Paul Isikiel (born 8 October 1963) is a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

n politician. He was a People's National Congress member of the

National Parliament of Papua New Guinea The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea but gained its current name after the nation was granted independence ...

from 2012 to 2017, representing the electorate of Markham Open. He was Minister for Housing and Urban Development in the government of Peter O'Neill from 2012 to 2017. Prior to entering politics, Isikiel was a businessman and the manager of Suapi Management Consultant Limited (SMC). He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2007 election. He was elected to the National Parliament at the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

as a People's National Congress candidate, defeating MP

Koni Iguan Koni Iguan (born 6 June 1969) is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a Pangu Party member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since 2017, representing the Markham Open electorate. He formerly held the same seat from 2007 to 2012 ...

. He was appointed Minister for Housing and Urban Development in the post-election Cabinet reshuffle. He supported the Markham Valley Oil Palm Project, which had been initiated under his predecessor, and claimed early success in gaining funding for two regional roads and a vocational training centre, with and a third road following in December. In September 2012, he suspended the managing director and board chairman of the National Housing Corporation pending an investigation over alleged misappropriation. In April 2013, he funded a double classroom and two school dormitories for the Markham Valley High School. In June 2013, he announced that the National Housing Corporation debt had been cut from K30 million to K19 million under his replacement leadership, as the organisation underwent an administrative overhaul. In May 2014, he announced a 40,000-house project at Durand Farm outside

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

to relieve housing shortages in the capital. A K1.4 billion loan to fund the project was attacked by the opposition as being a burden on the economy. Isikiel publicly feuded with the Police Association of Papua New Guinea and senior police in July 2014 after calling for the arrest of "rogue" police investigating a corruption case linked to Prime Minister O'Neill; he claimed the "rogue" police had "colluded with outside forces in an attempt to discredit and incriminate the Prime Minister". He also clashed with the Manufacturers Council of Papua New Guinea in November 2014 over a proposal that "certain building materials" be exempted from import duty to make housing cheaper. In March 2016, he announced a 500-house project to house public servants outside

Kundiawa Kundiawa is the capital of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, with a population of 8,147 (2000 Census). It lies along the Highlands Highway approximately halfway between Goroka and Mount Hagen, respectively the capitals of the Eastern Highlands an ...

to relieve housing shortages in that area. He faced further problems later in 2016 with illegal sales of government housing and controversy surrounding evictions by the National Housing Corporation. He was defeated at the 2017 election by

, the MP he had ousted in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isikiel, Paul 1963 births Living people Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea People's National Congress (Papua New Guinea) politicians