Stop the Stealing

Papua New Guinea is not a poor country. We have vast natural resources and are an able and hardworking people. We should be able to provide everyone with access to good health and education services and good roads.

But vast sums of money are being stolen every year by people who abuse their positions of trust - whether in government, the public services or private companies. This is money that should be spent on health services, schools and roads.

The situation is made worse by our government, which wastes vast sums of public money on flying Minister's around the world on a private executive jet and projects like the Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ).

Mothers and babies are dying and children are struggling to get an education - we have to act to help them. ACT NOW! members are determined to TAKE ACTION to stop the stealing and build a better PNG.

ACT NOW! is campaigning to ensure implementation of the Finance Department Commission of Inquiry recommendations that 56 people be prosecuted for stealing public money and to stop public funds being wasted on the PMIZ.

You can read more about these and other issues below.

Issues

Port Moresby Super Hospital

September 16th 2011

SUCCESS! The government has announced it will not be pursuing plans for a controversial publicly funded "Super Hospital" in Port Moresby. The hospital was to provide private beds for the wealthy while most Papua New Guineans lack access to even the most basic health services.

ACT NOW! had actively campaigned against the plans for the hospital on its website and independent blogs.

More about the proposed hospital

The government’s proposed Pacific Medical Centre would have been another extravagant waste of public funds and diverted money and other resources from front-line medical care.

Although Michael Somare bowed to public pressure in November 2010 and said no public money should be used to build the hospital, Health Minister Sasa Zibe and his team are still pressed ahead with the project until being removed from power in July 2011.

Plans for the K500 million super-hospital, to be build as a public/private partnership at Bautama outside Port Moresby, were first announced in February 2010, although the National Executive Council had already committed K20 million to kick-start the project in November 2009.

The previous government promoted the project as ‘the nations first world class fully serviced hospital and on of Asia-Pacific regions leading centres of excellence in providing first rate health care services and medical education’ but there are many solid reasons why the public rejected the proposed PMC.

These included:

It was the wrong priority
It was an extravagance we can't afford
It would divert funds from other health care facilities
It would be inaccessible to most people
The money was needed for staffing not infrastructure
It would take staff away from front-line services
There was a complete lack of transparency about the project
It was opposed by health professionals

To find out more download our PMC Factsheet.

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	PMC Factsheet.pdf	116.96 KB

Campaigns: Stop the Stealing

Finance Department Commission of Inquiry

June 22nd 2010

A Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Finance was conducted from 2006 until 2009. The Commission report was presented in Parliament in April 2010.

We cannot tell you what the finding of the Commission of Inquiry were as Paul Paraka, a prominent lawyer, and Zacchary Gelu, a former Solicitor General, have a court injunction that stops publication and implementation of the findings.

Despite the injunction though, details of those findings have been appearing in the foreign media. Two prominent stories have appeared in The Australian newspaper and several blog sites including pngexposed and wakeuppng, have published parts of the Commission report and details of some of the scams and those involved.

ACT NOW! members and the wider general public are entitled to be sceptical when they fund a three year Commission of Inquiry process only to have the findings locked away by the courts on the application of those who perhaps have most to hide and nobody is prepared to challenge the decision.

Lets hope that the injunction is soon lifted and those responsible for the alleged theft of public monies are brought to justice.

In the meantime, the fortunate few with access to the internet can read about the shocking crimes allegedly carried out by some of our most senior lawyers and public servants on those overseas blog sites.