Review

The three-week review started on July 24th 2023 and will end this week.

The last 10-year plan 2011-2021 has expired therefore the Planning and Research Division is facilitating this exercise for all the sectors to come up with its new provincial SDP.

According to the Deputy Administrator Social Services Marakan Uvano this new review plan contains the strategies, the vision and mission of the province.

He said these programs strategies and projects from this plan are the vehicles that will help to drive the province to its destiny.

The Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) was tasked by the Government to undertake the review of the RAL in accordance with the amended Investment Promotion Act (IP Act).

The National Parliament passed the Investment Promotion (Amendment) Act 2023 on 11th of January 2023 which was certified on the 29th May 2023.

The amendments, among other reforms, introduced a more structured approach to the determination of the Reserved Activities List (RAL) and introduces the new concept of the Restricted Activities List.

The review, or post mortem, also included the 4 Open MPs for Rabaul, Kokopo, Pomio and Gazelle, with question-and-answer sessions throughout the day.

In attendance also at the one-day forum, held at the Gazelle International Hotel, were senior management staff of the ENB provincial, the four district administrations and other partners.

This follows the successful conclusion of the final inquiry with the heads of government agencies and NCD Governor, Powes Parkop and Member for Moresby Northwest Lohia Boe Samuel recently in Port Moresby.

“This officially brings to close nearly three months of very intense consultation right around the country, beginning on the 6^th of March and we are satisfied with the outcome so far,” CLRC Chairman, Saki Soloma said.

The Supreme Court delivered its ruling today, putting the trial, which was scheduled to commence on 14 January on halt, while it reviews the decision by the National Court, which allowed one ground in the petition to go for trial.

Leave to review the National Court’s decision was granted by the Chief Justice, who sat as a single Supreme Court judge, last month.

Deputy Electoral Commissioner, John Kalamoro, revealed this during the two day seminar on the review of the Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections and related laws.

This is one of the loopholes currently in the Organic Law which needs to be addressed by parliament.

Kalamora said while the Electoral Boundaries Commission (EBC) can make recommendations on the electorates to cater for any changes it must be part of a re-distribution review.

This was the process undertaken by the EBC and Parliament for the creation for Hela and Jiwaka.

This comes after a call was made by the Transparency International PNG, Lawrence Stephens, for the government to cease all funding to the NID rollout project, until such a time that the management of the project provides full acquittals of the K230 million that has been expanded on the project since its inception.

Minister for National Planning, Richard Maru said meantime, the National Identification (NID) project will continue as planned until all citizens are registered in the national database by 2021.

Cases that had petitioners present in court indicated the number of witnesses they intend to call and were given time to collect witness statements in preparation for trial.

Among those petitions that went for direction was the one filed by runner-up in the Ialibu-Pangia Open seat, Stanley Liria.

In this petition, Papua New Guinea Defence Force, Brigadier-General Gilbert Toropo, and CEO of the National Gaming Control Board, Imelda Agon, were summoned to turn up in court for the trial.

President of the PNG Media Council, Alexander Rheeney, made this comment at the launch of the report this week.

He assisted Transparency International compile the report, as a private citizen, and said the media failed to hold leaders accountable for the outstanding issues, simply by failing to do follow up stories.

The review of 20 cases spans from 2007 to 2017, covering both the Somare and O’Neill regime.

After a successful appeal, 42-year-old Taita Prichard from Bereina, Central province who is a naturalized Australian citizen was freed on Thursday.

A three-man Supreme Court bench acquitted her after it upheld her appeal, setting aside her conviction and sentence of 30 years with hard labor.

She was sentenced on Feb 12 this year after the Waigani National Court convicted her on Nov 11, 2015 for planning and using her cousin to murder her former lover, British man John Hulse in 2011 at Napanapa outside Port Moresby.