Marape win a ‘political tsunami’

By JEFFREY ELAPA
TARI Pori Member of Parliament (MP) James Marape’s election in the 111-member Parliament as Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s 8th prime minister on Thursday was nothing short of a “political tsunami” of sorts.
Excluding the Speaker Job Pomat, only eight MPs voted against Marape with one abstaining. Marape received the support of 101 MPs.
The seven MPs who voted for former premier and Moresby North West MP Sir Mekere Morauta were James Donald (North Fly), Gary Juffa (Northern Provincial), Kerenga Kua (Sinasina-Yongomugl), Dr Allan Marat (Rabaul), Belden Namah (Vanimo Green Open), Peter Numu (Eastern Highlands Provincial) and Ian Ling-Stuckey (Kavieng).
Madang MP Bryan Kramer abstained from voting.
After Pomat adjourned Parliament session to June 5, Marape took a well-deserved breather in the afternoon teeing at the greens.
After all, Marape and all MPs had been locked in five weeks of political horse trading, holed up in two camps – the Opposition MPs in Laguna Hotel and the Government in Crown Hotel.
Papua New Guineans were kept at the edge and in suspense in the run-up to the election of the prime minister, with MPs switching from one camp to the other and back again.
In the election on Thursday, when Pomat called for the MPs to nominate candidates for the premiership, the Government camp nominated Marape.
The Opposition responded with an unprecedented move by nominating Peter O’Neill (Ialibu-Pangia), who resigned as premier on Wednesday.
The shocking nomination was made by Opposition leader Patrick Pruaitch and seconded by Namah. O’Neill accepted the nomination.
But Marat threw the spanner in the works of the Opposition by nominating Morauta.
O’Neill then responded by informing the House and Pomat: “… I thought the Opposition did not have a candidate … I will withdraw my nomination.”
That paved the way for a straight fight for the Chief Executive of PNG with Marape’s 101 to eight-vote mauling of Morauta.
No one doubts Marape will have his hands full in trying to steer PNG into a peaceful and prosperous developed nation for Papua New Guineans.
And, time is not in his side as PNG would be in general election mode from mid-2021 to 2022.
That means Marape will have only about two years to make his government programmes and policies positively impact the people.
He is expected to unleash a reformist economic agenda to transform PNG into a fast growing economy, focusing on implementing fiscal measures and policies to spur the agriculture and mineral resources sectors to benefit some 8.4 million people – some 85 per cent of them who are still dependent on agriculture.
Marape was not only a strong critic of the K43 billion Papua LNG project, he resigned as Finance Minister to protest the deal inked by the O’Neil Government.
He had in April questioned an agreement with French oil company Total that allows Total, Oil Search Ltd and ExxonMobil Corp to begin work on Papua LNG.
In his maiden premier address in Parliament, Marape said he would focus on “taking back our economy” and proposed an overhaul of mining, forestry and fishing laws.
“We will look into maximising gain from what God has given this country from our natural resources. I have every right to tweak and turn resource laws for my country, then it will empower my citizens as well,” he said in his speech amid cheers and applause from MPs.
Marape told reporters in a press conference: “We are not here to break legally binding project agreements. If we find any project agreement … that has not fully complied with prescribed provisions of law, then we are open to reviewing and scrutinising them.
“We are not about breaking laws. We are about honouring existing laws.”
Reuters had quoted Isikeli Taureka, chairman of Kina Bank and a former oil and gas executive at Chevron and InterOil, in a text statement: “He (Marape) was finance minister so (he) understands need for clarity and stability in policies.
“I believe he is rational and seems to lean towards respecting and grandfathering current agreements.”
On agriculture, Marape said that engaging in downstream food processing and manufacturing activities were the way forward to benefit farmers.
In an exclusive interview with The National in mid-May, Marape said he supported the US$600 million (K2.03 billion) PNG-China Integrated Agriculture Park Project if it followed “proper economic rationale” and there is “a return on our investments”.
The parks, to be located at Korofeigu in Eastern Highlands and Highlands’ Agriculture Training Institute (HATI) in Western Highlands, will be funded under China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI).
“I (only) have issues when there are no direct returns on investments to our country,” he added.
With the global economy getting ever sluggish by the day, fuelled by the seemingly unabated US-China trade war, it is indeed going to be a tall, challenging and daunting task for Marape to transform PNG into a vibrant economy for Papua New Guineans.