Pacific should not be used as a testing ground

Two campaign organisations, based in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, have joined forces to denounce plans for the Pacific to be used as the testing ground for deep-sea mining.

ACT NOW! and the Pacific Network on Globalisation say the Pacific region has already suffered the negative social and environmental impacts of industrial mining on land and should not take further risks with the marine environment.

“Rather than allowing ourselves to be the testing ground for multinational companies and foreign governments, Pacific countries should focus on new approaches to our own

development that is consistent with our lifestyle, history and social and political realities”, says Effrey Dademo, programme manager with ACT NOW!

Nautilus Minerals has already been granted a license by the PNG government to develop the world’s first deep-sea mine and the European Union has announced plans to help 15

Pacific island countries to develop laws and policies to facilitate such operations across the region.

Maureen Penjueli, coordinator for PANG, says Pacific island countries do not have the resources, capacity or experience to effectively manage and monitor large resource projects and government should focus on supporting their own people rather than large corporate interests.

“We have had an alternative development model forced upon on us by outsiders but it is clear that model is not working for us and, indeed, is failing in the West as well.

“We, as Pacific people, need to find our own voice and return to a focus on our own strengths and knowledge base.

“Deep-sea mining is likely to be another catastrophic failure for the region and we don’t need it.”

 

Petromin to take up state share in Solwara-1

Petromin PNG Holdings Ltd has been nominated to exercise the state back-in right in the Solwara-1 mining project, according to mining minister John Pundari.

Nautilus exploration vessel.-Pictures courtesy of PETROMIN

He made the announcement as Petromin prepares to open its magnificent new Petromin Haus at 2-Mile in Port Moresby on Friday.
Pundari said after consulting prime minister Sir Michael Somare, who is also minister responsible for Petromin, he had exercised his powers under the Mining Act to nominate Petromin, once the state entered the project through the options agreement which was being negotiated with project developer Nautilus Minerals Ltd.
He said based on his advice, Sir Michael had confirmed the nomination under the Petromin Act, conditional on the state entering the project.
“Petromin will now negotiate commercial terms with Nautilus to fund its equity in the project,” Pundari said.
Petromin owns and operates Tolukuma gold mine, the only operating underground narrow vein mine in the country and is venturing into several others.

Solwara drill cores

“I have taken the initiative to nominate Petromin as the state’s nominee to acquire the state’s interest in all upcoming major mining projects that are rapidly advancing into the production stage,” Pundari said.
“These exciting projects include the three upcoming mines: Frieda in East/West Sepik province (copper/gold), Yandera in Madang province (copper/molybdenum) and Wafi-Golpu (copper/gold) in the Morobe province.
“PNG must gain significantly from these projects once these mines begin production.
“I believe the benefits to the state can be greatly maximised if the state participated in these projects as a shareholder.”
Pundari said state equity participation through Petromin would also be beneficial to landowner participation.
“Under the mineral policy, landowners in project areas are entitled to 5% equity in the project to come from the state’s share of equity,” he said.
“The cost of the equity will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.”
Pundari said the landowner equity would be managed separately by the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC), pursuant to its constituent law, the Mineral Resources Development Company Pty Ltd (Privatisation) Act 1996.

Underwater sampling

15% credit for Nasfund members

NASFUND members have been credited with 15% for last year on the back of a strong net profit of K294 million and net value asset of K2.22 billion, The National reports.

However, members were cautioned to lower their expectations as the same might not apply for this year due to expected change in economic conditions.

The e-newsletter yesterday said the fund did exceptionally better in fund returns over one-to-10 year period.

The newsletter cautioned members that the 15% credit rates were extraordinarily high and rarely matched year on year.

The fund, as reported last month, had anticipated a model generated return this year of around 8%-9%.

From last year’s return of 16.93%, some of these returns have been parked in reserves, while anticipating the impact of a higher currency and lower capital values.

Reserves are now around 4% of net asset value.

This made Nasfund the highest reserve fund in the country with over K88 million in reserves, which would also provide some insurance for any shock either in PNG or world economy this year.

The aim for this year is to balance the enormous previous returns based on particular asset class settings and bring the fund’s asset allocation into alignment to counter what is seen as emerging issues both at home and abroad.

To this end, Nasfund will set a course for a soft landing this year and that means a return to lower but more sustainable long term returns.

 Nasfund asks again for members to readjust expectations in light of the current events unfolding and not to assume double digit returns are the norm.

 

Police: No early campaigning

 ‘Offenders will be arrested’

 

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

 

POLICE throughout Enga have been instructed to arrest anyone campaigning for next year’s general elections, The National reports.

And, provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari has relayed this instruction to all his station commanders.

He said it was illegal for anyone to campaign at this stage.

PNG Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen announced last week that any early campaigning by intending candidates or current members of parliament would be illegal.

Lakari said many intending candidates in Enga were already on the campaign trail but this practice must stop immediately or they would be arrested by police.

He said many were sponsoring sporting events or organising parties to inform the people about their intentions to run for election next year.

He said they were also taking advantage of grieving relatives at funerals to buy food and drinks on the pretext of comforting them when it was a thinly disguised campaign strategy to win hearts and minds next year.

Lakari warned anyone breaching the electoral process and the relevant organic laws would be arrested.

“The law is very clear. Candidates are only allowed to campaign after they have paid their nomination fees when the writs are issued by the governor-general next year.”

Lakari appealed to people not to move around begging for money or goods from intending candidates.

He urged the people to elect leaders of their choice when the time comes next year.

Trawen had warned intending candidates not to campaign until he gave the go-ahead as required under the constitution.

 

 

National Alliance looks at 'a range of issues'

THE ruling National Alliance party held marathon meetings, running all throughout last week, to discuss a range of issues, including the referral of its parliamentary leader Sir Michael Somare, The National reports.

The NA council, which included the full executive wing and the parliamentary wing, discussed, among other things, succession issues pertaining to the leadership of the party should the leadership tribunal decide to suspend the prime minister.

Although a leadership tribunal has been named, Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia had left the issue of suspension up to that august body to decide when it meets on March 10 rather than the automatic application of the law which would have meant Sir Michael was suspended at the naming of the tribunal.

That particular decision, as well as the chief justice’s decision to bring in three judges from common law jurisdictions, had not been without controversy among the bench as well as from the wider community.

Succession issues in National Alliance had been an on-going and contentious point of discussion over the years and The National had learnt it had entered a crucial stage now the prime minister was referred and was most likely to be suspended.

While the highlands faction of the NA had the numerical strength in the party, its deputy leader in Don Polye was no longer the deputy prime minister, which is held by Works Minister Sam Abal. This had presented the party with a dilemma.

The NA constitution stated that the successor to the parliamentary leadership would be drawn from the regional deputies.

Next year’s elections also featured high in last week’s discussions and it was expected that a team would be selected following this NA council meeting to take the party and government into the elections next year.

 

 

NPC takes over LNG claims

THE national planning committee (NPC) will, with immediate effect, vet all memorandums of agreement and ministerial commitments relating to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, The National reports,

Deputy Prime Minister and NPC chairman Sam Abal had directed Treasury and National Planning departments to refrain from effecting payment of all outstanding claims by landowner groups.

He said in a statement yesterday that all payments would be screened by the expenditure implementation committee (EIC), the peak bureaucratic-level committee sanctioning all proposals for funding against the various benefit streams for oil and gas, particularly the LNG business grants, MoAs and ministerial commitments.

He said following EIC vetting and approved lists of proposals made, these would then be subjected to final vetting by the NPC.

“The prime minister has appointed me to ensure LNG-related issues are handled properly and I will do that with full participation of all related committee members,” Abal said.

“Except for one or two BDG cases that are subject to litigation, as far as the government is concerned, the case regarding BDGs is closed.

“It has been paid on site and there are no further payments to be made.”

The deputy prime minister said with regards to MoA commitments, “we sympathise with the landowner groups that have waited long”.

“Payment of MoAs will be the government’s most immediate focus and attention.

“Ministerial commitments made within the context of the PNG LNG negotiation and the BSA will be the next to be considered.

“Through NPC, we will seek to settle these claims as soon as possible.”

Abal also reaffirmed his early direction that all payments would be paid on-site in front of the people to whom these monies were intended for in improving their livelihoods and standard of living.

He appealed to landowner groups living in Port Moresby not to complicate issues for the government by resorting to a “confuse and plunder” strategy but return to their people in project areas and organise from there.

“We must cooperate with the government to settle these issues once and for all,” Abal said.

 

 

Borer decreases yield

By ELIZABETH VUVU

 

EAST New Britain’s economy has been devastated by the cocoa pod borer since it first showed up in 2005, deputy governor Boniface Setavo told The National yesterday.

Setavo said cocoa production in the province had dropped from 28,000 tonnes two years ago to 8,000 tonnes – a drastic drop of 20,000 tonnes which he attributed in part to the CPB.

This equated to a loss of income to ENB of around K150 million, he said.

He said CPB had taken a toll on the lives of many rural cocoa farmers who contribute the most to the total cocoa production in the province.

 “This is a disaster quite diffe­rent to the 1994 twin volcanic disasters, but it has an equal or greater impact that has affected many rural farmers who depend exclusively on income from cocoa,” Setavo said.

He said the loss of this revenue had multiple effects on other economies in the province and with such a huge socio-economic effect, it was important that the national government must save the industry by injecting much needed funds.

Setavo also indicated that the World Bank would be injecting much-needed funds for a nationwide CPB eradication programme.

He said these funds must be channelled through the legally established institutions charged with the responsibility of resurrecting the industry.

Setavo supported calls made by the PNG Growers Association to the minister for agriculture and livestock to look into the appointment of a representative board to the Cocoa Board.

He said this board should concern itself with quality control and other regulatory measures and leave the rest of the activities to the other participants in the industry.

ENB currently has a centre point of coordination and implementation of much needed funds for the CPB eradication programme called the provincial CPB committee.

He suggested that the committee should be the focal point for coordination of the different sectors.

Currently, the growers were not seeing much assistance and those farmers receiving some help were being confused by different agencies competing to provide service to them, he said.

Setavo expressed some delight in the farmers’ resilience to CPB and who had learnt and were now diversifying into other short, medium and long term crops.

The province is witnessing the emergence of a diversified agro-based economy based on alternate crops which has been possible through a number of integrated projects including Toriu Headwaters, Illi Stand Alone, Illi Wawas, Suikoi, Memalo and Mukus-Tolo development pro­jects which would see major developments in oil palm, cocoa, balsa and reforestation.