Marching for justice

 Residents in Wabag town, Enga, took to the streets last Friday to demand that resident court judge, Justice Graham Ellis, remain in the province. Public servants also joined the peaceful march, led by women’s groups, who made their views known in a six-page petition signed by 250 people and presented to National Court officials in Wabag. The march stemmed from reports that Ellis’ two-year term was up and he was leaving Enga. The petitioners claimed they saw “true justice without fear or favour” with the arrival of Ellis and wanted him to stay on.– Nationalpic by JAMES APA GUMUNO

Eastern Highlands women farmers attract interest in city

By BUSISI SIWAKA of DAL Information Branch

A group of women from the Eastern Highlands province are happy that their recent trip to Port Moresby has been beneficial.

The 18 women, mostly farmers and agricultural officers, participated at the floriculture show held during the independence anniversary celebrations.

The women, members of the Eastern Highlands Women in Agriculture Association, brought with them a wide range of floriculture products and fresh produce for display such as cabbages, tomatoes and carrots.

The different types of cut flowers attracted a great deal of interest at the four-day show held at the Waigani Arts Theatre.

Association vice-president Jennifer Kena said the women paid for the trip themselves but the experience they gained was worthwhile and they were looking forward to next year’s show. However, the women felt that the venue should be moved to a more central location to enable more visitors to participate.

The EHP women took out the first prize for the best floral arrangements and second prize for provincial participation.

Kena said eight provincial DAL staff and 10 farmers undertook the trip to learn more about marketing of floriculture and fresh produce and to seek potential buyers.

They were keen to share their ideas and experiences with other farmers and agriculture staff. They described the trip as a big success.

The EHP provincial food crops officer, Daisy Kiniafa, said the women brought limited supplies but found out that there was a huge demand during the show.

She said the women were so overwhelmed that they found it hard to price their goods.

“We learnt that there was a demand for cut flowers in the city,” Kiniafa said.

“The little we brought for display was sold out and we got many requests for new orders which we are working on after we returned home.”

Kiniafa said Chinese embassy staff were among the customers who showed great interest and had requested for a weekly supply of cut flowers.

She said the women’s group was becoming more organised and promoting and encouraging more women to be actively involved in agriculture.

Besides floriculture and fresh produce, women are encouraged in livestock farming, apiculture, rice production and cash crops.     

Enga shame

Teachers among students caught drinking homebrew

TWO secondary school teachers and 20 students have been arrested by Wabag police in Enga for allegedly drinking homebrew, The National reports.

Wabag police last Friday arrested 12 Grade 12 students at Pausa Secondary in Wapenamanda and another eight Grade 12 students with two teachers in Wabag town for drinking homebrew and behaving disorderly in public.

Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said the students from Pausa, a Lutheran church-run school, stored homebrew in their dormitories and consumed them straight after their national examinations.

He said the students were drinking homebrew and behaving in a disorderly manner on a school truck while on their way to Wabag town when policemen intercepted and arrested 12 of them.

Policemen searched the students and confiscated a number of 500ml containers of homebrew hidden inside their bags.

Lakari said the police were on their way to Pausa Secondary to attend an assault case reported by the school headmaster when they came across the drunken students.

The assault complaint allegedly involved a teacher from Southern Highlands attacking another male teacher from Eastern Highlands.

Police brought the students to the Wabag police cells where they were locked up. They later searched the town and arrested eight more students and two teachers.

Lakari said the students were drinking with their teachers, and were behaving in a disorderly and threatening manner in town when police caught them.

They were held for four hours and later released with a warning.

He urged Grades 10 and 12 students to go back to their villages after completing their national examinations to assist their parents rather than engaging in shameful acts.

Also in Wabag, police raided a house at Pawas buai market near the town and confiscated 40l of homebrew last Thursday.

It was alleged that some Grade 12 students had bought fruits, sugar and yeast for the owner of the house.

Lakari told The National that after receiving a tip-off, policemen raided the house and confiscated the homebrew, 49 empty 500ml containers, a gas cylinder bottle, rubber hose, buckets and other items.

He said that the people involved in the production of the homebrew fled when police arrived.

However, their identities were known and police were investigating.

Lakari said this was the first time Enga police had confiscated a large quantity of materials allegedly used in the production of homebrew in the province.

Businesswomen urged to support one another

WOMEN entrepreneurs in the country have been urged to support one another to achieve business targets and contribute to the country’s economy, The National reports.

The advice came yesterday from two prominent women – PNG Women in Business president Janet Sape and Women in Agriculture president Marie Linibi.

Both women were recently in Nagoya, Japan, for the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) women’s entrepreneurship summit hosted by the Japan and US governments as an opportunity for women to get together, network and share ideas.

Sape said the summit had brought many high profile women from around the world who were vice-ministers and other senior positions in their governments, vice-presidents, managing directors and many more. 

“This meet showed me that we, in PNG and the Pacific, have a long way to go before we can become like one of these women.

“And I saw that this is not a deterrent, but an encouragement for us to work hard to achieve this dream,” she said.

Linibi said they were  now encouraged to reach out to all the women in various sectors such as those in mining, informal markets, fisheries, agriculture, among others,  to all join and make this work.

Sape said New Zealand deputy secretary Amanda Ellis had pledged to assist PNG women overcome business hardships after she spoke on the subject at the summit.

Sili Muli Women's Group of Enga province, Papua New Guinea