Mix reactions over sackings

Highlands bloc rallies behind Duma and Polye

 

REACTIONS continue to be mixed on the sackings early this week of government ministers Don Polye and William Duma, The National reports.

As acting Prime Minister Sam Abal stuck by his decision to sack Polye as Foreign Affairs Minister and Duma as Petroleum and Energy Minister for the sake of solidarity, the country’s trade unions yesterday threw their support behind him, saying that national interest was paramount to Enga politics.

“Abal must stand firm and resolute in the face of adversity,” PNG Trade Union Congress general secretary John Paska said.

Another unlikely supporter was Morobe Governor Luther Wenge who said every political party in government should support Abal until incumbent Sir Michael Somare recovers from his heart operation in Singapore.

In Enga, deputy leader of the NA branch Chris Kandenge said Wednesday’s special meeting of the branch to expel Abal was

illegal, as it was convened by certain executives with self-interest.

Branch executive Yali Kaki said several party leaders in the province were underestimating Abal’s leadership qualities and should be voted out of office.

Their support for Abal’s action, however, was outweighed by support for the two sacked leaders from cabinet – Polye being the highlands bloc head of the ruling National Alliance and Duma being the parliamentary leader of United Resource Party, the second biggest party in the coalition.

The support, as expected, came from the highlands region where:

*In Western Highlands, Duma supporters held a peaceful demonstration, marching to Mt Hagen Queen’s Park to air their frustrations about the sackings; and

*In Eastern Highlands, two NA leaders warned that NA may lose its popularity in the region if Polye and Duma were not reinstated.

Reaction from the opposition parties and the business community remained subdued.

 

 

Hagen people protest sacking of ministers

By JAMES APA GUMUNO

 

NATIONAL Alliance and United Resource Party supporters in Western Highlands yesterday staged a peaceful protest march in Mt Hagen city over the sacking of two senior government ministers, The National reports.

The protesters gathered at Kimininga and marched to Queen’s Park where they were addressed by a number of speakers from the highlands region.

They demanded acting Prime Minister Sam Abal travel to Mt Hagen next week and tell them the truth behind the sacking of Don Polye and William Duma from the foreign affairs and immigration and petroleum and energy ministerial portfolios respectively.

Many speakers praised the two leaders’ performance at the national and international arena and did not deserve to be dumped in such a manner.

They said Abal’s claim the two men had not been performing and were trying to destabilise the government were very shallow.

Speaker Wan Kewa, from Kagamuga village in Hagen Central, said after the 2007 general election, Polye and Duma, as party leaders, brought with them enough MPs to help NA form government.

He said because of their contributions, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare justly rewarded them with two senior ministries.

URP, of which Duma is the leader, boasts the second biggest political party in government.

Kewa said it would only be proper if the acting prime minister paid a visit next week “and tell us the truth”.

He also warned that any procrastination by the executive government would only inflame the situation further.

Protester Robin Aipi, from Muyan village in Enga’s Kandep district, called on Abal to tell the people what he had done for the country and his electorate.

He said Polye and Duma deserved praise because they had done a lot for the multi-billion-kina LNG project and for roadworks in the country.

Aipi said the country needed people like Polye and Duma to move forward.

Another protester from Jiwaka region, Pawa Wai, asked: “How can an acting prime minister sack two ministers who have shown true leadership at the national and international level?”

Wai said for the good of the country and its people, Polye and Duma “must be reinstated”.

Many Engans did not travel to Mt Hagen yesterday following news of the protest.

Gamar Iki, from the Enga provincial government media unit, confirmed many Engans decided against travelling to Mt Hagen yesterday.      

World Bank agrees to fund major roads

By JUNIOR UKAHA

 

THE national government and the World Bank have signed a US$43 million agreement to fund the rehabilitation of selected national and provincial roads in the country, The National reports.

The agreement was signed on Thursday in Port Moresby by World Bank country manager Laura Baily and Finance Minister Peter O’Neill.

It followed a previous agreement signed by both parties in 2002, which lapsed in 2009.

Papua New Guinea would provide US$10 million as counterpart funding.

The five-year project, ending in 2016, will be coordinated by the Department of Works under its second phase of road maintenance and rehabilitation project (RMRP II).

Baily said the signing was a “financial and legal document” that would see the PNG government and the World Bank work hand-in-hand to ensure important infrastructure services were delivered to the people.

Ten provinces will be covered under the programme – Central, Gulf, Western, East and West New Britain, Manus, Oro, Morobe, Madang and Milne Bay.

“In many parts of PNG, roads are more than just tarmacs,” Baily said.

“It is not just an investment in roads but an investment in the future and people of PNG,” she said.

Baily said the project was a sign of the ongoing commitment the World Bank had for the people of PNG.

O’Neill said infrastructure development was a key component of the government’s development strategies.

He said, in line with the MTDS, the government had since 2009 increased its funding allocations to rehabilitate roads and bridges.

“Roads give vital access for our people, and present them with the chance to utilise the public services the government provides, therefore, enhancing their involvement in economic growth,” he said.

Work will start on the Hiritano Highway in Central and the Kerema-Malalaua Highway in Gulf.

Hidden Valley Gold Mine engineered tailings storage facility considered a possible model for the industry

Caption: General manager Hidden Valley mine, Mark Mitchell explaining some of the features and mining operation strategies to Clant Alok and Dr Paul Ngabung at the Hidden Valley Kaveroi open pit - look out.

 

The Hidden Valley Gold mine’s engineered tailings storage facility (TSF) has been commended as a potential model for future tailings disposal options for mining projects in the country.

These were the comments from a group of participants from the National Government’s Central Agencies Coordinating Committee (CACC), provincial administrators and heads of commodity boards who visited the mine as part of the recently-completed 2011 priority impact projects conference in Lae last week.

The conference was held to further discussions as part of a first quarter review on the Crown Plaza Pronouncements earlier this year.

The group comprising a number of provincial administrators and senior government bureaucrats including Lawrence Disin (chief administrator for Bougainville), Dr Samson Amean (Enga), Raphael Yipmaramba (Central), Brigadier General Commander Francis Agwi (PNG Defence Force), Clant Alok (technical advisor tier 3), Gabriel Dusava (technical advisor) and Joseph Sukwianomb (director general programme support) from the Prime Minister’s Department were among 37 others who were impressed by the standards and practices they encountered during their visit.

Speaking on behalf of the tour group, Alok, one- time provincial administrator for Morobe and Madang provinces commended mine general manager Mark Mitchell, Joint Venture representatives, David Hume (Harmony Gold) and Brett Fletcher (Newcrest Mining) and senior mine employees of the impressive standards being practiced - highlighting in particular the construction and use of the tailing storage facility (TSF) for tailings disposal as at Hidden Valley, all tailings from the processing of ore are stored permanently in an engineered TSF.

“The general consensus and comments from this group today after touring the mine has been nothing but impressive” Alok said.

“Hidden Valley is emerging as the cream of the crop and we take our hats off to you in the way you conduct your business; in the confidence you have by appointing PNG nationals to senior managerial roles at the mine that are capable and experienced in the PNG mining industry.”

Along with other delegates, Alok pointed out the TSF structure, saying they had also noted the predominantly local workforce of more than 90% Papua New Guineans employed and the joint venture’s future plans to localise the mine management, the range of community and regional development projects and programmes for stakeholders and implementation of certain aspects of the mine’s closure plan in the areas of revegetation for a project that had only just begun operations.

“We have learnt a lot from this mine site today and will be taking these lessons and knowledge back to our superiors where we shall initiate discussions for inclusion into future plans and policy documents especially in the area of mining, related to tailings disposal,” Alok said.

Speaking on behalf of the Joint Venture partners, Harmony Mining Executive, David Hume thanked the delegates for taking the time to visit the mine operations saying stakeholder relationships were very important.

“We are delighted that you took this opportunity to visit the mine to observe the way we do business here and we look forward to working with you and building on these relationships as we continue to improve our practices into the future.”

Hidden Valley general manager Mark Mitchell also expressed his appreciation and thanked the delegates for taking the journey to visit the mine.

The delegation indicated through senior bureaucrats there was every intention for future visits from government to work with and learn more from Hidden Valley mine operations.

Morobe Mining Joint Ventures empowers village women

Participants show off their certificates, birthing kits, shirts and caps with representatives from MMJV, trainers and government officers. The shirts and caps are  part of the Healthy Baby campaign known as ‘Malolo Liklik’, supported by the National Health Department and Population Services International.

The Bulolo district health division in partnership with Morobe Mining Joint Ventures (MMJV) are committed to empowering village women through village birth attendant (VBA) training as a means of reducing infant and maternal mortality in the Bulolo district of Morobe province.

Recently, 25 women from the Biangai villages in Wau were the recipients of the second such training funded by MMJV when qualifying for certificates after a successful two-week course.
The women were also certified as village volunteers responsible for tuberculosis patients in their villages and as an added bonus, were presented complete birthing kits containing items such as buckets, lamps, gloves and razor blades to assist with a clean and safe delivery thanks to Zonta Birthing Kits Foundation of Australia (ZIFA).
ZIFA is part of the Zonta International Foundation worldwide organisation that supports programmes to improve the wellbeing of women and girls everywhere.
According to Zonta PNG representative, Pedro Jericho, Bulolo district was the first to receive the birthing kits outside of NCD which were the only recipients so far through donations to St Johns and the Port Moresby General Hospital.
“Thanks to MMJV this relationship marks the first time for Zonta’s programme to be extended beyond NCD and shows what we can achieve by pooling resources and networking together and we look forward to continuing this relationship,” he said.
MMJV general manager sustainability and external Relations, David Wissink stressed the importance of partnerships in making sure programmes such as the VBA training and aid posts were completed and sustained.
He said for any programme, facility or training to be effective, the participation of stakeholders was needed in the form of sweat equity or contribution to ensure ownership and commitment for the long term benefit of everyone.
“At MMJV, this PPP approach applies with all our other partners and we remain committed to continuing the relationship with the provincial health division and non-government organisations to implement health programmes aimed at further improving the lives of our stakeholders,” Wissink said.
Provincial programme advisor – health, Dr Likei Theo commended the partnership saying together MMJV and the provincial health division were working at addressing these issues according to the national government’s plan of reducing maternal mortality rate.
The VBA training was conducted by experienced Bulolo district health VBA trainer, Sr Rose Bosimbe while the TB component was conducted by Huon Gulf district advocacy communication & social mobilisation (ACSM) coordinator, Millie Meren.
The women from Wau are the second lot to receive the training.
The first were from the landowner villages of the Wafi project.
Similarly, they were taught theory and practical lessons on clean and safe delivery and to identify signs of complications in mothers during pregnancy and when to refer them to seek medical help.
Part of their practical lesson involved a visit to the Bulolo hospital where they assisted in the delivery of a baby.

Logistics a problem for fishing industry

By ANCILLA WRAKUALE

 

LOGISTICS problem was identified as a major challenge for the fishing industry in PNG, given the escalating fuel prices and lack of transport access to certain parts of the country, The National reports.

Speaking at the fishing industry consultation meeting, managing director of Maru Mine Ltd, Meremi Maina said the fish industry was very demanding but issues such as logistics problems was a main setback.

Maina, who owns a fishing company in Daru, Western, said fishing was a challenging business and required strong fishing skills as well as knowledge on preserving methods to keep the fish fresh.

He said most of the lobsters and prawns from his factory were transported by air to Port Moresby and was a very costly exercise.

As a way of minimising operational costs, Maina has set up village buyers and assisted them with fuel and dinghies to buy fish from the villagers and transport to his factory.

He said concerned authority such as National Fisheries Authority should focus more on smaller players in the industry and not so much on big established fish factories.

Maru Marine Ltd exports more than 90% of its lobsters to Australia with the first initial export of 10 tonnes of lobster to the United States recently.

Other products from Maru Marine such as prawn, lobster and finfish are supplied to hotels and restaurants in Port Moresby.

Maina, who could be the longest serving national in the fishing industry having recently celebrated his 27th year in business, said money was not the issue but it was one’s determination and commitment to succeed in life.

 

Abal stands firm

ACTING Prime Minister Sam Abal was unmoved last night by news that he had been expelled by a group, purporting to be the Enga branch of the National Alliance party, The National reports.

A statement announcing the expulsion was signed by Paul Kurai as chairman, Kundapen Talyaga as secretary, treasurer Luke Kembol and foundation member Rex Paki.

Also yesterday, a faction of the United Resource Party, led by leader William Duma, dumped Minister assisting the Prime Minister on constitutional matters Francis Potape as a member of the party.

Both actions stemmed from the sacking of deputy leader of NA highlands Don Polye as Foreign Affairs Minister and URP leader William Duma as Petroleum and Energy Minister last Friday by Abal.

An aide of Abal said last night the acting prime minister was unperturbed by the purported sacking and that, as a financial member of National Alliance, certain processes and procedures, stipulated under the NA constitution, would need to be followed.

In any case, sacking a parliamentary party member was the prerogative of the party leader and nobody else.

He said NA President Simon Kaiwi conveyed the same to the acting PM last night.

Registrar of political parties Sir Kina Bona denied knowledge of the two purported sackings, but said any such move would have to comply with the constitution of each party.

In related moves:

* The URP had expressed disappointment over the “lack of professionalism” in the sacking of their parliamentary leader and minister for petroleum and energy;

* The URP itself appeared split on the issue with only three MPs present and Potape denying there was any meeting where his sacking was formalised; and

* A protest march over the double sacking was scheduled for Mt Hagen city, Duma’s electorate, today. But, it was uncertain last night whether police would  approve the march.

Abal was said to be unperturbed and “ready to get on with the business of government”.

“The acting prime minister has the support of the Grand Chief (Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare) who was informed through his family of the sackings,” the aide said.

“The entire highlands NA members, except Polye, have endorsed Sir Michael’s choice of Abal as the DPM and acting PM.

“All the regional NA membership have endorsed Sir Michael’s choice.

“All government coalition parties have pledged their support.

“Abal carries the full powers, duties and responsibilities of the prime minister.”