Excellent Media Council of PNG Media Awards Night

I was pleasantly delighted to be involved as a participant at the PNG Media Council's 2009 Media Awards Night in Port Moresby on Tuesday night.

I congratulate MCPNG president Joe Kanekane, his deputy Michael Asagoni, the hardworking MCPNG secretariat CEO Nimo Kama and staff for a well organised and orderly presentation night, credited with excellent speakers, generous sponsors of awards and deserving award recipients and commendations.

 I am sure the annual event can rise to the next level of excellence and support with wholesome support from all mainstream media houses.

Notable media executives Joseph Ealedona and his deputy Memafu Kapera from NBC and Kundu 2 National Television Service, Wesley Raminai of Sunday Chronicle, Sanjay Bhosale and his The National newspaper editorial management team, the EMTV CEO and his PNG and Fiji management team and old hands including Justine Kili of Pacific View Media,  Titi Gabi and her YumiFM/NauFM team, IPBC's Brian Gomez and UPNG journalism lecturer Leo Wafiwa gave the occasion added colour and prominence to the event.

Thank you to David Conn of Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce, the United Nation's team and the AusAID team who've been MCPNG's major supporters over the last few years.

I have been to less than orderly media functions before but Tuesday night buried all that stigma.

Susuve Laumaea

Hohola, NCD

Do We Still Have Our Hands on the Wheel? - 2010 Papua New Guinea Budget Raises Serious Concerns

From NASFUND December Newsletter

 

The recent delivery of the 2010 Papua New Guinea budget leaves a lot of unanswered questions.

While we applaud a balanced budget, this in itself has been “masked” by slippage through Trust accounts over 2008-2009.

Two years ago, we proudly talked about a surplus in those trust accounts of between 3-4 billion kina - partly as a by product of lack of capacity to spend the money and partly as a means of maintaining macro stability.

 Now it has been revealed that the trust accounts have fallen to K1.5 billion with lack of full accountability on how and why this money was spent.

 The implications of that expenditure are very clear - an economy that is overheating and the flow on effect of anticipated inflation of 9.5% in 2010.

The economy needs no further stimulus, in fact remedial action is now required – to ensure that public sector largess does not crowd out the development naturally occurring through the private sector vis-à-vis led by LNG Project, ancillary support industries and an array of other mining, fishery and agricultural pursuits currently underway.

The economy has moved into over heating through unnecessary stimulus and requires a reality check.

Evidence of the current exuberance has been the extraordinary credit growth in excess of 30%, over the last few years.

 It is clear that the government must freeze any further expenditure from the trust accounts.

Similarly it is now time for the Central Bank to flex its independent muscle and raise interest rates to curb further exuberance and stymie on the margin investment.

The other important consideration is the exchange rate.

The current policy setting appears to be maintaining the currency within a short band against the Australian/US dollar.

While we accept the proposition that an appreciating Kina can risk eroding international competitiveness, we also have to accept that the LNG project will put strong upward pressure on the Kina anyway. It may be advantageous to preempt this with a broader policy setting - allow the Kina to appreciate closer to .50 to the AUD from the current .40.

This would have a positive deflationary effect, taking some of the steam out of the 2010 expected inflation rate of 9.5%.

It will also increase the real purchasing power of urban workers who are facing rising costs of imported goods and fuel.

Clearly the country is about to move into three to four years of extraordinary development with all that comes with it, including higher wages and costs.

 There can be no room for complacency or undisciplined expenditures.

To do so, would undo much of the good work already achieved.

We need to keep our hands firmly on the wheel.

NZ's Chief Ombudsman says PNG attack shows how ombudsmen need backing of courts

16 DECEMBER 2009 WELLINGTON (RNZI) ----- The Commonwealth Ombudsman and Chair of the Pacific Ombudsman Alliance, Professor John McMillan, has condemned the shooting of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Chief Ombudsman Chronox Manek.

Mr Manek was shot and wounded outside his home in an apparent assassination attempt.

Professor McMillan said that since his appointment in 2008, Mr Manek has dedicated himself to safeguarding PNG’ s citizens through his fearless investigation of complaints against government officials and agencies’.

His sentiments were echoed by New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman, Beverely Wakem who said Mr Manek had been fearless in his investigations into corruption, albeit in the highest places in the land:

“..and I think that does, where the rule of law can sometimes be a bit shaky, it does expose an ombudsman in pursuit of the truth unfortunately to pressures of one kind or another, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard of an ombudsman, in what looks like an attempt assassination of an ombudsman and we’re deeply concerned about that”

Ms Wakem said ombudsmen ultimately have to rely on the rule of law and the power of the courts to support them in their work.

The National sweeps media awards night

I am happy to report that The National swept the top awards at the Media Council awards nite last night.

We won in virtually every category that we nominated.

Among the winners (in the print category) are:

Yehiura Hriehwazi – Investigative Reporter of the Year

Julia Daia Bore – Court Reporter of the Year

Sheila Lasibori – Business Reporter of the Year

Isaac Nicholas – Political Reporter of the Year

Patrick Talu – Environment Reporter of the Year

Bosorina Robby – Rookie Reporter of the Year (Ian Boden Award)

Henry Morabang – Sports Reporter of the Year

Andrew Alphonse – Regional Reporter of the Year

Malum Nalu – Blogger of the Year

Kari Totona – Education Reporter of the Year

Wallace Kiala – Commendation for Most Improved Health Reporting

The list is not exhaustive, as I left before some of the awards were announced.

Some of the winners received Blackberry phones sponsored by Digicel.

The National was proudly represented at the event and the recognition would not be lost on many major advertisers who were present as sponsors.

Congratulations to the winners and keep up the good work.

Next time, we should have even more entries, particularly from the regional bureaus, whose work is often unrecognised.

PS: The Post-Courier boycotted the event, apparently due to last year’s fiasco and the negative attention they drew from the Media Council recently.

It's Christmas time in the city

Caption: The Christmas lights wowed the crowd when NCD Governor, Powes Parkop,  officially switched the lights on last Friday at the Unagi Oval. -Picture by AURI EVA

 

THE National Capital District Commission (NCDC), in conjunction with its various corporate sector partners, is proud to share the Christmas spirit with its city residents with a great programme line-up for the festive season.

The 2009 NCD Christmas programme begins with the ‘Open Air Movie Shows’.

The movie shows started on Monday Dec 12 and will continue on to Sunday Dec 20.

Other activities like the Light Show, Dance Show, Karaoke Show and Music Show will follow after the movie shows.

All these activities will lead up to the Carols by Candlelight on Dec 24.

All these will be happening at the Unagi Oval starting at 6pm.

Everyone is urged to go to the oval and enjoy the night commemorating the festive season.     

For more information on all these, contact Baeau Tai or Lucy Kapi at the NCDC Public Relations Division on mobile numbers: (675) 7624 7602 or (675) 7199 4536.  

ADB meeting in Phillipines

By FRANK ASAELI of PNGPCL

 

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd’s chief commercial officer Stanley Alphonse is one of four participants from Papua New Guinea attending an Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) symposium in Manila, Philippines.

ADBI MP3IC Knowledge Sharing Symposium on PPPs in Infrastructure in Asia Pacific: Global Challenges and Constraints is scheduled for the 16^th and 17^th of December this year.

PNGPCL acknowledges the invitation and is pleased to help profile and share practical details of Global Public-Private Partnership in Infrastructure (PPPI) in order to advance PPPI policy agendas and accelerate private sector investment and participation.

Chief executive officer of PNGPCL, Brian Riches, said that Mr Alphonse’s participation was also to help with ideas and pragmatic information to improve the design and implementation of PPP programmes or projects to achieve greater access and more cost effective infrastructure service delivery in ADB DMCs (developing member countries).

The participants to the symposium are leading senior or mid-level PPP for infrastructure (physical and social) policy makers or programme/project managers, at the national or sub-national levels who are engaged in and/or responsible for infrastructure regulation, infrastructure planning and financing, infrastructure program/project design and implementation, and infrastructure service delivery in ADB developing member countries across the Asia Pacific region.

Of the total targeted, 50% or 20-30 national or sub-national level delegates (who meet the target audience criteria) will participate at ADB headquarters in Manila.

The remaining 50% or 20-30 primarily sub-national level delegates will participate by video conference through links with 4-5 selected cities from across the Asia-Pacific region.

City selection will be finalised based on confirmation of target audience interest and in consultation with the Cities Development Initiative Asia, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

ADBI is meeting the full accommodation costs for the four PNG participants while the PNG Department of National Planning and Monitoring is taking care of the airfares and allowances.

 

ETS tax explained

From PAUL OATES in Queensland, Australia

 

Let's  put this into a bit of perspective for  laymen!
ETS is another tax. It is equal to  putting up the GST to 12.5% which would be  unacceptable and produce an outcry.
Read the following analogy and you  will realize the insignificance of carbon dioxide  as a weather controller.
Pass on to all in your address book  including politicians and may be they will listen to  their constituents, rather than vested interests which stand to gain by the  ETS.
Here's a practical way to understand  Mr. Rudd's Carbon Pollution Reduction  Scheme.
Imagine 1 kilometre  of atmosphere  and we want to get rid of the carbon pollution in it created  by human activity.  Let's go for a walk along  it.
The first 770 metres are  Nitrogen.
The next 210 metres are  Oxygen.
That's 980 metres of the 1  kilometre.  20 metres to go.
The next 10 metres are water  vapour.  10 metres left.
9 metres are argon.   Just  1 more metre.
A few gases make up the first bit of  that last metre.
The last 38 centimetres of the  kilometre - that's carbon dioxide.  A bit over one  foot.
 97% of that is produced by  Mother Nature.  It's natural.
Out of our journey of one kilometre,  there are just 12 millimetres left.
Just over a  centimetre - about half an inch.
That's the amount of carbon dioxide  that global human activity puts into the  atmosphere.
And of those 12 millimetres  Australia puts in .18 of a millimetre.
Less than the thickness of a  hair.  Out of a kilometre!
As a hair is to a kilometre - so is  Australia's contribution to what Mr. Rudd calls Carbon  Pollution.
Imagine Brisbane's new Gateway  Bridge, ready to be opened by Mr. Rudd.
It's been  polished, painted and scrubbed by an army of workers till  its 1 kilometre length is surgically clean.  Except that Mr. Rudd says we have a huge problem, the bridge is polluted - there's a human hair  on the roadway.
We'd laugh ourselves  silly.
There are plenty of real pollution  problems to worry about.
It's hard to imagine that  Australia's contribution to carbon dioxide in the world's  atmosphere is one of the more pressing ones.  And I  can't believe that a new tax on everything is the only way  to blow that pesky hair away.
Pass this on quickly while the  ETS is being debated in Federal Parliament.

The Carbon Debate and Climate Change

From PAUL OATES in Queensland, Australia

One of the most important issues confronting the world and most national governments is climate change. While the Copenhagen Conference discusses what powers the United Nations will supposedly be given to combat climate change, the issues appear to some to have been overtaken by a calculated campaign of misinformation. Images shown at the Conference's Official opening of a terrified small girl clinging to a fragile tree branch while the rising water threatens to drown her was an excellent example of how a very serious issue can be highjacked by using fear as a weapon of choice. Anyone who dares speak out against the notion of human caused climate change is labelled a 'Sceptic and dismissed accordingly. The world's press are having a field day.
So what are the real issues and can they be discussed without descending into an emotional and non logical argument?
Is the Earth warming and the world's climate changing? Most scientific evidence seems to agree that the world's climate is changing. Many scientists also agree that the Earth has undergone these sorts of changes previously. The most recent example was a warming period around one thousand years ago when Greenland was in fact green and settled by Scandinavian settlers and dairy farmers. These warming and cooling periods seem to occur in a recognizable pattern and have happened on a regular basis in the Earth's history. OK you say, no apparent disagreement there. The issue about the current climate change stems from whether humankind's activities are exacerbating the current warming cycle by increasing the amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide is a naturally occurring gas that is part of the Earth's make up from almost the very beginning when the Earth cooled after the 'Big Bang'. Planets like Venus that still have an atmosphere have large amounts of Carbon Dioxide as part of their atmosphere. So too did the Earth for many millions of years and certainly when life on Earth first developed. Now that must surely be a significant fact. CO2 is a natural part of our environment. Secondly, there appears to be no argument that the levels of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere have fluctuated over time. Right, then, two areas of agreement.
What are the reasons for the altered levels of CO2 in the past? Well that again seems to be unarguable. Life on Earth has been one of the main causes for altered levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. To do this, it required the ability of plants to photosynthesize their food by using the sun's rays to stimulate chlorophyll contained within the plant and absorb CO2 and water (H2O) to make sugars and starches from which all life on Earth now depend. Free Oxygen (O2) is then given off as a waste product. When plant life emerged from the sea and colonized the land there were no large plant eaters available and plant life expanded to fill the available space. That's what life does. Plants will therefore automatically regulate the amount of CO2 to normal levels. That is, if there are enough plants available to effectively achieve the previous balance. If the balance between animal and plant life is being changed by rapid population growth, then that equilibrium is inevitably altered.
Previously, during the Earth's Carboniferous Age, there was so much carbon based plant life around that the CO2 levels fell and the O2 levels rose to greater than they are today. The effects of this imbalance created the vast stores of underground, compressed Carbon from dead plants known as coal. There is therefore a natural and constant see saw between Carbon Dioxide and Oxygen levels in the Earth's atmosphere and that has occurred since life on Earth began. Again, there doesn't seem to be any argument about this occurrence unless you subscribe to the head in the sand 'Creationist' theory that says it just all happened and ignore about HOW it happened.
So where does that leave us? Seemingly, with no real scientifically based disagreements at all. That is unless you want to debate whether so many parts per million of CO2 is more or less harmful to the world.
Enter the real problem confronting most world governments today. How to control their populations and give the illusion of power when if fact they have almost no power to do anything at all.
"No passion so effectively robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear." Edmund Burke 1729 -97
What if a nation's population can be diverted from concentrating about their government's inadequacies and start thinking about some far more important considerations? That's logical. What could also therefore be logical is that a concocted climate of fear that would be very welcome to take the heat off complaints about almost any government activity or lack thereof. Let's see how this might work..
-         Hospitals and health systems a mess? Sorry, too busy saving the planet.

-         Schools and Education going downhill? Sorry, far more urgent issues at stake.

-         World population is rapidly expanding and using more water and resources than there is available? EASY. Blame the effects on humans affecting climate change by destroying the environment.

-         Unable to force multi national companies to re engineer their energy inefficient and polluting products to less harmful alternatives. EASY. Blame consumers for using too much energy and threaten them with increased taxes on energy consumption in the hope this will decrease energy use.

-         Developing countries clamouring for a bigger share in the world's resources? EASY. Tax the developed world and give the money to errr.umm.. (Wait for it), the governments of the so called developing countries via a non elected and non representative quasi UN government? How? EASY. Hold a world Climate Change Conference and vote for this measure without your electors really knowing what's actually happening. Then spring the results on them as a 'fait accompli'.

-         Want to get the people to support your views? EASY. Promise developing nations a share of the Carbon Taxes you are planning to implement without voter approval. You'll soon have all those who can see easy money being vocally on your side without them having to do anything difficult at all. Of course we all know that the governments of developing countries will automatically give all this largesse to their people and not squander any of this windfall on themselves. don't we?
On the other hand. Practice good, accountable and responsible government?
Sorry! FAR TOO HARD!

Song lyrics evoke the spirit of family and tragedy

From MvM Newsletter 8

December 2009

Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee

 

PETER GARRETT’S life has not been without great tragedy.

As well as losing his grandfather on the Montevideo Maru, his father, a company executive, died of work stress and later his mother died in a house fire.

Peter’s song, In the Valley, draws its power from these dreadful events.

He has written of it: "It's just a simple story of someone talking about what's happening to their family and the passing of generations - and how that stays with you."

 

IN THE VALLEY

My grandfather went down with the Montevideo

The rising sun sent him floating to his rest

And his wife fled south to Sydney seeking out safe harbour

A north shore matron she became with some paying guests

My father went down with the curse of big cities

Traffic tolls and deadlines took him to his peace

Now Bob Dyer glued us to our seats

And lawns were always Victa neat

Whilst Menzies fawned at royal feet do you remember

In the valley I walk I took some comfort there

In the valley I walk cold comfort I can hear you talk

In the valley I walk - who will take me there

When my mother went down it was a stiff arm from Hades

Life surprises and tears you like the southerly

She always welcomed the spring always welcomed the stranger

I don't see too many around like this

Oh no, that's what I'm looking for, year, what we're looking for

In the valley I walk who will take me there

In the valley I walk cold comfort I can hear you talk

In the valley I walk I took some comfort there

In the valley I walk oh rough justice I hear you talk

In the valley I walk to meet my water shed

I hope virtue brings its own reward

And I hope the pen is mightier than any sword

I hope the kids will take it slow

I hope my country claims its own

In the valley I walk I cried yes I cried I was down then I crawled

Mercy's arms all around me when I was down there

In the valley I walk do you read me they can hear me in the valley

© Hirst/Moginie/Garrett

 

Peter Garrett is new Montevideo Maru patron

From MvM Newsletter 8

December 2009

Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee

 

PETER GARRETT is the new patron of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee.

In February, he will take over the role from Prof Kim Beazley, recently appointed as Australia’s ambassador to the United States.

The Committee was established a year ago to ensure greater national recognition for events surrounding the fall of Rabaul in 1942 and Australia’s greatest maritime disaster, the sinking of the Montevideo Maru with the loss of 1,053 troops and civilians.

Peter Garrett’s grandfather, Tom Vernon Garrett, was a prisoner on the Montevideo Maru.

Tom, a planter, was born in London UK and served in World War I with the 6^th Light Horse Regiment.

He lived at Varzin Plantation on New Britain and was 54 when he died.

“My grandfather’s death was mentioned in passing at family events, but it wasn’t until my mid-twenties, when I saw an article concerning the incident, that my understanding was filled in,” Mr Garrett said.

“It’s time to fill a huge gap in our history,” Mr Garrett said.

 “By giving recognition to one of the most significant and tragic events of World War II, we can honor those who lost their lives and provide a much-needed commemoration of this extraordinary event.”

“The sinking of the Montevideo Maru was one of the most significant events of World War II but is still relatively little known. It is an important part of Australia’s history and, given my family connection, I was pleased to become Patron of the committee.”

Peter Garrett AM MP was elected Labor Member for the electorate of Kingsford Smith at the 2004 federal election and was appointed Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts following the election of the Rudd Labor Government in November 2007.

He is a passionate advocate and campaigner on a range of Australian and global issues, particularly related to the arts and the environment.

He came to public prominence as a member and lead singer of the Australian band, Midnight Oil.

In this role, he wrote the lyrics of a popular song, In The Valley, which drew its power from the Montevideo Maru sinking and other tragic events that had affected his family.

My grandfather went down with the Montevideo

The rising sun sent him floating to his rest

 

 

 

Hurricane Katrina - Incredible Pictures!

Magee is 150 miles North of Waveland, Mississippi where the Hurricane made
land fall.
Worth passing on!!!
The dance with Katrina, part of her beauty as she left destruction on her
exit. They are remarkably dramatic.
The following picture was taken from the third story balcony of Saint Stanislaus College located next door to Our Lady of the Gulf church in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi on the morning of August 29th, 2005. This is believed to be the initial tidal wave from Hurricane Katrina. The tidal wave was approximately 35 to 40 feet high. When it slammed into the b each front
communities of Bay Saint Louis and Waveland Mississippi to completely destroy 99% of every structure along the beach for 9 miles and over ? of a mile inland. The destruction only started there. The flooding that continued inland destroyed the contents of all but 35 homes in these two communities of approximately 14,000 people.
Can you imagine holding your camera steady enough to take these photos!
These pictures were taken by a man in Magee, MS where the eye of the storm passed through - what an experience.

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd changes work culture

Caption: PNGPCL CEO Brian Riches speaking at a port managers’ conference in Port Moresby earlier this year.-Picture courtesy of PNGPCL

 

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd is making significant efforts to change its work culture from that of the public sector to one of the private sector, according to CEO Brian Riches.

“There has been a significant effort by management to shift the PNGPCL work culture away from that of the private sector to one which reflects that of the private sector,” he said in his Christmas message.

“However, management is committed to making the necessary changes to transform the work culture into an environment that reflects a viable and efficient operation, where customer service excellence and productivity are the primary focus of both employees and management alike.

“Making the necessary cultural changes will continue to require the support the human resource department through training, development, coaching and mentoring programmes and the implementation of an effective performance management system.

“This training and development cannot be undertaken in isolation.

“Its success will be dependent upon all levels of management understanding their own capacity requirements.”

PNGPCL is currently one of the largest employers in the commercial sector, currently employing 450 staff, with nine vacancies for contract officers and 268 non-contract officers.

Mr Riches also announced that the Klein System, a port-specific information technology system, was currently being rolled out in Lae and would run for approximately four months in parallel with the current system, before going live.

“It was developed with the intention of interfacing automatically with the PNGPCL’s financial management system and this phase of the project is yet to be finalised,” he said.

“Testing is being undertaken in Port Moresby.”

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd cannot improve wharves, CEO admits

Caption:  Port of Lae…one of the few that is making money in the country.-Picture courtesy of PNGPCL

 

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd does not have the financial capacity to improve facilities through the country, according to CEO Brian Riches.

Mr Riches made this blunt assertion to staff in his 2009 Christmas message last Friday.

“Currently, PNG Ports does not have the financial capacity to improve facilities to bring them up to acceptable operating standards due to cash flow issues and funding shortfalls,” he said.

“Most of the existing wharves and berthes throughout the entire PNGPCL port network were built in the early 1960s.

“We are currently strategising maintenance and organising capital investment into the port infrastructure for the safety and operational capacity of PNGPCL’s existing infrastructure.

“Investments for capital infrastructure such as reconstruction of PNGPCL berths and new container terminals remain a high priority by the board and management.

“However, the benefits derived from investment will not be maximised unless coupled with improved operational efficiencies and performance.”

Mr Riches said in 2008, PNGPCL’s three largest ports – Lae, Kimbe and Port Moresby – under the PNGPCL management generated 93.7% of total revenue.

“All other ports are not considered to be commercially-viable and PNGPCL argues that they are maintained and remain open as part of the organisation’s ongoing commitment to its community service obligation,” he said.

“With the exception of Lae, Port Moresby and Kimbe ports, PNGPCL classifies all other ports as non-viable commercial operations.

“While the financial performance of the smaller ports has improved somewhat over the past five years, there is still considerable cross-subsidisation occurring.

“PNGPCL management is committed to creating subsidiary companies for each of these ports that would operate under the umbrella of the existing parent company.”

Mr Riches admitted that PNGPCL’s engineering department currently lacked the necessary capacity to support and manage engineering and structural requirements of PNGPCL infrastructure.

“Executive management is committed to the rehabilitation of the engineering department,” he said.

“Primary area of focus for engineering will be the development of maintenance and apex infrastructure for next five years, which will identify and prioritise financial expenditure requirements.

“It is recommended that the department work closely with the project team, finance department, operations and port business managers for this process to be undertaken successfully.

“For engineering to function effectively, communication with all the internal and external stakeholders will be critical to the future investment and maintenance of infrastructure and port operations.”

Mr Riches said PNGPCL also placed high emphasis on such areas as occupational health and safety (OH and S), and security at its ports due to international treaties, customs and best practice port security requirements.   

Boeing take off

For those of you who are unaware, Eva is the airline of Taiwan. This is a wonderful photo.
Eva Air Boeing 747-45EM taking off from runway 36L at Amsterdam-Schiphol .
The great timing and angle, and the size of the 747 makes this shot look quite surreal.
The distance to the fence was 145 metres (475ft)  !

A home away from home in Port Moresby

Chief Executive Officer of PNG Ports Corporation Limited Brian Riches (left) about to make an entry into the newly-established Seafarers’ Centre as General Manager-Corporate Services Jerome Peniasi opens the door.

The Seafarers’ Centre has been established by PNGPCL for transiting seafarers to relax in and keep in touch with business colleagues and family members when passing through Port Moresby Port on business trips.

The Seafarers’ Centre has a lounge room, Internet café, telephones, tea room and provides beautiful scenery looking out towards the Port Moresby Fairfax Harbour.

 

mv Mondi unveiled

Mrs Ila Temu, wife of PNG Ports Corporation Limited Chairman, Dr Ila Temu,  formally unveiling the newly-acquired pilot boat mv Mondi last Friday, December 11, 2009 at the PNGPCL Head Office jetty. The pilot boat was named after Mrs Temu.

PNG Media Awards Night 2009 (please click to enlarge)

Gunmen wound Papua New Guinea chief ombudsman

Unknown gunmen have shot and wounded Papua New Guinea’s chief ombudsman, Chronox Manek, in what is being described as an assassination attempt outside his Port Moresby home.

The shooting occurred on Friday night and the newspaper, The National, says a bullet went through his shoulder.

Mr Manek says after shooting several times, the gunmen got back in their car and sped off, thinking he was dead.

He says he tried to follow his attackers but, feeling dizzy from loss of blood, he decided to drive to a nearby hospital.

The Police Commissioner Gari Baki says one of his senior officers visited the chief ombudsman in hospital soon after the incident.

Transparency International ranks PNG 151st out of 180 of the most corrupt countries in their annual list.

A host of other government figures, including the prime minister and the treasurer, are currently under investigation by the Ombudsman Commission.

News Content © Radio New Zealand International

PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand

mv Mondi welcomed by PNGPCL

PNG Ports Corporation Ltd’s new pilot vessel mv Mondi (pictured) was officially welcomed at its Christmas function in Port Moresby last Friday evening.

mv Mondi is named after the wife of PNGPCL chairman Dr Ila Temu, who officiated last Friday.

The 13.67m boat, with an aluminium superstructure and powered by two Caterpillar engines, was bought from Bundaberg Port Corporation in Australia

Dr Temu thanked PNGPCL board of directors, CEO Brian Riches, management and the pilotage department for naming the newly-acquired boat after his wife.

Dr Temu said the board, as part of its strategic direction to move forward, had provided the CEO:

• The mandate to expand existing company operations to include harbour management and additional pilotage services;
• Set up the operating vehicle for harbour management; and
• Expand the pilotage service and fee structure.

“The board is aware that PNGPCL is in the process of implementing a strategic plan to identify direction of pilotage services and revenue opportunities, e.g., Australian Reef Pilots,” he said.

“We are committed to support the PNGPCL management in meeting challenges by facilitating economic growth through quality and efficient service delivery, profitability, sustainable investment in infrastructure, exceeding stakeholder and shareholder expectations and meeting legislative and community service obligations.

“The company is currently continuing its organisational restructure, revitalisation of services and rehabilitation of facilities throughout PNG.

“We are proud to be the only pilotage service provider in PNG.

“With the inclusion of mv Mondi, PNGPCL’s pilotage services will be boosted at its Port Moresby port/harbour.

“PNGPCL is aiming to boost the pilotage capacity from its current 15 to 20 pilots with the assistance of Australian Reef Pilots,

“We plan to have more pilotage boats as well for the pilotage department going forward.”

PNGPCL CEO Brian Riches admitted that currently resources in its pilotage division were limited.

“Resources include human resources and infrastructure, each of which require considerable investment to expand and provide an expanded service to other ports and provide reef and coastal pilotage services,” he said.

“Prior to a pilotage strategic review undertaken earlier this year, PNGPCL had estimated that it would have to increase its pilot numbers from 15 to 20 over the next five years.

“PNGPCL, with technical assistance from Australian Reef Pilots, has acquired the mv Mondi to boost its pilotage operations.

“In addition, there is the possibility to develop coastal pilotage services with some initial partnership approaches with Australian Reef Pilots.”

More pictures of The World's visit to Alotau, Milne Bay province