Opposition points out bad maths in 2008 budget outcome

THE Opposition yesterday blasted the Government over its handling of last year’s budget resulting in an estimated K470 million deficit, The National reports.

Deputy Opposition leader Bart Philemon (Lae MP) said the Government did not get its sums right.

“They initially planned an expenditure of K6, 999.2 million.

“They revised this upwards by K790.7 million (to K7, 789.9 million) but ended up spending K7, 551.9 million,” Mr Philemon said.

“Effectively, they overspent by K552.7 million although they tried hiding this through the revised expenditure and net lending which showed they under-spent by K238 million.”

He told reporters at Parliament House yesterday that this was a classic case of “the sins of a Government catching up with it”.

“Without revising the budget, they were on target for a runaway budget deficit of K680.9 million,” Mr Philemon said.

“Their attempts to correct this in the revised budget, aiming for a budget deficit of K9.5 million from the K202.4 million surplus, did not work.

“They ended up with a final budget outcome of K478.5 million budget deficit,” he added.

“That should be reason enough for Treasurer and Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch to resign.

“His inability to stick close to his own budget is a stinging indictment against the Government’s ability to manage the economy – particularly the finances – of PNG.”

The Opposition also alleged that Cabinet was “blackmailed” by Government backbenchers to allocate K534 million for

the district services improvement programme (DSIP) or they would not support

last year’s budget.

“What this means is that the Government did not honour its promises and obligations as this K534 million was part of the K6 million that was to make up each Open MP’s much publicised K10 million DSIP funding.

“The signal we got is that the Government was not communicating, consulting and managing its coalition partners and backbenchers, making the taxpayers pay for their knee-jerk reactions to make last-minute adjustments,” he said.

Mr Philemon said all the fiscal discipline he worked hard (as then treasurer and finance minister from 2002-05) seemed to have disintegrated into thin air.

He also expressed concern over the likely outcome of this year’s budget next year.

He said this was evident in the recurrent budget where, despite an upward revision by K2.9 million (from K3, 636.4 million in actual budget), the final budget outcome expenditure was an additional K127.4 million.

“Effectively, the Government spent K130.3 million when you compare the actual recurrent budget and the final recurrent budget expenditure outcome of K3, 766.7 million,” Mr Philemon said.

 

Prime Minister visiting China

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare is on an official visit to China, The National reports.
Officials decided it would be a low key affair, choosing to release a short statement on the visit hours before Sir Michael boarded the plane for Hong Kong on Monday.
The Prime Minister, who had just returned from an official visit to the Philippines, is visiting China at the invitation of president Hu Jintao.
While in Beijing, Sir Michael will witness the signing of several agreements between officials of both countries.
Sir Michael was scheduled to meet with Hu yesterday.
Today, he will hold bilateral discussions with premier Wen Jiabao.
He is also expected to meet with officials of Chinese companies with interests in PNG, including CNMB, the parent company of BNBM, and MCC, developers of the Ramu nickel mine.
Sir Michael returns to the country next Tuesday.
He is then expected to visit Australia at the end of the month.
However, authorities have not confirmed arrangements for the Australian trip.

Signs of the times?

The sad state of the once-pride of Western Highlands people - Kapal Haus, the provincial government building in Mount Hagen – which was burned to the ground last year.

In front is the famous Mt Hagen Bowling Club

Papua New Guinea vegetable farmers go hi-tech

Rural vegetable farmers in the country will soon benefit from a mobile market information service.

This means that they will be able to access fresh produce marketing information through their mobile phones.

The Fresh Produce Development Agency (FPDA) in partnership with the fastest-growing mobile company in Papua New Guinea, Digicel, has signed a grant agreement with the Agricultural Research & Development Support Facility (ARDSF), who will implement the K500, 000 project.

The FPDA is a government-funded agency responsible for promoting a commercially-viable and sustainable horticulture industry in industry in PNG.

The objective of this project is to disseminate fresh produce market information to stakeholders, especially growers and buyers, through a mobile phone system which will run for exactly two years.

The project is an innovative project whereby the use of the scrolling function on mobile phones will be used to provide real time market information to growers, retailers, wholesalers, and other relevant stakeholders in the fresh produce industry.

The initial idea of the project is that Digicel as the project partner will be used to disseminate the market information to stakeholders, especially growers.

Those growers calling in to the service will then be surveyed electronically to determine the value of the service and to establish how it might be improved.

To begin with, a maximum of 12 products will be listed for Lae and Port Moresby markets.

 In the first three months, the project will start with only 12 products, which will slowly increase in stages until 60 products are listed.

Official market data will be collected by designated FPDA staff.

This data will be sent to Digicel by a certain fixed time in order to be made publicly available through the mobile network for access by stakeholders and the general public at another fixed time every week.

The information will be updated on a weekly basis and weekly market data will be collected from these following centres: Goroka, Mt Hagen, Lae, Kokopo, Port Moresby, Madang, Wewak, Popondetta and Alotau.

Overall, this project aims to benefit all operators in the fresh produce supply chain from growers through to transport operators to wholesalers and buyers.

This would be achieved by the increased flow of produce, and the reduced post-harvest losses to all operators involved in the supply chain.

Another envisaged economic gain of the project is the increase in income for community businesses due to higher grower incomes, and the improved health and nutrition of households at the receiving end of the supply marketing system.

 Growers should also be able to have increased knowledge of marketing their produce.

To embark on the program relevant instruments were signed by former FPDA general manager Ambassador Aiwa Olmi and former interim country director for ARDSF Dr Robin Erskine Smith.

The occasion was witnessed by ARDSF project officer for Highlands Region Bernard Pilon, ISP managers and as well as FPDA senior managers.

 FPDA and Digicel have both praised ARDSF in funding the project saying it will go a long way in assisting rural fruit and vegetable farmers.

.

 

 

 

Prime Minister lectures Opposition on real growth factors: The country's economic growth is better off today than it was at Independence

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare reckons Papua New Guinea is in much better shape than it was it independence in 1975. Methinks it would be best to let the long-suffering people of Papua New Guinea themselves comment on that. Perhaps the PM can explain the poverty-stricken people living off garbage at the Baruni Dump in Port Moresby…”many have eyes that do not see”…you be the judge and make your comments below.

 

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday hit back at the Opposition for continuously criticising the Government using unrealistic social indicators over lack of development, The National reports.

“The Opposition uses the current methods of quantifying poverty in our country that was neither here nor there.

“Often our villages were equated to our urban settlements which do great injustice to us as a developing economy,” Sir Michael said.

“Poverty might exist in our urban areas but our rural people, who make up the majority of our population and might lack material wealth, were certainly not starving.”

He said with today’s democracy, it was difficult for any government to change cultures in bureaucracy overnight.

“It is an ongoing process and this Government would continue to address it.

“At Independence, I had a budget of about K250 million; today Southern Highlands province alone has a budget of around K300 million; our annual budget today is around K8 billion compared to the deficit in 2001 and 2002 when we took office,” Sir Michael added.

He said the Government was mindful of the world recession and would also support the growth that was taking place in the economy.

“It is important that we acknowledge the progress that we have made in the last few years and be grateful for our fortunate situation today.”

He said while many economies were suffering, PNG continued to see developments taking place in all its major towns.

“When I brought this country to Independence, there were very few locals running businesses.

“In all our major towns, our colonial administrators lived in areas such as Touaguba Hill, Wewak Hill, Namanula Hill, Rabaul and Top Town in Lae.

“Papua New Guineans 40 years ago lived in settlements and compounds in our major towns.

“Today, wealthy and middle-class Papua New Guineans had moved into all these areas,” Sir Michael said.

 

Prime Minister: Papua New Guinea is rich enough

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, despite a public outcry against the Papua New Guinea government wanting to buy a sleek new executive jet, is insistent that the country is “rich enough”. This is despite the fact that Papua New Guinea is lagging behind in education and health services, infrastructure, law and order, basically everything.

 

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare said yesterday the people of PNG will not be poorer by the decision to buy an executive jet worth millions of kina, The National reports.

The Prime Minister said in a statement the Government had allocated K40 million to Air Niugini to buy an executive jet “to cater for the growing needs in the mineral sector”.

Air Niugini would be responsible for the management and maintenance of the aircraft on a commercial basis and the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers would also have access to it, Sir Michael said.

“Our economy has grown considerably and our budget has significantly increased since the deficit years prior to 2003.

“We are, therefore, not taking money out of any of our service sectors to give to Air Niugini to buy this aircraft.”

He said the Government was rich enough to afford such a luxury, and accused his critics of spreading misinformation.

“As a Government, we have actually increased allocations to all our sectors since 2003.

“It is misleading and irresponsible to tout opinions not based on facts that we are depriving any Papua New Guinean of any essential service through the purchase of this aircraft.

“With the increase in allocation to all sectors, we should be seeing better Government services. Obviously, implementation of these allocations continued to be an issue that we are addressing.

“We are today where we have never been before and we must be strategic.

“We are no longer the impoverished country that outsiders and some of our own elites are so keen in calling us.

“Our future is bright and we, as elected representatives, are here to make the hard decisions that might not be appreciated immediately but would later be deemed timely and appropriate.”

Over the weekend, Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri told The National that the airline was buying a Falcon 900 triple engine executive jet.

He said the plane was not ultra-long range and could fly to most F100 airports in the country.

Mr Kumarasiri said it was part of Air Niugini’s plan to move into commercial executive charter.

The plane is described in a number of websites as an advance comfort jet fit for the rich and powerful.

One site said: “The Falcon 900 is one of the most technologically advanced large business jets available.

“Its design incorporates the latest improvements in aerodynamics and flight systems, which results in beautiful flight characteristics, gentle landings and cruise speeds of over 550mph.”

 

Grave robbers wreak havoc in Lae (and Papua New Guinea) cemeteries

These unscrupulous people will stop at nothing for a quick buck…even the dead

 

There are some things in life that are so hard to comprehend.

These things make you wonder why some people have the audacity to carry out such acts, which include desecrating the memory of loved ones that families and relatives have laid to rest.

These people can stoop as low as stealing brass plaques from graveyards to sell to unscrupulous scrap metal dealers for a fast buck.

In my home town of Lae, this practice has been going on ever since these dealers - who prey on Papua New Guinea's massive unemployment problem - set foot.

Today, a visit to cemeteries in Lae, will show you many headstones on graves that are missing brass plaques.

A case in point is the old graveyard up the road from the famous old Lae airport.

This graveyard is the final resting place for many of the pioneers of Lae and Morobe province, mainly expatriates, and was a relic of a bygone era where visitors could learn so much just by reading the plaques and headstones.

Rest In Peace - RIP - those buried here are supposed to be.

However, this has not been the case over the last 10 years or so, as grave robbers without a care in the world have plundered basically all the brass plaques.

In my younger days, as a journalist in Lae, one of my hobbies used to be wandering old graveyards and reading the plaques and headstones as I could learn so much history. Sadly, I can no longer do this, as many of the plaques are gone.

And the irony is that people are not making any noise about this daylight robbery going on in front of their own faces.

The grave robbers are desecrating graveyards at the old Lae airport, Second Seven (Malahang), and even my Butibam village, to name a few.

Heaven knows what would happen to the Lae War Cemetery if there wasn't tight security around to prevent these intruders.

We never thought that this practice would come to Butibam until a few years ago when plaques started disappearing overnight.

In May 2006, while on a working trip to Lae, I visited my father's grave at Butibam (pictured above) and took pictures.

A short time later, I was surprised to receive a call from my mother, who was in tears as she told me that Dad's plaque had disappeared to these unprincipled grave leeches.

The entire family, just like me, was shocked as we wondered what exactly Dad or we had done to deserve this.

The plaque, to this day, has not been replaced as I somehow have to find the exact wording for a replacement.

My father, the late Mathias Nalu, died on September 17, 1993, after more than 35 years of service with the Education Department as a teacher and later a school inspector.

He had just retired and received his final entitlements, however, never got to enjoy the fruits of his labour as he suffered a severe stroke from which he never recovered until his untimely passing.

Dad was one of those old Dregerhafen and Finschhafen boys who was always proud to call Michael Somare, Paulias Matane, the late Alkan Tololo, and many more, "old school mates".

Dad's school mates went on to become great leaders of this country while he chose to take the backseat as a humble teacher and school inspector.

Hundreds of teachers and public servants packed the St Andrew's Lutheran Church at Ampo in Lae for his funeral service.

The Nalu family was humbled by this show of respect from so many people from all over Lae, Morobe province, and PNG.

I realise that times are hard, but to steal brass plaques from graves to sell to some dodgy scrap metal dealer for a quick buck is unforgivable.

The government should put in place tough legislation to combat those who steal plaques from graves and those who buy them.

These offenders, as part of their rehabilitation, could be sent to Salamaua where the villagers there will teach them how to look after and respect old graveyards.

The old Salamaua cemetery is a relic of a bygone era of the 1920s and 1930s when fevered gold miners from all over the world converged on this idyllic part of the world.

To visit the old Salamaua cemetery is to step back in time, to a rip-roaring period when gold fever struck men from around the globe.

Today the old Salamaua cemetery, or what remains of it, is well tended to by the local villagers.

The graves are mute testimony to the days when European man, running a high gold fever, was claimed by a fever of a different kind.

I have a very simple message for those who removed my father's plaque and those who bought it.

"May God forgive you.

"I find it very hard to do so."

 

Chinese, Papua New Guinean Foreign Ministers meet on ties

 BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his Papua New Guinean counterpart Samuel Abal Monday agreed to promote ties between their two countries, Xinhua reports.

China has all along paid great attention to developing friendly and cooperative relations with Papua New Guinea, said Yang.

He said the China-Papua New Guinea relation has achieved remarkable progress since the establishment of bilateral ties, featuring frequent high-level exchanges and widening cooperation in such sectors as economy and trade, agriculture, culture, education and health.

The two countries have also maintained close consultation and coordination in international and regional organizations, said Yang.

The upcoming visit of Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Michael Somare is of great importance in boosting bilateral ties, said Yang, stressing China is willing to join hands with Papua New Guinea to advance bilateral relations.

Abal said Papua New Guinean government attached great importance to ties with China and agreed to firmly adhere to the one-China policy.

Papua New Guinea is ready to work with China to enhance cooperation in economy and trade, energy and resources, so as to make new progress for bilateral ties.

After the meeting, Abal presented a check worth 531,300 U.S. dollars to the Chinese government on behalf of the Papua New Guinean government to support post-quake reconstruction in southwest China's Sichuan province, and Yang expressed appreciation to the donation.

 

Shoot to kill?

Fiji's military have been given permission to shoot civilians without fear of being prosecuted.

 

Terrified Fijians say they are too frightened to speak out after the latest political upheaval, which has seen the nation's media gagged by sweeping state censorship restrictions in a crackdown on dissenting free

speech.

Armed forces chief Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama returned to power as  prime minister on Saturday, a day after the president suspended the  constitution and fired the judges who had declared the his previous  government illegal.

President Ratu Josefa Iloilo also declared a 30-day state of emergency, limiting freedom of speech, expanding police powers and curbing media.

Reports emerged yesterday of people being detained without charge in the absence of a judiciary.

Public Emergency Regulations imposed by the military regime have given military personnel permission to use arms to break up processions, meetings or assemblies.

If anyone is injured or killed, the decree grants soldiers immunity from prosecution.

Yesterday's Fiji Times had blank pages after police censors forced the paper to erase international reaction to latest developments.

Privately owned Fiji TV pulled its 6pm news bulletin yesterday, refusing to allow the military regime to censor its broadcast.

It is understood that judges sympathetic to the military regime may be reappointed today.

In a national address after his reappointment, Commodore Bainimarama told Fijians they had the opportunity to build "on a clean slate, a new beginning".

"We must all be loyal to Fiji, we must be patriotic," Commodore Bainimarama said.

"The necessary regulations are in force. I'm sure we will all including the media co-operate with the relevant agencies."

Commodore Bainimarama has been in power since he overthrew the democratically elected government of Laisenia Qarase in 2006.

Attempts are being made to bring forward a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, where Fiji's suspension from the Pacific Forum looks certain and harsher sanctions are likely to be debated.

A Fijian citizen, too afraid to be named, spoke from Suva yesterday about his fear of being arrested, beaten or killed for speaking out.

"There's no constitution, there's no law. They are the law."

Many Fijians had struggled since sanctions against the regime crippled the economy, the man said. "People cannot afford to send their children to school or put food on the table. People are just struggling to find ways and means to live. You can't fight the military because they're the ones with the guns.

"Everybody's praying and hoping that things will change soon that will  return the government back to democratic elections ... where people are  free to speak [and] you're not always looking back and worried about  what will happen to you and your family."

Mr Qarase said he had to be careful to "say nothing" but feared that crime was likely to rise as poverty worsened. "The place is calm right now. Ahead, potentially, I don't know."

Government spokesman Major Neumi Leweni said no-one had been detained and there was no shoot-to-kill policy in the new regulations.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd condemned the situation in Fiji and labelled Commodore Bainimarama's administration "virtually a military dictatorship".

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully called the reinstatement of Commodore Bainimarama "a sham". "The events that surround his appointment take his country down an even darker path."

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has been operating in Fiji for months on reduced staff after Commodore Bainimarama expelled high commissioner Caroline McDonald and refused to allow the replacement of police and defence attaches.

The ministry was advising caution for Kiwis in Fiji yesterday, saying there was "some risk" to security. "Fiji is calm but a rapid deterioration to the situation, including the potential for civil disorder and violence, cannot be ruled out."

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/politics/2330628/Armys-new-powers-terrify-residents

Closing internet access in Fiji? Whats possible?

We have been advised that tyrant FrankBainimarama   has ordered FINTEL, Vodafone, Kidanet, Connect and other Internet Service Providers in Fiji to close their internet operations.

 We are told that this advice was given to Bainimarama by his Vodafone advisor and Vodafone CEO, Aslam Khan.

Aslam is husband of Justice Nazhat Shameem, sister of Human Rights Commissioner Director, Shaista Shameem!

 The warning came from Fiji blogs and Fiji people social networks about a minute ago and it was started by Raw Fiji News, a blogspot against Bainimarama’s interim government.

So, if Fiji goes dark soon, then the advisory is correct...in the meantime, please tell everyone about what's happening...

IFJ demands Fiji regime reverse media clampdown

Tuesday, April 14: THE unprecedented clampdown on the media in Fiji at the weekend underscores the unwillingness of Fiji’s military leadership to uphold long-promised democratic reform in the Pacific island nation, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said today.

“Press freedom in Fiji is in tatters. The repressive actions taken against Fiji’s media at the weekend give the lie to promises by the military government throughout the past year that it would support press freedom and media professionalism as essential components of the country’s return to democratic rule,” IFJ General Secretary Aidan White said.

 “But now, the draconian and reprehensible manner in which the military leadership is seeking to control information about highly significant events and issues in Fiji is comparable to the actions of other dictatorial regimes and closed societies, including Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe.”

 Following an appeals court ruling on April 9 which declared the 2006 coup led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama was illegal, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo abrogated Fiji’s 1997 Constitution, sacked the nation's judges, declared himself head of state. He reappointed Bainimarama as prime minister on April 11.

 Ministry of Information officials and the police immediately imposed sweeping censorship of the media and installed censors in newsrooms. The media was warned not to publish or broadcast "negative" reports about the President’s actions and the appointments of Bainimarama and the Cabinet.

 Under 30-day Public Emergency Regulations, journalists are now required to submit “sensitive” news reports to government officials for approval. Media organisations could be shut down if official directives are ignored.

 Newspapers and television outlets protested by refusing to broadcast news bulletins and carrying blank pages and spaces in newspapers.

A blank page in the Sunday Times simply included a line declaring, “The stories on this page could not be published due to government restrictions.”

 However, most organisations are no longer running political reports. Local media personnel are privately reporting a “climate of silence” has gripped some newsrooms.

 Veteran Pacific affairs correspondent Sean Dorney, of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and reporter Sia Aston and cameraman Matt Smith, of New Zealand’s TV3, were due to be deported today. Their news reports over the weekend detailed the extent of the media clampdown.

 The IFJ is extremely concerned about the impacts of denying information to people in Fiji and the well-being of media personnel who seek to do their jobs amid a climate of fear and persecution.

The IFJ joins journalists and media organisations throughout the region, including IFJ affiliates in New Zealand and Australia – the NZ Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) –  the Pacific Media Centre (PMC), Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF), the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and the Fiji Media Council in demanding that the Bainimarama regime immediately end all restrictions on Fiji’s news media and allow local and foreign journalists to do their jobs in the public interest.

 The crisis in Fiji follows more than a year of systematic and increasingly severe efforts by the military leadership to silence independent reporting by local and foreign media personnel and commentary by members of the public who dare to question the regime’s legitimacy.

 Anti-media actions have included deportations of publishers and editors, refusal of entry to foreign media personnel, police searches of newsrooms, contempt of court rulings, and public comments by military officers suggesting critical media must be shut down.

 Safety concerns have increased since a firebomb attack by unknown assailants on the home of the editor-in-chief of the Fiji Times, Netani Rika, on March 23. The bomb failed to ignite.

 

 For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

 The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide

 

Watut singsing group

These are pictures of a traditional singsing group from Watut, Morobe province, which I took during a visit to the area with Bulolo MP Sam Basil last October.

No room for military in newsrooms, says Pacific Freedom Forum

Tuesday, April 14: A PACIFIC media freedom and advocacy organization, the Pacific Freedom Forum, has expressed deep sadness and outrage at developments in Fiji over Easter. They say more Pacific organisations and governments must ensure Fiji’s people are left in no doubt whose side the people of the Pacific are on.

 “As Pacific neighbours, we must not consider renewed intimidation of Fiji media a sovereign issue – what is happening there affects us all and we thank the Secretary General of the Pacific Forum for noting the special concern over curtailment of media freedoms in his statement on this matter,” says PFF chair Susuve Laumaea of Papua New Guinea.

  He says the Pacific Freedom Forum, along with other media freedom organizations world wide, “is horrified at the installation of censors in Fiji Newsrooms following the Easter abrogation of Fiji's 1997 Constitution, the deportation of more journalists whose news feeds inform Pacific nations including Fiji, and the re-installation of the military government .”

  "This is the age of the Internet, and satellite broadcasting is widely received across Fiji, so locals will get their news from overseas sources almost as easily as they do from domestic sources."

 "Putting police or soldiers into newsrooms who are not equipped to make informed judgments about the content of the news serves no useful purpose, and is an obvious big-brother bullying tactic aimed at monitoring not just what goes into the newspapers, but the contacts and working-culture of journalists as they go about their daily work," says PFF Co-chair Monica Miller.

  "This move given the continuing sanctions and tactics by the current regime, may soon lead to complete shutdowns of the media outlets that refuse to denounce their ethics. This will eventually render affected employees without income for their families, and lead to the kind of disorder and disaffection which the emergency regulations describe. It's very clearly aimed at one sector of society only.”

 Ms Miller, a former President of the Pacific Islands News Association, says the Pacific region cannot stand by in silence and watch as the people of Fiji are cut off from freely and independently produced news of their own nation.

 Radio Fiji late on Saturday, April 11, reported that among the new 'Emergency Regulations' decreed by the President, "... Section 16 of the Regulations stipulates that the State has the authority to cease any broadcast or publication it believes could cause "disorder", give "undue demands" on security forces", "promote disaffection or public alarm" or "undermine the Government and the State of Fiji"'.

 "The current and worsening situation is tragic and illustrates the need for us all to protect and cherish the right to free speech and freedom of information," she says.

 "A government with some understanding of this basic human right would go about setting up and running its own media outlets to publish and broadcast what it likes and let the audiences have the final say."

 The Pacific Freedom Forum, with active members among Pacific journalists, editors, producers, and journalism academics, will soon be launching an online petition for signature by any individual or group worldwide willing to express continuing strong solidarity with our colleagues in Fiji.  The petition will be printed and presented to relevant Pacific leaders by national media reps on World Media Freedom Day, May 3.

 

CONTACT:

 

PFF interim Chair

Susuve Laumaea | Sunday Chronicle Newspaper | Papua New Guinea

Mobile: 675-684 5168 | Office: 675-321-7040 | Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com

 

PFF interim co-Chair

Monica Miller | KHJ Radio | American Samoa

Mob    684 258-4197 | Office 684 633-7793 | Email: monica@khjradio.com

 

The Pacific Freedom Forum are a regional and global online network of Pacific media colleagues, with the specific intent of raising awareness and advocacy of the right of Pacific people to enjoy freedom of expression and be served by a free and independent media.

We believe in the critical and basic link between these freedoms, and the vision of democratic and participatory governance pledged by our leaders in their endorsement of the Pacific Plan and other commitments to good governance.

In support of the above, our key focus is monitoring threats to media freedom and bringing issues of concern to the attention of the wider regional and international community.

 

Passenger ferry

Hundreds of passengers, including students who were going to Lae to attend the week-long bible camp at Bumayong Lutheran Secondary, had crowded the Buki wharf, Finschhafen, Morobe province,  so tightly that it was impossible for those disembarking to get off the Lutheran Shipping Services catamaran when it berthed just after lunch last Thursday.

 

 

 

BlackBerry Season in Papua New Guinea

Captions: Digicel BlackBerries available in Papua New Guinea: 1. BlackBerry Bold. 2. BlackBerry Curve,. 3. BlackBerry Pearl

How Bulolo MP Sam Basil is emulating the feats of tech-savvy Barack Obama

Papua New Guinea only got into BlackBerry technology in February this year, thanks to Digicel, but one politician is already using this big-time to the max.
Bulolo MP Sam Basil is already using BlackBerry technology to take and email high resolution photographs as well as stories to the media from rural areas in his electorate.
This was epitomised during the recent conflict in Wau when he tooked and emailed photos as well as stories right from the scene to the newspapers.
This worked very much to the advantage of The National, because as there wasn’t any reporter available at the time to travel up to Wau, Mr Basil was a politician-cum-journalist.
He is arguably the first PNG politician to use BlackBerry technology in such a way and has already become the tech-savvy Digicel pin-up boy for this gadget.
I say tech-savvy because Bulolo, albeit a rural area, has over the last two years seen a communications revolution in which more people are using telephones and internet there because of their MP.
BlackBerry technology has been around the Westernised countries for some time now and was only introduced in PNG this year to cater for the needs of businessmen and professionals.
A first in the country, this means Digicel, which is still on 2.5 Generation System, is now using GPRS technology that supports e-mail, voice and text messaging, internet faxing, web browsing and other wireless information services.
GPRS refers to general packet radio service, a packet-oriented mobile data service available to users of the 2G-2.5G cellular communication system called global system for mobile communications (GSM), as well as in the 3G systems.
GPRS enhances 2G and 2.5 systems to work close to the performance of 3G networks.
With BlackBerry, the user can check Hotmail, update FaceBook, IM Friends on Skype, Google Talk, or read the news online.
BlackBerry, a wireless handheld device, is used by more than 20 million subscribers across the world.
“It is a mobile office for the dynamic professional,” was how John Mangos, Digicel PNG chief executive described their new offering.
This new product comes after the Digicel launched its mobile internet in Port Moresby.
However, the new service would be rolled out to other parts of the country in the coming months.
Subscribers with internet-capable handsets can access the web via their Digicel handset, starting in the National Capital District and Lae.
Digicel says it will roll-out BlackBerry and GPRS services across PNG in coming months.
“Blackberry will allow the users manage their business and online activities, while away from the desk, and on the road,” Mr Mangos said.
“Digicel has set another mobile telecommunications landmark for PNG, with the introduction of Blackberry.
“Now users will be able to work on the go, with their email and office functions on their Blackberry smart phone.
“Digicel believes this will add to the ease and efficiency of doing business in PNG, which would in turn boost overall economic productivity and development in this country.”
Digicel’s Blackberry roll-out comprises three handsets (pictured): the Bold (K1, 799); Curve (K1, 399); and Pearl (K1, 199) and are available to Digicel’s post-paid subscribers only.
Blackberry Silver has 20MB with monthly fee of K70; gold, 100MB (K155); and platinum, 500MB (K335).
Mr Basil, who was invited to the USA in January this year for the inauguration of Barack Obama, is a big fan of the man.
It took only a few seconds for Barack Obama to go from ordinary citizen to the most powerful man in the world - the 44th President of the United States.
Many believe that his understanding and use of social networking tools to reach voters gave him a distinct advantage over other candidates.
He is well known as a fan of technology.
He is an avid Blackberry user, the first president to air his weekly address via video websites and the first to have an official portrait taken with a digital camera.
The internet and technology are credited with helping Mr Obama win the presidency.
From social networking sites to blogs and from iPhone applications to text messaging, Mr Obama used the power of these hi-tech tools to get his message out, raise money, galvanise voters and get him elected.
Now some in the industry think it could be "pay-back time" as they looks to the country's first tech savvy President to do his bit to push technology into a new era.
"He is the first real president who seems to understand technology and the needs of the industry," said Tim O'Reilly, the man credited with coining the term 'web 2.0' and who is generally regarded as one of the industry's visionaries.
"The guy's my age," said commentator and founder of Wired magazine John Battelle.
"This guy grew up knowing what an apple is besides the thing you eat, and using e-mail and Twitter.
“He understands what Facebook is and he has young kids that are completely digital.
"I think there is a general sense that he and the people he will employ totally get the web."
"Of the people"
Silicon Valley's wish list and the President-elect's to do list are not all that different.
They have touted green energy, improved broadband connectivity and accessibility, investment in the sciences, advancing biomedical and stem cell research, creating the workforce of tomorrow, and open and transparent government and investment in research and development and education as common aims.
Mr Basil called me before leaving for Washington DC to attend the inauguration.
He wanted to set up a website of his electorate as well as one of his US-Government funded trip to attend the inauguration.
I told him that blogs were fast replacing websites as the fastest-growing means of mass communication in the world – now even replacing traditional media such as newspapers, radio and television - and that his best bet was to start up a blog.
I also told him that Mr Obama was hailed throughout his campaign and transition as a politician who makes clever use of technology to communicate his message.
After dinner, he hooked up his laptop, and I helped him to set up a blog for the Bulolo electorate and another for his trip to the USA.
He is, as far as I know, the first PNG MP to have a blog, as opposed to a website.
For matters of transparency and accesibility, Mr Basil has also listed down all his contact details, including email addresses and mobile phones, so that everyone can be in touch with him.
He has now gone a giant step forward with his BlackBerry.
Gone are the staid days of Mr Basil’s predecessors, replaced by a dynamic new means of communication reflective of the tech-savvy incumbent.

Bulolo vanilla farmers prepare for another windfall

Captions: 1. Farmers Tuk Tuky and Paul Kama with their vanilla cuttings.Picture by SAM BASIL.2. Simon Koneleus of Witipos village in Mumeng, Morobe province, getting ready to distribute 5, 000 vanilla cuts for the Bulolo district. Picture by SAM BASIL.

Farmers in Bulolo, Morobe province, are not waiting for another predicted vanilla bonanza to catch them by surprise.
The farmers, in anticipation of another windfall and with the support of their MP Sam Basil, received 5,000 vanilla cuts for planting last weekend.
The vanilla cuts were sourced from Situm Growers Association for K5, 000,” Mr Basil said.
“The delivery was taken care of by the Bulolo District Road Maintenance Programme vehicles.
“I believe vanilla prices may bounce back in a few years time and my people must be well-placed to enjoy the high prices when it happens.
“About 10,000 vanilla cuts were distributed three years ago, and the farmers are now asking for a vanilla specialist to be made available to show them how to pollinate and treat the vanilla beans.”
 The PNG Spice Industry Board recently urged PNG farmers to produce high quality vanilla in anticipation of increased prices in the near future.
The board predicted an increased demand for our vanilla due to an expected short supply on the world market.
Chief executive officer Michael Waisime called on registered spice exporters to advise farmers to reactivate and rehabilitate their vanilla farms as prices were expected to increase favorably during this harvest season.
More awareness and training amongst farmers is needed to maintain proper curing practices to improve quality.
Exporters were reminded to coordinate with their farmers to produce high-grade vanilla to maximise on this market opportunity.
Mr Waisime said the world’s major supplier of vanilla, Madagascar, has had 80% of its vanilla plantings affected by an underground incurable crop disease.
Civil unrest in the country has also affected vanilla production.
He said supply of vanilla on the world market was down by 60% and the shortfall needed to be met by other vanilla-producing countries including PNG.
He said PNG, the fourth-largest producer in the world, stood to gain with increased demand for its vanilla and subsequently prices for organic vanilla were expected to rise worldwide.
Mr Waisime said according to information received by the SIB, there might be massive government intervention including appropriate research work to revive the vanilla industry in Madagascar.
 It was estimated that world supply of vanilla would face a shortfall for the next five years or more.
Mr Waisime said his office had detailed a number of measures that registered spice exporters needed to adhere to.
These include submitting 2008 export returns and statements, review of forward contract sale for 2009, and review of farm gate prices.
He urged exporters, producers and interested people to contact his office for more information.
However, observers in the spice industry have cautioned the vanilla producers and farmers nationwide not to get excited like what was experienced several years ago when PNG had a vanilla boom.
PNG producers must not get carried away and should seek more information from the SIB and agricultural agencies.

Divine Word University opens supermarket on Madang campus

Captions: 1.The front of the Diwai Mart Mini supermarket with the two automatic teller machines of two commercial banks on either side of the entrance before the facility was opened recently. 2. President of the Students Representative Council at Divine Word University Robroy Chicki cuts the ribbon to the Diwai Mart mini supermarket as his female vice Joanne Kilip looks on at the Madang campus recently.

 

A mini supermarket that will help fund a laptop computer for each student at Divine Word University beginning next year opened at the Madang campus recently.

The one-laptop-per-student project is part of the DWU’s “paperless university” policy which comes into effect next year. 

Student Representative Council president Robroy Chicki and his vice female Joanne Kilip opened the flashy new supermarket, named Diwai Mart, in the presence of DWU’s academic vice-president Br Andrew Simpson, staff and students.

The facility was opened by the DWU chaplain Fr Edward Meli.

The two student leaders said students and the university community should be proud of the new supermarket as they would serve them.

Ms Kilip said as students the presence of a supermarket makes life easier for them as they do not have to travel to town for basic necessities and services including access to the banks’ automatic teller machine.

Br Simpson in urging the students and the university community to appreciate the new facility said proceeds from Diwai Mart would be used to finance a laptop each for all students starting next year.

“It is a very significant time for the University to see the development of supermarket.

“It belongs to you and profits from it will finance a free laptop,” said Br Simpson.

The supermarket has a bakery, a hair salon, a kai bar, ice cream parlor and two ATMs belonging to Bank South Pacific and ANZ Bank respectively.

The paperless policy will require all academic and administrative work to be done using the ICT facilities provided by the university and limit the use of paper and printed material to unavoidable circumstances.