PM O’Neill arrives in Japan for PALM8

18 May 2018

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill, has arrived in Japan for the 8th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (SOM8).

Prime Minister O’Neill with Prime Minister Abe and Ms Akie Abe

Held every three years in Japan, the PALM brings Pacific Island Nations together in discussion with Japan to develop initiatives for regional growth and co-operation.
Being held in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, from May 18-19, the Leaders’ Meeting has the theme “We are Islanders – Partnership towards Prosperous, Free and Open Pacific".
O’Neill welcomed the talks that he said will provide an opportunity for the region to engage with Japan on issues of mutual interest.
“Japan is very much involved in projects that strengthen economic advancement and enhance community development around the Pacific,” he said.
“Papua New Guinea is working with Japan on a number of initiatives that are strengthening infrastructure in our country, particularly as we prepare to host the APEC Summit in November.
"This includes the Port Moresby Sewage System Upgrade Project, the Reconstruction of bridges in East New Britain and capacity building support through the Volunteers Program.
“I look forward to the meetings over the coming days and discussion with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as we work together in the interests of improving regional infrastructure."
The PALM Leaders‘ Summit will be co-chaired by the Prime Minister of Japan, and the Prime Minister of Samoa,  as the current Chair of the Pacific Island Forum.

Phillipines President Duterte welcomes stronger ties with PNG

Address by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte at the State Dinner in Manila, 16 May 2018:

Today in our meetings, I have seen the true spirit of friendship and cooperation, having agreed to work together on matters of mutual interest, particularly in increasing an environment of trade and investment, and further strengthening the very important agricultural and fisheries sectors.

Tonight we have strengthened the foundations of mutual respect, not only at the official level, but more at a personal level.
The 35,000 Filipinos living and working in PNG and the hundreds of PNG citizens studying in the Philippines are living truth of friendship that we aim to strengthen in the the years to come.
The Philippines have further deepened our engagements in PNG as we support PM O'Neill's Chairmanship of this year's APEC Leaders Summit.
I am truly honoured for this evening's occassion, as this is your first official visit to the Philippines.
Today will reaffirm this relationship as we celebrate this opportunity to build on from strength to strength.
Today marks a new chapter where we chart a new destiny as sovereign states.

PM O'Neill thanks Philippines for ongoing relationship

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has thanked the President of the Philippines for the ongoing strengthening of relations between the two countries, that is delivering benefits in education, agriculture and healthcare.
He has completed an Official State Visit to the Philippines where he met with Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte, senior government officials and business leaders.

O’Neill said the major outcome to come from the visit is the reassertion of how close the Philippines is to Papua New Guinea, both in geography and in cultural characteristics.
“Our two countries have many similarities, in our governance and legal processes, in our approach to business and in our Christian values," he said.

“The Philippines is a very community orientated country with respect for family and tradition.
“The islands of the Philippines also share very strong similarities with all island nations around the Pacific.
“Now as we increase our co-operation in areas such as agriculture and education, the bonds between our people will continue to grow.

“Papua New Guinea has a very close friend in the Philippines.
“We have had diplomatic relations for 43 years, but we have been friends for hundreds of years since Filipinos came with the missionaries.”

O'Neill has also passed on the concern expressed by President Duterte following the Highlands Earthquake.
“President Duterte extended his condolences the people of the Highlands Region and expressed sorrow for the loss of life in recent tragic earthquake," he said.

Commercial rice production to begin in co-operation with the Philippines

Price of rice to drop when PNG produces rice locally

Ensuring food security for Papua New Guinea into the future has been given a boost through an arrangement that will see hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice planted, and deliver a reduction in the price of rice in the country.
Speaking at the end of an official State Visit to the Republic of the Philippines last week, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill, said that a memorandum of understanding on agricultural co-operation has been signed that will lead to extensive rice cultivation.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill speaking at the end of an official State Visit to the Republic of the Philippines

O’Neill said understanding has been reached with Philippines President, Rodrigo Duterte, and his government, to co-operate in the production of rice for the benefit of both countries.
“Food security is essential for the future survival of all countries in the world, because if we cannot find enough food for a fast increasing population everyone will suffer,” he said.
“Papua New Guinea and the Philippines have agreed to work together to enhance the food security for both countries.
“The Philippines will provide technical advice, private sector investment and people to guide our farmers to establish many thousands of hectares of rice production in Papua New Guinea.
“Rice grown at these farms will be sold in the domestic market in Papua New Guinea, and in the long term, rice not required for domestic consumption will be sold to the Philippines at market rates.
“This is an innovative approach to confront the looming problem of food security by drawing on the strengths of each country.
“Papua New Guinea has hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land that is suitable for rice production, and the Philippines has the technical knowledge and the investment capital.
“Our soil for rice cultivation has never been commercially farmed, and is rich in nutrient delivering almost twice the yield per hectare of most rice-producing areas in South-East Asia.
“This will be a public private partnership, with the Philippines Government providing technical expertise and facilitating private sector investment.
“The Papua New Guinea Government will provide regulatory support, strengthen relevant infrastructure in farming areas and encourage domestic investment.
“Rice production trials are already underway and the first commercial planting is expected to begin next year.”
O'Neill said the wide-scale production of rice in Papua New Guinea will also see the price of rice fall, as was the case when Papua New Guinea began producing its own fresh milk.
“When our own Papua New Guinea milk hit supermarket shelves this year, it sold at half the price of foreign milk, so the foreigners then also halved their price.
“They had been selling foreign milk at such a high mark-up, and that stopped when locally made milk entered the market.
“Papua New Guinea is standing up for itself against price gouging and market exploitation.
“We will continue to deliver the best results for our communities, we will enhance food security and get fair prices for our people.”
The memorandum of understanding, signed by the agriculture ministers of both countries, forms the basis from which both Governments and relevant stakeholders can advance project arrangements and then sign a memorandum of agreement.

Ministers of agriculture from PNG and Philippines sign the agreement.

O'Neill said the memorandum of agreement will be finalised between before the APEC Leaders’ Summit in Port Moresby in November this year.

A tribute to Moses Tau

By REUBEN AOPI

Papua New Guinea’s singing sensation Moses Tau was born on May 16, 1969, the very same day he died.

The late Moses Tau

Moses Gou was then adopted by his elder sister, hence,  the change of his surname to Tau (as reported by his biological sister, Alice Gou, during an interview with PNG TV, shortly after he had passed, May 16, 2018 on his birthday) when he turned 49.
Little did she know that a star was being placed in her arms to love and to be raised. God Bless the people of Barakau for that and for many other great things.
Moses Tau was what Papua New Guineans came to know.
 He later adopted   a very catchy and extravagant stage name, Moshanty.
 I grew up in a tiny island called Daru.
We had a tape recorder which belonged to my elder brother, Wesley.
 Moses and the Reflections was the name of the cassette we had along with a CD from his album Moses Says Aloha.
They played endlessly.
The style of music he had was superb and contagious.
The type that would leave you tapping your foot and the next thing you know, you’re swaying your hips.
 I’m typing this with no regrets as I have my headphones blasting with "Penekovu Medu bona Hurehure’’, which means rain and waves in the Motu language.
 A song sung about a canoe.
One of my personal favourites.
He was a vibrant soul, one who literally lit up the room whenever he entered.
Moses was full of joy and always eager to help out, no matter what the problem was.I
 will always be grateful for that.
In 2016, we had our Christmas Party here in Digicel’s HQ.
 I was told to phone Moshanty and have him join us as per my boss' request.
I was starstuck and lost for words when he picked up on the other side of the line.
An absolute privilege it was.
Fans gathered and took to social media to remember and commemorate his life.
Let's bid him farewell as we mourn the loss of a lively, dignified soul.
 A soul that brought joy and fulfilment to many, and whose legacy will live on forever.
You would feel the heat and love in the air every time he took the stage.
 He knew what his audience wanted and delivered it with passion and humour.
A bloody entertainer he was and will forever be remembered for that.
Moshanty was the very essence of compassion, of duty, of style, of beauty.
 He actively participated and performed at various medical fundraisers, weddings and family gathering without fail.
He was also an advocate for the LGBT Community in Papua New Guinea.
 LGBT persons in Papua New Guinea face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
Attitudes towards LGBT people are greatly influenced by churches and the Melanesian way of life as the majority of Papua New Guineans claim to be believers of the Christian faith.
Despite all that, he lived his life to the very fullest,  if I may put it that way and to which many would agree with me.
He was never afraid of what came his way. Talk about the struggles one has to endure every day.
A legend, period.
All over Papua New Guinea he was a symbol of selfless humanity.
All over the Pacific, a standard-bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden, a local talent who transcended nationality. Someone with natural nobility who was classless.
He proved in the years he walked on this earth that he needed no royal title to continue to generate his particular brand of magic.
Papua New Guinea has lost a legend.
1969-2018
May your soul rest in peace,  Moses Tau AKA Moshanty.
Bamahuta, Emau, Iawo.

About the author

Reuben Aopi

Reuben Aopi was born in Daru Island on Oct 8,  1988.
His father Pala Aopi was a painter, and his mother Sibaio was a retired nurse.
Both have gone to be with our Lord.

Port Moresby General Hospital runs out of drugs

By Dr GLEN MOLA

Dr Glen Mola

Not always good news! 
Today we heard at our PMGH (Port Moresby General Hospital) staff meeting that we have run out of antiretroviral (ART or HIV drugs) medicines. 
We have many thousands of HIV positive people on treatment in NCD (and several more thousand around the rest of the country) and they may not have any medicine to take unless new supplies arrive in the very near future. 
People on ART must take their medicine every single day: they they stop and start again they are very likely to breed resistant HIV. 
This is not only bad (in fact life-threatening) for the patient, but life-threatening for everybody else in the community who might catch the HIV from them. 
We also don't have any syphilis test kits in the country.
Syphilis used to be the commonest cause of stillbirth (babies dying inside their mothers) in our audit stats.- and after we started routine testing of all mothers coming to AN clinics (and treating the positives) we virtually eliminated this scourge from our pregnant mums.
 But now with no test kits available, the syphilis problem will come back again and many babies will die.
And this week we ran out of Oxytocin, the drug that prevents women from losing too much blood when they deliver their babies.  The commonest cause of death when oxytocin is not available is post partum hemorrhage (or excessive bleeding after the birth); so we are probably now going to see a lot more mothers dies even when they come to hospital to have a supervised birth.
And we are very short of surgical sutures - the special thread and needle that surgeons use to sew up their patients during and after operations. 
Every day we don't have some essential item that is critical to save medical practice.
And the PNG government does not even pay for any of the family planning commodities - pills, depo, implants etc. - they are all donated to us by UNFPA and other overseas donor agencies.
 Eventually this will stop, because PNG has recently been upgraded to a "middle income country" because of our oil and gas extractive industries. 
And if the Government does not step up and buy the FP commodities that we need to assist people to plan their families.....??
Most doctors and nurses still try to keep positive about their work, but in the face of a government that does not support the health system - it is becoming more and more difficult.
And then we wee that there are millions of kina available for high profile stuff like various intensive care facilities at PMGH (coronary care, trauma, cardiac catheterization, renal dialysis etc.that will surely only benefit a minority of less than 1% of patients): but how come there is no money for the majority (99 per cent) of patients, - the sick kids, the women delivering their babies, the people every night needing emergency surgery, the HIV and TB patients, families needing contraceptive to plan their families etc?  "The answer my friend is blowing in the wind......" - Bob Dylan. 
Can we all start putting pressure on the government please to FUND THE HEALTH SERVICE PROPERLY - and not just through Borneo Pacific.

ExxonMobil PNG re-deploys PNG Salvation Army medical team to disaster-affected areas

As part of its on-going support to the earthquake affected communities, ExxonMobil PNG, operator of the PNG LNG project has re-deployed the PNG Salvation Army medical team to provide much-needed medical assistance as the company works towards supporting with repair and maintenance work on health care facilities.

A needs assessment conducted by the PNG Salvation Army and also ExxonMobil PNG has identified that many of the health care facilities in the project impact areas were displaced with limited or no medical supplies to assist the communities.

PNG Salvation Army health workers undergoing their code of conduct pre-deployment briefing by Gender and Protection Specialist from UN Women PNG office, Anggie Burchhil before their deployment to the Western Province on Monday to assist the earthquake affected communities.

ExxonMobil PNG community development support manager Debbie Maraki with PNG Salvation Army health workers and the territorial director of health services for PNG Salvation Army, Captain Christine Gee and gender and Protection Specialist from UN Women PNG office, Anggie Burchhil after their pre-deployment briefing.

The assessment also stated that structures of health care facilities were still intact but required minor repair and maintenance to ensure they were safe to be used while others needed re-stocking of pharmaceutical drug supplies.

ExxonMobil PNG managing-director Andrew Barry said: “Part of our long term recovery support plan is to reestablish the health care facilities that have been displaced, but at the same time we recognise that the people still need assistance with basic health service which the PNG Salvation Army medical team is able to provide.”

Six medical officers departed on Monday, May 14. They will be stationed at three locations including Huiya in the Mt. Bosavi area near the border of Hela and Western provinces and Habi and Wasowedu in the Western Province.

An additional two medical officers will depart in the coming days and will be at Hides to provide service to Para, Eduawi, Mananda, Komo, Benaria and Juni communities.

ExxonMobil PNG is also providing support for the restoration of education services and community food gardens as part of its long term recovery plan.

The company is also assisting the Government to build infrastructure and key roads and bridges for Hela and Southern Highlands Provinces that were destroyed during the disaster.