Eremas Wartoto

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Eremas Wartoto is a Papua New Guinean businessman, based in Kokopo, PNG. He founded the airline Travel Air, based in Madang, PNG, and is part of the Sarakolok West Transport (SWT) Group, owned by Wartoto. [1] Travel Air flies from Hoskins, Lae, Madang, Mt. Hagen, Port Moresby and Rabaul. [2] Wartoto is currently in Australia and is the Chief Executive of Travel Car Australia Pty Ltd.[ citation needed ]

Papua New Guinea Constitutional monarchy in Oceania

Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. It is the world's 3rd largest island country with 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).

Kokopo Place in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea

Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of the town increased more than sixfold from 3,150 in 1990 to 20,262 in 2000.

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Controversies

Ahead of the launch of Travel Air in July 2011, allegations were made by the media in PNG that parliamentarian Paul Tiensten had assisted with illegally financing the company by giving K10 million to Wartoto. Wartoto had purchased four airplanes with the funds. Wartoto confirmed he had received K10 million for Travel Air but stated that in 2010 his company had applied for a subsidy from the government budget, amounting to 10 per cent of the K100 million investment Wartoto had planned to make in transport infrastructure based out of Madang.[ citation needed ] Wartoto said “We appreciate the government’s vision to at least subsidise 10 per cent of that investment.”

The Honourable Paul Tiensten, born 1966, is a former Papua New Guinean politician and former National Alliance Member of Parliament for Pomio Open. Tiensten is currently serving a nine-year sentence for corruption.

Wartoto threatened to sue those involved in the media attacks, including the Post Courier, a newspaper, and the Ombudsman Commission. [3] Further, in September 2011, he filed a Judicial Review application in the National Court at Waigani over police questioning him about the alleged misappropriation of K10 million air freight subsidy. [4]

Wartoto was arrested in August 2011 and charged in relation to the misappropriation of K7 million intended for the renovation of Kerevat National High School.[ citation needed ] Wartoto is currently out on a K5,000 bail [5] but is allegedly “reluctant” to return to PNG. Wartoto’s lawyers stated that he was in Cairns for medical treatment after suffering hypertension and being seriously fatigued.[ citation needed ] A Papua New Guinea corruption Task Force has put 33 prominent citizens on a watch list, including Eremas Wartoto and several politicians, telling the national airline to monitor their travel. [6]

On 17 January 2012, Timothy Rowland, the General Manager of SWT, owned by Wartoto, was arrested by the PNG Task Force Sweep amid a corruption investigation into PNG’s planning department. SWT are alleged to have tried to extort $4.5 million from the Manus provincial government by selling it a boat that had already been paid for by the National Planning Department. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ Roues Online (4 May 2011). "FLEET DEVELOPMENTS". Routes Online.
  2. ↑ Travel Air. "Travel Air". Travel Air.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Bernard Sinai (25 August 2011). "Wartoto fights back". Bernard Sinai.
  4. ↑ PNG Exposed (30 September 2011). "PM sacks Police Commissioner". PNG Exposed.
  5. ↑ JOSHUA ARLO (18 October 2011). "Wartoto seeks leave to prosecute challenge". Post Courier.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ Radio New Zealand International (1 December 2011). "PNG corruption task force has 33 prominent people on watchlist". Radio New Zealand International.
  7. ↑ Liam Fox (17 January 2012). "Australian man facing corruption charges in PNG". Australia Network News. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
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