What next Mr

Prime Minister?

associate of Sir Julius. Ragi said he had lunch with Sir Julius on October 11, 1994 and gained the impression that the then prime minister had “some interest in the proposal”. Sir Julius had denied that Violaris was a business associate of his.

The auditor general said that almost all public officers who were interviewed by him under oath, claimed that political pres sure was exerted on them to expedite the purchase of the building. He said that a discernible nexus between public servants and politicians could be established from the evidence before him.

The report said that Sir Julius played a pivotal role in the building purchase, to the powers vested in him by virtue of the influ ential positions he held and indirectly through associates. His deputy, Chris Haeveta was also criticised for approving a refinancing package to allow the POSFB to purchase the building through its sub sidiary company, Moki No 1 Pty Limited.

The report said Haiveta’s immediate approval of the refinancing package and his involvement in obtaining a valuation report long after the investment, which was flawed, raised questions about his covert involvement in the purchase of the

conservatory building.

It also said that the pressure was placed on PNG government departments to rent office space in the building for $7OO per square metre, double the rent that they were paying in other Caims premises.

The report recommended that Ragi be dismissed form office and charged with negligence, the sacking of the entire POSFB and a review and possible termi nation of contracts relating to the manage ment of the building. ■

ill Skate ... corrupt, loud mouthed

R J drunk politi

cian or godfather of

Papua New Guinea’s murderous ras cals?

What is he? This is the question which people not only in PNG but around the region were asking as allegations of cor ruption against the prime minister came to light.

It started when the prime minister was in Canada attending the APEC summit in November last year. Skate allegedly autho rised the payments of SAI9OO (SUSI2OO) in bribes through a senior minister. This was according to video tapes which were secretly filmed by a former government advisor Mujo Sefa and leaked to the ABC.

In a revelation that rocked the already shaky government coalition, Skate was shown talking to Sefa about a payment to Internal Affairs Minister, Thomas Pelika, in October last year.

The tape later showed Sefa telling Pelika that the prime minister told him (Sefa) to give the minister 2000 kina (SUSI2OO) so he could look after the local media.

It also showed a nervous Pelika telling Sefa that he was a straight guy but finally accepting the money.

Later Sefa told the ABC that he had 27,000 kina (SUS 14,000) in a bag to pay off 12 backbenchers and four ministers.

The ABC report said Sefa returned to Melbourne, his home, after a falling out with senior members of Skate’s party over prime ministerial influence.

When the news reached Skate, he branded Sefa a blackmailer saying he (Skate) had never seen 27,000 kina

(Sus 14,000).

“I’m a poor man. He’s a bloody crook.

Good luck to him and his video tapes. He wanted to be the chief of staff but my coun try is having problems.

“I need brains, not a blackmailer. If I had to choose between my wife and my country, I would choose my country.”

Skate denied corruption allegations and said that the tapes viewed by ABC were a crude attempt to discredit him.

These are extracts from the tape: Sefa: “Can we give him 10?

Skate: No just give him two and then you spread it over two months.

Sefa: Well tell him to see me tomorrow before I go. Whoever you want me to fix up quickly, because I have to hide this or if you want you can take it.

Skate; No, I don’t.

Sefa; You sure?

Skate; I don’t operate that way.

Sefa; We’ll have to lock it here.

Skate: Can we lock it up in your house or something?

Sefa: Tell Pelika or whoever - tomor row - whoever you want me look after quickly ... tell them to come tomorrow. I’m leaving at 6.25, OK?”

Pelika is later filmed in the office accepting the money.

Sefa: “The prime minister told me to give you some money. He told me ... the prime minister.

Pelika; Who?

Sefa: The prime minister. Yeah, he told me that the time he rang up. He told me about $2OOO bucks for the media or some thing.

Pelika: For the media?

Sefa: To keep them happy ... to keep somebody happy. Well he told me to trust you and give it to you so nobody else would know.

Pelika: Yeah, the problem is, I’m a straight guy. I don’t know who the media are.

Sefa: Yeah, but you speak to him ... you’re the guy he trusts. So you take care of it... you take care of it.”

Skate maintained that he was set up and that it was obvious to any fair-minded per son.

The prime minister said he had nothing to hide and the more his government did to rid the society off corruption, the more vicious were the attempts of the corrupt to oppose them.

“This deliberate and crude attempt to destablise my government at this time will fail,” he said.

The video tapes were a major embar rassment for the prime minister who promised an open and transparent govern ment when he was

elected in July last year.

Skate vowed to rid the government off its corrupt reputation, despite him entering into an alliance with the discredited former rul ing coalition to gain the prime ministership.

Days after the tapes were aired, PNG’s for mer prime minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu called for an inquiry. Sir Rabbie refused to join Skate’s coalition gov ernment in July.

He said the allega

tions placed government in an extremely embarrassing position, that having made a public commitment to end corruption, to have the video shown and come out the way it did was extremely dangerous.

He has said: “You can’t get any more concrete than that, seeing something like that on video. Obviously it will require some kind of inquiry to get to the truth.”

The call was also backed by the PNG Media Council after allegations in the ABC report that the money was to take care of local journalists.

Opposition MP and former Bank of PNG chairman Mekere Merauta said cor ruption was widespread at a bureaucratic and political level in PNG.

As these calls were being made pres sure was mounting on Skate to resign.

These calls were made by opposition lead er Bernard Narakobi and former prime minister Michael Somare. They also called for Sefa to be extradited from Australia and stand trial in PNG over the allegations.

While this was happening, Skate issued writs in Queensland’s Supreme Court suing the ABC and Sefa for defamation and sought damage and costs.

Pelika also made statements that both he and the prime minister had been the tar get of a crude blackmail attempt.

However, Pelika said that he had returned the money after consulting Skate.

“I was asked by Sefa to visit him and when I arrived he handed a brown enve lope to me which he wanted delivered to unknown persons in the media allegedly under instructions from the prime minister.

“I was suspicious and told him that I do not deal in this

way and I hope you are not try ing to set me up. When Sefa insisted that I take the enve lope, I stated that I would check with the prime minister and get back to him. I spoke to the prime min ister and he

informed me to return the envelope as soon as possi ble. “However, Sefa had left the country and I have returned the envelope to Sefa’s compa ny office and have been issued a

receipt.” Pelika insisted that it was a set up saying he was the “meat in the sandwich”.

He promised to step aside if a commission of inquiry was called.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the prime minister was again under fire two days later with the emergence of another secret ly recorded video tape, this time apparent ly identifying him as the country’s chief crime lord.

The footage allegedly features the embattled leader admitting to being the “godfather” of the notorious rascal gangs and discussing his personal involvement in

a murder.

This is what he was heard to say on tape: “ ... if I tell my gang members to kill, they kill ,„ there’s no other godfather. I am

the godfather.”

Later on he appeared to describe the slaying saying “he fired a shot... he missed ... I go down ... I told my boys ... hold him.

They hold him ... put him in the car.

“We took him to bloody ... and we cut him to pieces.”

Following that, Sir Rabbie made calls again for Skate to step aside saying the allegations were damaging to the PNG image in Australia, the region and interna

tionally.

He said an inquiry was the only way Skate could clear his name.

The National newspaper also called for Skate’s immediate resignation to restore PNG’s international reputation.

The University of Papua New Guinea’s (UPNG) law professor, John Nonggorr said Skate had to step aside to restore pub lic confidence in the prime minister’s

office. Somare said Skate was responsible for calling on former prime minister Sir Julius Chan to resign on the same issue - on corrup tion and bribery.

“He moved a motion to that effect in parliament and I think the same should apply to him per sonally because he would not want to accuse others and then get away with what has

been publicised quite

widely about him,”

Somare said.

On arrival to PNG from Canada, two days after the airing of the second tape, Skate sacked two leaders of his coalition accusing them of orchestering bribery alle gations against him and Pelika.

He accused them of doing so in order to unseat him.

They were Pangu Party leader and deputy prime minister Chris Haiveta and Peoples Progress Party leader Andrew Baing.

Media reports spoke on a heated exchange between Skate and Haiveta at Jackson Airport in Port Moresby after the

prime minister told his deputy of his sack ing. Skate said they had made him drunk and talk bullshit. The prime minister defended the godfather tape by saying that his comments were made under the influ ence of alcohol.

“When people get drunk they say any thing they like. I’m surprised Australians are very interested,” he said.

At the time Skate said that the Pangu- PPP, the former ruling administration, had a long-standing plan to unseat him even though they were coalition partners. He said it was brought forward after the con troversial report into the purchase of the Caims Conservatory Building by the Public Officers Superannuation Fund

(Pose).

The report is highly critical of the involvement of Haiveta and Chan in the deal. “They planned it,” said Skate. “They planned it in advance to topple me in 14 months’ time.

But because the POSE report was tabled, they had no choice but to divert attention and that was the case.”

Baing on the other hand welcomed the sacking saying that he was very happy and he did not want to be part of any criminal government. He also denied any knowl edge of plans to set up Skate.

He added that he was sacked for upholding the constitution and the rule of law in the country.

Haiveta has announced that he would try to introduce legislation into parliament to have Skate removed from office. But under the PNG Constitution, the prime minister cannot face a no-confidence motion to remove him from office until 18 months of his term have expired.

Skate is in his fifth month as prime minister. At the time Haiveta also described Skate as the most arrogant prime

I minister he had worked under and said he lacked the credibility to hold the highest office in the land.

In the drama to follow, seven ministers from the Pangu Party quit the coalition government as the crisis deepened.

As all this happened Skate maintained the stand that he was innocent and refused to resign.

In his televised national address. Skate said his fight to stop the cancer of cor ruption had triggered the setting up if

bribery allegations against him.

Although refusing to name names.

Skate said he had received information from international sources that an Australian-based organisation might be behind a conspiracy* to de-stabilise his government.

He said he had made a request to the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby to investigate the organisation and he would pass on to them any infor mation received.

“Don’t expect to run away like a dog. I have done no wrong. I won’t let any for eign interest destabilise by government.”

A week after making the statement.

Skate, in parliament, ruled out a commis sion of inquiry saying it was a waste of public funds which could be used in areas such as health, education and infrastruc ture development. Skate added that it was the prime minister who usually set the terms of reference for a commission of inquiry and he did not want to be seen influencing any outcome.

“Let them ... (the police and ombuds man) investigate and if I am found guilty then ... the law will have to be applied.”

A head count of the numbers in parlia ment showed that Skate had maintained

his massive majority despite the political

turmoil of the past two weeks.

The same afternoon soon Haiveta rejoining the ruling coalition. At the height of the crisis, he had withdrawn 18 mem bers of his Pangu Party from the coalition, however, he rejoined under increasing pressure from his party colleagues as a government backbencher.

He said that differences between him and the prime minister had to put away as they had to put the country first.

At a barbecue party at Skate’s house the night before he rejoined, the prime minis ter hugged Haiveta and said he had forgiv en him.

“I have forgiven my brother ... I have

been praying for him and I hope he also forgives me,” Skate said.

But that didn’t last too long when about a week later, Skate sacked the entire Pangu Party including Haiveta from the govern ment. In doing that he appointed new People’s Progress chief and Culture and Tourism Minister Michael Masli, as his new deputy and former People’s Democratic Movement leader. Sir Mekere Morauta, as Planning Minister.

Earlier the prime minister had hinted to Pangu ministers that they would continue to have his full attention and consideration for ministerial postings “but the party can not remain as an identity in government in present circumstances” - meaning they would have to remove Haiveta or stay out in the cold.

Pangu’s acting leader and Mining Minister, lan Ling-Stuckey, was sum moned to see Skate at the PM’s official residence and received the notice on behalf of his colleagues.

Skate said the greater concern was the television broadcast by Haiveta condemn ing him and accusing him of corruption even when legal and extensive studying of the edited (Sefa) tapes proved that what had been portrayed was in fact untrue.

He said that Ling-Stuckey and fellow Pangu leaders - Robert Nagale, Samson Napo and Kilroy Genia - had signed a full page advertisement which appeared in the Independent newspaper on December 5, judging and defaming him before a fair trial and declaring in public that the four leaders had no confidence in him.

Skate said that under these circum stances, he had no option but to advise that Pangu could no longer remain within his government ranks. Later the sacked min isters met with other party leaders and after hours of deliberations, decided to retain Haiveta as party leader, cutting off any hope of any Pangu member holding or

retaining any ministerial portfolio.

But the following day Skate scored a major coup in convincing Sir Rabbie to join as his senior Minister for State. Sir Rabbie said that he accepted the ministry in the national interest because he believed that this was paramount during the current difficult and demanding times which the nation was going through. Skate also announced a major cabinet reshuffle. The ministeries in the Skate government now number 29 with some realigned and some new ones created. ■