O’Neill to appear before COI

National

By HELEN TARAWA
FORMER Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, currently in self-isolation, has been directed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) loan deal to appear for mention on June 15.
O’Neill, who was scheduled to appear on Friday, was represented by his counsel Geoffrey Purvey of Young and Williams as he was in self-isolation for two weeks.
COI chairman Sir Salamo Injia told the inquiry that O’Neill was directed to appear on May 19 but that was moved to May 29 as he was unavailable.
He was out of the country and, due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions, was unable to return.
When he arrived in country, O’Neill was put under self-isolation and did not appear before the inquiry.
O’Neill was expected to present letters, memorandums, notes, reports, statutory instruments, contracts and emails received that would be relevant to the UBS loan inquiry.
The inquiry is looking into the processes and procedures followed by the government in obtaining the loan from the UBS and related transactions.
The inquiry involved a consideration of the government’s policy on the state’s participation in the private business under successful government. O’Neill is expected to share some insight into the political and economic systems the country had adopted and how these systems had played out including:

  • The proper role of the state in a free market or capitalist economy;
  • The government’s policy on state on enterprise;
  • The government’s policy investments in private in joint venture with national or multi-lateral corporations;
  • Government’s policy on undertaking business risks and management of those risks if it decided to go into private business;
  • The government’s policy on obtaining loans from domestic or international financial institutions and the repayment of those loans;
  • The government’s policy on obtaining Parliament’s approval of the loan; and,
  • The government’s use of income from those business ventures and the government’s management of business losses from those business ventures.