DEC incapable of regulating mine wastes and continues to do so

Bulolo MP Sam Basil has criticised the Department of Environment and Conservation for failing  to properly regulate the mining industry in Papua New Guinea and ensure its  operations are environmentally-safe.

 "DEC has a responsibility on behalf of the nation to ensure that mining operations are safe and will not damage the environment,” he said.

“Yet time and again the mines end up causing massive pollution problems while DEC sits by and watches."

 With pollution from Bougainville, Ok Tedi, Misima, Pogera mines and recently the Hidden Valley Project Mr Basil now confirms that PNG government through DEC is now telling the world that mining with pollution in PNG is normal business practice so all environmental cowboy are welcome to come and dig.

 Mr Basil has recently filed legal proceedings against the Hidden Valley mine in his constituency over its pollution of the Watut River.

 "It is not good enough for Environment Minister Benny Allen to say DEC received an environmental audit report on the Hidden Valley mine in May this year and will be working on an environmental improvement plan,” he said.

 “If the minister is serious about re-inventing another environmental improvement plan to supersede the failed plan, then the shut down mine and a complete river rehabilitation option must be his priority.

“The guns-for-hire environmental consultants will just report what DEC wants them to say to water down situation and we will not buy that cheaply.

“They must remember that the Bougainville and Ok Tedi days are long gone and we will not repeat the same mistakes and be fooled again.

 “If the Minister's sponsored audit report says the river is safe then I’m willing to invite the minister and his DEC secretary to consume a litre of water each collected from the Watut River in front of his people to prove to them that their river is safe.

“If they are not prepared to prove any report by consuming water from Watut then I am cautioning the minister in advance to be very careful about pushing report that he himself does not understand.

 "Where is the report?

“Why have I not been given a copy?

“Why don't the landowners who are suffering the impacts of the pollution have a copy?   “Is DEC trying to cover up things for the mining company?

“The report should be released immediately."

 Mr. Basil says that the DEC should explain why it has given the Hidden Valley mine an environmental permit in the first instance when they already know that almost all of their environmental approved plans have been a failure.

“It can only prove that DEC doesn't know what they are approving and must be held liable together with the operator should any litigation takes place against the  mining company for lying to the government and DEC for professional negligence to the people of PNG,” he said.

 

“The current pollution in the Watut river system without DEC noticing anything wrong until recently is very bad for the future of the mining industry and the development of the up-and-coming Wafi Golpu project in his electorate.

 “DEC only acts when the community mobilises and with this court action we are going all the way to make DEC and MMJV accountable to the people of Watut and the nation.

 “The same goes to the approval of the deep-sea mining permit that has recently been granted by DEC.

“It must be stopped at all costs until a thorough investigation by scientists is sought.

 “The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) must also be involved in that matter because the impact on our tuna stocks and its breeding ground is still not yet known and will be a threat to our growing tuna industry.

 "DEC like MRA is supposed to be protecting landowners, their resources and the environment, not facilitating mining on the cheap.”

 Mr Basil says he has instructed his lawyers to look into whether DEC and the Minister could be legally held liable for the damage the mine has caused.

 He also suggested that in the future it would be good to have Ministers appointed to their ministerial portfolios only if their electorate plays host to such projects.

 “Ministers from un-impacted areas which has no mine and pollution will simply make the ministers be just another rubber stamp which we are currently experiencing in PNG,” he said.

 “That is why we see endless writers writing to the view column of the dailies showing their endless frustrations against many unpopular decisions of departmental heads and their ministers.”

 Mr Basil also assures the public that when government changes” the new government will give priority to replace complacent and incompetent department secretaries and overhaul departments to honestly operate to protect the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and its people”.

 

Junior MPs urgeds not to be misled by veterans

By Bulolo MP SAM BASIL

 

 

The Supreme Court’s decision to reject the Deputy Speaker of Parliament’s application to challenge the Supreme Court’s Order to recall Parliament is welcome news to all, and a clear sign that our judicial system still functions to protect the Constitution on behalf of the people.

We all know that the Deputy Speaker may have been pressured by the Speaker and the National Alliance Regime to once again play their game by challenging the judiciary's decision, so as to cling onto power.

Now that the Prime Minister is being sidelined and the Speaker is now acting Governor General, the incumbent Regime will play the MPs down the ladder to protect its own interest .Thank God the Supreme Court corrected the situation regarding the Governor General as Parliament was unable to, as the Regime has been manipulating Parliament for eight solid years now.

It is a disgrace that when the Supreme Court made its ruling clear that procedures were not followed, the Deputy Speaker should then make a further defective application to Court.

He should have known that the actual party to the application was the Parliament, which consists of all of us elected MPs and not just the National Alliance Party, which the Deputy Speaker is a member of.

The National Alliance Regime must know by now that Parliament belongs to the people of Papua New Guinea and can be recalled at short notice during emergencies or war, or in this situation, a vacancy in the post of the Governor General.

Now with no Prime Minister and with Parliament about to go into session with an acting speaker, the National Alliance regime will now skate on thin ice.

We all know every Regime and every dog has its day and now their day has come to an end. National Alliance must accept this fact and succumb to the situation.

I am now reminding all good Members of Parliament that the Somare era has finished and that every right –thinking MP should have a vision for this country that is different from the current disaster that National Alliance has provided. All MPs must work to achieve a better day for PNG. They are mandated by their constituents to represent them in Parliament, without fear or favor and they are needed now, more than ever, to act.

For this country to shift into another dimension, a generational change in the leadership is a must, so MPs now must not underestimate themselves or fear the old dogs anymore.

They are leaders in their own right and must stand up now to make a change.

This country seriously needs it.

MPs must not play second fiddle but must be seen to take charge of the destiny of this country.

The future rests in their hands and the next generation of leaders to come.

Our post-independence leaders have done us proud but they must accept the fact that evolution of leaders needs to take place for the betterment of this country.

I think completely differently from the old guard and I believe strongly that most of my other colleague MPs are the same; we must insist therefore a generational change of leadership has to occur to take the country forward.

 

Christmas is here

The air around the Jack Pidik Park is filled with the magic of Christmas.
Colourful lights and other attractions adorned the park but, of notable value, is a manger beautifully laid out in true biblical fashion, furnished with an artificial baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the three kings, shepherds and even an angel.
May the blessings and tidings of Christmas be with us all as we celebrate the birth of Christ. – Nationapic by BURL MOSES

Aussie firm snares LNG telecom deal

AN Australian company has beaten off stiff overseas competition to win a multi-million dollar contract to supply specialist telecommunications rooms along the route of the inland pipeline for Papua New Guinea’s US$15 billion liquefied natural gas project, The National reports.

Perth-based Lowrie Constructions Ltd will supply at least three separate telecommunications facilities in remote areas of the pipeline route.

This extends from Southern Highlands and Western provinces to Kopi on the southern coast before the gas and liquids enter a subsea pipeline to Port Moresby and the new LNG processing plant there, currently under construction.

Lowrie - an electrical/switch room manufacturing specialist wholly-owned by South Australian-based private equity firm, Paragon Private Equity – has already begun construction of the units, timed for first delivery to PNG through next year.

“PNG’s intense tropical weather and steep mountainous terrain poses demanding engineering challenges in ensuring both stability of installation and then long-term performance of the facilities despite their remoteness and surrounding climate,” Lowrie Construction’s general manager Adrian Poyner said yesterday.

“In addition, however, we had to compete against numerous international tenderers for the contract, so our systems performance, cost structures and delivery capability were critical factors to securing this - our largest ever contract in PNG,” Poyner said.

“We also had to demonstrate a proven track-record in pre-qualifying in regard to the client’s safety and quality criteria.”

Under the design, fabricate and construct contract, with one of the project’s major construction consortia, one of the telecommunications rooms to be located at the project’s marine terminal will be a double storey facility.

Lowrie says all rooms will be transported to Perth’s marine and rail export hub at Henderson and shipped to the eastern states prior to delivery to PNG.

A number of the rooms will arrive at their final destination via the giant Russian-built Antinov aircraft carrier.

The rooms will be fabricated, constructed and fitted out at two of Lowrie’s manufacturing sites in Perth before being exported.

This work will include installation of a complex HVAC system to ensure the rooms can cope with PNG’s local tropical conditions.

 

 

Sex slave

Woman’s hubby, son of ex-politician, enjoys group sex, bondage and sadism

 

By EVAH KUAMIN

 

THE son of a former parliamentarian, who subjected his wife to three years of sexual abuse, is in police custody in East New Britain as investigators try to piece together his sex life which borders on sadism, The National reports.

The wife (named) had told police, after the couple was arrested early yesterday in a raid, that she had been kept as a sex slave and threatened with death if she ran away from their home in Rabaul town.

She is now helping Kokopo police with their inquiries into the perverted lifestyle of the man, in his early 20s, who, according to complaints filed, indulged in group sex, bondage and forcing foreign objects into the wife’s private parts.

The wife said she was subjected to constant torture and sexual abuse during the three years of their marriage, which she described as a “nightmare”.

The former politician’s son had been arrested once before – early last month – for wife bashing and had been on good behaviour bond.

Yesterday, he was fined K200 for breaching this as police kept him in custody to investigate the latest complaints against him.

Officer in charge of criminal investigation division in Kokopo, Insp Steven Ula, said yesterday two young women had given their statements to police and he was preparing a brief for the provincial police commander, Supt Sylvester Kalaut, on their next course of action.

The wife, from New Ireland, said her husband would force her into their bedroom, lock the door, strip her and subject her to painful sex acts.

She told police she had kept quiet all this time because her husband had threatened to beat her up, even kill her, if she did so.

On one occasion, the husband locked her up in their bedroom and went to Kokopo, returning hours later to strip her naked and beat her up with an iron rod. After that, he ordered her to go out and look for food.

She told police that on some occasions, after continuous beatings, he would order her to look for young women to join them for a threesome, or for him to have sex with them while she was forced to watch.

“Mi save stap na laip blo mi em nightmare tasol (I stay with him but my life has been a nightmare),” the wife said.

She said that on another occasion, the husband tied her to a chair and placed the tip a grass knife over a candle, then proceeded to stab her about her private parts.

When she struggled to be freed, the hot grass knife pierced the sides of her thighs.

On other occasions, he beat her with an iron rod on her breasts, private parts and back, causing extensive injury.

One woman, 20, laid a complaint with police after she was forced to have sex with him.

She said the man had first beaten up his wife and then stripped the two of them, locked the bedroom door and had sex with them about eight times.

Kalaut said this case would not be treated lightly.

 

 

Somare Jr arrested and charged

By GABRIEL FITO

 

MICHAEL Somare Jr has been arrested and charged in relation to last Saturday’s discharging of a firearm at East Sepik Governor Peter Wararu’s Wewak Hill residence, The National reports.

Provincial police commander Insp Charles Parinjo was not available yesterday to say what Somare Jr had been charged with, and when he was likely to appear in court.

Parinjo issued the arrest orders on Wednesday, saying police were effecting normal police procedures.

It came hours after a meeting at Wewak police station attended by sidelined Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Wararu, National Alliance party branch executives and supporters and the people of Yangoru-Saussia electorate who were claiming compensation from the Somare family.

Parinjo said Somare would be treated as any other ordinary citizen who had broken the law. At the same time, he urged disgruntled parties to remain calm and let the law take its course.

Sir Michael also said he would allow the law to take its course and appealed for peace to prevail while they discussed other customary obligations towards enhancing their relationship.

Meanwhile, aggrieved customary and local level government leaders from Yangoru-Saussia expect to meet Sir Michael next week in Wewak to discuss their compensation demand of K35 million.

The first K5 million demand came from Wararu’s relatives while a K30 million demand came from NA supporters and people of Yangoru-Saussia who claimed that the governor had been unfairly treated.

A petition to this effect could not be delivered to Sir Michael on time as he had left Wewak for Port Moresby after the meeting.

 

 

WikiLeaks says Indons blamed for drug trade

THE United States has accused the Indonesian military of drug smuggling and illegal logging rackets along the border with Papua New Guinea, The National reports.

It also blamed Jakarta for the continuing unrest in the troubled Indonesian province of Papua which shared a land border with PNG.

In secret US cables released by WikiLeaks, US diplomats had expressed fears that the Indonesian government’s neglect, rampant corruption and human rights abuses were stoking unrest in the province.

A September 2009 cable from the US embassy in Jakarta said “the region is politically marginalised and many Papuans harbour separatist aspirations”.

In a 2007 cable, that WikiLeaks made available to the Age newspaper, an Indoneisan foreign affairs official said the Indonesian military had far more troops in Papua than it was willing to admit.

Cables sent throughout last year blamed Jakarta for the instability and chronic underdevelopment of Papua, and accused military commanders of drug smuggling and illegal logging along the PNG border.

A 2006 cable detailed a briefing from a PNG government official, who said the armed forces were “involved in both illegal logging and drug smuggling in PNG”.

In another cable from 2006, the US embassy recorded the reaction of Indonesian authorities to a riot in West Papua that left four officials dead.

“While the gruesome murder of three unarmed policemen and an air force officer at the hands of angry mob is unconscionable, the authorities’ handling of the aftermath has merely added a new chapter to the history of miscarriages of justice in Papua,” it said.

“It is clear that the police rounded up a miscellany of perceived trouble-makers and random individuals and that the prosecutors and judges then railroaded them in a farcical show trial.”

Cables throughout last year blamed the Indonesian government’s neglect of West Papua – including the failure to ensure revenue generated by mining is distributed fairly – for continuing unrest.

“Most money transferred to the province remains unspent although some has gone into ill-conceived projects or disappeared into the pockets of corrupt officials,’’ a September 2009 cable said.

The US cables also recorded allegations of corruption involving local officials.

After NGO Human Rights Watch released a report last year, alleging that military officers had abused Papuans in the town of Merauke, the US embassy in Jakarta wrote that the incident was isolated and might have involved soldiers following orders from local official Johanes Gluba Gebze.

“An ethnic Papuan, Gebze, presides over a regional government where allegations of corruption and brutality are rife,” the 2009 cable said, adding advisers to Papua governor Barnabas Suebu as saying Gebze was “out of control” and had made numerous illegal forestry deals with Chinese and Korean companies.

 

 

119 Papuans detained on Aussie island

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

MORE than 100 Papua New Guineans, on their way to petition the Australian government to recognise them as its citizens early this week, were stopped by Australian customs in the Torres Strait and were due to be taken to Thursday Island yesterday, The National reports.

Australia’s immigration department spokesman Sandi Logan said they would be deported.

He said the group of 119 set out from PNG in boats earlier this week, saying they were heading to Australia to make their case.

Logan told Radio Australia the group, including some children, had entered Australian waters unlawfully and would be sent back to PNG as soon as possible.

“Frankly, this is a waste of a lot of people’s time, customs on the water and Queensland police on the water,” he said.

“Immigration officials have much better things to do than dealing with this sort of prank that the group is pulling.”

PNG national security sources said the people, believed to be from Western, Gulf and Central, travelled on seven boats to petition the Australia government to recognise them as citizens.

Sources said a woman, Lorna Ray from Hanuabada village in NCD, was among the first to be picked up by Australian customs while others were rounded at Sigabaduru and Mabudawan, near Daru Island, ready to cross to Thursday Island.

Leader of the group, Jonathan Baure, was among the boat people and was understood to have presented their petition to authorities on Thursday Island.

The group is claiming and pressing for Australian government recognition as citizens.

The Australian High Commission said it was aware of a group seeking travel clearance to travel to Australia to press their claim for citizenship.

It said individuals who attempted to enter Australia without authority would face a range of enforcement measures such as interception and seizure of the vessel, refusal of entry and removal from Australia.

Petromin to run floating LNG plant

By JUNIOR UKAHA

 

PETROMIN Holdings Ltd has been granted permission by the National Executive Council to operate a floating LNG processing facility  in the Gulf of Papua, The National reports.

The liquefied natural gas floating, processing, storing and offloading facility (LNG FPSO) will be the first of its kind to be built by state-owned Petromin and its partners.

The NEC unanimously agreed to let Petromin use this technology to develop the rich gas deposits in parts of Kerema and Western province, based on a special meeting on Dec 2.

Petromin managing director Joshua Kalinoe said the LNG FPSO is a state-of-the-art all in one receiving, processing, storing and off-loading facility that was condensed in just one small area measuring roughly the size of three soccer fields (380m).

He said compared to the same facility built on land, the FPSO occupies a small space, was cost effective and could be rearranged in new positions. 

The facility has mooring enclaves for tankers to load processed gas and has office complexes for technical workers to reside on and work.

According to Kalinoe, once completed, the FPSO will produce three trillion tonnes of cubic liters of gas per annum and is safe and environmentally friendly as it is constructed using front end engineering design (Feed) techniques in the oil and gas industry.

Kalinoe said although the facility is not being built yet, he is confident Petromin would  get it running in mid 2014 or early 2015 if upstream gas sources were firmly secured.

The facility will be built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) at an estimated cost of US$2.3 billion and will be shipped to PNG.

The proposed project is a joint venture between Petromin (34% share), DSME (33% share) and Hoegh LNG of Norway (33%) share.

Kalinoe said what Patromin was embarking on is “a stand alone possibly third LNG project that will unite smaller petroleum retention licence (PRL) holders giving them a total solution” to some of the problems they face.

 

 

 

Bomb scare shuts 'heart of finance'

LNG landowners blamed

 

A BOMB scare at the Vulupindi Haus in Waigani, NCD, caused government workers to flee the building yesterday, causing chaos and confusion at the public finance nerve centre, The National reports.

Service providers, hoping to get paid before the government accounts shut down for the year, left frustrated as workers abandoned their offices in the four-storey building and fled for their lives just after lunch yesterday.

Police, the Fire Service and a security team were called in to attend to the bomb scare, and the all-clear was given after two hours, but many workers had already left.

Others said they would stay away for the whole week, fearful that they faced more threats from people seeking public funds they claimed they were owed by the government.

Finance secretary Gabriel Yer confirmed the bomb scare, saying the matter was in the hands of police to deal with.

Yer was on holidays but was recalled given the situation yesterday, and to provide a brief to acting Prime Minister Sam Abal on the situation with grants outstanding to landowners.

The bomb scare was blamed on landowners from the Southern Highlands, who have been camping outside Vulupindi Haus for weeks seeking grants they claimed were owed to them by the government.

They claimed they were being owed outstanding memorandum of agreement (MoA) funds relating to oil and gas projects in their area, and business development grants.

Last week, the landowners blocked access into the office for workers, causing frustration and panic.

Some of the landowners and their leaders wanted to be paid cash in Port Moresby before Christmas, so they could settle bills and repay money they had borrowed from the “black market”.

The acting prime minister issued a statement last night, warning landowners that funds owed to them were non-cash grants for development projects in their areas, and it was wrong to expect cash before Christmas.

Abal said he had directed that business development grants, owed to landowners in the LNG project areas, would be released to selected entities before Christmas.

 

 

Kapris granted bid to return to Bomana

THE state’s infamous prisoner, William Nanua Kapris, is heading back to Port Moresby, at taxpayers’ expense, because of alleged death threats at the Beon jail in Madang, The National reports.

The order by Justice David Cannings this week meant that the state would fund Kapris’ transfer from Beon to the maximum security unit at Bomana.

Kapris was flown to Madang two months ago to answer to charges that he was the mastermind in the K2 million-odd robbery of Bank South Pacific Madang branch on July 5, 2008. He is also wanted for questioning over two other BSP robberies.

Cannings had allowed Kapris, a convicted rapist and habitual escapee, to leave Beon because his life could be in danger, following an application by counsel David Dotaona.

There had been suggestions that there were plans to kill Kapris at Beon, according to jail bosses. Added to the uncertainty about his safety was an ongoing discontent by Beon warders over payments for providing extra security for Kapris and 13 other co-accused.

The court would rule on this on Feb 1 but, in the meantime, it ordered Correctional Services Commissioner Richard Sikani to facilitate Kapris’ transfer “with the time and method to be determined by the commissioner”.

Cannings also ordered that Kapris be released from separate confinement at Beon to another holding – not the main compound – and be allowed four hours daily exercise with access to reading materials and newspapers.

 

 

Abal: Grants are not cash handouts

ACTING Prime Minister Sam Abal warned yesterday there will be no cash handouts in Port Moresby for landowners expecting grants from the government for projects in their areas, The National reports.

Abal said he was concerned that so much misinformation on the project grants agreed under the petroleum and gas projects had led to a groundswell of complaints, accusations, anxiety, threats, assaults on government officers and damage to government properties.

“Memorandum of agreement (MoA) and development agreement (DA) project grants are non-cash benefits. I must emphasise here that these are not cash handouts.

“These benefits are obligations the national government has contracted to in formal agreements to provide in the form of infrastructure projects and granted by way of section 173 under the Oil and Gas Act,” Abal said in a statement issued last night.

“Such infrastructure projects include public roads, bridges, schools, clinics, hospitals, etc. 

“These capital work are provided to improve the welfare of our people in the petroleum project areas.”

He said cash benefits included royalty and equity, and these were received directly by affected beneficiary landowners and affected provincial and local level governments.

Abal said by the end of last year, the state expended a total of K536.6 million, both directly and through the Tax Credit Scheme, on MoA projects.

“A significant portion of this funding went directly to landowner companies without any tangible infrastructure development. This practice cannot continue if we want to improve our people’s well-being.”

He said the state had a list of payments done to landowner companies and a financial and physical audit would be undertaken on the payments made.

The principals of landowner companies would be required to acquit for the funding provided to them and provide independent certification that the projects had been implemented, he said.

Failing to acquit these defaulting landowner companies will not be able to access further funding.

For the business development grants, Abal said K120 million was allocated to be disbursed to all PNG LNG projects area licences, and of the total, K30.792 million had been paid and the remaining balance of K89.208 million would be paid this week.

The Commerce and Industry Department is responsible for the disbursement of these funds to landowners.

 

 

Schools inflating marks, Canadians say in report

MOST, if not all, secondary schools in the country have reportedly been inflating the marks scored by students in examinations, The National reports.

This has been going on for years and the Department of Education also does the same with Grade 12 examinations, The National had learnt.

The marks were inflated by as much as 40%, according to two top Canadian teachers who had taught in PNG in two separate periods.

In a damning report of the country’s education system made available to The National, they said that at one well-known school they taught, teachers were required to submit marks for all the students each term.

The students would be given A, B, C, D and E “with no regard to the actual marks they attained for their classroom performance”.

The two science teachers, who first arrived in PNG about 40 years ago, and then returned recently for another five-month stint, said that as a consequence of the practice, students were less competent than their awarded term mark would imply.

“Local teachers, accustomed and unconcerned with the regular boosting of students’ marks, never question it.

“Teachers know the Department of Education uses the same practice when determining students’ final Grade 12 marks,” they said in the report.

When they first arrived in East New Britain from Australia, the teachers, who had been trained in curriculum development, were impressed with the conditions and facilities of the school.

A year later, they were transferred to Lae where they also found science department facilities well maintained.

Schools then used the New South Wales syllabus which the two teachers felt were producing acceptable results.

After PNG, they returned to Canada where they continued to teach and were also involved in curriculum revision.

In June this year, the two retired teachers returned to the East New Britain school as volunteers and were saddened to see the poor conditions.

“Our hearts were saddened as we realised that students are now experiencing the results of an education system in failure,” they wrote in the report.

“These students are survivors of an education system rife with government corruption and plagued by inadequate funding, poor English skills of teachers, low curriculum standards, inappropriate assessment practices and lack of teacher competence and professionalism.

“Instead of graduating with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become solid, contributing citizens in PNG, they were shortchanged in their educational experience.”

Using last year’s national biology schools as an example, they said the lower cut-off pint for an “A” grade was 47% when it should have been 80-85%.

“Students who scored 47% were awarded an A. Regular boosts of 30% or more occur for other subjects as well.”

The report said that as school leavers proceeded to post-secondary institutions, their knowledge and skill level were far below what their marks indicated, or what was required for success,

“What do colleges, universities and technical schools do with students who have such low levels of competency?

“How does PNG hope to educate and train the leaders and professionals it needs when such assessment practices paint a false picture of what students actually know and can do?”

The report also said that this year’s final examinations in biology and chemistry contained questions that were not covered in the syllabus.

Some questions were too long for students to fully understand, resulting in many not attempting to answer them at all.

The teachers also noted that questions from previous examinations were periodically recycled.

“Such recycling leads to teachers reviewing past examinations as their primary teaching technique.

“This replaces practical activities and other solid classroom science learning that needs to take place.”

Ahi Festival unites villages and Lae

By MALUM NALU
Evening at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae, the once-beautiful ‘garden city’ of Papua New Guinea, now a pothole and crime-infested garden of good and evil.




Butibam village women performing at the opening of the Ahi Festival in Lae on Sunday, Dec 12

 It is Wednesday, December 15, 2010. A sea of candles light up the stadium as hundreds of people, young and old, flock here to witness the first-ever ‘carols by candlelight’ programme Lae has ever seen in a long time.
Their mere presence sends a powerful message that they have enough of all the negative, gloom-and-doom perceptions that have beset Lae for far too long

Yanga women

It is an initiative of the St Andrew’s Lutheran congregation at Ampo, sponsored by Digicel, and is part of the inaugural Ahi Festival organised by a real angel of hope in local company Riback Stevedores, the major employer of young Ahi men and women from the six villages of Yalu, Kamkumung, Hengali, Butibam, Yanga and Wagang.

Wagang village dancers

Ahi woman leader and well-know diva Loujaya Toni, in a moving welcome, talks about the hunger – both spiritual and physical – that has been prevalent in Lae for far too long and urges the congregation to let their voices soar into the sky like eagles.
And when the voices rise, they soar higher than an eagle – over the mountains, Huon Gulf and crime-infested settlements and streets of Lae - a moment many shall never forget.
Riback operations manager George Gware, the man behind the Ahi Festival, says he is deeply touched as such an event like tonight’s carols by candlelight has never been seen before in Lae.

Go Ahi...Riback Stevedores operations manager and Ahi Festival mastermind George Gware makes a strong point at the opening

Former Kumul rugby league captain John Wilshere, ambassador of the Ahi Festival, says the presence of so many people tonight is deeply moving.

John Wilshere waving to a fullhouse crowd at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae on Sunday, Dec 12

Revereng Gigere Wenge, head bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, delivers a powerful Christmas message.
Rainy Lae lives up to name, but by the time the heavens open, most of the programme has been completed.
Tonight’s carols are part of the week’s Ahi Festival, an event which has brought together the six villages, in a sporting and cultural tour-de-force.
It really has been an amazing week as the festival brings out an extravaganza of sports and culture starting on Monday, Dec 13.

Butibam village beauty Catherine Maliaki leads her team with a traditional dance around the field on Sunday, Dec 12

The Ahi talent on show this week has been mind-boggling.
Of course, Ahi prowess in sports like basketball, volleyball and netball is well-known, with current and former internationals on show this week.
It is encouraging to see young people from the six villages zealously holding on to their culture amidst the winds of change.

Yalu women performing at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium on Sunday, Dec 12

Ahi young talent in music is prolific.
Papua New Guinea’s latest singing sensation Greg Aaron, widely tipped to be named winner of the 2010 Digicel Stars competition on Sunday, brought the house down at the stadium on Wednesday.
Ahi favourite son ‘Greg’ – as he is known to thousands of Digicel Stars fans all over PNG – is from Yanga and has developed a cult following since his appearance in the competition this year.
The unassuming 26-year-old had the crowd – especially young people from the six Ahi villages – singing and dancing around the paddock as he took centre stage, backed by his Thronz band of Lae.
Greg’s performance was in line with one of the festival’s objectives to promote young Ahi talent in music.
He tells me that he can’t wait for Digicel Stars judgement day on Sunday – which could be the biggest break in his music career.
“I’m proud to be an Ahi,” Greg declares.
“To be part of this Ahi Festival feels just right to me.
“I feel a sense of belonging to this group.”
Greg said that whether or not he took the ultimate accolade in Digicel Stars, with a chance to pocket K10, 000 and a major recording contract, “I’ll still be the same old Greg”.
“I don’t think I’ll ever change,” he said.
“I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the Ahi people from the six villages and all the organisers and people who are taking part in this event, and everyone else.”
A well-choreographed explosion of colour lit up the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium on Sunday, Dec 12 with the official opening.

Team Kamkumung banner

Entertainment-starved residents of Lae thronged to the stadium in their hundreds to watch the entertainment and official opening of the festival, sponsored by local company Riback Stevedores, by former Kumul rugby league captain and Ahi’s favourite sporting son John Wilshere.
“Let us all enjoy the occasion,” he declared in his brief, straight-to-the-point address.
The opening ceremony started with a colourful march-in of teams from the six Ahi villages.
This was followed by an opening prayer by Butibam woman leader Giob Gware, national anthem sung in local language by Ampo St Andrew’s choir, a run-in by teams to join hands with staff of major sponsor and organiser Riback Stevedores, festival pledge led by organiser Bob Aaron, release of balloons, and then the opening by Wilshere.
The 15 entrants in the Miss Ahi pageant ended an enjoyable day with a parade in front of an appreciative crowd.
Before the opening ceremony, people from the six Ahi villages packed the indoor stadium for a joint church service.
Highlights of the week included the Ms Ahi pageant which will culminate with the judging on Friday, Dec 17 at Lae International Hotel, ‘Carols by Candlelight’ at the stadium on Wednesday evening, displays of traditional culture and stalls set up by non-government organisations and other service providers.

On the catwalk...Miss Wagang Jeanette Jana struts her stuff

The Ahi Festival – with the theme Promoting Education Through Sports and Culture - is aimed at raising funds for the establishment of an Ahi resource centre, an education facility which will have a library, computer laboratory and conference and workshop facilities.
“The Ahi Festival is an initiative of Riback Stevedores Ltd and has the full support of the Ahi community,” explains Riback general manager Peter Boyd.
“The company believes that the effects of the social problems facing the Ahi community can be wide-ranging in size anywhere from local effects on a family or a village to the Lae community and even the entire society.
“The company therefore wants to do its part in helping the Ahi community to help themselves to take a lead now in working towards addressing some of their social problems.
“We hope other members and stakeholders of the Lae community can also join in and help the people of Ahi in their endeavours to create an educated and orderly community that can co-exist peacefully with others in the wider Lae community.”
Boyd said the social problems of the Ahi community could be addressed only if the community could unite and work together in search of solutions with the support of strategic partners.
“The Ahi Festival can be a powerful tool to unite the Ahi community,” he added.
“It can also create awareness of the social issues and promote a team approach with key stakeholders to address the socials problems with the view to minimise its crippling effects on the people of Ahi – the current generation and also the future generation.”
Some of the main objectives of the Ahi Festival include:
• Promoting community unity;
• Promoting and preserving Ahi culture;
• Creating awareness on social Issues and assistance available; and
• Showcase local talents in culture, sports, music and business.
All that- and more - has been achieved this week.

Sir Michael Somare at ease

Sir Michael with a huge sail fish he caught using a 10-pound fishing line in Murik

SIDELINED prime minister Sir Michael Somare is back home in East Sepik, fishing in his spare time and attending to his electoral duties, The National reports.
Yesterday, he travelled by boat to the Murik Lakes area to meet with his people at Karau village and to hear their grievances.
While on his way, Sir Michael took out his fishing gear and let down the lines.
To his pleasant surprise, Sir Michael caught four huge fish.
The prized catch was a huge sail fish, weighing about 30kg and was about 160cm long.
The other three were mackerels, weighing up to 15kg each, which were shared among his Karau village relatives while the sail fish was brought back to Wewak.
While in Karau, Sir Michael spoke to his working committee on the ground about the progress on the construction of a new church building, improvement to existing infrastructure like the school, water tanks, Telikom’s VSat telecommunication equipment, aid posts and other requirements.

Despite gas, oil, Papua New Guinea remains a mining hub

DESPITE the gas project and other oil-related activities, Papua New Guinea remains a mining country, of which 60% of annual export revenue comes from the mining sector, according to Bank of PNG third quarter bulletin, The National reports.

The country boasts nine mines, where seven are currently in production, namely, Ok Tedi, Porgera, Lihir, Simberi, Tolukuma, Sinivit and Harmony Gold.

Ramu NiCo Ltd is under its final phase of construction while Kainantu mine is under care and maintenance.

Ok Tedi produces copper, with gold and silver as secondary products, while the others produce gold, with silver as their secondary product.

Nautilus Inc Ltd has applied for a mining licence  for its Solwara 1 project, to mine seafloor massive sulphides (SMS) deposits from the sea bed of the Bismarck Sea.

The SMS deposits are highly mineralised with gold, copper, silver, manganese, zinc and nickel.

Some samples assayed register values as high as 15% copper, 15 grams of gold per tonne and 20% zinc.

By comparison, these values triple those of land base prospects.

Nautilus has 14 other Solwara projects under exploration to assess the resources present in these prospects.

Other exploration projects are advancing to stages where they could be expected to progress into full mine operations around 2014-2016.

They are Frieda, Yandera and Wafi-Golpu.

These are significantly large projects that will be producing copper as primary products and gold as secondary products, plus other by-products molybdenum and rhenium which are specific to Yandera.

The increasing number of both land and sea-based exploration projects is an indication of the investors confidence in PNG as a prospective destination.

The Frazer Institute in its 2008-2009 survey of 175 mining nations in the world rated PNG as the number one country as the most prospective country with good government policies without land restrictions and social issues.

It takes years of exploration to develop mines.

Therefore, current exploration programmes would give rise to mines after 10-20 years or more.

Some of the current advance projects, such as Frieda, were explored for more than 40 years.

There was a spur of applications for EL this year with the release of the newly acquired geophysics (aeromagnetic and radiometric) and geochemistry data.

The EU mining sector support programme project made it possible for PNG to acquire these new data.

 

Teachers stranded

Hundreds not paid full leave fare home

 

HUNDREDS of teachers are stranded in various provinces nationwide because of anomalies in their leave entitlements, The National reports.

Two weeks after schools closed for the 2010 academic year, some teachers claimed their entitlements, which are the responsibility of respective provincial education divisions, had been cut in half without explanation while others had not received their entitlements.

Teaching Service Commission (TSC) acting chairman Jerry Kuhena said poor management should be blamed for these shortcomings which teachers face every year of the end of the academic year.

Complaints received from teachers in the past days showed that those stranded were in the two Sepik provinces, Madang and Western Highlands.

The worst affected was Western Highlands where at 500 teachers would not be able to spend Christmas with their loved ones because their travel arrangements were not in order even though a total of K1.6 million had been allocated for leave fares.

Of the total, about 40 are from Southern, New Guinea Islands and Momase regions.

In Madang, teachers stoned the provincial education office, forcing its closure. Reports said at least 50 teachers would not make it home.

TSC Momase regional adviser Joseph Ouyoumb said provinces were duty-bound to disperse teachers’ leave entitlements on time. The entitlements were normally available after two years service at a particular posting.

Other complications arise where teachers have dependents, questions about the most economical route to home provinces and forms of transportation budgetted for.

There are also complaints that local teachers, who are not entitled to travel entitlements, are receiving them, thus, draining the travel budget for mostly coastal teachers.

Elsewhere, some teachers warned of mass withdrawal, claiming that there were injustice and nepotism at the provincial education offices.

 

You make it, you undo it, says judge

By PATRICK TALU

 

NATIONAL Court judge Justice Ambeng Kandakasi said that all the landownership disputes and memorandum agreements issues in relation to the current PNG LNG project has been solely created by the government and the government must find a way forward to resolve these issues, The National reports.

He made the remarks yesterday at the Waigani National Court while suggesting a way forward planning to deal with all the PNG LNG-related issues before Christmas.

Kandakasi, who was to preside over several motions filed by Juha PDL9 landowners and Tuguba Tribe of Hides PDL1 yesterday in relation to the disbursement of the so-called seed capital and the MoA grants for the PNG LNG project, told counsel representing the landowners and the State that a better option was a forward planning as to how best the issues could be resolved.

He suggested to counsel of both parties that they should convene a special meeting to discuss a strategy with him that would put to rest all the issues.

If the discussion was successful, it would then pave the way for an alternative dispute resolution for the issues.

“The government had invited the investors and created opportunities and also created the problems.

“The government has to find solutions to all the problems created before problems related to the PNG LNG project get out of hand,” Kandakasi said.

He warned that if the issues were not settled as promised by government, things would get out of hand and fuel frustrations.

Kandakasi was of the view that all matters related to outstanding MOAa and the seed capital for the LNG project area landowners should be resolved before Christmas.

He would meet the counsel representing the state departments and the plaintiffs’ tomorrow afternoon before reaching an agreement whether to resolve all the issues through alternate dispute resolution or through the court.

 

 

Teachers stranded in Hagen

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

 

MORE than 40 teachers from the Southern, New Guinea Islands and Momase regions are stranded in Western Highlands because their leave fares have been reduced by more than 50%, The National reports.

It was alleged that K1, 000 was used as PMV fares to send some teachers back to their villages and provinces.

A woman teacher from Bougainville, who requested K17, 000 in leave fares to travel home with her family, was only paid K5, 000 last Friday.

Another woman teacher at Tiki Memorial Primary School in Hagen Central, who wanted to travel to Alotau and had asked for K6, 000, was only paid K2, 700.

But, a headmaster of a primary school, travelling from Mt Hagen city to Kotna in the Dei district, was paid K1, 000.

Branch president of the Western Highlands Teachers Association Aita Sanangekepe expressed grave concern yesterday and questioned the leave fares committee on the criteria used to pay teachers’ leave fares.

He said he could not understand why a local teacher, who needed only K8 on a return PMV fare was overpaid, compared with teachers from outside of the province.

Sanangekepe claimed that not one teacher from the Southern, NGI and Momase was paid in full.

He said most of the teachers travelling by air could not do so with their families because the money allocated was not enough.

Sanangekepe said he had learnt from past experiences and had appealed to the authorities last week to ensure all teachers were properly accommodated when they take their break. Unfortunately, this did not happen.

He said the leave fare committee had breached the Teaching Service

Commission Act 130 of 1988 when they underpaid teachers from the coastal provinces and overpaid local teachers.

He said it was a serious matter that he would take up with the concerned authorities.