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Kalinoe bows out on high note
By WALLY HIAMBOHN
OUTGOING Chief Secretary Joshua Kalinoe
ended his five-year term as head of the PNG bureaucracy with a
high-profile international meeting this week at his adopted home
province, West New Britain.
Choosing to complete his current tenure of public service at the place
he was first approached for the job by the current Government after the
2002 elections, Mr Kalinoe led the PNG delegation to the PNG-Australia
High Level Consultations (HLC), which ended in Kimbe yesterday.
Mr Kalinoe leaves his current job at Waigani’s Morauta Haus today, on
the eve of the next national election, to head the newly established
entity, Petromin, which will take charge of all State interests in
petroleum and mining projects in the country.
“I do not know where I’ll be going and where I’m starting … I do not
have an office and staff,” Mr Kalinoe said of the new challenge to
establish from scratch the new entity for the State but independent from
the Government.
His parting message was for PNG to continue good relations with
Australia, especially in view of the geographical and traditional
closeness of the two countries and for PNG to take advantage of its
neighbour’s political and economic power and influence in the region.
Mr Kalinoe said people-to-people interaction and meetings, at both
official and personal level, were important in enhancing the
relationship between the two countries.
His contribution to PNG-Australia relations and his involvement in aid
implementation issues were not missed by those at the HLC meeting who
lauded him for the leadership role he played in advancing PNG-Australia
relations and aid issues at various high level discussions and dialogue.
The head of Australia’s aid agency – AusAID – Bruce Davis and National
Planning and Monitoring Secretary Valentine Kambori both paid tribute to
Mr Kalinoe, agreeing that the top bureaucrat was instrumental in
advancing discussions and dialogue between the two countries and with
donors and development partners.
At the conclusion of the Kimbe consultations, Mr Kalinoe left PNG’s
prospects of receiving increased aid funding from Australia on a
positive footing.
PNG’s report card, on meeting aid performance criteria, as presented at
the HLC, was commendable.
Apart from meeting implementation targets on existing aid programmes
valued at A$300 million (K750 million) annually, PNG is keen to attract
increases on this amount following Australia’s announcement, detailed in
a White Paper on aid, to double its total international aid budget to
A$4 billion (K10 billion) by 2010. Increases to recipient countries
would be conditional to them meeting criteria set by the Australia.
According to PNG officials and background papers, prospects for PNG are
good in securing further increases in funding due its performances over
the past 12 months.
The Kimbe HLC discussions centred around a whole host of interlocking
issues, including:
*Performance of the PNG economy;
*Implementation of the PNG-Australia
Development Co-operation Strategy;
*The Australian White Paper on doubling aid;
*Election 2007;
*Development Programme Allocation and
Management;
*Effectiveness of aid and implementation;
*Mid-Term review of the PNG Medium Term
Strategy and Development Corporation Strategy; and,
*Public Expenditure Review and Rationalisation.
The PNG-Australia HLCs are held annually between the officials of the
two governments to pursue policy dialogue, determine strategies for the
long term development of programme aid, and review performance and
development priorities.
Generally, HLC’s precede the annual Joint Ministerial Forum.
This year’s Joint Ministerial Forum remains in doubt following
Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer’s demand for justice over
the Julian Moti issue.
 
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