Politics
Can Sir Mekere Survive The Upcoming PNG Elections?
Predictions so far are doubtful
More than half the number of MPs in Papua New Guinea's current Parliament are not likely to return after the June national elections.
The prediction is based on the number of MPs cited for misconduct in office during the past five years. Several have been dismissed by the leadership tribunal. At least one has resigned to escape prosecution under the leadership code, and the cases for many more are still pending.
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Among the doubtful participants is Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta, whose association with the ruling party, the People¹s Democratic Movement (PDM) as its parliamentary leader, has placed him in a precarious situation as far as his election chances are concerned.
PDM is blamed for many negative issues, including the death of three University of Papua New Guinea students during demonstrations last year against the Government's privatisation programme.
The hostile criticism resulting from this incident against the party was bad enough. But it was worse for Morauta, whose Port Moresby northwest electorate covers the university and Morata, settlement where most of those who supported the students during the demonstrations came from. The attack on the party and Morauta at that time was quite substantive. And since then Morauta has done little to win back support.
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The recent public outcry over the brutal killing of a Lutheran Church pastor in his electorate, has not helped either. Many concerned Papua New Guineans, including those in his electorate, expected Morauta and his government to take tougher actions against those involved in the shooting of the pastor. This did not happen. Morauta could only appeal to the public to help police fight crime.
In August last year, Morauta was also caught up in a debate over a questionable deal. He was reported to have backtracked on a promise to investigate an alleged disappearance of millions of dollars from the government's Cayman Islands bank account.
The so-called "Cayman Islands Scam" has stalked Papua New Guinea governments since 1994, when the then government scoured the world for a $US90 million loan for the cash-strapped country.
The issue then was particularly embarrassing for Morauta who was governor of the Central Bank at the time. The potential political embarrassment was compounded by the fact that former PDM leader, Paias Wingti, was prime minister in 1994.
Opposition Leader and former prime minister, Bill Skate made the allegation.
Morauta initially said he'd hold a commission of inquiry demanded by Skate if the Opposition Leader tabled the documents in Parliament. But when Skate tabled the documents, Morauta did not keep his promise.
He said: "I will examine the documents and decide if a commission of inquiry is required."
Amid uproar from Opposition MPs, he insisted: "I am not afraid of an inquiry...but commission of inquiries are expensive and I am not going to waste public money on people with warped minds."
Skate had alleged that millions of dollars went missing after a $US800 million offshore account was opened by the Wingti government, using foreign currency deposited by Papua New Guinea mining companies as tax liabilities. However, Morauta said there was nothing untoward in the deal.
He said that in 1994 no reputable commercial bank "anywhere in the world" was prepared to accept Papua New Guinea's reputation as a borrower. "Papua New Guinea was running out of foreign reserves and - rightly at the time - instead of going and printing money from the Central Bank, the Secretary of Finance, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance wanted to replenish the foreign reserves by going to the Union Bank of Switzerland, one of the largest commercial banks in the world, for $US90 million that was lent on one condition," he said.
"It had to be guaranteed by a special asset and that was the only condition and that asset was revenue flowing into the nation's banks from mineral resources in the country, because mineral resource tax liabilities were settled in foreign currency."
The Prime Minister said the government opened an account in New York - not at Cayman Island - for the monies from the Mineral Resources Stabilisation Fund.
Over three years, he said, about $US800 million flowed into that account for the loan of $US90 million.
Morauta said when the loan was paid off, the New York account was closed by the government and the $US800 million returned to Papua New Guinea.
He said he was governor of the Central Bank at the time, but had no role in raising the government loan. He was sacked in August 1994 by the then Finance Minister, Sir Julius Chan. However, while he remains prime minister and PDM leader, he will continue to shoulder the flak on behalf of the party.
Of particular concern has been the continuing public mistrust in the party. Part of this is blamed on the general widespread public perception that PDM founder and former prime minister Wingti is the "power behind the throne" of the Morauta government.
Wingti sometimes resides in Cairns in Australia, and is said to be one of the richest men in the South Pacific. The hatred against the PDM became evident in the Madang province early this year when Wingti, accompanying a government delegation, was shouted down when he spoke on the government's free education policy introduced early this year.
The free education policy has been widely regarded as an election ploy by PDM to win back public support. The policy has been embraced by many parents with open arms because they have been freed from the constant burden of struggling every year to find money for school fees.
The race will be tougher for PDM and other existing political parties in this year's election than the last with 23 parties already registered with the Registrar of Political Parties, and 23 more yet to sign up.
The chances for a one-party government after the election look very remote.
Speculations are rife in some circles that major parties have aligned themselves with smaller parties by funding their elections.
Most of the new parties have been formed by non-parliamentarians and professionals, including lawyers, doctors, accountants, academics, industrialists, activists, and also by the churches. Most of them will be contesting the elections.
They are smart and witty, and look set to give the big boys in established parties like PDM, Pangu, People's Progress Party and the rest, a good run for their money.
