About Rt Hon Mekere Morauta KCMG
Mekere Morauta was the first graduate in Economics from the University of Papua New Guinea. He became a Member of the Papua New Guinea National Parliament in 1997 and was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002. From 1997 to 2012 he held the seat of Port Moresby North-West.
Prior to entering politics, Morauta was Secretary for Finance (1972–1982), Managing Director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation (1983-1992), Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea (1993-1994), a company director and successful businessman.
As Prime Minister, Sir Mekere is credited with initiating significant constitutional and economic reform. In 1999 the Papua New Guinea economy was on the brink, with government finances in disarray and a currency that was spiralling to inconvertibility.
Morauta devised and led a rescue package, which stabilised the economy and the budget. Key institutions of state were strengthened and important reforms were introduced to the financial sector, especially in banking and superannuation, and to the structure and workings of the public sector.
Constitutional changes were also introduced which brought stability to politics in Papua New Guinea and laid the foundation for the orderly development of political parties.
As Minister for Public Enterprises from 2011-2012, Morauta re-set the primary focus of the Independent Public Business Corporation, concentrating on strengthening it to undertake the important job of rehabilitating state-owned enterprises.
After retiring from politics in August 2012, Sir Mekere was appointed by the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum as the Eminent Person to review the Pacific Plan. The report was published in 2013.
In 2012 he was also appointed Chairman of Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program Ltd. Sir Mekere resigned as chairman, as required by the company's Program Rules, after winning the seat of Moresby North-West again, at the 2017 elections.
Sir Mekere holds an Honorary Doctorate of Technology awarded by the University of Technology and an Honorary Doctorate of Economics awarded by UPNG. He was made a Knight Bachelor in 1990 and was later made Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 2001.
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About my blog
I started this blog because of my concern about the state of the nation - the increasingly undemocratic actions of the O'Neill Government, its economic and financial mismanagement, and the destruction of the institutions of state and weakening of the structures and processes of decision-making, laying the ground for high levels of systemic and systematic corruption.
These factors have also resulted in rapidly declining development indicators, attacks on freedom of expression and association, and social division and inequality.
Above all I was concerned about the lack of informed public debate on a wide variety of issues, and the Government’s intimidatory suppression of such debate.
This blog is my way of spurring public debate and providing facts on which people can base their arguments, rather than on spin and hyperbole.