Douglas Tomuriesa, Pope Francis and James Marape

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  Opposition Leader Douglas Tomuriesa said he is disappointed and embarrassed over the way His Holiness Pope Francis was treated by Prime Minister James Marape over the last three-days during the Papal visit, and the lack of courtesy and respect shown by the Prime Minister. He said the Prime Minister continuously declares PNG as a ‘Christian country’ and prides himself on being a religious individual but he was surprised when the Pope was continuously snubbed by the PM over the weekend since the Pope’s arrival on Friday. “The Pope is the head of the Catholic church, the largest Christian church in the world and he is also a head of state. “PNG not only being a Christian country, but a country that prides itself as a ‘friend to all, enemy to none’, the PM should be according the Pope with the highest level of respect,” Tomuriesa said. The Opposition Leader pointed out that on Friday, the Prime Minister did not welcome the Pope at the airport, a tradition he had accorded to many othe...
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Provincial MP for West New Britain, Sasindran Muthuvel has called on the government to commit to the people of Papua New Guinea that it will prioritise Papua New Guineans in the sale of Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited’s (MVIL) shares in BSP Financial Group.

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 Provincial MP for West New Britain, Sasindran Muthuvel has called on the government to commit to the people of Papua New Guinea that it will prioritise Papua New Guineans in the sale of Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited’s (MVIL) shares in BSP Financial Group. 


Governor Muthuvel said that given the National Executive Council has approved this decision and is now a foregone conclusion, the next best step

is to ensure Papua New Guineans do not lose shareholding in such an important commercial entity. 


Mr Muthuvel said: “I understand the government has indicated unofficially that its intention is to sell these shares to Papua New Guineans, but they

must put this commitment on paper to properly assure the nation. 


“Contradictory to these remarks, the NEC decision that gave effect to the selling of shares has no explicit directive to ensure these shares are 

exclusively sold to Papua New Guineans. 


“Majority ownership of BSP shares are one of the biggest assets our country has to date – so we simply cannot let our troubling economic situation be the reason to make such rash decisions. 


“But I respect NEC has decided to go down this path and we must adhere to their directives. So it is in this respect that I call on the government to 

commit to selling these shares locally – to the mums and dads of this nation, to the provincial governments and districts, and to local businesses.”


Mr Muthuvel also stated that the government must not forget the importance of PNG’s majority shareholding of BSP toward our economy, 

financial system, and commerce and industry livelihood. 


“The government must be mindful not to rush this sale in its quest for cashflow for projects. While foreign investors may throw big figures toward 

this share sale, we must remember the non-monetary value of BSP’s shares that allow us to safeguard our national interests. 


“I also remind the government that shares must be sold at market price and not be sold for less to ensure MVIL does not assume the liability. 


“BSP is intrinsically PNG. And PNG’s reliance on BSP for jobs, economic growth and banking services makes us BSP’s biggest customer base. 

“We must look at the full picture and the future impacts down the line if we do not handle this sale with caution and due diligence,” Mr Muthuvel said. 


Mr Muthuvel said in future, the government must be transparent with such decisions but urged that now this decision has been made, PNG must be at

the forefront of this sale.

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