Coronation stages colourful cultural day

Coronation Primary School in Port Moresby started early Independence celebrations yesterday with a colorful cultural day with performances from throughout Papua New Guinea.

Hundreds of parents, students, and members of the public converged on the school grounds yesterday for the occasion.

Students performed dances followed by male and female representatives talking about their individual provinces.

Students from Morobe

 

These are my two sons Malum Jr and Gedi

The day went well, apart from a minor disturbance by students of Gordon Secondary School, while under the influence of liquor but police quickly attended to that.

Head teacher Julie Ulitaia said the day was a means of promoting culture from the different provinces.

Students from Gulf province

“We are gearing up for the Independence anniversary,” she said.

“Thank you to the parents who trained the students so they are able to appreciate their own culture.”

Coronation is one of the largest primary schools in Port Moresby with 1, 925 students from elementary to Grade 8.

Students from Milne Bay province

Taiwan envoy Daniel Hu leaves after 4 years in PNG

A second farmers’ training centre will be set up by the Taiwanese government at Mirigeda outside Port Moresby next year, according to outgoing Taiwan Trade Mission leader, Daniel Hu.

Hu, who left Papua New Guinea  after being here for the last four years, said the centre was one his his biggest achievements apart from the Taiwan Trade Fair, capacity-building programmes for PNG, health, and others.

Hu talking about Taiwan-PNG relations before leaving.

He said the centre would be like Taiwan’s established farmer training centre at Bubia outside Lae.

“It’s a joint project of Taiwan, Central provincial government, and Department of Agriculture and Livestock,” Hu said.

“This second training centre is like what they have in Lae.

“Our government has agreed to fund this important project which will help PNG government to build up a lot more farmers.

“Training will also be carried out for extension officers.

“The idea is to transform farmers from subsistence agriculture to semi-commercial farming.

“I consider that one of my biggest achievements.”

Hu said PNG-Taiwan bilateral relationships had experienced an unprecedented growth against all odds.

“It is reflected in the increase of trade volume from US$123.5 million in 2010 to US$355.9 million in 2013,” he said.

“This is almost a three-fold increase in trade volume between PNG and Taiwan.

“When I return to Taiwan, I will do all I can to remind our people that PNG is in a new era.

“Taiwanese are welcome to do business in PNG with fair terms.

“PNG is a rising state in the Pacific with double-digit GDP growth in the years to come.

“I believe friendship will bring me back to PNG again and again.”

This blog gains more international recognition

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PNG's growing army of orphan beggars

My old mate, former kiap (patrol officer) and well-known coffee personality,JOHN FOWKE, sent me these observations about the growing number of orphan beggars in PNG.  I took the pictures of these street kids begging along Waigani Drive last month.

By JOHN FOWKE

Hundreds of orphan beggars roam Mt Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Port Moresby
Five main elements of social change are believed to be responsible for the current abandonment of children: parents contracting or dying of HIV/AIDS, marriage break ups, urban drift, unemployment, and inter-cultural marriages.
Society’s rejection of orphans is quite alarming. 

Though there is awareness of orphans, yet there is no acceptance.
Someone already working with orphans recently revealed being herself over-looked, stigmatised and discriminated against for taking care of the orphans. “People call them bastards”, she said.
Two main reasons are believed to be behind the rejection of orphans in the PNG Highlands.
The first is land.
There is a land shortage.
People think that what is available should go to the biological children and not adopted orphans. Sanguma or sorcery related killings of one or both parents also negatively impact upon the children, who may be suspected of having inherited sorcery powers.
For these reasons orphans are left to fend for themselves.
When last in Mt Hagen in 2011, I became aware of a local couple , living in the squatter settlement at Warakum, husband employed, wife supporting these kids from her own pocket and contributions from local businesses which were sympathetic.
The kids got a safe place to sleep and one very basic carbohydrate meal a day, and one with protein once a week.
All on this local squatter-settlement couples initiative.
That’s the power of Christian belief, but it’s rare.
That’s life in wealthy PNG today.
My friend Patrick Killoran and a group of his friends many of whom are practising Christians were among the contributors to “ Betty’s Kids” - and this is how I learned about her.
PNG’s journey through the next few decades is one which is incredibly complex, and one which will proceed guided by fortune, or by luck, bad and good, or by those who see and care enough to be positive, even when seen to be stigmatised, as Betty says she has been.

 

A never-ending story

I thought that yesterday, being a Saturday, traffic would be slow but vehicles were lined up bumper-to-bumper from 9-Mile to Erima. 
And we still don't know neither from contractor Dekenai Construction norNational Capital District Powes Parkop as to when the road will be completed,
 Maybe after the 2015 Pacific Games?

 Last night, after an afternoon at the cinema with the kids, the cab took the back road from Erima as traffic was chock-a-block along the main highway and it was quite scary ploughing through mud, the settlement, drunks, and those obviously high on marijuana. 
I can only imagine what could have happened if we got bogged in a quagmire, ran out of fuel, or had a flat tyre.
 There are worse stories to tell. 
This is what we have to go through every day because of the prolonged road construction between Erima and 9-Mile by Dekanai Construction,
A neighbour of mine, who happens to be one of the top civil engineers in the country, was telling me on Friday (in the long line between 8-Mile and Erima) that the NCD Commission  should have forced contractor Dekenai to speed up work on the Erima-9Mile portion of the Hubert Murray Highway instead of letting so many people suffer in silence like this every day.
 He also said us denizens of the deep could take a class action against the company for so much suffering inflicted on us by deliberate prolonged road construction. 

Painting the town red

Buai (betel nut) spit is ruining everything in this country including the brand-new road infrastructure along the Hubert Murray Highway between 9-Mile and Erima. 
Every second vehicle has people spitting buai pekpek (betel nut shit) and running the new roads, pavements, road signs, everything. 
Buai skins line the road. 
Oh well, I supposed we're painting the town red for the 2015 Pacific Games and APEC 2018 (I don't know how we got this honor when we're so filthy).
 It goes without saying that this country will never change, despite all the "LNG money" because we can't change our useless habits like buai. 
My solution: Buai chewers should be forced at gunpoint to swallow what they're chewing so that it becomes real "buai pekpek" and paints their asses red,

This is our flag, flag of our land

Happy 39th Birthday, Papua New Guinea, and our torn and tattered flag on Independence Hill - where the flag was first raised -  epitomises our no-care attitude since September 16, 1975, which is why the country has gone backwards big time.

Dramatic Papua New Guinea volcano quietens

Report from Agence France-Presse

Published on 30 Aug 2014

A volcano which has erupted in Papua New Guinea was Saturday spewing fragments from its crater and rumbling loudly, but its activity appeared to be subsiding, a seismologist said.
Mount Tavurvur, which destroyed the town of Rabaul when it erupted simultaneously with nearby Mount Vulcan in 1994, came to life again early Friday, with rocks and ash erupting from its centre.
The eruptions on the remote island of New Britain in eastern PNG thrust plumes of ash into the air, prompting local evacuations and international flights to modify their routes.
"At the moment we are getting only discrete explosions," Jonathan Kuduon, a senior seismologist at the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory, told AFP.
"The activity has subsided," he said, adding that the fragments were reaching less than 200 metres (600 feet) above the crater.
"These small explosions are usually accompanied by noise."
So far there have been no reports of injuries or damage, but the volcano continued to boom and spew lava overnight and parts of Rabaul are blanketed in ash and pumice stone.
Kuduon said Mount Tavurvur remained a concern, saying officials were worried about the amount of ash in parts of Rabaul, but the kind of eruption -- Strombolian (low-level) -- meant it could subside quickly.
"I think from Tavurvur you can expect small eruptions to go on yet. You can still expect eruptions from that volcano but not from Vulcan," he said.
"Looking at past eruptions, I think the eruptions are getting less and less. Which simply means that the volcano is dying out."
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in the northern Australian city of Darwin said it was keeping a close eye on the situation after Friday's eruption which saw ash reach 60,000 feet (18,000 metres) which is flight level.
"The last two big eruptions at Rabaul, you've had the Tavurvur eruptions first and then one in a fairly close time period you've had Vulcan erupt," official Cyndee Seals told AFP.
But Kuduon said he was not overly concerned about Mount Vulcan erupting.
This crater rumbled to life with Tavurvur in 1994, with the eruptions destroying much of Rabaul, with falling ash causing buildings to collapse. While loss of life was minimal, looters ransacked the evacuated town.
"In 1994 you had eruptions from Vulcan that went (on) for nearly two weeks and then the volcano just shut of," Kuduon said.
The seismologist said the people of Rabaul were now waiting for the eruptions from the 688-metre (2,270-foot) Tavurvur crater to stop completely.
"We need to go back to our normal life. So long as we have eruptions going it will affect our normal life. We only wish that the volcano can go back to sleep now," he said.
PNG sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where high volcanic and seismic activity is the norm.

Photo of Mount Tavurvur in eastern Papua New Guinea erupting

AFP news agency (Agence France-Presse)

Photo taken on August 29, 2014 shows Mount Tavurvur in eastern Papua New Guinea erupting, spewing rocks and ash into the air.

Papua New Guinea takes out the AFL International Cup with a three-point win over Ireland

ABC

Photo: PNG's Mosquitos celebrate after winning the AFL International Cup by just three points from Ireland at the MCG (Twitter: @AFLIC14)

 

Papua New Guinea's national Australian Rules team are the International Cup champions after a three-point win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The Mosquitos scraped home against a strong Ireland side, reversing the result of the previous grand final in 2011.
Goal-kicking captain, Mick Finn, gave Ireland a strong start, kicking the first two goals of the match.
Ireland stayed in front for three quarters and PNG went into the final quarter three points behind, 3.8 (26) to Ireland's 4.5 (29).
The Mosquitos then hit the lead for the first time through Brendan Beno before Finn responded immediately with his fourth goal.
John Ikupu put PNG in front with four minutes to go and Gideon Simon followed up to put the Mosquitos nine points ahead.
The two late goals were enough and the side lead by John James Lavai took out the championship, 6.9 (45) to 6.6 (42).
The Cup's been held every three years since 2002, bringing together fans of Australian Rules football from some unlikely places.
PNG has been the only team to make all four grand finals and now has won the championship twice.
Teams fronted up from Finland and Sweden, France and Britain, Canada and the US, Ireland, Japan, India, Indonesia, China, Pakistan and South Africa.
There were also teams from Pacific nations PNG, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.

Pacific games broadcasters revealed

2015 Pacific Games is pleased to announce two domestic television broadcasters who will provide coverage of the Games.
They are EMTV and Click Pacific Ltd who have signed on as non exclusive domestic right holders for the 2015 Pacific Games.
EMTV will be PNG’s lead broadcaster of the 2015 Pacific Games.
In this capacity they will be working closely with the Host Broadcaster in shared efforts to broadcast up to 24 hours a day coverage of the Pacific Games on free-to-air TV throughout PN, as well as streaming and mobile coverage..
EMTV will be the exclusive broadcaster of the opening and closing ceremonies in PNG.
They will also be streaming coverage through the internet and to mobile applications.
CEO of EMTV and Media Niugini Ltd Bhanu Sud said, EMTV’s mass market television coverage across PNG means that our people will be able to watch and enjoy the performance of team PNG at the Games.
“We are thrilled with the opportunity to bring to our countrywide viewers first class Games coverage, featuring daily highlights and analysis of Team PNG across all sporting disciplines.
" On the 10th of September we will be launching an exciting show called the “Road to Port Moresby 2015 Games, which will feature progressive updates of preparations for the Games”.
Click Pacific Ltd will be the “2015 Pacific Games Channel” and will be broadcasting up to 24 hours a day of Games on pay TV throughout PNG and the Pacific.
Click Pacific, a new television company who will be launching their new service in PNG in October, will offer its subscribers high definition coverage of the Pacific Games, making it the first ever Games offered in HD.
Richard Broadbridge , CEO of Click,  also added, “as a new Pay TV station the opportunity to join in the broadcast of the Games gives our company a great marketing platform. We are very confident that the subscribers who sign up for our service will appreciate the unique coverage and programming that a Pay TV station such as Click will provide”.
CEO of the 2015 Pacific Games Peter Stewart says both companies are investing significant resources into production in order that PNG viewers get maximum coverage of the Pacific Games, and they will be joined by other companies who will broadcast the Games outside of PNG to the rest of the Pacific and to the rest of the world.
“These two companies have demonstrated that there is a huge market and appetite for the Pacific Games in PNG.
Betwe"en them almost 50 hours of Pacific Games coverage will be available every day to viewers. "The people of PNG will be well served by the offerings these companies will provide—the excitement of Port Moresby will be shared across this great country.
“The 2015 Pacific Games is for all of Papua New Guinea and coverage of the Games to as many parts of the country through the engagement of these broadcasters brings the Games right to peoples homes, making the Games truly Papua New Guinean”.
Announcement of the additional rights, including radio coverage is expected to be made in the next few weeks

Papua New Guinea businesses suffer high costs from crime and violence

A World Bank Group report released on Friday August 15 says that eight in ten businesses in Papua New Guinea suffer substantial losses and security costs as a result of high rates of crime and violence, slowing business expansion and hampering the country’s economic development.

More than 80 percent of 135 companies surveyed said their business decisions are negatively influenced by the country’s law and order situation, with crime significantly increasing the cost of doing business. 

The expense of avoiding criminal damage limits firms’ ability to grow, deters start-ups, and imposes significant long-term social costs on the country.

“Crime in Papua New Guinea constrains businesses and threatens to put the brakes on the economy,” said Carolyn Blacklock, Resident Representative in Papua New Guinea for IFC, the member of the World Bank Group that focuses on private sector development in emerging markets. “Local firms not only struggle to be competitive as they seek to manage crime, but they also pass on these costs to consumers via higher prices, less choice, and the absence of new products and services. This is bad not just for business, but the economy as a whole.”
The World Bank Group report, entitled “The Cost of Crime and Violence to Businesses,” draws on a survey and interviews conducted with the local business community, and is the first study in the country to comprehensively assess the impact of crime and violence on local enterprise.
The report finds that security in particular represents a significant and growing expense for businesses. 84 percent of the country’s firms pay for security hardware, such as installing specialised gates and security alarms, which is 30 percent higher than the average in the East Asia and Pacific region. 
Hiring private security consumes on average five percent of firms’ annual operating costs. 
Companies are also suffering direct losses averaging K89,000 ($33,000) per year from stolen property and about K71,000 ($26,000) annually to petty theft by employees. 38.5 percent of companies reported closing their businesses early each day to avoid becoming victims of crime, resulting in losses of income estimated at an average of K93,000 ($34,000) per year. “Everybody in PNG is losing money and time to crime,” said Alys Willman, World Bank Social Development Specialist and co-author of the report. 
 “While the report assesses direct losses from crime and violence, we can never calculate the investment foregone, the expansions to new products and areas that never happened, the number of businesses that never opened their doors, or the jobs that were never created because the costs of security were too high. These costs are all passed on to consumers – and everybody suffers.”
Businesses are also worried about broader social costs, the report found.  
High levels of crime and violence create fear, which constrains the movements of staff and customers and stigmatizes the young, who are often seen to be perpetrators of violence and crime. 
Domestic violence, in particular, intrudes into the workplace, contributing to absenteeism and affecting morale and productivity of staff. 
Official police data, and data from Government-led victimization surveys, suggests that crime has stabilized in the country over the last decade, though there are significant disparities across regions. There is evidence however that violent crime may be increasing as a proportion of overall crime, especially in recognized ‘hotspots’ such as the Western Highlands, Madang, Lae and the National Capital District. 
In Lae, incidence of violent crime more than doubled in 2010 compared with 2008.
The World Bank report is part of its wider Research and Dialogue Series on the socioeconomic costs and drivers of crime and violence in Papua New Guinea. Carried out at the request of the PNG government, the report draws on an extensive review of existing data, a survey of 135 businesses conducted by the PNG Institute of National Affairs, in-depth interviews with business owners, and consultations with businesses and employees carried out from 2012 to 2014.

Key findings:

• 67 percent of businesses that took part in the survey said crime was a major constraint on their business, a higher rate than in El Salvador (51 percent), Venezuela (60 percent) and Democratic Republic of Congo (63 percent);
•  81 percent of businesses reported that their decisions to further invest in or expand their operations were affected by the country’s poor law and order situation; only 3 percent said that their decisions were not affected at all'
•  84 percent of companies said they pay for security in the form of security personnel or hardware. This is significantly higher than the average of 52 percent for the East Asia and Pacific region/
•  More than two‐thirds of businesses use private security services, which costs an average of 5 percent of their annual operating costs. About 30 percent of firms said that hiring private security  accounts for at least 10 percent of their annual costs'
•  Businesses reported losing an average of K89,000 ($33,000) per year to stolen property and K71,000 ($26,000) to petty theft by employees. 38.5 percent reported closing early to avoid victimization, which cost an average of K93,000 ($34,000) per year in lost earnings.

Nigerian disqualified, gold goes to PNG weightlifter Dika Toua

Around The Rings

The Commonwealth Games Federation has determined that Nigerian weightlifter, Chika Amalaha, has committed an anti-doping rule violation and has fully suspended her from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

As a result, Ms Amalaha has been disqualified from her event at the Games, with her result in the Women’s Weightlifting 53 kilogram competition nullified.

Ms Amalaha has returned her gold medal and Glasgow 2014 Quaich.

The ruling follows a hearing before the CGF’s Federation Court, presided by HRH Prince Imran, after the analysis of both A and B samples confirmed the adverse analytical findings of amiloride and hydrochlorothiazide, both prohibited as diuretics and masking agents under class s5 of WADA’s Prohibited List.

Ms Amalaha did not contest the findings at her hearing before the Federation Court in Glasgow today.

The gold medal for the woman’s weightlifting 53-kilogram competition will now be awarded to Dika Toua from Papua New Guinea, with the silver going to Santoshi Matsa of India and the bronze to Swati Singh, also of India.

Toua lifted 193 kilograms in the competition to set a new Commonwealth Games record.

In accordance with the CGF Anti-Doping Standards the documents pertaining to Ms Amalaha have now been referred to the IWF and WADA for their further consideration.