In Loving Memory of Hula Debe Nalu

In loving memory of Hula Debe Nalu, who left us all alone on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008.

Sadly missed by husband Malum and children Malum Jr, Gedi, Moasing, Keith; relatives in Iruupi, Western province and Australia; in-laws in Lae and Port Moresby; plus friends in Lae, Goroka, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the world.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.

I am not there, I do not sleep.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.

I am not there, I did not die!

Mary Frye (1932)

Bulolo MP commits K100, 000 for fight victims as Hidden Valley gold mine comes under tight security

Bulolo MP Sam Basil today (Sunday) committed K100, 000 from his district funds to provide immediate relief for victims of the two-day standoff between Biangai and Watut villagers last Friday and Saturday.

Mr Basil, flanked by Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, Menyamya MP Benjamin Philip and provincial administrator Patilias Gamato, made the commitment at Kaisanek village, which was burned to the ground by raiding Watut villagers last Friday, leaving 300-400 people homeless.

He said K40, 000 would go towards combating the existing law and order problem, while K60, 000 would help the affected villagers to rebuild their homes.

Mr Philip made a pledge of K5, 000 while the Morobe provincial government will have an urgent provincial executive council meeting today (Monday) to discuss its assistance.

Mr Basil urged Kaisanek and other Biangai villagers not to take the law into their own hands after being attacked by the Watuts.

Earlier, the group met with a group of Watuts at Wau, who said they would give their reasons for attacking the Biangai villagers within seven days.

The leaders late yesterday flew into Upper Watut, where tension was running high, and told the 1,000 or so people not to partake in any more violence as the matter was being looked into.

Meantime, the Hidden Valley gold mine is being guarded by a 40-man mobile squad from Port Moresby after being invaded by up to 2,000 Watut villagers last Saturday.

Provincial administrator Patilias Gamato said he and provincial police commander Peter Guiness saw 1,000-2,000 Watut people, mainly youths, converge on Hidden Valley last Saturday only to be turned back by the mobile squad.

“We brought in a police mobile squad from Port Moresby late on Saturday afternoon to guard the mine,” he said.

Mr Gamata said many long-running issues had contributed to the standoff, including a recent incident at the McAdam National Park, where a Watut man was allegedly killed by Biangais.

Just last week, up to 57 Biangai men were jailed, for allegedly fighting against the Watuts and killing the man.

 

Violence erupts in Wau, leaving three dead and Hidden Valley gold mine shut

Caption: Burnout remains of a house at Kaisenik village in Wau yesterday. Picture by SAM BASIL.

 

Violence erupted in Wau, Morobe province at the weekend, leaving three people dead, several injured, houses and property destroyed, and forcing the temporary shutdown of the Hidden Valley gold mine and the evacuation of employees.

The incident comes just before Hidden Valley is to pour its first gold and could have severe repercussions for Papua New Guinea on the international mining scene.

A long-standing land dispute between Biangai and Watut tribes over ownership of the 2076 hectare McAdam National Park between Wau and Bulolo came to a head last Friday and Saturday as the Watuts gathered in Wau in their hundreds and staged an early morning attack on the Biangai villages.

Lae Hospital’s emergency ward today (Sunday) confirmed receiving the bodies of two men and admitting two other with shotgun pellet wounds while several others were said to have been treated in Bulolo for pellet wounds.

Bulolo MP Sam Basil, Menyamya MP Benjamin Phililp, provincial administrator Patilias Gamato and police today (Sunday) held crisis meetings with the Watut people in Wau and later moved to Biangai to meet with the local villages.

The Biangai villages around Wau comprise of Wandumi, Kaisenik, Kwembu, Biaweng, Ilauru, Were Were and Winima while the Watut villages stretch all the way from Wau to the border with Menyamya,

A Watut man was allegedly killed recently by Biangais over a gold-bearing piece of land on the national park, which is said to have sparked the tension.

Commander of Bulolo-based police mobile squad (MS) 15 Michael Tilae said that last Friday, the Watuts gathered in Wau town, and in a well co-ordinated dawn raid, attacked Biangai villages all the way to Kaisinik.

He said a 15-year-old paralysed boy was burned alive in a house and an old man was murdered by the Watuts and other opportunists, who numbered more than 1,000.

Mr Tilae said that last Saturday, the Watuts gathered en masse and were trying to advance on Wandumi, when they were halted by police.

“We had reinforcements from Lae and they managed to contain the situation at Wandumi Bridge,” he said.

“The Wandumis shot five Watuts that morning, who were taken to hospital, including one dead.

“Shops are closed, people are not moving around.

“Things are very tense at the moment.”

Mr Tilae said other people took advantage of the situation to converge on the Hidden Valley gold mine.

“We have one mobile squad up at Hidden Valley,” he said.

“There’s a group of Watuts up there demanding things from the company.

“We don’t know what exactly they are demanding.”

A Morobe Mining Joint Venture spokesman said today: “It was just opportunists that were taking matters into their own hands.

“It’s mainly in Wau that the skirmishes are.

“There were those who were looking to get into the mine.

“We beefed up all our security to counter that.

“The situation got volatile last Friday and as a precautionary measure, we had to move the families that were situated in Wau to Lae.

“We’ve secured the entrance to the mine so that only absolutely-essential traffic comes inside the gate.

“I understand that because of the disturbance, and the possibility of opportunists, we’ve just suspended operations for the time being.

“That’s just a precautionary measure.”

 

Christine Anu sings in 'the Haus of Ruth'

During a brief, but moving visit to Haus Ruth during her visit to Papua New Guinea, Australian icon Christine Anu told women and children: "Say it is not ok – I do not appreciate being treated like that, you cannot touch me."
Ms Anu was talking about violence, an issue that affects many communities in PNG.
She said, many times children who witnessed violence in the home ended up being perpetrators of violence themselves but, "it's possible to break the cycle”.
"You can succeed in life. You can say 'this is not what I choose for myself, or my children'. But you must take the stand, and you must believe that you can."
Through its support to the Law & Justice Sector Program's Yumi Lukautim Mosbi, AusAID sponsors three rooms at Haus Ruth for women who experience domestic violence.

Haus Ruth was established in 2003 as a crisis centre for women and children, who can receive counselling during their stay, and get support if they decide to take their cases to court.

Today is World Water Day

INTERNATIONAL WORLD WATER DAY is marked annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater to bring focus on the fast depleting water resources.

This year’s global theme is ‘Transboundary Waters –shared water, shared opportunity’.
According to SOPAC –Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission, this year’s Pacific World Water Day regional theme is: “Connecting the Pacific –Shared Waters Shared Opportunities”.

Nurturing the opportunities for cooperation in transboundary water management can help build mutual respect, understanding and trust among countries and promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth.

Transboundary more specifically means waters that cross borders.

This can not only mean across nations but also across our own provincial and local borders like the mighty Fly River and the Sepik River as well as organisation responsibilities.

With shared water and opportunity, comes a shared responsibility; meaning we all have a part to play to ensure future generation of Papua New Guineans have access to clean water and safe sanitation services.

These include national and provincial governments, local level governments, public and private users and the public at large.

Breaking news! Fighting in Wau and Hidden Valley grinds to a halt

Fighting between rival Watut and Biangai village in Wau, Morobe province, Papua New Guinea, since yesterday (Friday) has seen a number of people killed, several injured and housing and other property destroyed.

The Hidden Valley gold mine has also grinded to a halt and its workers evacuated as Watut villagers went to the mine site.

Details are still sketchy, however, Bulolo Mobile 15 police commander Michael Tilae confirmed today that two villagers from Biangai had been killed and five men from Watut were nursing gun wounds.

Bulolo MP Sam Basil and Assistant Police Commissioner Giossi Labi are on their way to Wau to meet with leaders of the warring factions.

 

 

Of doles and joblessness in Papua New Guinea

By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ of LETTERS FROM PORT MORESBY

 

 ONCE AGAIN, Papua New Guinea is on the threshold of another massive bonanza from one of its natural resources – the rich liquefied natural gas (LNG) deposits which will go on commercial production very soon.

And because of this, a ranking government official was already savoring a scenario in which about three million of the country’s jobless out of the 6.2 million people would be living on the dole in the future, according to a news report yesterday.

However, in today’s edition of The National which reported the story, Minister for Petroleum and Energy William Duma said he has been misquoted by the reporter who was present, as he was speaking to his constituents in Mt Hagen in a dialect not familiar with many Papua New Guineans, including the reporter.

Anyway, anybody who had read yesterday’s report would easily deduce that Duma was anchoring his best hopes on the US$4 billion annual tax revenue that the PNG government would earn from the soon-to-start LNG project located just outside of Port Moresby.

Duma approved the US$7 billion LNG project last May so that the country would earn more revenue for the improvement of the country’s basic services like schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, health care clinics, police services and police housing – things most of the citizens have been deprived of since the country gained independence in September 1975.

The LNG deposit is said to be “the biggest natural gas find of the century anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere or the Asia-Pacific at least for the next 20 years”, according to InterOil Corp, which is sharing ownership with ExxonMobil (Esso Highlands) as operator, Nippon Oil, Santos, AGL and Mineral Resources Development Corp, a government entity.

“Our people should be on the dole,” advocated Duma, who is projecting that each of the jobless three million Papua New Guineans could receive from 100 kina (US$34.40) to K200 (US$68.80) every two weeks (fortnight) in the future, media reports quoted him as saying.

So it goes without saying that if three million people were paid K100 each a fortnight, the amount would be K300 million (K103.2 million) every two weeks or K7.8 billion (US$2.7 billion) a year. This year, the government budget amounted only to K9 billion (US$3 billion).

Obviously, it was the best news ever received by a huge crowd in Mt Hagen, the country’s third rural city where Duma presented his dole-out scenario. It could be assumed that most of those present were jobless and were just relying on their food gardens for daily survival.

The dictionary defines dole as an unemployment benefit paid to jobless citizens by rich and industrialized nations (like Australia) that enjoy stable economies.

Despite its massive natural resources – oil, copper, nickel, gold, timber, tuna, coffee and cocoa, among others – whose respective exploitation/commercial development is now delivering hefty revenues to the government coffers (except for the nickel project which is yet to start operation), PNG has remained on the list of United Nation Human Development Index (HDI) as one of the poorest in the world.

It has been projected that once in full operation, the LNG project could boost the government’s annual budget to K21 billion (US$7.22 billion) from the current year’s budget of only K9 billion; it could take care of a number of infrastructure development and livelihood-generating activities, especially for the rural people.

More than 85% of the citizens who are based in the rural areas live in hand-to-mouth existence as there is not much sustainable farm-based livelihood for most of them. Since most of them don’t have employable skills, they could not find employment in the growing number of industries and businesses particularly in Port Moresby, now a burgeoning city of close to half-million people. So far, there are only 300,000 to 500,000 Papua New Guineans who are gainfully employed.

Although PNG began enjoying economic boom seven years ago, the benefits are just reaching the grassroots in trickle, one reason the influx of rural people into the urban centers like Port Moresby has remained unabated.

Frustrated of being unable to land a sustainable job, a number of them have taken the path of lawlessness, thus giving the city government and the police hierarchy unwanted headaches and the usual day-to-day threats on the lives of city residents, both locals and expatriates.

The rural people could not understand why, despite government’s boasting of hefty annual revenues for its coffers courtesy of the country’s natural wealth and increased annual budget, the things that would give them economic independence – jobs -- have remained elusive.

One perception that continues to persist until now is that corruption is rife in high places of the government, the main culprit why a big portion of public funds for many rural developments could vanish in thin air even before they could reach the intended beneficiaries.

Which is why the country’s attorney-general and justice minister, Dr Allan Marat, has accused his colleagues in government of being “corrupt”.

To his great awe, he learned of how the culprits are siphoning off government funds intended for rural development, and he did not mince words when he told in this week’s session at Parliament how it was being done.

Dr Marat has alleged that some members of Parliament have been setting up companies that would become halfway homes for the huge funds allocated to them, as in pork barrel, to be used in funding rural projects that would help alleviate the lives of their constituents.

He declared: “You have to be serious about corruption in your districts, in your provinces; some of us leaders are guilty of corruption, and we have set up our own personal companies in our districts and provinces to eat up all the funds that are meant for development.”

“This is a clear example of what we leaders sitting here in this very parliament have been doing.”

While Duma is seeing a future where hundred thousands of Papua New Guineans are living off public money in the form of doles, courtesy of politicians who would be enacting a law to make this a reality, the expatriate community in Port Moresby is also entertaining another scenario:

Once the LNG project starts delivering the moolah in 2012, the time when it would begin commercial operation, expect the influx of more foreigners – individuals and multinational companies -- into the country to partake of the country’s windfall.

Many of them would come in illegally, using fake visas, or by overstaying their travel visa, or by crossing the border between Irian Jaya province in Indonesia and PNG.

There’s no doubt that the bubble of corruption would continue to swell because those with easy access to development funds, which could now triple in amount owing to the influx of more dollar revenue from LNG export, would likewise find new ways to skim the milk for their own cups.

And more and more Papua New Guineans – they include would-be-politicians and practicing politicians -- would do everything to become Members of Parliament, because once they get there, they are considered “made” – as long as they know what party to stick it out with. The right party could always lead them to the path of gold, as many MPs have discovered for themselves.

In some ways, the dole-out system may work as a palliative to relieve the day-to-day crunching economic burdens of most of the people, both in the rural areas and urban centers.

But this is also a sure way to encourage laziness and dependency among Papua New Guineans who, most of them if not all, have the penchant for the easy way out. It is a culture nurtured by the “wantok” system (“wantok” loosely means “one dialect”) in which the lone gainfully employed member of a family suffers the misfortune of feeding an entire, easy-going extended family.

 

Email the writer: jarahdz500@online.net.pg

alfredophernandez@thenational.com.pg

 

A tribute to my late wife Hula

Hula...the apple of my eye

At our house in Goroka in 1999

Hula and kids enjoying the tranquility of the Port Moresby botanical gardens

A year ago, on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, my dear wife Hula passed away in Daru, Western province, leaving me and our four young children all alone. This is my tribute to Hula, which was first published last year. I miss her so much...

In life, my wife, Hula, often talked about the natural Eden-like beauty of her remote Iruupi village in the Western province, just across the Torres Strait from Australia.
We had talked many times about visiting Iruupi during our 10 years together, however, this was not to be.
My dear wife told me many-a-time of the natural beauty of Iruupi – a virtual Garden of Eden - with its waterways, barramundi, prawns, deer, wild pig, wallaby, cassowaries, taro, bananas, greens, melons, pineapple and other fruits.
She implored me to go and write a feature article of the place and take pictures of its breathtaking scenery.
Sadly, this would never be, as my beloved wife passed away so suddenly and tragically at Daru hospital on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, so far away from me and our four young children Malum Jr (7), Gedi (6), Moasing (3), and baby Keith (9 months) in Port Moresby.
Hula had been suffering from suspected post-natal complications following the birth of Keith last June.
She visited Iruupi to be with family, however, in the process, fell ill and was admitted to Daru hospital on Easter Saturday, but died the next day, leaving behind a broken-hearted husband and four young children.
Memories of another day came swirling in my mind as I struggled to come to terms with the reality that Hula, who was only 31 years of age, would never grow old with me and watch our four wonderful young children grow up.
My thoughts went back to 1998 in Lae, when I met the most-beautiful woman I had ever seen, and fell head-over-heels in love with her.
Hula, who was then living in Australia with her uncle and auntie, was in Lae for holiday when I first courted her and would not take ‘no’ for an answer.
We started dating, and our love blossomed, to the point that she left for Australia with the promise that she would be back to live with me as my wife.
Towards the end of 1998, I secured a job with the Coffee Industry Corporation in Goroka, and Hula joined me in early 1999.
We had a big three-bedroom house at the Rotary Park in West Goroka, with a big backyard and garden, and life was a dream to a young couple like us.
We’d roll on the grass like children, grow our own vegetables, take long walks along the streets of Goroka, go to market, have long lunches at the Bird of Paradise Hotel followed by a dip in the pool, lie in the park at the airport watching planes land, and catch a PMV or take a long drive to Lae as I pointed out places of interest to Hula.
Yes, indeed, life was a wonderful, carefree dream for us star-crossed lovers.
We were active members of the St John’s Lutheran Church at West Goroka, with Hula being a member of the church choir, and I have so many fond memories of watching her practice and then walking back home with our hands around each other on those cold Goroka nights.
Hula’s radiant personality and friendliness won us so many friends among the people of Goroka.
In early 2000, she became pregnant, and on Saturday, November 4, 2000, I held her at the Goroka Base Hospital and cried after she gave birth to our first son Malum Jr.
We regaled in the joy of becoming parents and enjoyed every minute of Jr growing up at our new home at North Goroka.
Our second son, Gedi, was also born in Goroka on February 13, 2002.
The laid-back lifestyle of Goroka, however, was to end later in 2002 when the CIC underwent a major retrenchment exercise in which about 75% of its staff, including me, was laid off.
We moved to the big smoke of Port Moresby, and although life was good, we never quite got to enjoy the privacy and happiness we once had in Goroka.
Hula, being the good wife that she was, stuck with me through thick and thin.
We were blessed with a third child, a girl named Moasing after my mother, in August 2004 and she brought so much joy to our hearts.
Keith came along in June 2007 to complete our hat-trick of boys and complete our basketball team.
At the end of 2007, when my three-year contract was up, I decided – after consultation with Hula – to move on to The National where we both believed I could contribute more to the country.
To mark the occasion, we family celebrated by booking a room at the Holiday Inn, where we ate and drank as much as we wanted to.
At the beginning of this year, Hula started complaining of burning sensations in her body, which doctors said was heartburn brought about by child birth.
She was put on medication, however, the sensations continued, by which time Hula insisted that she go home to her village in Iruupi.
I tried to stop her, as she was due for an internal scan and x-ray, however, she would not be moved and flew to Daru, with a relative of hers as babysitter to take care of our children in Port Moresby.
I would never see her alive again.
On Easter Monday, my daughter Moasing and I traveled to Daru with Hula’s coffin, helped to dress her up, I kissed her for the last time, and it was homeward bound on the dinghy hearse for Iruupi.
I held Moasing and cried all the way from Daru Island to Iruupi on the mainland, as all those charming places Hula had told me so many times about, came into view.
We buried her the next morning, next to her beloved father, amidst a throng of mourners.
Before I very reluctantly let her off to Daru, Hula held me, and told me: “Darling, I love you very much.
“ If I do not come back, I want you to take the children to Church every Sunday, and to make sure that they all go to university, because I never went to university.”
I know Hula is in God’s arms, away from all the evil of this earth, and will do everything I can to honour her memory.
Minji, Mamne, Ato!

Fuel flows to Mount Hagen

Fuel is again flowing into Mount Hagen.

InterOil announced the resumption of deliveries into the region following the re-opening the Highlands Highway near Mindina.

For almost a fortnight, a section of the Highway was closed to heavy vehicles because of damage caused by a landslip.

InterOil Products Limited General Manager Peter Diezmann said the company’s regional fuel depot had run dry of both gasoline (ULP) and diesel.

“Supplies into Mount Hagen have been disrupted since late February and there have been no deliveries at all for the past 12 days.

“The region was in dire straits and for more than a week the entire community was without fuel.

“It’s a situation that no one in Mount Hagen would ever want repeated”.

“The people of the Highlands were left stranded by a combination of weather and the perilous state of repair of the roadway.”

Mr. Diezmann said a convoy of three fuel tankers arrived at InterOil’s Mount Hagen Depot early yesterday (Thursday).

Two of them each carried a load of 40,000 litres of much-needed diesel fuel.

The third tanker was laden with Jet A-1 bound for the Kagamuga aviation facility.

Four more tankers are currently en route to Mount Hagen.

Three are carrying diesel and the other ULP.  These tankers will begin discharging their loads today (Friday)

InterOil and its major haulage contractor have put together a recovery plan to restore normal stocks to the regional depot.

“Hopefully we’ll be carrying our full inventory within the next fortnight”, Mr. Diezmann said.

“However this is dependent on there being no future road closures of this major highway.

“Hopefully the recent repairs will ensure the Highway remains in a safe and sound condition, regardless of the weather:”

 

For further information

 

Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager Media Relations - InterOil Corporation

Ph: (675)321 7040

Mobile: (675) 684 5168

Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com  

 

 

Papua New Guinea MPs out of touch with reality

By IAN TAUKURO

 

What was your reaction to the news in both dailies today that our MP's have voted themselves a hefty increase for housing and vehicle allowances? Was it shock? Exasperation? Or, all of this and more?

Well, I'm just as outraged as you my brother's and sisters!

For one thing, don't you think it is an appalling act in light of the flooding disaster in the highlands which has affected many people there? (As I understand it relief supplies and assistance in general for the affected people is quite slow in getting to the affected areas.)

I mean, how can the king eat cake when his people are starving? (Imagine the MP's in the Australian parliament voting themselves a pay rise while the Victorian bushfires raged!) 

Yes, once again, our MP's have demonstrated that they are truly out of touch with the rest of us who do hard time day in, day out.

In the rarefied air of that plush Haus Tambaran, they are snugly cocooned, isolated even and, as a result, rendered oblivious to the real life situation in PNG. Just take a look around the place ... our children's schools are falling apart, the roads in our country remain in a perpetual state of disrepair and our nurses, who only want a few more kina for their efforts, keep getting the run-around from the government.

Add to this the low morale of the entire public service as a result of ineffectual management, low pay, no housing, etc, and you have the makings of a civil service on the verge of collapse.

While this deplorable state of affairs goes on and on and on, billions of kina that could be used to improve the situation lie unused and, hopefully untouched too, in trust accounts.

What really gets me about what the MP's have done is that they have the power to regulate the housing industry/market through legislation so that prices and rentals are made more affordable for everyone but, no, they choose the easy and convenient way out: more pay in their wallets so they can afford an apartment in Touaguba and perhaps a Humvee too!

I was going to end my email here and send it off into cyberspace for you all to read and digest but I happened across the item in The Drum of the Post-Courier about an MP seen playing computer games on his laptop while parliament was in session ... Enough words! Somebody please take a flamethrower to that building ... NOW!!!!!

 

Ian

 

 

Papua New Guinea MPs' perks up

Housing, car allowances to increase by 42-50%

 

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

 

MEMBERS of Parliament are set to give themselves a 42% rise in accommodation allowances and a further 50% increase in vehicle allowances, The National reports.

The 35th Report of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) presented to Parliament on Wednesday afternoon by SRC member and Public Service Minister Peter O’Neill, on behalf of the Speaker, recommended the increase to Parliament.

The Speaker is chairman of the SRC.

Members will vote on the measure soon.

Mr O’Neill, on behalf of the SRC, said the report related to the accommodation allowance which, from complaints that had been received, was far below the amount charged by real estate companies and, as a result, many MPs end up staying with wantoks in the settlements whenever they come to Port Moresby. Mr O’Neill said the SRC, through its contacts, had established that the recent increase on charges for rental accommodation imposed by real estate companies was around 42%.

“The commission does not always increase the accommodation allowance whenever there is an increase in rental charges, however, in this instance because of the difficulties being experienced by leaders in securing reasonable accommodation in Port Moresby, the commission had decided to recommend an increase along the same level as imposed by the real estate companies,” Mr O’Neill said.

The second matter that the report dealt with related to vehicle allowance.

Mr O’Neill said the SRC was aware that the type of vehicle (a Mazda 929), upon which the vehicle allowance was originally determined, was no longer sold in Papua New Guinea.

“This meant that another vehicle type will need to be determined in order to update the allowance base. This will be done in due course.

“In the meantime, Mr Speaker, the commission has decided to recommend an increase of 50% on all vehicle allowances.

“I recommend the report to the honourable Members of the House.”

According to figures taken from the SRC determination of 2007, released on July 1, the Prime Minister, Speaker, Deputy Prime Minister and Opposition leader and ministers enjoy a vehicle allowance of K49, 500 and drivers get K7, 150 annually.

This will now be increased to about K75, 000 and drivers’ pay to increase to about K12, 000 per annum.

Vice-ministers, chairmen of parliamentary committees and the deputy Speaker are now receiving an official vehicle allowance of K42, 075, which will increase to about K63, 000.

MPs receive a vehicle allowance of K24, 750 each and that will increase to K40, 000.

For accommodation, the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker and leader of Opposition currently receive K1, 400 a week, which is likely to increase to around K2, 100 a week.

Ministers and chairmen of parliamentary committees get K1,200 a week, deputy Speaker, vice-ministers, deputy chairmen of committees get around K900 a week while Opposition and Government whips get K800 a week.

Ordinary MPs receive around K700 a week and will see an increase of 42% with the recommended increase in accommodation allowances.

 

Eastern Highlands vegetable farmers get a new depot, thanks to New Zealand

Captions: 1. The Nomari Fresh Food Marketing Depot after the opening. 2.  FPDA general manager Ambassador Aiwa Olmi, New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner Alistair  Crozier and other invited guests at the opening. 3. New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner Alistair Crozier cutting the ribbon to officially open the Nomari Fresh Food Marketing Depot.

By GARY FAGAN of Fresh Produce Development Agency

RURAL vegetable farmers in the Mando area of Eastern Highlands province no longer have to worry about the difficulties of getting their fresh produce to market.
They now have a new fresh food marketing depot in the village at which they can easily sell their produce.
 Nomari fresh food marketing depot came about with the assistance of the Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA).
 FPDA is a government-funded agency responsible for developing a commercially-orientated supply chain of fresh food, and mandated to improve the performance of the fruit and vegetable industry by providing expert assistance in the area of training, research and information.
 “It’s a dream come true and something that we have waited for a long time,” said farmer Veronica Wasari.
“My problems are now over.
“I don’t have to worry anymore about the hardships I face in finding transport to take my fresh produce into Goroka town markets.
“I can sell them right here in my village.”
The depot was officially opened by the New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner Alistair Crozier.
He was accompanied by Therron McIvor, a representative from the Foreign Affairs Pacific Division of the New Zealand (NZ) High Commission.
Mr Crozier his government over the last few years had been assisting PNG in terms of funding such projects to develop its fresh produce industry.
He said so far New Zealand has supported about 200 PNG students to undertake studies in various disciplines in different educational institutions.
“We want to help the people of Papua New Guinea, however, you have to be committed in what you are doing before we can be able to assist you,” Mr Crozier said.
 “The New Zealand aid is like a seed planted in the ground and it is up to you to look after it and make it grow and bear fruit.”
 Outgoing FPDA general manager Ambassador Aiwa Olmi challenged the people to allocate land if they wanted to see development in their province.
He said FPDA had been trying to set up a permanent headquarter in Goroka but was unable to do so because there was no available land.
In 2007, the Nomari fresh food marketing depot started with a handful of youths, led by now chairman of the depot Rocky Aimo, with the idea of keeping the youths away from illegal activities and get them in living meaningful lives.
With support from FPDA, in terms of providing training on farming techniques, helping them to source markets and later guiding them to secure a funding of K47, 000 from NZ Aid, the group was able to construct the depot.
Mr Aimo first started off as a village extension worker attached to FPDA.
He said the depot would serve as a fresh produce chilling and storage facility.
Mr Aimo said so far the depot had shipped over 200 tonnes of fresh vegetables. 
From the money raised, the depot was able to buy a new truck to transport fresh produce to Lae to be shipped to South Seas Tuna in Wewak.

Pineapple processing in South Fly

Captions: 1. Participants of the pineapple training workshop at Daru High School. 2. A participant from Dimiri village (left) and South Fly agricutltural officer Ginoi Waina trying out the grating and filtering stages of making pineapple juice. 3. Dimiri participants and trainers posing for a group photo after the pineapple processing training at Daru High School. 4. Isidora Ramita of NARI showing the formation of pineapple jam jelly during one of the demonstrations on fruit processing.

By JOSEPHINE YAGA      

Fruit farmers in Western province can now produce their own juice and jams from pineapple, thanks to National Agriculture Research Institute for training on food processing which was conducted recently in Daru.
Thirty fruit farmers in the Dimiri area of Moreheard LLG, South Fly district, attended the two-day training conducted by NARI food technologist Isidora Ramita.
It was facilitated by James Ernest of NARI Laloki and Ginoi Waina of division of agriculture, South Fly.
It was part of the Morehead Food Security Support Project funded by PNG Sustainable Development Programme and NARI in 2008.
Mr Ernest said commercial production of fruits and vegetables was increasing in some parts of PNG.
 However, during post-harvest and delivery to markets, there is substantial lose of produce due to over ripening or rotting and careless handling.  
He said fruit producers generally lacked the skills and techniques in proper processing, preservation and adding value to their produce.
Mr Ernest, who is also the coordinator of this technology transfer project, noted in the training report that pineapple farmers in the Dimiri community planted some 26,000 pineapples as an income generating project initiated by the villagers themselves.
The pineapples were harvested and sold at the local market in Daru town for K 2 to K4 a fruit but the villagers could not sell all the harvests, resulting in a huge lose due to over ripening.
After identifying the problem, NARI organised the raining workshop last December.
Mr Ernest said the project provided an alternative by training the producers the simple food processing technologies on making pineapple juice and jams.
 It was also aimed at reducing transportation cost and adding value to the produce which can be sold to earn higher income or extended storage for later use.
He said one of the key components of the project was to provide appropriate farmer trainings to enhance skills and knowledge of the rural people both in farming practices and simple food processing technologies.
The participants stated that the training was the first of its kind to be conducted in Daru, particularly in the South Fly, and asked for more.
 According to Mr Ernest, the participants also raised concern about the importance of the training and the need for the trainers and facilitators to have ample time doing awareness of such training to attract more number of potential participants. 

Landmark decision on old Lae airport

Caption: Jubilant Butibam leaders Jonathan Benjamin, Jonathan Saing, Sam Abel, Ali Isaac, Garett Kissinh, Barry Way, Thomas Peleli and lawyer Frankford Dagina.

The Supreme Court today handed down a landmark decision on the controversial old Lae airport land by rejecting an application to stay order taken out by Ahi landowners from Butibam and Kamukumung villages against the Morobe provincial government and the State.
The court noted that the landowners had not been adequately compensated for all anguish and turmoil they had gone through over the years,
It has long been a sore thumb in Lae as Morobe Governor Luther Wenge and his administrator Patilias Gamato fought a war of words both within and out of court against the villagers.
Just a couple of week ago, things came to a head at the old Lae airport, as old Butibam women were manhandled and beaten by Lae police.
Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika, in a short one-page decision, refused the application of the Morobe government and its illegal LEC/LEH Joint Venture Ltd.
Village elders from Butibam and Kamkumung, flanked by their lawyer Frankford Dagina, hailed the Supreme Court decision as a huge victory for their people, who they said had been robbed of their birthright.
They included outspoken Butibam leader Garett Kissing, Ahi Landowners’ Association president Jonathan Saing, general secretary Ali Isaac, Butibam village chairman Jonathan Benjamin and Apo clan leader Sam Abel.
In the National Court, the provincial government was claiming the whole old Lae airport land, under a five-year urban development lease (UDL), which expired on Feb 26, 2009.
The landowners successfully fought in court to dismiss that case, and from which, the provincial government provincial government appealed to the Supreme Court.
“The Morobe provincial government was seeking to stay that order of Feb 13, 2009, on the basis that Morobe provincial government and LEC/LEH Joint Venture have a contract for construction of an access road within the old Lae airport for K3 million,” Mr Dagina said.
“On Monday, March 16, the matter was heard and it was adjourned to today for a decision.
“The Supreme Court had refused the application to stay on this basis:
•       LEC/LEH Joint Venture Ltd is not registered with the Investment Promotion Authority;
•       The five-year UDL had expired on Feb 26, 2009; and
•       The Morobe Provincial Government was in continuous breach of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the State and the landowners signed in 1999.
“In making the decision, the court noted that the landowners are yet to be adequately compensated for the land, pursuant to the Constitution and relevant Acts for the whole of Lae land.”
Emotional Butibam leaders said: “This land issue goes back a very long time.
“It has been through God’s grace that this matter has finally been sorted out, and we are seeking an end to all of this, as after all, we are the legitimate landowners of the old Lae airport and the whole of Lae City.
“We are seeking that the government address our current situation.
“The people of Butibam and Kamkumung really appreciate the decision of the Deputy Chief Justice and the Supreme Court today over the old Lae airport land.
“It is a victory for the oppressed and it’s a victory that gives the people the value of ownership, which has been deprived of us for several decades up to now.
“The people of Butibam and Kamkumung today acknowledge that there is justice, there is fairness, and there is a process that has never been shown in such a way until today.
“Amidst all the legitimised corruption of the Morobe provincial government, we invite the Somare/Temu government to come in and develop Lae City with the direct involvement of the landowners.”

Asia-Pacific agricultural researchers awarded Australian Fellowships

Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, today presented the John Dillon Memorial Fellowship award to nine talented agricultural scientists and economists – including three from Papua New Guinea -  from the across the Asia-Pacific region

The Fellowship recipients are visiting Australia at the invitation of the Australian Government for leadership training and to make making valuable connections with Australians working in similar fields during their six-week visit.

“Each member of the group has shown potential to lead research institutes and agencies in our partner countries and will be important contributors to the global effort to fight poverty and secure world food security,”Mr McMullan said.

 “They have each won a John Dillon Fellowship, provided by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, ACIAR, for short-term leadership development opportunities in the area of agricultural research management, agricultural policy and extension technologies to people who are participating in ACIAR-funded programs.” McMullan said. 

The scheme is named in recognition of the late Professor John Dillon who made an outstanding contribution to international agricultural research and research collaboration.  

“This year we are once again hosting an impressive group of people who are doing important work on agricultural development in their countries in collaboration with ACIAR,” said ACIAR CEO, Peter Core.

“They are involved in a range of industries, such as the coffee industry in Papua New Guinea, cattle production in Eastern Indonesia, and in Pakistan’s horticultural industries.”

The group of John Dillon Fellows are in Canberra from 10-20 March, visiting ACIAR, the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and eWater CRC at the University of Canberra. 

The remainder of the program has been specially tailored to their individual management training needs. 

“The Fellows’ six week visit in Australia commenced with management training at Mt Eliza Business School, and includes training in Canberra and Brisbane.  In addition the Fellows have had placements with Australian R&D organisations in Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra, Wagga Wagga and Sydney, to experience how they manage research in a changing environment,” Mr Core said.

“The John Dillon Fellowship scheme is just one aspect of the valuable capacity building work ACIAR does,” Mr McMullan said.

The 2009 ACIAR John Dillon Fellows include: 

·        Ms Wahida, Coordinator, Collaborative Research Division, Indonesian Center for Agricultural Socio Economic and Policy Studies, Bogor, INDONESIA

·        Dr Marsetyo, Senior Lecturer, Department of Animal Science, University of Tadulako, Palu, INDONESIA

·        Mr Handoko Widagdo, Acting Country Director, World Education Indonesia, Jakarta, INDONESIA

·        Mr Nelson Simbiken, Senior Research Scientist, Papua New Guinea Coffee Industry Corporation, Goroka, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

·        Mr William Kerua, Lecturer, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

·        Mr Don Yakuma, Program Coordinator Forestry, OK Tedi Development Foundation, Tabubil, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

·        Mr Chea Sareth, Deputy Head of Socio-economics and Science Division, Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA 

·        Dr Babar Ehsan Bajwa, Manager (Technical), Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board, Lahore, PAKISTAN

·        Mr Oupakone Alounsavath, Director, Planning and Cooperation, Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Vientiane, LAO PDR

 

Jungle Child movie seeks Papua New Guinea actors and actresses

Captions: 1. Sabine Kuegler with Fayu warrior. 2. Sabine Kuegler as a child (above) and later a young woman with Fayu friends. 3. Sabine Kuegler with Fayu children. 4. Sabine Kuegler…torn between two races. 5. Cover of Dschunglkind (Jungle Child) by Sabine Kuegler

German film production company UFA Cinema Germany will shortly be conductiong an audition to scout Papua New Guinea actors and actresses for a film called Dschunglkind (Jungle Child) which will be shot in Malaysia in 2010.
The auditioning, which has the full support of the National Cultural Commission, will be held on March 31 at the Raun Raun Theatre in Goroka, April 1 and 2 at the Ulli Beier Theatre at the University of PNG in Port Moresby, April 4 at the Vanimo Sports Oval, April 6 at the Prince Charles Oval in Wewak and April 8 at the Madang Visitors and Cultural Bureau.
The film, based on a bestselling German book of the same name, tells the story of Sabine Kuegler and her missionary parents and how they go to live in a remote jungle area of West Papua, Indonesia, among the recently-discovered Fayu, a tribe untouched by modern civilisation.
It is her remarkable true story of a childhood lived out in the jungle, and the struggle to conform to European society that followed.
David Taim, senior festival officer with the NCC, said the German company visited PNG last year, and after having a look in our jungles, opted for Malaysia for logistical reasons, however, the bulk of actors would come from PNG.
“They are seeking to recruit more than 50 actors and actress,” he said.
“The audition is open to any interested public Theatre groups and individuals.
“All wishing to come for audition must be in traditional costume.”
Mr Taim added: “One casting will be done by me and the Australia casting director called Angela Heesom, and the second one will be done by the Germans.
“Then the cast will be finalised and we will work the logistics of how to move the actors over to Malaysia.
“By February next year, they should be flying over.
“The German director travelled to PNG with his technical people last year, scouting locations for this film.
“They went to Lae and Goroka, however, the forests were not to their liking, and they chose Malaysia.
“It was also a matter of logistics.”
Mr Taim stressed that such opportunities for PNG only came once in a blue moon; hence, he would be working closely with the German company to ensure that it gets nothing less than the best from us.
Dschunglkin, first published in 2005, is the story of how an exotic, touching, and unique childhood leads into the drama of a woman who longs to revisit her homeland.
It is highly-emotional, exciting, full of humor, in parts even poetic
“It must have been October. I’m 17 years old, standing at the train station in Hamburg,” Sabine Kuegler writes.
“An icy wind sweeps across the platform.
“I’m terribly cold; nobody explained to me how to dress in winter.
“I’m nervous, all of my senses are on edge.
“I observe the people around me with mistrust and I’m ready to hit anyone who should attack me.
“How can I defend myself?
“I have neither a bow and arrow nor a knife on me.
“I start to shiver, tears roll down my cold cheeks, I long for the humid heat of my homeland.
“I’m a child of the jungle.”
Sabine Kuegler’s story begins as she arrives in West Papua at age five, daughter of German linguists who are missionaries.
She arrives to find a tribe which even today lives as if it were the Stone Age.
She had already spent her earliest years far from civilisation, but now her parents build a house for themselves and their three children in the middle of the jungle, only reachable by air or by sea.
The little blonde girl falls in love with the jungle at first sight – it’s a fantasy world, a playground.
She learns to hunt, to climb, to swim in the raging river which is teeming with crocodiles.
She knows how to shoot arrows at poisonous spiders and how to start a fire without matches.
Instead of French fries she eats roasted insects, instead of gum she chews bat wings.
She learns how brutal nature can be – but also what war and hatred among people can mean.
The once-cannibal Fayu people penalises every infraction with death.
And yet the children of this tribe are like brothers and sisters to Sabine.
At age 17 Sabine is sent to a Swiss boarding school to get her diploma – a disastrous turn of events for her, since she feels and acts like a Fayu.
“Fear is something I didn’t learn until I got here,” she says, but also, “Deep inside me is a fighter.
“I survived in the jungle, why not here?”
And so Sabine learns everything for the first time – how to shop, how to greet people, how to cross the street.
Today, after 14 years in civilisation, she blends in with everyone else, and she has a family and a job.
But homesickness and longing constantly burn inside her.
She is going to return to the jungle to find out for herself: Where do I belong? Who am I really, a Fayu or a European?
Sabine Kuegler writes: “I want to tell a story, a story about a girl who grew up in another age.
“A story of love, hate, forgiveness, brutality, and the beauty of life.
“It’s a true story. It is my story...”
“I had an indescribably beautiful, but also danger-filled childhood.
“I walked barefoot through the jungle and I was one with nature.
“And here, in the only recently-discovered Fayu tribe, which stood for cannibalism and unimaginable brutality, a tribe that still lived in the Stone Age, that was just learning to love instead of hate, to forgive instead of kill, a tribe that became a part of me as I became a part of it, this is where my life changed.
“I wasn’t a German girl anymore, not a white girl from Europe anymore – I became a native, a Fayu girl from the Iyareke tribe.
“In the jungle, when you’ve found food for yourself and your family, then you have done your duty.
“There’s nothing else to do or to worry about.”
“It was only later that I came to understand that my childhood was unique.
“That I don’t have to be ashamed of being from the jungle.
“Beauty, danger, adventure, simplicity and miracle are words that can only describe part of the life I left behind. I want my book to show that there is more to life than money, technology, and progress.”
David Taim can be contacted on telephone (675) 3235114, mobile (675) 71107651 or email ncc@culturetok.org.pg