Media Releases

Cybercrime charge dismissed

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 08/04/2025 - 15:01

A criminal charge of identity theft against ACT NOW Campaign Manager Eddie Tanago has been struck out by Magistrate Mr. Paul Puri Nii, in the District Court at Waigani.

A prominent civil society advocate, Tanago was arrested and charged by police in December 2024 following a complaint made by the Managing Director of the PNG Forest Authority.

This was after ACT NOW had hosted a public seminar highlighting the abuse of Forest Clearing Authorities by foreign-owned logging companies who use the licences as a cover for large-scale illegal logging.

Ombudsman urged to act on missing District acquittals

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 01/04/2025 - 10:45

ACT NOW! is urging the Ombudsman Commission to act decisively as the 31st March deadline passes for Districts to submit their Service and Infrastructure Improvement Program acquittals.

The community advocacy group says the Ombudsman Commission should immediately publish a list of Districts that have failed to comply with the deadline and to take action under the Leadership Code against those leaders who have defaulted.

ACT NOW! is warning that continued inaction will erode public trust and enable the misuse of billions of Kina in public funds.

Stagnant CPI score reflects failure to deal with forest crime

Submitted by ACTNOW on Mon, 17/02/2025 - 11:53

Papua New Guinea’s rating as highly corrupt in the latest global assessment published by Transparency International reflects the complete failure to tackle widespread forest crime says community advocacy group ACT NOW!

Transparency International recently released its 2024 Corruption Perception Index which reveals PNG is still languishing in 127th place out of 180 countries with a CPI score of just 31 out of 100, the worst in the Pacific region.

ACT NOW Campaign Manager charged with cybercrime

Submitted by ACTNOW on Fri, 13/12/2024 - 10:11

ACT NOW Campaign Manager Eddie Tanago has been charged by police under the Cybercrime Code Act for allegedly publishing defamatory remarks on social media about the Managing Director of the PNG Forest Authority.

Mr Tanago’s arrest came after a complaint from the PNGFA that ACT NOW had shared a social media post published by a radio company advertising a talkback show that was to feature the Forest Authority and which included an image of the MD, allegedly without his consent.

Transparency Gap: DDA contact details and future challenges

Submitted by Cathy Tukne on Tue, 12/11/2024 - 13:49

A concerning analysis by community advocacy group ACT NOW has revealed that almost all District Development Authorities (DDAs) in Papua New Guinea are failing to make crucial contact information available, hindering governance, accountability, and service delivery.

Despite each District receiving K20 million annually for service and infrastructure improvements, as of July 2024, the analysis reveals most DDA’s do not have a named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and lack an email address, postal address and phone number or website.

Prime Minster must act to stop widespread illegal logging

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 02/10/2024 - 09:18

Prime Minister James Marape has spoken of the importance of preserving Papua New Guinea’s tropical rainforest in a meeting with the United Nations General Secretary and in his address to the UN General Assembly last Friday 

Yet, community advocacy group ACT NOW says his government is doing nothing to stop widespread illegal logging and in particular the abuse of agricultural clearing licences.

Appalling lack of transparency as majority of Districts fail to submit financial acquittals

Submitted by ACTNOW on Tue, 24/09/2024 - 10:54

While the government has been dramatically increasing the amount of funding pumped directly into each District, there is an appalling lack of transparency about how those public funds are being used.

As of July 2024, analysis of media reporting by community advocacy group ACT NOW reveals just 24 out of 96 Districts have lodged their financial acquittals for 2022 or 2023 and none of those acquittals are publicly available. This is despite each District now being given K20 million a year in service and infrastructure improvement grants.

Loani Bwanabwana Forest Clearance: Another Bogus Agriculture Project?

Submitted by ACTNOW on Wed, 21/08/2024 - 09:24

Community advocacy group ACT NOW! says a new logging operation in Milne Bay Province could be yet another example of a bogus agriculture project being used as cover for a large-scale forest grab.

The new logging operation began on Sideia Island earlier this year as part of the Loani Bwanabwana Integrated Agro-Forestry Project.

Operated by a Malaysian logging company with no previous agriculture experience, the project is promising 36,700 hectares of new agriculture planting, including balsa, cocoa, vanilla and rice.