Port Moresby, Tuesday, 18 November 2025 — Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has launched one of his strongest attacks yet on former prime minister Peter O’Neill, accusing him of “decades of reckless economic behaviour, cronyism, and the single greatest erosion of Papua New Guinea’s economic wealth in modern history.”
Speaking in Port Moresby, Prime Minister Marape said it was time Papua New Guineans clearly understood that Mr O’Neill “cannot lecture anyone on economic management” given his role in events dating back to the 1990s and extending through his tenure as Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019.
“Those Who Know His History Know He Is Not a Good Economic Manager”
Prime Minister Marape said O’Neill’s public portrayal of himself as a successful businessman did not match the historical record.
He pointed to Mr O’Neill’s role in the former Pacific Finance company and his influence during the collapse in value of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation (PNGBC) in the late 1990s.
“Those who truly know his history know how he started, how he rose within Pacific Finance, and how PNGBC’s value was eroded under that era,” PM Marape said.
He said the period between 1997 and 1999, when O’Neill was a senior figure in the People’s National Congress, was one of the worst in PNG’s economic history.
He noted that during that period, O’Neill was President of the PNC Party and was appointed Chairman of the PNGBC Board — under whose watch the bank’s balance sheet was severely eroded.
