**** Namah is wrong **** The Opposition Leader, Hon. Belden Namah on November 14 asked a series of questions to the Prime Minister Peter ONeill which raised serious imputations and personal and professional injury to a certain long time friend of PNG. That person could not defend his good name on the floor of Parliament. It is most deplorable that the honourable member chose to use his privilege and the protection of Parliament to injure a man who has stood by and assisted this nation for nearly three decades through some of the most trying socio-economic times. As an established economist with the IMF he helped establish the Central Bank and continues to provide advice to that august institution. He is also an architect who then PM Sir Mekere Morauta used to help set up the PNG Sustainable Development Program and has been serving as the Central Banks representative on the board of PNGSDP. He has served with distinction under every Prime Minister PNG has had. When the present Prime Minister Hon. Peter O Neill asked him to restructure PNGSDP, he informed the board of the same and resigned as director. This mans lifetime dream was to establish and commercialise the agricultural sector in PNG and established lasting diplomatic relations between PNG and his native Israel. He has achieved the diplomatic mission with the recent visit by Prime Minister Peter ONeill to Israel and is about to realise the agricultural dream with what my Government has set out to do in Hela with the able support of the LR Group of Israel. The PNG Operation is headed by his lawyer son. The LR Group, contrary to misinformation spread by the Opposition Leader with his half baked questions last week, is not a fund manager. It is an investment powerhouse with investments throughout Africa, Asia and South America. They do not manage any fund. The group was invited by the Somare government specifically to devise a way forward for the agricultural industry in Papua New Guinea. I have engaged the LR Group to be equity partners in all the agricultural industrial centres we are building in Hela Province. We have launched three Koroba, in Tari,and in Hulia. We plan another ten more so that when completed everyone of our 13 local level government council areas will own an agricultural industrial centre. We intend to build a similar centre in Mendi and another in Ialibu in neighbouring Southern Highlands Province using our own money. When our gas and oil are gone, I know the program will serve the financial needs of my people and drive our economy into the future. The gentlemans name does not need tarnishing. The vicious attack by the Opposition Leader is misplaced. I have it on good authority through a mutual friend that the Opposition Leader regretted his remarks as he was handed the questions by someone with an axe to grind and he read the questions without discerning what they actually were about. This mans son has a law firm in Tel Aviv with a branch in New York. He left to assist in establishing his fathers dream for PNG. That is highly laudable. I would advise Mr Namah to consider engaging the LR Group to drive agriculture development throughout his electorate and particularly in areas cleared by forestry operations. Our Prime Minister is doing the right thing for PNG and Israel. PNG needs to learn from and emulate Israel in some fundamental aspects of nation building such as its peoples patriotism, security and surveillance, and their ability to use science and technology to develop agriculture in dry arid lands. Prime Ministers Netanyahu and ONeill have built a diplomatic bridge linking our two countries. The chief architect of the bridge was the man who came under fire in our Parliament. I am confident of building the Tari Provincial Hospital with funding raised by the LR Group with guarantees from Exxim Bank of US. With their help we will also construct the biggest hydro plant in the country in Hela with funding from Private Equity Funding from Israel with nil funding required from the National Government. I call on colleague Members of Parliament to desist from injuring the reputations of credible people who are friends of PNG by raising issues which have little merit and without factual foundation. God bless Israel and PNG Andrew Pawa Agiru, MP Governor for Hela & Leader of the Peoples United Assembly Party Inc
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:26:06 +0000
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