Food crops processing- a potential sector that can drive Papua New Guinea forward

By JOEL G. WARAMBOI

This year PNG celebrated 36 years of nationhood.

Joel Waramboi (left) carrying out extrusion of sweet potato

One thing that has not stopped growing ever since is our population, and in the last 10 years, our population has been growing rapidly at about 2.4% per annum, reaching 8 million people in 2011.

During the same period, although there is no concrete data, our per capita gross domestic product could have declined dramatically due to several factors like lower outputs from agricultural crops and commodities.

 On the other hand, the consumer price index has risen, which now sits at around 10%.

This is an alarming trend, and by 2016, the population is expected to be around 12 million, which even is far more worrying than we were 10 years ago.

This will place huge demands on increasing food production and assuring food security for our people.

Reports from the Asian Development Bank shows that, the natural resources sector (agriculture, forestry, fisheries) contributes almost 70% of total cash income for people in PNG.

These industries will continue to be prime movers of the local economy.

From 2014 onwards, massive revenue inflows are expected from the LNG project.

 In September this year, Agriculture and Livestock minister, Sir Puka Temu called on the government to put some of these monies into food and agriculture industries.

His calling is timely, and must be supported at the political level.

In 2005, the PNG Government adopted the Green Revolution and Export-Driven Economic Recovery Strategy.

For the sector, this strategy was aimed at improving production and creating market demands for our crops to meet the growing domestic demands, and also to seek export market opportunities.

 In recent years, we have seen several vehicles that could have taken the sector forward gone by, like the Public Investment Programme and the National Agriculture Development Plan.

Last month, a forum aimed at setting the road-map for policy intervention to develop the food and agriculture sector was held in Madang.

Several projects and programmes have been tried out before on tree crops, livestock, fisheries and other natural resources industries.

As far as the food crops are concerned, no investments have been made to develop these industries.

One potential food crop that requires minimal capital injection is the sweet potato (kaukau). 

Sweet potato

Since being introduced nearly 300 years ago, it is now the most important food crop in terms of both production and consumption.

Total annual production for PNG has been estimated at 2.9 million tonnes, with the Southern (620,000) Eastern (470,000) and Western (425,000) highlands provinces being the main producers, followed by Enga (340,000) and Chimbu (294,000).

It is a staple food, and provides 64% of the energy needs for people.

Five years ago, per capita consumption was 2.2 kg/person/year, and this year, increased to 2.8 kg/person/year.

One reason to explain this is that, in the last 10 years, sweet potato has been traded in increasing volumes as a cash crop in urban centres of Port Moresby, Lae, Kokopo and other centres.

There are many constraints that affect production and marketing of the crop, including soil fertility, rats (which can destroy up to 10% of the crop), poor access to roads, lack of farmer extension services, and poor post-harvest handling practices that lead to rotting, broken roots and subsequent loss in monetary value.

Currently, a few ‘commercial’ sweetpotato farmers are located in the Asaro and Waghi valleys, who grow mainly for coastal urban markets.

Currently, utilisation and consumption of sweetpotato in PNG has primarily been in the form of boiled or roasted roots.

There is no processing of the crop.

In the past, some research and product development work was done at the PNG Unitech into products like flour, chips, crisps and composite bread. Recently, NARI successfully released sweet potato-based feeds (silage) for pigs.

Experiences from Vietnam and China have shown that, the crop could be highly utilised for livestock production, where it constitutes 70% of pig feeds.

Past and current R&D work on sweet potato suggest that it can be a potential commercial crop for PNG.

On-farm processing of sweet potato could form an additional income-generating activity where a constant supply of the fresh roots and demand for processed products is secured.

With government assistance, this industry can be transformed from its currently under-utilised status to a commercially viable industry.

At the University of Queensland in Australia, new research by this author on the flour, starch and processing properties of sweetpotato conducted since 2009 has generated valuable information that has the potential to trigger industry development in PNG.

In the initial study, 25 varieties were studied, and from there, four of them, namely, Beerwah Gold (Australian) and three PNG varieties (Northern Star, Snow White, L49) were processed into ready-to-eat pasta (noodle-like) products using extrusion cooking technology.

The studies showed that, sweet potato can easily be extruded by controlling processing conditions like moisture content, screw speed and temperature to produce high quality and nutritious products.

The flours were extruded at three moisture (30, 35 and 40 %), and screw speed (150, 220 and 300 rpm) levels, while the temperature (120 °C) and feed rate (1.5kg/hr) were kept constant.

The study has also generated vital information on process engineering, energy input, flow properties, cooking characteristics, nutrient retention, product quality, as well as protocols for cultivar selection, unit operations and flour milling.

Sweet potato processing is increasingly being commercialised in many countries in Africa, Asia and the United States.

In November 2010, ConAgra Foods in the US opened their new, state-of-the-art, and environmentally-friendly processing plant near Delhi, Louisiana, designed primarily to process sweet potato fries and other products.

This investment created 275 jobs, and future expansion is set to increase the total number of jobs to more than 500.

In Louisiana, the swee potato industry is the largest in the country that is worth $68.4 million in gross farm income and $24 million in value-added (processed) products for the state.

In Australia, the sweet potato industry is worth A$40 million annually.

This year, McCain’s launched a new line of gourmet sweet potato superfries. 

The oven-baked fries are thin, crinkle-cut, and cooked in canola oil and seasoned with salt. 

The product is healthy, has high vitamin A and mineral contents.

TV advertisements have successfully supported the launch, and a 450g packet is selling for $3.89 (about K9) in supermarkets around Australia.

There are low-cost extrusion equipment available, costing as low as $10,000 (K24,000) with production capacity of 30 kg/hour.

These have successfully been used in rural communities in Vietnam, China, Peru, Kenya and other countries to make noodles, pasta, vermicelli, flakes, crackers, puffs and other products.

Besides extruded foods, these communities have also used sweet potato flour for substituted biscuits, bread and scones, while fresh roots have been processed into chips and crisps.

Currently, fresh sweetpotato roots are sold at around K2-5 per kg in the open markets in PNG.

Although there are no statistics, some rough calculations show that, if processed, the dry flour could cost as low as K0.80 per kg, providing a cheaper product compared to wheat flour.

This means that, retail margins can be relatively good for entrepreneurs. 

Processing not only increases the utilisation and consumption, but also fetches premium prices if sold, increases cash income opportunities for people, and avoids bulkiness during handling.

 Sweet potato processing technologies are relatively simple, and can be adopted easily through farmer co-operatives and women’s groups like the PNG Women in Agriculture, Foundation for Women in Agriculture for Development in Maprik and Rural Women’s Development Initiative in Mt Hagen.

Generally, there appears to be a strong and all-year round demand for processed products.

Changing food habits, increasing urbanisation, demographic changes and population growth are all positive factors that can make food processing a viable option in PNG.

The PNG government and all line agencies must now take a complete policy shift and focus, and realign both macro-economic and sectoral policies, and allocate funding and resources to develop the agriculture and food processing industries in the country.

 Alongside this, it should also invest in rural infrastructure programmes to create enabling environment that will support industry development and growth in rural communities.

We should also take a stock of what and why the industry has not developed over the many years.

If past investment options (if any) have not worked, what other models and options can we try?

How about setting up an organisation specifically mandated to drive development in this sector?

It is about time, that the food and agriculture sector takes this course to revolutionise and hardness the potential to fullness.

Until and unless this is done, crops like sweet potato will continue to be treated as poor man's crop.

Downstream processing and value addition has the potential to benefit en masse, raise the economic value, and create market demand for local crops. 

It will also improve food security and cash income levels, increase trade and replace/substitute imports, thereby contributing to broad-based economic growth and improvement in the living standards of the people.

Peeled sweet potato

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Joel  Waramboi is a Senior Scientist with NARI. He will be completing his PhD degree in 2012 at the University of Queensland, Australia. He has published several papers on his sweetpotato research internationally. He can be contacted on j.waramboi@uq.edu.au or through mnalu@thenational.com.pg

Prime Minister sticks by his deputy

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill said allegations raised against the Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia leading to his suspension would be left to the bureaucracy to pursue, The National reports.
Arriving back from Hawaii where he was attending an Apec meeting, the prime minister commended the “courageous decision” of his deputy prime minister Belden Namah for both the decision to suspend the chief justice last Thursday and to rescind it on Monday.
O’Neill said: “The government stands together on this decision in the best interest of the country.
“We have pledged to the nation that we will make decisions without fear or favour.
“Whether it is the prime minister or the deputy prime minister or any minister … nobody is above the law.”
He said the matters arising which led to the suspension of the CJ and the appointment of a tribunal were the end result of bureaucratic processes that had been pending government action for a while.
The matter would now be referred back to the bureaucracy and placed with the auditor-general and the Ombudsman
Commission to pursue, O’Neill said.
He said cabinet had been advised that the matters leading to the suspension of the chief justice and the special supreme court reference by the East Sepik provincial government were not related.
“Many of the issues are very important and have been referred back to the bureaucracy.
“We will allow due process to take its course.”
The prime minister said he was also advised not to comment on the Supreme Court reference or speculate on any outcome.
He joked that every time he was out of the country something “exciting happens” and pledged that he would take no more trips or attend to overseas commitments.

High court refuses bid to stay order

By SAMUEL RAITANO

THE Supreme Court has refused to hear an application by two senior government ministers to set aside a court order which directed that they be charged with contempt, The National reports.
Acting Prime Minister Belden Namah and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat appeared before a five-man bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia who they had sought to suspend last week.
According to the court, the refusal was because the application stemmed from events related to the East Sepik provincial executives’ special reference. And, as far as it was concerned, the only unfinished business in the case was the ruling expected on Dec 9.
The court refused to hear what it termed as an “interlocutory application” and, instead, delved straight into the contempt issue.
It allowed lawyers representing Namah and Marat to only talk about how much their clients would pay for bail and what orders the court would issue to the contemnors so that they did not interfere with the court’s handling of the special reference and its decision expected on Dec 9.
The full bench, headed by Sir Salamo, ordered Marat and Namah to pay cash bail of K5,000 each.
The court ordered the Supreme Court registrar to file and serve a formal motion for contempt
against the two defendants by next Friday.
The two will appear in court for contempt charges on Dec 12. The payment of K5,000 was one of two conditions set by the court in order to grant them bail.
The other bail condition was that Marat and Namah “and their agents/servants, or their principal, shall not interfere with court deliberations on the decision on the East Sepik provincial executives’ special reference set for Dec 9”.
Though Marat’s lawyer John Griffin tried to raise the urgent application, Sir Salamo said the court was not interested in entertaining any more interlocutory applications in regard to the special reference case.
Sir Salamo said last week’s turn of events, in which the executive arm of government seemingly crossed blades with the judiciary, was because of the special reference.
Sir Salamo, therefore, said the court would not hear an application stemming from the special reference, as everything related to the matter was complete and the decision alone was awaited by all parties.
On Monday, Namah and Marat had voluntarily surrendered themselves to police to be arrested and detained, following last Friday’s Supreme Court orders. They were released on their own recognisance bail which lapsed when they appeared in court yesterday.
The order for their arrest stemmed from last Thursday’s decision by the National Executive Council to suspend Sir Salamo on allegations of misconduct.
Supreme Court judge Justice Bernard Sakora then ordered a stay on the suspension and issued orders for the arrest of Namah and Marat for contempt of court.
It was because the decision by the NEC was allegedly coordinated by Namah and Marat and purported to interfere with the ruling on the special reference questioning the constitutionality of the formation of the O’Neill government on Aug 2.
Sir Salamo heads the five-man bench in that ruling.
Yesterday, state lawyers Griffin and Manuel Varitimos told the court that the NEC decision to suspend Sir Salamo had been revoked, following a meeting on Monday evening.
Griffin said according to an affidavit sworn yesterday by his client, Marat had supported the revocation of the NEC decision.
Namah’s lawyer Varitimos also said the same of his client.
Derek Wood, the lawyer representing the National and Supreme Court registrar, told the court that he did not oppose the presentation of the affidavits to court.
Meanwhile, Marat and Namah were detained yesterday at the Waigani courthouse to await the issue of their bail certificates. They were released to pay the bail at the finance office by 4pm.
They were accompanied by several ministers and MPs.
The substantive hearing of the contempt proceeding is set for Dec 12, which is three days after the ruling on whether the government was formed constitutionally.

Tiensten arrested

By: JUNIOR UKAHA

MEMBER for Pomio and former national planning minister Paul Tiensten has been arrested and charged by police in Port Moresby, The National reports.

Tiensten speaking to the media outside the Boroko police station after he was released from custody on a K5,000 police bail yesterday.-Nationalpic by AURI EVA

The charges were related to a K10 million funding released to East New Britain businessman Eremas Wartoto. Tiensten had allegedly released the funding last year when he was national planning minister in the (former) Somare-Abal government.
Police fraud squad director Insp Timothy Gitua said Tiensten was charged with misappropriating K10 million, conspiracy to defraud the state and abuse of office.
The charges were read out to Tiensten before he was taken into custody.
Task Force Sweep leader Sam Koim confirmed Tiensten’s arrest, saying a formal media statement would be released when all matters had been formalised.
Gitua said Tiensten had jetted into Port Moresby on a Qantas flight at 8.30am yesterday and was met at the Jackson International Airport by police and Sweep members.
The politician was then taken to the fraud squad headquarters at Konedobu for a formal interview.
The National was at the Boroko police station when Tiensten was brought there by police at about 3pm.
He was charged and locked up for 20 minutes before being released on a K5,000 police bail.
Gitua said Tiensten had evaded arrest since September. He had fled to Australia until his
arrest yesterday.
Gitua said Tiensten was the second suspect to be arrested and charged with the K10 million saga. The first was former acting national planning secretary Ruby Zariga.
Gitua said others who had been charged included Wartoto, who would be recalled for questioning.
Last Tuesday, Tiensten said from Australia that he would fight the allegations levelled against him in court.
“I have decided to return to fight the purported charges after all avenues for a fair hearing have been exhausted,” Tiensten said.
He refused to comment on his arrest yesterday.
He is expected to
appear before the Waigani Committal Court today

Expat charged with sexually assaulting stepdaughter, 3

By JUNIOR UKAHA

POLICE in Milne Bay have charged an expatriate for allegedly sexually assaulting his three-year-old stepdaughter, The National reports.
The man, whose name has been withheld to protect the identity of the child, 41, from Mildura, Victoria, Australia.
He was charged by police with one count of sexually penetrating a child after his arrest on Oct 10.
Police alleged that the man had an argument with his wife of Morobe origin and chased her out of the family premises.
Police said he then proceeded to his stepdaughter’s room and took the girl downstairs to his room, placed her on a couch and sexually assaulted her.
Provincial police commander Lincoln Gerari said the wife peeped through a gap in the fence and noticed Atkinson allegedly raping the child.
Gerari said with the help of her neighbours, she then alerted police who went to their home and arrested him.
Gerari said doctor’s report confirmed that the child has been sexually assaulted.
Gerari said the man’s passport was confiscated but he was let out on a K500 bail on Oct, 11.
He said the man was scheduled to appear in court later this month.
Police said the expatriate was a private contractor in Alotau and had four children, one of which was the girl.
Gerari said the girl was now under the care of welfare officers at a safehouse.

Ban on Chief Justice lifted

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

THE national government has backed down on its decision to suspend Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia, The National reports.
The National Executive Council held an urgent meeting yesterday afternoon where cabinet agreed to rescind its decision last Thursday to suspend the chief justice.
It culminated a day of drama which saw the arrest and charging by police of acting Prime Minister Belden Namah and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat.
The government also sought to set aside last Friday’s contempt of court order by the Supreme Court but that matter was postponed to today in order for Namah and Marat to be present.
Namah said in a media conference, surrounded by his full team of cabinet ministers including Sir Mekere Morauta, Don Polye, William Duma and Bart Philemon, that cabinet had decided to rescind the decision based on national interest and national security.
“I want to inform the people of this country of the urgent National Executive Council meeting this afternoon considering the events unfolding since the cabinet decision on Nov 10 based on allegations against the chief justice on misconduct in office,” Namah said.
He said last Friday, a lone Supreme Court judge had issued orders for the arrest and detention of himself and Marat.
“This (yesterday) morning at 10 o’clock, we voluntarily fronted up at the police headquarters where we were formally arrested and detained while our lawyers made bail application and we were released on our own recognizance.
“Our actions demonstrate that leaders have respect for the laws and we humble ourselves to demonstrate to our people and the world that nobody is above the law, including the prime minister, deputy prime minister and ministers.
“I want to inform the nation that our lawyers appeared at the Supreme Court (yesterday) to set aside the Supreme Court orders.”
Namah said the Supreme Court constituted a five-man bench including Sir Salamo and Justice Bernard Sakora, the judge who issued the arrest orders.
“It is really unfortunate. We would have thought that the chief justice and Sakora would have stepped aside due to a conflict of interest situation,” he said.
“These, as I see, are the judges causing the direct confrontation between the judiciary and the executive government.
“If we go through this confrontation, it will lead to a constitutional crisis and, because we are a government for the people, the National Executive Council has now rescinded its decision of Nov 10 and the NEC decision to reaffirm its stand on Nov 12,” Namah said.
“We made the decision to rescind NEC’s earlier decision based on national interest and national security.”
Namah said he would be in court with Marat this morning.

Woman in murder case changes alibi

By JAYNE SAFIHAO

CATHERINE Mal, the woman accused of inciting a fight at the Madang market resulting in a death, has apologised to the court for changing her alibi, The National reports.
She faces a charge of murder with her son, Emmanuel Ong, and her two nephews Lotivi and Moses Mal.
The four took the witness stand to give oral evidence.
State witnesses claimed that her son and nephews along with her younger brother Onnen, and other members of the Mal family were present during the fight at the four-mile junction on Friday Feb 28.
But the four denied having been physically in a fight in which Daga Nanas died.
Catherine denied inciting the fight by using the words “kilim em kilim em” (kill him, kill him).
Senior public prosecutor Anthony Kupmain asked why anyone would lie to the court about them using alleged weapons at that time of the murder of Daga Nanas.
But they denied having used any weapons or having any on them at the time.
Catherine even denied ever using the words of incitement claiming that she had twice gone to Jomba Police station seeking help but no one was on duty. She said she gave K20 to an ununiformed policeman at a service station.
The court was told that the killing of Nanas happened after a series of long standing arguments and fights between the neighbouring household belonging to Kelly Sakel and his family and the Mal family over land.
Catherine said: “Coming from a family of all girls, my father had entrusted in me the duty of representing him in court over these issues and as such have been the vocal one and the one financially supporting the family in court.
“There is so much hatred between these two groups. There are always fights and arguments between us that sometimes stem from something rather than land disputes.”
Counsel for the accused, Mwawesi Mwagawa asked the court for an adjournment to today to call a witness who Catherine said was with her the whole time.
Mwagawa intends to call other witnesses before he closes his case this afternoon.

Youths promise to quit marijuana

By ELIAS LARI

MORE than 90 youths from Minj district in Jiwaka, Western Highlands, publicly declared last Friday that they had quit smoking marijuana, The National reports.
The youths declared in public they would refrain from engaging in other criminal activities from now on.
The surrender programme was organised by the Lose Hope Youth group from Minj, an initiative of a youth group to help change the lives of their peers.
During a ceremony held at the Minj road junction, many councillors, village chiefs and other people were pleased with the programme initiated by the youth group.
They said drug abusers caused many social problems in their communities but they were now happy that many of those users had quit their bad habits.
Youth group chairman, Bata Kip Ape said the youths decided to do away with their drug habit “is to find a better way of life”.
Ape said they saw that the government was not doing anything to help them and that was why they were trying to find ways to help themselves and live a good life.
He said their local MP and Health Minister Jamie Maxtone-Graham did not want to support his group.
He said the important thing was they managed to change some drug addicts and showed them the way to live a
good life and contribute meaningfully to the developments in the district.
Ape said youths were the backbone of the nation’s development and he urged the government to provide help so that together they could change the lives of the youths involved in bad habits

Court summons Namah and Marat

By SAMUEL RAITANO

ACTING Prime Minister Belden Namah and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat will today appear before a Supreme Court five-man bench hearing their application to set aside their contempt charges, The National reports.
“Where are they?” Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia had asked state lawyers John Griffin and Manuel Varitimos yesterday after noticing that Namah and Marat were not in court.
The five-man bench headed by Sir Salamo adjourned the application hearing to today, saying Namah and Marat should be present in court.
Acting Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga confirmed that Namah and Marat had “voluntarily surrendered” to police.
Their urgent application was to set aside contempt charges as ordered by Supreme Court judge Justice Bernard Sakora last Friday.
This was because the two had allegedly orchestrated the suspension of the chief justice while a court ruling on the East Sepik special Supreme Court reference was pending.
The five-man bench, headed by Sir Salamo, is to rule on Dec 9 on that reference.
Sakora ordered that Sir Salamo be reinstated as the chief justice after the National Executive Council suspended him last Thursday on allegations of misconduct.
Sir Salamo said the court order “speaks for itself”. The arrest of Namah and Marat were returnable to the court by Dec 12.
The ruling on the East Sepik provincial executive’s special Supreme Court reference, questioning the constitutionality of the O’Neill government, had been scheduled for Dec 9.
The hearing of the alleged contempt by Namah and Marat will follow three days later.
Yesterday, when the bench headed by Sir Salamo found that the two were not in court, Griffin and Varitimos were asked if they wanted to take their (Namah and Marat) places.
The lawyers declined to replace the contemnors.
A source in the East Sepik provincial executive said an application would be made in court this week to have the NEC members arrested for contempt as well.

Four female prisoners dash for freedom

By ZACHERY PER

FOUR female prisoners have escaped from Bihute Jail outside Goroka in Eastern Highlands, The National reports.
Two of the escapees face a murder charge and were awaiting their case to be heard in the Goroka National Court.
They are Belinda Ben from Gumine, South Chimbu, and Ake Peter from Lufa district, Eastern Highlands.
The other two are serving prison terms for causing bodily harm to others. They are Lisa Kutsie from Okapa who will complete her jail term in May 2013, and Angie Andrew of Lufa who should be completing her jail term in September next year.
They made their dash for freedom during the wee hours of last Thursday when there was a power outage at the jail.
A Bihute prison officer who did not want to be named confirmed the escape and blamed the officers on duty for allowing the inmates to leave the prison.
“It’s only through pure negligence by prison warders on duty that enabled them to escape.
“An investigation will be conducted and those found to be responsible will be disciplined,” he said.
The officer also blamed the long hours of power blackout for aiding the escape.
Bihute jail does not have a stand-by generator to maintain a consistent power supply.
He appealed to the public in Goroka, Kainantu and Chimbu province to be on the alert and be wary of any strange-looking females in their respective communities.
“If you see any new faces in your community, you can report it to the police or correctional officers at Bihute,” he said.
It is believed that the women walked through the main doors and gates of the female prison compound which were not locked.

Namah, Marat out on OR bail

By JUNIOR UKAHA

ACTING Prime Minister Belden Namah and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat were arrested and charged by police yesterday for contempt of court, The National reports.

Acting Prime Minister Belden Namah is escorted out of the Boroko police cells by a security personnel after spending a few minutes inside the cell blocks while waiting for his lawyers to sort out his "own recognizance" bail. Also locked up briefly yesterday was Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat.-Nationalpic by EKAR KEAPU

Both men presented themselves to Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga at the police headquarters at 10.30am.
They were accompanied by Internal Security Minister John Boito, National Planning Minister Sam Basil, Finance Minister Don Polye, Works Minister Francis Awesa, Health Minister Jamie Maxtone-Graham, NCD Governor Powes Parkop, Koroba-Lake Kopiago MP John Kekeno and Ijivitari MP David Arore.
Kulunga instructed the two to present themselves at the Boroko police station for an interview.
They then drove there under police escort where formal charges were laid against them by police at about 11.30am.
Namah and Marat later “walked” into the cell and stayed there for three minutes before being granted bail on their own recognisance (OR).
NCD metropolitan commander Supt Joseph Tondop said the leaders were granted OR bail because of their status.
At the police station, The National saw other cabinet members and Parkop following Namah and Marat into the cell to be locked up for three minutes before walking out again.
Kulunga refused to comment on the charges but said they were following the Supreme Court order issued last Thursday.
The order had instructed that “Namah and Marat be arrested and detained by police forthwith” for “contempt of the Supreme Court”.
The contempt allegation was based on an NEC decision (Gazette No.G316) last Thursday to suspend Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia on the grounds of double-dipping, gross mismanagement of court finances and contempt of court charges.
Kulunga said police acted on that order and laid charges.
He said as per the same order, Namah and Marat would appear in the Supreme Court on Dec 12 to answer to the charges.
Kulunga said he was satisfied that police had effected the arrest and charge within the seven-day deadline as directed by the courts.
He said the work of police was made easier when the two leaders voluntarily fronted up at the police headquarters.
Kulunga could not comment on the allegations raised against the chief justice

APEC’s ultimate goal: a seamless regional economy

APEC Leaders resolve to support sustained, balanced growth

  

Issued by the 19^th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting

Honolulu, United States, November 13, 2011 – Today US President Barack Obama hosted leaders of the of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Honolulu, Hawaii.
With the adoption of the “Honolulu Declaration,” leaders agreed to take concrete steps toward building a “seamless regional economy” that will generate growth and create jobs in three priority areas: strengthening regional economic integration and expanding trade, promoting green growth, and advancing regulatory convergence and cooperation.

Photos and video are available from the meeting.

Leaders agreed to address two key next generation trade and investment issues facing the region. They committed to help small and medium-sized enterprises grow and better plug into global production chains. They also committed to promote effective, non-discriminatory and market-driven innovation policies, including by not conditioning government preferences on commercial goods and services on the location of the development or ownership of intellectual property.
Economies agreed to develop by 2012 a list of environmental goods that contribute to green growth and sustainable development on which economies are resolved to reduce applied tariff rates to five percent or less by the end of 2015. Economies will also eliminate non-tariff barriers, including local content requirements that distort environmental goods and services trade. The APEC economies also decided to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, setting up a reporting mechanism to track progress, and raised their APEC-wide energy intensity reduction target, to 45 percent by 2035.
Leaders committed to take specific steps by 2013 to implement good regulatory practices in their economies, including by ensuring internal coordination of regulatory work; assessing regulatory impacts; and conducting public consultation.
Leaders also expressed deep concerns regarding the impasse confronting the Doha Development Agenda.
“Fresh thinking involving innovative approaches is required, including possibilities that involve advancing specific parts of the Doha agenda where consensus might be reached on a provisional or definitive basis,” Leaders said in their Declaration.
Given the precarious position of the global economy, Leaders also shared their views on the state of the global economy, the sources of global growth, and what it means for job creation.

                                                                                        # # #

For more information, contact:  Augustine Kwan +65 9831 0717 at ak@apec.org or Trudy Harris +65 98983710 at th@apec.org or Michael Chapnick +1 (202) 664 6245 at mc@apec.org.

Details about APEC meetings, events, projects and publications can be found at www.apec.org or www.apec2011.gov. You can also follow APEC on Twitter and join us on Facebook.

Lawyers to seek stay on ‘arrest’ orders

By JULIA DAIA BORE

LAWYERS for acting Prime Minister Belden Namah and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat will today apply to a three-man Supreme Court bench to set aside orders for their arrest and detention on contempt charges, The National reports.
The Supreme Court’s interim order issued last Thursday by Justice Bernard Sakora for their immediate arrest and detention until Dec 12 for contempt of court has not been acted on yet.
The National and Supreme Court registry yesterday confirmed that Namah and Marat’s lawyers, Young and Williams Lawyers, had filed documents yesterday morning, seeking to set aside the warrant for their arrest.
Registry officials confirmed that the lawyers had sought an immediate hearing by a single Supreme Court bench to set aside the orders for their arrest and detention.
But, because of the unavailability of judges for the hearing, the matter was set for hearing today before a three-bench Supreme Court.
Police spokesman Supt Dominic Kakas said Namah and Marat would hand themselves over to police “in the coming day”.
He was quoted by the Australian Nine News network as saying: “Both parties have reached an understanding. I can say it will happen in the coming days.”
Last Friday, police issued a brief statement confirming receipt of the interim court orders with the warrant to arrest the two political leaders.
That same day, Namah and Marat reportedly flew to East and West New Britain provinces for official engagements.
Marat told The National by phone at about 1pm last Friday that he was attending a school classroom opening ceremony on Matupit Island, East New Britain.
The attorney-general confirmed that he was aware of the warrant for his arrest but he was already in Rabaul,
conducting pre-arranged “normal official business”.
He said he flew out at about 6am to Kokopo’s Tokua Airport.
The National was told last Friday that Namah was supposed to fly out at about the same time to Kimbe but, because of delays, he left for West New Britain at about 10am on a charted Air Niugini flight accompanied by a number of policemen as bodyguards.
The National reporter Jeffrey Elapa, who was invited to be on that flight to cover the events they were travelling for, was at the airport.
Elapa said due to the unavailability of space on the flight, because of the number of policemen accompanying Namah and his officials, he was told at the last minute he could not travel with them.
The Supreme Court’s orders last Thursday were that, until further orders of the court:

• Pending formal charges of contempt being laid by the registrar of the Supreme Court against Belden Namah and Dr Allan Marat, that they both be arrested and detained by the police forthwith and produced to the court on Monday, Dec 12, at 9.30am;
• The registrar of the Supreme Court shall file and serve the charges on the two alleged contemptors – Namah and Marat – within seven days, such charges to be made returnable on Monday, Dec 12 at 9.30am;
• The said decisions of the National Executive Council are hereby stayed and that the NEC, by its servants and agents whosoever including Namah and Marat, are restrained from implementing the said decisions; and
• The registrar shall file an affidavit of service and execution of these orders forthwith.

The orders stemmed from the Supreme Court’s content of the order stating that the NEC decision and actions “amount to contempt of the Supreme Court” of the pending SC Ref 3 of 2011, which concluded on Friday, Oct 28, and its decision is scheduled for Dec 9.

Lawyers, judges told to defend Constitution

ALL lawyers, judges and magistrates must defend the Constitution, PNG Law Society president Kerenga Kua says, The National reports.
He said the supreme law of the land had come under intense attack in recent times and all those who swore to uphold it, when being admitted to the bar, must now answer to the challenge.
Kua called on the Judicial and Legal Services Commission to rise to the occasion so “international governments and businesses must trust the independence and integrity of our court system if they are to do business with us”.
“They must have the assurance that laws and contracts are capable of enforcement before an impartial and independent but fearless judiciary, which does not get swayed by external undue influences,” he said.
“The issue of the warrants for the arrest of (Belden) Namah and (Dr Allan) Marat is in line with these principles.
“Namah and Marat probably have a genuine explanation for their actions but, like everyone else, they can have their say in court. It may be totally justifiable but due process will reveal that.
“The Constitutional Planning Committee, having foreseen such future abuses by powers that be, had specifically written a safety mechanism into the Constitution in section 182(3).
“This section says that where the chief justice is suspended and he was dealing with any judicial proceedings, he may continue and complete those proceedings, unless the Judicial and Legal Services Commission forbids him from doing so,” Kua said.
The JLSC consists of the minister for justice, chief justice, deputy chief justice, chief ombudsman and a member of parliament appointed by parliament.
“There is nothing to suggest that the JLSC has met and decided that the chief justice should not complete his uncompleted matters, including writing and delivering his decision on the Supreme Court reference.
“There is a constitutional assertion in favour of the chief justice completing his cases even while on suspension. Only a JLSC determination to the contrary can displace this assertion.”
He cautioned the JLSC to be careful in supporting an action “which is contemptuous of the Supreme Court”.
“The JLSC is asked to defend the integrity of the court system and all the judges and magistrates in this country.
“The chief justice, as a member of the five-man bench of the Supreme Court, should not be prevented from delivering his own judgment along with his colleague judges, even when under suspension,” Kua said last week.
“Marat (as chairman of the JLSC) is a very senior lawyer in the country and is known to the legal profession as a sincere, ho­nest and dedicated professional.
“These recent events are sending to the profession confusing signals. I urge him, as a fellow professional, to stand back and to review his position carefully.
“I would like to urge the NEC to reconvene and immediately revoke its decision to suspend the chief justice.
“It will be a demonstration of strength rather than of weakness to be honest and to admit a mistake where there is a mistake and to repair it.
“It is not too late. The sooner this is done, the better it will be for everybody and for the country.”
He said it was gratifying to see that two of the judges appointed to the tribunal appointed to investigate the chief justice had declined that commission.
“That was the correct thing to do in upholding and protecting the independence of the judiciary.
“I am hopeful that the third remaining judge will decline the appointment,” Kua said.
He said the success of Papua New Guinea “depends on there being a free and independent judiciary”.

Still no arrest

POLICE are yet to arrest acting Prime Minister Belden Namah and Attorney-General Dr Allan Marat for contempt of court, The National reports.
Acting Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga said he was instructed by the Supreme Court to arrest the two on a contempt of court order issued by Justice Bernard Sakora last Friday in response to a decision of the National Executive Council to suspend the chief justice.
Namah left last Friday for Kimbe on a prior engagement and returned to Port Moresby later that day and was escorted by police to his house.
Kulunga said: “I confirm receiving the order and I will act on it.”
Both Namah and Marat are reported to have stated they will produce themselves to police this week.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill appealed for calm from Hawaii where he is attending Apec conference.
“There is no reason for citizens and residents to fear the collapse of the rule of law or to speculate about the onset of a constitutional crisis in PNG.”
O’Neill said: “Nothing like that will or shall happen under my watch.
“What the nation has been watching and experiencing since Aug 2 is a healthy democratic display of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary proactively exercising their respective constitutional and independent roles as the three arms of government,’’ he said (see Page 55 for O’Neill’s full statement).
“That being so, the gravest development we must all expose, oppose and depose is the intrusion by the three arms of government into the affairs of each other.”
Former acting prime minister and Wabag MP Sam Abal yesterday accused the prime minister of lying to the nation when he declared last week that there would be no such move against the judiciary.
Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru called on the prime minister to sack his deputy and all who participated in the decision last week.
The East Sepik provincial government had also applied to the Supreme Court to have the entire cabinet, including the prime minister, charged with contempt.
The application by the provincial government was lodged at the Waigani Supreme Court last Friday.
Former judge, Nemo Yalo, said: “This is the worst case of abuse of power at the highest level.”
PNG Law Society president Kerenga Kua said: “Namah and Marat probably have a genuine explanation for their actions but like everyone else they can have their say in court. It may be totally justifiable but the due process will reveal that.
“The Constitutional Planning Committee, having foreseen such future abuses by po­wers that be, had specifically written a safety mechanism into the Constitution in section 182(3).
“This section says that where the chief justice is suspended and he was dealing with any judicial proceedings, he may continue and complete those proceedings, unless the Judicial and Legal Services Commission forbids him from doing so,” Kua said.
The National Executive Council decided last Thursday to suspend Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia on allegations of contempt of court, double-dipping and gross misma­nagement of court finances. 
Kulunga said the order would be executed “as soon as practical”.
The order stated that “pending formal charges of contempt being laid by the re­gistrar of the Supreme Court against Belden Namah and Dr Allan Marat, that they both be arrested and detained by police forthwith and produced to this court on Monday, Dec 12, at 9.30am”.
“The said decisions of the National Execu­tive Council are hereby stayed, and that the National Executive Council by its
servants and agents whomsoever including Belden Namah and Dr Allan Marat, are restrained from implementing the said decisions.”
The bustling streets of Port Moresby were unusually quiet last Friday and Saturday night after rumours of a coup gripped the city as a result of the suspension of the chief justice and the subsequent Supreme Court order to arrest Namah and Marat.

Leader dies after dawn abduction

A NAWAEB councillor and a leader of the uprising in Lae is dead allegedly killed by people  posing as police officers, The National reports.
Councillor Wanjor Bokam was last seen being taken in a vehicle at about 1am last Thursday from his house at Poa­hom, 3km from the city at Bumayong by men in police uniform.
Bokam, about 35, was from Baindoang, the same village as Governor Luther Wenge, at the foot of the rugged Sarawaged ranges.
Settlers from Malahang said they found his body last Thursday afternoon in the Busu River with deep cuts believed to have been inflicted by a knife or bayonet.
Bokam was the councillor for Ward 13, whose constituency covers Poahom and the Gobari RSL settlement, of the Ahi LLG in the Nawaeb district.
Sources said he was asleep when the alleged police officers surrounded his house and tried to wake him up.
When they could not wake Bokam, they woke up a neighbour, a wantok, to wake him up.
They said they told him that there was an urgent meeting and the “police boss” wanted him to attend.
“So seeing that the meeting was a formal one, he dressed up in his best and went with them,” a neighbour said.
Councillor Bokam’s wife pleaded with the police to allow her to accompany her husband to the meeting but she was refused.
Another neighbour said he talked to Bokam on Wednesday morning when he was on his way to the Ahi LLG office at Malahang.
He said Bokam was nursing his left arm which was in a sling, after being shot by police on Saturday morning at Malahang.
His killing renewed tension and anxiety on Friday as e-mail and text messages were sent out in a ghost-to-ghost hook-up.
The messages warned all Morobeans to look out for two vehicles.
Police sources said they had impounded a vehicle but would not elaborate.

Lae schools remain closed

ALL students in Lae will not return to classes today as expected by the Morobe provincial administration, The National reports.
Although they had been urged to resume after the week of violence, many teachers from secondary schools in the city said they still feared for the safety of their students.
The schools in the insecure area of the conflict between Morobeans and highlanders, Bumayong, will definitely not resume, teachers said yesterday.
In another hot zone, Hunter, the Busu Secondary School’s deputy principal of academic Lupain Phillips, said the Grade 12 graduation scheduled for Wednesday had been deferred “until further advice”.
Late yesterday, Bumayong Secondary school teachers said they would not return to classes.
“The students feel that their safety is not guaranteed,” a teacher said.
“Added to that, the PMV buses are not running up this way.”
Primary schools in the surrounding areas including those at Telikom College and Tent City would also remain closed.
One of the major problems is that the  Grade 8 students should be sitting for their national examinations this week.
A teacher said that exams for all Grade 8s in Morobe should be deferred to next week, when the situation was expected to return to normal.

Kids’ library celebrates first anniversary

By SHIRLYN BELDEN

THE Buk Bilong Pikinini Library at Koki, in Port Moresby, is one year old.
The library of three staff members and 90 kindergartens celebrated its first anniversary and the opening of the Buk Bilong Pikinini community library.
The community library was the first of the Buk Bilong Pikinini Children’s Library and aims to encourage communities to get engaged in reading as the first step in countering illiteracy in the country.   
The occasion was witnessed by friends, development partners and the general public.
The PNG LNG project funded the establishment and operation of the library and Curtain Brothers provided support in refurbishment of the building and construction of furniture.
Buk Bilong Pikinini executive director Ali Nott was grateful for the help from the two companies.
“With a high level of illiteracy in PNG, the library is a vital facility to promote education and learning and instil a love of reading in people,” Nott said.
The library has been receiving a good number of users every day.
It opens on weekdays from 8am-4pm.
It has 3,000 books, magazines, encyclopaedias and resource books on its shelves.
PNG LNG representative Ken Freeman said the company was  delighted to help in establishing education and literacy in communities.
It has donated 38,000 books to the Buk Bilong Pikinini libraries in PNG since the establishment of the children’s libraries in 2007.
The occasion saw the Buk Bilong Pikinini library donating 100 books to the Fisherman Island Primary School.
The library has been lending books to schools and community centre under its “Bilum of Books” programme.
The programme works by lending out books to communities and schools where there is no access to a library.

Business leaders applaud Obama’s move on APEC travel card

Issued by the APEC Secretariat

              

Honolulu, United States, November 12, 2011 – Business leaders today welcomed new legislation giving US citizens access to the APEC Business Travel Card scheme, a crucial tool for business travel in the Asia-Pacific region.

 US President Barack Obama signed the bill today before addressing business executives at the APEC CEO Summit in Honolulu, describing the scheme as an “APEC business gold card.”

 The new law allows US business people to apply for the card, increasing their mobility by expediting scheduling of visa interviews and fast-tracking processing at immigration checkpoints in APEC economies throughout the region.

 “I just signed a piece of legislation that was voted on unanimously out of Congress that essentially sets up an APEC business gold card,” President Obama told the summit to applause.

 “Everybody here appreciates it because they're not going to have to wait in line as long at the airport,” he said.

Deb Henretta, chair of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), welcomed the law which “will help US citizens take advantage of business and trade opportunities in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.”

 “Access to the APEC Business Travel Card will save US business people valuable time and money as they travel throughout the area,” said Ms Henretta, who is P&G Group President, Asia.

 Rich Lavin, Group President of Caterpillar, said the law “is good news for U.S. business people as they travel in the region, working to expand into Asia-Pacific markets and business opportunities for their companies.”
“The legislation is a clear signal that the United States is assisting businesses as they forge stronger trade ties in the region,” said Mr Lavin, also an ABAC member.The scheme facilitates business travel in the Asia-Pacific by allowing cardholders; pre-cleared immigration entry into the 18 fully participating member economies, eliminating the cost and time involved obtaining visas; and expedited transit through special fast-track lanes at major airports and seaports in all 21 economies.

 Currently, the United States fast-tracks card holders via special lanes at immigration checkpoints. The new legislation, which passed the US Congress earlier this month, allows US business people to apply for the cards for reciprocal rights in the region. 

 More than 100,000 active cardholders currently enjoy these benefits and the APEC business community’s interest in the scheme continues to grow. A new study has found the number of cardholders was 88, 421 at the end of 2010, up 11.4% from 2009, and up 430% from 2006.

 The study by the Policy Support Unit , an independent research unit at APEC, also found transaction costs for card holders have been reduced by 38%. The continued improvement of the ABTC scheme means even more benefits for business travellers in the Asia-Pacific.

 The study found that transaction costs for card holders were reduced by 38% from March-July 2011 over the previous 12 months, which translates to total savings of US$ 3.7 million. Card holders were surveyed between March and July this year and asked about their travel patterns over the last 12 months.

 The study found cardholders saved 43.3% in time costs completing visa applications over the 12 month period used in the survey. They spent 27.8% less money on fees for visa applications and saved 54.4% in time costs completing immigration procedures at airports.

 “This shows that APEC is committed to improving the scheme which already saves business leaders valuable time and money,” said Agnieszka Holland, Chair of the APEC Business Mobility Group which oversees the scheme.

 “The ABTC is one of APEC’s great success stories; it contributes to APEC’s goal of free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific, and shows how practical cooperation can be achieved,” Ms Holland said.The study was conducted as part of an assessment of APEC’s Second Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP II). The assessment found APEC had reached its target of reducing trade transaction costs by 5% across the Asia-Pacific region between 2007 and 2010.

 The 5% reduction resulted in US$ 58.7 billion in total savings for business, the assessment found.

 Under TFAP II, APEC has been carrying out initiatives around the region to encourage economies to undertake reforms and improvements to streamline trade in four priority areas; customs procedures, standards and conformance, business mobility and electronic commerce (data privacy and paperless trading).

          

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For more information, contact: Michael Chapnick +65 9647 4847 at mc@apec.org or Augustine Kwan +65 9831 0717 at ak@apec.org or Trudy Harris + 65 98983710 at th@apec.org.

Details about APEC meetings, events, projects and publications can be found at www.apec.org or www.apec2011.gov. You can also follow APEC on Twitter and join us on Facebook.