Somare to face tribunal

By JULIA DAIA BORE

 

ANGORAM MP and Minister of Public Enterprises Arthur Somare will face the leadership tribunal, The National reports.

The Waigani National Court has dismissed all the grounds of bias the minister had claimed in seeking a judicial review against the Ombudsman Commission in his last-ditch attempt to stop his referral.  

The ruling effectively meant that the leadership tribunal, set up on Sept 15, 2006, by the chief justice to deal with Somare’s alleged official misconduct relating to the disbursement and acquittals of the district support grants, would now resume.

However, Somare would not step down automatically as a leader, as per a recent three-judge Supreme Court decision on March 31.

Then justices Bernard Sakora, Salatiel Lenalia and George Manuhu ruled on the Patrick Pruaitch matter which set a precedent that the “question of a leader’s suspension takes place when the tribunal, hearing the leader’s case, convenes and seizes jurisdiction to decide whether to suspend the leader”.

Lawyers dealing with the matter last Friday said the matter was now in the chief justice’s jurisdiction.

Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia had appointed the tribunal members but, with the retirement of chairman Sir Kululan Los, a replacement was needed.

Other tribunal members included district magistrates Orim Karapo and Noreen Kanasa.

In his decision handed down last Friday, Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika said: “The decision to refer, in my respectful opinion, is not unreasonable and capricious in the circumstances and, as such, the OC did not act in excess of its jurisdiction to refer.

“In the end result, all the grounds for judicial review are dismissed as having no merit,” Salika said, and ordered Somare to pay the costs of the judicial review bid.

He also asked: “Was the referral unreasonable?

“Again, taking into account all that happened from May 27, 2005, up to Feb 28, 2006, the evidence did not support an unreasonable referral. I reject this contention as well.”

On the issue of whether the decision to refer Somare was capricious; Salika ruled: “Capricious is an adjective and comes from the noun caprice, which means – sudden change in attitude or behaviour with no obvious cause (taken from Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary).

“Was the decision to refer the applicant to the public prosecutor capricious?

“Again, from all of the evidence, with respect, I do not think the decision to refer (by OC to public prosecutor) was capricious.”

Salika said: “It was obvious the OC was going to have to make a decision sooner and it did.

“In that regard, I do not consider the decision to refer to be capricious. The commission received the relevant acquittal documents and, therefore, made the decision to refer.

“The decision to refer was not unreasonable and capricious in the circumstances and, as such, the OC did not act in excess of its jurisdiction to refer,” Salika said.

The OC, on its own initiative, conducted investigations into the accessibility and application of the 2002 district support grants by all 109 members of parliament.

As 2002 was a general election year, and there was much concern raised over the misappropriation of the 2002 DSG funds before the general election, the OC decided that it would put out a stop to the payment of the DSG if it sent out a directive.

Following this, notices were publicised in the media of its intentions and follow-up of investigations established with the relevant leaders; Somare was listed number 16 on the directives sent out to the leaders.

In February 2005, the OC served on Somare, his right to be heard notice dated Feb 11, 2005, with allowance of 21 days for Somare to respond.

Bautama blocked

Caption: Calling for action ... Residents and villagers along the Magi Highway, including Koiaris and Motuans armed with bush knives, in Central last Friday blocked off the Bautama junction in protest over the lack of action into a double murder two weeks ago. Road users from the Motuan coastline, including Rigo and Abau districts, were restricted from getting into the capital city from as early as 4am. The protesters also petitioned for the eviction of the 6-Mile settlement and for justice to be served on those responsible for the killings. A four-day ultimatum, which expires today, was issued.– Nationalpic by EKAR KEAPU

 

By ANGELINE KARIUS

 

TENSION is on a knife’s edge after bush-knife wielding Koiaris and Motuans blocked the Bautama junction last Friday in protest over the lack of action into a double murder there two weeks ago, The National reports,

All road users along the highway from the Motuan coastline, including Rigo and Abau districts, were restricted from getting into the capital city from 4am last Friday.

At the scene, agitated and armed youths guarded part of the road for 5km leading to a gathering of Koiaris waiting to hand over a petition to government officials.

The Koiaris gave a four-day ultimatum which would expire today for the provincial and national governments. They wanted:

·         Both Goilala politicians, Governor Alphonse Moroi and Goilala MP Matthew Poiya to meet all funeral expenses for the two deaths;

·         Payment of K2 million as compensation;

·         Increase in police personnel at Bautama to be stationed at Koiari and Motuan villages along the Magi Highway;

·         Reintroducing the Vagrancy Act and death penalty; and

·         Creation of a Koiari open electorate to ensure sustainable socio-economic activities in the area, including transport, electricity and water supply.

The action was sparked by a double murder in the area two weekends ago when a Grade 10 student from Mt Diamond Secondary School was murdered at his Madowate village. 

Koiari committee chairman Rev Baru Gou said failure by the government to address the petition would result in “further actions”.  

He did not say what those actions would be, only that they would be revealed when the deadline expired.

He said locals had been living in fear and “enough was enough”.

After the handover of the petition, several houses belonging to the Goilalas at the 6-Mile dump settlement known as ‘Dark Street’ were burnt to the ground. 

Police yesterday confirmed the flare-up, saying more than 40 makeshift homes were completely burnt to the ground.

However, quick response by the police, led by NCD metropolitan commander Supt Joseph Tondop, stopped further destruction in the area.

It was unclear how many Goilala families had been affected.

 

Micah: It's now or never!

By MALUM NALU

Former Kavieng MP Ben Micah says the need for good leadership in Papua New Guinea has never been greater than now.

He said this when officiating at a two-day workshop for intending candidates for the 2012 elections titled ‘Winning strategies for a successful political election campaign’ at Aku Lodge in Boroko, which is also being attended by officials of various political parties and non-government organisations.

“The demand for good leadership is greater than ever before,” Micah said.

“Papua New Guinea has a lot of leadership potential, but there is no leadership.

“The 109 people chosen from the six million people is very critical in the 2012 elections.

“It is critical that they elect men and women who know how to lead.

“Papua New Guinea is looking for transformational leaders.

“We are not focusing on transformational leaders, that’s why the country is entering a serious case of leadership crisis.”

Micah said the current level of leadership was very depressing to him.

“I’m afraid, I’m scared,” he said.

“In the next elections, if the people don’t elect transformational leaders, the country will disintegrate.

“I don’t see a clear future for this country.

“I’m not a prophet of doom, but a realist.

“The Electoral Commission must run a fair and transparent election in 2012.”

The workshop, which has attracted intending candidates, political parties and non government organizations, continues today.

Topics discussed today included election strategy development process, pre-election preparation, assessing readiness to contest for public office, analysis of voting trends, and networking.

Tomorrow’s topics include maximising the power of words, communication methods, designing a winning strategy and implementation plan, and running a successful election campaign, before closure by NCD Governor Powes Parkop.

It is being facilitated by former Institute of National Affairs and Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council staffer John Varey.

New political group formed

By MALUM NALU

Former Kavieng MP Ben Micah today (Sunday, June 05, 2011) announced the formation of a new political movement in the build-up to next year’s election.

To be known as Movement For Change, the movement will be across party lines, and will be looking at making a change from the last 35 years of independence.

Micah made the announcement at a two-day workshop for intending candidates for the 2012 elections titled ‘Winning strategies for a successful election campaign’ at Aku Lodge in Boroko.

It will be officially launched in Goroka next month.

“This is going to be across party lines,” he said.

“We are setting up a movement independent of political parties.

“I believe that if we work together, we can mobilise the people.

“We want to talk now about fundamental change.”

The movement will be officially launched in Goroka next month.

Opposition advisor Reg Renagi said people wanted a complete paradigm shift from the last 35 years.

“We need this grassroots movement,” he said.

“Thirty-five years is a long time.

“Right now the ruling regime has lost the plot.

“We need the support of both sides of parliament.”

People's house starts slow

By REG RENAGI

The public in 2011 did not expect parliament to rise on a high note since closing shop last year to give itself a six - month holiday.

Last May, PNG’s 8^th National Parliament started in usual fashion. 

Proceedings started slow and low key. 

The house got down to business and from the public gallery, some key differences could be observed. 

Three prominent figures making up any robust parliamentary debate sessions were notably missing from the chamber. 

The Prime Minister, Opposition leader and the Speaker of the House were not at their seats on the preliminary proceedings. 

Prime Minister Somare was abroad seeking medical treatment and new Opposition Leader, Belden Namah was also visiting his family overseas on medical treatment. 

Speaker Jeffrey Nape was conveniently unavailable since parliament adjourned last year, with many speculating his whereabouts since last year.

During three weeks of this year’s first parliament sitting, general business of parliament has not really improved much over the years. 

Proceedings would start very late with government consistently failing to provide the required numbers for a quorum.

When MPs did debate “hot” issues on the floor, the Speaker would almost always gag discussions initiated by the parliamentary opposition party.

Last month’s May session had many outstanding issues being debated by MPs from both sides criticising each other amidst raised voices. 

 The more passionate even let slip a few colourful language. 

Many issues were presented as Ministerial statements (and reports) being tabled by MPs for information, and relevant state agencies to take note and act on them.

Sitting directly overlooking the government side, new Opposition Leader, Belden Namah and his firebrand deputy, Sam Basil were true to form in their first-time job as the “new kids on the block”. 

 Both excelled well as they took to task, Acting PM, Sam Abal and government senior ministers over many and wide-ranging policy issues. 

The government’s responses were as usual, both long and evasive in nature; and lacking any real substance.

Among others, the most controversial issue so far has been the many questions asked of the Acting PM, Sam Abal by Belden Namah to explain clearly to citizens, what is the true state of PM Somare’s health condition for him to be given ‘a leave of absence’ for this session of parliament.

Today, the public is now widely speculating whether PNG will have a new PM in 2011 due to PM Somare’s prevailing health condition. 

Papua New Guineans will soon know whether it is time for the government’s succession plan to be activated when parliament rises for another three weeks.

 

REGINALD RENAGI

Port Moresby

 

 

Reward for information about PNG Blogs

The NASFUND Board is aware of various articles posted on the blog site, PNG BLOGS and now being circulated via e mail which are factually incorrect, malicious in nature and defamatory.

 The articles are not only a serious attack on the integrity of the NASFUND Board and management it is a mischievous attempt to create confusion and instability amongst the contributors of NASFUND.

The author of these articles has used the cloak of anonymity aided by the named website in perpetrating this cowardly and criminal smear campaign.

An investigation to establish the identities of the persons involved is ongoing and a reward of K 50,000.00 is now offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of both the author of the articles and the persons responsible for publishing it on this blog or any general media.

 

All information received shall be treated confidentially and should be forwarded to:

 

Ernie Gangloff

Independent ex Officio NASFUND Board

C/ Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu

Level 12 Deloitte

P.O. Box 1275

Port Moresby

Email: Egangloff@deloitte.com.pg

 

 

Authorized by:

 

NASFUND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

 

Joint CEO, Rod Mitchell's Statement

 

I will preface this statement with the following quote from author Kevin Donnelly

 

“Deciding between competing rights and balancing rights with responsibilities is difficult and challenging, no more than in relation to freedom of religion, expression and belief. As common sense suggests, not all rights are absolute and there are occasions when particular rights have to be qualified or curtailed. Freedom of expression does not give one the licence to shout “fire” in a crowed cinema”

 

A number of issues in relation to allegations made on a blog site and reproduced in scurrilous form by email circulation through out PNG can be drawn from the above quotation.

1.         That blogs far from being a democratic agent for change are now being used more and more as a tool for certain smear campaigns and agendas

2.         In relation to allegations about me we can see that there is an agenda on a blog site to make any fanciful allegation without substantiation and use it to smear my character.

3.         Nearly all the postings are written by the same person under different names. There also appears to be a racist overtone.

4.         There should be an onus where people make unsubstantiated allegations that are designed to damage a persons reputation, for blog sites to not only state who they are, but also any article should be fully credited to the person who wrote it – not some glib “PNG Nationalist” etc

5.         The whole approach on this blog goes against common law. What we have in these “blogs” is some Napoleonic approach of guilty until we say otherwise. And that also tells any thinking person of the hidden agenda at work here. Faceless people behind faceless, unsubstantiated muck raking.

 

On this I note the claims of one anonymous writer who believes the mere mention of claims of defamation suggest identification with corruption.

Once again I state that no one begrudges fair comment.

Malicious unsubstantiated allegations designed to hurt a person or company’s reputation is in a class of its own and the mere refuting of an allegation does not justify the malicious intent of the allegation in the first place.

 It is a shame that this particular website does not demand more accountability from those who comment and if it was a legitimate site you would expect a code of conduct regime in place – Not a policy of agenda driven anarchy.

It is clear that over the last few months there has been a concerted attempt to destabilize NASFUND, the Board and it’s Management by malicious rubbish.

The most successful financial organisation in Papua New Guinea will not stand by idly and allow faceless people to dictate or set their hidden agenda against the organisation.

I ask the Members and the public to hold firm and co operate in exposing the people behind the website and those who wrote the malicious commentary.

Let them have their day in court and let their allegations be tested in a legitimate forum.

 

Rod Mitchell

NASFUND

History being rewritten with resumption of Air Niugini flights to Bulolo

By MALUM NALU

Many people who have been long fascinated by the story of the gold rush days of the 1930’s feel that history is being rewritten with the resumption of Air Niugini flights to Bulolo on Monday, May 16, 2011.

Arrival of Junkers G31 'Paul' at Wau, 23 April 1931.

The historical mining town of Bulolo, Morobe province, took another giant step forward on Monday, May 16, with the commencement of twice-weekly Air Niugini flights between Port Moresby and Bulolo.

Inaugural Air Niugini Dash 8 flight at Bulolo

The first batch of passengers on board the Dash 8 flight to Bulolo – led by Air Niugini CEO Wasantha Kumarasiri and Bulolo MP Sam Basil - was greeted by management and staff of PNG Forest Products, which owns the land on which the Bulolo Airport is built; Morobe Mining Joint Ventures; Bulolo administration; as well as hundreds of local people who braved pouring rain to be present for the occasion.
The 45-minute Bulolo service, which will be every Monday and Friday, promises to greatly boost business and tourism in Bulolo, as well as the surrounding electorates of Menyamya, Huon, Markham and Lae.
With excellent opening fares at K265 per person, I can easily take my kids there, spend some time with friends in Bulolo such as Basil or roving Wau-based reporter Sampson Bonai, and later get on a PMV or take a drive down to Lae.
Air Niugini’s introduction of flights follows on from Airlines PNG in 2009.
“Bulolo is a very ideal destination with a high demand for air transportation from the local communities,” Kumarasiri said as the inaugural flight landed.
“Due to the current activities in Bulolo, we consider it is our duty as the national airline to provide the air services to the local and business communities in Bulolo.
“Apart from the mining activities, there are also other operations and activities that certainly call for further air transportation.
“To name a few, we have the PNG Forest Products Ltd, BSP, Post PNG, Bulolo Forestry College, the Micro Bank, the district administration, which certainly demands for an increase in air transportation.
“As the national flag carrier, Air Niugini has a community service obligation to serve the people of Papua New Guinea.
“Therefore, Air Niugini’s operation into Bulolo also means that the local people of Wau/Bulolo can now travel direct from Bulolo to Port Moresby instead of travelling via Lae.”
Basil said history was rewriting itself as Bulolo was once one of the busiest airfields in the world during the gold rush days of the 1920s and 30s.
He said his joint district planning and budget priorities committee would commit K50, 000 subsidies for vegetable freight and return airfares.
“We would also look at building the staff quarters and ticket purchasing office for Air Niugini to be owned by the district administration, which will benefit from the rental proceedings,” he said.
“I also call on Menyamya people, Wampar people and people from my district to utilise this service because extra seats are now available.
“We do not have to drive all the way to Nadzab to catch a plane, as it is now at our doorstep.”
THE new look Bulolo Airport apron and 1,500m runway was officially opened by Basil in February 2009.
The upgrading work was jointly funded by Harmony Gold, PNG Forest Products and NKW Holdings at a cost of K500, 000 and took about six weeks from replacing the road-base with engineered fill and then resurfaced.
The airport was closed in 1990’s due to lack of economic activities, forcing the airline companies to withdraw vital air services into the area, and left people to rely heavily on the road network for the delivery of goods and services to Wau and Bulolo.
The greatest airlift the world had ever known started from Lae to the Bulolo goldfields in the 1930s.
Built in June 1930, originally the Bulolo strip was 1,150 yards by 120 yards.
Later it was expanded to 1,300 yards in length, covered with grass.
This airstrip was used in conjunction with flying supplies and equipment for gold dredging at Wau and Bulolo.
On January 21, 1942, Japanese Zeros and bombers attacked Bulolo.
At Bulolo, they set fire to three of the Junkers G31 tri-motors on the ground, destroying them.
Gold dredging work ceased as most of the men employed entered military service.
Five days, later, on February 5, 1942, Bulolo was bombed at 11am by five twin-engine bombers.
The discovery of gold at Edie Creek above Wau in 1926 sparked off a gold rush which led to the exploitation of the rich deposits of the Bulolo-Watut river system by large-scale mechanised mining.
The rigours and cost of the eight-day walk into the goldfields and the difficulty of building a road from the coast led to the early introduc¬tion of an aviation service.
 The driving force behind the develop¬ment of the goldfields was Cecil J. Levien, a former Morobe District Officer, who has been described as a “rare and formidable combina¬tion of opportunist, practical man and visionary”.
Levien persuaded the directors of Guinea Gold N.L. that startling profits would be made by any aviation company that could provide a service to eliminate the arduous walk between Salamaua and Wau.
He secured an option on a small DH-37 plane in Melbourne and engaged a pilot, E. A. ‘Pard’ Mustar, to bring it to New Guinea.
The aviation service was a success from the start.
After two unsuccessful flights around the mountains south of the Markham ¬no one knew exactly how to find Wau from the air.
Mustar landed at Wau for the first time on April 16, 1937.
He began the service the next day with a shipment of six 100 lb bags of rice, charging a shilling a pound, and, making two trips a day, five days a week, carried 84 passen¬gers and 27, 000 pounds of cargo in the first three months.
Rival aviation companies were not long in arriving to share the profits.
Ray Parer, the proprietor of Bulolo Goldfields Air Service who had been com¬peting keenly with Mustar to be the first to land at Lae, came from Rabaul after many delays, and A. ‘Jerry’ Pentland and P. ‘Skip’ Moody soon joined them.
There was ample business for all, and by April 1928, a year after the service began, Guinea Airways (the aviation company that grew from Guinea Gold N.L.) had acquired two extra planes and was employing three further pilots and two more mechanics.
Then in March 1929 a new company, Morlae Air¬lines, began a weekly Lae-Port Moresby run, meeting ships from Australia and bringing passengers and frozen foods across to Wau, Bulolo, Salamaua and Lae.
At first Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd and its parent company, Placer Development Ltd, had thought of building a road to the goldfields, but the length of time it would take and the high cost of construction and maintenance persuaded the companies to accept Guinea Air¬ways' proposition that “skyways are the cheapest highways”.
On the advice of Mustar, Bulolo Gold Dredging purchased three all-metal, tri-motored Junkers G-31 aircraft from Germany, which Guinea Airways was to operate under licence for the gold mining company.
Guinea Airways also purchased a Junkers G-31 of its own.
They were huge planes, each capable of carrying a payload of 7100 pounds or 14 short tons together.
The airlift began in April 1931 and continued for eight years: the first dredge began work in March 1932, the eighth in November, 1939.
Another crane at the airstrip lifted the heavy machinery into the planes and a rail crane unloaded them at Bulolo.
Eventually operations became so efficient that nine round trips a day were possible.
The airlift was a remarkable undertaking.
It pioneered the use of aviation in the transport of heavy cargo and, in the words of one writer, “in every respect it constituted a world record”.