Port Moresby: THE retail price of fuel provided from InterOil’s Port Moresby refinery has fallen for the second consecutive month.
The reduction applies to the full range of fuels and includes kerosene, gasoline, diesel, zoom and jet fuel.
InterOil President Bill Jasper described it as “a continuation of last month’s positive and most welcome trend”.
“Kerosene prices are at their lowest level in four months”.
“Diesel hasn’t been this cheap since April and gasoline prices are at their lowest since March”.
“In fact, this is the largest single price drop since late last year”.
He said the recently announced September pump prices reflect the decreased demand for crude oil and refined fuels on the international market.
It also follows an increased output of OPEC nations.
Mr. Jasper described it as “the classic demand and supply equation”.
“The greater the international demand, the higher the price … but when demand eases, prices begin to stabilize and then fall”.
“It is good news but underlines the degree to which domestic fuel prices are the mercy of international forces”.
“Again it is evident that the major factors controlling local prices are external to our (PNG) economy”.
“Neither we, the Government nor the ICCC can control these forces. Often we cannot even predict just how far the pendulum will swing”, Mr. Jasper said.
“However, the current downward trend will be welcomed by governments, businesses and private consumers.”
“After months of pain our customers now have some relief”.
“Among these are the many families that use a range of fuels for both domestic and travel purposes”, he said.
“It is also good news for our business”.
“Lower crude oil prices mean that less of our working capital is tied up in oil shipments and crude stocks in storage facilities”, Mr. Jasper said.
He said that consumers throughout the world were also benefiting for the current lower prices.
“We are part of the international oil-consuming community and whatever happens overseas also effects us here in Papua New Guinea”.
Mr. Jasper said that this month’s price reduction was no guarantee of future trends.
“Domestic fuel prices will continue to be determined by international forces”.
For further in formation and to arrange media interviews contact:
Susuve Laumaea
Senior Manager Media Relations InterOil Corporation
Ph: (675) 321 7040
Mobile: (675) 684 5168
Email: susuve.laumaea@interoil.com
Monday, September 08, 2008
Goroka school boys rugby league stages its grand final
By RUSSELL DEKA HARADA
Last Saturday afternoon, Goroka had fine weather and a cool wind blew through town as we awaited the grand final games of the Goroka (Eastern Highlands) school boy’s rugby league,
Many schools around Goroka district, Daulo and Ungai-Bena took part in this year’s competition with total 21 teams from community, primary, high, secondary and international schools fielding teams in Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18.
Our team Iufi-iufa Raiders Under 14 made it into this year’s grand final.
Last year we won the Under 16 grand final but this year lost in the semi-final last week.
Last year Under 14 drew in the grand final.
Iufi-iufa boys played with Goroka International School.
The GIS boys played very well in the first half and scored a centre try to lead 4-0 at halftime.
At the half time the board chair man of the school and the former team manager of the Goroka Lahanis, Himony Lapiso, told the boys: "Enjoy your game and play like this is your home ground.”
Our boys played beautifully in the second half, but the National Park field is not level, so it was difficult to score.
Around the 35-minute mark we scored a successfully-converted centre try to win 6-4.
Team coach Eddie ‘Three Wheel’ Tom is a disabled person who lost his right arm in a traffic accident, however, always says, “disability is my ability”.
Rintenbe High School beat Faniufa Primary School in Under 16’s while Faniufa Primary School beat Goroka International School in Under 18’s.
Selected boys will go on and play in Lae and Kimbe.
Hope they can show good ‘Nokondi spirit’ there.
I am an assistant team manager of the Iufi-Iufa school boys amd fully enjoy the games in ‘Kol Peles Goroka.
I would like to thank the organising team of the league.
I hope the competition continues for the long haul and provides future rugby league players to the nation.
Science and technology
by DANIEL SAKUMAI
Good Morning!
Thank you for your time.
Daniel Sakumai
Key suspect in Taiwan scandal indicted, stays behind bars
THE key suspect in the Papua New Guinea diplomatic fraud scandal in Taipei, which involves Nawaeb MP Timothy Bonga and lawyer Dr Florian Gubon, was indicted last Friday.
Bonga, now the high-profile Public Accounts Committee chairman, and Dr Gubon were alleged to have negotiated with Taipei for diplomatic recognition at a price of US$29.8 million.
Bonga was Eda Ranu boss at that time
The allegation has been categorically denied and the national government is currently tightlipped on the issue.
Taipei Times reported at the weekend that Taipei chief prosecutor Huang Mo-hsin indicted Wu Shih-tsai, on charges of falsifying bank statements and lying to the police after he made up a story about being threatened by an unidentified gunman.
“Prosecutors decided that the evidence was sufficient to find him guilty, so we decided to indict him today,” said Lin Chin-chun, spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, said during a press conference on Friday.
Wu has been in custody since May 6.According to Taipei Times, the procedure states that once indicted, the defendant must be immediately released, but Wu remained in detention after a request for an extension was granted by Taipei District Court Judge Chang Yung-hung after evidence found that he was trying to leave the country.
Wu and Ching Chi-ju, the other main suspect in the diplomatic scandal, were commissioned in August 2006 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former National Security Council secretary-general Chiou I-jen to act as intermediaries in an attempt to forge diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea.
Taipei Times reports the Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Ministry agreed to wire US$29.8 million into Wu and Ching’s bank account at a branch of OCBC Bank in Singapore.
The funds were to be transferred to the Papua New Guinea government once the two nations had signed a diplomatic communiqué.
Sir Michael Somare was the prime minister at the time of the alleged scandalTaiwan failed to develop relations and in December 2006 the ministry asked for its money back.
Ching allegedly refused to return the funds and has since disappeared, reports Taipei Times.Chiou, former minister of foreign affairs James Huang and former deputy minister of national defense Ko Cheng-heng all resigned over their involvement in the diplomatic scheme.
Ching, who is a US citizen, is believed to be at large in the US.
Officials also continue to investigate whether former Huang and including former vice premier Chiou I-jen, among other senior officials in the previous government, should be indicted, too.
“This case concerned a lot of money, which was wired to foreign bank accounts,” Chief Prosecutor Huang Mo-hsin said.
“We have not finished our investigation or determined where the money is.”
Prosecutors said they were investigating whether any government officials, including former vice premier Chiou I-jen and former minister of foreign affairs James Huang, were involved in the case.
On May 6, Huang filed a detention request against Wu on charges of corruption, which was granted by the district court.
Wu should have been released last Friday, when the detention period expired, but prosecutors requested an extension on other charges.
“The forgery, and Wu’s lying to the police, made for a solid case for us to keep him,” Huang said.
Wu at one point defended his actions to police by saying he had been threatened at gunpoint.
Bonga, now the high-profile Public Accounts Committee chairman, and Dr Gubon were alleged to have negotiated with Taipei for diplomatic recognition at a price of US$29.8 million.
Bonga was Eda Ranu boss at that time
The allegation has been categorically denied and the national government is currently tightlipped on the issue.
Taipei Times reported at the weekend that Taipei chief prosecutor Huang Mo-hsin indicted Wu Shih-tsai, on charges of falsifying bank statements and lying to the police after he made up a story about being threatened by an unidentified gunman.
“Prosecutors decided that the evidence was sufficient to find him guilty, so we decided to indict him today,” said Lin Chin-chun, spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, said during a press conference on Friday.
Wu has been in custody since May 6.According to Taipei Times, the procedure states that once indicted, the defendant must be immediately released, but Wu remained in detention after a request for an extension was granted by Taipei District Court Judge Chang Yung-hung after evidence found that he was trying to leave the country.
Wu and Ching Chi-ju, the other main suspect in the diplomatic scandal, were commissioned in August 2006 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former National Security Council secretary-general Chiou I-jen to act as intermediaries in an attempt to forge diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea.
Taipei Times reports the Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Ministry agreed to wire US$29.8 million into Wu and Ching’s bank account at a branch of OCBC Bank in Singapore.
The funds were to be transferred to the Papua New Guinea government once the two nations had signed a diplomatic communiqué.
Sir Michael Somare was the prime minister at the time of the alleged scandalTaiwan failed to develop relations and in December 2006 the ministry asked for its money back.
Ching allegedly refused to return the funds and has since disappeared, reports Taipei Times.Chiou, former minister of foreign affairs James Huang and former deputy minister of national defense Ko Cheng-heng all resigned over their involvement in the diplomatic scheme.
Ching, who is a US citizen, is believed to be at large in the US.
Officials also continue to investigate whether former Huang and including former vice premier Chiou I-jen, among other senior officials in the previous government, should be indicted, too.
“This case concerned a lot of money, which was wired to foreign bank accounts,” Chief Prosecutor Huang Mo-hsin said.
“We have not finished our investigation or determined where the money is.”
Prosecutors said they were investigating whether any government officials, including former vice premier Chiou I-jen and former minister of foreign affairs James Huang, were involved in the case.
On May 6, Huang filed a detention request against Wu on charges of corruption, which was granted by the district court.
Wu should have been released last Friday, when the detention period expired, but prosecutors requested an extension on other charges.
“The forgery, and Wu’s lying to the police, made for a solid case for us to keep him,” Huang said.
Wu at one point defended his actions to police by saying he had been threatened at gunpoint.
Thoughts on 33 years of independence
By MATHEW YAKAI
There are times to say ‘thank you’ and today is the time.
When people go through life, one day they always sit back to think and appreciate what happened yesterday.
For me, September 16th will be the special day for PNG and my life because I have the greatest opportunity to say thank you to a man I owe a lot.
He is none other then the Grand Chief and Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
The incumbent was the founder of my beautiful country.
Despite the economic and social turmoil we as a country went through because great man like Chief Somare and others always had confidence in this country of ours.
The aliens said we will fail.
But we said no, we will go ahead.
PNG is an example of a black nation that can stand for 33 years.
And now is the day, after 33 years and we are still going.
When loved one dies, we spell out condolences and speak high of his achievements and what he does for others.
When Chief Somare dies one day, the nation will moan, the region will be shocked and the world will convey their condolences.
That is the Somare, 33 years ago found this nation, today is our Chief, amongst all the chiefs from the highlands down to the coasts and across the oceans.
It’s no use conveying my appreciation of what Chief Somare has done for us as a country when he dies tomorrow.
Today is the time to say ‘thank you’.
While Chief is able to read this appreciation, I would like to salute my Chief, my Prime Minister and my mentor.
PNG will remember you, and I will treasure you.
Thank you for taking PNG from independence to today.
Histories are not made by nations but made by great thinkers with wisdoms and leaderships.
Chief Somare, you have just done that.
PNG celebrates its 33 years of
PNG will remember you in the thousand years to come.
You gave me the blood, the heart and the soul to be a proud Papua New Guinean.
I love my country and the people of PNG.
Let’s join our hands and work together as brothers and sisters for the betterment of our great nations.
God bless PNG.
Mathew Yakai
Thoughts on 33 years of independence
By DAVID KETEPA ULG
Below, is my two cents on the above topic you posted on your blog.
Have a wonderful Sunday evening.
A very good night from this end of the planet.
After 33 years of independence, I ponder and ask, why have we done so poorly after all these years?
I see the name 'independence' as a window curtain and inside the house is empty because there isn't any tangible developments throughout all corners of PNG especially when you look at rural areas in terms of infrastructure and service delivery.
The motive is clear. I think there are three impediments which I think that undermine the foundation of development for PNG to prosper.
1. Politics - It has advantages and disadvantages at all levels of government. With more than 20 political parties, it is difficult to work collectively with like-minded leaders to ensure good governance when their policies are not transparent and implemented, while their agendas and motives are diverse. Cheap political point scoring and power hungry politics is one thing and vivacious, candid and unprejudiced politics is another. For the past 32 years, it seems to us that the former was ubiquitous. We can make little progress if the number of political parties is minimised with few parties with sound policies to lead the country with less politics. No matter what political party an MP is affiliated to, all who form the government must be loyal to each other to work collaboratively to fully implement the Government’s policies;
2. Corruption - Is a result, it is not a cause. To deal effectively with corruption, one must not look at treating the symptoms of corruption but must deal with the cause. Effective prosecution and punishment is not dealing with the cause but the symptom. In the public eye, the outcomes of some of these high profile cases are dubious. The judiciary system needs to have more teeth. The Government’s Medium Term Development Strategy will bear fruit when the law has its course. If prosecutions were done accordingly, perhaps it should send a chilling message to daylight robbers who habitually embezzle from the public coffers. The most important tool to minimise corruption is being honest to yourself, your fellow country man/woman and the nation at large; and
3. Mismanagement - For all variety of reasons, honesty and integrity are becoming noble words in this day and age. No matter how much honesty it takes, greed and shrewdness in dealings are common symptoms that need to be eliminated by a vibrant law and justice sector. Mismanagement and corruption may go hand in hand and they both are here to stay for the reason that leaders and people in positions of trust cannot be trusted. The current scenario in the Finance Department and countless similar cases yet to be solved and those implicated needs to be prosecuted are classic examples. What the situation requires is for all of us to work together. Ultimately, as Papua New Guineans, we must stop pushing members for handouts because they will manipulate their RDF and non-discretionary electoral funds to give what the people want and that will distort development plans for the each province and PNG at large. Unless the above factors are confronted head-on, PNG will not prosper maybe for another 33 years or who knows; maybe decades.
David Ketepa Ulg
Friday, September 05, 2008
I'd like to know your thoughts on 33 years of Independence
Hi to all you guys and gals out there.
On Tuesday, September 16,
It has been a turbulent 33 years and I’d like to have your thoughts.
Either make a comment at the bottom of this post or email me on malumnalu@gmail.com so that I can put together all your thoughts as a vox pop before the big day in 11 days time.
Malum
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