Bee mite continues to rule hives

The Highlands Farmers and Settlers Association has refuted claims by James Watson of Goroka-based New Guinea Fruit Company on the absence of the bee mite disease in Papua New Guinea.

Secretary Wilson Thompson and Eastern Highlands Beekeepers Association president Jonah Buka said the Asian bee was the natural host of the mite, was now in the country, and the colonised European bee was now becoming the alternate host.

“We have seeen that the bee mite has affected actual colonies in Goroka and Daulo districts in Eastern Highlands province,” they said.

“This was reported to the National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority to independently verify a Department of Agriculture and Livestock report.

“NAQIA confirmed the impact and destruction of bee colonies in other districts of Eastern Highlands.

“A training workshop was organised in Goroka and more recently, last December, another was held at Aiyura, comprising DAL, NAQIA, National Agriculture Research Institute, Highlands Farmers and Settlers Association, Eastern Highlands Beekeepers Association and Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research on how to address this issue.

“We have, through the leadership of the Highlands director of DAL Mawe Gonapa, established a regional task force on the disease and its impact.

“Mr Watson, being a major bee farmer and buyer of honey, should just these groups and talk about how to address the problem rather than claiming that it does not exist.

“If the mite does not exist on his bees, as he claims, then he must come out and show us how he is doing this, so that other farmers can apply his techniques.

“It has been confirmed that the disease has taken its toll on honey production, hence, the price per kg has risen from K7 to K10.”

Mr Thompson and Mr Buka commended DAL, NAQIA, and NARI, who have allocated resources, together with partner organisations, to conduct awareness, training, surveillance and research into this problem.

This is particularly in regards to the impact of the bee on introduced crops such as coffee, cocoa, copra, palm oil and pyrethrum.

 

Sorcery accused father 'still alive'

By ANDREW ALPHONSE

A LOCAL councillor yesterday said one of the men who was reportedly burnt to death over accusations of practising sorcery at Ban village outside Mt Hagen, Western Highlands province, on Sunday afternoon is still alive, The National reports.

Cr John Rok of the Moge Kimininga tribe, Ban village, who claimed he witnessed the incident, said only the son was chopped to death and his house set alight while the father survived despite being chopped in the back and on his hip.

The National yesterday reported that both victims were killed and burnt.

Cr Rok told The National yesterday that the old man was fighting for his life at the Mt Hagen General Hospital while the body of the son was at the morgue.

He said the villagers brought the wounded father and his son’s corpse to the hospital late at night after police, fearing repercussions, did not attend to the crime.

Cr Rok claimed that about 400 villagers were involved in the incident following the death of a community leader last month.

He said bush knives and axes were used in the attack, and not guns as claimed by police.

According to Cr Rok, the father and son had continuously postponed a community “hearing” to resolve the death of another man.

Angered, the villagers decided to act against the pair, leading to the attack, he said.

Cr Rok said he tried to intervene but was “outnumbered and overpowered” and could not save the two men.

He said he would assist police with their investigations.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Douglas Young of the Catholic archdiocese of Mt Hagen yesterday described the killing and attack on the two men as “senseless and ridiculous”.

Archbishop Young said such barbaric killing was not the right way to seek justice, especially in a civilised society where rule of law and respect for human life should prevail.

He said even if someone was guilty, they must be proven guilty or innocent in a court of law and not through tribal justice.

Archbishop Young also said that police, due to lack of logistics and manpower, also contributed to such incidents because people were no longer looking to them as agents of Government to protect lives and properties.

 

Governmentt will know LNG project status by September

By MADELEINE AREK

THE Government should know by September whether or not it has secured the US$12 billion (K34 billion) liquefied natural gas project, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Mining Dr Puka Temu.

In-country, relevant Government agencies were finalising the benefits sharing arrangements with the project’s stakeholders to ensure everyone knows and is aware of the arrangements before the project is finalised while, externally, project operator Esso Highlands Limited is negotiating market arrangements.

PNG is targeting the Asian market particularly the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian markets, where the development requirement for energy is very high and expects to sell it at a premium price.

“What we are doing right now is sitting down with the landowners to arrange benefit sharing arrangements so that landowners are part and parcel of this big project in the country,” Dr Temu told a large crowd of people in Buka last Friday.

“We are also, through our joint venture partners around the world led by ExxonMobil, negotiating markets and are going to lock them in for 30 years,” he said.

“Once we secure the project in September, the first shipment will leave our shores in 2014 for Japan.

“That means by 2025, our 50th Independence anniversary, PNG will be close to doubling or even tripling its GDP.

“That means that we will have more money in our system to move the nation forward and become one of the best developed nations in the world,” he said.

Dr Temu also told the people of Bougainville that the Government had secured its K1.2 billion equity in the project and was waiting for the rest of the project partners – Esso (32.9%), Oil Search Limited (28.7%), Santos Limited (13.7%), AGL Energy Limited (3.6%) and Nippon Oil Exploration Limited (1.7%) – to secure theirs.

Two weeks ago, representatives of some of the world’s export credit agencies came to the country on a due diligence visit, to see whether they would support the LNG project, whether politics in Papua New Guinea was stable, whether landowners would support the project and whether there was anything they could learn.

He said the Government was confident that these visitors had left satisfied.

 

Father and son burnt alive on suspecion of sorcery

By ANDREW ALPHONSE

A father and son suspected of sorcery were burnt to death at Ban village, just a few kilometres outside Mt Hagen city yesterday afternoon, The National reports.

Police said the suspects were believed to be men from the local community.

Mt Hagen duty policemen visited the crime scene after being alerted via mobile phone by other locals and confirmed seeing the corpses of the two victims.

The policemen tried to bring in reinforcements from other police units in the city in an effort to take the corpses to hospital for autopsy, but were denied access to the crime scene by heavily armed locals.

A policeman, who managed to visit the scene earlier, said the incident happened about 4pm when the villagers from the local tribe (named) suspected the father and the son of being behind the alleged sorcery death of a prominent person in the community earlier.

The policeman said the locals believed that the only way to remove the “evil spirit” in the two was to burn them alive.

He said the old man was shot and then thrown into the fire.

The policeman said the son, who was in the house with his wife, was also dragged out after the house was set on fire and burnt alive.

He said the son’s wife, who is believed to be from Nebilyer and had no part in the alleged sorcery, managed to escape.

Locals identified the father as 60-year-old Plak Mel Doa, while the son was identified as Anis Dua, both of Ban village and belonging to the Moge Kimininga tribe in Mt Hagen.

Police said they would return today with the police criminal investigations (CID) detectives and an ambulance to collect the corpses for autopsy.

Local police authorities could not be reached for comments last night.

Sorcery-related killings had become common in the Highlands and calls have been made for tougher penalties.

New Zealand envoy robbed on golf course

New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea Niels Holm was robbed while playing golf with friends in Port Moresby last Friday, Waitangi Day, The National reports.  

“Eight of these guys suddenly ran out from behind the utilities shed – a couple with handguns and one with a home-made shotgun, and the rest with machetes,” Mr Holm told New Zealand’s TV One News.

“We were all fairly expertly frisked, with golf bags rummaged and one even came back to get my sunglasses, and off they all went,” he said.

Mr Holm is the second New Zealand High Commissioner to PNG to be held up on the golf course in recent years.

The National attempted to get comments from senior police officers in Port Moresby but was unsuccessful.

Morobe Show on again !

The 2009 Morobe Show will be held at the Lae Showground on Saturday, October 31st and Sunday, November 1^st, 2009.

The Morobe Agricultural Show is a major tourist attraction and showcases the agricultural, industrial, commercial and cultural aspects of Lae and the Morobe Province.

It plays a major role in the dissemination of information on cultivation, crops, diseases and breeding, as well as being the largest entertainment event in the province.

This is the 49th show since 1959 and, like its predecessors, will pull in people from all over Papua New Guinea as well as tourists from overseas.

If you’re from overseas, mark these dates on your calendar and make your bookings early!

 

Support 'Papua New Guinea' Made products

Few countries are as blessed with natural resources as Papua New Guinea.

Its largely mountainous terrain is swathed in dense tropical rainforest, the soil is rich for cultivation and the South Pacific waters off its coasts teem with fish.

Beneath the ground lies a wealth of minerals, including gold, silver and copper, and there is oil and natural gas awaiting exploitation.

It is a beautiful country too, one of the most biodiverse in the world with a dazzling variety of flora and fauna, insect and birdlife.

Yet while PNG is resource rich, it is cash poor, and 33 years after achieving independence from Australia – not very long in the life of a country – it still faces significant challenges of nationhood.

Poor transport infrastructure, unreliable electricity supply, a low standard of education, a chronic health disorder,  law and order problems and a shortage of new investment are among the factors that have held back economic development.

New incentives must be aimed at triggering investment and growth including producing and marketing more ‘PNG Made’ products.

There are many opportunities, but we need to create an awareness of the potential we have.

We must aggressively promote ‘PNG Made’ products in such ways as holding international trade fairs and introduce ourselves first in the regional markets and then the bigger international markets.

This is in light of the once-popular ‘PNG Made Trade Fair’ becoming history!

And so, PNG continues to import almost all processed food, clothing and footwear and most of the inputs to industry and commerce are also imported.

However, there are potential investment opportunities in downstream activities, which we are not tapping into.

The government of PNG must put into place strong policies which will lead to the development of a strong domestic production base to replace reliance on the non-renewable resource industries such as mining and petroleum.

The government needs to generate greater domestic production of most basic consumer and industry needs.

As such, incentives and concessions are granted to businesses with a policy of import substitution.

A concerted effort is being applied to address problems the industry has experienced. Infrastructure improvements and lowering of input tariffs would greatly reduce production costs.

The manufacturing industry has been urged to adopt cost-reducing, efficient techniques on the factory floor and within management to prepare itself for foreign competition when protective tariffs are phased out.

The Manufacturers Council of PNG (a private sector organisation) promotes the manufacturing and downstream processing in PNG.

The manufacturing sector in PNG is small.

In the 15 years between 1977 and 1992, the manufacturing sector's contribution to GDP varied between 15-18 percent.

Food processing, beverage production, and tobacco processing are the main products manufactured in the country.

The PNG government uses tariffs and subsidies, as well as direct industry support, to keep this sector afloat.

While the industry has become dependent upon such measures, the government sees the manufacturing sector as providing employment for the increasing number of urban migrants.

Most manufacturing is for domestic consumption only, and does not generate any export earnings.

To ensure industrial development accelerates efficiently, the PNG government is revising its trade and tariff policies.

Substantial changes in those policies is alleviating the problems the industry has experienced, such as the high cost of inputs.

Coupled with the concerted effort being applied to improving the country's physical infrastructure, education and vocational training opportunities and health services, there are potential investment opportunities in downstream activities.

These infrastructure improvements and lowering of input tariffs greatly reduces production costs.

Industry has been urged to adopt cost-reducing, efficient techniques on the factory floor and within management, to prepare itself for foreign competition when protective tariffs are greatly phased down.

The sector has a close working relationship with the government.

A strong representative body exists in the Manufacturers Council of PNG.

 There is regular consultation between its members and key senior government departments and statutory bodies.

The chamber also deals with private sector organisations in negotiating better prices for the supply of goods and services.

A manufacturing database is being developed for both the government and manufacturers to facilitate collection, collation and cross-referencing of essential statistical data on manufacturing in PNG.

It will be used to highlight to the Government and industry, any systems defects, deficiencies, anomalies or requirements which are in need of attention.

Overall, it will help to improve industry through the provision of improved and timely information.

The database is also expected to boost domestic and export marketing and facilitate identification of alternative sources of manufacturing inputs.

The level of skills in the manufacturing sector is also being given special attention. Organisation and planning for a major, long-term vocational training programme is near completion.

 It is intended, initially to concentrate on the manufacturing and processing industries, but provisions will be made to extend its usefulness to other sectors.

It is vital to the sector to improve the quality of its products, increase its export opportunities and improve the nation's standard of living through employment opportunities, product quality and pricing.

In co-operation with the domestic manufacturing sector, the government of PNG must put into place strong policies which will lead to the development of a strong domestic production base to replace reliance on the non-renewable resources industries such as mining and petroleum.

We must all support ‘PNG Made’ Products.