Death of my beloved wife

It is my sad duty to inform all you readers of this Blog of the untimely death of my beloved wife, Hula Debe Nalu, in Daru on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008.



Hula had been suffering from suspected post-natal complications following the birth of our fourth child, Keith, last June.



She visited Daru to be with family, however, in the process feel ill and was admitted to Daru hospital on Easter Saturday, but died the next day, leaving behind me and four broken-hearted young children.



She was laid to rest at her Irupi village on Tuesday, March 25.



I was away for a week because of this totally-unexpected tragedy which has befell me, and returned to Port Moresby on Saturday, March 29.



Please think of me and my four young children, as well as our beloved wife and mother, in your prayers.



Hula is pictured above giving a seesaw to our one and only daughter Moasing.



Good Bless You All!

Young men with An ICT vision

Anyone familiar with computers will know the famous stories of the enterprising young men who started Google and Yahoo in the USA.

That, however, is not a far-fetched dream.

What started off as a dream started off by a group of visionary young computer students at the University of Papua New Guinea has now become a thriving business.

Itel (PNG) Microtech is a young new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company started by young graduates of UPNG, which specialises in removing computer viruses.

It was founded as a student academic group at the UPNG Waigani campus in 2006 by Panu Kasar, a young man of Madang and Morobean parentage, doing IT Services of PC repairs, printing, scanning and computer virus removal.

It was a group which consisted of students of the Electronic Computing Strand. The aim was to start a business of the same name after completing studies.

It was initially started as Itel PNG, IT for information technology and EL for electronics.
So strong was the desire to start business, however, after completing school, all members went their own ways, due to the hardships in life faced outside the campus, leaving only Kasar.

Having determination and courage of starting the business, which he initiated, he pursued the dream, while everyone who knew, were watching to see if he would still continue with the idea or give up.

Giving up would be an insult to him, so against all odds, he struggled all through 2007, putting up notices on public notice boards and doing part-time freelance jobs.

By then, he had saved enough money which enabled him to purchase more equipment.

He also registered the business and opened a bank account within the same year.

He was then ready to provide competition to existing firms and realise his dream of being founder of his very own IT firm.

Upon registration with IPA, the business was registered as Itel (PNG) Microtech in 2007.

Business started at a residential house at Waigani until November 2007, when an office space was sought at Five-Mile.

More equipment was purchased including new computers for the business.

With the new office, the client base increased, which saw contracts obtained from new business partners.

Four new members added extra manpower to the business, giving strength and hope to the new business.

“It took a year to fully experiment and carefully test the IT industry before drawing up marketing strategies,” Kasar says.

“The boys had decided to focus at a more specific area than general IT.

“Using the Itel (PNG) Microtech banner, we initiated The PC Clinic to specialise in Computer Virus Removal and Scanning.

“It is sort of a PC Pest Control Service; it became one of the first to fully specialise in that field of IT, that is, virus removal.

“During our one year of experimenting, we tested all sorts of viruses and made a tally of them.

“From these, we were able to purchase specific software, removal tool and fixes for each viral threat.

“We even went as far as infecting our own computers and stayed up all night to figure the counter active measures through careful study of their behavior patterns and symptoms.

“With each exposure, we have gained invaluable knowledge and experience in this specific field, and it is our dream to become the ‘best’ as the years go by.

“This service is in great demand, due to the increase in PC users in Port Moresby.

“Latest threats identified by The PC Clinic are the destruction of data by a virus known as infostealer aka W32.Gammina.

“This virus hides all data in the flash USB disc, making files inaccessible.

“The files exist but they become hidden for the user to access.

“This has caused frustration to the point that the user formats the USB drive, destroying all the data present.

“The PC Clinic provides solutions to this through data recovery techniques.

“This problem has caused businesses in Port Moresby millions of kina in the second half of 2007.”

“The PC Clinic’s basic services are:

PC virus detection, removal and monitoring;
Anti virus software installation
LAN firewall configuration;
Data recovery from USB and external drives;
PC Boot failure repairs from infections; and
Anti virus software definition updating.

The PC Clinic has established business ties with various government departments as well as business houses.

It monitor their systems on a monthly basis, updating their anti virus software and checking their infection rates.

Apart from The PC Clinic, other services are also provided such as website designing, basic PC repairs, database designing and management.

“Our aim is to further the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ by supporting Ministry,” Kasar reveals.

“We believe in ourselves and want to become role models for upcoming PNG businessmen and women in the technological industry.

“It is our desire to tell Papua New Guineans that all success is a result of hard work and nothing comes free.

“Lazy people have no place in this country!

“ If only Papua New Guineans stop criticising and start doing what they were born to do, this nation would rise up to the competitive global arena.

“It’s not about money but simply doing what you were born to do, excelling in it thus fulfilling the purpose of your life by helping others”.

The PC Clinic Crew can be contacted on telephone 325 8912 or 6890616 or72072701 and email http://us.f529.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pkasar@mail.com .

Their service is on the spot and available 24 hours a day.

mnalu@thenational.com.pg

An ICT revolution in PNG

A quite revolution is taking place in Papua New Guinea which promises to bring about massive development to our beloved country.

This is the development of what is known as PNGARNet, short for Papua New Guinea Academic and Research Network, which is being spearheaded by our universities, in particular the Divine Word University in Madang.

PNGARNET, set to be launched next month, is a company wholly-owned by the PNG Vice-Chancellors Committee.

PNGARNET was formed with the express purpose of facilitating the efficient cost-effective delivery of Internet services to Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) and research in PNG so that PNG tertiary students can receive a world-class education.

Potentially, all those organisations, which are part of the Office of Higher Education (OHE) in PNG, can become involved in PNGARNET.

In its initial and start-up phase, the original formation group of the PNG universities is spearheading the development.

The Universities of PNG are either state-funded or non state-funded.

The state-funded universities are University of Goroka, University of Papua New Guinea, University of Technology and Vudal University.

The non state-funded universities are Divine Word University and Pacific Adventist University.
These six universities are the founding institutions of PNGARNET along with National Research Institute (NRI) and National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).

PNGARNET is providing efficient Internet resources to its members through a satellite Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN).

The typology of PNGARNET attempts to provide each member institution with complete institutional integrity as well a provide potentials for intercommunications.

At Divine Word University in Madang last weekend, I was able to see for myself initial work on this exciting project, which promises to bring about untold development.

PNGARNET was formed three years ago by the OHE and its stakeholders, the six universities, with DWU’s visionary president Father Jan Czuba appointed as chairman to commence dialogue with Telikom and PANGTEL.

“The benefits will be tremendous,” Fr Czuba said in an interview.

“The whole approach to teaching and learning in PNG will change.

“Having access to information will significantly reduce the cost of higher education.

“Instead of flying in professors, they can teach using video conferencing.

“To improve our quality of higher education, we need to have resources, which are very expensive.

“The PNGARNET will allow have student to have access (to these resources).

“That’s a huge advantage.

“It will open up new opportunities for PNG students, with unlimited access to universities in US, Australia and New Zealand.”

Fr Czuba said ARNET had the full backing of Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and his Ministers.

The PNGARNET system is designed around a VLAN implemented through satellite technology.
It is designed to help answer the challenge that the universities of PNG offer a quality education to PNG citizens.

The third PNG National Educational Plan offers the challenge that the universities provide a world class education to its citizens.

This plan presumes that PNG tertiary students will be able to access the learning resources that are commonly provided via Internet connections, thus, PNG students must become world learners.

PNGARNET will employ satellite technology to link the universities of PNG to each other and to the World Wide Web.

To achieve this linkage, PNGARNET provides the infrastructure to coordinate the satellite system.

PNGARNET enables the satellite dishes to coordinate with central servers, which happen to be installed at this point in time, in Hong Kong.

The company, PNGARNET, also provides the central skill base in order to train staff for each institution.

PNGARNET is designed to not limit the independence of any university and to maximise the skill sharing for all universities.

The vision of PNGARNET is that this satellite link will connect all the institutions of higher education in PNG.

This linking will take time, and in the first stages, the major partners are all the universities of PNG, NRI and NARI.

It is hoped that other institutions of higher education will join the scheme as funding becomes available, as they grow in confidence in the scheme, and as the scheme matures into benefits for PNG tertiary students.

It is also anticipated that other schemes will evolve, similar to PNGARNET, for higher education.
It is hoped that hospitals and secondary schools might also develop similar projects to enhance their provision of services and to better attain their goals.

PNGARNET has the mission to provide efficient, cost-effective Internet to institutions of higher education in PNG.

The objectives of PNGARNET are simple ones.

These objectives are to offer PNG higher education institutions increased bandwidth that is reliable, cost effective and of a bandwidth suitable to be educationally advantageous.

At the same time, PNGARNET seeks to maintain and promote institutional independence and encourage collaboration.

Further, PNGARNET seeks to develop skills and ICT capacities in all its institutions by enabling skill-sharing, inter-institution training, and bringing new skills sets into play.

As these possibilities are exploited and used in daily teaching and administration tasks, then the goals of PNGARNET are being achieved.

Chandana Silva, ICT manager of DWU, and his team have collated the equipment needs of the major initial PNGARNET partners.

The equipment including satellite dishes, antennae and Block Up Converters (BUCs) – a device used in the transmission of satellite signals - for the sites of the PNGARNET partners has been sourced mainly from China.

The coordination of this equipment has been a large undertaking.

Mr Silva is in Hong Kong this week to commission the PNGARNet set-up there in time for the launch next month.

All over this increasingly-globalised world, a massive Information Revolution is taking place as economies use ICT as a passport to what economists call the “New Economy”.

Papua New Guinea will continue to remain light years behind the rest of the world if we do not jump on the ICT bandwagon in this globalised world.

Access to Internet, adequate infrastructure, human capacity building and appropriate policies on ICT are central issues in addressing the digital divide.

Success in this globalised world is predicated on ICT knowledge and successful knowledge-based economies will be based on the efficient and widespread use of ICT by all sectors within any given country.

ARNET is indeed a giant step in the right direction for Papua New Guinea.

Kuimbakul writes another bestseller

I was pleasantly surprised this week to receive a visit from my good friend, writer and former colleague at the Coffee Industry Corporation in Goroka, Tiri Kuimbakul.

He came into my office at The National after collecting five samples of his new book, Young Money, which were hot off the press at The National’s sister company, Star Printers.

It is expected to be launched later this month by none other than the country’s most-prolific book author and Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane.

It includes a foreword by Samuel Tam, founder of the famous Personal Viability Programme, and is a huge vote-of-confidence in the book.

The excited Kuimbakul handed me one of the first copies of Young Money, which like its predecessor Success after Graduation, is destined to become a runaway bestseller in Papua New Guinea.

Young Money basically touches on what working class people need to know and do to achieve financial independence and freedom.

If you have been academically bright or are professionally successful, does that necessarily mean that you are financially successful?

According to this book, the answer is NO!

But everyone, including you, can succeed financially.

Here is what you need to know and do to achieve financial independence and freedom.

In order to succeed in the area of personal finance, you need to budget your money, know what are needs, wants, assets and liabilities, avoid bad spending habits (such as betelnut, cigarettes, alcohol and poker machines), control your cashflow, save and invest (rather than continue to borrow money from the ‘money market’ down the road).

This book covers all these and more, and has been written with your financial success in mind.
In 21st Century Papua New Guinea, or wherever you may be reading from, financial success is so vital that if you fail financially, you fail in every other area of life.

Think about that!

Every other area of your life is influenced by how much money you earn and what you do with it.
This book is about what you do with your money.

If you apply the common-sense advice in this book, you will succeed where 95% of working class people have failed all over the world.

“I wrote this book in view of the fact that many people are struggling financially,” Kuimbakul tells me.

“Most are living in debt.

“What I found out is that it’s not because we don’t earn enough.

“This may be true in some aspects, but generally, what people earn is sufficient, but the problem is management.

“I wrote the book to help working people manage their personal finances.

“That’s what I want to get across to the people.

“It’s not how much you earn that matters, what matters is what you do with what you earn.
“Financial success is so vital that if you fail financially, you fail in every other area of life.

“This book is also timely because of the recent concerns expressed by the government, through the chief secretary, over attempts to stop public servants borrowing from finance companies and informal money lenders, or what you call ‘loan sharks’.”

Kuimbakul’s first book Success after Graduation has become a runaway bestseller since its launch in November 2006.

Since the launch of the book – aimed at young people in general – hundreds of copies have been sold all over the country.

And his star has continued to rise since the launch, with interviews with both local and overseas media; a weekly newspaper column for young people; and meeting many people personally and through an avalanche of emails, faxes, letters, and telephone calls.

This was all something new for the quietly-spoken layman pastor.

“When I first came upon the idea of writing books sometime in July 2005, I did not know what lay ahead of me,” he reflects.

“It has been like launching out into deep waters not knowing what will happen.

“It has really been a journey of faith.

“And I have met so many people I would never have known had I not written this book, many through correspondence.

Kuimbakul, 42, is from Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands, however, graduated with an honours degree in economics from University of Papua New Guinea in 1988.

Kuimbakul has worked as an economist with the Department of Agriculture & Livestock (1989-1990); assistant Export Manager with Coffee International Limited (1991-1992); economist and general manager of Industry Affairs Division, Coffee Industry Corporation (1993-1999); export Manager with Kongo Coffee Limited (2000); and freelance consultant (2001-2008)

He currently manages coffee marketing projects, advises community development associations, does church work, writes and publishes books, conducts seminars, and speaks to students and young people when he gets the opportunity.

Young Money was actually completed last year and was supposed to have been printed then but this was put off by a year.

“My third book is titled ‘Be Your Own Boss’,” Kuimbakul continues.

“It’s aimed at motivating people or readers, especially students and unemployed youth, to go into business for themselves.

“I’m trying to relate all these books to one another.

“My plan is to have 10 books out by the end of 2010.

“These books will cover how people can succeed in school, professionally and financially.

“I’m writing four other books aimed at empowering students to do well.

“From these four books, I have developed a workshop which I’m calling Academic Excellence Workshop.

“This workshop will take students through areas such as goal setting, time management, note taking, revision, preparation for exams, etc.

“This workshop will be conducted during school holidays.”

Young Money. By Tiri Kuimbakul. Published by SECOS Books. Goroka, 2007. 180 pages. ISBN 9980-86 -038-3. K60.Phone/fax: (675) 7323950. Mobile: (675) 6880033. Email: secos@global.net.pg .

History being rewritten with Bulolo Airport

Many people who have been long fascinated by the story of the gold rush days of the 1930’s, feel that history is being rewritten with the re-opening of the Bulolo Airport.

The greatest airlift the world had ever known started from Lae to the Bulolo goldfields in the 1930s.

Built in June 1930, originally the Bulolo strip was 1,150 yards by 120 yards.

Later it was expanded to 1,300 yards in length, covered with grass.

This airstrip was used in conjunction with flying supplies and equipment for gold dredging at Wau and Bulolo.

On January 21, 1942, Japanese Zeros and bombers attacked Bulolo.

At Bulolo, they set fire to three of the Junkers G31 tri-motors on the ground, destroying them.
Gold dredging work ceased as most of the men employed entered military service.

Five days, later, on February 5, 1942, Bulolo was bombed at 11am by five twin-engine bombers.

The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush which led to the exploitation of the rich deposits of the Bulolo-Watut river system by large-scale mechanised mining.

The rigours and cost of the eight-day walk into the goldfields and the difficulty of building a road from the coast led to the early introduction of an aviation service.

The driving force behind the development of the goldfields was Cecil J. Levien, a former Morobe District Officer, who has been described as a “rare and formidable combination of opportunist, practical man and visionary”.

Levien persuaded the directors of Guinea Gold N.L. that startling profits would be made by any aviation company that could provide a service to eliminate the arduous walk between Salamaua and Wau.

He secured an option on a small DH-37 plane in Melbourne and engaged a pilot, E. A. “Pard” Mustar, to bring it to New Guinea.

The aviation service was a success from the start.

After two unsuccessful flights around the mountains south of the Markham no one knew exactly how to find Wau from the air.

Mustar landed at Wau for the first time on April 16, 1937.

He began the service the next day with a shipment of six 100 lb bags of rice, charging a shilling a 16, and, making two trips a day, five days a week, carried 84 passengers and 27, 000 lbs of cargo in the first three months.

Rival aviation companies were not long in arriving to share the profits.

Ray Parer, the proprietor of Bulolo Goldfields Air Service who had been competing keenly with Mustar to be the first to land at Lae, came from Rabaul after many delays, and A. “Jerry” Pentland and P. “Skip” Moody soon joined them.

There was ample business for all, and by April 1928, a year after the service began, Guinea Airways (the aviation company that grew from Guinea Gold N.L.) had acquired two extra planes and was employing three further pilots and two more mechanics.

Then in March 1929 a new company, Morlae Airlines, began a weekly Lae-Port Moresby run, meeting ships from Australia and bringing passengers and frozen foods across to Wau, Bulolo, Salamaua and Lae.

At first Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd and its parent company, Placer Development Ltd, had thought of building a road to the goldfields, but the length of time it would take and the high cost of construction and maintenance persuaded the companies to accept Guinea Airways' proposition that “skyways are the cheapest highways”.

On the advice of Mustar, Bulolo Gold Dredging purchased three all-metal, tri-motored Junkers G-31 aircraft from Germany, which Guinea Airways was to operate under licence for the gold mining company.

Guinea Airways also purchased a Junkers G-31 of its own.

They were huge planes, each capable of carrying a payload of 7100 lbs or 14 short tons together.

The airlift began in April 1931 and continued for eight years: the first dredge began work in March 1932, the eighth in November, 1939.

Another crane at the airstrip lifted the heavy machinery into the planes and a rail crane unloaded them at Bulolo.

Eventually operations became so efficient that nine round trips a day were possible.

The airlift was a remarkable undertaking.

It pioneered the use of aviation in the transport of heavy cargo and, in the words of one writer, “in every respect it constituted a world record”.

Preserving Port Moresby’s WW11 history

SOMETIME last year, a friend of mine asked me to be a tour guide for a retired American WW11 veteran, who is also a bit of a history buff.

The old American wanted to be shown all the prominent WW11 sites around Port Moresby, war relics, Bomana war cemetery, as well as the start of the Kokoda Trail at Owers’ Corner.

To prepare for the job, I had to be well-versed in the WW11 history of Port Moresby, so I brought down all my old books down from the shelves, made notes, as well as searched the Internet.

The big day came, and I showed the US veteran such places as Burns Peak, Paga Hill and the wreck of the Macdhui near Tatana Island before we hit the highway bound for Bomana war cemetery and Owers’ Corner.

We made a brief stop at what used to be the site of Schwimmer Drome at Laloki, on the banks of the great river of the same name, where we inspected all the WW11 relics at an impromptu war museum run by Gulf man Thomas Richard Auhava.

By 1944, Port Moresby had six airfields, one of which was Schwimmer.Jackson was the largest of these, and was named after Australian ace pilot John Jackson, leader of RAAF Squadron 75, who was killed in a dogfight against Japanese planes over Port Moresby on April 28, 1942.

The wartime airfields were Kila Drome (3-Mile) airfield for fighters and bombers; Ward Drome (5-Mile) airfield for heavy bombers and transport planes; Jackson (7-Mile) main airfield still in use today; Berry Drome (12-Mile) fighter and medium bomber base near Bomana; Schwimmer (14-Mile) fighter and medium bomber base; Durand (17-Mile) fighter and medium bomber base; Rogers (Rarona, 30-Mile) fighter and medium bomber and Fishermen’s (Daugo) emergency landing strip on offshore island.

Schwimmer Drome, according to various airmen who served from it, was the “eye and mind” of the 1942-1945 Pacific War, because it was from here that aerial surveillance missions of Japanese positions were made.

The US airmen forming the 8th Photo Squadron commanded by First Lieutenant Karl Polifika, a Russian, first landed at Schwimmer on May 2, 1942, and flew from Schwimmer until July 27, 1944, when the squadron moved to Durand Strip.

There are also other squadrons from the US Air Force like 435th Bomb Squadron, 3rd Attack Group assigned to do fragmentation bombing, 43rd Bomb Group assigned to do long-range bombing missions, 39th Fighter Group and 9th Fighter Group.

Mr Auhava has, over the years, been collecting the numerous war relics in and around the site of the old Schwimmer Drome in a labour-of-love.

He is fighting a lonely battle against scrap metal hunters and dealers, who without any scruples, do anything to get an extra buck.

This week, he brought a proposal to the National Museum and Art Gallery in Waigani, Port Moresby, for funding to set up a proper museum.Mr Auhava has been living at Laloki for the last 20 years and knows every nook and cranny in the area.

“Over the years,” says the former PNG Defence Force soldier, “I’ve been collecting these war relics and I’ve been featured in newspapers.

“Because of this media publicity, tourists started visiting, and I’ve decided to start a proper museum.

“The proposal for the museum has been signed by the landowners already and will be handed over to the National Museum.

”The war relics include human bones, helmets, dog tags, tools, hand grenades (defused), bombshells, bullets, coins, jerry cans, 1940’s Coca-Cola bottles and assorted paraphernalia.

One of the prized possessions of the collection is the remains of the plane of Australian air ace, John Jackson, after whom Port Moresby’s famous Jackson’s International Airport is named.

Jackson crashed on the hills overlooking Laloki after a heroic dogfight against Japanese fighters.

Mr Auhava, originally from Iokea village in Gulf province, is a self-taught historian and is a walking encyclopaedia as I found out.

“History is very important,” he extols.

“This generation, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to know anything about the war.

“Historical sites like Schwimmers should be preserved for educational purposes, tourism, etc.

“These relics should be preserved and protected.

“Scrap metal vendors are getting their hands on these war relics.

“If we lose these war relics, we lose history.

“People are just taking them out and selling them to scrap metal dealers.

“I decided to bring them all to one place and take care of them.

“After that, I began to find out about the place itself, its history.

“I borrowed some WW11 books from a historian and did research.

“I realised that it (Schwimmers) was a WW11 US airbase.”

According to Mr Auhava’s proposal to the National Museum, a museum built under the name ‘Schwimmer War Museum’, would be a fitting tribute to the thousands of Americans and Australians based in Port Moresby during WW11.

It would focus on history, war surplus material protection, a site for educational excursions and a shrine for the future generations.

It would also protect war relics from being sold to unscrupulous scrap metal dealers and would promote community tourism values.

“I’m submitting a proposal to the National Museum to see if they can gurantee a budget for the (Schwimmer) museum, because these relics are State property which I’ve been protecting,” Mr Auhava said.

“The government talks so much about war surplus materials, and yet, they are not putting their money where their mouth is.

“Looking after these relics is hard work, for which I’m not paid.”

Ramu Agri-Industries set to take PNG into the future

Leading Papua New Guinea company Ramu Agri-Industries is poised for a very exciting future as it changes from a one-product company into the premier PNG agri-industrial business.

As part of the strategic positioning of the business, the company last year changed its name from Ramu Sugar to Ramu Agri-Industries Ltd, to reflect the broad spectrum of activities the company was now undertaking.

Despite the name change, the company, of course, continues to market its products under the brand names of Ramu Sugar, Ramu Ethanol and Ramu Beef.

The company was formed in 1978 and first produced sugar in 1982.

Its turnover last year was K107 million, out of the total PNG GDP of about K17 billion at current prices, which shows the important role Ramu plays in the GDP of this country.

The total work force is approximately 750 permanent employees plus 1,500 part-time employees.

Both of these numbers will increase in the near future as the oil palm expansion proceeds.
The major shareholders of the company are IPBC (26%); NasFund 19.75%; W R Carpenters 17%; Nambawan Finance (7%) and MVIL (8%).

Ramu exports sugar to the USA, beef to the Solomons and ethanol to Australia.

Its major problems revolve around the pests and diseases which are endemic to the Ramu Valley and to the fact that cane originated in Papua New Guinea.

Board Chairman Peter Colton makes no qualms that the company is “forward looking and future driven”.

“The domestic sugar market is clearly expanding,” he said.

“Revenues from oil palm look very promising.

“The prospects for our beef operation are excellent.

“We have recently leased an additional 7,500 hectares of land.

“The agreement with outgrowers to farm the disputed land will further increase our land bank.

“This will enable us to plan to grow all key businesses in stages over the next several years.

“The prospects for cashew and bamboo offer further prospects for diversification.

This means that during the current financial year, the company will be producing and selling crude palm oil and cattle and beef products, as well as sugar, molasses and ethanol.

The prospects for oil palm look very promising, so much so that the Board has decided to approve an increase in the planted area from 5,500 hectares to 7,500 hectares.

“This will enable us to increase the capacity throughput of our mill from 30 tonnes per hour to 45 tonnes per hour to fit in with the full foot print of the foundations and buildings,” Mr Colton said.

“We have in effect accelerated our expansion plans to take advantage of the fact that our yields are better than projected and the buoyant state of the palm oil market.

“Phase II of the oil palm division will be a doubling of the existing 7,500 hectares in the Dumpu to Walium area and a new mill.

“The timing of this is yet to be determined.

“While we do have some of our own land available at Dumpu, this phase will be very dependent on our ability to obtain secure title to sufficient land and the involvement of village farmers.
“The prospects for oil palm are very promising.

“The price for crude palm oil in Europe is at record highs.

“Most industry analysts are forecasting a price of between 600 and 700 US dollars per tonne for crude palm oil.

“Our oil palm consultant advises that the palms are growing well and he expects yields per hectare and overall extraction rate to be on or slightly above his targets.

“Village farmers have around 100 hectares under development at the moment and we hope to increase this to 750 hectares.

“Progress has been slower than we hoped due to land disputes between village people.

“We have signed an agreement with National Development Bank and the Madang Provincial Government to help achieve the target of 750 hectares”.

Ramu has been successful in leasing an additional 7500 hectares of land at Leron for its cattle.
“This increase in our land bank will assist us in our objective to expand the beef herd to around 25,000 cattle,” Mr Colton said.

“The annual turn off will then increase from the current 4,500 head to 8,000 head.

“A market study commissioned last year showed that we have 9% of the domestic beef market.
“The company plans to increase its market share to 20 per cent through import substitution.

“Hand in hand with our own expansion will be a drive by the company to increase the number of smallholder cattle farmers.

“I am pleased to report that we are already enjoying enhanced weight gains and lower slaughter age and that we have been able to improve the feed quality for our cattle by growing and harvesting sorghum for the production of silage."

Mr Colton said the Ramu Board was reviewing the feasibility of establishing the company’s own genetic improvement programme and introducing new bloodlines to improve the weight for age equation and improve the eating quality of the meat.

“This has favourable implications for the whole of the PNG cattle industry,” he said.

“During this process the centre of the beef operation will shift from Dumpu/Gusap to Leron/Markham.

“The board continues to position Ramu as a future driven company.

“The implications of the larger herd size, the weight gains and our target of a 20% market share, are that at some time in the future, the company will need to consider the replacement our existing abattoir.

“The strategy we have adopted should substantially improve the returns from the beef division.”

After the disappointment of 2006 in which the company’s main revenue earner, sugar, suffered from a combination of adverse weather conditions and pests and diseases, it is back on the rebound.

Last August, Mr Colton was able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the parties who were disputing ownership, to give Ramu Sugar full access to this land.

“This is significant because we can now resume normal production of cane close to the sugar factory rather than 25km away at Dumpu,” he said.

“As soon as it became obvious that we had cane supply difficulties, we took immediate action to restructure and strengthen the agricultural function by outsourcing cane production to our former corporate managers Booker Tate.”

The Board last year received a report stating that “the cane recovery programme is well on track and we may expect to achieve our target of 500,000 tonnes of cane in 2009”.

Also last year, Ramu’s diversification programme kicked off in earnest and its reliance on sugar started to reduce.