Technical school contributes to building up Bulolo

Caption: Bulolo Technical School manager Berom Yawal

 

A final school fee cheque of K80, 000 was recently released to Bulolo Technical School to complete a total of K126, 000 for the district’s capacity building programme funded by Bulolo District Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committee.

Currently the education reform has changed the status of all vocational schools into technical schools, with Bulolo Vocational now known as Bulolo Technical School.

This year BTS has enrolled 290 students into various trades such as:

a) Tourism and hospitality;

b) Carpentry and joinery;

c) Brick laying;

d) Plumbing;

e) Motor mechanical;

f)  Heavy equipment fitter;

g) Panel beating and spray painting;

h) Business studies;

I)  IT – computing; and

J) Office administration.

By next year the BTS will link up with Mt Hagen Technical to take in continuing BTS students for National Certificate (NC1) programmes for courses such as heavy equipment fitter.

Also this year BTS has enrolled about 84 students under the Bulolo District rural capacity building programme which covers most of the courses mentioned above.

Bulolo District JDP and BPC Chairman Hon. Sam Basil has approved the programme, which saw 14 students from the six local level governments in Bulolo District.

The program has cost the district K126, 000 from the district services improvement programme (DSIP) funds.

Mr Basil said the capacity building of rural LLGS through human resource was very important at this stage when much of the DSIP funds were used to equip the rural LLGs with machinery, vehicles, electricity, communication networks and road infrastructure.

A similar programme has been struck with the Wau Small Scale Mining Center with course participants being fed through the rural LLGs.

Balob Teachers’ College in Lae will also engage in a similar arrangement to train rural teachers for Bulolo District.

Final hurdle cleared for Lihir takeover

MELBOURNE: Newcrest Mining Ltd’s A$10.45 billion (K25 billion) takeover of Lihir Gold Ltd has been officially completed after a Papua New Guinea court approved the deal, The National reports.

Newcrest welcomed the decision by the national court, which it said was the final step in the merger process after Lihir’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the deal earlier last week.

“The company is soon to become part of Newcrest Mining Ltd, with the combined assets creating a strong and vibrant new, major gold company,” Lihir managing director Graeme Hunt said last Friday.

News of the court approval came as Lihir reported a first-half profit of US$87.1 million, a turnaround from its loss in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Although Lihir did not declare an interim dividend, Newcrest said Lihir shareholders who participated in its offer would be eligible for that company’s final dividend of US$0.20.

It is expected the takeover scheme of arrangement will be implemented on Sept 13.

Lihir shares will be suspended from trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the Port Moresby Stock Exchange (POMSoX) from today.

Under the scheme, Lihir shareholders will receive nearly 0.12 Newcrest shares plus US$0.225 for each Lihir share they own.

Based on Newcrest’s closing share price of US$35.28 last Friday, the offer has an implied price of US$4.41 per Lihir share, or US$10.45 billion.

In its half year results, Lihir reported its underlying profit for the six months to June 30 was US$142.5 million (K387.23 million), down 15.2% on the previous corresponding period.

However, it was up 17.3% on the six months to Dec 31, 2009. – AAP

 

 

Axed in cold blood

Teacher shot in both legs, then chopped to pieces

 

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

 

A SENIOR teacher in Enga was dragged from the vehicle he was travelling in last Friday afternoon and summarily executed in the middle of the highway in front of shocked passengers, The National reports.

Police believed that James Mondo, deputy headmaster of Yaemanda Primary School in Kompiam district was a victim of a payback killing.

Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said more than 20 men from Poreyalum tribe had set up a roadblock at Kompiam and were waiting for a 10-seater Toyota landcruiser as it was returning from Wabag.

He said they singled out Mondo, pulled him out and stood him in the middle of the road.

“He was shot in both legs and when he fell down, the tribesmen, armed with axes, moved in and cut him into pieces. It was barbaric and inhumane,” Lakari said.

Mondo, 40, was from Ulip village, also in Kompiam district.

He was the only one attacked. The other passengers were not robbed or attacked by the clansmen who fled the scene of killing when they saw more vehicle arriving.

Lakari said police would investigate to determine the motive of the killing although they had not ruled out payback killing.

He said police had a hard time putting together the body which they took to the Wabag General Hospital morgue.

“These people do not have any respect for human life and a highly educated man in the district who struggled to develop human resource in a least developed district of Enga,” Lakari said.

He said he was notified of the killing around 3pm and he quickly dispatched his men to Kompiam to monitor the situation and prevent tribal fighting.

Lakari said police urged Mondo’s relatives not to take the law into their own hands and allow police to investigate and deal with the offenders.

Police presence was beefed up on Saturday, together with the criminal investigation officers, to watch over funeral arrangements.

Lakari has appealed to Poreyalum tribal leaders to hand over the killers.

 

Dead at mine site

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

ARMED security guards and police reservists at the Porgera gold mine in Enga have been blamed for the death a landowner and the wounding of another last week, The National reports.

Police have confirmed receiving news of the death and shooting but could not give further details as investigations were continuing.

Reports alleged that the landowner was killed inside the mine site and his body dumped outside the camp last Thursday.

Highlands regional police boss Supt Simon Kaupa confirmed that the security guards were also enlisted as police reservists.

He was yet to receive a report from the local police force in Porgera.

Acting Porgera police station commander Snr Sgt Poko Itapa confirmed the killing and shooting but could not say much because investigations were continuing.

He said a landowner chief was allegedly shot by security guards as villagers fronted up at the company gate to inquire about the death of their relative.

Landowner chairman Mark Tony Ekepa told The National in a phone interview that relatives of the victim had protested outside the community affairs office last Friday at about midday.

However, he claimed Barricks security guards fired into the crowd and wounded Nixon Mangape, the chief landowner and chairman of Porgera Development Authority.

He said Mangape was trying to control the crowd and was not involved in the protest.

Police said that the empty bullet shells were found at the site of the shooting and were tendered in as evidence.

Porgera’s Paiam Hospital chief Dr Granda Granada said a person was rushed to the hospital with a bullet wound at the back of his buttock but was discharged after treatment as it was not severe.

He also confirmed that a body, found near the mine site, was brought to the hospital prior to the shooting but declined to comment further.

He said a post-mortem and x-ray results indicated a fractured neck bone and believed that the person could have died from blunt trauma, particularly caused by blunts things like sticks, metal or rocks.

The landowners said last Friday’s incident was not the first involving live bullets.

They said that numerous complaints had been lodged with the PNG government, the UN Human Rights Commission that included various reputable institutions around the globe.

“Shooting to death of defenceless landowners is serious human rights abuse. 

“Therefore, the Porgera Landowners Association calls on the PNG government and local NGOs to investigate the shooting and to allow law to take its course,” Ekepa said.

Bank workers continue strike

By PEARSON KOLO

 

BANK South Pacific workers nationwide are expected to continue their strike today despite a court order by the bank’s management declaring the industrial action illegal, The National reports.

The strike has already threatened all electronic banking systems with no bank officers available to attend to them.

Long queues were seen in all Bank South Pacific branches in Port Moresby last Friday as customers lined up to do their banking with only a skeleton staff attending to them.

Customers are expected to brace for a total blackout today.

Last Friday, more than 500 BSP staff in Port Moresby camped at the PNG Trade Union Congress headquarters and were visited by 20 affiliated union bodies of the PNG Trade Union Congress.

The presidents of the union bodies joined in and called for the sacking of BSP CEO Ian Clyne, saying he had turned a blind eye on the issue and gone overseas and had not taken part in the negotiations.

PNGTUC president Michael Malabag, who is also the president of the Public Employees Association said one of their calls was to call for the termination of BSP CEO.

Malabag’s call for Clyne’s sacking received wide applause from the striking workers.

Malabag and PNGTUC general secretary John Paska voiced strong words of encouragement among the striking bankers as reports circulated that the BSP management had issued instructions to the police to arrest the striking workers.

Malabag said the fight was legal as legitimate processes were followed with the sister unions stepping in when it was absolutely necessary.

He urged the workers to persist until they got what they wanted while room for negotiation was open.

“The biggest shareholders are the workers themselves; you can’t sack the workers who are shareholders. Do not fear intimidation and threats of sacking.”

The union asked BSP board chairman Noreo Beangke to step in and address the issue

The BSP workers numbering more than 1,000 walked off their jobs last Thursday with a good number camping at the TUC headquarters last Friday.

A meeting between the union executives and BSP management will take place today to decide whether the striking bankers would continue the industrial action or return to work.

 

Basil urges Sepik MPs to issue joint statement

MEMBER for Bulolo Sam Basil has called members from East Sepik including the prime minister to sit down with him and issue a joint statement over the recent clashes in Bulolo between the locals and Sepik settlers and a reported clash at the University of Papua New Guinea, The National reports.

Basil said it was in the best interest of the people that whatever was said and debated on the floor of parliament stayed in parliament.

“It will be good if we, as leaders from Bulolo and Sepiks sit down together and issue a joint statement, urging all our people and young ones to remain neutral and not take matters into their hands.

“I also call upon university students not to take these matters further because it will only spill onto the streets,” Basil said.

“Such actions by our young elites are uncalled for, and they should not be tolerated.”

He said he was also willing to go to the university campus and address students if invited.

“If the students want me to go and address a forum, I will do so gladly with my councillors from Bulolo, so that we can explain things properly.

“As the 2012 elections are fast approaching, I would like to once again appeal to serial general election candidates and recycled leaders not to politicise the issue at the expense of the Bulolo ethnic clash.

“There are opportunists who use pen names in letters to the editor, or on the ground, taking sides with either party of the conflicting groups, playing the blame game or publishing more unfounded accusations,” Basil said.

“I see how such things can help those affected and the vulnerable ones on ground zero.

“When the election writs are delivered by the governor-general in April to July 2012, then we all can play the political game.

“Today’s situation demands common sense to help in any way possible,” he added.

Basil said Morobe Governor Luther Wenge and himself might have not done enough, “but when we all come to properly analyse the situation, we will find that there are so many contributing factors that led to the situation”.

“Law and order, lack of funding, slowness of the provincial law and order committee meeting, disappearance of the uncertified report by the Wau urban LLG manager, police not enforcing the full force of the law on both sides of the conflicting parties, lifting the liquor ban by the magistrate at the request of the traders and, worst of all, politicking of this unfortunate issue.”

 

Appeal for Wampar LLG to help

By SAM BASIL

Bulolo MP

I would like to appeal to the President of Wampar local level government Peter Namus and the people of his constituency, especially the Gabsongkeg villagers, to help my district to accommodate the displaced Sepik settlers by providing temporary land if a relocation plan is embarked on by the committee.

The land, I believe, was identified and supported by Governor Luther Wenge and I stand behind the Governor to appeal for the understanding of the Wampar people at this time of need.

Bulolo District is a very important district hosting an operational mine operated by the Morobe Mining JV (MMJV),  contributing to the economy of Morobe through employment, businesses and royalties to the provincial and national government.

Bulolo District is one of the sister districts among the nine districts in the province.

 Therefore I appeal for their understanding for this temporary arrangement. 

Sam Basil

Bulolo MP