It is my privilege to stand before you today in Papua New Guinea’s 51st Jubilee year to mark a defining milestone in our national administrative journey. Today, we celebrate not just a contract signing, but a vital leap forward in how the independent nation of Papua New Guinea governs, manages, and accounts for the public wealth of its people as we step firmly into cloud technology and the era of Artificial Intelligence.

First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude and extend formal recognition to the entire public finance establishment across all levels of government. To our dedicated public finance servants serving right across the country, to our provincial finance officers, district treasurers, and administrative officers across our 22 provinces: your tireless commitment behind the scenes keeps the engine of statecraft moving.

Achieving a connected, unified public finance ecosystem is a monumental undertaking. Today, because of your perseverance, the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) stands fully realized across PNG—connecting 100% in all provinces – 43 National Departments, 21 Provincial Health Authorities, 89 districts, over 313 Local-Level Governments, 26 Statutory Bodies.

You have linked our remote communities directly to the centre with real-time financial tracking and modern banking capabilities, ensuring public resources reach the places they are intended to serve. On behalf of the National Executive Council and the entire nation, I thank you for your service.

A transformation of this magnitude requires vision, courage, and disciplined leadership. I wish to pay special tribute to the Secretary for Finance, Mr. Samuel Penias, his leadership and implementation team, and his co-Secretaries Mr Andrew Oaeke on the IFMS Board.

Under their combined leadership, our central agencies and provincial government entities have shifted focus from simply deploying baseline software to building long-term operational sustainability, financial sovereignty, and institutional maturity. Through this landmark K26 million, three-year agreement with TechnologyOne, we are positioning public financial management as the direct engine behind the Medium Term Development Plan IV (MTDP IV 2023–2027).

To achieve our national goal of growing a K200 billion economy and improving the quality of life for our citizens, our financial systems must directly power the 12 Strategic Priority Areas of MTDP IV. This digital financial evolution directly anchors Strategic Priority Area 7 (National Revenue & Public Finance Management) and Strategic Priority Area 8 (Digital Government, National Statistics & Public Service Governance).

This investment in cloud capabilities and public sector modernization directly reinforces MTDP IV objectives by:

• Expanding National Revenue & Strengthening Internal Fiscal Controls: Supporting state agencies in mobilizing, tracking, and protecting public revenues to fund national priorities.
• Driving Public Sector Efficiency: Modernizing back-office administration to eliminate bureaucratic delays, reduce waste, and enforce zero-tolerance for leakages.
• Pioneering Modern Governance through AI: Introducing TechnologyOne Plus, an enterprise-grade agentic AI system governed under strict ISO 42001:2023 standards with a secure ‘human-in-the-loop’ framework. By enabling public servants to interact with complex financial data using simple text and voice commands, this AI integration will instantly audit budget availability, track expenditures, and streamline approval workflows—ensuring public resources are deployed rapidly and transparently where they are needed most.

By embedding cloud technology and Artificial Intelligence directly into state operations, we ensure that every kina appropriated under the Public Investment Program directly supports national development outcomes.

To the Secretary for Finance, Mr. Samuel Penias, and his central agency colleagues: Mr Andrew Oaeke, Mr Leo and your deputy secretaries, thank you for your leadership and for bringing these critical digital reforms to fruition.

To the officers of the Department of Finance, Treasury, Planning PM & NEC, DPLGA and the IFMS Project Team and public finance staff in every corner of Papua New Guinea: this system belongs to you. As we commence Phase 2 of our software upgrades and capacity-building programs, I charge each of you to embrace these tools with the highest standards of integrity, professional excellence, and public duty.

Together, aligned under MTDP IV and driven by modern digital technology, we are building a transparent, resilient, and sovereign financial foundation that will empower essential services and serve the people of Papua New Guinea for the next 50 years and beyond.

Thank you, and God bless Papua New Guinea.