MMJV investing today for a better tomorrow

Children from Latep in the upper Watut are among a number of communities, enjoying the benefit of clean reliable water supplies better than seasonal river flows brought right to their doorsteps

Morobe Mining Joint Venture’s (MMJV) Hidden Valley mine has this year spent more than K6 million on sustainable projects aimed at improving the lives of its host communities.
Health, education, agriculture and infrastructure development projects are the four major programmes currently being implemented through MMJV’s community sustainable development plans for the people of Wau / Bulolo district and Morobe province.
The projects include construction of water supply systems, roads and bridges including emergency repairs and ongoing maintenance and upgrade of the Lae – Bulolo highway, health and sanitation awareness, training in fish farming, cocoa and coffee growing, and other extension services and school fee assistance and construction of classrooms.
Community water supply projects are well underway and will cater for up to about 40 villages including landowner villages right through the Watut River communities.
To date the people of Golden Pine, Manki 1, Tsili Tsili, Mafranazo and Uruf are now enjoying the benefits of clean fresh water brought right to their doorsteps while progress on awareness, feasibility, soliciting village commitment to ensure ownership, ordering and delivery of materials are being progressed.
This covers Kwembu 1, 2 and 3, Nauti, Winima, Manki 2, Latep and Leklu for the upper regions, Biamena, Gawapu, Dambi, Kapin Nayakes, Piu, Babuaf Madzim, Pekumbe, Wawas in the middle Watut areas; and Maralina, Wongkins, Kapungung, Chiatz, Goraris, Wampan, Bavaga, Kasek and Magaring.
Also on water supply programmess, MMJV recently came to an agreement with the Minister for Health (also the Member for Huon Gulf), Sasa Zibe, to match the district on a kina-for-kina basis up to K1 million for water supply projects as nominated by the Huon Gulf joint district planning and budget priorities committee (JDP and BPC).
MMJV is sponsoring training for small-scale alluvial miners from the landowner and Watut villages at the Wau Small Scale Mining Centre (WSSMC) school of alluvial mining to help them improve their mining yields.
This year the company also paid education subsidies for the children of the Hidden Valley mine landowner villages of Nauti, Kwembu and Winima, affected Watut villages and Wafi-Golpu project area.
Infrastructure development in the three landowner villages of Nauti, Winima and Kwembu, including aid posts, school classrooms and community halls and construction of the Babuaf clinic in the Lower Watut area at Wongkins is also nearing completion.
Plans are also in place to construct six double-storey classrooms and three teacher’s houses in Wau, Baiyune, Bulolo and other selected schools down the Watut River and along the Lae-Bulolo highway in partnership with the provincial division of education.
These programmes were developed following extensive community consultation with all stakeholders, including the different levels of government taking into account the five-year development plans of Morobe provincial government, local level government (LLG) and district wards.
Following these meetings a number of private public partnership (PPP) agreements involving MMJV, the different levels of government, business houses and NGO groups such as Lutheran Development Services, Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Bris Kanda, Morobe Fisheries Management Authority, NARI, dational and provincial departments of Works, health and education and Mainland Holdings Ltd, were developed to help facilitate the delivery of the programmes and projects.
General manager - sustainability and external relations, David Wissink, said that the focus of a number of the projects, such as aquaculture and agricultural training and extension services, was to help affected communities create non-mine related revenue generating activities, and to be self-sustaining.
“We cannot and will never take over the role of government but as a responsible development partner concerned for the livelihood of the people of Wau/ Bulolo, Morobe and Papua New Guinea, we will always proactively seek to engage, support and assist all stakeholders through working partnerships that will deliver benefits for everyone involved in this project,” he said.

Partnership agreement for water supply funding for Huon Gulf district

A partnership funding agreement for rural water supply projects has been reached by the Huon Gulf district in Morobe province and Morobe Mining Joint Ventures (MMJV).

A partnership for rural water supply projects in Huon Gulf district.  Representatives of Newcrest Mining Limited Borone Isana (left) and Morobe Mining Joint Ventures' DrGeoff Day (second from left) and Johannes van Heerden (right) with Hon Sasa Zibe at the signing of the water supply funding agreement

The agreement will see both partners (MMJV and Huon Gulf district) fund the establishment of water supplies on a kina-for-kina basis up to a total of K1million each.
The programme will target communities residing within the Huon Gulf district which are in the vicinity of MMJV’s mining and exploration activities near the Wafi-Golpu project and Morobe exploration sites in other areas of the district.
Access to clean safe and reliable water supplies has been identified as a priority for the people of the Huon Gulf district in Morobe Province.
Recently the Huon Gulf joint district planning and budget priorities committee (JDPand BPC) headed by Huon Gulf MP and Minister for Health and HIV and AIDS,Sasa Zibe, identified this as a key objective for all communities in his district.
The focus on rural water supplies by the Huon Gulf JDP and BPC also falls closely in line with the Morobe Mining Joint Ventures (MMJV) sustainable development activities
MMJV considers the provision of clean, reliable water supplies as a key component of its community development support programme for areas that fall within the footprint of its mining and exploration activities in the Morobe province.
The agreement complements MMJV’s existing water supply programme currently being implemented in the Bulolo district throughout Hidden Valley landowner and Watut River communities in partnership with Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) and Lutheran Development Service (LDS).
The programme funding will be administered by a project management committee with district and MMJV representation.
Mr Zibe and MMJV general manager - sustainability and external relations, David Wissink both agreed on the importance of forging close working partnerships to help provide an important benefit to the communities where it was needed most.

Population and agriculture

By SENIORL ANZU of NARI

Papua New Guinea  has a challenge of feeding its young and growing population

Feeding the growing population is a major challenge facing the world today.
This poses a huge demand on agriculture which is unrelenting.
It was until the 20th century that much of the changes in human population happened in billions within a shorter period of time.
Human population left the 20th century with 6.1 billion when in the beginning of the century, there were only about 1.6 billion people.
Today’s net increase of world population stands at 2.5 people every second.
That means 9, 000 more people are born every hour and 216, 000 every day.
Global forecasts are that the planet will experience massive population increase in the coming decades, which mean the current figure of 6.8 billion would reach 9 billion by 2050.
The rising population brings with it the effects of migration and urban drift.
Worldwide figures show that the number of international migrants was 191 million in 2005, up from 155 million in 1990, constituting 3% of the world population.
The major flow of international migrants is from developing to developed countries, with about 62 million migrants making the move in 2005, mainly to find work and send money home to their families.
Migration is common in Papua New Guinea.
While many people leave homes in search for employment, others migrate in search of better services and opportunities.
Urban drift has implications in overcrowding, and depleting of food and household resources. Urban drifts by youths contribute to law and order and other social issues in major centres.
Overpopulating the planet puts everyone all at risk of extreme environmental and social consequences that are being witnessed today.
Clearing the forests for agricultural use has become one of the main threats, and high population growth rates are seen as one of the main causes.
The 2008 global food crisis was a manifestation of the relationship between population and food production.
One of the reasons of this crisis was that the ‘world has been consuming more food than it has been producing’.
Simply the world was not efficient enough in producing agricultural outputs, especially food commodities.
Further to this, the world was not investing enough in agriculture.
The sector is grossly underinvested and underused.
It is often misplaced in policy decision making and development investments.
And PNG is very much in this category.
The need to accommodate the rapid rise in human population is eminent.
It poses a major challenge to food producers and processers.
The world will not only need to find ways to improve food production and access to food to meet the needs of this growing population, but to also satisfy their changing dietary preferences for meat and diary products.
The challenge is also to halt the drift of young people from rural to urban areas and meet the growing demands for bioenergy sources.
Tackling the growing demand for agriculture requires a multi-pronged approach involving all stakeholders. Increasing agricultural productivity and food production can become the optimal strategy to accommodate population pressure.
This can be supported with innovative agronomic practices, new crop varieties, conservation agriculture, and the use of water- and resource-sufficient techniques through systematic approaches on a sustainable basis.
For this to be effective, policy and institutional interventions with effective funding mechanisms are crucial so as to that allow for increased productivity at smallholder and household level.
This is true for PNG.
Therefore, the country should improve on agricultural productivity and production, especially in the food and livestock sector to feed its own population.
Our current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million- this is based on annual national growth rate of 2.6% using 2000 population census data.
This is up from 5.1 million in 2000.
At the present rate, PNG’s year 2000 population would double by 2030.
Studies also reveal that approximately 105 000 people are added to the population every year. And these people must be fed, housed, educated and provided with access to health care.
PNG is endowed with the necessary agro-climatic resources and genetic diversity to produce a variety of food crops and outputs not only for domestic consumption but also for export to needy countries.
PNG has the advantage because of its huge resource base and potentials which are yet to be explored.
The country has enormous agricultural resources such as vast land mass, fertile soils and favorable climate for various types and kinds of crops.
PNG has a rich bio-diversity and a variety of food species, fruits and nuts, and cash crops.
Local farmers can grow various crops including cereals and pulses together with range of livestock species.
PNG has abundant land and bio-mass, creating opportunities for bio-fuels as well.
PNG has made modest advances on the technology front in terms of improved varieties and practices for a range of agricultural commodities and environments.
There is a huge potential in applying modern bio-technology, processing techniques and value adding, and linking farmers to markets.
However, climate change and the anticipated extreme conditions due to changing weather patterns are real issues which must be equally considered.

Jonathan Baure breaks silence on border crossing to Australia

By MALUM NALU

Papuan border crossers’ leader Jonathan Baure today revealed all about his members crossing into Australia, their treatment at the hands of Australian authorities, and of his apprehension in Daru at the weekend when he had never physically crossed over into Australia.



The Papuan border crossers who actually made it to Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost tip of Australia, raise the Papuan flag last Wednesday.-Pictures courtesy of JONATHAN BAURE

 In an exclusive interview from Boroko police station cell, where he is being held until his first court appearance, he expressed disappointment at the way the matter had been reported in both Australian and PNG media.
Baure said of the 16 dinghies carrying 122 people, which were confiscated by Australian authorities last Wednesday, one actually made it onto Cape York Peninsula on northernmost tip of the mainland, where seven passengers disembarked and raised their Papuan flag before being arrested.

A giant step for the Papuan movement…the first seven border crossers arrive at Cape York Peninsula on the Australian mainland last Wednesday

“Two dinghies were stopped just outside of Horn Island, which is in the special quarantine zone,” he said.
“Nine were held at Tudo, on the border of the treaty zone and the special quarantine zone.
“The last four dinghies were in the quarantine zone but they were sent back (to Daru).
“The total number of people who crossed was 122, and the total number of people who actually landed on the mainland itself was just seven.
“Under Australian immigration and customs laws, any person found inside the special quarantine zone will be arrested and detained, and taken to the Cairns court.
“There were 122 of our members detained at Horn Island, which is still inside the quarantine zone.
“While in Australia, their requests for legal aid and to have their case heard in court fell on deaf ears.
“They were refused opportunity to a lawyer.
“They were not even allowed to speak to the media.
“The first lot of 30 people was flown back the same afternoon to Daru, and their dinghies and outboard motors confiscated.
“I’m very disappointed that Australian authorities didn’t give our members the opportunity to present our case through the courts, as is the case when drug runners and gun smugglers cross into the special quarantine zone.”
Baure said they decided to take this action because Australian High Commission staff in Port Moresby had not been paying attention to their claims that they were Australian citizens, despite acknowledgement by former prime minister Kevin Rudd.
“We are not refugees crossing, simply people who want our Australian birth citizenship recognised, as we were born as Australian citizens,” he said.
“Australians are saying that we are not citizens, but we never revoked our birthright.
“At independence in 1975, they reckon we lost our Australian citizenship, but they must realise that we never revoked it.
“This is not a political issue; it is a civil rights issue.
“It is simply about Papuans who were born as Australian citizens before PNG independence.”

A Papuan border crosser at Cape York Peninsula

Baure denied media reports in Australia and PNG that he crossed the Torres Strait to Australia and was arrested, when in fact, he was in Daru all this time.
“I never crossed over,” he said.
“I was all the time in Daru catering for people who crossed over, doing awareness on the issue and talking to media and Australian authorities.
“I was apprehended on Sunday in Daru and flown to Port Moresby on an Australian-chartered plane, where I was formally arrested and charged.
“I’ve been charged with two counts of: false assumption of authority; and personating public officer.
“I’ve been charged by the police trans-national crime unit, together with PNG Customs and PNG Immigration.
“However, they keep on changing the charges, so I don’t know when I’ll appear in court.”
Asked if he had falsified Australian citizenship papers, Baure replied: “We did not carry illegal Australian papers; these were our own group identification papers.”
Meanwhile, another well-placed source said yesterday that members of the Papuan group were now stranded en masse in Daru, because all their money amounting to thousands of kina had been confiscated by the trans-national crime unit.

Miners hope to restart Bougainville gold and copper mine

By ROWAN CALLICK of The Australian

Panguna mine on Bougainville Island is one of the worlds richest copper mines Source: The Australian

TALKS are under way on reopening one of the world's biggest copper and gold mines, on Australia's doorstep -- the Bougainville mine that last produced ore 22 years ago and was widely believed to have closed forever.
The seemingly unstoppable China-driven commodities boom has pushed up prices, so the reserves in the Bougainville pit are now worth about $50 billion.
Its port, its access road up 30km of rugged terrain and its 200 million tonnes of pre-stripped ore are ready and waiting.
Crucially, leaders on Bougainville -- including former combatants and elected politicians -- are all calling for the mine to reopen, although they have yet to agree on the conditions they require.
"The key to the door," Bougainville Copper chairman and managing director Peter Taylor said, "is the landowners."
Nothing could happen "until they say to BCL, as a united group, 'We want the mine and we want you to run it' ".
"Then I'll focus on the process that would follow."
Veteran politician and former Catholic priest John Momis, the recently elected President of Bougainville -- an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea -- said: "We are keen to reopen the mine and we are holding talks with the landowners."
BCL's share price has doubled since August and trebled since May, as canny investors have watched vital and promising talks begin.
Bougainville Copper, which is 53.58 per cent-owned by Rio, 19.06 per cent by the Papua New Guinea government and 27.36 per cent by other shareholders, estimates it will cost about $3bn to reopen the mine, whose production was suspended on May 15, 1989.
The trucks and the electricity pylons may have been blown up, rusted or cannibalised, but the resources in the mine have not been damaged or diminished over the past 21 years. It contains 3.5 million tonnes of copper, today worth about $32.4bn, and 12.7 million ounces of gold, worth today about $17.8bn.
There are more reserves beyond the pit but still in the mine lease area.
The mine as presently configured is capable of producing up to 170,000 tonnes of copper and 500,000 ounces of gold annually.
The copper price has quadrupled since the mine closed, the gold price seven times.
The values of the two metals have usually run counter-cyclically, but this year they have peaked together.
But the cost of capital is also high, and is likely to come at a premium given the tumultuous history of the mine.
Former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, who has close Chinese commercial connections, in late November visited Port Moresby, where he talked with Prime Minister Michael Somare and Mr Momis.
The discussions included plans to reopen the Bougainville mine.
After leading a Bougainville delegation of 34 on a visit to China, where he was once the PNG ambassador, Mr Momis said: "The Chinese have expressed an interest in the mine, but we are keeping all our options open."
The overwhelming focus of 40 years ago on the mine as a national economy maker or breaker is no longer present.
It would remain the crucial income earner for Bougainville itself, but for PNG the spotlight has shifted to the $16.5bn ExxonMobil-led venture piping gas from the Southern Highlands to Port Moresby, where it will be liquefied for export to Asia. This is by far the biggest project ever conceived in the Pacific islands.
In this context, Port Moresby might more readily contemplate transferring its 19 per cent ownership of Bougainville Copper to the island itself -- where preliminary discussions have contemplated the autonomous government retaining 60 per cent, and the landowners taking 40 per cent.
On a pro rata basis, the owners of PNG's 19 per cent share would have to raise $570 million towards the mine's reopening.
It is possible Chinese entities, eager to obtain reliable sources of resources, may be prepared to help fund it, either in return for equity, or for future copper output.

Mother’s joy on Christmas

Rita Patrick from Bereina in Central is a proud mum at about 7.30am on Christmas Day, giving birth to a 3.3kg baby girl at the Port Moresby General Hospital, The National reports.
Thankful for her daughter, Rita said Christmas was truly a time when miracles happen.
Sr Annette Semo said nurses and staff at the labour ward worked hard to ensure the safe delivery of 24 healthy babies on Christmas Day, the first of which was a baby girl weighing 4kg. Lae’s Angau Memorial Hospital reported 19 Christmas babies while St Mary’s Vunapope Hospital in East New Britain recorded four babies. – Nationalpic by ALISON ANIS

Vision City gets Bank South Pacific ATMs

By  BOSORINA ROBY

 

RUNNING out of cash while shopping at Vision City Megamall is now a thing of the past with the installation of two Bank South Pacific automatic teller machines at the shopping centre’s premises, The National reports.

This was in line with the bank’s roll-out programme to strengthen its position as a bank that “provides convenient, accessible and cost-effective banking solutions”.

RH Trading general manager Ang Cheng Chooi said the partnership between their companies would offer greater convenience to customers as they show their commitment to meeting the needs of today’s busy consumers.

BSP head of retail network Kili Tambua said the expansion of BSP’s ATM network allowed its customers to choose how they bank with BSP – at a time, place and location convenient to them.

“Using a BSP ATM, customers could check balances, withdraw cash, get phone credits, obtain mini-statements, transfer funds and change PIN,” he said.

Electronic banking transactions were cheaper than transactions performed by a teller in a branch, Tambua said.

These ATMs would also benefit international travellers who may use their MasterCard on the BSP network.

Tambua said BSP’s efforts to extend its ATM network would go a long way towards making ATMs more accessible to customers.

“No other PNG bank reaches out to customers like BSP and we are committed to making banking more convenient, simple and safe for our customers.”