Kavo, for some quiet moments...

[Tree]

As you'd expect, Kavo can only be nice and stay silent for so long. The "No pipeline" mantra is back per the Post-Courier

Kavo firm on no-pipeline policy for Papua LNG

GULF Governor Havila Kavo is not backing down, reiterating that the stand on the no-pipeline policy remains unchanged.

Sigh.........

Flip-Flop

Apparently he's confident of beating the criminal charges AND being deemed legal Governor of the Gul Prov.

Politics matter in PNG.  Need to track this.

[Tree]

 

PNG in a fiscal mess.  Revenues from PNG LNG not as expected and that expected revenue was budgeted and spent.  Will PNG be bankable and when will some opposition pol like Kavo propose that now is not right time for PNG to take on a 2nd LNG project.

PNG Govt prepares supplementary budget

 

Updated at 2:04 pm on 7 August 2015

After widespread concern the Papua New Guinea government says it will bring in a supplementary budget as the economy nosedives.

Government revenue is set to drop by more than 20 percent this year with the budget deficit more than doubling to 9.4 percent.

In a statement the PNG Treasurer, Patrick Pruaitch, says the government will cut its spending but it will not impact on priority areas such as education, health, law and order, and provincial and district support grants.

He says the cuts will not detract from the economic growth momentum the government has achieved.

A visiting fellow at the Australian National University, Paul Flanagan, suggests the government look to how their predecessors handled a major economic downturn in the 1990s.

"These are pretty big discussions that need to occur within PNG and they did this at the end of the 1990s. Given these challenges [on that occasion after oil prices had plummetted] they set a group of people, with international experience also, to come and discuss some of those challenges."

Bogan Gapo building, or Revenue Haus, houses PNG's Internal Revenue Commission

Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades

Paul Flanagan sees the delivery of a supplementary budget as a good move.

He says it would be sensible to start cutting back by bringing a multi year budgetting package.

"It needs to include both the expenditure side, the revenue side and thinking how you can finance the differences. It means thinking about what is the appropriate role of government - are there certain functions that we should actually pass across to the private sector and let the government concentrate on areas of higher priority, such as education and health."

Mr Flanagan has indicated that PNG may need to look overseas for significant foreign borrowing.

He says this is something which brings big risks, including foreign exchange rate vulnerability if PNG's kina depreciates to "more sensible market-based levels".

[Tree]

As predicted. Polye reads SHU??:

PNG Government insolvent - Opposition Leader
Updated at 6:30 pm on 11 August 2015
The leader of the Papua New Guinea Opposition, Don Polye, says the government is insolvent and is already cutting funding to key sectors.
The leader of Papua New Guinea's Triumph Heritage and Empowerment party, Don Polye.
PNG Opposition leader Don Polye
Photo: RNZI / Johnny Blades
This comes amid wide criticism of the Peter O'Neill Government's handling of the economy and predictions of a 20 fall in revenue and a widening deficit.
Mr O'Neill says they can counter this and critics of the state of the economy are just those with vested interests.
But Mr Polye says the government has already cut funding to public works, education, health and other sectors.
He says drastic action is needed and he would immediately stop major infrastructure spending in Port Moresby.
"[They are] spending up to 300 - 400 million kina in one piece of infrastructure. Roads that are being built, getting all monies that would have gone to the Highlands Highway road maintenance or to other roads throughout Papua New Guinea, into just doing new roads and other roads in Port Moresby that have no economic value."

[Palm]

Supreme Court has freed Kavo

Kavo freed by Supreme Court

GULF Governor Havila Kavo is a free man after a three-man Supreme Court bench quashed his conviction last Friday.

[Palm]

Court clears Kavo of fund misuse charges
Source:
The National, Monday August 24th, 2015
THE Supreme Court has acquitted Gulf Governor Havila Kavo of misappropriation charges involving the use of K131,338 of public funds five years ago.
A panel comprising Justice Nicholas Kirriwom, Justice David Cannings and Justice Stephen Kassman unanimously ruled that Kavo’s conviction in the National Court was unsafe and unsatisfactory, which resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
The judges quashed the three-year jail term imposed on Kavo by the National Court and ordered that his bail money be refunded.
Kavo, 53, from Orulario village, Ihu in Gulf, told reporters outside the court house that the decision was a victory for his people.
They ruled that the National Court trial judge erred in fact and law in finding that that the K10 million deposited into the Gulf provincial government operational account from, from which Kavo took K131,338, was trust funds and were subject to trust obligations.
“When money was drawn against the sum of K10 million, it was not subject to the trust obligations pertaining to other money, held in the Petroleum Outstanding MOA Commitment Trust Account,” the ruling stated. It could lawfully be applied to normal provincial government operating expenses, including the payment of the appellant’s (Kavo) allowances.”