Feo to reconsider Cabinet decision on 2028 PNG Unity Games host rights
Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science, Technology, and Sports Kinoka Feo has confirmed he will take a submission back to Cabinet to reconcile a growing conflict over the hosting rights for the 9th PNG Unity Games.
The move follows a fierce protest on the floor of Parliament by Wewak Open MP Stanley Mutz Samban, who accused the National Executive Council [NEC] of unilaterally stripping East Sepik Province of its democratic and contractually secured rights to host the 2028 multi-sport event.
During a heated Question Time session on Wednesday, Samban revealed that East Sepik Province had followed all statutory bidding guidelines, culminating in a legally binding host contract agreement executed with the PNG Sports Foundation.
The province paid a K50,000 bidding fee and an additional K2 million to secure the 2028 hosting rights, with massive infrastructure planning and ground preparations already underway across the region.
"Without any formal consultation with East Sepik leaders, the Minister has announced a unilateral decision to strip the province of its 2028 voting and hosting rights," Samban told Parliament.
"Is the National Government penalizing the people of East Sepik for being organized and prepared, simply to cover a chronic project stagnation and venue unreadiness elsewhere?"
Samban demanded that the state either freeze the decision and respect the legal contract or compensate East Sepik Province for the millions in public funds and planning hours already disrupted by the announcement.
In response, Minister Feo shifted the weight of the controversial decision away from his individual portfolio, clarifying that the change was enforced collectively within the Cabinet room. He indicated that his initial ministerial submission was actually meant to protect East Sepik's agreed terms before being modified during broader NEC debates.
"Of course, the intent of the submission I took was a bit different. It was maintaining what we agreed to," Feo said when responding.
Feo quoted Prime Minister James Marape’s common executive refrain acknowledging the administrative oversight and said; "we are only human, we make mistakes."
The Sports minister informed parliament that he has since met with the Chief Executive Officer of the PNG Sports Foundation and team members to find a pathway forward.
"I have instructed my CEO to take a paper back to Cabinet again just to reconcile this conflict. In due time, I will be able to announce the solution going forward," Feo said.
The debate quickly widened into a financial transparency dispute when Member for Karamui-Nomane, Francis Alua, raised supplementary questions regarding the ongoing project failures in the Southern Highlands Province, which was originally tasked with hosting the long-delayed 8th edition of the games.
"Can the Minister inform this house as to how much money was paid to the Southern Highlands Provincial Government to host the PNG Games that we all know has been deferred?" Alua asked. He further questioned whether the Southern Highlands administration would be compelled to refund the state, given the event's continuous delays towards 2027.
Minister Feo declined to provide an immediate monetary figure on the floor of Parliament but announced that a full investigation is now underway.
"The part of the initiation required an investigation, so we will do an investigation as to all the contracts, the totality of everything, and all the funding," Feo said,
The minister said a comprehensive audit report will be presented to both Cabinet and Parliament in due course.