Thursday, October 22, 2009

World Bank has conflict of interest on Bougainville

By James Wanjik, Former Secretary for Mining

 

BOUGAINVILLE is fortunate to have mining powers unlike other provinces in Papua New Guinea.

 However, having mining powers is one thing.

 Having the capacity to exercise that power is another.

Since 2001 when Peace Agreement was executed, Bougainville has mining powers.

Only consequential actions were required.

Thus the National Parliament approved the constitutional amendment in about 2003.

Subsequently the Autonomous Bougainville Constitution of 2004 was approved.

From 2004 the ABG was in a position to promulgate mining policy and pass law.

However, in 2005 the National Government through Parliament passed the Mineral Resources Authority Act 2005.

It has nine sections and 15 issues dealing with Panguna mine.

This is contrary to the Constitution of PNG.

It is likened to giving with right hand and taking it all back with left hand.

 MRA is that left hand.

The MRA in turn confused the National Government and the ABG.

This confusion resulted in the National Government and the ABG signing a 15- step Alotau Pact on 31 March 2008.

 It was a political pact.

It politicised ABG’s mining powers.

The confusion is the MRA.

It is on Bougainville in breach of the Constitution of PNG.

The combined readings of sections 288 and 290 of the Constitution of PNG vests mining powers in the ABG as the legitimate government on Bougainville.

The ABG would have been overrun by the MRA had it not been for kind hearts of PNG.

Now MRA is politicising PNG Government.

It has not approved World Bank Loan yet we hear.

The World Bank was responsible for creating MRA.

Graeme Hancock was the World Bank consultant who drove World Bank agenda in PNG.

Now Graeme Hancock is with the World Bank.

 Graeme Hancock also advised former Minister for Mining Sam Akoitai on MRA.

He was at the verge of being engaged on Letter of Engagement to be a consultant adviser to the government on a K 6 million package.

MRA, World Bank and Graeme Hancock have huge conflict of interest.

ABG would be advised to beware. K20 million it is promising is a loan.

ABG will be nailed with loan conditions like it nailed PNG under its previous loan.

With Graeme Hancock at the World Bank, ABG will need strong leadership to get assistance.

Graeme Hancock knows how to manipulate laws, leaders and public servants to have his way.

 Under the previous loan Graeme Hancock was exempted from paying any tax on consultancy fees. He failed to submit a project closure report.

He left five days prior to end of his consultancy contract to avoid embarrassment and political powerlessness.

Till Graeme Hancock is out of PNG, MRA will be a proxy for World Bank.

Graeme Hancock and MRA are World Bank moles in PNG.

 

2 comments:

  1. We have an inferiority complex in this country.We seem to think that external "consultants" have a monopoly on knowledge and wisdom.For K6 million we could engage a team of national's who can do what this Hancock fellow can do. We could even get the job done for half that!

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  2. Anonymous1:22 PM

    Justin,
    Your views are spot on. Now the same fella thinks that he can come and lie to us about another K20 million aid to Bougainville and get PNG to sign up to Extractive Industry Trasparency Initiative (EITI). While, the EITI is good Graeme Hancock and World Bank that he represents have no credibility having creating MRA rot that among other foul is collecting illegal tax in illegal production levy! It is all about money and not service of people.

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