Only good can come out of this

 OUR front page headline on Friday should have read “Finance Department emerges from the Dark Ages”.

But why did it take such a long time for the government’s financial wizards to realise the value and benefits of the electronic banking system?

Imagine the millions or even billions of kina that could have been saved had the Finance Department installed EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) machines at its offices throughout the country a de­cade ago when the commercial banks introduced electronic banking to Papua New Guinea.

In fact, most public servants now receive their fortnightly salaries through their bank accounts and have access to other electronic banking services such as phone banking.

For reasons only known to the political leadership and their top bureaucrats, the Finance Department has been kept in the dark and operated like a medieval institution all this time.

It is therefore heartening to note that the department is finally entering the era of electronic banking with last week’s announcement by acting Finance Secretary Dr Ken Ngangan that it will install EFTPOS machines at all its offices from next year.

As the secretary indicated, the decision to stop the handling of cash and cheque transactions is designed to discourage corrupt practices, which have become endemic and cost the country dearly in recent years. “There will be no more cheque signing,” said Ngangan, a learned and experienced accountant, who will be keeping a close watch as the electronic transaction system is rolled out to the 21 provinces and 89 districts starting on Jan 1.

Finance will be collaborating with Bank South Pacific, the country’s largest commercial bank, to roll-out the programme.

It is an overdue measure but one that needs to be done without further delay to stop the rot in the current payment system and save public funds that could be siphoned through devious ways by corrupt public officials and their cohorts. 

Coincidentally, the Finance Department announcement of the electronic transaction system was made a day before the Waigani National Court handed down its verdict on the Paul Tiensten fraud case.

Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika found the Pomio MP guilty of misappropriating K10 million of public funds while serving as a State minister two years ago.

The judge found that Tiensten and his officers in the National Planning Department had dishonestly applied K10 million to the use of local airline company, Travel Air.

While Tiensten will not be sentenced until January, the court ruling brings into question the powers and authority of State ministers to approve large payments without endorsement by the National Executive Council.

Did the former National Planning Minister have the authority to approve and instruct his officers to pay K10 million to the airline?

Apparently not, as far as the Deputy Chief Justice is concerned. Two senior public officials who collaborated with Tiensten in facilitating the payment have breached the Public Finance Management Act. They will probably face the music when the law catches up with them.

Tiensten is facing other fraud related charges but this particular verdict should send a clear message to the political leadership and their top bureaucrats that breaches of the Public Finance Management Act will no longer be tolerated.

In fact, the consequences of serious fraudulent acts are quite severe and in this case the Pomio MP is more than likely to lose his seat and faces a lengthy prison term.

The Tiensten guilty verdict should be a wake-up call for politicians, bureaucrats and all public officials who handle monies that belong to the people of this country.

Undoubtedly, there has been so much abuse and misuse of public funds in the recent past but such corruption must be abruptly stopped before the country “goes to the dogs”.

The O’Neill Government is making some progress in that direction with the proposed Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) legislation.

However, that new body will be a toothless tiger unless it is given the relevant powers and authority to hunt down and destroy this evil that is threatening to dismantle our society.