Tax Credit Scheme

Minister for National Planning and Monitoring, Richard Maru, says the new policy is being written to complement the goals of the ambitious MTDP III.

This is one of the avenues the government will use to fund the major projects outlined in the MTDP III.

“We have decided to write a new policy for our donor partners which now require that 50 per cent of all donor aid must go for infrastructure development. Actual roads, actual bridges, actual schools.

National Planning and Implementation Minister, Richard Maru, confirmed this in parliament yesterday.

He made the announcement after he was asked by Komo-Margarima MP Manasseh Makiba to allow local MPs to identify projects to be funded by the tax credit scheme.

The need to make use of the scheme has become greater after the devastating aftermath of the February 26 earthquake.

“At the moment the tax credit scheme has been suspended over a number of issues, one of them is the projects have no inputs from Governors and local MPs of parliament,” stated Maru.

O’Neill said while the Tax Credit allows for the implementation of vital infrastructure, stringent processes must be followed in awarding contracts funded under tax credit schemes.

He said this at the Back to Business Breakfast on Wednesday.

Prime Minister O’Neill said during a panel discussion that the Tax Credit Scheme was currently put on hold and a review into the awarding of contracts was needed.

He said this is to ensure the process of awarding contracts was transparent and followed existing procedures.

This was one of the recommendations of the PNG Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) 2016 Report.

The report states that previous PNG EITI reports have found discrepancies and inconsistencies in the reporting of the value of tax forgone as a result of funds spent on infrastructure development.

The report states that reporting templates for the 2016 report were updated in an attempt to clarify the value of funds spent and forgone.

Under the Tax Credit Scheme, PJV is undertaking a public service housing maintenance program and renovating public service homes.

So far PJV has completed five of nine houses earmarked under the program, three of which were recently renovated.

Community Health Officer, Naomi Parakis, District Health Inspector, Robert Ame and Acting Deputy District Mining Coordinator, Daniel Aremo, of the Porgera District Administration are the latest recipients and received the keys to their new look houses last December.

BNL General Manager, Operations, Damian Shaw, revealed this during the recent PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney, Australia.

Shaw told the conference that 2016 was a troublesome year, especially for them as operators of the Porgera Gold Mine.

“It’s our key piece of infrastructure that enables us to bring supply of goods into the Enga Province.

The partnership between the state and major private companies has delivered K531.8 million between 2013 and July of 2016 according to the Department of National Planning and Monitoring.

These funds have been invested in education and health, law and justice, transport and utilities, and administration.

The five main players in partnership with the government under the scheme are New Britain Palm Oil (NBPOL), Newcrest Mining Limited (NML), Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML), Porgera Joint Venture (PJV), and Oil Search Limited (OSL).