Well known Catholic brother goes finish

Br Hugo Audrey SVD

By SIR PETER BARTER

Well-known and respected Br Hugo Audrey bid farewell to Madang and Papua New Guinea this week when he left for his home in Switzerland.
Br Hugo was well known the the students of Divine Word University where he was in charge of transport  logistics and almost personally welcomed every new student over the past decade who attended the university.
Several farewell dinners were organised to farewell him and when Sir Peter found out that he had never travelled in a helicopter, he was taken on a helicopter trip of Madang and the harbour which he later told those who farwelled him the memory would last in his memory forever.
Apart from Br Hugo's transport work, he was an accomplished musician and often gave rescitals with his 2m long Alpen Horn and blew the Last  Post and Reveille at all Anzac and Commemoration Day parades in Madang.
He also was an enthusiastic historian who wrote several books and diaries on the history of Madang and PNG including a diary of Nicholai Maclay, the first white settler in New Guinea.
Br Hugo was awarded a Logohu Medal for the contribution he made in PNG.

Road projects face threat

Donors issue warning

 

KEY aid donors, partnering the government in infrastructure development, are threatening to re-direct their aid programme unless the national government moves swiftly to restore integrity and transparency in its tender procurement and financial accountability systems and processes.

Sources within the donor community revealed last night that AusAID was not particularly keen to continue with the current manner of engagement with the government after a three-year major road maintenance contract under its transport sector service improvement programme (TSSIP), which would have started in 2009, fell through due to political heavy-handedness and interference.

The project involved the resealing and maintenance of a part of the Highlands Highway between Lae in Morobe and Goroka in the Eastern Highlands.

Reports said in 2009, AusAID’s “no objection letter” recommended a K53 million bid by Shorncliffe, a well established and reputable road sealing company in PNG, to undertake the road maintenance project. The technical evaluation committee also affirmed AusAID’s recommendation.

However, between the Central Supply and Tenders Board (CSTB), which considered and approved the donor recommendation, and the national executive council (NEC), “the figures changed to K65 million, an increase of total contract cost by an unreasonable K13 million which is exorbitant and well outside the tender process consideration”.

“To our surprise and dismay, the names of the recommended contractors also changed.

“The implementation of the project has been delayed and no work has started.

“We have tried to salvage the project through re-tendering but this has deliberately been delayed without any real work being done.”

The same practice had been identified in a number of other key contracts in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister and Works Minister Sam Abal had stopped all projects which were of questionable status pending a thorough review.

The awarding of two road maintenance contracts, valued at K20 million in the highlands, had also come under question.

Reports claimed that two contractors with no equipment and financial capacity had been awarded the projects.

It was understood that Abal had directed Works secretary Joel Luma to convene an urgent reconciliation meeting of aid donors within the infrastructure sector in a bid to streamline the various development aid packages and leverage them against the government’s overall development strategic and plans relating to infrastructure.  

 

 

Finance inquiry returns to court

IT is back to the courts again for the government in its bid to strike out an injunction preventing the publication of and further action on the Commission of Inquiry into the Finance Department, The National reports.

The matter is one of the 40 cases that former judge Mark Sevua had carriage of and which he will now not be able to attend to because he is no longer a judge.

Sevua had the case for seven months and, despite repeated requests from government lawyers, failed to discharge the matter until his departure when the Judicial and Legal Services Commission refused to extend his term in office.

The former judge told the media last week that he regretted having to leave so many cases unfinished.

Chief secretary Manasupe Zurenuoc yesterday revealed his own displeasure at the lengthy delay in revealing the inquiry report to the people.

 “I have to ask my lawyers to go back to court and start all over again,” Zurenuoc said.

“I feel totally helpless. I am embarrassed that I have not been able to deliver.

“All systems of State have a responsibility to ensure there is an outcome on the commission of inquiry. I have a responsibility to the people of PNG.

“Millions of kina has been spent.”

The inquiry was completed and handed to the Prime Minister on Nov 6, 2009. Last March 4, it was tabled in parliament but two days later, an injunction was taken to stop its publication.

From then until now, the matter has been in the courts and now the judge handling the case has been forced to leave the bench.

Manasupe said a full secretariat has been established to implement the findings but which will now have to wait until the injunction is lifted.

And for that to happen, the chief secretary indicated he would have to reinstitute the action to life the injunction with new lawyers.

 

 

 

New Ireland takes on free education

By ELIZABETH VUVU

 

ELEMENTARY up to Grade 8 students in New Ireland will receive free education this year, The National reports.

A special provincial executive council meeting on Wednesday reaffirmed the free education policy for the sector throughout the province.

Governor Sir Julius Chan said in a statement that students attending Grades 9-12 and vocational centres were entitled to a 75% subsidy while all tertiary institutions and universities would pay a fixed K1, 200.

“We are investing far more in education than is known to the public because our budget spending on school maintenance, for instance, is more than K5.4 million this year with more than K10 million for new high schools.”

The governor said based on these allocations, there was no need for schools to impose project fees as was the case previously.

“However, I am not against genuine desire towards achieving self-reliance by schools if projects are properly identified and transparent reporting and clear completion dates are given.”

He said such fees must be sanctioned by the provincial director for education.

Meanwhile, K31 million was approved for priority health improvement.

Sir Julius had directed provincial administrator Simeon Malai to investigate, confirm and coordinate reports of water and food shortages in communities from the growing intensity of the drought experienced in the province.

He said the health plan would counter the slide in indicators in New Ireland with the closure of 21 aid posts, high prevalence of malaria, high infant mortality rate and the desire to bring efficient basic services to the rural areas.

National Court stops all LNG payments

By SAMUEL RAITANO

 

THE National Court has stopped further payment of LNG funds to landowners by the government departments until proper landowner identification and other aspects surrounding pending court cases were dealt with in a mediation process on site at the project impacted areas, The National reports.

Justice Ambeng Kandakasi, who made the orders on Wednesday, also ordered all banks stop any transaction of LNG funds, freeze all accounts containing LNG seed capital and MoA funds and disclose all the details of the current accounts containing LNG funds in the name of transparency.

The orders do not deny the rights of genuine landowners from getting their share of seed capital and banking them, but is to prevent further fraud and misappropriation and ensure money was given to the right people.

This followed numerous applications made to the court over issues surrounding disagreements on landownership and funds ending up in the wrong hands.

Kandakasi said there were many cases brought to court that “smelt of fraud” and all normal payouts and transactions of funds would resume as soon as a new draft of conflict management mechanism, via alternative dispute resolution, was in place by next month to address and control the progress of participation by all stakeholders in the LNG project.

This will relieve the courts from a lot of LNG-related cases.

Kandakasi referred to Post Courier’s Tuesday front page about landowners forcing the closure of LNG operations in Hides 4, and said that such events would not have arisen if proper awareness and deals were made on site where people “on the land” witnessed and agreed to terms and conditions with the state and developers.

The judge advised the landowners to start identifying their clans and traditional boundaries rather than having expatriates and outsiders do it for them.

Kandakasi called on the landowners to refrain from closing the progress of the LNG as a mechanism to enable and satisfy their grievances was being worked on by the court.

 

 

 

 

Arore pays Customs fees for seized vessel

By VERONICA FRANCIS

 

THE member for Ijivitari, David Arore confirmed with The National yesterday that his office has settled the Customs duties for the vessel mv Ijivitari on Wednesday, The National reports.

It is understood that the PNG Customs Services impounded mv Ijivitari last week for failing to pay Customs duties of about K200, 000, while its captain and crew were slapped with a substantial fine by Customs for failing to adhere to remain in Vanimo until duty was paid.

“I want to make it clear that everything is settled and looking positive for the normal operations of the vessel,” Arore said.

He said the vessel will return to its normal business, adding there will be a maiden trip along the coast line to bring students who are going back to school in Popondetta.

Arore said that mv Ijivitari will continue to run its normal route and that is from Lae, Popondetta, Alotau and Port Moresby, adding it will also call in all small ports in Oro.

“We are now preparing for the launching of the vessel, which is scheduled for next,” he said.

However, Customs Commissioner Gary Juffa said yesterday during a press conference that he is not aware of any duties paid to Customs from the office of the member for Ijivitari.

He said laws had been broken and penalties will apply, adding the vessel would remain impounded until all duties are paid.

“Duty belongs to the people of Papua New Guinea. Duty needs to be paid to ensure that the Government’s revenue stream is not affected,” he said.

He added that if there was any confusion, there must be an effort to contact Customs and seek clarification and assistance.

 

 

 

China's role more negative in Pacific, says think-tank

CHINA is no longer a force for good in the Pacific, including links with criminal activities in Papua New Guinea, according to an Australian think-tank, The National reports.

The director of the Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney Jenny Hayward-Jones said that the negatives attached to Chinese involvement outweighed the positives.

Speaking on Radio Australia on Wednesday, she added that her conclusion was based on her observations of Chinese activity during last year, especially in Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

The Lowy Institute is an independent international policy think-tank whose objective is to generate new ideas and dialogue on international developments and Australia’s role in the world.

“I previously thought that Chinese investment trade and aid was generally a good thing for the Pacific, but Chinese behaviour I believe has altered over the last year,” Hayward-Jones said, making reference to the behaviour of the Chinese-owned and operated Ramu nickel mine in Madang where resentment had been growing over outstanding landowner demands.

“I believe this is a sign of a lack of Chinese control over its protection power in the Pacific, which is beginning to worry me.”

On rising crime, she told presenter Jemima Garrett she was not sure if there was a link with the Chinese government, “but certainly there’s a perception that a lot of the crime in Papua New Guinea is organised by Chinese gangs or triads or Chinese illegal immigration”.

“While I don’t believe this is coordinated actively from Beijing there, the failure or the lack of capacity of the government in Beijing to see the consequences of this and the damage to China’s image, results in a widespread perception that this is Chinese crime, and a Chinese wave of crime that’s affecting Papua New Guinea and some other parts of the Pacific which have suffered from trafficking from Chinese sources.

“So I think certainly it’s incumbent on the government in Beijing to do more about its image.”

On the economic front, she agreed that China had been increasing the amount of  loan money it sends to the Pacific.

“China’s preference for soft loans over grants in the Pacific, I think, has the potential to cause serious economic hardship for a number of Pacific Island countries,” she said, adding that Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands in particular had high debt to GDP ratios as a result of the loans.

“The capacity of those countries to service those loans has to be questioned, given that they’re not generating sufficient economic growth”.