PNG LNG terminal expected to restart in May after earthquake shut down - executive

reuters.com | April 11, 2018

SINGAPORE, April 11 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil expects to restart production from its PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea at the beginning of May after it was shut following an earthquake in February, Exxon LNG Vice President Emma Cochrane said on Wednesday.
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal may not be able to produce at full capacity at first and will likely ramp up gradually, said Cochrane on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum.
The May target for a restart is ahead of schedule, she said. 

MAF orders up to seven Cessna Caravans for Papua New Guinea

by Kerry Lynch, ainonline.com
April 10, 

Textron Aviation received an order from the Mission Aviation Fellowship International (MAF) for five Cessna Caravans that will be used to transition the MAF fleet in Papua New Guinea.

Mission Aviation Fellowship Cessna Caravan at Kagamuga Airport in Mt Hagen on. This is one of three MAF planes actively involved in earthquake disaster relief work.

The order, which Textron Aviation said is the single largest aircraft investement made by MAF, includes an option for two more. The Caravans on firm order will be delivered this year and placed into service in Papua New Guinea by mid-2019.
 The aircraft will join three existing Caravans in the region as MAF transitions to an all-Caravan fleet there, Textron Aviation said.
“With an all-Caravan fleet powered by the dependable PT6 engine, significant gains in reliability and mission impact will be achieved,” said William Nicol, MAF International aviation director.
“The Caravan provides capability that ensures an effective, efficient, and sustainable operation—a critical consideration when operating with limited infrastructure in challenging conditions, where remote access often becomes a matter of life and death.”
MAF has served the isolated communities of Papua New Guinea since 1951, bringing in aid workers, long-term development specialists, mission workers, doctors and nurses, teachers, and water engineers.
The missions have delivered food, medical supplies, and relief, water, and education to those living in remote areas.
MAF has gradually expanded its Caravan operations over past decade, Textron Aviation said, noting the turboprop single has now been operated into 95 percent of more than 230 remote bush airstrips.

Disgraced David Chung leaves PNGFA

by Ola Bjerkevoll, footballoceania.com
April 10, 2018

After first leaving his posts as President of the Oceania Football Confederation and Senior Vice President of FIFA, David Chung has now also resigned from the President role at the Papua New Guinea Football Association.

David Chung is now gone from all positions he held less than a week ago. Photo credit: OFC

The PNGFA confirmed the news earlier today in a statement.
The resignation comes after a week where Chung first stepped down from the OFC and FIFA citing personal reasons, but has later come under a cloud of suspicion surrounding corruption in regards to the building process of the OFC’s Home of Football in Auckland.
 The OFC are preparing to investigate the matter and a committee well be put in place at the next congress in June.
Vice-President John Wesley Gonjuan thanks Chung in the statement released by the PNGFA for the work he has done for football in the country.
The statement continued with Gonjuan assuring that everything will go as normal at the PNGFA:“To ensure good governance and accountability at all levels, the Executive Committee of PNGFA will adhere to the status of Papua New Guinea Football Association and comply with the process in electing a new President of PNGFA.
“In the meantime, its business as usual at PNG Football Association, we will continue on with the planned activities for the year which includes, National Soccer League, National Youth tournaments during the school holidays, Besta FA Cup Regional & Finals, Women’s Regional Tournament, Referees & Coaching development programs, PNGFA Football Development Programs and Education Centre Program.”
The statement also touched upon the matter of the breakaway rebel football association, the Football Federation Papua New Guinea (FFPNG), started a little over a year ago, which have been in conflict with the PNGFA and Chung in particular since they broke off from the original FA.
“PNGFA hereby encourage our member associations who have strayed from PNG Football Association to come forward and communicate with the Secretariat to rectify their situations and comply with the PNG Football Association Statutes requirements,” the statement read.
David Chung has been under heavy criticism from the Papua New Guinea government for his lack of interest in trying to find a solution to the best for football in the country and was described as a stumbling block by PNG’s Vice Minister for Sports Wesley Raminai, who has tried to mediate between the two sides.
Raminai also said, “He has been deliberately delaying our efforts to address this issue.”

Perhaps now there can be a solution to the problems football in Papua New Guinea face.

FIFA corruption concerns prompt Oceania probe into David Chung


thedailystar.net | April 9, 2018

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) said Monday it will investigate "potential wrongdoings" after a FIFA audit into construction of its lavish new Auckland headquarters raised corruption concerns.
The move comes after the sudden resignation of OFC president David Chung two days before a meeting to discuss the FIFA findings.
Chung resigned on Friday citing "personal reasons", but FIFA subsequently revealed its audit had uncovered "potential irregularities" in the Auckland project.
FIFA said it had temporarily suspended OFC funding, part of a zero-tolerance approach to corruption introduced in response to numerous scandals that have tarnished its reputation in recent years.
The OFC said it agreed to meet all FIFA requirements to resume funding, conduct a forensic audit of the case and carry out its own investigation.
"The OFC Executive Committee has appointed an external lawyer to lead an internal investigation into potential wrongdoings and to take legal action if required," it said in a statement.
The FIFA audit raised concerns about construction of a sports hub in Auckland that Chung said would become "The Home of Football" in the Pacific region.
With a reported budget of NZ$15 million ($10.9 million), it was a pet project of Chung, the head of Papua New Guinea football who had led the OFC since 2010.
The New York Times reported that Chung and former OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas awarded contracts for the scheme without tender to companies with no track record in the area.
It claimed the audit showed many of the companies were set up just before the contracts were awarded and questioned their relationship with those driving the project.
The newspaper alleged the OFC's executive committee was planning to suspend Chung for "gross dereliction of duty or an act of improper conduct" at a meeting on Sunday before he fell on his sword.
Nicholas quietly resigned in December, also citing personal reasons.
The OFC has long had issues with governance and transparency.
Chung's predecessor Reynald Temarii of Tahiti was forced out in 2010 after being implicated in a vote-selling scandal during an undercover newspaper sting.
In November, former Guam FA president Richard Lai, who served on FIFA's auditing body, was barred from football for life after admitting to accepting almost $1 million on kickbacks.
OFC's current headquarters in Auckland, opened only eight years ago, is named after former president Charlie Dempsey, who created an uproar in 2000 during the vote to award the 2006 World Cup.
Dempsey had been instructed by Oceania to vote for South Africa but abstained from the final ballot, effectively handing the 2006 tournament to Germany.
He later said he withdrew after being placed under "intolerable pressure" but never fully explained his actions.
Reports in German media in 2015 alleged Dempsey had been paid $250,000 on the eve of the vote by a sports marketing firm linked to the German bid.

Australian minister launches Adventist project in Papua New Guinea

by Darren Yorio, adventistreview.org
April 9, 2018

ADRA initiative seeks to improve water supply, climate resilience, and adult literacy.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop launched an Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Papua New Guinea (PNG) community empowerment project in the Kavieng District, New Ireland Province, on March 21, 2018.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop with Florence of Naliut, who shared her experience as beneficiary of ADRA PNG's literacy program. Photo: ADRA PNG

The ADRA-managed Inclusive Community Empowerment Project (ICEMP) will provide a clean water supply, greater resilience to climate change, and improved adult literacy for more than 12,000 people in the area.
The event was significant as it was the first time that a PNG Incentive Fund project is officially launched in the country by an Australian Federal Minister.
The Incentive Fund provides grants to high-performing organisations to improve service delivery and provide economic opportunities for the people of PNG.
 It is funded by the Australian Government.
The official launch included the signing of the project agreement by Australian High Commissioner to PNG Bruce Davis, and ADRA PNG Board chairman and Papua New Guinea Union Mission president Kepsie Elodo.
Bishop was welcomed with a traditional New Ireland “Sing-sing” dance and met with recipients of the project. She acknowledged the work of ADRA — the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church — in PNG and expressed her passion for seeing more women and girls empowered in communities in Kavieng District, with improved opportunities for learning and sustainable livelihoods.
ICEMP is a 30-month project that was developed closely with representatives of the local community, who identified key issues affecting the livelihoods of their villages, particularly for women and girls, including water and sanitation, literacy, and climate change.
Communities also proposed the integration of leadership and governance programs to promote more women into leadership roles with the goal of improving household income levels.
ADRA PNG acknowledged the support of the Australian Government, which provided a 3.7 million PNG kinas grant to the project (about 1.14 million US dollars).
ADRA PNG is also grateful for the support of ADRA Australia in providing match funding and program effectiveness support.

ADRA PNG is part of ADRA International, which delivers relief and development assistance to individuals through an international network with presence in more than 130 countries, regardless of their ethnicity, political affiliation, or religious association. By partnering with communities, organisations, and governments, ADRA is able to improve the quality of life of millions through disaster response, community health, livelihood and agriculture, social justice, and other impact areas.

As the oldest publishing platform of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Adventist Review (est. 1849) provides inspiration and information to the global church through a variety of media, including print, websites, apps, and audio and video platforms.Content appearing on any of the Adventist Review platforms has been selected because it is deemed useful to the purposes and mission of the journal to inform, educate, and inspire the denomination it serves.Unless identified as created by “Adventist Review” or a designated member of the Adventist Review staff, content is assumed to express the viewpoints of the author or creator of the content.

High risk of disease outbreaks in earthquake-hit Papua New Guinea - UNICEF and WHO

UNICEF

PORT MORESBY, 9 April 2018 – UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have cautioned about the high potential of waterborne and vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in earthquake-affected areas of Papua New Guinea.

Rihanna Sam (4 years old) is from Mendi and is suffereing an infection in her femur after her leg was broken during the earthquake.© UNICEF/UN0184899/Mepham

Major concerns include watery diarrhoea due to water contamination from landslides, poor sanitation and personal hygiene management; and the vaccine-preventable diseases due to already low immunisation coverage in the Highlands region.
According to the National Department of Health (NDOH), about 70-80 per cent of children in the severely-affected provinces are not protected against preventable diseases – with routine measles coverage in Southern Highlands and Hela provinces in 2016 just 18.2 per cent and 27.6 per cent, respectively.
”At this stage of the emergency response, it is critical to restore the delivery of basic health services to the affected communities, such as the immunisation of children, said Dr Luo Dapeng, WHO Representative in PNG.
“We will continue to work closely with the NDOH, provincial health authorities and partners to respond to these risks and to prevent a secondary emergency arising from disease outbreaks”.
Karen Allen, UNICEF Representative for PNG, said that the current situation of children and families is a perfect situation for the emergence of disease outbreaks.
“We are really worried because a majority of children in the affected areas already have low immunity,” said Allen.
 “Now, as they are living in the crowded shelters with poor-hygiene conditions, inadequate clean water and little knowledge to protect themselves, children are becoming much more vulnerable to diseases, including vaccine-preventable and water-borne diseases.”
The February 26 earthquake of 7.5 magnitude and its hundreds of aftershocks have caused severe damage to nearly 65 per cent of health facilities in Hela and Southern Highland provinces.
About 13 per cent of health facilities remain closed.
However, most of the health facilities that re-opened can only attend to emergency services.
The Government estimates that 270,000 people are in need of urgent assistance. About 125,000 of them are children, of which 55,000 are children under five years old.
UNICEF and WHO are supporting the Government to conduct a measles and rubella immunisation campaign for children under five years old in the earthquake-hit areas in order to curb the risk of potential outbreaks.
 In addition, basic medical supplies and essential medicines for maternal and newborn health will be provided to ensure pregnant women and newborns have medical support for pregnancy related care. Just a few days after the earthquakes, UNICEF has distributed vaccines to the affected communities to protect some 31,700 children against measles and rubella, pertussis, pneumonia and tuberculosis.
In the Southern Highlands, the Provincial Health Authority (PHA) with support from WHO sent nine mobile teams by helicopter to vaccinate children in remote settlements referred to as care centers.
WHO has also supported the two provinces of Hela and Southern Highlands in establishing the Health Emergency Operation Center and the installation of surveillance systems to detect unusual disease reports.
 Local health authorities and community members have been trained to rapidly respond to disease outbreaks.
UNICEF and WHO are also stepping up the effort to improve water and sanitation system and hygiene practice in the affected areas. Hygiene kits and water purification tablets have been distributed to affected communities, while emergency pit latrines and rain water collection tanks are being built.
 At temporary shelters and child-friendly spaces, children also learn to protect themselves through hygiene-promotion activities.

OFC appoints lawyer to probe 'potential wrongdoing' by David Chung

fresnobee.com | April 9, 2018

Amid fresh claims of financial misconduct linked to senior FIFA officials, the Oceania Football Confederation has appointed an external lawyer to lead an investigation into "potential wrongdoing."
The OFC announced the move Monday in fallout from a FIFA audit of the tendering process around a $20 million construction project at its headquarters in Auckland which caused David Chung to unexpectedly resign as president.
He also lost his position as FIFA's senior vice president.
The Malaysia-born Chung quit on Friday citing personal reasons, though after FIFA cut funding to Oceania, saying it found "potential irregularities" in the construction process.
Chung led the OFC for seven years and his resignation came only two days before the annual meeting of the 14-nation confederation's congress in Auckland.
In resigning, Chung gave up his positions as the most senior of FIFA's eight vice presidents and a member of its ruling council.
The OFC Congress decided at its weekend meeting not to appoint a new president, even on an interim basis, until it next meets in June, likely in Moscow ahead of the World Cup.
It said the confederation will be led by the executive committee until an election is held in June.
 The new president will serve until Chung's tenure would have ended in 2019.
The OFC said the lawyer it had appointed would lead an external investigation into potential wrongdoing and would take legal action if required.
"A forensic audit has been ordered to review, in detail, the processes taken in relation to the OFC Home of Football and the financial processes adopted by the OFC administration in past years," the confederation said in a statement.
 "The OFC Executive Council has pledged to cooperate with all relevant authorities throughout this process.
"OFC will set up a reform committee to review the current OFC constitution, policy and practice activity."
That committee will be confirmed in June. The statement said the OFC will make no further comment while various investigations are ongoing.
The OFC Home of Football was a project closely associated with Chung, a businessman now living in Papua New Guinea and head of the PNG soccer association since 2004.
 The confederation announced the project had a budget of $20 million, thought to be substantial for a project of its nature.
According to the New York Times, the FIFA audit found Chung and OFC secretary general Tai Nicholas, who resigned in December citing personal reasons, had hired, without issuing a tender, a company to construct the headquarters which had no experience of the work required.
The project would have included an office building, two soccer fields and other facilities.
Investigators are reported to have found close relationships between the companies advising the OFC on the project and those chosen to complete it.
The Times said all companies were set up shortly before being awarded contracts "with no track record of experience and sub-contracted their works to other companies."
It found a company set up by Chung might have had links to the one hired to work on the project.
Oceania is the sixth and smallest of FIFA's confederations and is composed of 14 nations — of which 11 are FIFA member federations — spread across the Pacific, including New Zealand.
Chung succeeded Reynald Temarii, who was forced out of the OFC presidency in 2010 after being caught in a British newspaper's undercover sting into World Cup bid vote-buying.
With important FIFA business pending for the 2026 World Cup host contest, Oceania could appoint an interim member to the FIFA Council to replace Chung at a key June 10 meeting in Moscow.
 That meeting is set to decide if both candidates — Morocco and the joint United States-Canada-Mexico bid — will go ahead to a June 13 vote of the full FIFA membership.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the OFC secretary general is Tai Nicholas, not Tai Nichols.