Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae has described Papua New Guinea’s late Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil as a vibrant and visionary leader who was passionate about his people and the electorate.

He said Basil loved and dedicated his life to the people of Bulolo until his unexpected death in a tragic vehicle accident which had left the nation in shock, disbelief and agony.

“Throughout his entire political career, he committed himself to serving his people, residing and dining with them throughout the length and breadth of the huge and difficult electorate he represented,” Sir Bob said.

• READ MORE: Other Deputy PM Sam Basil reports

“I recall when the late Basil first entered politics in 2007, he was empowered with excitement, enthusiasm and unrelenting self-belief, hope and purpose to lead his people.

“It was not the kind of excitement that comes from inconceivable expectation, the kind that fades into despair and hopelessness before too long.

“Rather, his vision and passion for his people were relentless. From the very beginning, he lived among his people and was dedicated to their service to bring about much needed development and often provided personal assistance when faced with public funding issues.

“He was well loved, no doubt. We only have to look back at the last couple of days at the outpouring of grief and despair for a man, a leader who was well liked and admired, not just by his people, but throughout our country.

‘Lost a great son’
“Indeed, our nation has lost a great son.”

His style of leadership had demonstrated that development and service delivery was possible and could happen, even in the most remote of locations if leaders went down to the level of their people, listened and produced tangible results.

Sir Bob said the late Basil spoke his mind on matters, was practical and walked the talk.

“Basil was not one to shy away or back down when challenged and was not afraid to speak his mind on issues he felt strongly about and that is the kind of leadership we need in this country,” he said.

“At this juncture, I take this time to also pay tribute to the late First Constable Neil Maino who also lost his life in the tragic accident.”

First Constable Maino died on the job that he had vowed to do as a close protection officer of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, and to our Deputy Prime Minister. First Constable Maino served faithfully until he died.

“We mourn the loss of two distinct men — one an outstanding leader and servant for the people, the other a faithful CPO right to the end.”

Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea police have been tasked to furnish a full investigation report on the death of Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil and his bodyguard First Constable Neil Maino.

Prime Minister James Marape told Basil’s children that “no stone would be left unturned” by police as they investigate the deaths.

He was speaking on Sunday during the arrival of the casket of his deputy at the Jackson’s International Airport ceremonial car park.

• READ MORE: Other reports on the crash of the Deputy PM

Basil died in a head-on vehicle collision along the Bulolo Highway in Morobe Province last Wednesday night.

“I have instructed the police to give a full account of the last steps of the Deputy Prime Minister, the journey the oncoming driver took, and every circumstance behind what happened in the lead-up to his passing,” Marape said.

“A report is expected for us to bring to full conclusion the passing of our nation’s Deputy Prime Minister.”

Marape gave this assurance to family members, people of Bulolo and Morobe, friends, members of Basil’s United Labour Party (ULP), members of the disciplined forces and the public at the airport.

“Sometimes, in life, it is not easy to understand why such tragic circumstances happen in this manner,” he said.

Words cannot express loss
Marape said words could not fully express the loss of Basil to the nation.

“We stand with the family, we stand with the people and Wau-Bulolo, we stand with the people of Morobe Province, we stand with the United Labour Party, we stand with every citizen — men and women, boys and girls — of our beloved country to receive the Deputy Prime Minister of our country,” he said.

“It is his last time to leave Lae for Port Moresby, and for the last time to be with us in Port Moresby, for us to accord him the respect he deserves and send him back to rest.

“It is a moment none of us thought would happen, I never thought it would happen.”

Marape said he was in a meeting last Wednesday night when news came from Lae of the accident.

“I asked those who were seated with me to offer a prayer for him (Mr Basil), as we were hearing that he was struggling,” he said.

“Today, the nation is coming to grips with the passing, for the first time, of a deputy prime minister of our country while serving in office.

Highest dignity promised
“This is very, very sad.”

Marape told Basil’s family that the entire country joined with them in mourning the loss of their father, husband, son and brother.

He said Basil and himself first entered Parliament in 2007 and he was privileged to have served with him in Cabinet as a minister and later as DPM.

“He excelled to the highest standard in service to his people of Wau-Bulolo – which was second to none, to Morobe and to Papua New Guinea,” Marape said.

“The nation will give the highest dignity to a servant of our nation who has passed.

“We will give him, in his final tour-of-duty, the highest recognition that he deserves.”

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

On the eve of Papua New Guinea heading into its 2022 national general elections, the bearer of one of the highest offices in the country has tragically died.

Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil died in a head-on vehicle collision along the Bulolo Highway in Morobe Province on Wednesday night.

With his death, the people of Wau-Bulolo and PNG have lost a patriotic and vibrant leader, who had also been a prime ministerial hopeful.

• READ MORE: PNG Deputy PM killed in road accident
• Personal tribute by independent PNG journalist Scott Waide

As investigations continue from Wednesday night into the cause of the incident, police said the driver of the vehicle that collided with Basil’s told them that he had attempted to avoid fallen rocks on the Wau-Bulolo Highway when he swerved into Basil’s vehicle at Sumsum village, Bulolo.

The driver has been identified as Mathew Barnabas, originally from Madang and married to a local woman from Banglum, also in Bulolo.

Killed in the accident were Basil and his close protection officer (CPO) Sergeant Neil Maino.

Northern Command Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Guinness has confirmed that Barnabas had been charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and four counts of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.

Rocks ‘blocked road’
“It is alleged that when he [Barnabas] allegedly approached a section of the highway, fallen rocks had rolled over and blocked the road, Assistant Commissioner Guinness said.

He attempted to avoid the rocks and went into the other lane when he collided with the vehicle Mr Basil was driving.”

It is alleged that the suspect had been travelling at high speed and with small rocks like gravel on the road, his attempt to avoid the collision failed when the vehicle swerved into Basil’s vehicle, ACP Guinness said.

Barnabas is currently being treated for a chest injury sustained from the accident.

“A passing PMV truck helped rush the victims to Bulolo health centre for medical treatment,” ACP Guinness said.

Police Commissioner David Manning also confirmed that Basil had been driving at the time of the accident.

“From preliminary reports, Basil was driving the vehicle and was in the company of his two close protection officers and a publicity officer,” Manning said.

“They left Bulolo around 7pm and the accident occurred around 8pm.

A tribute by PNG journalist Scott Waide.

Passing PMV helped out
“It was fortunate that a passing PMV was able to assist and transported them to Bulolo where they were received and emergency medical attention was provided.

“Unfortunately, Mr Basil suffered extensive injuries, and as to the extent of that, a post-mortem will be able to ascertain how and what caused his demise.”

Sergeant Maino was confirmed dead an hour before the announcement of the passing of Basil, Commissioner Manning said.

“It is unfortunate [that Basil] succumbed to the injuries and he was confirmed clinically dead at 11:30pm,” he added.

Three roadblocks at Gabensis were removed by police who appealed for calm.

Morobe provincial police commander Superintendent Jacob Singura said police officers from Lae had been deployed to monitor the situation in Bulolo and along the highway.

PPC Singura also said that police had removed roadblocks and barricades set up by angry locals along the highway.

“A roadblock at Markham Bridge was also removed yesterday by police and I am now calling on everyone to refrain from such activities since the incident is before the police and investigation is still ongoing,” he said.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea’s deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil has died following a car crash in the Bulolo district of Morobe Province.

As well being Deputy Prime Minister, Basil was Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, and is the former Minister for Communications, Information Technology and Energy.

Police Commissioner David Manning confirmed his death after a collision along the Bulolo-Lae Road last night and the PNG Post-Courier reports that investigating police say the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash is on the run.

• READ MORE: PNG police investigating crash that killed deputy PM
• Investigation into Basil’s death commences

The newspaper said a close protection officer of Basil had also died.

Police transported Basil to Bulolo Hospital but he was pronounced dead at 11.30pm local time.

Three other people were also injured in the crash and taken to hospital.

Police Commissioner Manning expressed his condolences to Sam Basil’s family and the people of Bulolo electorate.

He appealed for calm to allow police investigations to be completed.

Second vehicle driver identified
Manning said a second vehicle was involved, and the driver had been identified.

“It is with great sadness that I wish to regrettably inform the Prime Minister, and the country of the death of our Deputy Prime Minister following severe injuries he sustained in a vehicle accident,” he said.

“I wish to also express my condolences to the late Mr Basil MP’s immediate family and the people of Bulolo electorate.

“I also wish to express my gratitude to the many people and organisations that responded to the incident.

“Police have commenced its investigations into the accident and have ascertained that a second vehicle was involved in the incident and the driver of this vehicle is known.

“I appeal to any eyewitnesses to the incident to come forward to assist investigators in their investigations.

‘Appeal for calm’
“I would like to appeal for calm during this time and allow the course of the investigations to be completed in a timely manner,” Manning said.

Basil was first elected in Bulolo in the 2007 General Election for the People’s Progress Party. In early 2011 he joined the Papua New Guinea Party and became opposition leader later that year.

In 2014, he joined the Pangu Party and immediately became its leader, but left Pangu to form the United Labour Party in 2019.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Today, Deputy Prime Minister Sam Basil and 12 other ministers in Papua New Guinea’s James Marape government crossed the floor to support former prime minister Peter O’Neill and opposition leader Belden Namah’s bid to move a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister James Marape.

A total of 41 members from the government side crossed to join Namah and O’Neill and provide them the 57 votes required (majority is 56) to take control of Parliament business and change the Permanent Parliament Committee members to ensure their planned notice of a no confidence vote makes its way to the floor of Parliament.

• READ MORE: Papua New Guinea stands by for new government after MPs abandon James Marape
• PNG’s deputy PM and other MPs cross the floor
• PM James Marape: ‘It’s not over’
• Fresh political turmoil in PNG

So was this expected?

Short answer is Yes.

Behind the scenes, I have been tracking the likes of Basil, William Duma, Charles Abel, Sir Puka Temu, Sir Julius Chan, Paias Wingti, and Chris Haiveta, expecting them to make a play for a change of Prime Minister.

I was very much aware that Basil was in secret talks with O’Neill and Namah, who were so desperate to change the government that they would mislead Basil into crossing the floor.

Basil believes he will be the next Prime Minister; so does Chan and O’Neill.

PM Marape informed
I brought this issue to the attention of Prime Minister Marape on numerous occasions so he would be informed on the what was going on behind the scenes.

However, he wanted to believe that both Basil and Duma would stay loyal to the government because he afforded their parties’ every request.

57 MPs voted with the Opposition today. Opposition has numbers to change PM.

39 MPs voted with PM. PM claims to have 52 supporting him.

57 + 52 = 109 MPs, Two MPs unaccounted for in #PNG‘s vote of No Confidence numbers game pic.twitter.com/rd74TV1XHe

— MARTYN AWAYANG NAMORONG (@MartynNamorong) November 13, 2020

While I note some will say this is a lie because I said there would be no vote of no confidence in the November session, I was factually correct. The November session is over, and Parliament is now adjourned to December 2020.

What is the play?

Right now, I still don’t believe there will be a vote of no confidence. More importantly, the motion for a vote can’t be moved for another four weeks.

Eighteen days from now – on Tuesday, 1 December 2020 – Parliament reconvenes. The Opposition will submit its notice of a no confidence vote against Prime Minister Marape to the Speaker.

The notice must be signed by no less than 12 members and name the next Prime Minister (which is not yet decided).

Naming ‘next PM’
On Wednesday, 2 December 2020, at 1pm, the Speaker and Permanent Parliament Committee will meet to table the notice and confirm it is in order, meeting the constitutional requirements of no less than 12 members signatories and naming the next PM.

Provided the notice is in order, the Speaker will direct the Clerk of Parliament to list the notice on the Parliament Notice Paper.

The next day, on Thursday, 3 December 2020, Parliament will reconvene. The Speaker will announce that he received the notice of the no confidence vote from the opposition and adjourn Parliament for seven days.

On Thursday, 10 December 2020, Parliament will reconvene to deal with the motion of no confidence.

So, folks, that’s almost one month away and right now Basil, O’Neill and Namah have only 59 Members, which they have to keep intact until the day of the vote.

In the meantime, the Marape government needs only to wait around for five members to realize they were badly misled, and that it wasn’t such a great idea to cross the floor. The public will also weigh in, ending their re-election bid in 2022.

Struggle to stay together
What is certain is that most, if not all, politicians will struggle to stay in camp for seven days, let alone one month.

It is also important to note that a sitting Prime Minister will always have the last say on whether a vote of confidence is moved on the day of the vote or not.

Right now, the government has the luxury of the full resources of the country and greater public support.

Support that will only build over time. Because the people of Papua New Guinea are sick of corruption, self-interest and greed.

Bryan Kramer is Papua New Guinea’s Police Minister. He is also one of the most transparent ministers on social media. In his rare spare time, he writes columns on issues for his Kramer Report web and Facebook pages. The Pacific Media Centre republishes his columns with permission.

Pangu Pati – the political party that gave Papua and New Guinea independence from Australia – may finally splutter on its colourful history and wind up with no members in PNG’s Parliament by next week.

Its apparent death knell was announced yesterday by party leader Sam Basil, who – along with his 14 MPs – say they have agreed to quit the parliamentary wing of the country’s oldest party before Tuesday’s vote of no confidence.

If this happens, it will signal a chapter in the life of Pangu where it will, for the first time in more than 50 years, have no MP in the House.

READ MORE: O’Neill gives away millions – greatest sell-out in PNG history

Under Basil, Pangu swept through Morobe during the 2017 general election, claiming eight of the 10 seats, and is a key ally in Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s People’s National Congress (PNC)-led coalition, but recent bickering between its non-parliamentary wing and Basil had led to his ouster as leader.

Basil announced last week he would soon launch his new party, Our Party.

However, the party’s general secretary, Morris Tovebae last night said Basil was not the Pangu leader, and had not been a Pangu member since being ousted by the court.

He said he or his executives had not received a single resignation letter from the 14 Pangu members.

Interim party leader
He said the Pangu party executive met and agreed to appoint Morobe Governor Ginson Saonu as its interim party leader, and Saonu had accepted to lead Pangu.

He said this appointment would be formally announced by the party executives shortly.

In Lae, Basil acknowledged that Morobe was the birth place and stronghold of Pangu, started by founding Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, but he and his party members had agreed to leave Pangu.

Basil admitted that the resurrection and dominance of Pangu Pati becoming the second biggest party in the current O’Neill-led coalition government was manifest of his leadership and not necessarily on the following of the Pangu Pati.

“I believe that we’ve got good players and good policies, unfortunately we didn’t get the first call of the peoples wish of the government they elected, so we respect that wish and are serving under the current government,” he said.

Basil said they would work with parties that shared common principles into the next election.

He said with the looming vote of no confidence, the Basil-led faction had made a promise to the O’Neill government and would stand by that promise as the second majority party.

Standing by PM
He said if the PM’s PNC party could not number up, they would have to tell the PM and move out.

Basil said but now if the PNC party had the numbers, they would stand by the prime minister.

Member for Sumkar Chris Nangoi, who accompanied Basil, reaffirmed his commitment to Basil, saying that he was voted by the Sumkar people who made a choice between two Pangu Pati candidates contesting the same seat.

He said one was put in by the Pangu Pati executives and the other by Basil, and the outcome showed that the people believed in the leadership of Basil by voting for Nangoi.

Frankiy Kapin and Gorethy Kenneth are Post-Courier reporters.

Maybe it was a slip of the tongue or a misinterpreted statement… But there is no doubt that whatever it was that Papua New Guinea’s Minister responsible for Communications and Information Technology, Sam Basil, said this week has created a storm now being reported on global media outlets.

While some commentators are screaming “fake news”, others are taking it all in as a fact.

What gave this statement its legitimacy was its publication on one of Papua New Guinea’s two dailies – the Post Courier. The online version of the story has been quoted numerous times that has become the top story out of Papua New Guinea in the last 24 hours.

READ MORE: Facebook shutdown outcry – ‘a mockery to APEC’

The country doesn’t usually make it into the tech pages of websites, but it has.

Matt Novak from Gizmodo wrote: “The (PNG) government also said that it’s exploring the creation of its own social media site to replace Facebook.”

John Russel from Techcrunch: “… the Facebook ban — however delicious it may sound given recent events — is not confirmed for Papua New Guinea. It remains a possibility once Basil has liaised with police.”

The suggestion to shut down Facebook is dangerous on many levels.

PNG on back foot
Firstly, it places PNG on the back foot. It is a highly embarrassing position to be in as members of APEC discuss the region’s economic future with e-commerce and social media being a pivotal focus of the talks.

Any shutdown of Facebook for any length of time, is contrary to the spirit of the discussions where wider access to ICT forms the basis of future economic policies.

In Papua New Guinea, small businesses are starting to thrive. Their main avenue to sell to a wider customer base? Facebook pages. Not websites. Website developers charge a minimum of K2500 for a basic site. It is too big an amount for small businesses.

Not one to mince his words, the director of the Institute of National Affairs , Paul Barker, told The Fiji Times: “It would be a travesty if PNG sought to close down Facebook during the APEC month [in November], making PNG seem rather foolish, as it would be both an attack on embracing technology, undermining the information era and mechanisms for accountability, but also damaging business and welfare.

“Facebook is no longer just a platform for chatting to friends and relatives, and exchanging photos, it’s now a critical tool for information sharing and social auditing, and also a major platform for business, especially micro, small to medium enterprises (MSMEs).”

In Lae City where I live, Facebook is a primary means of reporting crimes to the police. The Lae Police Metropolitan Command has a Facebook page linked to its crime reporting systems and toll free number. It is an integral part of policing.

Primary disaster reporting tool
In Papua New Guinea, Facebook has become the primary disaster reporting tool used by rural communities.

In February, when the Highlands was struck by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, the first pictures of the damage and deaths were posted on Facebook.

Yet it took at least two weeks before the National Disaster Center began collating the information that was readily available within 20 minutes of the disaster.

It is good that this debate is happening now instead of later.

Scott Waide’s blog columns are frequently published by Asia Pacific Report with permission. He is also EMTV deputy news editor based in Lae.

• More PNG stories

After two weeks of controversy, Pangu Pati leader Sam Basil and most of his party have split with Papua New Guinea’s Opposition and defected to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s post-election government, consolidating the People’s National Congress hold on Parliament.

In spite of repeated denials by Basil, Prime Minister O’Neill announced the defection yesterday afternoon, reports Loop PNG’s Annette Kora.

Basil defected with all 11 Pangu MPs from Morobe Province, including Central Province, Sohe and Lufa.

The defection has been widely condemned on social media and Papua New Guinea blogs as a “betrayal” and Oro Province Governor Gary Juffa made an impassioned plea in a video message appealing to fellow Opposition MPs to continue to work responsibly in Parliament for “the interests of all Papuan New Guineans” and not just a few.

Just four Pangu Pati MPs, including former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta (Port Moresby North West), refused to defect and have remained with the Opposition.

ABC News correspondent Eric Tlozek reports Basil was one of the O’Neill government’s most outspoken critics, and his successful grassroots campaign wiped out senior government MPs in his home province of Morobe.

But Basil said he had to respect the Prime Minister’s mandate, Tlozek reports.

“So all I can say is that Papua New Guineans have chosen the government, now we make our choice to join PNC.”

ABC also reports Basil has also filed a criminal complaint against rival members of his party executive who challenged his move, alleging they stole party funds.

The defection helps secure O’Neill’s grip on government, and the Prime Minister praised Basil and the defecting Pangu Pati MPs.

• Other PNG stories

By Serah Aupong in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s no-confidence parliamentary vote has been defeated with an overwhelming 85 to 21 votes in favour of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government.

The opposition came into the chamber knowing they did not have the numbers to win but used the opportunity to air their frustrations against the Prime Minister.

At the end of the session, the opposition left disappointed not only at losing the vote but in what they claim as suppression of a full debate of the motion.

The government did what it promised, hold together and defeat the no-confidence vote.

However before the vote was taken, there was more than an hour of heated debate which included pointing of fingers, out of order point of orders and swearing.

Keeping within the specifics of the recent court order ensuring the vote went ahead, the speaker allowed debate before the vote was taken.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil, as sponsor of the motion, outlined the opposition’s reasons for the motion, which included the lack of debate of the 2016 Budget, implementation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Paraka payment issue, disbanding of Taskforce Sweep and the LNG revenue.

Legal reasons
Then Kelly Naru, who had declared allegiance to the rule of law during the week of lobbying, outlined legal reasons for siding with O’Neill.

Following this, Kavieng member Ben Micah talked about telling the truth where he accused members of parliament of not taking into consideration the truth about issues that affect the nation.

From the government, leader of Government Business and Finance Minister James Marape, was the only one who spoke formally during the debate.

He said the motion was “hollow” and was used to cause instability and chaos. He said the government had delivered on 90 percent of its promises.

Towards the end of Marape’s speech, the Speaker stopped debate and moved to take the vote.

This did not go down well with the opposition who still had plenty more to say.

Member for Vanimo Green, Belden Namah, accused the Speaker of hijacking parliamentary procedure.

Screaming match
He refused to sit down, and a screaming match followed from both sides of the House.

In an attempt to restore order on the floor of Parliament, the Speaker stood up. According to parliamentary standing orders, when the Speaker stands all members must sit down.

After reminding the house of that standing order, Parliament quietened down and the vote was taken.

In his earlier speech opening debate on the vote, Deputy Opposition Leader, Sam Basil, attacked the Prime Minister over LNG revenue and the allegations levelled against him.

Much of the debate has previously happened outside of the Parliament House, but the opposition had a lot to say on the floor of Parliament.

Basil also raised concerns regarding budget cuts to church-run health agencies, the underfunding of the Electoral Commission, and the lack of debate about two months of student unrest calling on the Prime Minister to resign.

Serah Aupong is a senior journalist with EMTV News.

• Business as usual as O’Neill easily survives PNG no-confidence vote