Tragic end for lady cop

Caption: End of the road ... Mt Hagen General Hospital officers carrying a body bag containing the remains of wanted robber Pawa Moni from a stretcher on Saturday morning. Monitoring the transfer is a policeman.

Wanted robber blows himself and policewoman up

A POLICEWOMAN was killed when a suspected bank robber and killer accidentally blew himself up with a hand grenade while being arrested in Mt Hagen last Friday night, The National reports.

Three other policemen were also critically injured in the explosion inside a police vehicle at the Wamp Nga fuel station in Western Highlands province.

The man, wanted by police for a string of criminal offences, including bank robbery and murder, was identified as Pawa Moni, 35, from Kelua 2 village, outside Mt Hagen city.

The policewoman was identified as Selly Mol, 25, from Waghi bridge in the North Waghi district.

She was married to Tony Taia, a teacher from Kerowagi district, Simbu province.

Ms Mol leaves two children, her first born son David, two, and four-month-old baby girl Kala.

Western Highlands police commander ACP Simon Kauba said on Saturday morning Moni was wanted for robbing Bank South Pacific’s automatic telling machine (ATM) in Lae in 2006 and the murder of a security guard last year.

The Guard Dog Security officer was killed during an armed robbery at the Mainland Holdings office in Dobel.

ACP Kauba said Moni was also wanted for breaking into the office of Niugini Oil in Mt Hagen a few years ago, fleeing with K41,000 in valuables and cash.

He said Moni had gone into hiding until Friday when he was spotted in a PMV bus at the petrol kiosk.

Following a tip-off between 6.30pm and 7pm, ACP Kauba said the nightshift policemen and Ms Mol rushed to the fuel station and ordered Moni out of the bus.

“They put Moni into the police vehicle but they failed to search him properly,” ACP Kauba said.

Ms Mol then got into the front seat with the driver, Const Donald Mata.

“Moni jumped from his back seat, took out a hand grenade and struggled to escape through the front side of the vehicle where Ms Mol was seated.

“In the struggle, the hand grenade’s pin came off.

“Const Mata then opened the door and jumped out.

“Unfortunately, he and the other two policemen at the back were all critically injured,” ACP Kauba said.

He said Ms Mol could not make it out on time and she was also killed in the explosion with Moni inside the police vehicle.

ACP Kauba described Ms Mol as a dedicated policewoman and “we are all very sad to lose such a dedicated member of the force”.

He said Chief Sgt Pius Nukundi, First Const Paul Pora and First Const Mata were admitted to Mt Hagen General Hospital’s surgical ward in critical conditions.

Moni’s remains were removed from the police vehicle on Saturday morning and sent to the hospital mortuary.

The Mt Hagen general duty counter was closed on Saturday morning for a few hours after explosion.

Curious Mt Hagen city residents and villagers, who heard about the incident, turn up at the scene in droves to get a closer look at the body in the police vehicle.

Police barricaded the main road between the Wamp Nga fuel station and International Education Academy (IEA).

The road was cleared to traffic after Moni’s remains were removed at about 10am

Women impress Sir Michael

THE Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has praised the women of Papua New Guinea for staging the first-ever Women in Business expo in Lae, The National reports.

And he pledged the Government’s support to ensure women participate meaningfully in businesses to improve the living standards of their families.

Sir Michael travelled to Lae to officially open the three-day expo telling the women who had traveled in from all corners of the country to ensure they speak with “one voice” in business.

“I am pleased to see many women getting involved in small businesses,” Sir Michael said before touring the exhibitions staged by the women.

As he moved from tent to tent, the Prime Minister could not help but marvel at the quality of the products the women produced.

He saw soap being produced from coconut oil, candles, various oils, clothing tailored by the women in far away bush land, fish grown by women in far away places such as Mt Wilhelm, mats woven by Gulf and Central province women, garden produce such as giant yams from Finschhafen and many more.

He told the women to forget about their differences and work as a united team in developing businesses to help themselves and their families.

The Prime Minister said he was impressed with the initiative taken by the women to showcase products they themselves had made with their own hands.

He said last year, the Government approved K10 million to help women start small-scale businesses through the National Microbank.

Sir Michael said the government would consider increasing financial support to ensure women had access to more funds to develop their small businesses.

He also pledged to talk with his deputy, Sir Puka Temu, to make a portion of land that the women want in Port Moresby available to them to build a centre for their training and various business activities.

The matter was raised at the official opening by the founder of PNG Women in Business Janet Sape.

On Saturday night, Commerce and Industry Minister Gabriel Kapris assured the women he would work closely with the Prime Minister to see women get increased financial support to develop small- to medium-scale businesses.

Mr Kapris said he was pleased to see women going into downstream processing producing goods such as soap and oils and the government would look at how it could help those women expand such businesses.

 

Parkop launches new 'united' party

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

NCD Governor Powes Parkop has launched a new political party, United Democratic Front, that aims to put an end to corruption, weed out the old political culture of power-play and to chart and a new path of change for future generations, The National reports.

The new political party was launched at the Parliament State Function room on Saturday with more than 500 people with K100 registration to become founding members.

The party has been registered with Investment Promotion Authority but the mooted party name that will be confirmed before the elections is Social Democratic Party.

The State Function room was filled with more than 500 people from all walks of life and ethnic groups crammed together knee to knee sitting down to witness the occasion and be a part of the new movement.

Another 100 more were not allowed in because of space limitations and waited outside the main gate.

The registration of 540 people to form the new party also fulfills two requirements of the Organic Law on Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) for a minimum of 500 members and K10, 000 registration with the Office of the Registrar.

“On July 23, 2007, we made a break when you elected me as governor which shows your desire for change,” Mr Parkop said, adding that Port Moresby made a loud statement at that time and if Port Moresby could change than PNG would change.

“We need change; we have to put an end to our political culture and leadership culture.”

Mr Parkop said currently, politics was about power play and politics of convenience and gave an example of the Prime Minister announcing to make a reshuffle because some ministers had not performed or were allegedly involved in scandals.

“If Sir Mekere Morauta and Bart Philemon are genuine, they can talk to the Prime Minister and remove and invite the Opposition into Government.”

He said this was not happening and the Opposition was talking to the same ministers facing the axe to move a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister.

“We have to weed out this old political culture. Parliament is too much about power politics, power-play and politics of convenience.”

He said the message out there now was people want change and the creation of the new party was the vehicle to drive that change.

Mr Parkop said Papua New Guinea was not a poor country and had been abundantly blessed by the Creator.

“Papua New Guineans themselves have to be blame for squandering what the Creator has blessed us with.”

He gave examples of countries that lack resources but have flourished including South Korea and Singapore.

“This country is at the cross roads. We have now the LNG project that will bring in huge money but what are the tangible benefits. That is the biggest challenge.

“Are we going to build a better life and future with all our resources? Are we going to leave a legacy for our children? What will we leave for our next generation?”

Mr Parkop said the country needed good quality leadership who could look after all the wealth and ensure this was invested properly for the future.

He said the country currently had three major problems: leadership, management and attitude.

“We need humble, honest and quality leaders and the time to vote following money is over.

“What we want is a movement, a unity of people to go out and identify new honest, quality leaders into Parliament and this new political party will ensure this happens.”

K300m World Bank loan to back women credit

 Loan funds for SMEs, says Kapris

 THE Government is close to finalising a K300 million loan with World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund  (IMF) to help develop small to medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Papua New Guinea, The National reports.

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Gabriel Kapris revealed this at a dinner hosted by the Morobe provincial government in honour of the delegates to the Women in Business expo held in Lae from Friday to today.

He said money from the loan would be available through commercial banks for lending to SME business owners, adding that it was now finalising the risk guarantee scheme with banks.

Mr Kapris said SMEs needed funds to support their development and low interest loans with long-term repayment arrangements were known to be the appropriate way for the small-to-medium size businesses to develop.

He said specific activities such as women in business or agriculture were some of the packages that the Government felt would address this issue.

Apart from K300 million loan being negotiated, Mr Kapris said under his ministry the Small Business Development Corp (SBDC) had placed nearly K2 million as credit guarantee fund with selected banks as security for small businesses that had viable proposals that need funding.

The Government has also allocated K40 million to the SBDC for SME and provided training for Papua New Guineans to run businesses.

A study into the difficulties faced by SMEs has identified appropriate technology as one of the areas that needs to be developed to ensure growth of enterprises in PNG.

Mr Kapris said information technology was also important in securing markets for products of the SMEs, adding his department was devising a list of negative and positive activity to guide small-scale businesses to get them through the first difficulties of doing business.

He highlighted yet again that PNG was a difficult country to do business as there were so many obstacles faced by those who venture into business.

These concerned transport infrastructure, water, power, telecommunication facilities among many other difficulties faced by businesses especially small businesses.

WIB seeks to develop women's microfinancing

THE PNG Women in Business (WIB) and City Mother’s Business Foundation (CMBF) aims to set up a microfinance regime solely for women, according to PNGWIB president Janet Sape, The National reports.

Mrs Sape, who is also the CMBF president, said stringent policies in getting loans from financial institutions prevented many aspiring businesswomen from venturing into small-to-medium (SME) businesses.

She made the comments during the launch of the inaugural WIB expo in Lae at the weekend.

Mrs Sape has urged the Government to assist with the creation of the institution and to legislate a policy that would allow K1 million from the annual K10 million district service improvement programme (DSIP) to be allocated to women’s project.

She said this would enable women to participate equally in business activities.

Mrs Sape said the expo was one of their programmes in partnership with the Small Business Development Corp (SBDC) under the Commerce and Industry that hoped to address issues faced by women entrepreneurs in the country.

It was also an opportunity for women to showcase their various businesses and demonstrate to the Government they have the potential to contribute to economic development, she said.

The expo is also an implementation of the SME policy under the medium-term development policy.

PNGWIB patron Sir Nagora Bogan described the expo as “a milestone for women to move forward and contribute economically”.

He challenged the women to have trust in themselves and take responsibility of their goals as it was crucial for women to be equal partners in the development of the country.

But Sir Nagora said it was also the responsibility of the Government to address policy issues that would address women’s concerns.

 

Here's the story the Post-Courier refuses to run

BY KEITH JACKSON

OBSERVERS OF the media in PNG are scratching their heads and wondering what the link is between carbon trader Kirk Roberts and the Post-Courier newspaper.

It’s not just that the Post-Courier runs stories favourable to Mr Roberts’ activities. Of real concern is the newspaper’s apparent refusal to publish stories that question his activities, even when they are backed up by the PNG Government.

PNG Attitude has been told by a reliable source that a Post-Courier editor has been quizzed on this seeming lack of fairness and balance in its coverage, but brusquely fobbed off questions and criticism of what seems like a badly flawed editorial policy.

Earlier this week the PNG Forest Authority placed an advertisement in the Post-Courier which announced that Roberts’ ‘carbon trading’ activities were under investigation.

Just two days later the Post-Courier ran another uncritical front-page story, which one reader described as “a ridiculous and nonsensical pro-Roberts piece”.

Anyway, thanks to Sky News which did manage to pick up the story, here it is:

'Carbon cowboy' in PNG legal spat

Australia's self-proclaimed 'carbon kingpin' Kirk Roberts is being investigated by a PNG government agency for allegedly misleading villagers in deals he hopes will net millions.

Mr Roberts, a former disqualified Australian horse trainer who also ran a Philippines cock-fighting business, once said he was 'the most beneficial foreigner' for PNG and has travelled across the country promoting carbon trading.

Mr Roberts shrugs off widespread criticisms and is adamant he represents numerous landowner groups who want lucrative carbon projects developed under a voluntary system.

But PNG authorities are worried Mr Roberts is undermining existing forestry laws, possibly misleading landowners in remote areas all while exploiting PNG's lack of national carbon trade legislation and policy.

East Pangia, in PNG's rugged Southern Highlands region, is the latest focus of various conflicting opinions that have flared as Mr Roberts promises what many villagers call 'sky money' - because he appears to be selling air.

PNG's Forest Authority managing director, Kanawi Pouru, has taken out a newspaper advertisement reminding Mr Roberts and landowners that East Pangia has already been allocated for logging.

Mr Pouru told AAP the Forest Management Agreement was one of 10 agreed projects identified for development by PNG's government in 2002.

'Roberts' operation obviously raises concerns for us,' he said.

'Our lawyers believe we have grounds to proceed against any moves that prevent an already existing forest plan.

'A commercial agreement with landowners has been entered.

'They can't sign rights away then reassign them to someone else like Roberts.

'We are not against carbon trading but we are being cautious because there is still a very high risk involved and so many rules that have not been sorted out.

'We need to understand the business first.'

The East Pangia FMA still existed and the logging operation would commence as soon as the agreement was executed next month, Mr Pouru said.

'(Mr Roberts) is being investigated and will be dealt with accordingly,' he said.

Last week Mr Roberts was in East Pangia mapping out a carbon project.

He did not answer (emailed) questions regarding the landowner's sudden switch from forestry to carbon trading, or the scientific credibility of his team.

Kuson Waku, a local landowner representative, told PNG's Post Courier newspaper: 'I want to benefit from all the forest.'

The story, supporting Mr Roberts' carbon trading plan, was accompanied by a photo of two locals each holding dead bush rats and tree kangaroos, with a possible implication that wildlife was under threat from logging.

PNG's Department of Environment and Conservation, Environment Ministry, NGOs and the environmental-law community have all raised concerns about Mr Roberts.

But Mr Roberts is no stranger to controversy.

Last year he was linked to the sacking of a top official after receiving dubious 'sample' carbon credit documents. And Mr Robert's company Nupan is tied to an ongoing government investigation of PNG's embattled, mismanaged and now bankrupt Office of Climate Change.

Adelaide-based company Carbon Planet, eyeing a potential billion dollar carbon trading market, in 2008 gave Mr Roberts $1.1 million for projects in PNG but now refuses to comment on their relationship with him.

In December last year, Carbon Planet's founder and chief operating officer Dave Sag walked out of an SBS television interview when asked about Mr Roberts and their PNG deals.

Here's the story the Post-Courier refuses to run

BY KEITH JACKSON

OBSERVERS OF the media in PNG are scratching their heads and wondering what the link is between carbon trader Kirk Roberts and the Post-Courier newspaper.

It’s not just that the Post-Courier runs stories favourable to Mr Roberts’ activities. Of real concern is the newspaper’s apparent refusal to publish stories that question his activities, even when they are backed up by the PNG Government.

PNG Attitude has been told by a reliable source that a Post-Courier editor has been quizzed on this seeming lack of fairness and balance in its coverage, but brusquely fobbed off  questions and criticism of what seems like a badly flawed editorial policy.

Earlier this week the PNG Forest Authority placed an advertisement in the Post-Courier which announced that Roberts’ ‘carbon trading’ activities were under investigation.

Just two days later the Post-Courier ran another uncritical front-page story, which one reader described as “a ridiculous and nonsensical pro-Roberts piece”.

Anyway, thanks to Sky News which did manage to pick up the story, here it is:

'Carbon cowboy' in PNG legal spat

Australia's self-proclaimed 'carbon kingpin' Kirk Roberts is being investigated by a PNG government agency for allegedly misleading villagers in deals he hopes will net millions.

Mr Roberts, a former disqualified Australian horse trainer who also ran a Philippines cock-fighting business, once said he was 'the most beneficial foreigner' for PNG and has travelled across the country promoting carbon trading.

Mr Roberts shrugs off widespread criticisms and is adamant he represents numerous landowner groups who want lucrative carbon projects developed under a voluntary system.

But PNG authorities are worried Mr Roberts is undermining existing forestry laws, possibly misleading landowners in remote areas all while exploiting PNG's lack of national carbon trade legislation and policy.

East Pangia, in PNG's rugged Southern Highlands region, is the latest focus of various conflicting opinions that have flared as Mr Roberts promises what many villagers call 'sky money' - because he appears to be selling air.

PNG's Forest Authority managing director, Kanawi Pouru, has taken out a newspaper advertisement reminding Mr Roberts and landowners that East Pangia has already been allocated for logging.

Mr Pouru told AAP the Forest Management Agreement was one of 10 agreed projects identified for development by PNG's government in 2002.

'Roberts' operation obviously raises concerns for us,' he said.

'Our lawyers believe we have grounds to proceed against any moves that prevent an already existing forest plan.

'A commercial agreement with landowners has been entered.

'They can't sign rights away then reassign them to someone else like Roberts.

'We are not against carbon trading but we are being cautious because there is still a very high risk involved and so many rules that have not been sorted out.

'We need to understand the business first.'

The East Pangia FMA still existed and the logging operation would commence as soon as the agreement was executed next month, Mr Pouru said.

'(Mr Roberts) is being investigated and will be dealt with accordingly,' he said.

Last week Mr Roberts was in East Pangia mapping out a carbon project.

He did not answer (emailed) questions regarding the landowner's sudden switch from forestry to carbon trading, or the scientific credibility of his team.

Kuson Waku, a local landowner representative, told PNG's Post Courier newspaper: 'I want to benefit from all the forest.'

The story, supporting Mr Roberts' carbon trading plan, was accompanied by a photo of two locals each holding dead bush rats and tree kangaroos, with a possible implication that wildlife was under threat from logging.

PNG's Department of Environment and Conservation, Environment Ministry, NGOs and the environmental-law community have all raised concerns about Mr Roberts.

But Mr Roberts is no stranger to controversy.

Last year he was linked to the sacking of a top official after receiving dubious 'sample' carbon credit documents. And Mr Robert's company Nupan is tied to an ongoing government investigation of PNG's embattled, mismanaged and now bankrupt Office of Climate Change.

Adelaide-based company Carbon Planet, eyeing a potential billion dollar carbon trading market, in 2008 gave Mr Roberts $1.1 million for projects in PNG but now refuses to comment on their relationship with him.

In December last year, Carbon Planet's founder and chief operating officer Dave Sag walked out of an SBS television interview when asked about Mr Roberts and their PNG deals.

Finding local markets is difficult

 Caption: Sesley Mainga from Angoram in East Sepik who travelled all the way to Lae to sell her handicrafts during the expo last Friday.  – Nationalpic by DOREEN POLOH WAIM

 

By DOREEN POLOH WAIM

 

FINDING local markets for traditional handicrafts is one of the difficulties that confront women in the rural areas, The National  reports.

Three women from Angoram in East Sepik province who came all the way to Lae, Morobe province, to participate in the inauguration PNG Women in Business (WIB) expo said on most occasions, they only had seasonal markets.

One of the women, Sesley Mainga, who specialises in weaving baskets, making shell head dresses and wooden carvings said they were able to sell their wares depending on tourist ships that occasionally visit the province.

Mrs Mainga said selling her handicraft in local markets had not been profitable for lack of demand.

She said many women in her area would like to travel to other provinces to sell their products but that might be too costly for them.

The two other businesswomen in her group, Rosa Simon and Schola Akwat, while expressing similar sentiments, added they joined the expo to meet potential handicraft collectors and distributors.

They said with the exposure, they also hoped to promote their culture and the significance of traditional handicrafts to the younger generation.

They also said the expo had also given them the opportunity to discover potential markets through established network with women from other provinces.

 

Horrific murder shocks Lae

NEWLY appointed chairman of Morobe’s Lands and Physical Planning Board Mr George Naemon was stabbed to death in a horrific attack last night in Lae.

The news sent shock-waves through the Lae community today as the young mechanical engineer who was appointed to the job only late last year was beginning to clamp down on illegal structures and obstructions at roadsides and public parks.

Naemon, from Kwahwie village in Yangoru, East Sepik province, was apparently attacked with a bayonet which struck him in the head and neck area. He died soon after from heavy loss of blood.

According to relatives in Lae, Naemon was in the company of other relatives at the Tapiok Club at Tent City re-settlement camp, when he was attacked by another group of people from Yangoru.

The attack was allegedly work-related, according to reliable sources.

The assailant is believed to be related to a Yangoru man who owned a property also in Tent City where Mr Naemon had issued instructions for a perimeter fence to be relocated as it encroached someone else’s property.

Several weeks ago, Naemon’s cousin was attacked over the same issue.

“We are very shocked and lost for words to hear of George Naemon’s killing,” a Morobe leader said from Lae today.

“He was a fine young man with his heart in the eight place … he was doing something the Morobeans were not able to do.”

An architect from Morobe province who worked with Naomen during his short time as chairman of the Lands and Physical Planning Board described his late colleague as a committed person who wanted nothing more than getting his job done properly and according to the rules and bylaws governing physical planning and town development.

“We are shocked and lost for words, Morobe has lost a great young man from Sepik who was here to help us,” he said.

Mr Naemon is married with several children.

He was the chief technical officer of the University of Technology’s Mechanical Engineering Department until his sacking a year ago over differences with his superiors.

He had sought re-dress through the National Court over his departure of Unitech, however, that case was still pending deliberation as he met his untimely fate – allegedly at the hands of his own Yangoru wantoks.

 

Pictures of Papua New Guinea Women in Business Expo

Pictures by JOHN SAMAR

Future food production in Papua New Guinea

From PAUL OATES

There has been a recent suggestion that Papua New Guinea could become a food source for China and India.
There is no doubt that with careful planning, PNG could become a major food exporter. However the lessons of history should not be overlooked. When humans first started to expand in population, this occurred along major river systems. The Tigris and Euphrates, the Nile, the Wang Ho, the Ganges, etc. These rivers provided extensive river flats where cultivation was relatively easy and water for irrigation was constantly available. The comes a time however when people power can only produce so much excess food before either a rapidly expanding population consumes the excess food or conditions for food production start to change.
PNG has traditionally grown her food in gardens that are made up of many different varieties of food crops. This has the advantage that no one crop will exhaust the soil or the nutriments that crop needs and disease and insect pests will not increase to the point where food production becomes non viable.
One person can only produce so much extra food before becoming overworked. At this point in human history, humans turned to animals to help. Bullocks, oxen or buffaloes were used to pull ploughs and till the soil before a crop was planted. This expanded the area one person could manage and so expanded the amount of extra food that person could produce and therefore export. Populations continued to expand to 'soak up' the available excess food resources being produced. Then in Europe, the horse collar was invented and this further expanded to amount of arable land that could be used to produce food. Populations continued to expand. The corollary for this increased food production required a number of factors to be recognised however.
Firstly, in Europe framers practiced crop rotation so that diseases and pests would not build up in the same area of land and the soil would be left 'fallow' or unused to recover some of its nutriments. Additional nutriments were constantly added such as animal and green manure to help keep the soil healthy and productive.
The second factor emerged that in order to be economically viable; the total area being farmed had to expand past the point where one person owned each small holding. Land alienation then started to create a real problem as people started to sell their land or were moved off it forcibly.
In modern times, board acre farming was further increased with the use of machines such as tractors and with chemical fertilizers. This can create huge surpluses of food but it also requires capital to buy, use and maintain machinery and to purchase insecticides, anti fungals and fertilizers. At this point, a few farmers can produce enough food to feed the many dispossessed that have gravitated to the cities in search of a living. Distribution systems were then required to take the food to the cities and this required many middle men who ran the transport, roads and distribution network and sales to the city folk.
This gradual process has not yet happened to any large extent in PNG. To suddenly move to board acre farming would require a number of radical changes to the way PNG has traditionally produced her food. Land is still basically owned by clans and tribes that must make group decisions about what will be done with their communal land. This traditional practice tends to inhibit the management of large areas of farm land. Capital must be found to buy, work and maintain machinery. Crop rotation must be practiced to ensure the available soil doesn't become exhausted and a build up of pest and disease doesn't happen however expensive fertilizers and anti fungals must still be purchased.
In Queensland, the Primary Industries Department scientists were reported by the Post Courier to be working to save the sweet potato industry in Papua New Guinea and rest of the South Pacific. The vegetable is the staple food of many islanders, whose crops are declining because of viruses that cut yields.
The Solomon Islands is also seeking assistance in controlling these problems. Primary Industries Department Rockhampton based sweet potato research specialist Eric Coleman has been in the Papua New Guinea highlands as part of a $2 million project to identify the cause of the insidious yield decline. Mr. Coleman said Papua New Guinea had an amazing variety of sweet potatoes, which had been attacked by some of the 22 known viruses that could affect the vegetable. "`As you get more viruses, the sweet potatoes get longer, skinnier and uglier,'' he said.
Again in the Post Courier, a research scientist Dr Sergie Bang of the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) was quoted as saying that social indicators for PNG did not look favourable, especially when malnutrition in children and deaths at birth for women were rampant. He said during the NARI low-land program open day themed "NARI working in partnership with dry lowland farmers" at Laloki, outside Port Moresby that PNG faced a huge challenge. Its population growth was rising at 3 per cent every year and productivity in the agriculture sector was growing at only 1 per cent yearly. "This is a serious problem. It means PNG is not growing enough food (domestically) to feed its growing population," Dr Bang said. "Unless we lift agriculture production by 3 per cent or more, we will not be able to feed our population."
The Queen's husband, Prince Philip was quoted as saying, "The food prices are going up - everyone thinks it's to do with not enough food, but it's really that demand is too great, too many people,'' said the outspoken royal, then 86, according to a British newspaper. "It's a little embarrassing for everybody, no one quite knows how to handle it,'' he said.
So PNG must start thinking about these issues as she contemplates the possibility of trying to produce food for China and India. Both China and India started out with more arable land for food production and the opportunity of growing broad scale grain crops using first animals and then machines. If these countries are now not able to feed their growing populations, where will that principle leave a future PNG?

Shades of Avatar Blue?

From PAUL OATES

In the Science Fiction blockbuster film 'Avatar', a familiar scenario is presented of a rapacious mining company pushing local landowners off their land to get at the desirable minerals beneath. It was reported that the film's Director and Writer, Mr James Cameron, used an unusual mountain formation in China as the basis for the peculiar floating mountains in the 'Halleluiah region' of the mythical planet in the motion picture. So like the Chinese mountains where those in the film that it was claimed the locals have now changed their local name for these mountains to the one highlighted in Cameron's film.

There have been recent comments and articles on websites and blogs about PNG concerning the Ramu Nickel mine near Madang. These articles seem to have brought the Avatar scenario clearly into real time focus.

There have been concerns by the local landowners that they are being treated as second class citizens by the owners of the mine. Claims have been made that local people have been refused treatment at the mine's health centre in favour of foreign workers. There have been threats and confrontation between local PNG people and the mine workers who have reportedly been contemptuous of differing work values and practices between PNG and their home country.

This huge mine is reportedly going to empty it's tailings into the open sea near Madang, after first pumping this waste along a pipeline through to the coast. The PNG government has just approved the use of this method of disposing of mine waste. The waste pipeline will be exiting through a hole blasted in the coral reef and out into the open sea. Locals have reported that the pipeline's construction is of very dubious quality and they hold fears about what happens if the pipe bursts. Previous damage from poisonous mine tailings that escaped from a Highlands gold mine have reportedly created severe damage to the river and water source in another region of PNG. In New Caledonia, there have been ongoing concerns for many years about the environmental damage the local Nickel mine has inflicted on a similar tropical paradise.

In an article on mining resources recently, a mining engineer claimed that the output of the Ramu Nickel mine had been grossly undervalued and that PNG will loose billions in revenue based on the current arrangement the PNG government has agreed to. On an overseas website run by a PNGian a claim has been made that the PNG PM Somare, accepted 40 million kina at the time of the last PNG general elections from this foreign mining company and then used this money to help 'buy' elected members to ensure he retained political power.

A recent article now suggests that the mine owners, who apparently employ PNG police as security for their operations, are using this police force to intimidate and harass landowners to get them to move so that the mine can commence operations on their traditional land. It is claimed that some landowners have accepted the inevitable and taken the K500 and a few tools and tried to start again away from their traditional land. Some landowners are however resisting this pressure and another confrontation appears likely.

Those people who are yet to see the reported splendours of Madang may not have much time left. The senario developments in the film Avatar seem all too likely to eventuate.
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http://www.eca-watch.org/problems/asia_pacific/kanaky/WSJ_Inco_Kanaky_12july06.htm
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Courtesy of David Ketepa's http://www.pngemmiyet.blogspot.com/

Landowners resist Chinese attempts at forced resettlement

Landowners from the Mauri clan in Madang Province are resisting police intimidation and pressure from the Chinese Metallurgical Construction company (MCC) to resettle their homes, claiming the company has not agreed to properly compensate them for their loss.

MCC is building the huge Ramu nickel mine and wants to dig the mine pit straight under Venevi village but local families are worried by the environmental damage the mine will cause and claim they have been intimidated by police and company officials.

Twelve families have already been removed to a temporary site after being told they had to move by armed police. Each family was given K500, a hammer and saw, nails and a tarpaulin according to the villagers.

Villagers who are refusing to move claim they have been visited eight times by police telling them they have to move. On their last visit the police forced family leaders to go the MCC offices where they were told they had to take the K500 and move.

As well as being told to leave their homes, the clan members have been told they can no longer make gardens, or fish, hunt or gather food from the wild within the mining area. As compensation the families were originally supplied on a fortnightly basis with foreign rice, tinned fish, flour and biscuits and an allowance of K150 for kumu - but these rations have now been cut back

Villages also claim the construction work has already destroyed their drinking water supplies and the company is having to truck in water for them. They also say that the company is only offering one small house for each extended family - forcing three generations with multiple children and grandchildren to live in cramped and squalid conditions.

Opposition claims Chinese miner has paid K40 million to keep Somare in power

Rumours have been circulating for the past week that Prime Minister Michael Somare has been given a war chest of K40 million to shore up support for his government from among the nations 109 MPs.

The source of the K40 million has been a mystery - although the whisper on the streets has been that the money has been given by the 'kongs' (a common slang word that is used to refer to anyone from SE Asia). But now the Sunday Chronicle has published allegations from unnamed opposition MPs that a 'large Asian mining company' has provided the funds.

There is only one large Asian mining company operating in PNG - the Chinese Metallurgical Construction company which is developing the huge Ramu Nickel mine in Madang province. So has CMC provided K40 million to the government of Michael Somare to defend itself against a vote of no confidence?

These allegations of Somare buying and luring MPs for support aren't surprising and aren't new either

Perhaps we will never know the answer to that question. Though it would seem to make sense for the Chinese given the controversy over their mining operation; the questionable environmental permits for deep sea tilings disposal and coral blasting; the shoddy construction work for its 40km tilings pipeline; and complaints from local people over working conditions, land theft and other human rights abuses.

It is hugely ironic that Prime Minister Somare, who is widely rumoured to be about to try and clean up his governments image by sacking Minister's Pruaitch and Tienstein, is at the same time accused of accepting a massive slush fund to buy off the support of his fellow Members of Parliament.
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courtesy of http://www.greenleft.org.au/2006/668/6666
NEW CALEDONIA: Indigenous people take on mining giant


17 November 1993
Eloise Schnierer

The New Caledonian islands lie 1200 kilometres off the east coast of Australia. A French territory that is co-governed by a provincial New Caledonian parliament and the French government, New Caledonia (or Kanaky) is a biodiversity hot-spot.

The main island, Grand Terre, is bounded by a barrier reef that is second only to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and which is home to an immeasurable number of marine species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

The indigenous Kanak people of New Caledonia have fought for decades to protect this unique environment from the degradation caused by mining and for the recognition of their rights as indigenous people.

On March 25, management for the Inco-operated Goro Nickel mine, situated in the Southern Province, acknowledged a huge landslide that affected the nearby marine lagoon, the oldest and largest protected marine area in New Caledonia and an area soon to be nominated for World Heritage listing.

The Kanaks living near the Goro Nickel project have been struggling for years to have Inco heed their calls for negotiations about the mine's environmental and social impacts.

On March 29, tensions between the locals and Goro-Nickel erupted again with a blockade established at the site that forced mining operations to stop. The blockade was a response to the company's plans to construct a pipeline that would release mine waste water into the sea and to use nearby Lake Yate as a source of water for mining operations.

Opponents of the plans argue that the marine environment will be degraded and the local community's access to clean, fresh water from Lake Yate will be affected.

The provincial government responded by deploying riot police and troops to remove the blockade, at times using tear gas and live ammunition to disperse protesters, and invoking "anti-terrorist" measures against one Kanak leader.

Goro Nickel says the overall cost of the blockade and the damage caused to heavy machinery by protesters amounts to US$10 million - although no evidence has been made public backing this assertion. Eight protesters were arrested and many other activists have been in hiding.

Jacques Boengkih, spokesperson for the Agency for Kanak Development, says the ensuing police search for these activists has been brutal. "This morning they sent some police to search the house of Raphael Mapou, who has been hiding for the last month, and in that house only the mother and some minor kids are living there and so it was once again a brutal police search of the house", he said.

Mapou is former president of the Rheebu Nuu committee, a Kanak organisation established as a local monitoring body over the Goro Nickel project to protect indigenous rights. The committee was responsible for organising the March blockade.

The Rheebu Nuu committee has been accused by New Caledonia's Southern Province President Philippe Gomes of misleading the public. In a comment made to a New Caledonian television broadcaster, Gomes said he believes the reasons behind the Rheebu Nuu committee's actions were not environmental, and that their real motive is mining royalties.

But according to Boengkih, "Environmental issues have been always first on the list of claims from the chiefs from the south. They have been always saying that the company should be careful because some areas are sacred sites and in the sea are fishing grounds and they have always been calling for tough measures to protect the environment."

Boengkih also alleged that the provincial government has misrepresented the Kanak claim for royalties. The Rheebu Nuu committee has stated that royalties should be paid to the government, and not to the individual indigenous groups concerned.

Furthermore, Boengkih said that New Caledonia is way out of step with other countries on the issue of mining royalties. "Everywhere else, in Australia or Canada, people have experienced access to benefit sharing from the exploitation of their resources and this is no more than what people are asking for and they are asking for that being paid to the government and not to themselves."

Inco has repeatedly declined negotiations with Rheebu Nuu on the basis that French law does not recognise Indigenous rights. However, the preamble to the Les Accords De Noumea, signed in 1998, recognised the Kanak peoples as distinct from other citizens of the French republic.

On November 8, 2004, the French Tribunal in Noumea found that the political and cultural rights of the indigenous people of New Caledonia exist and are protected by law.

Goro Nickel has not obtained the free, prior and informed consent of the Kanak people for its plans to further develop the mining project. The Senat Coutumier (Kanak Customary Senate) specifically withheld consent in 2002.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have both called on governments to ensure the participation of indigenous people in decisions affecting their lives and their natural resources. It is on this basis that the Kanaks seek a negotiated and legally binding settlement regarding royalties and the social and environmental impacts of the Inco Goro-Nickel mining project.

Despite much opposition, Boengkih says the Kanaks will continue to push for roundtable negotiations with Goro Nickel, the French government, the New Caledonian government, the Senat Coutumier and the Rheebu Nuu committee.

A series of peaceful demonstrations took place on May Day in Kanak communities up and down the east and west coasts of Grande Terre. They aimed to show Inco Goro Nickel and the French and New Caledonian governments that the Kanak communities directly affected by the Goro Nickel mine are not alone in their opposition to the proposed development of the site.

And their message is clear: the French and New Caledonian governments and the mining industry must recognise and respect their rights as indigenous people.

From Green Left Weekly, May 24, 2006.

Planning Dept releases K20m for urgent road works

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

THE Department of National Planning has released K20 million for urgent road maintenance on sections of the Highlands Highway although no work plans have been submitted by Department of Works, The National reports.

National Planning and Development Minister Paul Tiensten accused the Works Department for failing to submit work plans for the use of the money.

He also denied claims that National Planning was deliberately holding back road maintenance funds.

He said the National Government had parked between K40 million and K50 million with the National Roads Authority (NRA) whose role is to maintain major roads in the country.

 “What is happening to this money held with the National Roads Authority?”

Mr Tiensten said compensation was another big issue as most funds for routine road maintenance had been used for this purpose.

“There is a lot of money going into settling compensation claims along the highway and now we have no money to fix the roads,” Mr Tiensten said.

“Compensation is an unbudgeted item. We cannot use maintenance money to pay for compensation.”

Mr Tiensten said the other K10 million would be released once his department received a work plan from Works.

“We do not want to release money to pay for compensation.”

He said although money was budgeted, it depended on the cash-flow before money could be released.

Mr Tiensten said based on the cash flow situation, the Treasury would then release the warrants to National Planning to make payments to relevant organisations.

“We are not deliberately holding onto the money and that is why the two secretaries for Works and National Planning must sit down and sort it out,” Mr Tiensten said.

He said the Highlands Highway was a National Government priority road, with the Asian Development Bank’s multi-trance facility for Enga and Southern Highlands roads.

“We need the Treasurer, myself and Works Minister to sit down to find a way forward instead of going to the media.

“Bad mouthing each other and shifting blame is the last thing we want.

“People want us to take responsibility to ensure we address these issues as a whole Government approach.

“You should not pass the buck to me. We should address this at Cabinet level instead of making public statements in the media.”

He was responding to Works Minister Don Polye and his secretary Joel Luma, who on Wednesday blasted the National Planning for withholding money while the Highlands Highway remained close to traffic with landslips at Daulo pass.

Mr Luma confirmed the money was released today.

“Yes we have received the warrant of K20 million which will be used to off-set costs and work on the blocked section of the Highlands Highway,” Mr Luma said.