Francis Mulungu Potape (born 16 June 1972) was the Governor for Hela Province. [1] [2] He was appointed by the Hela Provincial Assembly after the death of the sitting governor, Anderson Agiru. Potape was Petroleum and Energy Minister of Papua New Guinea. He was first elected Member of Parliament for Komo-Margarima Open in 2008 and was appointed Minister of Petroleum and Energy in June 2011. His ministerial appointment was rescinded under the disbanding of the Michael Somare government in August 2011, but Potape was reinstated as Minister of Petroleum and Energy in December 2011, replacing then Minister, William Duma. [3]
Potape has a master's degree in Engineering. [4]
In September 2007, former Member of Parliament, Aluago Alfred Kaiabe, challenged Potape’s election as the Member of Parliament for the Komo Magarima Open Seat in the 2007 National Election. The National Court of Justice ruled, in May 2008, that there had been 4,882 votes illegally cast for Potape in his election and that as a consequence, the election for the Komo Magarima Open Seat was void and that Potape was not elected. [5]
Potape was subsequently re-elected as the Member for Komo-Margarima, for the United Resources Party, in a December 2008 by-election. [6]
Potape was arrested and charged by the government appointed Investigation Task Force Sweep, on one count of conspiracy to defraud the State and another count of misappropriation in November 2011. The charges relate to payments of PGK60,000 personally paid to Potape by the Komo Magarima District while he was chairman of the Joint District Planning and Budget Priority Committee. The sitting allowance payments were found to be in excess of those approved by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. [7]
He subsequently released a statement criticising the Peter O'Neill government for paying PGK70 million to a hand-picked number of landowners. [8]
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia. It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and its other close neighbours are Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located on its southern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).
The People's Labour Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea.
Sir Mekere Morauta was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fractious legislature, he embarked on fundamental reforms of the country's economy and political system.
Arthur Somare is a former Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea (PNG). He represented the electorate of Angoram Open in East Sepik province for the National Alliance Party from 1997 until he lost in the 2012 general elections.
Papua New Guinea has exported liquefied natural gas (LNG) since 2014. The LNG sector is important to PNG's economy with US$2.95 billion in exports in 2020, and accounting for 5.25% of the GDP in 2019. On a global scale, PNG is a minor player, with 0.08% of world reserves In 2020, PNG was ranked 16th on the list of gas exporting countries.
The National Executive Council (NEC), also known as the Cabinet of Papua New Guinea functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the government system of Papua New Guinea. The Prime Minister and Ministers serve as members of the Cabinet.
James Marape is a Papua New Guinean politician who has served as the prime minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of Tari-Pori Open in Hela Province in the New Guinea Highlands. He has held Cabinet Posts as Minister of Education (2008–2011), Minister of Finance (2012–2019), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2023–2024). Marape entered the 2022 elections under the banner of the Pangu Party and won the most seats, while still being far from a majority. He was therefore able to form government, which was elected unopposed by the new parliament.
The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea.
2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis was a dispute between Sir Michael Somare and Peter O'Neill. Both claimed to be Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.
Paul Tiensten 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.
Havila Kavo is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was Governor of the Gulf Province from 2007 to 2017 as a member of the People's National Congress. He briefly lost office in 2010 following a June attempt by opponents in the provincial assembly to oust him; the National Court recognised Pitom Bombom as interim governor in July before reinstating Kavo in August.
The Kikori Gas Pipeline Landowner Association (KGPLA) is a Papua New Guinea landowner association which received PGK 17.6 million [$6.5 million] in funding in 2009 and 2010 from the government for local infrastructure developments in Kikori, Gulf Province, as part of the benefits the country is receiving from ExxonMobil’s $16 billion Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Hides.
Investigation Task Force Sweep was established in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on 12 August 2011, following a resolution by the National Executive Council (NEC). The initiative was spearheaded by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill as part of his well-publicised anti-corruption drive.
Hela is a province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Tari. The province covers an area of 10,498 km2, and there are 249,449 inhabitants. Hela province officially came into being on 17 May 2012, comprising three districts previously part of Southern Highlands Province.
Sir Gibuna Gibbs Salika is the current Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea. He is currently the longest serving judge of the National and Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea.
Anderson Pawa Agiru was a Papua New Guinean politician. He was the Governor of Southern Highlands Province from 1997 to 2002 and 2007 to 2012 and the Governor of Hela Province from its creation in 2012 until his death. His position had been disputed for the final five months of his life, with a December 2015 attempt to oust him by members of the Hela assembly - posthumously decided in Agiru's favour - still being determined in the National Court at the time of his death.
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 24 June and 8 July 2017. The writs for the election were issued on 20 April, and candidate nominations closed on 27 April.
Francis Awesa is a Papua New Guinean politician. A former Premier of the Southern Highlands under the old provincial government system, he was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2007 to 2017, representing the electorate of Imbonggu Open. A Papua New Guinea Party member in his first term, he subsequently switched to the People's National Congress after PNC leader Peter O'Neill became Prime Minister in 2011. He was Minister for Transport, Works and Civil Aviation (2011), Minister for Transport and Works (2011-2012) and Minister for Works and Implementation (2012-2017) in the government of Peter O'Neill.
Nixon Philip Duban is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a People's National Congress member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2012 until he was unseated by court decision in 2013 and again from a 2013 by-election until 2017. He was Minister for Police, Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure and Minister for Petroleum and Energy in the government of Peter O'Neill.
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea from 4 to 22 July 2022 to elect the members of the National Parliament for a new five-year term.
{{cite web}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)