By DALCY LULUA
OPPOSITION Strongman and Member for Sinasina-Yongomugl Kerenga Kua has challenged the government to explain Papua New Guinea’s recent grey listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), describing it as a serious issue affecting the nation’s reputation and economy.
Raising the matter in Parliament, Kua questioned whether the government led by Prime Minister James Marape had failed to prevent the grey listing despite having at least two years’ notice from international regulators.
Kua said the development had caused significant damage to Papua New Guinea’s international image and could potentially impact businesses, investors and ordinary citizens.
He called on the Prime Minister to publicly disclose all the grounds upon which the country was grey listed and to outline a clear action plan to address each issue raised by the global financial watchdog.
The Opposition MP also asked the government to provide a timetable for corrective measures and to explain the possible negative impacts on major resource projects such as the
Papua LNG Project and Wafi-Golpu Project, as well as on the country’s credit ratings from agencies like Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.
Responding in Parliament, Prime Minister Marape acknowledged the concerns but said the grey listing was not new for Papua New Guinea, noting the country had previously been placed under similar scrutiny before exiting the list around 2015 or 2016.
He said the government had already begun addressing the outstanding compliance issues, which had been reduced from more than 70 to about 15, with efforts now focused on tackling key concerns such as money laundering and improving enforcement.
Marape said government agencies, including police and financial regulators, had been directed to intensify investigations into suspicious financial transactions as part of efforts to meet the requirements set by the Financial Action Task Force.
The Prime Minister said Papua New Guinea had roughly two years to address the remaining issues but that the government aimed to resolve them within 12 months.