Prime Minister James Marape says he does not play games on his mobile phone. Photo: Screenshot / YouTube / PNG Sun
The prime minister of Papua New Guinea has shot down criticism that he uses his mobile phone to "play games" during official meetings and has encouraged Papua New Guineans to embrace information and communications technology (ICT) in their work.
In a news conference on Monday, James Marape told media his office is in contact with him "all the time" and he is "not doing something else".
"Some use laptops, I use phone mobile phone [for work]," the prime minister said, as a threat of a no-confidence vote looms against his leadership.
"I have internet here, I scan the world, I do my work every time," he said pointing to his mobile phone held in one hand.
"When issues are being discussed at the forum, I compare my notes using my mobile phone.
"So, in case people think that I am doing something else…I don't play games on my mobile phones. I work 18 hours a day except Sabbath and my mobile phone is my office.
He said all his information and research are on his mobile.
"I was sitting there I was texting JT [Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko] on key issues that came up. I was asking one key resolution that come through [asking]: 'Minister, get your officers to send me advice on this this matter'.
"JT is always on standby. Information comes to me and I am quick to respond," he said.
Marape said Papua New Guineans should not rely on "fake writing on Facebook or WhatsApp".
"We live in a world where you should use ICT to assist your work and I encourage all of you [to] do research, you got research tools," he added.
According to DataReportal's Digital 2024 report series, there were just over 2.8 million internet users in PNG at the start of 2024, when internet penetration stood at 27 percent.
There were a total of 3.84 million active cellular mobile connections in early 2024 - equivalent to 36.9 percent of the total population.
"For perspective, these user figures reveal that 7.61 million people in Papua New Guinea did not use the internet at the start of 2024, suggesting that 73 percent of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year," according to the DataReportal's analysis.