Letter from China

By MATHEW YAKAI

My baby sister called me this morning at 5am when I was still sleeping asking me to send her 1, 300 Papua New Guinea Kina for her Grade 11 fee.

She cried on the phone.

I share the pain that she feels.

She wants a school because I am happy she knows that her future is secured through education.

Now, the school she will do her Grade 11 is in a trouble zone in Western Highlands province, Papua New Guinea.

I am so concerned about her safety.

I also know that the school does not have proper library, or just a building with no books.

No computers and other necessary staff you would expect in a school.

My dad is poor.

 Including my mum.

I went to a school in the remote Tambul.

Woke up at 5am, roasted kaukau over the fire, had with cold water, no proper shower, torn clothes on my body, and attended Grade 1 to 6 at Alkena Primary School.

 I was accepted to do Grade 7 at Tambul High School.

When students from well to do family came with good clothes and shoes, I was with my same old dirty clothes, smelling of smoke from fire.

I tried so hard in school, have been to several countries, and am now in China.

Malum, what am I saying here?

Some of us are working very hard to be where we are, but where is the guarantee that we will get a better job?

And for those, like my poor sister whom I will pay her K1, 300 for a school fee, should be safe at the school with good facilities provided by the government.

Parents are paying huge sums of money for their children for better future, when yet, our politicians and well-to-do run down the country and consequently hate our education system and send their children overseas.

I went to school with some of these politician’s children in Japan, Fiji and now in China and you know what?

They are stupid; they do not know how to ask a question in class.

But when you talk about party, they are good and I think they are well-trained for service industries like hotels and tourism industries to be good PR people.

But mind you, some or most do not have manners.

Are we really serious that we love PNG, Mr Chief Somare?

Mathew Yakai

China

Lessons from America

The United States of America last week celebrated a momentous occasion in history when Barrack Obama was sworn in as 44^th President.

His election shows that the American people wants change, youth, vision, dynamism, and transparency.

While the USA has opted for youth, Papua New Guinea has chosen to hang on to tired, old men who no longer have any more vision for the country.

Allow me to paraphrase from President Obama’s speech into the Papua New Guinea context:

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking Papua New Guinea.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.

And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do.

 All this we will do.

 

Send a message to our Papua New Guinea cricket team in Argentina

To get in touch with our Papua New Guinea cricket team in Argentina at the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 tournament – to either congratulate them or wish them luck – log on to www.skerah.com/pngmilobarra.htm

 From there, you can send good luck messages to the team by completing the form in the page. 

The team will access from their hotel. 

 Comments received will be posted each night.

 

 

Questions the Papua New Guinea government must answer

• Julian Moti affair of October 2006 in which an international fugitive was spirited out of Port Moresby to Solomon Islands in a clandestine operation on a Papua New Guinea Defence Force aircraft, apparently ordered by the Prime Minister as revealed by the PNG Defence Commission of Inquiry;
• Failed $US29.8 million (K85 million) Taiwan diplomacy scandal in which Papua New Guinea citizens are alleged to have received bribes. In May 2008, allegations were made of a government minister allegedly signing a draft communiqué for Papua New Guinea to set up “full diplomatic relations” with Taiwan in September 2006 in Port Moresby.
• $US40 million (K145 million) in Singapore accounts, money from log exports, allegedly sitting in a bank account of a Papua New Guinea government figure and looked after by a “consortium” in that country;
• Prime Minister allegedly not declaring his shareholding in Pacific Registry of Ships Ltd. The official registry showed Sir Michael is a shareholder “in trust for the Independent State of PNG”.
• Prime Minister’s continued court actions to stop the Ombudsman Commission and the Public Prosecutor from performing their mandated duties on allegations of the Prime Minister not completing or providing annual returns since 1992.

 

Time for a change

School begins next week for thousands of young Papua New Guineas for whom the government has given a sub-standard education system.

While Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare and his cohorts can afford to send their children to expensive private schools in Australia and other countries, the majority of our people continue to suffer for lack of school fees for their children, and a sub-standard education system.

Sir Michael, now well past his use-by date, wanted independence so fast from Australia when Papua New Guinea wasn’t even prepared.

Now we are paying a costly price!

The country has churned out a whole generation of ill-educated, half-baked graduates from our education system,

Our health system has likewise floundered.

Sir Michael and his cohorts can afford expensive health services in Australia and other countries.

They don’t even trust our health system any more.

Health services were so much better in the 1970’s when we were under Australian rule.

Basically everything in this country has gone backward!

Now Sir Michael and his cohorts and children have bought expensive homes for themselves in Australia.

They don’t want to live in Papua New Guinea anymore!

 

School buses ready to roll in NCD

Students in Port Moresby will trial out an ambitious transport plan as of this year.
Three 70-seater buses imported from Australia will ferry students from designated areas.
National Capital District governor Powes Parkop fulfilled his vision to ease the transportation dilemma with an efficient and efficient travel plan for the general public within the city, especially school children.
“This will be on a trial and error basis but I believe it will serve its purpose,” he said.
“I will order more buses if this goes well.”
Mr Parkop said that student were disadvantaged during rush hours in the morning and afternoon and were discriminated by public motor vehicles - PMV - Papua New Guinea's ramshackle version of a bus service.
He said that he had noted these problems and attended to them, however, asked the students for their cooperation and support.
“I appeal to the student in NCD to make this work because this is for your own good,” Mr Parkop said.
 The buses will start ferrying students this month from designated tours.

India and Uganda also celebrate their big days

Oops.

 I forgot to mention that India and Uganda also had their big days yesterday.

 The Indians celebrated Republic Day and the Ugandans Liberation Day for Ugandans?   

I hope you also had a wonderful time and may your relationship with Papua New Guinea grow stronger this year and into the future.

Malum