Warning - Is your church a health hazard?

From Nasfund Newsletter

 

“Deciding between competing rights and balancing rights with responsibilities is difficult and challenging, no more than in relation to freedom of religion, expression and belief. As common sense suggests, not all rights are absolute and there are occasions when particular rights have to be qualified or curtailed. Freedom of expression does not give one the licence to shout ‘fire’ in a crowed cinema” Kevin Donnelly - Author.

Over the last few years a small number of church groups have been advocating that faith alone can cure or keep an HIV positive person alive. Unfortunately, a faith based approach alone does not have evidentiary support in trying to keep HIV positive people healthy. Sadly, there are too many instances of certain faith based groups who negatively influence a decision by a person with HIV to not use Anti Retroviral (ART) drugs.

This includes advocating that those already on ART, be taken off the life supporting drugs in favor of prayer and faith.

Anti Retroviral Treatment is the only proven long term combination therapy that keeps HIV positive people healthy and alive.

When certain faith based groups advocate for HIV positive people to go off ART, they are breaching the HAMP Act - they are playing with peoples lives and they are acting outside the laws of Papua New Guinea.

Disrupting ART with a patient (missing days or months of taking ART), renders long term treatment through ART ineffective.

Advocating HIV positive people not to take ART is the surest way to shorten their lives.

“I have witnessed it time and time again, when HIV positives are brought back to strong health with ART drugs only to be taken off them by a religious leader and within a short time frame, death occurs”. – Senior Catholic nun on what has been occurring in some faith based groups.

While we all support the right of people to have faith, we equally support ART treatment for those who have HIV.

Faith and anti retroviral drugs for HIV positive people go hand in hand – they are not mutually exclusive.

Thanks John!

This is what these mothers seem to be saying as they proudly show off their new cooking pots donated to their feeding programme by John Whitfield, general manager of Port Moresby –based Pacific Towing Ltd last week.

 Worth more than K500, the two 30-liter pot can each hold soup dish enough to feed the 83 orphan and abandoned children under the care of the Tembari Children’s Care (TCC) Inc, where these mums work as volunteers.

 Mr Whitfield was prompted to send the pots to TCC after seeing a picture emailed to him showing the mums in one of their cooking sessions while working on a small pot overflowing with boiling dish.

 He told a TCC volunteer-worker who sent him the picture: “The pot is too small to hold enough soup for the kids and it looks like it will not last that long … let me buy you a bigger one so you could do your job easier.”

The new pot was first used in cooking last Saturday’s special meal – pumpkin-rice soup -- for the kids.

The lunch meal was sponsored by a Filipino expatriate-manager who works at the PNG LNG project.

The TCC orphanage is based at ATS Oro Settlement at Seven-Mile outside of Port Moresby. – Nationalpic by ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ

Gas project slated to sign funding deal

International consortium packages K40b financing

 

By SHEILA LASIBORI

 

INTERNATIONAL banks and export credit agencies (ECA) are set to sign a record financing agreement next month to develop the PNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

American-based  Trade Finance magazine reported that a deal is set to close by mid March towards a US$14 billion (K40 billion) financing scheme for the development of the LNG project being spearheaded by ExxonMobil and a consortium.

It reported that the expected total project cost was US$18.3 billion (K50 billion) and once developed, would double the gross domestic product of PNG.

The Export-Import Bank of the US (Eximbank) last December approved the largest financing transaction in its 75-year history of US$3 billion to support US exports for the PNG LNG project.

This was moments after ECAs committed US$14 billion (K38 billion) towards the project costs.

Workers at over 55 US companies would provide goods and services for the project.

Eximbank, the official ECA of the US, five other ECAs and 17 commercial banks would provide financing for the project.

Also in December, the Australian government announced US$500 million (K1.4 billion) loan to support PNG LNG project development.

Project operator Esso Highlands Ltd, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, holds 33.2% stake in the project while the other participants include, Oil Search Ltd (29.0%) Independent Public Business Corp (PNG Government, 16.6%), Santos Ltd (13.5%), Nippon Oil Exploration (4.7%), Mineral Resources Development Co (PNG landowners, 2.8%) and Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd’s subsidiary Eda Oil (0.2%).

Miles Shaw, Esso’s manager for public and government affairs, said finalisation of financing and completion of the last LNG sales and purchase agreement (SPA) with an Asian-Pacific buyer was expected to be completed in the first quarter of this year.

The outstanding SPA is with China Petroleum Co (CPC) of Taiwan, for an estimated 1.3 million tonnes of LNG per annum (mta) from the total 6.6mta of LNG from the project.

The previous three SPAs signed were with Japan’s Osaka Gas Co Ltd, for 1.5mta of LNG on Dec 22; with Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO) for 1.8mta of LNG on Dec 7; and on Dec 3 with UNIPEC Asia Co, Ltd., a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) for 2.0mta of LNG.

These agreements are long-term and effective for a 20-year period.

The PNG LNG Project is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities, onshore and offshore pipelines and liquefaction facility with the capacity of 6.6 million tonnes of LNG per year.

Meanwhile, work on the project at various sites in Southern Highlands province is progressively restarting.

“We will advise when all sites have returned to normal operations,” Mr Shaw said.

 

OTML revenue hits K4bil

 THE improvement in copper price after the global financial crisis has contributed to Ok Tedi Mining Ltd’s K4 billion in sales revenue last year

This revenue was 5% higher than 2008, reflecting improvement in copper price in the second quarter despite a 3% drop in the volume of concentrate shipments.

Gold price increased by 18% compared to 2008.

These were contained in OTML’s summary key results for last year, released yesterday.

The company did not provide any forward looking statement on its expected performance for this year or provide updates on the mine closure plan, to date.

Total gold production of 16.0 tonnes (515,685oz) was slightly higher against 2008 production, keeping OTML within the top three PNG gold producers.

OTML realised an average copper price for the period of US$2.94 (K8.05) per pound, compared to US$2.64 (K7.23) per pound in 2008.

Net cash generated before dividends was down 15% compared to the previous year, mainly due to the collapse of copper price in the third quarter of 2008 resulting in refund of money to customers on settlement of shipments.

OTML paid K933 million (US$350 million) in dividends (the same as 2008), which included K765 million for the benefit of PNG interests.

Mining royalties were more than 28 % higher than 2008, with the Fly River provincial government and mine area landowners each receiving K33.6 million.

Total taxes that included corporate and mining levy among others for the year were K 245 million.

Other compensation and benefits paid during the year, including land lease payments, trusts and community mine continuation agreements totalled K70 million.

The value of goods and services provided to OTML by PNG sources amounted to K810 million.

 

Seeto Kui aids Women in Business

Caption: WIB expo coordinator Ellas Terra (left) shaking hands with Seeto Kui’s national sales and marketing manager Anba Langa after receiving a trolley full of foodstuff.

Words and picture by DOREEN POLOH WAIM

THE Seeto Kui Group of companies in Lae has donated K3,500 worth of foodstuff to help those involved in the preparation of the inaugural expo being spearheaded by the PNG Women in Business (WIB).

The presentation was made at the company’s head office along Kisere Street at Lae’s main market yesterday.

Lae branch manager Mark Foung said the assistance was a gesture of giving back to the community especially in supporting women.

“Without women we could not be here.”

Mr Foung said the company would also be arranging technical skills training for women and would like to see more women grow corporately.

Cecilia Gilmai, one of the representatives from the PNG WIB organising committee, thanked the company for its contribution and said the support would go a long way in motivating more women to participate in the expo.

East Sepik women traders to attend Women in Business expo

Words and picture by CYRIL GARE

THESE 10 women (pictured) from East Sepik province and members of the Sepik Women In Trade (SWIT) were caught last week preparing identification cards at Wirui Press in Wewak.

They were preparing to travel to Lae, Morobe province,  to participate at the inaugural PNG Women in Business (WIB) expo to be held from  Friday up to Sunday.

Led by East Sepik provincial adviser for commerce Elizabeth Kaprangi (pictured right back row), SWTI is one of the four East Sepik women groups that will travel to Lae.

Other Sepik women groups include Foundation for Women in Agriculture and Development (FOWIAD) led by Monica Otto, Elsa Sumanop will lead East Sepik florist and horticulture group while Donna Hukaku Balamus will lead the Sepik Meri Self Reliance Business Foundation.

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare would officially open the expo  while Morobe Governor Luther Wenge would host it.

The expo is being led by businesswoman and WIB president Janet Sape, who said  the event  was aimed  at “promoting business ideas and opportunities for Papua New Guinean women, to raise consciousness and exhibit women skills”.

 

 

Another escapee recaptured

Robbery suspect caught with two others near Morata

 One more escapee in the Jan 12 Bomana prison break out was recaptured yesterday, The National reports.

Kito Aso (pictured) was caught near the Morata swamp in Port Moresby at around 3.30pm yesterday.

Two other people who were with Aso were also detained and brought to the police station for questioning. Police were on routine patrol in the area, and got a tip off and moved in to arrest him.

Aso is classified as one of six high-profile detainees by Police and Correctional Service authorities. He was alleged to have been involved in the BSP bank robberies in 2008 along with William Nanua Kapris and Oliver Ben Gabi.

Gabi was the first to be recaptured, while Kapris was caught three weeks ago in a motel in the city.

Three other high profile detainees still on the run are Don Aka, Elizah Tingal and Ben Nom.

Of the 12 that broke out from Bomana on Jan 12, six have now been recaptured.

Police confirmed that Aso was not shot at or harmed as he did not make any attempt to escapee when they police arrested him.

Police confirmed last night that Aso and two other suspects were detained at the Boroko police station cell.

They said they were carrying out their operations effectively and were closing in on the other six remaining escapees and the mystery woman lawyer.

Police have also called on the woman “human rights lawyer” who aided the escape to voluntarily surrender. Police suspect a woman from Enga whose parents and relatives live in Lae.

The woman’s mother was questioned by police last week.

Meanwhile, Port Moresby general hospital staff said last night that, John Siko Wel, an escapee who was recaptured earlier this month and nursing bullet wounds to his right knee at the hospital was transferred to the surgical ward for a plaster operation last night.

He was transferred under heavy police guard.

Siko Wel is expected to be taken back into police custody this week. It is understood doctors elected not to amputate his leg. The escapee was shot in the right knee as he tried to escape when the police moved in to arrest him at a home in Gerehu