Remembering the great Ian Downs – builder of the Highlands Highway

By MALUM NALU

Many of those legendary Australian kiaps (patrol officers) who helped develop Papua New Guinea into what it is today will sadly not be around as the country celebrates 35 years of independence next month.

Such a man was Ian Downs, who died on Tuesday August 24, 2004, in the Gold Coast, aged 89, one of the greatest and most legendary men who walked this country.

Ian Downs

Downs is remembered as the principal facilitator of the contruction of the Highlands Highway – linking the Highlands, Lae and Madang - as well as being a powerful influence in the founding of PNG’s great coffee industry.

The entire highway today covers about 700 km, rising from sea level to over 8000 ft and much of it going through some of the most-rugged terrain in PNG.

A semi-trailer along the Highlands Highway outside Kundiawa.-Pictures by MALUM NALU

It is all situated in the tropics and, as a result, tropical downpours coupled with the great elevation cause regular and consistent damage to the Highway and its feeder roads.

Drainage is a critical issue and blocked drains usually result in landslides, landslips, and large sections of the road just falling away.

Border of Simbu and Western Highlands provinces at Munde

The highway opened up the Highlands and provided the initial impetus for the coffee industry to flourish and prosper, and provided the initial link for the initial political unification process of PNG.

A farmer rehabilitating his coffee garden in the Waghi Valley under Coffee Industry Corporation's coffee rehabilitation programme

The highway, for the Highlands, was their gateway to the world, and all of that region’s valuable coffee exports leave by the same route.

Most of what makes modern living possible arrives in the Highlands via the highway, and that entire region’s valuable coffee exports leave by the same route.

Main street of Banz, Western Highlands province

The Porgera gold mine would never have been established without the highway, and it continues to be a lifeline for Porgera mine and the oil and gas projects in the Southern Highlands.

At lower elevations, Ramu Sugar has tonnes of sugar exports that get to the Lae Port via the Markham section of the highway.

Woman struggles along rundown Minj, Western Highlands province, which is a skeleton of its former self

There is no single infrastructural asset of greater value to PNG than the Highlands Highway.

It was while reading some most-misleading information about the Highlands Highway in the media recently, including who built it and when it was first built, that I decided to go through some old files

Roadside market near Yonki, Eastern Highlands

In 1953, thanks to Ian Downs, you could drive from Lae to Goroka and on to Mount Hagen.

He was also a member of the first House of Assembly in 1964, when he collected a record majority of over 100,000 votes – which goes to show the respect he commanded – to win the seat of the New Guinea Highlands, a constituency in the central highlands region with a population of over half a million people.

 In the face of an increasingly nationalist style of politics he decided not to stand for re-election in 1968, and retired from parliament to take up private interests.

“He’s the one who got the road (Highlands Highway) through,” pioneer Highlands explorer Mick Leahy once said of Downs.

Evangelical Bible Church property at Kassam, Eastern Highlands

“He’s a man and a half this Downs.

“A few more like him and New Guinea would really get somewhere.”

A man of intellect and a great strength of character, Downs was also a writer of note.

A former patrol officer who rose to the position of deputy administrator in the mid-1950s, Downs was a prominent figure in PNG in the last years of the Australian trusteeship, and possibly the only person who combined the roles of administrator, politician, planter and historian.

Ian Fairley Graham Downs was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1915 and was educated at Brighton and Geelong Grammar Schools between 1926 and 1928.

He entered the Royal Australian Naval College as a midshipman in 1915, and in 1935, joined the New Guinea administration as a cadet patrol officer.

Downs took up his appointment to New Guinea in 1936 and was one of the first patrol officers assigned to the Western Highlands.

He accompanied John Black and Jim Taylor on part of their famous Hagen-Sepik patrol in 1938-39.

From 1942 to 1945, Downs was a Coastwatcher with the Royal Australian Navy in New Guinea waters.

Downs returned to New Guinea after World War II and by 1951 was the youngest district commissioner in the administration, based in Madang.

Between 1952-56 he held the position of district commissioner in Goroka, before resigning to take up coffee farming and to enter politics.

Succeeding the late George Greathead as district commissioner to the then Central Highlands, a huge “middle kingdom” of more than a million people stretching from Kassam in the East to the then Dutch New Guinea border in the West.

Disillusioned with official policy, Downs resigned from his post as district commissioner in 1956 and in the following year gained election as Member for the New Guinea Mainland in the Legislative Council.

As a parliamentarian he was further elected in 1961 to the administrator's advisory council (later known as the administrator's executive council), a board set up to advise the Administrator on policy issues.

Downs resigned from the government, where he had long been a member of the legislative council, to contest this country’s first national elections.

Downs was elected to the first House of Assembly in 1964 with a record majority of over 100, 000 votes.

For the next four years he held the seat of the New Guinea Highlands, a constituency in the Central Highlands region with a population of over half a million people.

In the face of an increasingly nationalist style of politics he decided not to stand for re-election in 1968, and retired from parliament to take up private interests.

He involved himself deeply in the infant coffee industry, being instrumental in the creating of the original Coffee Marketing Board in 1964, of the coffee exporting company Coffee International Ltd, of the Highlands Farmers & Settlers Association and its trading arm Farmset Ltd, and was active in many areas of PNG’s early political and social development.

It was during these years that Downs pioneered what became known as Korfena Plantations, a group of coffee plantations centred in the Upper Asaro Valley, as well as one of the first village-based coffee marketing groups known as Upper Asaro Coffee Community Ltd.

His novel The Stolen Land was published in 1970, and he returned to Australian in 1970 after 35 years in the country.

His widely respected publication The Australian Trusteeship: Papua New

Guinea, 1945-75 was published in 1980, followed by his autobiography The Last Mountain in 1986.

Ian Downs’ contribution to the founding of modern-day Papua New Guinea was immense, and thousands who knew him well have mourned his passing.

Papua New Guinea an artificial state!

From TONY FLYNN

Wau

Morobe Province

 

Democracy?

This is a corrupt society from the base.

Papua New Guinea is built from the top as an artificial democratic state.

All real democracies have a stable farming community.

You may wish to look back through history at the viable nation states, smallest to largest.

They all had some form of farm tenure that allowed the farmers and artisans to support the entire society, the leaders recognised this in the way they ran the state.

The state was based on the production of its people. Leaders were nowhere without the economic support of the people.

The farmers and artisans may have been treated badly, but they were always the support of the state.

The Papua New Guinea state is based the support given by aid agencies and the production of the resource exploiters.

The production of the people does not have much impact on the influential leaders.

Because of this little consideration is given to the people; our leaders do not have to look to the people to support the state.

 The purpose of the people is to be misled once every five years; they are then of no further use apart from being used as a cover-up for the leaders in their self-aggrandisement.

The people have no effective voice after the election; at least until shortly before the next one.

The people can safely be ignored while our leaders deal with the people who really matter; the aid givers and the exploiters of the resources of PNG.

 In PNG most of our politicians are joined at the hip in their greed for aid money and the money from the external exploiters of PNG resources.

To promote sustainable farming and assist the formation of a stable state

Slash-and-burn agricultural system is the result of thousands of years of isolation. Sustainable farming can only be built on a permanent and stable farming system.

From this base we may, as others have, develop a stable government.

Until there is a big change in the farming system away from shifting agriculture, the entire state is based upon exploitation.

Developers exploit the minerals, fisheries and forests.

 They exhaust the resource and move.

The PNG farmers exploit the soil; they exhaust the soil and they also move on.

In general PNG politicians exploit the people, if successful they are re-elected, otherwise a new exploiter takes his place.

 Rarely do we see a true servant of the people succeed.    

  This is the situation that has to change before the majority of our population (our farmers) can improve our society to the betterment of our ordinary citizens.

Land registration not the way to go!

From ANTHONY FLYNN

Wau

Morobe Province

  

By promoting land registration our leaders are now advocating a return to the pre-independence days of expatriate development. Village land is to be registered and our leaders will find developers. 

This is quite clear from the Prime minister’s comments on the front page of a newspaper.  

Our leaders have now acknowledged their collective failure to produce efficient small farmers throughout Papua New Guinea.

It can be readily understood that agricultural development and profits do not come in a few years; the economic life of the present young generation will be over by the time that the land should be returned.

I have grave doubts that the land will ever be returned to the people under a later regime.  

Corruption appears to be the order of the day now.

Corruption will remain and can only be worse when these land registration deals mature.

With many other citizens, my experience is that Lands Department, with other departments, is corrupt.

It is now 35 years after independence; Papua New Guinea is full of villagers and villages that are all consumers of services and producing little.

 This is a country of unsustainable slash and burn gardens.

There are very few developed farms to be handed on to sons.

 We should be developing many, more independent, stable farming communities.

Almost everything relating to agriculture depends largely on the necessary input of expatriates.

When there are no produce exporters, there is no export income; no feed mill, no chicken business; no flourmill, no bread; no importers, no tools, etc.

 In the early 1960’s I enjoyed fresh milk and cream from Jersey cows in the Trobriands; fresh milk, cream and cheese at the Lutheran missions throughout the Highlands.

I helped a missionary to make bacon near Kundiawa.

Are these things beyond the ability of the people of today?

The stable farming system where these activities can develop has never been promoted.

New tools, yes; new crops, yes; stable farming system, no! 

Lack of funds not the only reason for Lae roads

By ROBIN YALAMBING

Registered Civil Engineer

Institute of Engineers of Papua New Guinea

 

Lack of   funds is not the only reason for poor construction works on the Lae roads.

The process involve in a life of a road project is as follows:

1. Inception;

2. Feasibility study - (if feasible then funding is sourced for full design and construction);

3. Detailed engineering design (feed);

4. Tendering followed by bids evaluation and contract award;

5. Mobilisation and procurement by contractor;

6. Quality assurance - supervision (and sometimes management by a different contractor or Department of Works engineers); and

7. Certification and commissioning.

 If all the above have been carefully and professionally executed, we would never have problems with sub-standard road works like we are seeing in Lae.            

All registered engineers with IEPNG are duty bound by the institution's code of ethics and perform their roles with great care and diligence.                     

Obviously, registered civil engineers were not involved in the supervision of the recently upgraded Lae roads to ensure quality assurance is achieved.                      

 I have not seen the Lae roads design myself but I believe DoW will not be foolish enough to award the design contract to an incompetent consultant to prepare the design and the tender documents, however, an investigation if carried out can tell us if the design was superior or not and whether the construction contractors did their work in accordance with all specifications stated in the design correctly and that the failure lies with the design.

 I would strongly recommend that an investigation be carried out to establish as to why the recently-constructed section of the road running along Lae Technical College failed to perform after less then 12 months which is unacceptable.

After all public money was used and someone should be held accountable.

 

Prime Minister's court case of public interest

The Opposition has urged the Supreme Court to decide speedily on Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare’s court appeal to stop the Ombudsman Commission from investigating his alleged misconduct charges relating to declaration of annual returns.

 Leader of the Opposition, Sir Mekere Morauta and Deputy Leader Bart Philemon stressed that the matter is of national interest and the people of Papua New Guinea are entitled to get a decision one way or another.

 Sir Mekere and Mr Philemon pointed out that the case went before the High Court in 2008, over two years ago.

 “Why has it taken the Supreme Court so long? The public is becoming suspicious. It is in Supreme Court’s interest to bolster the public confidence in the Supreme Court,” they stressed.

 The Ombudsman Commission (OC) alleges that Sir Michael failed to lodge annual returns for the periods 1994/5, 1995/96 and 1996/7, his lodgement returns for the periods 1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2001/02, 20003/04 and incomplete statements for periods 1992/93, 1993/94,1997/98, 1999/2000, 2000.01, 20001/02 and 20002/03.

 The OC referred the PM to the Public Prosecutor for it to ask the Chief Justice to appoint a Leadership Tribunal to deal with the allegations, but Sir Michael went to court seeking orders to stop the OC from investigating him.

 On June 24 , 2008, National Court Judge, Justice Derek Hartshorn rejected an application by Sir Michael for a temporary injunction to stop the OC from investigating him.

 When rejecting Sir Michael’s temporary injunction, Judge Hartshorn ruled that it was not in the interest of the justice of the general public that lawful authorities should be prevented from performing their legal and constitutional duties.

The PM had gone to court asking the court to grant him certain declarations and a permanent injunction preventing the OC from continuing its investigations.

Sir Michael had contended that the OC lacked jurisdiction to continue the investigations. The conduct of their investigations was oppressive, subject to excessive delays and breached the rules of natural justice to act fairly reasonably and in good faith.

 He also alleged that the decision not to engage an Independent Examiner under section 19 of the Organic Law on Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership, as requested by him was decided by an individual and not the majority quorum of three Independent Constitutional Office Holders despite bias allegations raised by his client against the Commission.

 However, Judge Hartshorn in a seven-page decision stated that Sir Michael did not have a strong case to stop the OC from continuing its investigations.

“It is not in the interest of justice or the public interest that lawful authorities should be prevented from carrying out their lawful investigations. Any such prevention should only occur in very clear cases of abuse,” Judge Hartshorn stressed.

The Judge was satisfied given the evidence before him that the PM’s appeal was not serious and the OC be allowed to continue its investigations.

Effectively, the ruling meant that the Public Prosecutor could proceed to ask the Chief Justice to appoint a Leadership Tribunal to determine the charges against the Prime Minister.

On June 30 2008, the PM’s lawyers refiled their appeal matter in the Supreme Court to be heard that afternoon.

The appeal matter related to the refusal of the National Court to grant an order restraining the OC from investigating the PM on an alleged breach of the Leadership Code.

PM’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal basically appealing the whole of the Judgment of Derek Hartshorn in dismissing their notice of motion.

In the notice of appeal,  they relied on seven grounds saying that in respect of each and every grounds, the National Court erred in the exercise of its discretion which if not overturned would result in the unlawful actions of an authority going unscrutinised by the court and causing serious injustice to the appellant.

The Supreme Court is yet to make a ruling of this matter.

Section 4 of the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of the Leadership require every person who is subject to the Leadership Code to furnish the OC every year details of assets, income and other required information.

Sir Mekere and Mr Philemon said that they were merely asking the Supreme Court to perform its constitutional duty and role in the public interest.

“The Supreme Court owes it to the nation and people to make an effort to decide in this case in the national interest. It is not our intention to interfere with the work of Supreme Court, but expect the Court to do its job speedily,” they concluded.

Update on Lae roads

From GEORGE GWARE

Just to give you all some update on progress of current works, I have pasted below extracts from Last Friday’s Lae Chamber of Commerce newsletter.

It is a nightmare driving in Lae. 

Some of us put up with it everyday but we should not accept this as NORMAL. 

It is not and we deserve better.

Apart from the financing issues, there is also the tender process which fails to award contracts to competent service providers. 

Why would the tender board (I think it is the provincial board) award contract to a contractor who has not provided any design? 

Refer below – MARKHAM ROAD JUNCTION TO SEVENTH STREET ROUNDABOUT. 

The contractor is EAST WEST 1 and is owned by an Asian who is a naturalised citizen. 

 I know East West 1’s core business was in mechanical repairs but now…civil works?

 They ripped up the road in June but have not done any work since. 

With the recent rain, the road down hill is worst than driving through a rural plantation road.

With the scarce financial resources and the deteriorating road conditions, why can’t the tender board for ONCE, do the right thing and engage only competent contractors?

Quality of work and supervision from the government’s engineer is not there. 

How can we tax payers get value for our money? 

If you think money is our only problem, think again.

LAE ROAD WORKS – HUON ROAD

SEVENTH STREET ROUNDABOUT TO ADMIN COMPOUND

This is a follow up report from Dekenai Constructions (PNG) Limited of the Plans and Progress on the work being undertaken on this section of Huon Road.

·        Continuation of culvert placement, drainage works, footpaths etc. all subject to weather.

·        Continue to grade road to reduce potholes.

Dekenai still asks all drivers to slow down along this section of Huon Road whilst construction is in process. They do not want to close off the road but will be forced to do so if it gets too dangerous.

MARKHAM ROAD JUNCTION TO SEVENTH STREET ROUNDABOUT

At least the contractor put his grader to good use this week and graded the downhill section so that traffic could get through. Apart from this no designs have yet been provided to allow the construction work to begin.

LAE TO NADZAB SECTION OF THE HIGHWAY

Under the HHRMP (Highlands Highway Road Maintenance Program) Shorncliffe PNG Ltd have continued to maintain the worst sections of the Highway from Lae to Nadzab, which was damaged in the recent heavy rains. They will manage these sections to a reasonable standard, until it is dry enough to repair properly.

This morning the grader was sent in to the 4-Mile section which had become a bit rough again, and slowed down the traffic. Gravel was used and the grader levelled off the worst sections.

MARKHAM ROAD JUNCTION WITH BUMBU ROAD

Whilst traffic currently has difficulty negotiating this junction, we can look forward to a positive outcome. The National Roads Authority is committed to making a permanent solution to this junction. The sandbagging exercise continues, so as to establish the best size and location for a roundabout to be constructed. When this has been decided, then work will commence on making a cement road and roundabout.

Unfortunately the weather is against the sandbagging exercise as the sandbags become waterlogged and break easily. This exercise is not helped by vehicles taking short cuts over the bags or on the wrong side.

When the cementing of the road actually starts, the contractor has been instructed to keep one side open at all times, to allow traffic to have continued access, along the Highway as well as to the ancillary roads.

The NRA will also maintain the section of the Highway between the Church Street junction to the Boundary Road roundabout.

LAE ROADS

The LCCI has continued to engage in an exercise with the Lae City Urban LLG Engineers, to do a cost analysis for repairing the road network for the whole of the Lae City. The roads have been categorised and the costs apportioned depending on the different degrees of urgency, using recognised road maintenance and road construction formulas.

It is hoped that the funding of the roads will be addressed with the National Planning Office.

In the meantime the City Council will be trying to keep the roads at least trafficable, by grading and rolling the worst sections, and gravelling the worst potholes. The main areas of concentration will be the residential roads opposite the Polytechnical College, and the Kwila Road and the other residential roads in this area. These residential roads have been damaged by excessive use by vehicles, avoiding the worst sections of the main roads.

An unbreakable bond: Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands Forum

By MAVARA HANUA

As the Pacific Islands Forum gets underway in Port Vila, it reminded me of the first time I attended the various preparatory meetings.

 From the lead ups to the special sessions, I saw a sea of men and women conveying their government positions since they were independent.

 From poverty reduction, climate change, sea level rise and the occasional security issue.

Fancy cocktails followed where a host of technicolor island tapestry filled the fale.

From bright bula shirts, to elegant pulitasis, the men and women of the region continued their indulgence on regional integration.

Of course, being Papua New Guinean, we’d naturally gravitated to the liquor section where merrier subject was the order of the evening.

Rugby, Fiji’s suspension and taking the piss out of the Polynesian delegates that think their shit doesn’t stink. 

In retrospect, I couldn’t help asking the same question perhaps Australia and New Zealand officials were asking that evening as well, what are we doing in this region?

I mean it’s got loads of salt water, pretty faces and coconuts, but that’s it.

None of the economies are worth the trade as the opportunity costs will be sky high and many of their capitals are like district headquarters so why would any of us want to go live there?

Since the liquor was running well that evening, I broached this question to an old dog that’s been doing this stuff for a while and he looked back at me and said it’s fueling the chief’s ego.

We engage with these guys because this is where he still holds high standing.

Too many chiefs in Africa, too many kings in Asia, too many professors/doctors in the Caribbean but there is only one Grand Chief.

He ranted on, as long as this nation claims to be a Christian country, we will be seeing the Pacific.

But remember, missionaries of Buddha, Mohammad and Capitalism are already here and converting our people.

They too would want to pay homage to their masters and with all the glitter and glamour they bring, will the righteous Pacific virtue prevail?

It seems the answer is no.

We are polygamously married to Australia, have an affair with Asia, pimp it off with the EU and US on occasions and when the Grand Chief likes it, give and get freebees in the Pacific.

He than glared back at me and laughed: I know when I’m long gone from the public service; it’ll be men like you that will forget this region.

I thought about his remarks for a long time and it is possible that this may in fact occur.

Apart from engaging Pacific islanders for work, I truly don’t have any other reference point and it occurred to me that many folks in my generation may be in the same boat.

After all, at one point or another, we get educated by our own people for most of our lives, when we get sick our people treat us and by the grace of the good lord, we may venture out of our borders to further develop our skills and it’s usually Australia or somewhere in Asia.

So we have signed up to the Pacific Plan and trade agreements but this is truly superficial.

They don’t feature in our national development priorities and our private sectors are not using the concessions of these trade arrangements.

More so, the Pacific Islands Forum is a genetic engineering lab to develop an Australia/New Zealand hegemony.

Yep, it seems their value holds a 10 Commandments status and every other view doesn’t.

But that’s what you get when you have a superpower like Australia/New Zealand in the house.

On my trip back, I decided to get some spiritual guidance from my grandfather and among other things seek his prayers for my transgressions.

But that’s another story.

He enlightened me PNG has a special relationship with the Pacific islands.

He told me of men like Ruatoka, Sina Saini, Talatalas that were killed in Daru, New Britain and Milne Bay by cannibals and the countless others that died of starvation.

 Touched by these remarks, I believe PNG must play an active role in the Pacific Islands Forum as it is our duty to help our island brothers and sisters.

Whether it is developing early warning systems of natural disasters or when they in fact have been decimated by cyclone or tsunamis, their nations disappear because of sea level rise, they are unable to plant their crops because of soil degradation, they are ruled by a tyrannical government or they are bullied by superpowers, PNG must take leadership.

 Ok, so we won’t make any money and the Grand Chief will parade in his bling and woe them with his political ventures, but wantoks this is beyond him.

It is a special relationship our nation has with the people of the Pacific, who through their acts of love, compassion, and sacrifice forged hope for our people.  Their legacy runs deep in the annals of our history and the marrows of our persona. PNG needs the Pacific Islands Forum and the Pacific Islands Forum needs PNG.  

Timely help for Goilala farmers

By WALLACE KIALA in The National

FARMERS in the Goilala area in Central province are being encouraged to continue to grow the best vegetables and raise livestock, given the exceptional cooler climate in the area.

The high altitudes of Tapini, Woitape and Kerau all in Goilala have exceptional climate conditions similar to that in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Tapini boasts some of the best vegetables and cash crops grown and livestock such as poultry, piggery, goats and cattle raised by its locals.

The last time I visited was last Saturday where we were greeted by the best in garden produce from nuts to starch: taro, singapore, cassava, yams, bananas, kaukau, sugarcane, peanuts, tomatoes, beans, carrots, onions, coffee, rice, oranges, cabbages, passion fruit, pineapple, avocadoes and breadfruit.

Local farmers from around Goilala gathered at the Tapini station last Saturday to celebrate the registration of their cooperative society groups. The area has fertile land for farming as these fruit and vegetable stalls show.-Nationalpics by WALLACE KIALA

Sebastian Amai is a coffee farmer from Tapini and has been for over 20 years.

To date he has three coffee gardens with 4900 coffee trees.

The assistance by the Central Province Development Corporation last Saturday provided seed money of K1, 000 each to 19 co-operative society groups in Goilala.

Amai’s group, Tova Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Society, received its K1, 000 capital funds which should ensure a promising start.

Sebastian Amai, a small scale coffee grower in Tapini for over 20 years, seen here with a display of some of his Arabica green beans during the co-operative societies launch at Tapini station last Saturday

Apart from this, the Department of Commerce and Industry’s cooperative societies unit (CSU) would be assisting with an additional K19, 000.

 The CSU unit accompanied Governor Alphonse Moroi to Tapini last Saturday.

Meanwhile, a new coffee roasting machine was recently bought from the United States and placed at Konedobu.

Small scale coffee farmers like Amai would be assisted in having their coffee processed and marketed.

40th Pneumonia Colloquium

Theme: Action against pneumonia: A celebration of 40 years of pneumonia research in PNG and finding the best way forward
The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR), together with its co-sponsors, PNG National Department of Health (NDoH) and World Health Organisation (WHO) will be hosting a celebration of 40 years of research on pneumonia in Papua New Guinea (PNG) from the evening of Monday 23rd to Thursday 26th of August 2010.
It is hoped that many former staff and colleagues from PNG and overseas who have conducted pneumonia research over the years will be able to attend.
The occasion will include reminiscences and reflections on past research, presentations on current research and discussions aiming to identify the best ways of reducing mortality and morbidity from pneumonia and how to implement them.
Most of the celebration will be held at the institute headquarters in Goroka.
Previous staff members from the Tari Research Unit, the Asaro Surveillance Unit and the Pneumonia Research Programme as well as current staff based in Goroka and other branches of PNGIMR will be invited to attend.
The colloquium is being organised by Samson Akunaii and William Pomat with the secretarial assistance of Clare Mile.
 The program for the colloquium will be put together after consultation with the Director, Professor Peter Siba, and other senior scientists.
There will be ample time for discussion and audience participation.
The organisers will be writing separately to past and present staff members and colleagues asking them to speak on specific topics.
 However, they invite anybody who has been involved in pneumonia research in PNG to contribute to the programme: those wishing to do so should make contact with one of the organisers.
As part of the celebration there will be a focus issue of the PNG Medical Journal devoted to research and research implementation on pneumonia and other acute respiratory infections.
Deborah Lehmann and William Pomat are the guest editors for this issue, which will be published in the journal in 2011.
All speakers at the colloquium will be invited to submit their papers for publication in this focus issue. The deadline for submission is 30 September 2010.
The organisers are currently seeking sponsorship for this event, which will be free for PNGIMR staff and, depending on the level of funding support obtained, for as many Papua New Guinean ex-staff of the institute as possible.
 There will be a small registration fee for overseas participants.
While it will not be possible to provide fares and accommodation for overseas and non-PNGIMR Papua New Guinean participants, all meals and social activities will be provided free to all registrants.
Participants are assured of a warm welcome to Goroka, a significant scientific and historical conference and a colourful event to mark a very important milestone.
Those wishing to attend should complete the registration form and return it to one of the organisers, to whom any specific queries and suggestions should be addressed, at:
Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research
PO Box 60
Goroka, EHP 441
Papua New Guinea
Telephone +675 532 2800
Fax +675 532 1998

Lae and Morobe province going to the dogs!

By DAN YANSOM

Our beloved Lae City and Morobe province is about to go to the dogs because of lack of leadership we have for the province.

I was in Lae last week (haven’t been there for about two years) and oh boy!

 The roads are a driver’s nightmare.

Whilst there, I was adequately informed by a fellow Morobean that the road past LFA and Lae Technical College was reconstructed and sealed about a year ago, but look at it now, it is riddled with potholes despite a deep drainage running along its length.

This stretch of road was reconstructed by a contractor without the supervision of Lae City Authority’s Engineering Division.

Two pictures are attached for your viewing.

 Also, on Radio Morobe over the weekend, Honorable Sam Basil and Bart Philemon went on air telling Morobeans that it would cost about K60 million to fix the Lae roads (both the national and provincial sections).

Sadly, the Lae City Authority only has an annual budget of K8 million to carry out all its functions including road maintenance.

This is definitely a sorry state of affairs for Lae City which I hope our four MPs in Government (three are Cabinet Ministers) have noted and will argue on the province’s behalf to get the necessary funding.

Despite the millions of kina Lae City and Morobe generates for the national purse, we have always been given a raw deal in terms of infrastructure development because of political divisions by our elected leaders.

 I wish to also share some light on an issue which I thought everyone needs to know.

A recent discussion with some friends from Eastern Highlands is that an economic advisor in their province is proposing a white paper to be presented to government to register goods and services tax (GST) generated from resources extracted/developed in their province against their provincial tally.

This data will then be used in negotiations with government for project fundings for their six provincial electorates.

 For example, GST generated from electricity supplied by Yonki Power Station will be registered in Eastern Highlands and not Lae City (or Morobe Province).

 On a more brighter note, there are signs of developments taking place in Lae City especially with new residential blocks/units being built as well as new warehouses, motels/inns, and factories.

There is also an effort to fix the roads however, this has been somewhat slow either because of funding limitations or lack of contractors capacities.

 It is not all doom and gloom for our beloved Lae City, and we demand the Lae City Authority, PNG Power, and PNG Water Board, to play their part in maintaining the city’s essential services for the benefit of city residents and industries as well as rural Morobeans who depend on the city.

Papua New Guinea joins Pacific countries in new food security programme

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

 

Papua New Guinea is among 14 Pacific Island countries ready to implement the Food Security and Sustainable Livelihood Programme (FSSLP).

Established under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the FSSLP goal is to contribute to the achievement of food security by poor and vulnerable populations, and especially women and youth.

It will be a framework for improving food security and sustainable livelihoods in the Pacific islands into the future

The key elements of food security are availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability.

The programme will look at improving sustainability in crops, livestock, fisheries and agro-forestry mainly providing opportunities for vulnerable and poor households.

It will also look at enabling these households to have access to services, agricultural inputs and markets.

 Other issues include improved capacity, good policies and strategies to address food security challenges.

Two FAO consultants based in Samoa, Aleki Sisifa and Dr Siousiua Halavatau, were in PNG recently to discuss the FSSLP with officials from the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and other stakeholders.

 PNG officials were given a briefing at a one-day workshop on the background of the FSSLP, its implementation arrangements and process and obtain stakeholder feedback.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, DAL deputy secretary for technical services, Francis Daink, on behalf of the secretary, said the FSSLP was an up-scaling of the regional programme for food security implemented between 2004-2007, and complimented PNG’s efforts in promoting food security and improving the people’s livelihood.

He said PNG had developed relevant policies and strategies on food security and the FSSLP further strengthened the food security programmes within the country.

The FSSLP will also be guided by major PNG Government initiatives such as the PNG Vision 2050.

He said the workshop was timely as it allowed DAL staff and partners to understand the programme background and objectives and the implementation processes.

The FAO consultants said under the FSSLP there should be more equitable access to programme benefits either from direct interventions to poorer/more-vulnerable groups, women, youth and people in more remote areas as well as indirectly from strengthened service provision and capacity building.

The components of the programme included support to community and household investments, development of service provision capacity and facilities, multi-country support and food security initiatives, and programme management. 

Sisifa said many Pacific Island countries including PNG face similar constraints.

 These are wide geographical spread, small and often remote populations, lack of capacity, evolving policy frameworks, weak market systems and linkages, inadequate infrastructure, weak financing capacity, vulnerability to changes in international trading environment, vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change.

He said the FSSLP made use of experiences from Pacific regional programmes over many years, such as the EU/SPC Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Pacific 2003-2008, FAO Regional Food Security Programme and others.

The FSSLP will be implemented using existing structures, linkages and collaboration with private sector and other stakeholders.

The consultants urged DAL to start making the necessary preparations including establishment of the national programme steering committee, and update on the priority projects identified for the FSSLP.