Sir Nagora Bogan resigns as Unitech Chancellor to contest 2017 election

The Chancellor of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Sir Nagora Bogan has announced his resignation to contest the national elections with effect from December 20, 2016.

Sir Nagora Bogan

He made the announcement on Friday,  November 23,  during the 178th University Council meeting at the Taraka Campus in Lae.
Sir Nagora further went on to announce that the Council unanimously appointed Pro-Chancellor, Jean Kekedo as the Interim Chancellor and Council Member, retired Ambassador Peter Eafeare as the Interim Pro Chancellor.
Sir Nagora assumed the chair of the University of Technology Council in November 2012 at the time when the university was plagued with a long legacy of instability, maladministration and deep seated anguish by rank and file at the acute lack of governance and transparency.
He said he had agonised over the decision to step down, but felt that much had been accomplished at Unitech despite many setbacks and challenges including the recent student boycott.
He leaves with sadness but a great sense of accomplishment.
He further pointed out that many projects initiated by the Council were yet to be completed, but was heartened and had absolute confidence in the interim Chancellor together with the support of Vice Chancellor, Dr Albert Schram to continue to lead and manage the university until the end of his term in 2020
“Things were not completed and I was torn between it, but I have confidence in the management and the council and would like to thank the Council,Management, Staff and Students for their invaluable support, collaboration and contributions and wish all well in whatever you do,” Sir Nagora said.
Some of the major achievements during his leadership includes:

• Instituting institutional governance including establishing the various committees and restoring probity; and
• Reforming the bursary and introducing prudential financial controls and reporting including completion of audit of the 2013 and 2014 financials.

He also proudly pointed to the fact that "once you set clear parameters between the role of the Council and management, it creates a strong discipline and conducive for people to be focused and empowered to get their work done diligently and be held accountable for their performance".

" This paves the way for continuous progress on international accreditation of courses at the University, implementation of the STAT-P test, issuing laptops to the first year students, automation of student registration, establishment of Industry Advisory Board, 10 years Business Plan, a Master Plan and the continuous promotion and strengthening of a good governance and transparent system."

Sir Nagora urged the council to continue promoting and practising the role of an effective council by expressing freely in meetings and support the common interest of the University. 

He expressed great relief that the 2016 academic year had come to a good ending, despite the crisis concerning national political issues which affected all State universities, and forced UNITECH to suspend classes for over four months. 

He said some challenges that remained with the university were staff restructure, Government support for recurrent budget, implementing of Auditor’s Report, implementing the university master plan, rebuilding the burnt down buildings including the student mess, Department of Open and Distance Learning (DODL) Building and Appropriate Technology and Community Development Institute (ATCDI) Building , and resurrection of Unitech Development and Consultancy Ltd (UDC).

Kerenga Kua calls for good leadership

National Party leader and Sinasina-Yongomugl MP Kerenga Kua has stressed the need for good leadership in the country.
He said this at a fundraising dinner for prominent Lae personality, Sir Nagora Bogan, in Lae Saturday as he announced his intention to contest for the Lae Open seat in 2017.

National Party leader and Sinasina-Yongomugl MP Kerenga Kua speaking at Sir Nagora Bogan's function in Lae last Saturday.

“Leadership is a serious business and those in leadership positions must exercise their responsibilities with care and wisdom all the time,” Kua said.
“Where do we go from here?
“What is my dream for tomorrow?
“We should all, as individuals and as people, accept the fact that our primary duty of care as citizens of this sovereign nation is firstly to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea – not to our province, not to our district, not to our tribes, not to our companies.
“Our first and foremost duty of care is to Papua New Guinea, within the boundaries that we know today.
“Every leader’s duty is to appreciate that every action that he takes – he must take it for the collective good of everyone within those boundaries.”

Sir Julius Chan says Goverment is "bankrupt"

New Ireland Governor and former prime minister Sir Julius Chan says the Government is "bankrupt" and can no longer deny this.
He said this at a fundraising dinner for prominent Lae personality, Sir Nagora Bogan, in Lae last Saturday.

 New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan addressing the crowd at Sir Nagora Bogan’s fundraising dinner in Lae last Saturday.

Sir Nagora announced his intention to contest for Lae Open in the 2017 national election.

Sir Julius said greed and self-interest was affecting the country.
“Much of the problem has come from mismanagement of the finances of Government,” he told over 300 people including politicians, business leaders, and representatives from different sectors of civil society in Lae.
“Something I learned very early – before Independence – was that a Government must be cautious.
“It must be conservative about its future fiscal situation.
“To put it simply, Government should never spend money it does not yet have – what I normally describe as potential wealth against real wealth.
“But this is exactly what we have done repeatedly in the recent history.
“As major new resource projects come on the horizon, we have been spending money as if it was already in the bank.
“It was not.”
Sir Julius said the country was going “bankrupt” because of such practices by Government.
“The result is that we are running a country in the red, not in the black,” he said.
“If we were business, we would now be bankrupt.
“Our Government is bankrupt.
“In the last five years, the Government debt-to-GDP ratio has soared.
“For the last three years, we have been at or above the legally-mandated mark of 35 per cent of GDP.
“We are projected to be above that legal limit again in 2016 and in our 2017 Budget.
“We have also run serious budget deficits every year since 2011.”
Sir Julius said the result was “no money”.
“We cannot pay our public servants,” he said.
“We cannot pay for tuition fee free education.
“We cannot pay for the Government’s promise of free primary and subsidised health care.”

Sir Nagora Bogan announces intention to contest Lae Open

Outgoing University of Technology Chancellor and former Taxation Review Committee chairman Sir Nagora Bogan has announced his intention to contest the Lae Open seat in 2017.

Sir Nagora Bogan addressing his fundraising dinner in Lae last Saturday.

He made the much-anticipated announcement in front of a fullhouse crowd of more than 300 people at a fundraising dinner in Lae last Saturday.
Sir Nagora also revealed his grand vision, Vision 2022 – Transforming Lae and Papua New Guinea, under which he hopes to change the way Lae and PNG is being run.
The crowd included former prime minister and People’s Progress Party leader and New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan, National Party leader and Sinasina-Yongomugl MP Kerenga Kua, New Generation Party leader and Goroka MP Bire Kimisopa, Lae business leaders, and representatives from all sectors of civil society in Lae.

National Party leader and Sinasina-Yongomugl MP Kerenga Kua, leading Lae businessman Sir Bob Sinclair, New Ireland Governor and former prime minister Sir Julius Chan, and Sir Nagora Bogan in Lae last Saturday evening.

Sir Nagora said he offered a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors.
He said PNG was going down the pathway of failed states if it failed to transform for the better.
“We (PNG) spent money that we didn’t have,” Sir Nagora said.
“Now we are struggling because we thought we would have wealth that would come.
“I foresee that if we don’t get it corrected, maybe 10 years from now, we are headed for catastrophe.
“To benchmark that, look at some African countries, the journey that they have taken.
“Many of those countries became stuck in a position where they could not pay off their debts.
“If we are not careful, we (PNG) are heading down that way.
“We will have the distinction of being a country that failed – that’s the reality.”
Sir Nagora said a total transformation was needed to save the country.
“I think the time has come that the old line of thinking – where policies are articulated in the absence of people out there like the private sector and civil society – must stop,” he said.
“We have bureaucrats in Waigani making policy decisions that will affect you and me, yet, some of them have not even got out of the comfort of Waigani and gone out and seen the reality.”
Sir Nagora offered suggestions to save the country.
“The key thing is to unlock the economic potential that we have, by having in place a clear policy to diversify the economy,” he said.
“Let’s concentrate on economic diversification.”

A tribute to outgoing University of Technology Chancellor Sir Nagora Bogan

Speech about Sir Nagora Bogan by Unitech Vice Chancellor Dr Albert Schram
Dec 3, 2016, at Lae International Hotel

University of Technology Vice Chancellor Dr Albert Schram addressing outgoing Chancellor Sir Nagora Bogan's dinner at Lae International.Hotel last Saturday night

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I feel honoured that in such a distinguished company I am allowed to say a few things about Sir Nagora Bogan. He asked me because of the many CEOs he worked with, I am the most recent one.
In the past, I have had the pleasure of working with many different bosses, almost as many females as males, who were highly successful and accomplished, driven and passionate. There were a few rotten ones, but the good ones were very good. For many years, for example, I reported to a distinguished Latin American agricultural economist, who ran a successful consulting business in three different countries. I had the pleasure of working with an Indian economist at the World Bank. I had excellent professors from the United States, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Netherlands, Belgium giving me guidance and direction.
Sir Nagora, however, tops them all.
Let me say first of all that this is not a political speech, and this is not a political rally. I am merely here to give testimony to what Sir Nagora said and did, what this meant for my wife and me. Without his leadership very little would have been accomplished at UNITECH. Hopefully, you will understand better how his brand of leadership transformed UNITECH, and has the potential to transform the country.
Before I do so, however, I would like to share what latest psychological research says about successful people (Carol Dweck, Stanford University). Research shows that successful people have a "growth mindset". This means that instead of seeing their mistakes as insurmountable personal flaws and weaknesses, they focus on self-improvement and overcoming challenges. This requires a mixture of both humility and self-confidence. A habit of constant learning and reading must be based on strong humility, self-esteem and confidence. Other researchers have shown the presence of social skills at a young age, and the habit of setting oneself clear objectives as important determinants of success.
Sir Nagora possesses these characteristics in abundance, and his life clearly show this. Where to begin?
In Papua New Guinea, he stood at the beginning of improvements in tax collection, the transformation of the superannuation funds into engines of development, but also at legislation which made large mining project possible and good relations with the United States of America.
At UNITECH, Sir Nagora stands at the beginning of numerous concrete and successful projects. At the start, success could not be taken for granted. UNITECH has suffered a cut of more than 10% each year in its operational budget since 2012. In addition, the new Higher Education Act 2014 practically abolished institutional autonomy and academic freedom of the public universities. In fact, the only consequential amendments to our University Acts dictated by the HE Act are related to the appointment of the Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor and Vice Chancellor. With UPNG our Council has stood firm in its resistance to these unnecessary and destructive measures, and rather are including the modifications suggested by the Independent Review of the University System, the External Audit, and for UNITECH the Sevua report. It is interesting to note that none of these policies and assessments even mention the issues of appointments of Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor.
In 2012, his first action as Chancellor was to approve the re-scoping of PIP funds and invest them in staff houses rather than dormitories. This was a gutsy and strategic decision, which allowed us over the last 4 years to dramatically improve the academic quality of the departments by hiring at least two new fully qualified lecturers for each department. With Hon. Kua and some others working behind the scenes, he was also the main architect behind solving the governance crisis which has kept UNITECH in its grip since 2007, and for arranging my return from exile.
Other PIP projects he endorsed were the fencing project of our large campus. He went so far as to suggest a modification which was to fence of the students' dorms so as to prevent burglaries. This modification today has finally been completed, and our students now feel much safer as a result.
Another series of measures he strongly supported regarded more transparent governance and finances. With Pro Chancellor he strongly supported the hiring of a new bursar, and the hiring of a financial consultant in the mean time. He kept us on track with our financial audits.
He allowed us to hire a qualified urban planner with experiences in campus development. This has led to the Master Plan which envisages the creation of a University township on our campus, including the uni-mall.
Most importantly, he has worked with me but also with my deputies and challenged us to make our strategy simpler and more focused. This now has led to a strategy structure which will guide our actions in the coming 15-20 years.
He is not a conventional leader in everything he does and says. Apart from general virtues such as honesty and transparency, hard work, he has a number of very specific ones which show us what kind of man he really is:
Humbly he always asks himself the ultimate empowering questions: What could I have done better? What can I do better now?
He laughs loudly and eagerly, and sometimes he cries with compassion.
He reads everything and prepares well for every meeting.
He can be forceful and decisive, but will not force people, rather seek understanding and consensus.
He likes to say that everything rises or falls with leadership. The ultimate leader for him is also the most paradoxical one: Jesus Christ. The paradoxes leadership that most apply to him are, objective and detached but passionate, a progressive traditionalist, focused but open to out of the box ideas, energetic and calm, patient in haste, a wise risk taker, but always, always focused on final and positive outcomes.
Now how is it to be led by Sir Nagora? Is it easy to work with him? I can say it is wonderful to work with him and you always learn something and leave in good spirits. It is very easy to work with him and get results. Look at me. I come from a totally different place and have a totally different background, but we were able to forge a strong working relationship based on shared values and understanding. There has been a good chemistry which does not mean that once in a while Sir Nagora did not have to correct me. When he did he did so gently and allowed me to save face.
Now some people criticize Sir Nagora (and myself as well) for the approach based on dialogue and respect that we took during the students' crisis, eschewing attempts to forcefully supress their boycott of classes. Sir Nagora loves the law, and by law the SRC had the right to organize a boycott. When it came, however to demanding the students take responsibility for their mistakes, he hesitated not a minute and allowed Council to suspend the SRC. Now we can reform the SRC constitution and improve the election process of SRC executives, and make sure that boycotts are a measure of last resort and not a first step whenever there is something or somebody the students don't like.
Those who criticize the UNITECH approach do not understand the paradoxes of leadership and the importance of meaningful interaction with stakeholders, humility and a growth mindset, and clarity of principle-based vision. It is because of this kind of leadership that we were able to save this academic year for our students. Staff and students now can go hope peacefully to enjoy a Christmas holidays with an easy heart and mind. For 2017 we have programmed two normal 15 weeks semesters, which are a condition for our international accreditation.
At UNITECH we will all miss you, but your legacy will remain. You have taught and mentored our leadership team, and the tone of respect you have set in Council will not change. The decision you have taken lately to run for elections for Lae Open, is all about empowering oneself and taking responsibility.
You taught me that those of us who have had so many blessings and privileges, sometimes can not continue shy away from public office, with the purpose of bringing their experience and skills to solve problems at at a higher level.
My wife Paulina and I wish you the best of luck with all your endeavours. It as been a great honour and enormous pleasure for me to work with you, and to continue our friendship.

Sir Nagora Bogan on the 2017 Budget and the Tax Review Committee

The then Chairman of the PNG Taxation Review Committee Sir Nagora Bogan has released a statement today as a private citizen and professional finance advisor to clarify some misunderstanding.
Firstly, he is pleased that the National Government has pronounced that it will undertake consequential amendments to correct a gross mistake made in imposition of the punitive tax on housing.
He said it is common sense that the timing is not right considering the current depressed state of the economy.
Many people, and especially workers in urban cities who shoulder the most burden of personal income tax, are feeling the impact as they cannot stretch the income they make on a fortnightly basis.
The cost of living has gone up and prices of basic consumer items have increased - in some cases threefold.
Many businesses are also feeling the pinch and have over the past two-to-three years under gone massive cost cutting including laying off employees and curtailing their cost and investment.
On tax reform, he said it is a matter of trade-off and a delicate balance and must be approached sensibly and responsibly.
 It must be holistic and not sporadic or ad hoc.
All ramifications and anticipated impact must be considered.
The biggest considerations are the prevailing state of the economy, the budgetary and revenue implications, implications of PNG as an attractive and competitive destination and what is technically considered as the political economy of tax.
This is the reason the Tax Review recommendations were presented as a holistic package to be carefully coordinated and staged over 5 – 10 years.
 In fact, the actual recommendations to the Government for the 2017 budget are cited word for word below in Volume.1 of the report.
1. Foreshadow economic stimulus package for current, medium and long-term maximum effect. Commence process by establishing and legitimizing an Economic Development Board and a Revenue Administration Board.
2. Announce  NO NEW TAXES. To ease socio-economic hardship as a result of declining commodities price and downturn in global economy, post-LNG construction, impact of El Nino and combined effects of some or all of the above.
3. Recognise election year – NO NEW TAX budget and IMPLANT PILLARS for economic growth and diversification.
4. 2017 Budget framed as fiscal stimulus measure to optimise revenue collection by improving revenue administration, correction of anomalies, adjustments for CPI, stringent controls and curbing of expenditure and options for debt financing and monetary policy.
5. Commence tax reform of extractive sector to make sector more transparent.
It must be stressed that the Committee made recommendations to the Government after extensive stake holder consultation, technical analysis, robust economic modeling and diligent consideration of what is in the best interest of the country presently and in the medium and long term.
 All these recommendations are contained in two volumes of reports handed to the Government in October, 2015 and are publicly available.
These are just recommendations and ultimately, it is the prerogative of the Government of the day whether to accept or not to accept.
On the 2017 budget, Sir Nagora said some of the Tax Review’s recommendations were selectively implemented such as extractive sector reforms and excise.
His greatest reservation and concern is whether the estimation of the 2017 tax revenue is rigorous and thorough.
He is of the professional view that many companies will either report losses, or lower taxable income and, in many instances, many have either liquidated or closed shop.
The days of surplus cash and economic buoyancy are gone.
This will have adverse bearing on corporate taxes.
In addition, he estimates that over 30,000 jobs have been lost and this will have serious implications on personal income tax.
Simply stated, the spending power of consumers has also diminished substantially and this will manifest also in lower GST receipts.
Ultimately, if the estimations stack up, then we will be fine in 2017 but if not we will see a likelihood of severe squeeze on cash flow with adverse implication on the 2017 budget.

Authorised and released by Sir Nagora Bogan, KBE
 December 6, 2016.

Economic diversification and tax reform in Papua New Guinea

Sir Nagora Bogan will adrress the Australian National University on Thursday, December 8, 2016

CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY | DEVELOPMENT POLICY CENTRE

The independent Tax Review Committee (TRC) established by the Government of PNG recently completed a comprehensive review of the country’s tax system involving extensive and transparent stakeholder consultation over the course of two years. This culminated in two volumes of reports (inclusive of significant economic and tax reform recommendations) which were formally presented to the PNG Government in November, 2015.

The final report highlighted the high risks of PNG’s overdependence on the extractive sector and its vulnerability to the cyclical vagaries of global commodities pricing and recommended a ‘paradigm shift’ in the governance, management and stimulation of sustainable economic development. PNG’s vulnerability has become pronounced in recent months with the sudden drop in the oil price resulting in fiscal distress, lack of foreign exchange, and economic slowdown.

PNG is at a precarious crossroads and tax reform provides an opportunity for a strategic transformation. The report provides some realistic and practical policy, legal, institutional, and structural reforms to mitigate economic risk and vulnerability by diversifying the economic base to more sustainable sectors like agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism.

Sir Nagora Bogan, KBE, is Chancellor of the University of Technology, Chairman of the Papua New Guinea Tax panel of experts. He began his career with the PNG Taxation Office and during the 1980s and 1990s took a leading role in modernising tax administration in PNG. From 1991-1995, he was non-salaried Chairman of the London-based Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators and from 1996 to 2002 Papua New Guinea’s Ambassador to the United States of America with concurrent accreditation as Ambassador to Mexico and High Commissioner to Canada. He served as Chairman of the Nambawan Super Fund Limited for more than a decade and is a director or board member of a number of PNG and regional corporations.

The seminar is presented as part of the Development Policy Centre’s PNG Project, which receives funding from the Australian Aid Program through the Pacific Governance and Leadership Precinct