Resource-rich Western Province is PNG's poorest

From Deakin University Newsroom

Papua New Guinea's "poorest" region - the resource rich Western Province - would rank just above Zimbabwe but below the Democratic Republic of Congo in terms of human development according to new data unveiled by Deakin University's expert in International Development, Professor Mark McGillivray, at the Papua New Guinea: Securing a Prosperous Future conference.

Daru hospital in decline.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

 

"If PNG's Western Province was a country there would be an international outcry about their plight, given its appalling low levels of human development," he said.

Professor McGillivray's analysis used the principles of the Human Development Index to create a new measure which specifically looked at the districts and provinces in Papua New Guinea. This has not been done before.

"The United Nations Development Program's Human Development Index (HDI) is well-known and widely used in research and policy circles," Professor McGillivray explained.

"It combines achievements in health, education and income and is primarily used to compare levels of human development between countries.

"The Human Development Index is typically applied at the level of countries, not to parts of countries.

"This means that it is blind to achievements and disparities within countries.

"When we apply the principles of the Index to provinces and districts within PNG, we find not only huge disparities but levels of human development that are extremely low by international standards."

Professor McGillivray said based on one version of the Human Development Index Papua New Guinea as a country is ranked 121 out of 137, so down towards the bottom.

"Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe has the lowest level of human development and is ranked 137, at the very bottom," Professor McGillivray said.

"The conflict-affected Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked 136.

"Yet if the resource rich Western Province was a country it would be ranked in between Zimbabwe and Congo and as such among the three very poorest in the world in terms of human development."

Professor McGillivray said that the National Central District – the province with the highest human development in PNG - would rank 99th in the world if it was a country, between Morocco and Tajikistan and slightly ahead of India.

Further information

Professor McGillivray is interviewed by Pacific Beat on ABC Radio Australia

Towards a cleaner Port Moresby and PNG

Re my earlier posting about a Highlands group from Hohola cleaning the drain between Hohola and Waigani, instead of joining the "protest", I walked home at midday with some Big Rooster for my kids (who didn't go to school today because of the "protest"), and this is what I saw: The bushes and drain were clean!
It shows shows how much we can achieve if we divert our energy towards a cleaner Port Moresby! 
So let me ask, what gives a better image of Port Moresby and PNG: a protest march or a clean-up?

PNG anti-government protest fizzles

By Eoin Blackwell, AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

A mass protest against the government of Papua New Guinea by union leaders in the capital, Port Moresby, has failed to materialise, after police said they would not let it go ahead.
Businesses in the capital closed their doors today in preparation for the protest, after Trade Union Congress (PNGTUC) general secretary John Paska said affiliates would protest at the gates of Parliament House from 10am.
He had planned to hand prime minister Peter O'Neill a petition demanding the repeal of two laws aimed at reining in the Supreme Court and parliament's recent vote to suspend the elections by six months.
But by Tuesday afternoon fewer than 500 people gathered to hear speeches in a field near Parliament House, where mostly unarmed police cadets huddled in groups awaiting an angry march from some of the union's 70,000 members.
Mr Paska couldn't have handed Mr O'Neill the petition - there weren't enough of PNG's 109 MPs in parliament to form a quorum, and so it was adjourned until Wednesday.
Student groups couldn't make it, they said, because they had exams.
Comment is being sought from Mr Paska.
Police spokesman Dominic Kakas told AAP the PNGTUC President Michael Malabag had scheduled an appointment to meet with Mr O'Neill this week.
Police had earlier issued a statement saying they would not allow the protest to go ahead.
"We could not let the protests go ahead because we did not think we could ensure public safety," Superintendent Kakas said.
"The protesters have concerns - legitimate concerns - and there are a number of issues to be dealt with.
"But public safety is paramount."
Supt Kakas said police had encouraged union leaders and student groups to organise an appointment with Mr O'Neill, and to plan their protests in advance to ensure public safety.
But he is well aware of the mounting political tension in the capital.
"Everyone out there is waiting for Port Moresby to go off," he said.
A spokesman for Mr O'Neill said he understood a meeting was planned between the PM and PNGTUC president Michael Malabag.
The perimeter of PNG's Parliament House was surrounded by mostly unarmed cadet police, however AAP spotted one officer with what looked like a tear-gas gun.
A flood of emails to public servants and businesses warning of potential violence surrounding the protest has created a strange world of opposites in Port Moresby.
In the city centre, the pot-holed streets are busy with people going about their daily lives amid the persistent, grimy presence of exhaust fumes.
However, many businesses, such as the always packed, open-all-hours Vision City Shopping Centre, in the heart of the government district, was empty on Tuesday morning, and a row of orange uniformed security guards armed with black rubber maces guarded the main gate.
Port Moresby has over the past two months hosted two peaceful protests against the government's passage of the Judicial Conduct bill and the April 2 vote to delay the election.
At both protests there was intense liaison between police and protest leaders.
"We have to be responsible here," shouted one police officer to marching students on March 23.
"The leaders (politicians) are looking for any excuse to delay the elections. We don't want to give them that excuse."
A week later they voted to do just that.

LNG, mining impact on Lae

By MALUM NALU

The LNG and mining projects are already having a profound impact on business in Lae, according to the Lae Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Aerial view of Top Town, Lae.-Picture by PETER BOYD

The K700 million Lae port project, which begins next month, has not yet impacted on the city, however, chamber is optimistic of similar benefits.
Chamber president Alan McLay told The National there was already increased business in Lae for:

• Trucking companies, logistics firms and shipping agents;

• Vehicle distributors through more vehicles being bought;

• Increased imports meaning more jobs for stevedores, and

• Leases for storage of containers (Morobe provincial government and Lae urban local level government to benefit).
McLay said the K700 million Lae port project had not yet impacted on Lae, however, “presumably it will mean that there will be more jobs available, and hopefully local contracts”.
He is generally optimistic about the future of business in Lae.
“Given that the power and communications will improve and the roads are to be fixed, then business will continue to expand,” McLay said.
“The government must plan better for this expansion, and formalise the leasing of land.
“What I don’t want to see is a landless group of people, who find that greedy companies have taken all the land near Lae City.”
McLay said many new businesses had emerged in Lae including HBS Machinery (plant and equipment hire and sale), Traverse Drilling (drilling), Huon Machinery Ltd (machinery), Metier Contractors Ltd (new building maintenance), Red Rock Investment Ltd (new road contractors), and South Pacific Airconditioning (airconditioning supply and maintenance).

IPBC: Ramu hydro, Lae port projects to transform Momase

The K2 billion Ramu hydro scheme and K700 million Lae port project came under the scrutiny of the Independent Public Business Corporation board last Thursday, The National reports.

These two major IPBC projects promise to transform the Momase region and were the focus of the IPBC board meeting in Lae.

Work progresses on the Yonki ‘Toe of Dam’ project.

IPBC managing director Thomas Abe said the two projects would “change the game completely” for the Momase region.

“These would be significant projects anywhere in the world, with expenditure on Lae port estimated at K700 million and the three stages of the Ramu project at K2 billion,” he said.

“For the Momase region, they change the game completely.

“Not only will they expand Momase’s economic capacity across all sectors, they will create thousands of new jobs, directly and indirectly, and bring work to hundreds of small local businesses and sub-contractors.

“The days of constant power blackouts crippling local business and causing household havoc for ordinary Papua New Guineans will be over.

Work progresses on the Yonki ‘Toe of Dam’ project.

“The obstacles to regional businesses and economic development posed by the inefficient, outdated and inadequate Lae port will be removed.”

 Abe said the board meeting in Lae was very timely, with IPBC moving ahead with both projects as fast as reasonably possible.

Construction work is expected to start on Lae Port on May 8 and the ‘Toe of Dam’ phase of Yonki is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

The new port facilities, funded 70% by the Asian Development Bank and 30% by the national government through IPBC, include a tidal basin, a berth and a terminal.

All are expected to be completed in 2015.

 The Ramu project is in three phases - Yonki power station rehabilitation, Yonki ‘Toe of Dam’ expansion and the proposed new Ramu 2 dam and power station – and would increase generation from 45 megawatts to between 180 and 240 megawatts.

A feasibility study is being undertaken by the national government through IPBC in partnership with PNG Energy Developments Limited, a 50-50 joint venture between PNG Sustainable Developments Program Ltd and Origin Energy of Australia.

Abe said the new board and management of IPBC were determined to put PNG back on the road to national development.

“The board and senior management came to Lae to show the community that we are not just sitting at our desks in Port Moresby wasting time and money,” he said.

“We are getting out and getting the job done.

“IPBC is responsible for these critical projects, and we are taking our job very seriously.”

IPBC board members visited the two projects and also met community and business leaders to report on progress on the projects and to outline the huge impact they would have on the regional and national economies.

IPBC directors and management inspected the Yonki ‘Toe Of Dam’ project on their visit From left are Akio Katayama (project manager, Nippon Koei), Lawrence Solomon (director, strategic planning and marketing, PPL), Parkop Kurua (senior portfolio manager, IPBC), Dr Thomas Webster (chairman, IPBC), Tony Koiri (CEO, PPL), Anthony Yauieb (alternate director, IPBC), Peter Aitsi (director, IPBC), PPL engineer.

What protest?

What protest?
I just came across this group of Highlanders who live at Hohola, contracted to to the National Capital District Commission, busily cleaning up the drain between Hohola and Waigani completely oblivious to all this talk of a "protest" on today.
The group - made up of men, women and children - seemed to be totally enjoying what they were doing!

PFF condemns police bashing of PNG journalist

The Pacific Freedom Forum condemns the brutal attack by uniformed police officers on Papua New Guinea journalist Mark Kayok on the evening of Saturday 21 April, in Port Moresby.
Kayok, a police rounds reporter with the National Broadcasting Corporation, has reportedly sustained a broken nose amongst his injuries and is currently recovering at home.
The incident was reported in the morning bulletin on NBC radio on Monday 23 April .
Kayok had been on assignment on Saturday evening before meeting up with a friend who was wearing his police uniform.
Returning home, they were tailed by a mobile police Unit who stopped them at a service station in 5-Mile and began assaulting the police officer.
When Kayok tried to stop the attack, the assailants asked him who he was.
He identified himself as an NBC journalist and was also beaten up by the group of police officers who told him media were not reporting positively on them.
“We strongly condemn these crimes and call on those in authority to let the rule of law prevail, and investigate and prosecute those behind this shocking and despicable act.
“Not only did this attack involve a fellow law enforcer, but the citizen who tried to come to his aid also became a victim after it was found he was a journalist,” says American Samoa-based PFF co-chair Monica Miller.
The assaults come in the wake of ongoing tensions within police ranks in the PNG capital, after reports of fighting between factions of Highlands and NCD-based police in the last week.
“We urge the leadership to ensure the safety of all PNG citizens, especially when it’s those paid to protect them who are their biggest threat.
“The media must be able to safely do the work of keeping the public informed at a critical time in the nation’s history and we are gravely concerned at ongoing reports of threats and harrassment.
“We urge the government and law enforcers to respect the role of the fourth estate, and uphold their own duty to serve and protect the people of Papua New Guinea.”
Miller says it’s important that the leadership in the police and government quickly investigate and stand down the perpetrators of the beating and strive for peaceful settlement of the current tensions within the police ranks, while keeping open lines of communication with journalists.