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Opposition MPs are calling for the prime minister of Papua New Guinea to step down in light of the Guardian's revelations that his company secured a multimillion dollar government contract in a process the Asian Development Bank says may have violated its anti-corruption guidelines.
The revelations centered on Wild Cat Developments. Prime Minister Peter O'Neill was sole shareholder of Wild Cat in 2014 when it secured a $ 32.86m contract to build 12 bridges in the country from the Asian Development Bank.
According to a report published by the ADB, the company won the contract in spite of the fact that it was "unqualified contractor" and "potentially misrepresented" its financial data. The contract was eventually terminated and had to be retendered to a Chinese company. O'Neill denies wrongdoing and says the contract has been obtained by mutual consent.
Bryan Kramer, the MP for Madang, said if something like this, their leader would resign.
"If we had a strong governance system, it would be dealt with. In any other country … they would resign. Unfortunately, we are in Apec, "he said.
O'Neill, who became prime minister in 2011, has previously had a few allegations against him. In 2014, police served an arrest warrant against O'Neill on corruption charges. O'Neill denied the allegations, which he said were politically motivated and he successfully challenged the legality of the arrest warrant in court.
The failure to arrest O'Neill and the allegations against him led to protests at PNG in 2016, in which police shot and wounded eight students.
O'Neill was re-elected as the prime minister in 2017, in an election which observers allege was "marred by widespread fraud and malpractice, and extensive voting rigging".
The latest revelations about the premier minister's company came as PNG was preparing to host world leaders including Xi Jinping, Mike Pence, Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is coming this week for the Apec summit.
Allan Bird, member for East Sepik and governor for that region, said Apec was "a tremendous opportunity to showcase the world of corruption, the endemic, systemic levels of corruption here. So, I'm so happy with Apec to be honest with you. "
Bird said corruption was rife in Papua New Guinea. "There's only so much everyone can take," he said. "I'd like to see all of these things investigated and brought to the light of day."
Gary Juffa, the governor of Oro, said he did not think it would be likely that any action would be taken against the prime minister over his company's involvement with the bridge-building contract.
"In an ideal world he is being investigated for these allegations," said Juffa. "I've kind of lost faith in the investigative arms of Papua New Guinea in which they're not as active as they are to be, they used to be."
Asked how much confidence he had in the prime minister, Juffa said he had "absolutely none", adding Papua New Guineans deserved better than Peter O'Neill.
"This country has many great people, honorable people, good people and they deserve better than this," he said. "They deserve a prime minister who actually cares, a prime minister who gives a shit for his people and protects the interests of the people and the interests of the nation."
