Hillary Clinton arrives in Port Moresby today

UNITED States secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton will arrive in Port Moresby today, The National reports.

Clinton is expected at about 4pm for a four-hour visit before leaving for New Zealand and Australia concluding her Asia-Pacific tour.

Details of her visit had been withheld by the US embassy for security reasons.

However, it was understood that the visit would focus on US assistance to PNG and discussing climate change and women issues.

During her meeting with Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Clinton will discuss the energy governance and capacity initiative (EGCI), the US embassy said in a media statement yesterday.

EGCI is a US department of state-led global effort to provide a range of valuable technical support to governments of selected countries that are on the verge of becoming the world’s next generation of oil and gas producers.

“As Papua New Guinea begins to develop its liquefied natural gas (LNG) resources, the US state department hopes to assist the PNG government, especially the Department of Petroleum and Energy as well as tax and finance agencies, to maximise value and efficiency of oil and gas production and revenue flows,” the statement added.

It said EGCI would seek to bolster institutional capacities related to governance, revenue management and technical capability.

“EGCI will provide Papua New Guinea with access to top US government talent with unmatched global expertise on issues related to petroleum geology, upstream licensing, exploration and production operations, revenue management, sector regulation, policy reform and implementation and energy sector finance and tax structure.

“EGCI also builds both high-level and working contacts to offer unbiased, sound advice and guidance as well as lasting relationships that can further long-term institutional stability and sound sector governance,” the embassy said.  

After her arrival, the US secretary of state would pay a courtesy call on Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane at Government House and partake in a mangrove planting exercise at Idubada.

Climate change was also a key component of Clinton’s visit and she would hold talks on the issue with Sir Michael at Parliament House this evening.

She would also meet prominent PNG women leaders where issues on gender equality and nominated women representation in parliament would be discussed.

Lands Department accused of “corruption, negligence” in Western province

By MALUM NALU

Western province chamber of commerce and industry says Lands secretary Pepi Kimas may have been negligent when he issued leases over 1.25 million hectares of customary land in the North Fly district  on Sept 23 this year.

A landowners’ meeting, the subject of an AAP report published in The National last Friday, was told that there was prime facie evidence that Kimas and/or his responsible officers had acted “at best negligently and possibly corruptly” when he issued the three leases.

“Firstly, the lease over the 632,538 ha. In the Nomad District was issued by the secretary in the name of Tosigiba Investment Ltd,” chamber acting president Warren Dutton said yesterday (Tuesday, November 02, 2010).

“The chairman of the Tosigiba Timber Group Ltd, which was incorporated 1996, and which has 79 of its 82 issued shares held by integrated land groups (ILGs) which represent the customary landowners of much but definitely all of the land included within the lease boundaries, told the meeting that he had no knowledge of or connection with Tosigiba Investment Ltd, in whose name the lease over his people’s land had been issued.

“Secondly, the chairman and others from the Nomad area told the meeting that they had negotiated with the proposed developer to give them (timber) rights over a corridor 5km either side of the road alignment, which the developer agreed to construct in consideration for those rights.”

Dutton said the area over which they had agreed to give these rights would be approximately 100,000ha; however, Kimas had issued a special agricultural and business lease for 99 years over all the land owned by all of the members of all the 79 ILGs.

He said this included all of the land of all of all of the other villages living in the Nomad district who were not party to the negotiations for the road alignment.

“Not one village house, nor one sago tree is excluded from this lease,” Dutton said.

“The lease is also issued over the top of long-existing leases for mission purposes.

“How can the secretary of Lands be so credulous as to believe that any Papua New Guinean Villager would or could be prepared to cede absolutely all of his land to the State for 99 years?

“Surely he, or his responsible officers, should have referred back to the Kiunga and Nomad district lands officers for confirmation that all the villagers really did agree to give away absolutely all of their land.

“By not doing so, surely he has acted, at least, negligently in the performance of his statutory duties.”

Touched by a Kokoda angel

By MALUM NALU

The heartbreaking loss of an expectant young Kokoda woman in 2008 turns into a blessing for all of Kokoda on the inaugural Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels Day to be held there tomorrow.

The Kokoda ambulance at St John’s Ambulance yard at Rainbow in Port Moresby.-Picture by JEFF KEOUGH

Indilah Sakiki, from Waju village in Kokoda, died of cerebral malaria on July 22, 2008 and because of the transport difficulties in getting her to hospital.

Her death so touched Australian Jeff Keough, a good mate and former workmate of her husband Daniel Sakiki, that he started an organisation called Kokoda Angels to raise funds for an ambulance in memory of Indilah Sakiki for the people of Kokoda.

For the last two years, he has been single-handedly approaching people and organisations in Australia to help the people of Kokoda, the start of the famous Kokoda Track which saved Australia during World War 11.

Such has been the response that Keough has been able to bring a fully-kitted Toyota Landcruiser ambulance, the first of its kind in the country, into Port Moresby.

He was planning to fly into it into Kokoda today by helicopter, in time for Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels Day celebrations, however, a last-minute change of plans means the ambulance will be shipped into Popondetta on Nov 9 and then driven to Kokoda.

“Kokoda Angels started when my friend’s wife died of malaria seven months into her pregnancy,” Keough, who is married to a Papua New Guinean woman, told me.

“Because there was no vehicle in that area, I started a charity to raise support and get an ambulance vehicle and medical assistance.

“It’s been two years now since it was started.

“The vehicle has been here in Port Moresby, at St John’s Ambulance, for three months now, where we’ve been preparing it for Kokoda as well as trying to organise transport.”

Front view of the Kokoda ambulance

Keough said the ambulance would not have been possible without the help of Sandvik Mining (which donated the vehicle), Penrite, Kumho Tyres, Alltrac 4WD, Century Batteries, Roof Rack City, Terrain Tamer, Speedy Wheels, Variety Masters, Consort Shipping, SBS Electrical, St John’s Ambulance and South Australian premier Mike Rann.

“It will be used to support the 15 aids posts in ward 10, Kokoda,” he said.

“We’re working together with Kokoda Foundation, who have helped with supply of medical kits and we’ll be helping to transport patients.

“The truck is a mining service vehicle so it’s extra heavy-duty, has lock-up cabinets and we’ve put beds and canopy at the back for patients.

“It’s been fitted with a bulbar and winch, radio, spot lights and siren.”

Keough is no newcomer to PNG, having assisted PNG as a volunteer and aid worker during the 1994 volcanic eruptions in Rabaul, 1999 El Nino-induced drought, 1998 Aitape tsunami, 2007 Northern province cyclone and many others.

He asked people who were willing to assist Kokoda Angels to contact him on mobile 73368478 or visit its website http://www.kokodaangels.com.

‘Pink Ladies’ of Lae raise K11, 000 for cancer ward

By MALUM NALU

Lae Golf Club lady members last Saturday hosted a 'Pink Walk' to raise funds for the cancer ward at Angau Hospital.

The ‘Pink Ladies’ and children of Lae Golf Club after their fundraising walk which netted K11,000 for Angau Hospital’s cancer ward last Saturday.-Pictures by PETER BOYD

 With entry fees and business houses wholeheartedly supporting the event a total of K11, 000 was raised.

 Club captain Peter Boyd said a total 45 children and 30 adults – all dressed in pink – walked the course on a fine and sunny Lae day.

 “After the walk, a senior nurse from the cancer ward, Sr Doreen Pepi,  explained the symptoms and causes of cancer and stressed the importance of early detection,” he said.

 “Several of the ladies on the walk had faced cancer previously.

 “These ladies talked through there own experiences of battling this disease and it was an extremely moving to listen to these brave women.

 “The walk will become an annual event.”

 The walk was outstanding in that it was organised by an all-national women crew from the Lae Golf Club.

National Capital District receives Kingal

 Hundreds of Christians, tribesmen and women and curious members of the public turned up at the Jackson Airport yesterday afternoon to receive the remains of the late evangelist, Pastor Joseph Kingal, The National reports.

The casket was accompanied from Lae by the late pastor’s wife Susan and their children, friends and relatives and members of the Joseph Kingal Ministry. Kingal was killed in a vehicle accident at Zumim Bridge in Morobe. 

Today’s funeral service will be held at 1pm at the Assemblies of God Conner Stone church in Gordon.-Nationalpics by EKAR KEAPU

Rambi removed

Change in cabinet hits highlands MPs

THE Highlands faction of the National Alliance party suffered a blow yesterday when Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare “demoted” Internal Security Minister Sani Rambi, The National reports.

The prime minister called a meeting of cabinet ministers and announced he was removing Rambi as internal security minister. He moved Rambi to labour and industrial relations and switched Mark Maipakai to internal security.

The move created a murmur among MPs from the highlands region.

Sources told The National last night that Deputy Prime Minister Don Polye, who is deputy leader NA in charge of highlands region, was not consulted about the move.

A number of cabinet ministers contacted last night confirmed the change.

“It is the prerogative of the prime minister to make changes in cabinet,” a minister said when contacted last night.

The changes were unclear but sources said the police force would also see major changes to its hierarchy.

The move would trigger political ripples in the lead-up to the parliament sitting in two weeks, in which Speaker Jeffery Nape was certain to allow a notice on a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister on the floor of parliament.

There were concerns among government circles last night that such an action could provide the opening the opposition needed to talk to factions within government to give credibility to its move to oust the government.

Only last week, Rambi and Police Commissioner Gari Baki brought a submission to cabinet to secure K10 million to urgently fund police operations for the security of the PNG LNG project.

It was said the urgent submission was necessary because of threats by investors and companies involved in the LNG project to pull out due to law and order issues.

It was not clear if this would be followed through by Maipakai.

Rambi is the MP for Mul-Baiyer in the Western Highlands.

Together with Governor Tom Olga and Polye, they form the core of the strong presence of the National Alliance in the highlands region.

But, Rambi had, in the past, been accused of conflicts of interest where his hire car company had benefited financially from the presence and operations of police in the highlands region.

Rambi had maintained that he never used his position to benefit his vehicle hire company.

Prime Minister slams bid for super hospital

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare has slammed the proposed new K500 million super hospital being pushed by Health Minister Sasa Zibe, The National reports.

The hospital has the backing of Zibe and Planning Minister Paul Tiensten.

But the prime minister had directed that no more public funds be used to pay for the Pacific Medical Centre project.

He directed Zibe to redirect any funds committed to improving the provision of current public health services.

The proposed hospital had become political and a topic of debate among respected figures in the medical fraternity.

It was suggested in a paid newspaper advertisement last Friday that the prime minister had met and spoke to former US president Bill Clinton about the project in New York last year and both men were keen to see it get off the ground.

But, Sir Michael said in an Oct 20, 2010, letter to Zibe that he was not convinced about the usefulness of the project.

“The irony of the whole issue is that the national government cannot even maintain, at a respectable and physical level, the current hospitals and health facilities,” the prime minister stated in the letter.

“This is compounded by the fact that the national government cannot effectively deliver basic health services, let alone guarantee the supply of basic drugs to the public.

“And, yet, we want to build a new 300-bed international hospital?”

The prime minister said referral hospitals, provincial hospitals, district health centres and medical posts were currently in shameful dilapidated states.

“Basic drugs cannot be assured and delivered to these hospitals and health institutions and, yet, the national government wants to spend millions of kina on this project that has questionable value to our general populace.

“I am not convinced of the usefulness of this Pacific Medical Centre project at this stage.”

He said his office had gone through the submission and had found that the accompanying documents were “sugar coated” with the intention to deceive cabinet members to support the project.

He said many local and US/global partners, mentioned in the accompanying documentation as supporting the project, had since disclaimed their interests.

Villagers shut airport

THE Tari Airport was yesterday shut down by villagers who are demanding K17 million in compensation for the land the airstrip is on, The National reports.

The villagers took over the airfield yesterday and issued demands for the Civil Aviation Authority, airlines and companies involved in the PNG LNG project not to use the airstrip.

Planes flying into the airstrip were diverted elsewhere.

A Twin-Otter belonging to Airlines PNG landed with some goods for the LNG project site.

A Tari town resident said villagers entered the airstrip and told the pilot of the aircraft that he was not to return again.

Passengers with tickets for an Air Niugini flight to Port Moresby were asked to go to Mt Hagen or Mendi to rebook.

An upgrade of the airport funded by the Southern Highlands government has also been halted.

Deputy Prime Minister Don Polye last night expressed concern about the forced closure of the airstrip.

“Such behaviour of the villagers is always a concern for the government.

“Closing the airstrip will not solve any problems.

“If they have a compensation claim, they should bring it through the proper channel.

“If it is genuine, it will be given due attention.

“The government will always try to address land issues through the proper channel and the villagers and their leaders must recognise this,” he said.

Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru was not available for comments last night.

Education Minister James Marape, who is Tari MP, said there could be no claim to the land where the “old” airport was.

Marape said landowners could claim compensation for the land to be taken up for the airport expansion.

“The old airport land has already been purchased, whatever the purchase price was in the past,” he added.

“No one can claim for this. For the land to be acquired for the airport expansion, we will discuss land acquisition with landowners.

“Evaluation and surveying for this and Tari town development is underway by a surveying firm. No one should close the airstrip.

“It’s been operating for 58 years and people should respect it.

“I’m speaking both as an MP and landowner of the town,” Marape said.

North Fly MP wants new Ok Tedi mine extension agreement

North Fly MP Boka Kondra has called for a totally new agreement if the mine life of giant OK Tedi gold and copper mine in the Western province is to be extended from after 2013.

Kondra noted with grave concern that there were some serious outstanding landowner issues that should be addressed properly before the Ok Tedi mine extension.

He highlighted that important issues to be addressed and built into the new agreement should include:

         Proper genealogical survey with full social mapping identifying all landowner tribes in project and affected areas for adequate compensation, royalties and benefit sharing arrangements;

         18% share equity formerly held by Inmet Mining Ltd to be given to an umbrella company representing all local landowner and affected communities; and

         A comprehensive environmental impact mitigation plan with no further disposal of toxic mine waste, tailings and sediments into the already heavily polluted Fly River system.

Kondra said these were pertinent issues that must be addressed fully by Ok Tedi Mining Company, BHP, PNG Sustainable Development Programme, National and Western Provincial Governments and landowners.

"Ok Tedi is an ecological catastrophe," he said.

"There should be no review or 10th Supplement Agreement, but a totally new agreement.

"Failure to do so will fuel existing tensions and landowner concerns.

"My people's concerns must be addressed. If not, the mine must close in 2013 as originally planned."

His comments followed the recent announcement by Ok Tedi Mining Company that it was examining new pollution controls as part of a feasibility study for a seven-year extension of the mine's life.

Ok Tedi mine started producing gold and copper in 1987 and was originally scheduled to close in 2013, but the company was undertaking a feasibility study to push that out to 2022.

The new mine plan would see output reduced by one-third, to around 100,000 tones of copper and 350,000 ounces of gold a year.

Ok Tedi Mining Limited managing director, Alan Breen has said that the new plan would not be the same as current mining operations.

"It's open cut mining which is quite different to what we are proposing in the future," he said.

"The feasibility study that we are currently undertaking would involve the operation of two small underground mines which produce very little waste and an open-cut operation which would produce a significant amount of waste.

"As part of the study though, we are looking at designing and constructing a stable waste rock dump at the mine which would prevent that waste flowing into the river system so quite a substantial change from our current practices."

The extension would create 14 million tones of waste rock.

 Currently waste rock goes into the Ok Tedi River but Breen says he hopes that will change.

"We are looking at designing a stable waste rock dump which would prevent that waste flowing into the river system," he said.

Breen says more engineering work must be done to discover if is the dump is feasible.

Ok Tedi currently generates 20% of Papua New Guinea's gross domestic product.

With big new projects like the PNG LNG project not expected to come on stream until 2014, the extension of Ok Tedi will be an attractive prospect.

Consultations have already begun but Breen says the process has a way to go.

"The process as it currently stands is that our people are currently doing the environmental impact studies and we are well down the track with those, we are probably 75-80 per cent complete on those." he said.

"The next thing we have to do is complete them by the end of October.

"We need to pass this information on to the state and they will have a team of independent advisers who will have a look at the information we have prepared and they will make recommendations and assessments, and provide them to not only government, but the communities.

"On the basis of that feedback, the communities then will have a decision to make on whether or not they can live with those impacts. "

 Breen said the study was to be completed by November 2010.

The company expects to finish consultations with communities and the government by the end of this year.

However, Kondra said in view of the extended mine life, it was imperative for all stakeholders to establish dialogue for a completely new agreement if the mine is to be extended after 2013.

Utilisation of agricultural biodiversity in times of need

By JEFFREY WAKI and SENIORL ANZU of NARI

PNG has a taro dversity of over 800 varieties

The United Nations proclaimed 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, and people all over the world are working to safeguard this irreplaceable natural wealth and reduce biodiversity loss.

This is vital for current and future human wellbeing.

 It is a concern that is uttered everywhere that rich diversities in biological resources are being lost at an accelerated rate because of human activities.

This impoverishes us all as it weakens the ability of the living systems, which we depend on, to resist growing threats such as climate change.

The biodiversity that is currently utilised and which is continuously sourced to bring about increased dependence on agriculture is under the greatest challenges.

Climate change is imposing an unprecedented threat to livelihoods and food security with great impacts overtime and across diverse locations globally.

This will seriously affect millions of farmers whose livelihoods depend on subsistence agriculture.

The Tsukuba Declaration on adapting agriculture to climate change unanimously declared that throughout the Asia-Pacific climate change will significantly increase regional temperature, reduce water availability and erode coastal land as sea level rises.

Papua New Guinea is known to experience cyclic dry and wet periods induced by El Niño and La Nina, which can severely cut back crop production by reducing the duration of cultivation and increasing threats from pest and disease occurrences.

In subsistence communities, a single crop failure can spell disaster for farmers and their families. Already, there appears to be an intensification of pest and disease problems in PNG, including late blight on potatoes, leaf scab on sweet potatoes, varroa mites attack on pollinator bees and cocoa pod borer.

There are projected reductions in the length of growing seasons which could force large regions of marginal agriculture totally out of production.

This could lead to a reduction in crop yield of up to 50% in some countries.

Hence, adaptation strategies are urgently needed!

The PNG agriculture sector needs to mobilise, prioritise and allocate its resources in anticipation of the predicted calamities.

In response, NARI is currently executing a study to match seeds to the needs of farmers for adaptation in times of climate change.

 In this new initiative, agricultural stakeholders of PNG and abroad are focusing on matching local varieties of sweet potato and taro with regions in PNG that are under threat from the phenomenon.

Sweet potato and taro have been chosen because they are PNG’s most important staple crops and that National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) also conserves highest number under ex situ (i.e. away from their native habitat) condition.

Sweet potato alone accounts for 66% of total staple crop production in the country while taro receives first and second staple status in most coastal regions.

This research supported by the Global Crop Diversity Trust (a multinational organisation) is underway in PNG to screen highland sweet potato germplasm for climate induced stresses.

Other complementary work includes an ongoing project on sweet potato pests and diseases, and sweet potato post-harvest handling.

For taro, a NARI project is identifying hybrid lines that are resistant to leaf blight disease and the Global Crop Diversity Trust project is underway on drought and salinity tolerance in the lowlands.

The project titled ‘Matching Seeds to Needs: using locally available varieties for adapting to climate change and improving the livelihoods of farmers in PNG’ was launched in June 2010 in Lae.

 The activities will be undertaken by NARI and key stakeholders over the next three years.

The initiative is funded by Bioversity International- UK to the value of US$300,000.

The other partners include the Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA), PNG Women in Agriculture Development Foundation (PNGWiADF), and the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT), Fiji.

Under this initiative, the regions in PNG under greatest threat from climate change will be identified by using the global climate models.

Varieties of sweet potato and taro that are well-adapted to the predicted future climates will be matched to these target areas so that they can continue to have optimum yields under future climatic conditions.

Seeds of these adapted varieties will be made available to farmers through community-based seed multiplication and delivery systems with the help of local community based organisations, churches and agri-businesses.

With seeds adapted to their needs, communities at risk will be able to sustain agricultural production despite changes in climatic conditions.

By working with the partners, including local communities and women’s groups, the project’s activities will strengthen the resilience of agricul tural systems by identifying more stress-resistant varieties of sweet potato and taro currently being conserved to ensure that small farmers who maintain native staple crop diversity do not fall deeper into poverty.

 NARI conserves up to 1,500 and 700 accessions of sweet potato and taro respectively collected throughout PNG in various expeditions.

Under the arrangement, Bioversity will be responsible for climate predictions and application of state-of-the-art models for identifying well-adapted crop genetic diversity.

NARI will provide crop passport and other associated information, planting materials and field personnel in conducting the various components of the project.

Both organisations will be responsible for identifying the most useful varieties with participation from targeted farmers.

The CePaCT will maintain elite lines selected through this project and make available planting materials and information to researchers and farmers in PNG and other countries.

Technical contributions, including training will be provided through complementary funding from the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

The PNGWiADF will play a key role in ensuring the participation of women farmers while FPDA will link communities on a broader scale with their established rural network in variety selection and dissemination effort.

By improving the resilience and adaptation of agricultural systems in PNG, this project will safeguard both food security and livelihoods of local farmers.

Bewani project sets benchmark for oil palm development

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

  

The development of the 140,000ha multi-million kina Bewani oil palm project in West Sepik province will set a benchmark for agro-forestry development in Papua New Guinea.

A woman performing a fire dance

Abau MP Sir Puka Temu described the historic signing of the project development agreement last Thursday as a major achievement by the local landowners led by Vanimo-Green MP Belden Namah and their joint investor partners from Malaysia.

Sir Puka, who delivered the keynote address at Waramei in Bewani, told the huge crowd that the proposed oil palm development was the biggest in the province and PNG and would bring enormous benefits and boost the economy.

Prosper Group chairman Tee Kim Tee is all smiles flanked by the chairman of four landowner companies and officials at the signing ceremony

 He said the landowners, community and province would experience changes in their living standards, with improved infrastructure and better basic services.

The Bewani project, covering some 139,909ha and involving more than 120 incorporated land groups (ILGs) is a major impact project.

The company plans to develop over 80,000ha of oil palm, making this the single largest oil palm development in the country.

About 8,000-10,000 people are expected to benefit from the project.

Sir Puka said PNG was blessed with vast natural renewable resources as well as non-renewable resources; however, it was up to the resource owners and their leaders to work closely to make these resources to become beneficial and improve the lives of the people. 

company and landowner representatives join hands to seal the agreement

 He commended Namah for his initiative in supporting the oil palm project and ensuring that development took place in his electorate.

Sir Puka also praised the developers for agreeing to provide several incentives as part of the project agreement package, including a 15% free shareholding for landowner companies; a housing scheme to ensure majority of landowners had access to basic housing; provision of subsidies for education, health and church; and establishment of infrastructure and other basic services.

Namah said the agreement was far more beneficial for the landowners compared to similar agro-forestry agreements in other provinces.

He called on his people to give their full support and effort and work hard to make the project a reality and more successful.

He appealed to the people to change their bad habits like drinking and gambling and to focus on getting the project up and running smoothly.

Namah also called on relevant government agencies and the provincial administration to give their full support.

Chairman of Prosper Group of Malaysia, the major investment partner, Tee Kim Tee, said it was a historic occasion for his company to join with Vanimo landowners to develop the oil palm project which would bring benefits to the local people and community.

The oil palm development will create employment opportunities, boost infrastructure and provide basic services for landowners, community and province.

The Prosper Group, he said, had over 30 years experience in oil palm industry with over 32 oil palm plantations, seven oil mills and bio-diesel plants in Malaysia.

The vast experience and knowledge would be put to use in PNG to plant between 6,000-10,000ha of oil palm each year and build four oil mills, making Bewani project the biggest and most successful.

This young lass was among hundreds of villagers who attended the ceremony at Waramei

 Anglimp-South Wahgi MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham said oil palm had great potential in PNG and foreign investors were welcome to invest, however, authorities must ensure that land and resource owners fully benefitted from such development.

He said PNG has many natural resources which must be used wisely to enable the people to benefit.

Provincial administrator Joseph Sungi said 140,000ha was a huge area for the oil palm project and would not be easy to develop.

He said the developers would require massive labor to work on the project.

 He commended all the parties involved for having confidence in the Bewani oil palm project and assured them of provincial administration support.

Big interest in beekeeping in Goroka

By TELLA LOIE

A total of 50 farmers successfully completed a honey bee beginner’s training workshop held in Goroka recently.

The bee farmers and trainers outside  Goroka council chambers.-Picture by TELLA LOIE

The farmers, both men and women from the Goroka district, have had no training previously while others were newcomers to the honey bee industry.

The week-long training was funded by Goroka MP, Thompson Haroquave, and conducted by the bee team comprising of team leader and Eastern Highlands provincial apiculture officer Tella Loie, Isten Hailans Beekeepers Association chairman Jonah Buka, zone coordinator/beekeeper Wilson Tomato, beekeeper Aya Sam and Department of Agriculture and Livestock acting programme manager Joachim Waugla.

Loie and the bee team, which has conducted similar training in Madang and Bulolo, normally train 15 to 20 people but the Goroka one was a big surprise when 50 people turned up.

The one-week workshop enriched those who knew little about the bees while others were very excited about the new concept.

The farmers were taught all aspects of beekeeping, from goals and responsibilities to knowing the hive parts, what protective gear to use against bee stings, honeybee family, how to get started to site selection, beehive management, pests and diseases, swarming and swarm control, queen bees, harvesting, processing, packaging and marketing.

One condition for the participants to qualify for a certificate was for each participant to get stung by a bee.

This was to see if the ‘would be beekeepers’ were allergic to bee stings or not.

Loie said it was the first time that an Eastern Highlands MP had taken the lead to fund beekeeping training.

The MP had also funded a similar training programme on how to grow African yams, an initiative to prepare for the 2012 drought.

Loie urged other MPs to do likewise and fund farmer training programmes in various agricultural activities.

 Participants expressed their gratitude and appreciation to Haroquave for his foresight and vision for the people of Goroka.

Pulex Oti from Hegu village, Kabiufa, said beekeeping could be fun, enjoyable and very challenging if one was serious about it.

Pulex started beekeeping in 2003.

He currently owns 40 beehives.

He sells his honey to New Guinea Fruit Company based in Goroka.

He said the current price for the honey was K9 –K10/kg.

Oti appealed to participants to take beekeeping seriously as it was an impact project and fitted in well into the subsistent way of life.

Buka, on behalf of the participants, thanked Haroquave and the district administration for the commitment towards the training.

He said that the MP had purchased 120 beehives, a honey extractor, protective gear and others.

 He also thanked the bee team for giving the participants life skills training.

Lae farewells Kingal

No public viewing after body ‘had been outside for more than 72 hours’

By RIGGO NANGAN

The casket containing the remains of Joseph Kingal at the funeral service in Lae, Morobe, yesterday afternoon

THOUSANDS of Lae residents flocked into the Sir Ignatius Kilage stadium yesterday afternoon to farewell evangelist Joseph Kingal, The National reports.

The people were not allowed to view his body because it “had stayed out for more than 72 hours” after he died when his Toyota troop carrier flipped over four times at Mutzing on the Highlands Highway on Oct 18, officials at the funeral said.

The Joseph Kingal Ministry’s board had kept him at their headquarters at Omili and “petitioned God to return his spirit or give them a sign”.

Church officials did not clarify whether they had received any sign.

His white casket was surrounded by his wife Susan and children Shekiana, 14, Jordan, 10, Joshua, 8, and four-year-old Elshadai. All the children did not show any signs of injury.

Shekiana climbed steadily to the stage and delivered a poem she had written for her father while her mother sat with her head in a scarf under a tent nursing a broken arm and a strapped ankle.

Dignitaries, including Morobe Governor Luther Wenge and Dei MP Puri Ruing, were allowed to lay wreaths along with hundreds of other mourners.

The funeral costs, from the staging at the stadium to the flights to Port Moresby today and then Mt Hagen on Wednesday, were met by the Morobe provincial government.

Wenge’s reason: Kingal had started and based his ministry in Lae.

“Even though he was a Western Highlander, he was a true son of Morobe.

“We, Morobeans, had taken the Good News to the highlands, but he had brought it back to us and taken it abroad.”

Wenge also delivered a cheque for K10,000 to Kingal’s wife to cover costs.

Kingal was born to Tengi Koka and Kimnistengi in Gumanch village, Dei council area of Western Highlands, on Nov 25, 1969.

While still a student at Unitech in 1990, he was baptised at the Bumbu River and was said to have received a prophetic vision to preach the Word of God.

From 1996 to 2004, Kingal moved between settlements in Lae preaching God’s messages. It was during the time in the settlement ministering that he started focusing on ministering abroad.

With help of business friends in Lae, Kingal made his first ministry abroad to Brisbane, Australia, in 1997.

His ministry bought off the old Tanubada Dairy Product facilities at Ngamli Street, Omili, in Lae in 2004 to become the base of Joseph Kingal Ministry.

Ruing said on behalf of the family that they did not know how effective Kingal’s ministry had on people until the funeral where they saw people from all parts of PNG attending.

 “We, the people of Dei and Western Highlands, are surprised to see all these people here today.

“We can see the impact our son’s ministry has had on people,” Ruing said.

He said the families of Kingal were thankful to the Morobe government and its people for their generosity.

Ruing said his families and tribesmen dressed themselves in PNG colours to the funeral, instead of the normal body paintings with mud and clay, because the late pastor was a patriot and a Papua New Guinean.

A$24m micro-finance plan

By PATRICK TALU

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Australian government will support a A$24 million (K62 million) project to help rural communities in Papua New Guinea access credit and financial services, The National reports.

In a statement last Friday, ADB said the microfinance expansion project was  expected to generate jobs and boost growth in some of the country’s poorest and most isolated regions.

ADB said lack of access to finance is a major constraint to rural development in PNG.

It estimated that only 15% of the population had access to formal or informal banking facilities, and many parts of the country still used a non-monetary barter system for transactions.

“This project would help rural areas move from a subsistence to a modern cash-based economy and in the process it would increase incomes and reduce poverty by stimulating informal business activity,” Robert Wihtol, director general of ADB’s Pacific department, said.

ADB’s loan, from its concessional Asian development fund, covers 54% of the project cost of A$24.06 million.

The loan has a 32-year term, including a grace period of eight years.

Interest is charged at 1% per annum during the grace period and 1.5% per year for the rest of the term.

AusAID will provide a grant of A$6 million to be administered by ADB. The government of PNG and project beneficiaries will cover the remaining cost of A$3.09 million.

The project is due for completion by the end of 2017.

The project would extend and build on the experiences and lessons learned from ADB’s microfinance and employment project, also co-financed by the Australian government through AusAID, an eight-year project that began in 2002 and established a solid base for microfinance in PNG.

The new project would strengthen industry regulation and bolster the capacity of lenders to deliver a wider range of financial services and products in rural areas, with a focus on lending to micro and small enterprises, and especially to women, who struggle to access credit and income-generating opportunities.

“Making financial services more accessible to people in rural areas enables  them to save money in a more secure way, provides them with an efficient means of transferring funds for personal and business transactions, and allows them to borrow to start up a business,” Eugenue Zhukov, regional director of ADB’s Pacific liaison and coordination offfice in Sydney.

Wingti bids farewell to Pora

By YVONNE HAIP

THOUSANDS of people turned up last Saturday at the Tega ceremonial grounds to bid farewell to former Mt Hagen MP Paul Pora, The National reports.

After a funeral service, the late Pora was finally laid to rest at Kum Kona in Dobel where he grew up as a child.

Former prime minister Paias Wingti also attended the burial among family members, friends, the Yamka people, community leaders and business people.

Wingti paid his respects and praised Pora for quality leadership that he had displayed during his reign as a three-term parliamentarian.

Wingti described Pora as an honest and humble leader who came from humble beginnings with a vision to lead with transparency and accountability.

He said today’s leadership was infected with corruption and malpractices.

He said that there were some who were living off government handouts and, due to these bad habits, leaders were travelling around with heavy police escorts unlike in the past.

Wingti said when Pora was finance minister during the height of the Bougainville crisis, he had run the country on a budget of K1.8 billion compared to the current K6 billion.

He said Pora had managed the people’s money well and was a true leader who had the heart for his people.

Wingti added that Pora was a businessman before he entered politics, and did not steal the people’s money.

Speaker holds key

SENIOR coalition leaders in government are trying to talk Speaker Jeffery Nape into preventing the notice of a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister from being entertained when parliament convenes in two weeks, The National reports.

Sources in Waigani told The National that two senior government leaders visited Nape, who was holidaying in Cairns, Australia, last week.

Nape had been unimpressed by the failure of the government to release funds he had requested to carry out urgent maintenance in parliament since the house rose in July.

A notice of a motion of no-confidence was already with the speaker to remove Sir Michael Somare as prime minister. It named Sir Puka Temu as the alternate prime minister.

“The notice is there, and it is up to the speaker to bring it to the floor to be entertained,” a source said.

“I believe the speaker will allow the vote to take place.”

The opposition does not have the numbers at present, and would have to rely on government MPs breaking ranks to topple the PM. And, if the last sitting was any indication, it could happen.

It was understood the opposition was talking to factions in government, and would likely nominate a highlands MP for prime minister to attract the numbers to remove Sir Michael.

Leader of PNG Party Belden Namah reiterated last night the opposition was committed to removing the Somare-Polye government in this month’s sitting of parliament.

“The opposition is confident of forming the next government so long as the speaker is impartial and does not hijack the democratic and parliamentary processes,” he said.

He said that the people did not believe in the manner in which the country was run by a kitchen cabinet and there was a need for change.

Sir Puka, who travelled with Namah to Vanimo last week for the Bewani oil palm project signing, said the government needed to change with most indicators going backwards.

Also in Vanimo were member for Anglimp-South Waghi Jamie Maxtone-Graham, Markham MP Koni Iguan and member for Telefomin Peter Iwei.