K4bil LOSS TO UNREGULATED ALLUVIAL MINING

BY NIGEL MADO

THE Public Sector Reform & Review Committee inquiry led by Northern Governor Garry Juffa this year has revealed that Papua New Guinea is losing at least K4 billion each year through unregulated activities in the alluvial gold mining sector.

Juffa disclosed the findings in Parliament during the Grievance Debate on the CLRC’s review into the election of the Prime Minister, using the example to highlight the broader weaknesses in PNG’s governance and enforcement systems.

He said his parliamentary committee’s recent inquiry found that huge quantities of gold are being smuggled out of the country without being declared or taxed.

The Governor said the findings expose the scale of corruption and mismanagement in PNG’s natural resource sectors, adding that these are revenues that could have been used to build schools, hospitals, and roads, but are instead lining the pockets of a few.

Juffa stressed that the leakage of national wealth reflects a “weak and compromised public sector” that lacks the capacity and integrity to monitor the mining industry effectively.

He said while legitimate small-scale miners operate under difficult conditions, the system is being exploited by powerful networks that smuggle gold overseas.

The alluvial mining sector is just one example of how our public institutions are being bypassed he said.