Papua New Guinea’s Opposition is urging the Marape-Rosso Government to reconsider reported changes to public financial controls, arguing that transferring Treasury’s warranting function to the Department of Finance could weaken checks and balances ahead of the 2027 National General Election.
Money Grab: If It Is Not Broken, Do Not Fix It
By Hon. James Nomane I Facebook Post I Port Moresby, Thursday, 15 October 2026
The Opposition acknowledges the officers of Treasury and Finance who have worked hard to rebuild public financial discipline under difficult conditions. That effort deserves protection, not disruption.
Yet by every credible indication, the Marape-Rosso Government is preparing to strip the warranting function from Treasury and consolidate it within the Department of Finance, in the run-up to NGE2027. This looks less like reform and more like a money grab. The principle is simple: if it is not broken, do not fix it.
Warranting is the gatekeeper of public money. Treasury authorises; Finance pays. That separation is not bureaucratic inconvenience. It is the lock on the national vault. Place the key and the cash in the same hands, months before an election, and the people will draw their own conclusions.
The Opposition urges the Government to step back, for four clear reasons.
First, greylisting. Papua New Guinea was placed on the FATF grey list in February 2026. Weakening financial controls now tells the world that we are not serious about getting off it.
Second, international financial credibility. Lenders, investors and correspondent banks judge our controls, not our speeches. Every shortcut raises the cost of our borrowing.
Third, the collapse of checks and balances. When one department both authorises and pays, there is no second pair of eyes. Errors go unseen. Abuse goes unchecked.
Fourth, election integrity. Concentrating spending power before NGE2027 invites the perception that public money is becoming campaign money.
The Opposition is seriously concerned that this action will undermine hard-won reform and take fiscal policy onto the razor’s edge. We do not agree with this Government’s deepening debt dependence or the terms of its dealings with the IMF. But we caution plainly: do not make a bad situation worse.
Our demand is prudent financial management, anchored in one principle: if it is not broken, do not fix it. Keep warranting with Treasury. Publish monthly warrant releases. Bring any proposed change before Parliament, with independent review, before a single toea moves.
Picture a Papua New Guinea that exits the grey list, borrows on better terms, and earns back the full trust of its development partners. That future is built on prudence, transparency and restraint.
The Opposition stands ready as a steward of the national economy. To the Government: stop, consult, and protect the system that protects the people’s money. If it is not broken, do not fix it.
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