“Foreign Affairs Minister of Papua New Guinea Resigns After Luxury Trip to Attend King Charles III’s Coronation in England”

Port Moresby –

Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu) Papua New Guinea Justin Tkatchenko has resigned from his post after sparking controversy over a luxury trip to English while attending the coronation of King Charles III. Tkatchenko, who was accompanied by her daughter, used first class flights and shopped for luxury goods in Singapore.

As reported Reuters, Monday (15/5/2023), Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth of Nations in the Pacific region, which has King Charles III as its head of state. Tkatchenko attended the coronation after being asked by Prime Minister (PM) James Marape to step in to represent Papua New Guinea.

Tkatchenko brought along his daughter, Savannah, because his wife was unable to attend.

The trip by Tkatchenko and her daughter sparked public outrage after local media reports highlighted the high costs of traveling for a Papua New Guinea delegation of 30 members to attend the coronation of King Charles III on May 6.

Each delegation reportedly received an allowance of 50,000 Kina, or the equivalent of Rp. 208.5 million to pay for hotels and plane tickets while in England.

The public hurled criticism and insults, saying that such a large amount of money would be better used to finance basic needs and finance hospitals in this Pacific country.

The official secretary of Papua New Guinea’s Government Building, Bill Toraso, confirmed to Reuters that 10 of the Governor General’s staff had traveled to London, along with 10 other guests. Two Foreign Ministry officials also accompanied Tkatchenko on the trip.

Check out the full news on the next page.

(nvc/ita)