Fleeing Unitech students asked to return to classes

THE University of Technology administration has urged students who have left the campus to return for classes starting today, The National reports.

Many of the students left the campus after violence flared again between two ethnic groups last Thursday night, which resulted in the death of a first year engineering student.

The senior executive management and heads of departments met and agreed to suspend classes last Friday and resume today while efforts were made at the weekend to bring the groups involved together to reconcile.

The university administration also quickly moved to beef up security on campus with the engagement of a police mobile squad and increasing the number of security guards by private contractor Kuima Security Services and the university’s own security staff.

Lae metropolitan commander Chief Supt Nema Mondiai also assured that more policemen would be deployed on campus should the need arise.

Acting vice-chancellor Prof Mohammed Satter and registrar Allan Sako met with the student representative council executive and leaders of student groups, especially from the Highlands provinces, last Friday and assured them that security measures were in place to ensure the safety of the students.

They told the students the mobile squad 14 from Goroka would be based on campus until the situation is back to normal.

Other measures imposed included:

* Restrictions on movement of staff, staff dependents, students and the public in and out of the campus from 10pm daily until further notice;

* Restrictions on vehicles moving in and out of the campus from 10pm daily;

* Restrictions on ethnic or regional meetings or gatherings on campus; and

* Emphasising the existence of the zero tolerance policy on alcohol and drugs.

Police and security staff have been directed to strictly police the measures.  Any student, staff, staff dependent or member of the public who breaches the restrictions would be dealt with under the university rules and the laws.

The measures follow the killing of a first-year electrical engineering student last Thursday night on campus.

The student died after being attacked with sticks and stones and stabbed during the fight.

Another student sustained serious injuries and is in critical condition at the Angau Memorial Hospital.

A third student is also recovering at Angau, where he was admitted with serious head injuries last week.

Last Thursday, the students involved in the first fight met and agreed on a truce, shook hands and reconciled. Later that evening, the fight erupted again, this time involving a larger group.

Satter, while expressing regret and dismay at the continuing violence perpetrated by a minority of the students, appealed to everyone, including the public to adhere to the restrictions so as to bring about normalcy on campus.

He urged those students that left the campus to return and allow for lectures to resume on Monday (today), adding the university had not closed.

Satter also appealed to the concerned students and student groups to stop the violence and allow the normal process of the law to take its course and for negotiations with the disputing parties for an early resolution.

He said the administration did not want the students’ studies to be disrupted any further, with just five weeks left before the final examinations.

Bulolo Live

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Kutubu has rice potential

Words and picture by SENIORL ANZU

 

Kutubu is known for producing Papua New Guinea’s finest crude oil which is commercialised internationally.

Early works proved that Kutubu also has the potential to produce upland rice.

The soil and the climate are just right.

 The Foe, Faso and Moran women have wasted no time; they are already in business, venturing into household level rice production for family consumption.

Taking the lead is the Kutubu Foe Women’s Association.

Their initiative was boosted with the donation of two new rice milling machines by Oil Search Ltd and the Department of Agriculture and Livestock.

Pictured is Piano Paul (left) from Waro village in the Faso area of Kutubu with her 25kg of NR 15 rice variety, harvested from her backyard experiment after receiving seeds from NARI.

Piano was a proud mother who was happy to show her harvests to Maria Linibi (right) of the PNG Women in Agriculture (PNGWiA) and Elizaberth Kelly of the Community Development Initiative (CDI) foundation last week.

Agriculture extension concept needs to be expanded

By SOLDIER BURUKA of DAL

 

An agriculture smallholder extension concept successfully trialled in two provinces should be expanded throughout the country.

The Smallholder Support Services Pilot Project (SSSPP) proved successful during its trial phase in the Morobe and Eastern Highlands provinces through funding support from the Asian Development Bank.

The expansion phase has again been made possible by a K3 million grant provided by the New Zealand government through its aid agency, NZAid.

It will now be expanded to the Chimbu and Central provinces.

A Smallholder Support Services Expansion Project workshop held in Lae recently was told that the concept is a good one and should be expanded to other provinces.

This extension concept has been well received and has improved agriculture extension and agriculture productivity in the Eastern Highlands and Morobe provinces.

Morobe provincial administration deputy administrator Geoving Bilong and his EHP counterpart Solomon Tato told the workshop that they were pleased with the concept which has had a positive impact in the people’s livelihood in the two provinces.

They said that with adequate funding and resources Morobe and EHP were prepared to take the lead in assisting other provinces to implement the extension concept.

They also urged that the concept be taken on board under the auspices of the National Agriculture Development Plan and similar programmes.

Bilong said that the concept can be adopted and incorporated into current extension systems as the way forward to enhance agriculture extension and delivery of agricultural services especially at the district and ward council level.

He thanked NZAID for having confidence in the PNG agriculture sector and placing emphasis on gender participation.

In Morobe more women are becoming involved in agriculture as service providers and all these have been made possible by the new extension concept.

“Many people who have gone through the SSSPP concept have improved their agricultural activities,” Bilong said.

“This is a good project that has the capacity to involve people at all levels of the community and can make a big impact in improving extension services in PNG.”

Tato said the extension concept had assisted in starting up new agricultural initiatives in areas where agriculture delivery services were not effective in the past.

 He said the concept could be adopted into other agricultural programs for maximum impact in the rural communities.

Eastern Highlands agriculture advisor Bubia Muhuju said the concept had improved agriculture extension activities as well as enabling more cooperation and teamwork amongst various stakeholders especially district agriculture services.

It has led to positive impact in agriculture development in the province.

Chimbu agriculture advisor Damien Toki said his province had arranged for staff to be seconded to the SSSEP and organised its new office as well as appointing a Support Services Contract Facility steering committee.

The provincial executive council has approved funding and the project should commence operation in September.

“SSSEP concept is designed to sustain smallholder initiatives,” he said.

“As a province that is smallholder activity driven in all aspects of life, we saw this as the way out and are more than happy to participate in this programme.”

Central province’s deputy administrator Michael Uaiz stressed that awareness and advocacy was essential to progress the SSSEP and related programmes.

 He said the people of Central deserved to be given a fair deal and the SSSEP provided opportunities for agriculture development to move forward.

 

Public servants' pay scales to be reviewed

From PAUL OATES

I see in the recent Papua New Guinea news some statements about reviewing the pay scales of public servants, .... but in the future naturally.
This initiative could well have very advantageous spin offs for PNG where the 'six pack' mentality has become an accepted fact to get anything done.
But 'Old habits die hard'. To accept better pay and conditions, public servants must be offered a legally binding contract to sign with performance benchmarks and guarantees against any corrupt practices (to be spelt out). Failure to meet this legal contract would either lead to a reduction in pay (if due diligence and care is unsatisfactory) or dismissal (if corruption is found or continued).
This type of contract is now standard practice in many public services. Contracts must be negotiated in advance with public service unions and staff associations and then advertised and discussed extensively prior to implementation.
But will PS senior staff and CEO's be diligent themselves?  'Who will watch the watchers'? Will PS supervisors be prepared to act? Will the politicalisation of the PNG public service over the last decade work against any new regime? Will PNG politicians be prepared to act against those they themselves may have found sinecures for? Those who are tasked with the implementation of these contracts must themselves be above reproach.
This whole concept also calls for a lot of 'WILL' power. Has too much 'WON'T power been build up over the last few decades?
If those authorities (the Public Prosecutor, et al), in PNG aren't able to hold their government and its members responsible and accountable, why should the country expect any better from her public servants? The example must start from the top.
______________________________ __

O'Neill promises pay rise for public servants in 2011

THE Government has indicated a pay rise for public servants across the country in next year's budget.
It has also assured of a more stable and consistent public service free of constant changes that suit political and parochial whims.
That promise was made by Treasurer and Minister for Public Service, Peter O'Neill, when addressing a group of bureaucrats this week.
He said negotiations between the Public Employees Association and the Department of Personnel Management were currently underway for a likely rise next year.
In return for this commitment, O'Neill wants public servants to perform their duties with the trust, loyalty and efficiency expected of them so the Government's service delivery to the people is reliable and effective.
Speaking to provincial and district treasurers at the 13th bi-annual conference in Chimbu on Monday, O'Neill said: "I care for the welfare of our public servants, so we might see a (wage) increase in the 2011 Budget."
"There will be no constant changes because stability in the public service is crucial, and we will continue this (approach) during the term of this Parliament," he said.
O'Neill said the PNG economy would be achieving a high growth rate of 8 % this year because of the stability in the public service, in politics and in the economy.
"We have many resource projects opening up, therefore, we need the right political leadership and we need the right public service leadership.
"That is why we need to make merit-based appointments, and the same should happen with political leadership."
He called on the treasurers and public servants maintain their professional and personal integrity by refusing to entertain corrupt political leadership.
"You are holding those positions because of trust and honesty. If political leaders do wrong, learn to say, no. Do not change budgets to suit Members (of Parliament) or contractors.
"You must maintain the integrity of the office you hold and earn the trust of the people. It is the people's right to get health, education and other Government services."
He also assured of the Government's commitment to continue funding of the Department of Finance's district treasuries roll-out programme next year.
The programme, which was started in 2004, has now seen the establishment of fully-functional modern treasury offices, staff houses, logistical back-up and banking and postal services in 58 of the 86 district treasuries.

Autopsies for Papua New Guinea crash victims in Queensland

September 3, 2010 - 1:34PM

AAP

 

The bodies of the four victims of this week's plane crash in Papua New Guinea will be transported to Brisbane for autopsies, after being released by a PNG coroner.

The bodies of the three Australians and one New Zealander will be flown to Brisbane as soon as a large commercial aircraft becomes available, an Australian government source told AAP on Friday.

The New Zealander's body was expected to be repatriated home from Australia at a later date.

Moving farewell

Misima Island authorities preparing to repatriate the dead victims of the plane crash to Port Moresby yesterday.Picture by SINEWATHA ISHMAEL

Islanders turn up in force to send off crash victims

By STEPHANIE ELIZAH

MISIMA Islanders were in mourning as they turned up yesterday at Bwagaioa station to say goodbye to four expatriates who were killed in a plane crash on Tuesday, The National reports.

Government offices, businesses and schools on this Milne Bay island were closed as islanders and public servants paid their respect to the victims of the crash.

The laid-back island has suddenly become the focus of world attention 48 hours earlier when a Cessna Citation jet, with three Australians and two New Zealanders, crashed upon landing in bad weather.

The islanders came in droves, in their best dress, to farewell the four people whom many of them had probably never met.

School children led the farewell entourage, forming a “guard of honour” from the island’s health centre morgue to the airport where a Airlines PNG Twin Otter was waiting to take the bodies to Port Moresby.

The line stretched about 500m between the morgue and the airstrip. All district administration vehicles also lined up for the farewell.

The islanders sang traditional hymns, some shed tears and many threw flowers on the path leading to the waiting aircraft.

The bodies, wrapped in body-bags, were carried by district health and administration workers.

“We were preparing the bodies when school children and public servants lined up to pay their last respect,” Samarai-Murua district administrator Hayden Abraham said from Misima.

Shortly after midday, the Twin Otter left for Port Moresby where the bodies will be treated and handed over to their immediate family members.

In Port Moresby, investigators announced that the Trans Air Citation jet’s black box had been recovered from the crash site.

This instrument, which records operation details of the aircraft, will help investigators better un-derstand the cause of the crash which killed the four and injured the 25-year-old co-pilot of the chartered aircraft.

Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Commission chief executive officer David Inau said five investigators had been assigned to the case.

“I have formally invited the Australian transport safety bureau to assist with the investigations. I have already a team of three on site working with us,” he said.

The Australian High Commission said those who died were Port Moresby-based Trans Air co-owner Lesley Wright, Richard “Chris” Hart and Darren Moore. A New Zealand citizen killed was unnamed.

Co-pilot Kelby Cheyne survived the crash.  

Commission officials and a medical team travelled to Misima to assist with Cheyne’s medical evacuation and to facilitate the repatriation of the remains of the deceased.

It said it was working with police and local authorities to have the remains repatriated to Australia at the earliest opportunity.

The high commission said consular officers in Port Moresby and Canberra were working with the airline company and local authorities to keep the families of those affected by the crash informed on developments.

Officials were also in contact with their New Zealand counterparts.