Madang is 'cowboy country'

A PASTOR conducting Sunday sermon and members of his congregation were assaulted, his church destroyed and at least 10 PMV buses sustained various damages after drunk youths went on a vehicle-stoning rampage near Madang, The National reports.

Yesterday, Madang police chief Supt Anthony Wagambie warned of a police raid to flush out the culprits hiding in the problematic settlements at Mero bridge, on the road leading out of town towards the Bogia highway.

Police said the churchgoers were innocent victims of a group whose bus had been stoned and were in hot pursuit of those responsible who had fled in the direction of the church and had gone into hiding nearby.

Madang police station commander Snr Insp Steven Kaipa said after a fruitless search for the stone throwers, the angry mob turned on the churchgoers, attacking them and assaulting the pastor after dragging him from the pulpit.

He said the nearby community then took the law into their own hands, throwing stones and missiles at town-bound PMV buses, damaging at least 10 of them.

In retaliation, bus operators and their relatives, numbering about 200 and armed with various weapons, converged at Jomba police station to say they were raiding Mero and Public Tank settlements, home to mainly Sepik River migrants.

Kaipa said police had to cool tempers but warned that tensions were still high, adding that another stoning incident would turn into an all-out ethnic clash at these settlements.

Wagambie agreed, saying something drastic must be done about the Public Tank and Mero settlers.

He recalled a similar incident last month when more than 15 cars were damaged by stone-throwing youths in the area, resulting in police raiding the settlements to round up suspects.

Police believed Sunday’s attack was sparked by a group of youths from the settlement who had been drinking homebrew. Some in the group stoned a passing 8A bus, owned by a Western Highlander, heading to town from Sagalau market.

Wagambie claimed that the Sepik settlers were known for harrassing, attacking and robbing motorists and passengers using this section of the North Coast road.

He said police knew the names of three suspects and were looking for them.

Early this year, Madang Governor Sir Arnold Amet also called for zero-tolerance from landowners in a bid to evict squatters in light of rising criminal activities.

In 2000, his predecessor James Yali carried out a mass eviction on settlements in the town area.

Last week, Wagambie and Sumkar MP Ken Fairweather announced that a five-member special response unit would patrol the North Coast highway.

 

 

Councillor compares his K50-a-month to an MP's pay rise

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

 

A COUNCILLOR from the Southern Highlands said the K50 he received as a monthly allowance from the government was a joke, The National reports.

Former council president for Lake Kopiago local level government and current councillor for Kopiago station Tom  Pakale told The National in Mt Hagen yesterday that councillors and national parliamentarians carry the mandate of the people, but their monthly allowance was a joke compared to what MPs get.

Pakale, who claimed to speak on behalf of 16 other councillors back in the remote Southern Highlands’ Kopiago district, said the councillors were finding it very hard to survive on a K50 allowance with the increasing prices for goods and services.

He said councillors in this remote district spent K60 on PMV fares one way into Mendi to collect their monthly allowances.

Pakale said they would spent K120 to travel long distances just to collect K50 every month, which is a joke and an insult to the councillors.

He said councillors were grouped in the third tier of government and lived and dealt directly with the people and, therefore, faced more challenges and headaches than national parliamentarians.

But their allowance did not commensurate with their responsibilities.

Pakale said it was not fair to the councillors when parliamentarians, provincial administrators, chief judge, deputy chief judge, chief magistrate and others classified as appointed officers, who were on good pay and privileges, had a pay increase by 52.08%.

He said for fairness, all councillors must paid K150 or K200 a fortnight.

He said they too have families to look after and children to send to school.

 

 

Talks to review Panguna deal

By STEPHANIE ELIZAH

 

DISCUSSIONS to allow for a review of the Bougainville Copper Agreement is in progress with landowners from the mining lease areas of the Panguna mine encouraged to unite under one umbrella company, The National reports.

President John Momis said the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) was working hard to encourage the landowners to unite so that they could speak and be heard in one voice.

“I am satisfied we are doing okay,” he said, adding that he believed a memorandum of understanding would be reached soon with the Panguna landowners as part of the process towards allowing for a review of the Bougainville Copper Agreement.

“We need to get the mine reopened. It will kick-start developments in Bougainville,” Momis said.

“At this time, we have not negotiated with potential developers but we have spoken with the chairman of Bougainville Copper Ltd and made known to him to respect the interest of the stakeholders, including the PNG government.”

He said he was confident that the government, with a vast mining industry, would extend its support to the autonomous region “to access the reservoir of knowledge and experience with regards to mine issues”.

Momis appealed to landowners on Bougainville to work together in re-building its peace and economy.

He added that the last thing he wanted was instability on Bougainville.

Bougainville deputy administrator for policy Raymond Masono said money was needed to conduct awareness on various ABG programmes, including weapons disposal and reconciliation.

“Weapons disposal remains a priority for the ABG.

“What it requires now is a weapons disposal plan and funding of about K6 million,” he said.

Masono said the reconciliation programme was also a priority which would require about the same amount of funding.

“Without peace and weapons disposal, economic development will not progress,” he added.

Panel set up to investigate Baki

AN investigation team has been established by the national government to probe allegations leveled against suspended Police Commissioner Gari Baki, The National reports.

The team led by former counsel of the Ombudsman Commission and former judge Nemo Yalo, also have PNG Trade Union and Public Employees Association president Michael Malabag and businessman Allan Bird have been given two weeks to submit their findings to acting chief secretary to government Manasupe Zurenuoc.

The acting chief secretary will then make a report to cabinet for further deliberations and actions.

The allegations against the suspended commissioner were raised in a letter dated Nov 4, by the prime minister which will form the basis of the investigations.

The letter had alleged that Baki had misled the government and other senior government officers in allocating K10 million for LNG operations.

The prime minister in a separate letter to the then Public Service Minister Peter O’Neill on the same date instructed the Department of Personnel Management to facilitate the suspension of Baki.

The allegations raised were that the commissioner had allowed the police force to run down and there was a general break-down in law and order.

The same letter to O’Neill gave instructions for personnel management to prepare instruments to appoint Tony Wagambie and Fred Yakasa as acting commissioner and deputy commissioner respectively.

The national executive council a couple of days later on Nov 8 suspended Baki and endorsed the acting appointments.

Zurenuoc could not be reached for comments and terms of reference of the investigations and the cost involved in the two weeks investigation.

A milestone for Madang Teachers’ College and University of Goroka

The first 10 Bachelor of Education (Primary) graduates at the MTC graduation last Friday

Madang Teachers’ College (MTC) and the University of Goroka (UOG) jointly witnessed the graduation of 10 Bachelor of Education (Primary) students at the Madang Teachers’ College 47th graduation ceremony last Friday. The result of a partnership between UOGand MTC, the students were the first intake for the Bachelor of Education (Primary) pre-service course for MTC after completing their first two years of study at UOG.
This is the first group of course graduates in the histories of both MTC and UOG.
Pro Chancellor of the University of Goroka Jerry Tetaga was present at the graduation where he gave the official address on behalf of UOG.
Tetaga said the council of UOG was focused on producing “graduates who can go out and teach good values to our children; the graduation between UOG and MTC is a special milestone”.
Guest of honour, Dr Gairo Onagi, said it was “not an affiliation but a partnership and collaboration with MTC that had made history”.
He said the status of MTC was elevated with the help of UOG.
Dr Onagi said UOG could not alone meet the government’s high demand for teachers, so one institution complimented the other.
Principal of Madang Teachers’ College, Stephen Potek, said MTC was very grateful to UOG for the partnership and would continue to graduate quality teachers with their help.
A record number of 447 students graduated at MTC on the day.

Donors keen to spur global agricultural research

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI

Agricultural research in developing countries attracts global funding

The notion of Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) is increasingly getting internationally attention, both technically and financially.
In a new powerful display of solidarity with the world’s poor, a key donors and stakeholders meeting in Washington, D.C. early this month took a decisive step toward harmonising funding for AR4D.
This is a much-appreciated development at a time when a lot of the national agricultural research systems (NARS) globally are focused on meeting real needs of resource poor farmers in the context of AR4D.
AR4D is a paradigm shift of making agricultural research more effective in creating positive development impact, especially for smallholder farming and rural communities.
The 2008 World Development Report’s focus on agriculture for development is a direct manifestation of this shift, especially in its bid to address the millennium development goals.
The focus is to reduce and eradicate extreme poverty, assure food security, improve livelihoods, and bring in sustainable and equitable growth and development for the overall welfare of individuals and communities in the world.
The Washington meeting agreed to channel their collective support into major strategic research initiatives that will decisively confront hunger and poverty in developing countries, while cushioning climate change impacts and curbing natural resource destruction.
Inger Andersen, Fund Chair of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) says the agreement “represents a bold response to the major challenges that agriculture faces today”.
Andersen is also Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank.
“A more collective approach for supporting agricultural research will give new impetus to the work of the 8,000 scientists and other professionals of the CGIAR, building on a strong record of major positive impact on human well-being.”
The new agreement establishes a multi-donor trust fund (the CGIAR Fund), connecting donors with the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers.
Approval came after deliberations by the CGIAR Fund’s decision making body, the Fund Council, on November 1-2.
Director General of PNG’s NARI, Dr Raghunath Ghodake, is a member of this Fund Council, which is a 22-member apex body responsible for allocating research funds to international agricultural research centres and national research and development organisations.
The CGIAR Fund is a new multi-donor, multi-year funding mechanism that provides strategic financing to support agricultural research.
The fund is focused on reducing poverty and hunger, improving human health and nutrition, and enhancing ecosystem resilience through high-quality international agricultural research, partnership and leadership.
This is supported by creating and accelerating sustainable increases in the productivity and production of healthy food by and for the poor; conserving, enhancing, and sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity to improve the livelihoods of the poor in response to climate change and other factors; and promoting policy and institutional change that will stimulate agricultural growth and equity to benefit the poor, especially rural women and other disadvantaged groups.
More specifically, the CGIAR Fund will finance research guided by the Strategy and Results Framework that sets out common goals, objectives and results for the new CGIAR partnership. The strategy will be implemented by the CGIAR-supported Centers and their partner institutions through a portfolio of Mega Programs, ambitious research programs that aim to address today’s most pressing AR4D challenges.
Over the course of 2010 the Fund is being set up at the World Bank, which will serve as Trustee for the Fund.
Fund donors also confirmed new leadership and members of the CGIAR’s Independent Science and Partnership Council.
CGIAR Fund donors further agreed to support two new strategic research programs – one dealing with rice-based farming systems and the other with climate change, agriculture and food security.
Building on consultations with hundreds of collaborators around the world, the rice program underwent rigorous external review and revision.
The result is a broad research agenda centering on major rice ecologies and fostering critical developments in rice genomics, genetics, agronomy, postharvest handling and policy.
To ensure maximum impact, the research will be carried out jointly by three CGIAR Centers and major international organizations in France and Japan in collaboration with hundreds of partners, including the private sector, NARS and civil society.
Partners will officially launch the new initiative on November 10 at the Third International Rice Congress taking place in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The initiative on climate change, agriculture and food security, developed with the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP), will involve all CGIAR Centers and a wide coalition of partners.
It will offer developing country farmers new options for coping with current climate variability, adapting to emerging impacts in the coming decades and mitigating climate change through a “carbon-friendly” agriculture that also strengthens food security and reduces poverty.
This program will be launched during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in early December at Cancún, Mexico.
CGIAR is a global partnership that unites organizations engaged in research for sustainable development.
The funders include developing and industrialized country governments, foundations, and international and regional organizations.
The work they support is carried out by 15 members of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, in close collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector.

Cook Islands’ Meyer is Miss South Pacific

By JUNIOR UKAHA

Miss South Pacific Joyanna Meyer, surrounded by fellow contestants (standing from left) Miss Tokelau Meleka Mativa, Miss American Samoa Cindy Fonofili Silao and Miss Solomon Islands Fuantino Malasa. (Front seated) Miss Samoa Jolivette Menime Ete, Miss Aotearoa NZ Angella Cudd and Miss Fiji Sera Tikotikoivatu. – Nationalpic by JASON GIMA WURI

MISS Cook Islands Joyanna Meyer is the new Miss South Pacific Queen 2010-2011, The National reports.
The 21-year-old Meyer beat 10 other Pacific beauties, including PNG’s own Rachel Sapery James, on Saturday night at the Sir John Guise indoor complex to win the pageant.
In the lead-up to the crowning, she also scooped three of the eight awards on offer – Miss Photogenic, Miss Sarong and Miss Talent.
An eager local media contingent could not talk to Meyer after the crowning as she was ushered to her hotel by chaperones who promised that “media will be allowed to talk to her first thing Sunday morning”.
Despite initial hiccups at the start of the evening, which was televised lived by EMTV, it was also disappointing our own contestant failed to win a single award.
Meyer won the crown after scoring the most points in each of the four different categories the Miss South Pacific pageants were judged on sarong (laplap), talent, traditional island and stage interview.
One of the judges, New Zealander Moana Maniaopoto, confessed it was difficult to come up with a final winner as all the contestants were equally superb in the different categories they were judged on.
“I must admit it was quite difficult for us to actually come up with a winner,” she said.
“All the girls put on a great performance.
“But at the end someone has to be crowned,” Maniaopoto said.
The first runner-up was Miss Aotearoa (NZ) Angella Cudd followed by Miss Samoa Julivette Menime Ete (third), Miss Hawaiian Islands Pomaikai Klein (fourth) and Miss Fiji Sera Tikotikoivatu (fifth).
The other award winners were Miss Elegance Pomaii Klein, Miss Tourism Sera Tikotikoivatu, Miss Internet Julivette Menime Ete and Miss Friendship Mafi Tui’nukuafe (Miss Tonga).
The winner of the float procession hosted during the day went to Miss Niue Maria Mitimeti who had the best decorated float that drew a huge crowd.
The outgoing Miss South Pacific queen Marawalesi Nailatikau, while handing the crown over to Meyer, said she was happy her journey ended and that it was time to pass on the reign to the new queen
“My journey ends here and her journey begins,” she said
She said all the contestants were queens in their own rights and that there were many issues in the Pacific regarding women that needed to be addressed.
Next year’s Miss South Pacific contest will be held in Apia, Samoa, the birthplace of the event.