Morobe helicopter crash leaves three dead

By ELLEN TIAMU

Three people are dead following a helicopter crash in Morobe province on Monday, The National reports.
The twin-engine helicopter (pictured above during a recent trip to Finschhafen) , belonging to the Lae-based Manolos Aviation, was on its way to Wafi, in the Bulolo district, but a heavy cloud cover prevented it from landing.
The helicopter was trying to return to Lae when it went missing between Mumeng and Wafi.
Two G4S security guards and the expatriate pilot, Peter Wallace, were on board the helicopter. 
An air search was launched immediately to locate the missing helicopter.
However, aerial search and rescue attempts during the past three days had drawn a blank because the area was still under a heavy cloud cover.
Late last night Civil Aviation Minister Puri Ruing said the crash site had been found but there were no survivors.
He said the crash of the helicopter, P2-RUH, happened about 5km south of Timini.
"The investigation commenced shortly after the accident happened and the onsite component of the investigation will be continuing for several days," Ruing said,
He said the bodies of the pilot and the two passengers were being retrieved late yesterday while the investigators' reports would be ready within four weeks.

Sale of the Falcon jet a smart and timely move, says ACT NOW!

Community advocacy group, ACT NOW! says the announcement by new Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, that his government will sell the controversial Falcon jet is a smart move.

"The Falcon jet was an expensive mistake that epitomised the greed and corruption of the previous government, it is a smart move by the new PM to get rid of what was effectively a private PMV for the Somares and their supporters", says Effrey Dademo, programme manager for ACT NOW!

ACT NOW! has also congratulated the new government on its announcement of an Independent Commission Against Corruption, but says there still remains much to be done to reverse the blatant stealing of public money and other abuses.

"An ICAC is a great move, but it must be adequately resourced and free from political interference," says Ms Dademo.

ACT NOW! welcomes O’Neill’s announcement on ICAC

Community advocacy group, ACT NOW! has welcomed the announcement by Papua New Guinea's new Prime Minister that his government will establish an Independent Commission Against Corruption.

"ACT NOW! is very pleased the Prime Minister has pledged to establish an ICAC and has recognised the crippling effects of corruption in PNG", says Effrey Dademo, programme manager for ACT NOW!

"ACT NOW! has been campaigning against the blatant stealing of public money and we see the introduction of an ICAC as a necessary step to tackle the problem, but it is only the first step of many that will be required."

The Prime Minister told parliament on Tuesday that he was acting "in response to the public outcry against the rampant corruption and mismanagement of public money" and is committed to "investigate, charge, prosecute and jail persons, or groups, or companies who have illegally profited from the State's coffers"

ACT NOW! says while Mr O'Neill's words are very heartening and mark a clear separation of his own government from that of Michael Somare, everyone will be watching very closely to see that his actions match his rhetoric.

"As well as looking to the future, and ensuring a well resourced ICAC, the Prime Minister must ensure the recommendations of previous inquiries like that into the Finance Department are implemented and people already implicated are prosecuted", says Ms Dademo.

Boycott by opposition described as undemocratic

THE opposition bench was empty when parliament resumed at 2pm yesterday, a move described as undemocratic and childish by the government, The National reports.
The only person at the opposition bench was the chairman of the Jiwaka Transitional Authority and member for North Waghi, Benjamin Mul.
He was told by the speaker to take his seat on the opposition bench as he was sitting on the middle bench.
Former minister for community development, Dame Carol Kidu, the only the woman parliamenta­rian, sat at the middle bench too.
Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah condemned the action of the opposition led by the former acting prime minister Sam Abal to boycott parliament.
He said, as elected leaders, they were required to attend all sessions and respect the democratic process of the election which took place last Tuesday in parliament.
"They should be on the other side of the floor like what we did and not protesting as parliament
is not a place for protesting lea­ders."
Treasurer Don Polye described the action as childish. 
"It is disrespectful," he said.
Before debating on the prime mi­nister's inaugural speech, Na­mah said the election of O'Neill followed a democratic process and that the highest court of the land had declared that as valid.
He said that it was in the best interest of the people through their elected leaders and they should respect that rather than go to the courts to claim back the prime mi­nistership.

Free education to be introduced next year, says PM

THE government will introduce free education up to Grade 10 and subsidise fees for Grade 11 to university level, according to Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, The National reports.
This will be included in the 2012 budget.
O'Neill in his inaugural statement to parliament said the government would also implement a number of economic and social projects in the next few months.
Apart from providing free education, the government intends to deliver major impact projects to not only boost economic and social welfare, but also generate multiplier-effect economic opportunities for the nation.
"We will embark on nationwide restoration and maintenance of run-down education and health institutions, create a centrali­sed national medical supplies base, attend to repair, rehabilitation and maintenance of the Highlands Highway, Buluminski Highway, Lae-Madang Highway and complete the trans-New Britain Highway and the Gulf-Southern Highlands Highway," he said.
He said a new alternative national port development would take place in the Gulf province while fast-tracking the Lae port development.
He said the Jackson and Nadzab airports would be extended and upgraded.
O'Neill said a new initiative would be launched to establish transportation for all maritime provinces instead of the corrupt programmes in the Border Development and Coastal Vessel programme.
He said the government would spare no effort in speeding up the development of the ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project and the InterOil-led Gulf LNG project.
"These are multi-billion dollar investments to un­derpin in-flow of revenue streams for our nation's future development."
O'Neill said the LNG project needed to be assisted to overcome delays over landowner issues and the government would act decisively to provide that relief.
"Similarly, this government will go out of its way to give InterOil all the help and facilitation it needs in
the government system to progress its development efforts to Final Investment Decision before the end of the year.''
He said the government would deal with indivi­duals who were delaying the progress of the Gulf LNG project.
O'Neill said the government would fast-track outstanding mining projects inclu­ding the Yandera and Frieda River gold and copper project.
"This government will seriously and indepen­dently look at the environment issues raised by va­rious landowners and pro­vincial governments."

PM’s priority is to eradicate graft

.PRIME Minister Peter O'Neill has promised to completely weed out corruption by jailing people and penalising companies which have illegally benefited from the state coffers, The National reports.
"Graft and corruption are serious issues and they merely represent the extent of rot and decay that has been building up over time in key sectors of the nation's governance and administration structure," O'Neill said
"We will attend to the rot and decay, we will cleanse the system.
"We will take the excesses head on and correct them promptly.
"We will turn complacency into assertiveness and forthrightness."
He said the government would immediately make some hard decisions and spearhead legislative initiatives to ensure that the public service was more accountable and productive by weeding out unproductive
and non-performing elements.
"We will revamp the Public Ser­vice Management Act by making some legislative and regulatory amendments that will enable us to zero in on specific fraudulent activities within the government overall public service and financial management system.
"To underpin our resolve, my go­vernment will introduce the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Bill to establish ICAC.
"The powers of ICAC will go beyond the Leadership Code. It will cover those in both the public and private sectors.
"In other words, we will zero in on all perpetrators of graft and corruption everywhere in the community and not just those that hold public office."
He said the government was mindful of the public outcry over rampant corruption and mismanagement of money.
"I will move decisively to appoint a special prosecutor to immediately investigate, charge, prosecute and jail persons, groups and companies who have illegally benefited from state's coffers,'' he said.

Falcon jet up for sale

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

THE state is to sell off its K120 million Falcon jet as part of a cost-cutting exercise to counter the blow-out in the cost of running government, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said yesterday, The National reports
Announcing his government's major policy initiatives in his maiden speech as prime minister, he also told parliament that the government would provide free education next year and introduce measures to weed out corruption.
"Top of the list of cost-control measures will be the sale of the government's executive Falcon jet," he said.
O'Neill said it cost the nation K120 million to buy it and K22 million a year to operate it.
"This money can be better spent on the education and health sectors," he said.
He said instructions had already been given to Air Niugini to place the jet on the market.
He promised to impose strict controls on domestic and international tra­vels by ministers and departmental heads.
He said the Office of Ministerial Services was to centralise and manage ministerial expenditure.
He promised to speed up the PNG LNG project and fast-track other mi­ning projects throughout the country, assuring landowners that environmental issues would be seriously and indepen­dently looked at.
He plans to re-introduce the Independent Commission Against Cor­ruption Bill that will have more powers than the Leadership Code to cover those in the public and private sector.
The policy statement by the prime minister assured Papua New Gui­neans that the government of national unity was not on a "witch-hunt and to destroy" good things that the past government had delivered.
"Obviously, we will take stock of the nation's economic, political and social score-card at the outset of this government's stock," O'Neill said.
 "We shall be stream­lining the nation's public finance management system in the coming weeks.
"It is our desire to see to it that government-plan­ned national development agenda under the 2011 National Budget, especially the national deve­lopment and public in­vestment projects component remains on track and is implemented accoun­tably.
"To oversee successful implementation of the 2011 development bud­get, this government has split the Ministry of Na­tional Planning, Monito­ring and Rural Development into separate mi­nistries of national planning and of implementation and rural development."
O'Neill said it would ensure efficiency in planning and moni­toring of go­vernment project im­ple­mentation and cut wastage.
"This government has to desire to see well-meaning national deve­lopment initiatives be­coming marginalised or neglected by the onset of complacency, corruption and pursuit of personal interest.
"We give an assurance that we shall provide assertive and accountable political leadership," he said.
"We will be putting brakes on our nation's
further slide towards da­maging our nation's in­tegrity by the apparent onset of systemic and systematic corruption, instability and chaos that has built up throughout the government system in recent years."