OTML suspends production to fix ruptured pipeline

OK Tedi Mining Ltd has temporarily suspended production at the Ok Tedi mine following concerns over a series of small ruptures in the company’s pyrite pipeline, The National reports.

The pipeline, commissioned in 2008, transports pyrite concentrates 128km from the tailings processing plant at the mine, along the Tabubil-Kiunga highway and on to Bige to underwater storage pits.

Four small ruptures occurred in some sections of the pipeline in the past weeks causing spillage in a localised area along the highway.

Although the ruptures had been repaired and a clean-up programme implemented, OTML board and executive management had decided to take a cautious approach and have suspended ore production at the mine and mill to allow further investigations and tests on the pipeline.

This would determine the cause of the problem and provide information for redesigning and upgrading of the pipeline to prevent these failures occurring again.

OTML environmental science officers and community relations staff were engaged in testing and monitoring the environment surrounding the ruptures in addition to supervising the clean-up operation.

Managing director Nigel Parker said yesterday: “We are taking a careful, responsible approach to managing the situation and are consulting with affected communities and with regulatory authorities including the Western administration and the Mineral Resources Authority.”

 

K17 billion for free education

But, Sir Julius says: Dump your MPs if they fail to provide

 

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

FREE and universal basic education in the country will cost the government more than K17 billion over the next decade, Education Minister James Marape said during debate in parliament last Friday, The National reports.

He said a cabinet meeting in Wabag last year decided on free education and that had been endorsed by the national executive council.

Marape said as a responsible government, it had to consider other important sectors to make sure they did not stuff up "when a large chunk of money is injected into free education".

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan said education was a right, as stipulated under the United Nations charter, and the government should provide free education.

"First and foremost is the future of the nation and, in order to have a literate society, the government should invest in education," he said.

Sir Julius said none of the nation's wealth was going to the people and the only way was to give free education to children.

"It is the best way to distribute wealth and it is best to invest in our human resources."

He said through free education, "money will be put into the pockets of the people, which will then raise their standard of living".

"It is time for the people to demand free education from their political representatives.

"If they do not do that, then throw them out in the 2012 general election," Sir Julius said.

He said if he could provide free education in his province, "there is no reason why the government cannot" do that.

 

Sir J: Demand your MP for free education

FORMER prime minister and New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan has bluntly told the people of Papua New Guinea to throw out their respective members of parliament in the 2012 general election if they are not willing to provide free education, The National reports.

Sir Julius and his government have lead the way in providing free elementary and primary education through to Grade 8 since 2008, subsidising 75% of fees for Grades 9 to 12, providing K1,200 per year for all provincial students in tertiary institutions and providing four post-graduate scholarships at K50,000 per annum for specially selected faculties like mining engineering, environment, fisheries and agriculture.

He told parliament last Friday that the people of PNG should demand the national government do what the province had already done and provide free education for all children.

 "The grassroots people of this country are hurting and the LNG project has done them no good  – it has only forced the prices of rice, bread, tinned fish, rental and other costs to double and triple," he said. 

"The rich are getting richer and the poor are suffering."

Sir Julius said if the government wanted to help the people of this country, "help the future of this country, they should provide free education now".

He said free education not only ensure a bright future for children but it would put thousands of kina in the pockets of hard working mothers and fathers.

Sir Julius said the government had talked about universal primary education for years, "but they have done nothing".

"This is unforgiveable, look at the billions of kina of wealth coming out of 'mama and papa graun' and where does it go? 

"It should go, first and foremost, towards the future of our country, towards providing education for all our young people and towards putting some kina in the pockets of their mothers and fathers."

He said his province spent K12 million every year for free education. 

"We constantly hear about how strong our economy is, about the 8% growth and about how great the LNG project is and about how much money we are earning from high gold and copper and oil prices. 

"But none of this seems to get to the people on the ground."

Sir Julius said the people should demand that "government provide free elementary and primary education in the 2012 national budget, and that they extend this to at least 50% subsidised secondary education in the 2013 national budget".

"It is time for the people to take control of their government. And it is very simple.  Every NGO, every community-based organisation, every women's group, every village planning committee, ward development committee, LLG and province, every man and woman in this country should write, phone or talk to their national MP and demand; demand that they support free education in the 2012 budget.

"And they should make it clear if their MP does not support free education, he will be thrown out of office at the 2012 elections and replaced with someone who will."

He said if the people spoke with one voice, politicians would have no choice but to finally become the servants of the people instead of being the masters.

Crop diseases hit Madang

THE cocoa pod borer and the Bogia coconut syndrome have struck Madang, threatening efforts by the Kokonas Industri Koporesen (KIK) and the Cocoa and Coconut Institute (CCI) for the province to be the leading cocoa and coconut exporters, The National reports.

KIK and CCI chairman Sir Makena Geno last week told of the re-emergence of the diseases on Karkar and the other five districts.

Sir Makena was in the province for the launch of the cocoa coconut improvement project and the presentation of five sawmills to five vocational schools – Karkar, Danip, Talidik, Ramu and Simbai.

He said the two diseases would be destructive if serious networking between educational institutions, business houses, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and stakeholders did not exist.

Extending an invitation for these bodies to join in the fight, Sir Arnold Amet gave K1.32 million for the provision of 2,000,000 cocoa trees and 100,000 coconut trees to be provided by CCI and KIK under a memorandum of agreement signed that day.

Sir Makeno, in accepting the K500,000 cheque for seedlings and nursery materials to be provided with technical expertise for interested  farmers in the six districts, said these two pressing issues would now be their main focus.

He said his area of concern would be to eradicate these diseases before “it kills the industry as well as the growers’ interest”.

Of the money, K250,000 will be for a coconut mill at Murunas; K500,000 for cocoa seeds; K125,000 each for the two new 10-seater vehicles, one for the police and the other for monitoring the projects by the provincial government.

Through this MoA, the Madang government aims to raise an annual export of K16 million, at K8,000 per tonne with a target population of 48,000 people to be impacted by the cocoa and coconut improvement programme.

He said K820,000 had been spent to get the five sawmills to be set up at the vocational schools with training to be provided for locals under the technical vocational education training.

Service to the nation

Policewoman Maureen Undaba was among more than 100 people recognised for their services to Papua New Guinea at this year's Order of the PNG New Year awards investiture ceremony held at Government House yesterday, The National reports. 

It was also Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio's first official investiture engage  ment since he was sworn into office.

Undaba was recognised for her services to law and justice.

Former Catholic archbishop of Port Moresby Sir Brian Barnes, former politician Sir Akepa Miakwe from  Unggai-Bena in Eastern Highlands and Madang businessman and former politician Sir Peter Barter were also among those awarded.

 

Nautilus to raise US$153.32mil for Solwara-1

CANADA's Nautilus Minerals intends to raise US$153.2 million for its deep-water polymetallic mining operation for its Solwara-1 project in the Bismarck Sea through a public offering of shares, The National reports.

The planned offering would be conducted through a syndicate of underwriters led by TD Securities Inc and Credit Cuisse Securities Inc, Nautilus said.

The company said proceeds from the offering would be used to fund the development of the Solwara-1 copper-gold project.

Proceeds would also be used to fund the company's equity contribution associated with the production-support vessel joint venture agreement, and for general working purposes, Nautilus said.

The offering is expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately C$150 million.

The company also will grant the underwriters an  over-allotment option to purchase up to that number of additional common shares equal to 15% of the common shares sold pursuant to the offering.

The option will be exercisable for a period of 30 days following closing of the offer.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund the development of the Solwara-1 project, to fund the company's equity contribution associated with the production support vessel joint venture

agreement and for general corporate purposes.

Final pricing of the offering will be determined in the context of the market prior to the filing of the final short form prospectus.

Nautilus said the common shares would be offered in all provinces of Canada except Quebec by way of a short form prospectus and other jurisdictions outside of Canada pursuant to applicable private placement exemptions.

Our money woes

PAC takes govt to task over public accounts

 

By FRANK SENGE KOLMA

 

PARLIAMENT was yesterday asked to declare that there are no public accounts for 2007, The National reports.

The parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) made the recommendation after it found that the records of financial receipts and expenditures for that year were "unreliable, incomplete and not based on proper records or accounts".

This state of collapse persisted across the entire public sector in 2008 and, despite slight improvements in 2009, the condition persisted last year and in the first four months this year, the PAC reported.

The three reports tabled yesterday, covering 2007, 2008 and 2009, were scathing and pointed. No department, provincial government and national agency or entity was spared.

Treasury and Finance Minister Peter O'Neill described the reports as "embarrassing".

O'Neill said this after PAC chairman Martin Aini presented the reports.

"It is quite embarrassing. We all know of the systematic breakdown in the public service and it is a matter that the government is addressing," O'Neill said.

"We will take the PAC recommendations very seriously and we will deal with certain officers implicated in the report."

The following was typical language throughout the reports tabled yesterday:  "Corporate governance remains poor, internal controls are weak or non-existent, accounting is poor or failed, financial statements remain unavailable, accountability and transparency are poor, reconciliation of internal finances is poor or non-existent and staff competence and resourcing of a majority of entities is inadequate.

"The situation with trust accounts is no better.

"By 2007, the public service had illegally assumed unfettered power and discretion over the use and application of trust monies regardless of appropriations in many instances."

It had become so that parliament had been asked to exert its authority over the entire public sector to return fiscal discipline and accountability by censuring departmental heads, chief accounting officers and to dissolve and restructure the entire Department of Finance.

Presenting the reports, Aini said: "The committee rejects the public accounts of PNG for the financial year 2007 as unreliable, incomplete, misleading, untimely and of limited value to users.

"This is a serious finding and one that requires immediate address by parliament."

The auditor-general, whose constitutional role was to inquire into and report on all public accounts, had disclaimed the public accounts for the same year.

Among others, Aini said his committee had found that:

*Monies had been spent in excess of the appropriation limit or without valid appropriation;

*Monies were spent in breach of the constitution;

*Cheques where backdated to the previous financial year;

*Constitutional requirements were ignored;

*Entire departments were incapable of reconciling their own small internal back accounts for years;

*Huge and illegal cash advances were made to officers;

*There existed no accounting manuals, no performance plans and reports; and

*Heads of departments and senior public servants were untrained, ignorant of their duties and were incompetent and in many cases immune to the operation of the law.

This indictment on public accounts and records on the handling of money continued into 2008 where, in addition to national departments, provincial governments and local level governments, hospital boards' business arms and statutory corporations and all provincial authorities were also found to be non-existent and unreliable and incomplete.

This state of affairs pervaded at the district level where the government's popular district services improvement programme (DSIP) funds had been distributed.

The PAC reported "slight improvement" in the making, keeping and submission of accounts in 2009 but, for the most part, the overall management and recording of transactions with public monies, property and stores "remain poor and failed in many cases".

Asset lists did not exist so it was difficult to keep track of what was owned by the state.

Aini said: "These failures have resulted in deteriorating services to our people and a failed system of delivering development to our citizens.

They are also matters of

profound national embarrassment.

"These failings continue to the present time, unaddressed.

"The committee has tabled 20 reports to this house with similar findings and detailed recommendations, yet, they have not been debated or considered."