Sir Puka: What K5 million?

AGRICULTURE and Livestock Minister Sir Puka Temu has denied claims he is among senior ministers who received large payments of unbudgeted funds to pay for ministerial commitments and electoral projects, The National reports.
He said in a statement yesterday he was amazed by the opposition claim that senior government ministers “can just allocate themselves large amounts of money without going through the budget process”.
“I have been the deputy prime minister, a senior minister and department head and the only way I know public funds are secured to fund government commitment is through the budget,” he said.
“Everyone, including the opposition members, the media, public servants and the public should know that spending large sums of money outside of the budget is illegal.”
He said it was absurd for the opposition to make such a claim because there were credible, respectable and experienced people in government who knew the processes involved in approval and using public funds.
“They must think we know nothing about budgets and running governments and I think it makes them look stupid and silly.
“When they got the document, they should have questioned it and, as people with experience in government, they should have discarded it given the fact that spending money outside of the budget is illegal.”
Sir Puka said if the opposition claimed “that we received the payments”, then, they should say where the funds were parked.
“There are many things I could do with the K5 million in my Abau electorate or in my ministry,” Sir Puka said.
However, according to the project funding list in the report from Finance Department, Sir Puka got K5 million worth of projects in his electorate

Investigate ‘misuse’ of K500 million, says Tiensten

THE Task Force Sweep team should investigate the K500 million allegedly misused by the government, says
former national planning and monitoring minister Paul Tiensten, The National reports.
The Pomio MP also urged his successor Sam Basil and Treasury and Finance Minister Don Polye to table a report in parliament detailing how K1.9 billion of the development budget had been spent.
He said former planning secretary Joseph Lelang and his lawyers had accused the former government of front-loading and misusing the K1.9 million of development funds.
“I categorically deny that the K1.9 billion was misused by the former government,” Tiensten said.
“They have accused the former government of misusing the K1.9 billion when they have not even come out with a report on who are the beneficiaries are.”
He said the real story had now come out that the government which had preached about good governance and fighting corruption had spent K500 million outside of the budget.
“The truth will be unravelled that the K1.9 billion of development funds parked in trust accounts have been used to support political projects to keep MPs in government,” Tiensten said.
He challenged Polye and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to tell the truth.
“They need to be accountable,” he said.
“I call on the Sweep investigation team to investigate this allegation to ascertain the facts. If the Sweep team is impartial and objective it should investigate the allegation and reveal the truth.”
Tiensten said the K500 million allegedly spent outside the budget “will create a huge hole in the budget”.
“It is a blow-out. It is over and above what is forecast. They will have to find money to fund the shortfall.”
He accused O’Neill and Polye of telling lies.
“They all should be investigated and arrested like some of us,” Tiensten said

Prime Minister: No apologies for K500m spent

By YEHIURA HRIEHWAZI

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill said yesterday he will not apologise to anyone for the K500 million spending by his government in the last three months in office because it was budgeted for, The National reports.
Opposition spokesman and Madang regional MP Sir Arnold Amet had said at the weekend that K500 million had been misused and dished out to MPs and a law firm outside of budget appropriation and would result in a possible budget shortfall.
O’Neill said the money was spent on basic services and was never paid to individual MPs as alleged.
Also yesterday, Agriculture and Livestock Minister Sir Puka Temu denied receiving K5 million from the batch of K500 million.
Pomio MP Paul Tiensten called yesterday for an investigation into the allegations, claiming that here was a clear case for Operation Sweep to sink its teeth into. The Task Force Sweep had caused Tiensten to be arrested and charged twice.
The prime minister said such comments coming from a man of Sir Arnold’s standing were irresponsible and unbecoming of a former chief justice.
The funds were released for services such as health, schools and roads “and I will not apologise to anyone for spending money on services”, O’Neill said.
Referring to an K18 million payment to the Young and Williams law firm, he said the government had to pay its legal bills for services rendered.
With regards to the K14 million recorded against his name, O’Neill said the funding was for the Ialibu-Pangia road.
He said no money was paid to MPs in their names but it all went to the various districts in their electorates.
He urged Sir Arnold to take such evidence of “misuse of funds”, if any, to the appropriate authorities including the Task Force Sweep.
“No one is above the law, including the prime minister,” O’Neill said.
He said Sir Arnold was supposed to be a learned person with high standing and should refrain from making cheap political point-scoring statements.

World AIDS Day message from Michel Sidibé , Executive Director of UNAIDS, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

Never before in the history of AIDS have we reached a moment where we are able to stand up and say with conviction the end of AIDS is in sight.
It has been a year of achievements, of collective action, of resilience and of courage. In spite of the economic downturn that has stretched the AIDS response to its limits, millions of lives have been saved, as HIV treatment and prevention efforts continue to show results.
World leaders have made new promises—bold, tangible and realistic.
These promises now must be delivered in every country, every community and to every person in need.
Fortunately, leaders are standing up to say that an AIDS-free generation is possible and that no child should be born with HIV and no mother should die of AIDS.
The gulf between treatment and prevention has ended. Treatment is prevention.
The divide between health and AIDS has narrowed, as AIDS comes out of isolation and into integrated and holistic health services.
The AIDS response has paved the path for a people-centred health delivery system, one that values and restores the respect and dignity of every individual.
The road before us is clear and we can accelerate ahead with smart investments, capitalising on scientific advancements and evidence and respecting human rights. It is why world leaders must fully fund the AIDS response.
The global investment target of US$ 22-24 billion is a shared responsibility—of all countries, donors and others.
Only together can we secure the future and provide greater and long-term dividends.
Today, on this World AIDS Day, I call upon leaders, communities, parents, people living with HIV and young people to look forward and work towards a world with Zero new HIV infections, Zero discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths.

50% of HIV/AIDS victims have access to lifesaving treatment

BERLIN / GENEVA, 21 November 2011 -   A new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV / AIDS (UNAIDS), released today shows that 2011 was a game changing year for the AIDS response with unprecedented progress in science, political leadership and results.   

The report also shows that new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic. 

New HIV infections were reduced by 21% since 1997, and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses decreased by 21% since 2005.

“Even in a very difficult financial crisis, countries are delivering results in the AIDS response,” said Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of UNAIDS. 

“We have seen a massive scale up in access to HIV treatment which has head a dramatic effect on the lives of people everywhere.”

According to UNAIDS and WHO estimates, 47% (6.6 million) of the estimated 14.2 million people eligible for treatment in low and middle-income countries were accessing lifesaving antiretroviral therapy in 2010, an increase of 1.35 million since 2009. 

The 2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report also highlights that there are early signs that HIV treatment is having a significant impact on reducing the number of new HIV infections.

Infection rates have dropped in most countries in the Asia Pacific region including PNG and increasing HIV prevention coverage is resulting in safer sexual behaviours. 

There are more people than ever before receiving treatment and this is significant because of the recent evidence that shows the powerful effect of HIV treatment on reducing transmission.

However, sixty percent of people eligible for antiretroviral treatment in the Asia Pacific region still do not receive it and Papua New Guinea continues to have frequent stock outs of crucial life-saving drugs reducing the impact that treatment could be having on the country’s epidemic. 

Globally around 2.5 million deaths are estimated to have been averted in low and middle income countries like PNG due to increased access to HIV treatment since 1995.

New HIV infections have been significantly reduced or have stabilized in most parts of the world, however, the number of new HIV infections continues to rise in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Pacific, the Middle-East and North Africa.

Declines in new HIV infections are also being spurred by changes in sexual behavior, particularly in young people, as people reduce their numbers of sexual partners, increase condom use and are waiting longer before becoming sexually active. 

HIV prevalence declined among young people in at least 21 of 24 countries with national HIV prevalence of 1% or higher.

The Report highlights that an increase in uptake of male circumcision is also starting to contribute to declines in new HIV infections.  

 Studies show that 2000 new HIV infections were averted amongst men in Kenya’s Nyanza province after scale up of voluntary male circumcision in clinical conditions (rather than traditional circumcision). 

  Estimates in the report highlight that circumcising 20 million more men across Eastern and Southern Africa would avert around 3.4 million new HIV infections by 2015.

Around 400,000 new HIV infections in children were estimated to have been averted since 1995 due to increased access to effective antiretroviral regimens in low- and middle-income countries by 2010, almost half (48%) of all pregnant women living with HIV were able to access effective regiments to prevent their child from becoming infected with the virus.

UNAIDS has mapped a new framework for AIDS investments which are focused on high-impact, evidence-based, high-value strategies.

“The investment framework is community driven, not commodity driven.  It puts people at the centre of the approach, not the virus,” said Mr Sidibe.

This new strategic approach to investments would achieve extraordinary results; at least 12.2 million new HIV infections would be averted, including 1.9 million among children between 2011 and 2020; and 7.4 million AIDS-related deaths would be averted between 2011 and 2020.

The framework is based on six essential programme activities:  focused interventions for key populations at higher risk (particularly sex workers and their clients, and men who have sex with men); prevention of new HIV infections in children; behavior change programmes; condom promotion and distribution; treatment, care and support for people living with HIV; and voluntary medical male circumcision in countries with high HIV prevalence.

For the framework to be effective, programme activities must recognize critical enablers, such as reducing stigma, respect for human rights, creating a protective legal environment, and capacity building for community based organisations, which are curcial to overcoming the barriers to successful programme outcomes.

To rapidly reduce new HIV infections and to save lives, the 2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report underscores that shared responsibility is needed.

World AIDS Day message from UNAIDS Papua New Guinea Representative Stuart Watson

 In June 2011, 192 Member States of the United Nations agreed to bold new targets and commitments that could make AIDS a thing of the past. 

They agreed amongst other things to work towards reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50%; to eliminating new HIV infections amongst children; to increasing the number of people on life saving treatment to 15 million globally; and to increasing domestic funding for HIV responses.

The leaders of the world pledged to achieve these goals by 2015, which would move us closer towards the vision of a world with Zero new HIV infections, Zero AIDS-related discrimination, and Zero AIDS-related deaths.

But “Getting To Zero” in Papua New Guinea demands we have an evidence-based response that solidly focuses on and involves key populations most at risk, a response which is adequately resourced, and which is grounded in human rights. 

The countries which are acting on this knowledge – the knowledge of what works – are reaping the rewards.  Tremendous progress has already been made, proving that the epidemic can be reversed, and that HIV treatment and care can be brought to those who most need it. 

Infection rates have dropped in most countries in the Asia Pacific region including PNG and increasing HIV prevention coverage is resulting in safer sexual behaviours.   

There are more people than ever before receiving treatment and this is significant because of the recent evidence that shows the powerful effect of HIV treatment on reducing transmission.

These life-saving gains must be consolidated, expanded and sustained.  

 But critical challenges remain.

There are still insufficient and inadequate HIV programmes for key populations most at risk of HIV including men who have sex with men, people who buy and sell sex, transgendered individuals, young people at higher risk,  migrant workers, and people affected by natural and man-made emergencies.

Sixty percent of people eligible for antiretroviral treatment in the region still do not receive it and PNG continues to have frequent stock outs of crucial life-saving drugs because of poor management and systems which aren’t working. 

Coverage of services to prevent new infections amongst children have significantly improved in PNG, but still need to be expanded, supported and maintained.

Stigma and discrimination are widespread and present a forbidding barrier to many people receiving prevention related information and resources, care, treatment and support.   

We still have laws and policies on the books in PNG and in most countries in the region which hamper the AIDS response and compromise the human rights of key affected communities despite the lofty promises of PNG’s constitution.

And our leaders remain on the margins of the national response. 

  Papua New Guinea was one of the only countries in the Asia Pacific region which did not even send a delegation to the High Level Meeting on HIV at the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year.

And all of this is happening in the context of a global economic crisis where donor funding for AIDS is declining and national funding and commitment remains ambivalent.

As we commemorate World AIDS Day 2011 on December 1, we must recognise that we are at a crossroads in the national and global AIDS response. 

Success will require committed political leadership, strong national ownership, and partnerships that include people living with HIV and the other most affected populations. 

Success will require increased and sustained resources for HIV focused on the people and which reach the people most at risk including men who have sex with men, transgendered individuals, and people who buy and sell sex. 

And this can’t be done by hiding behind our idealised concepts of family, faith, community and morality – it can ONLY be done within the context of the reality of human behavior by taking the hard decisions to reform laws that impede the HIV response and which deny some individuals their right to access health services, treatment, and crucial prevention information and services.

Success means expanding access to affordable drugs, diagnostics, and prevention commodities such as male and female condoms because the many years of the global AIDS response have clearly shown that where these are emphasised in open, honest and dignified ways, the epidemic is slowed.

Success means making better links with and strengthening the rest of the health system to ensure drugs reach people, that treatment once begun is continued without interruption, and to be sure that we do a better job of linking TB and other components of the health system with the HIV response.

And most importantly, success means an end to the laws, policies and practices that fuel stigma and discrimination, violate rights, and hinder effective AIDS responses.

So if we are going to “Get to Zero”, we need renewed activism, we need more meaningful engagement with young people, we need new and more strategic partnerships beyond the traditional responders, we need to ensure respect of everyone’s rights through reform of the legal environment, and we need people from all walks of life to get engaged in the national response to HIV by educating themselves and those around them and learning their own HIV status so that those in need can access life saving treatment and care and reduce the possibility of transmitting the virus to others.

On World AIDS Day 2011, I call on everyone in PNG to courageously face up to the challenges presented by HIV and to embrace wholeheartedly the opportunities we all have to break the trajectory of the epidemic. 

  In pursuit of social justice and human dignity, let us unite our efforts, let us make the difficult decisions, and let us be guided by the evidence we have to ensure success in Getting to Zero new HIV infections, Zero HIV-related Discrimination, and Zero AIDS-related Deaths in PNG.

Additional information and World AIDS Day resources can be found at

www.unaids.org

www.worldaidscampaign.org

or by contacting

UNAIDS Papua New Guinea on 3217999

World AIDS Day message from United Nations Secretary-General

Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic.

The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

The number of new HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997. New infections are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the AIDS epidemic, HIV incidence has decreased in 22 countries.

Among populations at risk, the tide is shifting. Access to HIV prevention services are helping young people, sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, and transgender people to take control of their health for greater well-being.

Treatment has averted 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths since 1985. Last year alone, 700,000 lives were saved. Some 6.6 million people, nearly half those who need treatment in low- and middle-income countries, are now receiving it.

Synergies between prevention and treatment are speeding up progress.

But to end AIDS, we need to deliver even greater results.

This year in June, the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AIDS adopted bold targets for 2015: reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by half, eliminate new infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with HIV, end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap.

With strong political will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based approach, we can achieve all of these targets.

Financing will be critical to success. I urge all concerned to act on the investment framework put forward by UNAIDS and to fully fund the global investment target of up to $24 billion annually. The results would offset the upfront costs in less than one generation.

We must build on the political commitments, investments, energy, activism and determination that have brought us to this turning point.

Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all.

Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic.

The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

The number of new HIV infections has fallen by more than 20 per cent since 1997. New infections are continuing to decline in most parts of the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region most affected by the AIDS epidemic, HIV incidence has decreased in 22 countries.

Among populations at risk, the tide is shifting. Access to HIV prevention services are helping young people, sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, and transgender people to take control of their health for greater well-being.

Treatment has averted 2.5 million AIDS-related deaths since 1985. Last year alone, 700,000 lives were saved. Some 6.6 million people, nearly half those who need treatment in low- and middle-income countries, are now receiving it.

Synergies between prevention and treatment are speeding up progress.

But to end AIDS, we need to deliver even greater results.

This year in June, the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AIDS adopted bold targets for 2015: reduce the sexual transmission of HIV by half, eliminate new infections in children, provide treatment for 15 million people living with HIV, end stigma and discrimination, and close the AIDS funding gap.

With strong political will, reasonable financial resources and a firm human rights-based approach, we can achieve all of these targets.

Financing will be critical to success. I urge all concerned to act on the investment framework put forward by UNAIDS and to fully fund the global investment target of up to $24 billion annually. The results would offset the upfront costs in less than one generation.

We must build on the political commitments, investments, energy, activism and determination that have brought us to this turning point.

Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all.

Minister pledges safer skies in Papua New Guinea

By MALUM NALU

Civil Aviation Minister Puri Ruing has pledged to make Papua New Guinea a safe country to fly in.

He made the pledge when launching PNG Air Services five-year plan 2011-2015 at the Holiday Inn in Port Moresby on Monday night.

Civil Aviation Minister Puri Ruing (right) having a look at PNGASL’s new fully-computerised air traffic management system which will be set up by Australian company ADACEL.-Picture by DENNIS IORERE

“In this regard, the government of PNG must be committed to support and promote a healthy civil aviation sector; must facilitate access to the air transport network by the mass population; and ensure the safe and smooth flow of aircraft, passengers and cargo within the civil aviation system for the economic and social development of PNG,” Ruing said.

“To enable the delivery of modern civil aviation  services, the government has established a sound legislative and regulatory framework for civil aviation that provides for the establishment of state aviation companies and entities to carry out regulatory and service provision within the aviation sector, in a more-efficient and effective manner and to meet government policy and directives.

“PNG Air Services Ltd is one such company which started operations on Jan 1, 2008.

“I am pleased that PNGASL satisfies government policy by operating as a self-funding company to conduct its business operations and maintenance of infrastructure.

“The challenge, however, is that PNGASL provides the required services using facilities and assets inherited from the former Civil Aviation Authority, majority of which are old, obsolete and out-of-date.”

Ruing said PNGASL had therefore embarked on a ambitious but critical programme called ‘ CNS/ATM replacement programme’ for the short, medium and longer term to mordernise its communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems to keep abreast of the modern trend.

“Once completed, the new communications, navigation and surveillance systems will drive the revitalisation of the delivery of air traffic management systems required in this growing aviation sector, which is intrinsic to the well-being of the people of PNG,” he said.

“This mordernisation is contained in the 2011-2015 development plan.

“The focus is to shift from current ground-based airways infrastructure to more-mordern and innovative satellite-based systems.

“This shift will also ensure that issues of land ownership, vandalism, theft, insurance, logistics, operational and maintenance costs are minimized and ultimately done away with.

“This mordenisation programme will obviously attract a significant capital investment to the tune of US$95 million and the government of PNG must be committed to ensure sufficient funds are allocated to fund this substantial investment programme.”

Ruing said US$20m has already been provided for by the Asian Development Bank while AusAID had also provided funding under the transport sector support programme (TSSP) and memorandum of understanding projects to assist PNGASL.