling of 167 people within the parliament precinct, 42 – or 25 percent of them – tested positive for the virus.

RNZ Pacific reports that most of those infected were staff rather than MPs, but several MPs tested positive earlier this year, and Pomat said the situation was serious.

ICYMI – Preliminary testing for Covid-19 among staff at Papua New Guinea’s parliament precinct indicates a quarter of them are infected.https://t.co/qJ6OJkFLu1

— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) April 21, 2021

On the advice of the National Pandemic Response Controller, David Manning, Pomat said all staff and members were to undergo compulsory testing for the coronavirus.

Pomat said that prior to the letter he had already issued a similar directive.

“I have now issued further directives for compulsory testing to be conducted to both members of staff of parliament and political staff,” Pomat explained.

Another Vote of No Confidence is being lodged – former PM Peter O’Neill expected to be listed as the Opposition’s candidate for PM. https://t.co/YrU1vT1D3B

— Natalie Whiting (@Nat_Whiting) April 21, 2021

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz