Finance Minister

Finance Minister Charles Abel made this known in parliament on Wednesday, after he was asked about funding support for provinces experiencing natural disasters.

Minister Abel said only K20 million was budgeted for National Disasters.

The government was asked to fund emergency responses and rehabilitation exercises to several provinces that experienced flooding catastrophes only recently, but Minister Abel said what has been asked of the government cannot be met at the moment.

A 2 billion kina shortfall in the 2019 budget has not helped the situation.

Marape made the announcement in front of staff at the Finance Department.

He said the decision was not easy to make despite the cultural and personal ties.

He did not give any reason behind his decision.

A formal handover takeover will be made at a later date.

More update to follow…

Minister Marape said although he wholeheartedly appreciates the response from those who have gone out of their way to assist in the little way they can, the relief effort will now go into its second phase – restoration.

In a press conference, Marape said the ‘stop’ is just so the burden is taken off those sincere Papua New Guineans who have given donations in kind and cash.

He said he was greatly touched by the outstanding response and the heartfelt gestures in this time of need.

Marape issued the warning after discovering a sink filled with betelnut spittle. This was at the first floor of Vulupindi Haus at Waigani, Port Moresby.

He said most times, we tend to blame the buai sellers for the rubbish and buai spit all over the place but evidence proves otherwise.

Marape further called on Secretary for Finance, Dr Ken Ngangan, to get tough on staff who chew during working hours and terminate them.

Minister Marape also went on social media and made a statement regarding this issue.

Finance Minister James Marape recently told parliament that the entire procurement process needs to be revamped to ensure all procurement have a common registry and common filing system across the board.

“This is so that registry is able to be part of the government planning process.”

The process of the expenditure acquittal of provincial and district funds has also come under the radar, with the Minister stressing on the importance of daily reports culminating in a monthly and quarterly reports.

This was revealed by Finance Minister, James Marape, today during the National Parliament Induction Programme for Members of Parliament.

Marape said the amount has been the same for the last five years and there needs to be some tightening up on the cost.

He told Chief Secretary, Isaac Luapari, in the presence of MPs as well as Departmental Heads who were present, to clamp down on these expenditure and make it a part of the their ‘Key Performance Indicators’ (KPI’s).

Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Tobias Kulang, told Loop PNG he is disappointed that his colleague Minister spoke against the Government.

Minister Kulang said if Pruaitch had an issue with the management of the economy, he should’ve spoken a long time ago and not on the eve of the elections.

“My question is, is he genuine? If he’s genuine he should’ve done that a long time ago.

“Now it’s just days away from the issuance of the writs so, I don’t know whether he’s truly genuine.

Marape issued a statement saying Patrick Pruaitch must take responsibility, as Treasurer and the chief economic minister of the O’Neill-Dion Government, who presided over the economy for the last few years, and he should not shy away for political convenience.

The Finance Minister  said this in response to the National Alliance Parliamentary Leader's public statement on the economy last Friday.

“The timing of his outburst cannot be more political than it is now as we confront  the 2017 National Elections,” the Minister said.

Finance Minister, James Marape made the announcement today during the 2017 Leaders Summit in Port Moresby.

He said many of these funding has gone to more than 80 per cent of Papua New Guineans living in rural areas.

Despite the many criticisms against the O’Neil led government, Marape said no previous government has matched its commitments with budgetary allocations.

Marape in a press conference today said he had been receiving threats from unknown people threatening to assassinate him and destroy his family for the past two weeks.

He said he had received at least 13 life threatening messages to him and his family over on-going politics in Hela and the PNG LNG benefits funds.

“I cannot be intimidated by any threats to carry out my responsibilities as an elected parliamentary leader of Hela Province and the country as a whole.”

He said police have been notified about the threats and the perpetrators will be caught soon.