Local company invests K750,000 in hauling

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK

 

LANDOWNER company Hiwa Corp Ltd (HCL) last Thursday released K750, 000 to freight company TransWonderland Ltd (TWL) which will be used to acquire a new hauling truck to boost the company’s fleet, The National reports.

The money came from the business development grants of the government under the liquefied natural gas project’s spin off scheme.

HCL’s chairman Peter Purani and directors presented the cheque to TWL managing director Larry Andagali.

The funds will be used to acquire a new Western Star prime mover truck.

TWL has contract with the ExxonMobil to haul cargoes   from Morobe to the LNG project areas in Southern Highlands.

HCL, an umbrella company at the petroleum development licence (PDL) 1 in Hides, comprising Arua, Wita, Kopiya, Pina, Tobani, Kenamu, Hunumani, Ware, Pepe and other Hiwas clans, had earlier invested K67, 000 into TWL.

Purani said they were happy to be involved with TWL as it would benefit them through spin offs generated from the LNG projects. 

“This freight company is the only opportunity for us and our future generation to benefit from the project.

 

A tribute to William Takaku

By PETER TRIST



Rehearsal on set with little Tunjie, William, Peter and Ulli Beier

  On Monday, January 3, 2011, Papua New Guinea lost one of her most creative sons – the actor, screenwriter, theatre director, musician and environmentalist, William Takaku.
Firstly, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to William's family, his children, and his many friends for their great loss.


Portrait of William as Man Friday

I had the great privilege to have known William as a friend and colleague, working together in theatre, radio production and writing during the most-productive period of both our lives.
I first met William when he arrived at the new University of PNG in 1968 to commence an undergraduate degree in law.
William soon realised that the dry demands of law were not for him!
His heart was set on more artistic endeavors, especially to be a performing artist and an actor.
Fortunately, the then recently-formed National Art School had commenced recruiting actors, dancers and musicians to be the nucleus of a National Theatre Company.
Funds were provided by the Government's National Cultural Council.
Here, William quickly established himself along with other talented young people from all over the country.
His colleagues included people like Kilori Susuve, Roslyn Bobom, Rodney Kove, Markham Galut, Tania Daure, Sam Paulas, Sebastian Miyoni, Michael Tavil, Domba Galang, Joe Mararos, Matalau Nakikus, Gundu Raka-Kagl, Nicolas Gioni, Golila Pepe, and Pengau Nengo, under the directorship of Arthur Jawodimbari.
. Together with William, they became PNG's first theatre professionals.
The company's repertoire included scripted plays such as Voices From the Ridge and Wilma, Wait, improvised plays and traditional dances devised by the actors.
As anyone fortunate enough to have seen these plays, they will recall that the presentations were often enlivened by comedy - which audiences loved.
A popular village-originated performance piece was the bawdy and very physical sketch about the trials of a poor man suffering elephantiasis.
This play – Bik Bal, was typical of the company's early successes.
Around this time, I was asked to join the company's board of directors with Arthur Jawodimbari, Nora Vagi Brash, Jon Bili Tokome and Rose Kekedo.
I helped organise and direct their first national tour to Lae, Kainantu, Goroka, Mt Hagen, Wapanamanda, Wewak, and Madang.
The tour's highlight was a comedy written by William (in Tok Pisin) called Pekato Bilong Man.
Very loosely based on the Bible's Book of Genesis. William adapted to a PNG setting, a Nigerian play The Fall by Ulli Beier.
In William's version, God's tree of the forbidden fruit became PNG'S betel nut palm!
Because of his success with the company, William attended a special course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney (NIDA).
His fellow students included Mel Gibson and Judy Davis.
William's NIDA teachers, such as Margaret Barr, admired his ability in improvisation, movement and acting skills.
One legacy of William's NIDA study was his adaptation of the ancient Greek play, Medea about a woman's terrible revenge on her husband.
Transposed to PNG Highlands with dialogue in Tok Pisin, the play had William's fellow NIDA student Helen Jones (later featured in the film Bliss) as the vengeful Medea.
Helen, as the outsider, convincingly became the character in William's conception, against the cast of National Theatre Company players.
For the National Broadcasting Commision, where I worked as senior producer drama and features, William's vocal talent was heard in many radio dramas such as As the River Flows (with Pauline Beni), and in his friend Albert Toro's serial The Sugar Cane Days – about the notorious Queensland 'Kanaka' trade.
Under my direction, and with the encouragement of Ulli Beier (then head of the Institute of PNG Studies), William starred in what would become his most-famous role.
This was as Man Friday in Adrian Mitchell's parable of colonialism.

Poster by Georgina Beier

The play presented 'Robinson Crusoe' (played by Norman Vaughton) begging 'Man Friday’ to be forgiven his past wrongs, and to be allowed to be part of Friday's tribe.

Norman Vaughton (Crusoe) and Friday

In the immediate pre-independence period – when some expatriates were considering taking on PNG citizenship, the play struck many familiar chords.
Man Friday had original music by Sanguma and members of the National Theatre and Music School.

Man Friday shows his tribe how to play cricket

The striking set and costumes were designed by the acclaimed artist Georgina Beier.
Above all, Takaku was charismatic, charming and dignified as the central character.
After this great success, William later appeared in my production of John Kolia's play Going Finish, set in contemporary Port Moresby.
William played a radical PNG student, patronised by an Australian accountant (Ian Boden).



Ian Boden and William in Going Finish

 The Australian family was about to 'Go Finish', but complications ensue when the student falls in love with the accountant's blonde wife (Kerry Bamford), who decides she wants to stay with her lover in PNG.
Audience preconceptions were challenged by the physicality of Takaku's character in an interracial sexual relationship.
The review by Rowan Callick in the Times of PNG commented on William's role: "Another strong performance by one of Papua New Guinea's finest actors...”
Following these stage successes, William was cast again as Man Friday in the 1997 American-financed film Robinson Crusoe opposite the Irish actor and (ex-James Bond) Pierce Brosnan.

Punishment as education

This was shot in Madang and directed by George Miller and Rod Hardy.
The film was first shown on US cable TV, and then given a world-wide release.
This was not William's first venture into filming.
In 1992, with his wantok Albert Toro, he co-wrote, directed and appeared in the television mini-series Warriors in Transit.
The series had theme music by Sanguma and followed a story line of a family's struggle in a Port Moresby squatter's settlement.
There were eight, 25 minute episodes.
Warriors In Transit was hailed as: "The first ever television drama wholly conceived and produced by Papua New Guineans”.
One of the themes of the mini-series was the destruction of the environment in the service of 'progress'.
Earlier, William had composed and written a folk opera called Erberia.
He based the libretto on traditional creation legends from Bouganville.
Erberia was performed at the PNG Festival of Arts.
All his life William had a deep concern for the environment.
He felt the need to preserve and maintain the natural world of forest, islands, mountains and sea that were the birthright of all Papua New Guineans.
After his time with the National Theatre Company, William directed the Milne Bay Provincial Theatre Group.
Here concerns were focused on the increasing destruction by international logging companies of the pristine forests of Milne Bay islands, such as Woodlark.
William and his theatre group performed plays for villagers that expressed concern at the consequence of this environmental destruction.

Friday's anger!

In a 2000 interview with the Australian film maker Liz Thompson, William said: “Traditionally, arts and ceremony were used to pass on beliefs, morality and codes of behavior.
“Ceremonial art was integral to the ordering of society.
“Stories often used environmental metaphors. Tradition was based on a respect for the environment, a harmonious relationship with it.”
William's continuing legacy and example to us all should be to maintain the creative spirit he so trusted and valued.
He believed in the strength of art, expressed through performance, writing, music and creativity.
William dedicated his own life to enrich the cultural heritage of his country, Papua New Guinea.
Vale! dear friend.

Manam issue to hit world stage

By MALUM NALU
The Manam Island issue is going global and Papua New Guinea authorities will be questioned about the ill treatment of the islanders by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, in May this year.
A human rights activist was in PNG last November and visited the island.
A well-placed government source said that PNG authorities, including the Department of National Planning, would have a lot of explaining as to why they did not fund the Manam resettlement exercise for 2011.
“The Manam people will be left to fend for themselves again for the seventh year in 2011 because the government cannot make a firm commitment as to what its decision-making body, National Executive Council, wants and what its medium-term development plan (MTDP) under the Department of National Planning supports,” the source said.
“All that seem to be happening more frequently is that the public service tends to play more politics where some key government bodies and agencies appear to work in total isolation of the rest of the government.
“This only brings about more confusion, contradiction and now a self-convincing state that the MTDP is the solution to a more policy-driven budget.”
PNG is due to report to the human rights council in Geneva in May this year.
This universal periodic review session is a regular, every four to five year exercise for all countries where authorities report on and respond to questions on progress regarding treaty ratification, implementation and the protection of human rights in general.
It is understood that the most-important human rights findings from the recent Manam Island mission would be sent to Geneva to be put on official record and then put to the PNG authorities at the session
“We can also raise forced eviction, health, security issues etc,” according to the activist.
“That would be excellent exposure of the plight of the islanders, and serve to put high level pressure on the authorities to explain what they are doing and to act to resolve the resettlement issue.
“ In addition to the 2011 session in Geneva, such a report would usually lead to the special procedures unit of the Human Rights Commission contacting the PNG authorities in writing and presenting the info received from us, and request a response and additional info from the government.”
She said it was also in line with the need “to bring Manam higher on the national and international agenda”.

Displaced Manam islanders rejected

By MALUM NALU

Refugees in their own land...a recent scene from a Manam displaced persons camp in Bogia, Madang province.-Picture courtesy of NATIONAL DISASTER SERVICE

Manam islanders displaced by the recent volcanic eruptions over the festive period may find it hard to be resettled.
This is because landowners on Bogia - on the mainland where three care centres for displaced Manam islanders totaling about 14, 000 are - do not want any more refugees on their land.
Only about 3,000 people remain back on the volcanic island.
The three care centres are at the site of three former plantations which are Potsdam, Mangem and Asuramba.
Potsdam landowner, Raymond Brossueau, said last Friday that the three plantations had been purchased by a former Bogia MP, Tim Ward, and sold to the state to be converted into care centres for displaced Manam islanders without the consent of the traditional landowners.
Former politician and Madang businessman Sir Peter Barter, when contacted today, confirmed the plight of the Manam islanders and added that it was a “national disgrace” which would be heard by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, in May this year as the government continued to turn a blind eye to it.
Sir Peter also confirmed the animosity of the mainland people towards the islanders because of their land and suggested that the government, which had failed miserably to consult them first before allowing their land to be used as care centres, compensate them properly for this.
Brossueau said there had been major eruptions in 1997, 2004 and over the festive period but unlike 1997, when Manam islanders only stayed for a short time, they had settled at Bogia permanently since 2004.
“In terms of the Manam settlement, the governments knows the land belongs to the people and needs to be given back,” Brossueau said.
“This is particularly in relation to the Potsdam care centre.
“Manam islanders have been there since 2004.
“The government told us that after five years, they would be resettled elsewhere.
“Since then, nothing has happened.
“We landowners have exhausted our land resources to cater for them, with has come with costs in terms of denial of business, social problems, loss of vernacular, ethnic problems and no services because the government regards everyone in the area, including us landowners, as disaster-affected people.”
There have been massive social problems, including fighting and murders, since 2004 at the three care centres as tensions flared between landowners and Manam islanders.
In one of the most-horrific cases, a Manam islander was chopped into pieces and his body parts placed in a bucket, while several of the islanders’ houses have been burned.
Many such incidents have gone unreported by the media since 2004.
“The main impact of dysfunction started in 2004 after they came in,” Brossueau said.
“We know there is ample land available to help these people, but not at these care centres.
“The state says they will give back the land as soon as they find an alternate site to resettle the Manams.
“All these arrangements expired in 2009, and to us, we consider them as illegally settling on our land.
“This year, with all these issues outstanding, the state needs to address the landownership and transfer all the land titles back to the landowners.”
Sir Peter, who has helped the Manam people for 45 years through seven volcanic eruptions, said the whole sad saga would never have happened not it not been for a litany of inept politicians and ineffective public servants.
“I’m disgusted, absolutely disgusted,” he said.
“I strongly believe that the Manam people have been abused by the government.
“The whole thing is absolutely disgraceful.
“There are problems all over the place.
“It’s a breach of human rights.
“Very soon, the United Nations Human Rights Commission will bring it up in Geneva.
“It’s aggravated by people who will not help.
“I suggest that the prime minister (Sir Michael Somare) go and sit down with the Manam islanders and the landowners.
“It’s a story which should never have been necessary to tell.
“It should have been resolved six years ago.”

Papua New Guinea must have good leadership now

By REGINALD RENAGI

Many Papuan New Guineans would agree that despite its shortcomings in a lot of governance areas in recent times, it is probably not the best time to change the present government wholesale, but only change its leadership.

Many political observers here and abroad see our government as appearing incompetent and indecisive in recent years. 

The problem PNG has today is its weak and indecisive leadership.

PNG really deserves a better leadership now, and we don’t have the right leadership these past few years.

Today, the real problem with our government is it does not have a good ‘succession plan’ in place for many years.

Consequently, this has now been found most wanting in that the country is about to be thrown into a constitutional and leadership crisis. 

Moreover, the government will be hard-pressed to find the required quality leadership PNG desperately needs now from within the National Alliance party, or its NA coalition mix.

Right now, the government can't even find amongst itself, according to Francis Huluapmomi in a popular blog PNG Attitude "a highly intelligent and qualified politician who is able to strategically manoeuvre PNG in the age of globalisation and changing pattern in international politics to attain national objectives".  I agree.

That is why for years the ruling regime is still keeping the same driver in the driver's seat, despite its many mistakes.

It does this to keep covering up and making useless excuses for a leadership that is not only unsuitable, but now clearly ineffective to lead PNG in future.

There are still some good quality MPs sitting in the middle benches and in the parliamentary opposition to be made a part of a new and good government.

This whole thing may work if a proper regrouping is done immediately now within parliament.

We can keep the few good MPs in the coalition and merge them with the middle and the opposition to form a good government with experience and credibility.

A government that the citizens of PNG can wholly put their total trust in to protect our national interest.

Today, our people do not trust their government at all for all the broken promises since independence.

This is important and will give PNG a fairly good quality mixed government until the country goes to polls in 2012.

But there is a major snag here.  Who is going to take the lead? No, not Sam Abal.

And there is no one except for one MP in the current coalition party who has what it takes, to take this required leadership initiative in the national interest.

The deputy PM and acting PM is a nice quiet guy, but from all his public utterances so far since being in the job all indicates he is only warming the chair for the return of the real prime minister.

Hence, he will not be making any real solid commitments, one way or another.

The MP lacks the typical highlands' aggressiveness that former deputy PM, Don Polye has to be able to pull off such a spectacular stunt.

I studied leadership and strategy for over 30 years, and I can say here on record that Don Polye can make a good PM in a new-look government with a good team of political change agents.

This will no doubt move this country forward from its comatose state.

As far as I can see, Don Polye is no doubt the one political leader standing out to do something now about totally cleaning up the PNG government inherent corruption; as recently stated publicly that the government must directly tackle.

The problem PNG has today until the next elections in 2012 is that our government leadership lacks the guts to get its act together, and lead PNG as it should be led in the national interest.

So they colluded and sacrificed a very good deputy PM and potential future PM, Don Polye, for an MP who lacks the member for Kandep’s aggressiveness and drive to now ‘clean up the house’.

If we do not change the status quo now, PNG will still not have any real degree of a good competent government and parliament; until the 2012 national elections.

It’s all just a waste of the people’s time and resources to put up with the current nonsense and political bullshit for so long now.

But what choice do the people of PNG have, than to wait and silently suffer a few more months before they completely change the whole mob in 2012.

It’s time for a real change.

Reginald Renagi

Gabagaba-Kemabolo

 

Beijing’s motives behind rare-earth metals

Opinion & Commentary

Beijing's motives behind rare-earth metals

John Lee | Forbes | 03 January 2011

The announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce that it will cut first half export quotas of rare-earth metals by about 35% will cause further angst for many American and Japanese companies relying on these metals. But far from an isolated policy, the restrictions will add weight to a growing suspicion amongst its trading partners that Beijing is increasingly taking a zero-sum rather than 'win-win' approach to open markets and free trade.

'Rare earth' metals consist of about one dozen metals that are used in a range of increasingly important commercial products such as energy-efficient applications from hybrid cars to wind turbines, in addition to mobile phones and iPods. They are also essential used in the radar systems and lasers required in weapons such as America's advanced arsenal of 'smart bombs' and other precision-guided explosives.

These metals are not actually all that rare. But through a combination of cheap loans to its state-owned miners, as well as cheap labor and poor but cost-efficient working and environmental standards, China now supplies more than 95% of the global market. For example, the United States has some reserves but imports 87% of its needs from China.

China's status as the dominant supplier has not been an accident. Realizing the growing importance of these metals, Beijing has spent the best part of the past sixteen years attempting to control the market in the supply of these materials. While state-owned Chinese mines were able to mine these metals at much cheaper prices than foreign competitors – in the process pushing these competitors out of the market – foreign governments and corporations were content to increase their reliance on Chinese suppliers.

Even before the current announcement to cut export quotas by 35%, Beijing had been cutting export quotas of rare earth metals to regional 'strategic competitors' such as Japan by an average of 6% each year over the past decade. In 2009, China only sold 38,000 metric tonnes to Japan--the approximate amount that Japanese manufacturers Toyota ( TM - news - people ) and Honda ( HMC - news - people ) needed in all of 2008. The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a white paper in 2009 proposing to severely scale back, or even halt all exports of rare earth metals. Subsequently, China made a decision to slash exports of all rare metals by 72% in the second half of 2010. The decision to slash export quotas in the first half of 2011 means that only 14,508 tonnes will be sold to foreign markets from January to June.

Beijing knows that governments and mining companies around the world will respond by reopening existing mines and developing new ones outside China. Indeed, the production of these metals is being accelerated by miners operating in countries such as Australia, Mongolia, Thailand and Ukraine. But reviving defunct mines and opening new ones require significant capital and will take several years. As Wang Caifeng, a former senior official with MIIT recently boasted, China is well positioned to hold its bellwether position in the global rare-earth industry in the long-term.

This all begs the question of why Beijing is pursuing these policies in the first place. In September 2010, Ministry of Commerce officials claimed that it was all about meeting spikes in domestic Chinese industrial demand for rare earths metals. Following the current announcement to slash quotas, Chinese officials have cited concerns over environmental degradation associated with mining these metals. Even if there is some truth to these two justifications, there is troubling evidence that Beijing is attempting a bigger strategic play than it is letting on.

For starters, it is well known that Beijing pursues a policy of developing domestic champions that can compete with the leading international firms. When it comes to increasingly lucrative sectors that rely on access to rare earth metals, China seeks to give these domestic champions a head-start against established foreign giants. For example, Chinese automobile companies such as Chang'An Motors seeking to thrive in the booming low-carbon hybrid engine car industry have privileged access to rare earth metals needed for the production of hybrid batteries. Meanwhile, competitors such as Toyota have to largely make do with Chinese suppliers who are effectively selling these metals to Japan at black-market prices.

Moreover, given the number of years needed to mine enough rare earth metals from sites outside China, Beijing is attempting to force foreign companies who want access to large quantities of rare earth metals to form joint-ventures with local firms and base their manufacturing operations within China. Revealingly, any foreign company in such a joint venture is not subject to any quota restrictions.

This is where it gets murky. With Beijing's encouragement, many of China's commercial champions are understandably seeking to move up the technology chain. Foreign manufacturers are compelled to engage in joint ventures with a local firm. To be sure, legitimate technology transfer from joint ventures between local and foreign firms operating within China is one thing. But large scale industrial espionage and theft, especially when it is initiated by state-owned giants is another.

A glaring example is BMW's Mini which, when sold to Chinese consumers, must be manufactured in China. The Lifan 320 by the Chongqing based Lifan Group has virtually identical technology and design. Ditto the Nobel made by Shuanghuan Automobile Co, which is a clone of the Smart model made by foreign joint venture company Daimler. The German engineering company ThyssenKrupp have videotapes showing Chinese partners secretly examining parts of their revolutionary Transrapid magnetic levitation train. Not long after, Chinese companies developed their own working prototype of a magnetic levitation train. After all instances, senior Chinese officials have denied industrial theft and have refused to seriously investigate any of these allegations. Neither has Beijing changed the rules on the necessity of foreign high-technology manufacturers forming joint ventures with local firms when manufacturing in China.

The problem is that many products requiring rare earth metals are in lucrative and cutting-edge sectors. The suspicion is that illegitimately optimising imported technology has become one primary strategy for many of China's domestic champions – an approach that is condoned by the Chinese Communist Party. If so, this goes to the heart of whether China is emerging as a responsible stakeholder in the global economic system.

Dr. John Lee is a fellow at the Center for Independent Studies in Sydney and the Hudson Institute in Washington DC. He is the author of Will China Fail?: The Limits and Contradictions of Market Socialism.

Namah queries troop deployment to Vanimo

A plan to deploy a joint PNG Defence Force platoon of soldiers and two police mobile units contingent to Vanimo, Sandaun province has been queried by leader of PNG Party and Vanimo Green MP Belden Namah.

Namah said the security situation along the PNG-Indonesia common border had returned to normalcy after border incursions last year by Indonesia soldiers.

“The security situation does not warrant the deployment of extra army and police personnel,” he said.

“There has been no request from the provincial police commander in Vanimo for extra manpower.”

Namah said 15 troop carrier vehicles (10-seaters) from a hire car company in Port Moresby were dispatched to Vanimo over a week ago together with three outboard motors for an operation.

He said the troops were to arrive in Vanimo on Tuesday, but deferred to yesterday.

“As a matter of courtesy, I as the Member of Parliament representing that electorate have not been informed of the operation,” Namah said.

“I’ve helped and have good working relations with police and other law-enforcing agencies in the province.

“I should have been informed so that I could assist.”

He said the secretive nature of the deployment of security forces raised questions as to what was the real purpose of the joint operation.

“I’ve been reliably informed that the operation was commanded from Port Moresby and is being funded by National Planning,” Namah said.

“I’m aware that the joint army and police operation is not security-related, but to do the work normally done by Labour and Employment, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Customs.”

He said it was a total waste of substantial amount of public funds to hire vehicles from a private company in Port Moresby and send security forces to do the work of other state agencies.

“This costly joint operation has sinister motives,” Namah said.

“The security forces are being used by certain politicians to check the operations of my private companies, their staff and families.

“Is this the same method used to check on the operations of private business throughout PNG?

“Why can’t the relevant state agencies do this work?”