Prime Minister James Marape has defended his role in the long-running Paraka payments matter, saying recent media coverage failed to reflect the full context of court proceedings and findings already established through the legal process.
Responding to a front-page report published by the Post-Courier yesterday, Mr. Marape said the matter had been thoroughly examined by the courts and that findings had already been made based on evidence presented during the proceedings.
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He said in a statement today that references to himself and former Finance Secretary Steven Gibson in recent reporting required proper context, maintaining that neither had been convicted of any offence relating to the Paraka matter.
“The National Court, presided over by none other than the Chief Justice himself, thoroughly examined this matter and made its findings based on evidence presented before it,” Mr. Marape said.
“Mr. Jacob Yafai never raised these issues during those proceedings despite having every opportunity to do so and remained silent throughout the process.”
Mr. Marape said the courts had noted that both he and Mr. Gibson were involved in approval processes as part of their official responsibilities but stressed that neither had been found guilty of any wrongdoing.
“I do not speak for Mr. Gibson, and he can speak for himself, however, I can speak clearly for my own actions,” he said.
The Prime Minister said his instructions regarding payments linked to lawyer Paul Paraka had always been clear.
“My instructions were always clear — to properly peruse, verify and settle only lawful payments. Those instructions were known within the Finance Department.”
“Mr. Gibson knows, Mr. Yafai knows, and officers within Finance know very well that I stopped Paraka payments.”
Mr. Marape said that when concerns first emerged during his tenure as Finance Minister, he immediately halted payments and called for investigations.
“When this issue first emerged during my time as Finance Minister, I stopped payments, called for investigations, and became part of the witness process to expose wrongdoing.”
“In an unprecedented move, I personally took the witness stand. No Prime Minister has done that before in a matter involving allegations connected to actions taken during their time in office.”
Mr. Marape said he later discovered that payments had continued despite instructions to stop them.
“Unknown to me, payments continued despite clear instructions to stop them. That is precisely why actions were taken.”
“Mr. Yafai cannot honestly say that I instructed him to make those payments because he knows very well that is not true.”
Mr. Marape acknowledged Mr. Yafai’s right to pursue any remaining legal avenues.
“He has every right to pursue whatever legal avenues remain available to him, and I respect that process,” he said.
However, he questioned the repeated prominence given to the matter in newspaper coverage.
“I understand newspapers need headlines and need to sell papers, however, repeatedly presenting these matters without full context can create misleading impressions.”
“These types of headlines do not discourage me. They will not distract me from my responsibilities.”
Mr. Marape said criticism and political attacks would not deter him from pursuing anti-corruption efforts.
“People may have the power of the pen, but ordinary Papua New Guineans also have the power of reason, judgment, and common sense,” he said.
“I will continue standing up for what is right and continue doing what is necessary in the fight against corruption and abuse of public funds.”
“I will continue working for Papua New Guinea and doing what is right at all times for all our people — not just for a privileged few.”
“This country belongs to all Papua New Guineans, and my responsibility remains to serve the nation with honesty, fairness, and commitment.”