Robert@PNG

You make up your own mind!

At the moment folks around these parts refer to him as Grand Chief or Father of the Nation.

What about after he does go?

You make up your own mind after you read the following article from Friday's Post courier….

Somare sails in deep water

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare has a
shareholding in a ship safety certification company despite publicly denying his
interest in Parliament.
“I do not have any shareholding in PRS (Pacific Register of Ships) and therefore
have no reason to disclose anything to the Ombudsman Commission,” he told
Parliament early this month when responding to questions by Opposition Leader
Sir Mekere Morauta. But company registration details obtained from the
Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) show Sir Michael is one of five
shareholders of Pacific Register of Ships Limited (PRS). He holds the share “in
trust for the Independent State of PNG”.
The other shareholders are Malaysians Lu Shu Chiu and Wong Kai Ming, Australian
Len Michaels and Papua New Guinean Pius Pundi.
According to the IPA document, PRS was registered and incorporated on November
22, 2004 and has the address: C/-Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Level 12, Deloitte
Tower, Section 5, Allotment 16, Douglas Street, Port Moresby, National Capital
District, Papua New Guinea.
PRS is not a government-owned company that would warrant a cabinet minister or
head of Government holding shares in trust for the state.
Sir Michael’s press secretary, Betha Somare, yesterday confirmed the Prime
Minister held a share but added that he was only holding it in trust on behalf
of the state.
She did not say whether the company was a state entity or if Sir Michael was
given authorisation by the National Executive Council (NEC) to hold the deed of
trust in PRS – a function normally held by the minister for finance and
treasury.
The ownership of PRS came under scrutiny in Parliament last year as Sir Mekere
alleged one of its shareholders was an employee of the National Maritime Safety
Authority (NMSA) board chairman, Hamish Sharp, who also owns shipping company
Bismark Maritime Ltd.
The Moresby Northwest MP was concerned the company was insolvent, did not meet
the criteria of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and could be in a
conflict of interest situation as one of its shareholders worked for Mr Sharp.
Mr Sharp, purportedly on behalf of the NMSA board, signed an agreement with PRS
in May last year to enable the company to carry out safety surveys and issue
safety certificates for vessels below 500 gross tonnes.
In a letter to all board members dated May 11, 2007, Mr Sharp stated: “On 1st
May 2007 I received a direction form the Prime Minister to enter the agreement
on behalf of the NMSA and did so under section 51 of the NMSA Act on 11th May
2007”.
Sir Michael in a letter dated April 19, 2007 directed Transport Secretary Henry
Parakei to get the NMSA board to sanction the engagement of PRS.
“I understand that Mr Kepas Wali of PNG Port Authority, Mr Hamish Sharp,
chairman of NMSA, Mr James Ikarima of the Department of Treasury and you (Mr
Parakei) are signatories to this document. I direct you all to have this
document signed urgently as I would like to see this agreement executed
forthwith without delay,” Sir Michael wrote.
But advice rendered to the NMSA on June 8, 2007 by legal firm Blake Dawson
Waldron claims that the NMSA-PRS agreement was not properly executed by the NMSA
and Mr Sharp lacked authority to execute such agreements on behalf of the
authority.
The Prime Minister has no authority to give directions to the NMSA board and
only the NMSA board has authority to enter into agreements or delegate any of
its functions, the legal firm added.
The firm warned the agreement, if challenged in court by an aggrieved party and
quashed, could open the state to possible damage lawsuits by PRS.
Mr Sharp could not be reached yesterday when the Post-Courier contacted his Lae
office with an assistant saying he was out of the province.