Gao hopeful about K40m for Ramu

MEMBER for Rai Coast Sane Gao said the people of Ramu will benefit from the K40 million “seed capital” the government would provide for them, The National reports.

He rejected suggestions that the money was compensation offered to the landowners to withdraw a case now before the court which halted work at the Ramu nickel and cobalt mine.

Since the National Court issued an injunction stopping work at the mine, the operators have become very concerned about financial losses they were suffering.

It is estimated they are losing K10 million a day.

The government wants to start the mine by the end of the year or early next year.

Its revenue is crucial to PNG’s economy, to fill the revenue hole that will be created by the closure of Ok Tedi.

Exports from the mine will also address balance of payment concerns created by the PNG LNG project.

Gao said the K40 million was business grants from the government agreed to in a memorandum of agreement.

He said the funds were for the Ramu nickel foundation and landowners from KBK, inland pipeline, coastal pipeline and the Basamuk area.

He said he was working hard to resolve this conflict “the Madang way” and he described this as a win-win situation.

He engaged Ricky Kumung to facilitate and mediate the dialogue between the state, the developer and the people led by Simon Melembo.

Gao said any further delay in the project would have adverse effect on the nation as the state was the signatory to the original mining agreement.

He said he also saw the need to have the mine continue as the tax credit scheme would help the infrastructure in Rai Coast and Usino-Bundi electorates.

He said the issue of environment was not isolated but was captured in the instrument to be signed tomorrow.

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare also said during the presentation of the K36 million IPBC dividend payout to the state (see story separate story) said the money was not for compensation but was a seed capital for the people.

Meanwhile, Member for Usino-Bundi Samson Kuli applauded the people for the lead in pursuing the government to address their needs as they almost missed out.

He said such money should assist the people to venture into business and not to be mere spectators as the two electorates were the least developed in PNG.

Coffee berry borer may be in Papua New Guinea, warns scientist

By AUGUSTINE DOMINIC of CIC

The destructive coffee berry borer (CBB) is likely to be detected inside the Papua New Guinea side of the border with Indonesia and the government is being urged to allocate funds to contain it.

Coffee Industry Corporation’s acting general manager for research and grower services , Dr Mark Kenny, warned that the PNG coffee industry - which generates about K500 million annually for the country through export revenue - would crumble if the vicious insect was not contained and left the border areas for the major coffee-growing provinces of Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, Simbu and Morobe.

Dr Kenny said that the full report of a joint delimiting survey currently initiated in the border areas by CIC and the National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA) would be completed by the end of July and it (report) would establish if CBB was present in PNG or not.

“The report will establish if CBB is present in the PNG side of the border or not, but upon preliminary findings, the presence of CBB is likely to be detected in the border areas,” he said.

“And if it enters the major coffee-growing areas of PNG, our coffee industry will be greatly affected in the similar manner in which the cocoa pod borer did to cocoa in East New Britain and other provinces.”

He said CBB had not been detected in the major coffee-growing provinces of PNG, according to a CBB survey report of Madang, Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands and Simbu provinces.

Dr Kenny said it would cost up to K10 million to contain the insect in the border areas of Telefomin, Vanimo Green and Vanimo districts and over K100 million to save the whole PNG coffee industry, mainly through carefully-executed coffee hygiene programmes inclusive of coffee rehabilitation, and also through rebuilding of the research and grower services division of CIC which is currently unable to perform its mandated function due to lack of government funding support.

 “Apart from other technical measures taken to address the CBB issue, a proposal to contain CBB is being prepared and will be submitted soon to the government for funding consideration,” he said.

Dr Kenny urged farmers to quickly report any sightings of holes in coffee berries to the CIC office in their respective province or telephone (675) 537 3511/3518 and fax (675) 537 3524.

 

Women farmers in Southern Highlands need more support

Rural communities such as Ossima in the West Sepik province lack good roads as shown in this photo. Villagers have a hard time transporting their produce to markets due to poor state of road conditions.   

 

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

 

Farmers in the Southern Highlands province, especially women and youth, need more government assistance to cope with the demand for food expected from the multi-million kina LNG project.

A women’s leader made the call at the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council forum in Goroka last week.

President of the Southern Highlands provincial council of women Dorothy Huku said that women and youth farmers needed more support from relevant government agencies in terms of capital, extension services, farmer training, fresh produce packaging, cool room storage and other technical assistance.

 The biggest need was seed capital for the women and youths to be fully engaged in farming projects and activities.

Huku said road and market infrastructure needed to be upgraded to enable the farmers to transport their produce to the market and the mining companies.

Accessibility to good road network is also important for farmers to also enable them to receive basic services such as health, education, law and order and others.

Huku said the CIMC forum theme was on rural infrastructure and communication, the vital links in the development chain, however, she was disappointed that representatives from some key agencies and organisations in the region did not attend, apart from the Southern Highlands provincial administrator.

It was an eye-opener for women leaders like her and she urged the government to take note of the forum recommendations.

Huku said agricultural services in Southern Highlands and newly-created Hela provinces were deteriorating and urged relevant agencies and stakeholders including mining companies to improve services to farmers at the community and village level.

She was concerned that many men were being lured by the LNG project thus leaving only the women and young people to participate in agriculture.

“We don’t know which way to go,” Huku said.

“The people depend on farming for their livelihood.

“It is very important for the provincial administration, agricultural agencies, mining companies and other stakeholders to work together in promoting agriculture in the province.”

The LNG project will have a major impact on the agriculture sector and it is important that agriculture delivery services reach the women who can be supported to produce more food to meet the expected huge demand.

 It is also necessary for the relevant authorities to introduce new types of food crops to cater for different tastes.

Western Highlands provincial council of women vice-president Cathy Lawi supported Huku and said agricultural services must reach women farmers at the district and local level government ward levels.

She said farmers in the highlands region needed support to boost agricultural farming to meet the demand from the LNG project.

She believed that farmers in the region have the capability to produce food for LNG but they needed government assistance.

“Farmers in the Western Highlands province are growing food crops on a bigger scale but one of the main problems they face is lack of cool room storage facilities besides inadequate transportation infrastructure.”

Bee farmers seek technical assistance

Officers from DAL, LDC and EHP administration conducting a honey bee field survey in the Daulo district, EHP.   

 

By BUSISI SIWAKA of DAL

 

Many farmers in the highlands region are showing interest in beekeeping but they need more technical assistance.

Elias Kopun, from Banz in the Western Highlands province, is one such farmer who is very keen in honey bee industry.

Kopun travelled all the way by PMV bus to the Department of Agriculture and Livestock regional office in Goroka to seek advice.

He believes that honey bee is a viable industry because there is a fixed market available within the country and overseas as well.

However, DAL and relevant agencies must provide more farmer training, regular extension services, improve transportation and other services.

“Beekeeping is a profitable and unique industry,” Kopun said.

“You’ve got to be skilled – it’s not like running a trade store business.

 Bees are insects and you have to take extra care in management practices and it will make money for you.”

Kopun said he had engaged a consultant and was putting together a proposal to seek funding assistance from the government to develop a beekeeping project.

Apiculture (honey bee) industry in PNG has great potential to improve the welfare and livelihood of the rural communities and contribute to the economy.

However, government agencies like DAL and Livestock Development Corporation must provide more funding and resources to promote beekeeping activities in the rural areas.

DAL apiculture programme manager based in Goroka, Joachim Waugla, confirmed that there was potential for the industry and more farmers were showing interest in beekeeping.

PNG only produces 50 tonnes of honey but the demand exceeds 200 tonnes.

The current price is around K10 per kg which is very attractive.

Waugla said there was need to promote and conduct awareness “but we need transport for mobility to carry out extension services throughout the region”.

“DAL regional office assists bee farmers by providing training and advisory services and the interest amongst farmers is growing.

“More and more farmers are coming to our office for advice and assistance. We should be going out to them more often not them coming to us.”

Waugla suggested that DAL should be solely responsible for the honey bee industry and not any other agencies which have been allocated funding for this activity. 

He added surveys had been carried out and there was data available which provided useful information for planning and development of the industry.

Papua New Guinea women farmers invited to Australia

 Members of Australian Women in Agriculture with Markham PM Koni Iguan and Maria Linibi at Mutzing in 2007

 

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI

 

Rural women farmers in Papua New Guinea have been invited to Darwin in Australia in September to attend important events organised by Australian counterparts on promoting rural industries.

President of the PNG Women in Agriculture Development Foundation (PNGWiADF), Maria Linibi, called on registered members of her organisation to prepare to travel down south as there would be a lot of opportunities for information sharing, training and networking with members of the Australian Women in Agriculture (AWiA).

 Linibi said AWiA had officially invited members of the PNGWiADF to participate in the joint national conference and annual general meeting of AWiA and Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community which will take place during September 10-12 in Darwin.

The three-day event will focus on promoting and advancing the interests of rural, remote and regional women in agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Among the highlights will be exhibitions of rare fruits, forestry, crocodiles, barramundi, Thai market gardens, live cattle exports, fish markets and displays of indigenous culture and agricultural produce.

Participants will also attend training, workshops, meetings, site tours and other functions.

Those interested can contact Linibi on mobile (675) 72765001 and email maria.linibi@nari.org.pg or Roselyn Winston on (675) 72867431 and roselyn.winston@nari.org.pg.

OLIPPAC ruling is exemplary and most welcomed edict

From JAMES WANJIK

 

The Supreme Court ruling on the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) is very exemplary and most welcomed.

In a unanimous decision of the Supreme Court, leaders have been reminded of their duties as leaders.

Leaders must and should always uphold the Constitution of Papua New Guinea.

As the leaders walk into the Chamber of Parliament they are free to exercise conscience.

They are to act in the best interest of the people.

Putting up legal obstacles to leaders will not be tolerated by the Supreme Court any more.

Even no quasi-criminal investigating authority can investigate leaders and hold leaders at ransom.

Leaders must take time to study the judgment of our own judges.

Till leaders do so they risk being misled by lawyers and emotional leaders.

At the gist of the ruling is leaders' liberty to freely represent people of PNG.

 Any law to restrict liberty of leaders will not be tolerated.

National Alliance Party is fortunate to have formed the government on the basis of OLIPPAC in 2002.

Somare-Polye Government survived full five years.

Very law that gave tenure to the Somare-Polye Government has been nullified.

Villain in the piece is a Trojan horse.

It is the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA).

 It was created by World Bank and implemented on the insistence of the European Union.

In 2007 the Somare-Temu Government was also formed on the basis of OLIPPAC.

Weapon now remaining to remove the National Alliance Government is its own baby in MRA.

It has created and will create more problems in the mining areas of our country.

Somare-Temu Government was warned since its formation but the fear of miners has made the National Alliance Party very weak.

Very soon the people will arrest MRA with citizens' power of arrest.

When this happens the MRA will turn on the government.

There is no way out for MRA.

 It will kill National Alliance Party to stay in PNG.

The Supreme Court is a friend of the National Alliance Party at this time.

It is ready to uphold the Constitution of PNG.

So why not go there and ask the Supreme Court to nullify the law that creates a Trojan horse in National Alliance Party, Somare-Temu Government, and PNG?

Why Papua New Guinea matters to Australia and the Pacific's regional economic integration aspirations

 By MAVARU HANUA

 

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between the Pacific and the European Union were indeed an education for many Pacific trade negotiators. 

From the slaughterhouse of Brussels Centra Brochette where former EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson humiliated Pacific Trade Ministers in shouting them down on every negotiating position advanced, to the backstabbing thuggery on Papua New Guinea running parallel negotiations with the EU to cut deals and preference separate from the pacific countries,  hard and tough lessons were learnt. 

Yep, many of us walked away bruised, exhausted and perhaps with greater awareness, there really are no friends in trade.

Quite recently, one senior Pacific trade official commented, “When Africa sneezes, the Pacific catches the cold.” 

Why? Because, the only interest in the Economic Partnership Agreements between the African Caribbean Pacific regions is Africa. 

Now, three years on, one apparent fact remains: the Pacific is eating the scraps of Africa’s progress. 

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat has over the years engaged with Africa with the hope to advance similar positions. 

 Built on friendships and contacts, positions flowed freely into the Pacific for the region to abreast themselves on the gains of Africa and more importantly, use them for the negotiations. 

Of course, not everything that flowed from the Motherland was good for the pacific, so quality control measures ensured the pacific position was upheld. 

 Their EPA negotiations have demonstrated major improvements from previous interim texts where the obligations were counterproductive to export and trade policies of the pacific. 

The lesson was simple, if you’ve got more resources, than we will cut deals with you.

 Can we expect anything different from PACER Plus? Hell no. 

 If you’ve got more resources, Australia New Zealand (ANZ) will cut a deal with you. 

So let’s look into the region and see who does have more resources and who ANZ will cut a deal with. 

The obvious suspect is PNG, the land of the unexpected as they say. 

 Well it’s becoming more expected now. 

They’ve got money falling out of their ears from gas, rocks, fish and lumber. 

Yep it’s all boom boom boom and contrary to popular opinion, it’s not the sound of gun totting raskols holding up a bank but the stampede of Australians running across Tories Strait to cash in.   

So for the past two years, PM Gillard and her predecessor being the leaders they are, needed to fix a deal with the black fellas up north so the Blokes and Sheilas can vote them back in. 

They’ve sent officials, high commissioners and heck, almost every public servant in Canberra to PNG to ensure there is a magical yellow brick road from Australia to PNG. 

Where there are no tariffs, no burdensome non-tariff barriers like sanitary-phytosanitary measures, technical standards, no trade in services restrictions, visa requirements, no capital movement restrictions and of course the best part, no taxes to pay. 

Yep, the Blokes and Sheilas have got it all. 

 It’s all ozzie ozzie, oi oi oi in the land of the unexpected. 

Don’t you love a public service that can deliver to its people?

What about my wantoks trying to come the other way of the yellow brick road?  

 No, they need to comply with complicated market access arrangements such as burdensome rules of origin arrangements, tons of paper work on quarantine, don’t forget the qualifications part, our lawyers, doctors, accountants can’t work their because they’re not qualified. 

 Ohh and the visa requirements, well you can forget that, stand in line like everyone else. 

And yep, you’ll paying shit load of taxes. 

So when Minister Abal talks to his counterpart Stephen Smith in Alotau on PNG not wanting less aid and more trade, but dear minister, for pity’s sake negotiate an agreement. 

Our wantoks must walk on that yellow brick road with the same deal. 

Ok, so Stephen’s old mate Simon Creen said it’s all about development and no one will get smashed.

  Don’t forget Stephen’s old boss Kev, he also told all our Chiefs under a house win Cairns, no one will be worst off. 

And even some guy in Samoa call Misa Telefoni is preaching about PACER Plus will allow his Solei Samoans that they will not only be eating Palusami but Australian meat pies and vegemite as they have comparative advantage on them.

We’ve all heard this shit before, that’s right… from some guys in Europe call Louis Michel, Former Commissioner for Development and his boss Borroso. 

But at least for the cultured Europeans, they made it look cool by saying “we are generous but not naïve.” 

That was before they massacred us at Centra Brochette. 

I have no doubt Sam’s chat with Stephen will set in motion a trade relationship that PNG will negotiate a trade agreement bilaterally with Australia.  

 But what about the outcomes of the Forum Trade Ministers in Ponopei earlier this year?  

What about the Office of the Chief Trade Advisor that will be developing a regional trade pact with all forum countries negotiating collectively with ANZ? 

Well, that was all for a show mate. 

Gotta tell these backward islanders we’re one big family.

These developments remind me of a piece of history in a faraway land called Matabeleland Kingdom, which has one of the richest gold deposits in the world.  Facing growing pressure from hungry land grabbing Boers, adventurous Englishman and superpowers cutting up Africa, King Lobengula sent emissaries to London to get guidance from Her Majesty Queen Victoria, on why they, in particular Mr Cecil Rhode’s British South Africa Company Agreement, is good for his country. 

After gauging wise counsel from her advisors, she wrote a truthful letter that the contract Mr Rhodes was pushing for will destroy his kingdom as all minerals, land, trade, and every other possible international relationship will be under the exclusive right of Mr Rhodes’ company. 

She explicitly wrote to not enter into the contract. 

A couple of months later after Mr Rhodes effectively bribed the entire political system, she rescinded the advice. 

King Lobengula told his advisors, “This woman speaks with two tongues.”   

A couple of months later, Matabeleland was conquered by mercenaries and Rhodes’ company raped and pillaged the land for the next 100 years. 

Pacific’s Matabeleland is indeed PNG. 

As they forge to run deals with a superpower, they are binding their people to live in a relationship with Australia for eternity.

Ok so the PACER Plus contract is not as controversial as Rhodes’ one, but it is potentially just as poisonous. 

Canberra will speak in various tongues to seasoned WTO and EPA PNG negotiators. 

Our officials will no doubt try their best to fight for my wantoks so that when our people want to walk on that yellow brick road from PNG to Australia, they are free to trade. 

Past experiences will also show wannabe trade gurus will find some excuse to be in the frontline to negotiate. 

Thinking they are the voice of our people, they will push agenda that Kanage, Agnes and Mr Roots will suffer. 

Why?  Because the interest they push is not in their interest but long whiteman na kongkong tasol. 

But the most destructive result in all this is that PNG will set the bar for the rest of the pacific. 

 That’s right: the framework for PACER PLUS will be determined in Alotau. 

 Why? Because PNG has a whole lot more resources than any other Pacific island country and the blokes and Sheilas want to be part of it. 

So it’s up to PNG. 

Will you lead the region and champion the cause or cut the deal of a lifetime so that Canberra gives you more. 

Gee, I wonder what option the Lubengula’s of PNG will opt for.