Prime Minister James Marape

Minister Basil said this during the handover takeover of the Treasury Ministry on Thursday in Port Moresby.

Basil takes over Treasury from Charles Abel, who is now Finance Minister.

Treasurer Basil said the Terms of Reference given to him by Prime Minister Marape are in line with the Prime Minister’s goal of PNG being the richest black Christian nation.

The ToR includes:

In announcing to the country the new Petroleum Minister, he said regime shifts will also be made to ensure everyone benefits.

While laws in the resource sector are outdated and need to be reviewed to benefit everyone, including landowners, the Prime Minister has maintained foreign investors are welcome in the country.

“ExxonMobil, Total, Santos, Nippon Oil – they’ve been with us for a long time…improving in areas of greater market, content, in areas of greater participation. We are tired of being grant collectors,” stated the PM.

When addressing the nation on Wednesday night, he assured the nation that the ICAC Bill will be introduced to save our nation from wastage that is happening through corruption, nepotism (wantok system) and many wasted opportunities that we have seen in the past.

“Our society must be free of systematic abuse from corruption. Every one of us has the right to talk about these issues,” he stated.

“I will not be hiding anyone behind my government. Every one of us, leaders included, must stand to face the rule of law in our country.

Following his election in parliament on May 30^th, Prime Minister James Marape allocated interim caretaker ministries to the seven.

“In the name of equitable distribution, fair distribution to all regions of our country, to all political parties that are in the coalition mix, hopefully we should find the distribution formula corrected as early as possible,” said Marape.