More on Papua New Guinea's great Sepik River god

Read what US-based Papua New Guinean blogger David Ketepa Ulg has to say about Papua New Guinea’s great Sepik River god: http://pngemmiyet.blogspot.com/2009/08/somare-sepik-river-god.html

Short and sweet

From BERNARD OBERLEUTER in Brisbane, Australia

English first - (for the local media)  then Tokpisin for the pictures and story to go to PNG.

I'm working on a draft story and will send it to you later.

Dictator Somare ignores PNG Constitution

(Diktetor Somare)

PNG Parliament suspended by Somare

(Somare tok Maski Palamen)

PNG Government corrupt

(Bulsit Gavaman bilong Somare)

PNG Democracy for sale - going price 2m

(Somare baim paua - usim moni bilong yumi)

It was suggested that we use a heading like:

Somare Pamuks PNG Constitution

Somare Prostitutes PNG Constitution

Can somebody, anybody give us some background on the slush fund handout saga and recently the gravy train to bolster numbers to parliament recess until November 2009?
We need to investigate where the funds are coming from and are they tied to rural projects or for the individual politicians.
These were some of the topics discussed last night amongst some like-minded expatriate PNG'S in Australia.

Somare says he is a "Sepik River god"

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare in today’s weekly Sunday Chronicle newspaper liked himself to the mystical character of “Sukundimi” – the “great Sepik River god” that cannot be shaken now and beyond 2012.

Addressing his East Sepik people at Timbunke last Friday, Sir Michael reaffirmed his confidence and the strength of his government to cling to power and push PNG forward beyond threats of any no-confidence motions.

“Tasol yu save pinis, Sukundi ia, planim n stap.Pasin bilong politics I olsem, ol arapela ting ol I nap mekim senis, orait noken wari long dispela tingting bilong ol. Gavman bilong yu bai stap 2012 na bai igo ken long narapela taim I kam (You already know, Sukindimi, already there and will stay. Do no worry about those who want to change government. The government will remain up to 2012 and beyond).”

Sir Michael took the time to update his people on the status quo of his government’s performance, including last week’s notice by the opposition to sponsor a vote of no-confidence in his government.

The notice was delivered to the Speaker, who later on adjourned parliament to November.

Parliament was in uproar last Thursday when government sabotaged the opposition’s attempt to move a vote of no-confidence against it.

Sir Michael said his government has made significant contributions to advance the country over the last two terms and would continue to do so up to 2012 and beyond.

 

NASFUND's vision takes shape

In early 2007, NASFUND boldly announced that it would be the catalyst for the commencement of a new precinct at Harbour City, 2km from the central business district.
At the time there was growing evidence of frustration from city dwellers that the town was becoming more difficult to move around in.
 The road ways were becoming congested and buses commuting workers to and from town were adding to the traffic woes.
Similarly the town was looking tired with no new construction since completion of the Deloitte Tower in June 1999.
 NASFUND was presented with a dilemma: build in the CBD with the current mishmash of style and congestion problems or start a fresh on a new landscape.
 The choice if successfully implemented would change the focal point of Port Moresby for decades to come.
 NASFUND’s vision was based on the successful water side precincts of Melbourne’s Docklands and Yarra River arts precinct, known as Southbank.
As Joint CEO Rod Mitchell explains: “We wanted something that changed the perception of Port Moresby from being rather ‘hum drum’ to an emerging city with smart 21st century architecture.
“We wanted the latest in architectural design; we wanted clean lines and water frontage, effectively turning the town to face its greatest asset, the Harbour.
“The other dramatic statement is the first impression that visitors will get when they travel from the airport down the Poreporena highway into town.
“It’s the ‘wow factor’ when they drive over the hill and see the Harbour, yacht club and smart buildings hugging the waterway.”
NASFUND was also acutely aware in making the statement at Harbour City that it would pass the time test.
“It was important that the project created a standard that even in 50 years time, would be remarked on as a quality development,” Mr Mitchell said.
“Some have argued that the buildings should be taller.
“We rejected that view.
“This development is about scale, it’s about fitting in with the landscape.”
In just over two years that vision is proudly taking shape with the recent NASFUND-owned, ANZ building completed and two further buildings due to be completed over the next nine months.
The initial construction over the three sites will cost NASFUND approximately K115 million with a luxury 20 unit residential development to come on line in December and a 5, 400 square metre office complex to be completed in March 2010.
 Both constructions are fully pre let or under offer.
A close associate and fellow property developer, East New Britain Supermarkets Ltd, will soon be constructing a mix use commercial and residential development in the same precinct.
East New Britain Supermarkets Ltd also the own the current SVS Andersons Building in Harbour City which will undergo a refurbishment to meet the new standard that is being demanded.
 With these developments occurring and with the LNG Project across Fairfax directly facing the developments esplanade,  Harbour City is set to become the new hub of business and banking in the down town area in the not too distant future.
The ANZ Haus has become perhaps the most interesting and most talked about building in the country.
Strikingly different from the 1970-80’s style architecture that dominates the skyline, this building is truly international, reflecting the increasingly globalised community of which PNG is reaching out to.
ANZ Haus covers three floors with a total gross floor area of K4, 875 and with 77 car parks.
Adjoining the Royal Papua Yacht Club, ANZ Haus compliments the design rather than dominating the landscape.
 The new head office set back from the street without security fencing gives a very relaxed Melanesian feel that is often so at odds with the outsiders view of Port Moresby of high fencing and barb wire.
And this is what Harbour City is and will be about.
Taking back our streets and building a new city with not only a modern feel but with modern attitude.
 Ironically the modern feel still gravitates around the traditional with the commercial building named Ravalian Haus and the apartment s named ‘Sol Wara’.
  Discussions have been held with Curtain Brothers on changing the name of the street facing the new buildings to add to the PNG flavor.
The NASFUND developments could not have taken shape without three important ingredients tied by shared meaning and commitment:
•       The first was the decision by ANZ that they not only wanted to relocate but they wanted NASFUND as their partners in development. Much of this foresight rests with the outgoing Managing Director of ANZ, Mr. Gary Tunstall, who drove the ANZ side of the project;
•       Curtain Brothers who shared the dream with NASFUND of building a new, modern city on the edge of the old with a commitment to a quality outcome; and
•       The builders, Fletcher Morobe and the Brisbane architects Cottee Parker, who implicitly understood what NASFUND and Curtain brothers wanted from the development and delivered a first class project.
As the two other developments near completion, NASFUND along with joint venture partners are casting their eyes on the end site of Harbour City.
Located next to the current 20 unit complex under construction, is a plan for approximately a further 50 apartments taking shape with Curtain Brothers.
NASFUND says that this construction, still in the development phase will be different in style, with apartment balconies shaped like the front of boats facing the marina.
 The new development is aptly named “The Edge” – where land meets water.
“The idea at Harbour City is to create a portfolio of investment buildings that will be the signature of what NASFUND stands for - quality and modernism with a respect for tradition,” Mr Mitchell says.

Island Meri

Visit the blog of Papua New Guinea woman diplomat Mari Ellingson at http://islandmeri.wordpress.com/.

Great reading about the adventures of a Papua New Guinea woman diplomat in the UK.

Remote Sepik villages prepare for annual Sepik Crocodile Festival, August 11-12, Ambunti, East Sepik province (please click on images to enlarge)

The central role of the crocodile in the lives of the people of the Sepik will be celebrated at the third Sepik Crocodile Festival, in remote Ambunti, from August 11-12.

Dancers and traditional performers from communities across the region will meet in Ambunti for two days of celebrations. The festival aims to protect the crocodiles and their habitat.

Background:

Communities are also spreading the message that they must start working now to keep the Sepik pristine and safeguard it for the future.

The Sepik Crocodile Festival, to be held on August 11-12 in Ambunti, is an opportunity to link culture with conservation.

This year’s event theme “Kirapim wok bilong turis wantaim bus, wara na pasin tumbuna bilong Sepik,” is a call to recognise and promote ecotourism through conserving natural habitats and encouraging sustainable use of the river.

The mighty Sepik River is still one of the most pristine rivers in Asia Pacific, but it is faces threats from development and climate change.

Through a partnership programme with community-based organisations such as the Sepik Wetland Management Initiative and Help Resources - the Worldwide Fund for Nature, the PNG Department of Environment and Conservation and local-level governments are working with local clans and villages to build a secure future for the Sepik.

The unique cultures of the Sepik are world-renowned. The river is essential for these local communities; it defines their spiritual and physical world. The river is the basis of myths and legends as well as providing food, shelter, building and carving materials, and medicines.

As part of its support for the festival, WWF will highlight the importance of freshwater biodiversity. It is important to protect and restore freshwater and forest ecosystems to meet future challenges from climate change and to ensure people have access to safe water and food sources.

WWF's work in the Sepik basin includes helping communities build and strengthen ecotourism as a source of alternative income.

WWF has been working in PNG since 1995. It focuses on linking community action, science and effective policy to ensure the protection and sustainable use of forests, freshwater and marine resources across the island of New Guinea.

 

For further information, contact:

Lydia Kaia

Communications Officer

Tel:     + 675 320 0149

Email:             lkaia@wwfpacific.org.pg

 

 

Self-discovery on the Highlands Highway

A semi-trailer along the Highlands Highway outside Kundiawa

Border of Simbu and Jiwaka provinces at Munde

A farmer rehabilitating his coffee garden in the Waghi Valley under CIC’s coffee rehabilitation programme

Main street of Banz, Jiwaka province

Woman struggles along rundown Minj, Jiwaka province, which is a skeleton of its former self

Roadside market near Yonki, Eastern Highlands

Evangelical Bible Church property at Kassam, Eastern Highlands

Nothing has the ability to expand your horizons quite like an outing on the open road - whether it's a drive down the Highlands Highway or a journey of self-discovery.
The great Highlands Highway is Papua New Guinea’s own version of the great highway routes of the USA and Australia.
The entire highway covers about 700 km, rising from sea level to over 8000 ft and much of it going through some of the most-rugged terrain in PNG.
It is all situated in the tropics and, as a result, tropical downpours coupled with the great elevation cause regular and consistent damage to the Highway and its feeder roads.
Drainage is a critical issue and blocked drains usually result in landslides, landslips, and large sections of the road just falling away.
The highway opened up the Highlands and provided the initial impetus for the coffee industry to flourish and prosper, and provided the initial link for the initial political unification process of PNG.
The highway, for the Highlands, was their gateway to the world, and all of that region’s valuable coffee exports leave by the same route.
Most of what makes modern living possible arrives in the Highlands via the highway, and that entire region’s valuable coffee exports leave by the same route.
The Porgera gold mine would never have been established without the highway, and it continues to be a lifeline for Porgera mine and the oil and gas projects in the Southern Highlands.
At lower elevations, Ramu Sugar has tonnes of sugar exports that get to the Lae Port via the Markham section of the highway.
There is no single infrastructural asset of greater value to PNG than the Highlands Highway.
At its best a road trip is a journey, in both the literal and figurative sense of the word, down unfamiliar roads, fuelled by a spirit of adventure, good conversation, lots of laughs, some breathtaking scenery, a little soulful introspection and perhaps even an epiphany or two.
From July 22-26 I criss-crossed the Highlands Highway from the great Waghi Valley of the new Jiwaka province through to Simbu and Eastern Highlands provinces.
It was, for me, the great coffee road trip with officers of the Coffee Industry Corporation to check out the CIC’s district by district coffee rehabilitation programme which is being piloted in Jiwaka, Kundiawa-Gembogl in Simbu and Obura-Wonenara in Eastern Highlands.
A road trip, no matter the destination or purpose, truly is something that must be experienced.
And it also brought back memories of my days with the CIC from 1998-2002 when I constantly drove along the five Highlands provinces.
It all started on Wednesday last week when I landed in Goroka on an Air Niugini flight from Port Moresby, arriving at a place I’d never quite left, as this land of perennial spring is home to me.
I felt completely at home as I met old mates at CIC like graphic artist Bob Kora, scientific liaison officer Reuben Sengere, extension manager Fabian Api and many others.
I might add as an aside here that exactly 10 years ago, in August 1999, the Nissan Navara I was driving was held up at Dumun in the Simbu province and a brand-new video camera stolen from Bob.
After much negotiation, we managed to get back the camera, which has been used by the CIC for the last 10 years and was still there last week and accompanied us again on our road trip.
We left Goroka just after 6pm for Kundiawa, arriving at the Simbu capital after 8pm, where we overnighted at the Mount Wilhelm Hotel.
Up early the next morning, Remembrance Day, for a drive to the Waghi Valley where we met with contacted CIC rehabilitation service providers at Purigona base camp.
From Purigona, on to Avi to visit a coffee garden, to Banz, alfresco dinner of chicken, kaukau, bananas and vegetables at Kurumul Tea, and on to the Tribal Tops Hotel at Minj where we overnighted.
The next day, Friday, we drove down to Kundiawa where we met with village elders to discuss the rehabilitation programme.
From Kundiwa to Goroka, where we overnighted, and on to Kassam in the Eastern Highlands the next day to meet with coffee growers.
Then back to Kainantu, Aiyura, and back to Goroka at nightfall.
I flew back to Port Moresby the next day so much refreshed after my highway odyssey.
Now there's an idea: jump in the car and just keep ‘rollin' on down the highway’!