APEC official says PNG affected by high internet costs

By MALUM NALU

This article was first published in The National on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.I wrote this article, based on the visit of a senior US government official to PNG two weeks ago, who said high internet rates in PNG were a major hindrance to development. A week later, Cisco officials visited and said the same thing. This week, Telikom announced reduction of internet rates by 70%.

A senior US government official says PNG will continue to have serious development problems unless it brings down its internet rates down like other Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries.

US APEC senior official, Atul Keshap, who was in the country for a short visit last week, told reporters that countries that were giving their citizens the opportunity to express themselves were the ones that focused on giving them access to internet.

US APEC senior official, Atul Keshap

“It’s making sure that people have the opportunity to have access to all the information on the internet, on things like weather data, crop planting, crop prices, maternal and child health care,” he said.

“Like, for instance, in countries like Bangladesh or India, or in Africa, they have created a regulatory or a business environment in which people have access to very low cost internet, usually through telephone networks and using very inexpensive smart phones.

“You have access to the entire world of communication, to information, and everything else.

“This has a great democratic effect because all of a sudden, people are empowered, they have access to a tremendous amount of information at their fingertips.”

Keshap said countries that gave their citizens access to cheap, broadband internet, were reaping the rewards.

“They figured out that by giving people access to this incredible, empowering information right in their hands, and making it easy for them to pay for it, actually has an amazing flow-on effect in terms of prosperity, health, transparency, and so many other different things.

“It creates an empowered citizenry, and an empowered citizenry is one that can really contribute to the nation’s wellbeing.

“Lowering the cost of internet is something that other big economies have found really helped for the wellbeing of the people.

“You can find (internet) suppliers in other countries who can supply things cheaper than what might be available (in PNG).”

Allan: Inquiry a waste of time and money

Source: The National, Thursday,  March 28,  2013 

 

 By SHIRLYN BELDEN 

THE internal report from the SABL inquiry has taken too long and was unnecessary given the time and amount of money spent, Lands and Physical Planning Minister Benny Allan said yesterday.
Allan said this after Prime Minister Peter O’Neill told parliament on Tuesday that the report had completed only three of 16 terms of references and without the expected information.
However, the SABL commission of inquiry yesterday told reporters it was only given 12 terms of references to inquire into.
“The inquiry was given three months and then extended another five. That is eight months altogether given for investigation,” Allan said.
“Then the commission gave the prime minister only the interim report after 18 months.
“The time frame is too long and not necessary for the internal report and not the expected final report,” he said.
“When the process was delayed, there was nothing ready for parliament to table which was the
case.”
Allan said he agreed with O’Neill that the outcome of the inquiry was unsatisfactory.
He said a moratorium on the issuance of SABL was in place and his department could start implementing the recommendations of the inquiry.
He was speaking at yesterday’s official launch of the complaints desk at the department’s Aopi Centre office in Port Moresby.

SABL probe team hits back at O’Neill

Source: The National, Thursday, March 28,  2013 

 

 THE Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the special agriculture business leases (SABL) was yesterday described as “unfair, unwarranted and premature” the criticism its interim report received from the government and parliament this week.
And commissioners John Numapo, Alois Jerewai and Nicholas Mirou have challenged the government to table its interim report in parliament and let the public judge their work.
The commission expressed its disappointment in a media conference yesterday over criticisms levelled at it by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Attorney-General Kerenga Kua and some MPs in parliament on Tuesday, alleging high cost and inadequate work.
Numapo told the media: “We consider the criticism as premature and unwarranted as we understood the interim report has not been formally tabled in parliament for debate and comments.
“Besides, the report is only an interim report and we think that the criticism at this point in time is unfair, especially when the final report covering the entire inquiry with all our findings and recommendations is yet to be presented.”
He explained that the final report would include a recap of the interim report, individual reports and findings on each of the 77 SABLs and a final recommendation covering the entire inquiry.
He promised the final report would be ready by the end of next month.

Westpac eyes new branch in Lae

Source: The National, Thursday, March 28, 2013 

 

 By MALUM NALU

WESTPAC PNG will build a second branch in fast-growing Lae to complement its new branches in Port Moresby (at the site of the old Burns Philp store) and along Waigani Drive, managing director Ashleigh Matheson said.

New Westpac Port Moresby at the site of the old Burns Philp store.-Nationalpic by MALUM NALU

A number of its branches around the country would also be renovated over the next 12 months, he said
Matheson said Westpac currently had 15 branches around the country and two agents, the most recent being the one in the Stop N Shop Express store at Airways Hotel, and 460 staff working in its branches nationwide.
“We’re expanding in Lae so we’re having a second commercial centre in Lae,” he said.
“That will be down in the wharf area.
“That’s the part of town where most commercial businesses are and we also want to be in there
“We are also renovating a couple of branches over the next 12 months.”
Matheson said with “in-store banking”, Westpac services were reaching into remote villages without the need to build new branches.
“That’s working extremely well since we started a couple of months ago,” he said.
“We’ve rolled out 40 in store merchants already.
“We had a target of getting to 100 by the end of September, but, we now actually believe it will be up to 200 by then.”
“We’ll keep this programme going for as long as it’s needed so we could have up to 1,000 merchants out there acting as bank agents.”
“We see this as sustainable because of the ruggedness of this country, and the difficulties of moving cash and people around.
“We don’t believe that it’s feasible at the present time, or sustainable, to open up lots of bank branches around the country.
“They’re very expensive to run.”

How PPPs are helping Papua New Guinea government deliver better rural primary health services

By Health Team 

Asian Development Bank

Written by Sakiko Tanaka, Senior Economist

The health status of the population of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has deteriorated since the 1980s due to neglect of the health system, especially in rural areas, where 87% of the population live. An estimated 40% of rural health facilities have closed or are not fully functioning. Limited resources, deteriorating infrastructure, poorly trained staff, and inadequate supervision have resulted in declining access to basic health services which together are the main contributing factors in the declining population level health status. As a result, the situation has made health indicators worse, particularly for maternal and child health. The infant mortality rate is 57 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality rate is 733 per 100,000 live births (PNG National Department of Health, 2010; PNG National Statistics Office, 2009).  

The ADB grant 0042 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Rural Development Enclaves Project (2006-2012) supported the National Department of Health (DOH) in PNG to successfully build innovative partnerships with non-state service providers to improve rural primary health care service delivery. Under the project, local health authorities in eight provinces established partnerships with six large private companies to improve more than 150 rural health facilities and staff housings, and train health workers and communities in preventing HIV transmission, thereby significantly increasing the number of primary health beneficiaries in project areas.

The project aimed to strengthen the government leadership and the implementation of strategies to contain the spread of HIV among rural populations. It had four components: 

1. Public-private partnerships with rural development enclaves; 
2. Social marketing of condoms and community behavior change communication interventions; 
3. Strengthening the STI and HIV/AIDS surveillance system; and 
4. Project management and coordination

Before the renovations of Kawi Aid Post in Western Highlands province

Component 1 supported the establishment of public-private partnerships (PPP) with rural development operators such as oil, mine and agricultural companies to focus on improving and extending health services to the surrounding communities. Six private companies signed Memoranda of Agreements with the DOH and provincial stakeholders in 2007.  Under the partnerships, 154 health facilities including 97 health facilities and 57 staff houses were renovated. Of these 97 health facilities, 50% are managed by the government, 25% are company facilities, and 25% are church managed facilities. Medical equipment was also provided to all health facilities. Health human resources were strengthened through training programs such as HIV Testing and Counseling and the management of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).  

Private partners provided their support for supervisions of facility renovations including ensuring safe water supply with water tanks, distributions of new equipment and condoms, and organizations of workshops and trainings. Some companies hired a group of health experts to specifically implement the project as well as to strengthen health services in their catchment areas. The project triggered the companies’ managers to realize the importance of the support to the local communities on improving rural health services delivery. One of the companies successfully established a health foundation to strengthen their support in primary health care not only in their catchment areas but also in other provinces in PNG. The government officials were also realized the great potential and possibility of improving health outcomes of the people by strengthening the partnerships with non-state providers. 

Post renovations

As a result, the project contributed to increase the number of people tested for HIV at enclave health facilities by 65% between 2005 and 2010 (a total of 56,056 HIV tests were recorded here by the end of 2010). Although the project was started with a scope of HIV prevention and care, it also contributed to increase in the number of women attending for at least one antenatal visit with the target of 10% increase being reached in 2009. There was also an improvement in the number of supervised births in health facilities by 10% from 2007. 

Building the PPP model initiated by the enclave project, the new rural primary health services project in PNG will further examine the model in 16 districts in 8 provinces in PNG. The project has just started in June 2012 and looks forward the new PPP opportunities in each province to strengthening rural primary services delivery.

BSP contributes 10K to PNG trade mission

Geraldine Panapasa
Friday, March 29, 2013

Fiji Times

THE upcoming Fiji Trade Mission to Papua New Guinea would lift vital bilateral relations and enhance economic activity and integration as part of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) says Ministry of Industry and Trade permanent secretary Shaheen Ali.

Mr Ali's comments followed a $10,000 contribution towards the trade mission from pioneer sponsor, Bank of South Pacific this week.

BSP country manager Fiji Kevin McCarthy hands over the 10K cheque to Ministry of Industry and Trade permanent secretary Shaheen Ali. Picture: SUPPLIED

"This mission is a partnership by the Fijian government with the private sector. BSP was the first private sector company to offer support towards this mission, demonstrating that it is a truly regional bank and is interested to assist other businesses exploit similar opportunities," Mr Ali said in a statement.
"BSP has first-hand experience in investing in Fiji, having already successfully invested in the Fijian financial services market."
BSP country manager Fiji Kevin McCarthy said when they acquired the Colonial Group in 2009, it was a major investment for BSP outside of PNG. He said the lifting of trade restrictions by MSG member governments opened great opportunities for Fijian businesses to ply their trade and wares to PNG.
"There is a lot of interest from their members in this trade mission. The Fiji-PNG Business Council feels that this is the right time for such a mission," said Mr McCarthy, who is also the president of the council. The mission was scheduled for April 17-18 and coincided with an official State visit by Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama to Papua New Guinea. Interested businesses have been invited to contact Investment Fiji or the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Telco to reduce internet price

Source: The National, Thursday, March 28,  2013 

 

 By GYNNIE KERO

TELIKOM PNG says it will reduce the wholesale internet price from 9t to 3t per mega bit – by about 68% – to make the service available and affordable to everyone, chief executive officer Charles Litau announced yesterday.
Litau said the plan to reduce the internet wholesale price would be effective next month, adding that Telikom expected internet service providers (ISPs) to sign up and pass the reduction to consumers at the retail end of the market.
He said Telikom could still go low on the rate and depending on demand, this capacity might be increased to 1.5 giga bits per second or more.
“Lowering of the internet rate is the second tier to our plan and is only the start of our journey to make internet accessible to all,” he said.
“It applies specifically to ISPs.
“On this note, it is my pleasure to announce that the effective wholesale internet rate will be reduced to 68% from the current rate.
“By April, price will go down.
“Let us all assure our customers that Telikom now has doubled the bandwidth capacity to 615 mega bits per second to connect to its upstream internet providers in Australia and Asia to improve customer experience.”
Litau said Telikom had also made investments in developing its infrastructure, including the submarine cables from Madang to Guam and Australia.
He said the Telikom board made a commitment to make internet affordable for Papua New Guineans in February last year.
Telikom started the process in January to ensure that the pricing and packaging regimes were restructured.
Chairman Mahesh Patel said despite media reports criticising the current internet price rates, work had been ongoing to reduce the cost.
“These reductions will be offered on Telikom wholesale new plans to ISPs,” he said.
“The plans offer a range of bandwidths for ISPs ranging from a minimum of 5 mega bits per second to 155 mega bits per second.
“The reduction on internet will not have an impact until it’s rolled out and ISPs come on board.”