Tambul-Nebilyer builds roads

By MALUM NALU
Tambul-Nebilyer district in Western Highlands is placing emphasis on development of road infrastructure, according to local MP and Civil Aviation Minister Benjamin Poponawa.
These include the 17km national government-funded sealing of a 17km stretch of the Tomba-Tambul road by Dekenai Construction Ltd, which is expected to be completed by July and open up a whole new world of opportunities for Tambul people.

Part of the 17km stretch of the Tomba-Tambul road which is being sealed by Dekenai Construction Ltd.-Pictures by MALUM NALU

Apart from the Tomba-Tambul road sealing, Poponawa’s joint district planning and budget priorities committee (JDPBPC) has allocated K7.5 million funding for the 22km Tambul-Piambil upgrading, 10km Tambul-Upper Mendi, 7km Tambul ring road, 7km Pokerapul-Sisinpi, 10km Highlands Highway-Porabruk, and 12km West Kambia.
He is mindful of the new opportunities the liquefied natural gas project in neighbouring Southern Highlands will bring to his people.
Tambul already prides itself as the ‘capital’ of potatoes and other fresh vegetables, and already has some of the best services found in a rural area such as good roads, health, education, mobile phone, television, district treasury and internet connectivity.
Poponawa, however, believes that Tambul-Nebilyer can do better.
“Our major objective in the district is road infrastructure,” Poponawa told me in Tambul.



Project signboard along the Tomba-Tambul road

 “Once that is in place, all services will follow through.
“When you have improved roads, services start flowing in such as education, health, agriculture and others.
“What we’re doing is we’re opening up every road, even feeder roads.
“This has made life much easier for all stakeholders and everyone in the district.
“Tambul is a remote district but it’s unique, in that people have access to almost everything here.”
Poponawa said health, education and law and order were other priority areas of his JDPBPC.
“All health centres are operational, are fully stacked, and supplied with fully-kitted ambulances with two-way radios,” he said.
“All educational institutions from elementary and primary schools, and technical/vocational centres are all operational.

The well-maintained Tambul primary school

“We have staff, infrastructure and schools are running on time.
“We have law and order problems, however, these are minimal.
“Tribal fighting has reduced greatly.
“Alcohol and drug problems are being addressed with the help of churches.
“That’s why we are pumping a lot of money into the churches.
“We try to keep peace and good order through conflict resolution.
“We encourage conflict resolution through Peace Foundation Melanesia.”
Rural electrification and water are other priority areas of the Tambul-Nebilyer JDPBPC, with plans in place to bring these to all villages.

Diplomat anger at wasted Papua New Guinea aid

PAPUA New Guinea's senior diplomat in Australia took a huge swipe at the $450 million foreign aid program yesterday, declaring half is frittered away instead of delivering lasting benefitts, Daily Telegraph reports.

The extraordinary remarks by PNG's High Commissioner Charles Lepani came as the Coalition called for an urgent investigation into apparent "systemic criminal behaviour" in foreign aid.
The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed Australia's $4.5 billion foreign aid program was plagued by fraud, with 175 cases under investigation including 71 in PNG.
High levels of fraud were also reported in Indonesia, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands, raising concerns about how well the program was being policed.
AusAID director-general Peter Baxter denied the scheme was "riddled with fraud" as he defended the level of corruption during a string of media appearances.
But Mr Lepani - a respected diplomat in Canberra - lashed out at the exorbitant spending on Australian-based contractors and consultants.
"Fifty per cent of that has not worked. It has not built capacity in PNG and a lot of it has to do with Australian management companies getting a lot of money but not delivering on what they are supposed to do, in terms of building capacity in Papua New Guinea," Mr Lepani said.
Despite his criticism, Mr Lepani denied fraud was "out of control" in his homeland: "No, I wouldn't say that."
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said that "reports of corruption within Australia's foreign aid program appear to reveal a level of systemic criminal behaviour".
She called on the Government to investigate the claims.

Magical Tambul, Western Highlands

By MALUM NALU
Last time I visited magical Tambul, Western Highlands, was in September 2009 when I travelled there for the opening of 12 new potato screen houses belonging to the Fresh Produce Development Agency.

Magical sunrise in Tambul

Last Friday, I again found myself travelling to Tambul, this time for the National Agriculture Research Institute’s field day at its highlands regional high altitude research centre.
The cold, fresh, Mt Hagen air hit my face as I stepped off the plane to be met by NARI staffer, Kennufa Mou, who was to drive me to Tambul.
Memories of another day came running back as I had, during my stint with the Coffee Industry Corporation from 1998-2002, driven so many times around the highlands.
Mou, during our drive up to Tambul, briefed me on developments there, including the sealing of a 17km stretch of the Tomba-Tambul road by Dekenai Construction Ltd, which is expected to be completed by July and open up a whole new world of opportunities for Tambul people.

Project signboard along the Tomba-Tambul road

The long and winding road takes in montane forests thick with trees, alpine shrubs, and icy-cold mountain streams tumbling down the mountainsides.
These streams join rivers such as the Lai in Enga which flows on to the mighty Sepik River, while others join the Kaguel, which flows down south to join the Purari in Gulf province,
As we round another bend, the panorama of the Kaguel valley, Tambul and majestic Mt Giluwe towering in the distance, unfolds.

Mt Giluwe towers over Tambul

Mt Giluwe is the second highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4,368 metres (14,331 feet), after Mt Wilhelm, and is specifically in neighbouring Southern Highlands.
Tambul, situated to the west of Mt Hagen and bordering Enga and Southern Highlands provinces, is famous for its fresh vegetables.
In fact, it is the single biggest producer of fresh vegetables in the country such as potatoes, broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower.

Brocolli farm belonging to the PNG Bible Church

Its people are some of the hardest working who still value their subsistent way of living.
Tambul station is about 2,224 m above sea level at the foot of Mt Giluwe, and was established as a government patrol post in the 1950s, with the first highlands highway passing through it in the 1960s to Mendi in Southern Highlands.
Believe it or not, ice and snow are regular occurrences here, and the place is freezing cold.
Tambul is already contributing in a big way towards development of agriculture in this country, with the research station.
It also has some of the best services found in a rural area such as good roads, health, education, mobile phone, district treasury and internet to enable local people and NARI scientists to be in touch with the world.
Take your laptop with you, plug in your modem, and you’re in touch with the world from this rural part of PNG!
Tribal fighting and law and order issues have been kept to a bare minimum, and local people respect government facilities at the station.
I spent an enjoyable Friday afternoon with NARI staff including programme manager Johannes Pakatul, as well as my former Aiyura National High School mate, scientist Kud Sitango, who showed me around beneath the towering presence of Mt Giluwe.

NARI agriculture station manager Johanes Pakutul in  a wheat field

Dinner is further down the road in a real ‘Little America’, reminiscent of the Summer Institute of Linguistics in Ukarumpa, Eastern Highlands.
You could be forgiven for thinking that you were in America as the PNG Bible Church mission station has well-kept old style missionary houses in picture-perfect settings.

Picture-perfect missionary house at Tambul

The church runs a Bible school, Christian academy and vocational school as well as a guest house known as Frank Ward Pioneer Home, which offers excellent facilities at only K70 per night, including a warm fireplace to sustain you on those chilly Tambul nights.
“I enjoy doing this very much,” Pastor Rambal Poponawa of the PNGBC tells me.

Pastor Rambai Poponawa at the guest house at Tambul

“I want to see beauty.
“We want to create an atmosphere in which people can feel the presence of God.”
The amazing thing is that the school is entirely self-funding, mainly from the sale of fresh vegetables to established buyers in Port Moresby.
“Our church is financially independent,” Poponawa adds.
“The main funding for the school comes from the sale of vegetables.”
That night, even under three blankets, the freezing cold seeps right through to my bones!
Early last Saturday morning, NARI staffer James Laraki and I take a walk around the station, absorbing the sights and sounds of this mountain paradise, before the field day.

Another Tambul sunrise

This event coincided with the 46th NARI council meeting which was held at Tambul last Friday, however, a lower-than-anticipated crowd attended.
An icy-cold typical Tambul downpour also cut short the event and had visitors running for cover.
With the theme ‘Enhancing sustainable farming for rural farmers’, the event provided an opportunity for the people of Tambul and visitors alike to learn about activities undertaken, meet scientific and technical staff, tour the grounds and facilities, and gather information on other activities NARI undertakes throughout the country.
This event provided the chance to people to find out more about the research and development activities undertaken by NARI in the high altitude highlands region of PNG and how they can source and adopt them.
After the field day, I venture to the immaculate residence of local MP and Civil Aviation Minister, Benjamin Poponawa, where he is talking to local villagers.

Tambul-Nebilyer MP and Civil Aviation Minister Benjamin Poponawa.

“Tambul is the food basket of PNG,” he tells me.
“But there is no incentive for people to work in their gardens.
“My people of Tambul-Nebilyer are running PMVs in Port Moresby and Lae.
“We have to bring them back.
“We need funding assistance to support our programmes.”
Poponawa says that in 2009, while opening the district treasury, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare made a commitment of K5 million to the district but this had not been forthcoming because of “bureaucratic red tape”.
“A lot of programmes will go ahead if there is no bureaucratic red tape,” he adds.
“We have to make rural communities all over PNG attractive,
“One way is through assistance to agriculture programmes.
“Our district has gone out of its way to get agriculture experts from Israel, who will be arriving soon.
“Our major objective in the district is road infrastructure.
“Once that is in place, all services will follow through.”
Apart from the national government-funded Tomba-Tambul road sealing, Poponawa’s joint district planning and budget priorities committee has allocated K7.5 million funding for the 22km Tambul-Piambil upgrading, 10km Tambul-Upper Mendi, 7km Tambul ring road, 7km Pokerapul-Sisinpi, 10km Highlands Highway-Porabruk, and 12km West Kambia.
He is mindful of the new opportunities the liquefied natural gas project in neighbouring Southern Highlands will bring to his people.
“Tourism, especially through Mt Giluwe, and vegetables are a pot of gold that the people of Tambul are sitting on,” Poponawa says.
“NARI, however, is concentrating on research and development, and this is where extension services need to come in.
“We need to put up a cool room here for vegetables, as the LNG project is just around the corner, in Southern Highlands.
“The majority of people have land which they can utilise to grow vegetables, however, we need to look for markets for these people.

Potato field at NARI's high altitude research station

“Tourism is also something that we can tap into.
“Guest house operators need to be trained.”
Driving out of Tambul on a cold Saturday afternoon, after talking with Poponawa, I thought long and hard about the example Tambul has set for the rest of PNG.
Civilisation is here, in rural areas such as Tambul, not in the towns and cities.

Prime minister: Henimbha, it’s OK

By JULIA DAIA BORE
SIR Michael Somare appeared a contented man as he left courtroom one at the Waigani courthouse about 4.15pm yesterday, The National reports.
Asked at the doorway to comment on the tribunal’s decision, he smiled and said henimbha (it’s okay) in the Sausa language, spoken commonly in the Yangoru-Saussia district, the Boiken area of Wewak’s west coast and along the Sepik highway.
Sir Michael was met with a loud applaud from the waiting crowd on the foyer of the courthouse.
He also told photographers surround his car to capture his mood: “I deserve a break, I will take a holiday now.”
Sir Michael then got inside his car to be driven to parliament, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Sam Abal.
At the parliament poolside, he and his cabinet ministers gathered for refreshment before calling it a day.
Sir Michael was heard later whispering to Petroleum and Energy Minister William Duma: “Now that I am going on leave without pay, I might as well rely on my horses to take me through.”
It is understood that the PM was referring to one of his other pastime of punting.
As the PM’s entourage left the courthouse, outside in the car park, there was a subdued silence among those who had that filled the court house courtyard and car park.
Following the tribunal decision, Sir Michael released a media statement that he “respects the rule of law and, therefore, accepts the penalties” handed down by the tribunal.
Sir Michael apologised to the people, saying: “As a leader, I take full responsibility for failing to fulfil certain administrative aspects of my duties and responsibilities of leadership by submitting several late and incomplete returns to the Ombudsman Commission.
“For this, I apologise to the people of Papua New Guinea for this administrative oversight.
“It is very important to emphasise, however, that the tribunal has found me innocent of any corrupt practices that fall in breach of the substantive provision of the Organic Laws on Leadership.
“Further, I was found innocent of any false or misleading statements.
“Rather, the tribunal found that my breach of the Leadership Code was simply an administrative offence involving later and incomplete statements.”
Sir Michael said for this reasons, “I welcomed and supported the earlier decision by the tribunal not to suspend me from office pending its deliberations”.
He said the establishment and operations of the tribunal clearly demonstrated that no one was above the law but should be treated equally.
The prime minister said these were both important principles that he had worked to protect during his 42 years in public office.
“I must make it clear that I have never sought to avoid dealing with the substance of the Ombudsman’s case,” he said.
“Rather, I was exercising my constitutional right to have my substantive matter heard that has been before the Supreme Court for the last three years.”
Sir Michael said while on suspension, he would visit his East Sepik electorate and spend quality time with wife Lady Veronica, children and grandchildren.
Deputy Prime Minister Sam Abal will be acting prime minister for the next two weeks.
“Abal is a bright and strong leader of the younger generation and he has my full confidence during this time and in the future,” the prime minister said.
“In accepting full responsibility and the suspension, I am pleased that this chapter of my long political career is now closed.
“I look forward to, with the help of my government, completing this term of parliament before re­tiring.
“I seek to carry my responsibilities to the people of PNG and fulfil our collective vision of a bright and secure future for present and future generations.”

Millions lost in AusAID foreign aid scam

AUSTRALIA'S $4.5 billion foreign aid program is plagued by record levels of fraud, with millions of dollars being stolen by corrupt officials and overseas agencies, Daily Telegraph reports.
AusAID has 175 cases of fraud under investigation - stretching across 27 countries and totalling millions of dollars.
Documents released under Freedom of Information expose a criminal trail in some of the world's poorest countries, with widespread theft of money and forging of receipts.
They also show how food and other supplies are being diverted from dirt-poor communities and sold on the black market at inflated prices.
While AusAID insists it is improving fraud control, the documents also reveal police are often reluctant to intervene and charge local criminals - frustrating the agency's attempts to recover missing aid money.
In one extraordinary case, the Eritrean Government in 2006 seized food and other supplies from the UN's World Food Program, saddling Australian taxpayers with a probable loss of $1.25 million.
The revelations will do little to boost public confidence in a foreign aid program that is forecast to nearly double to $8 billion a year by 2015.
PNG emerged as corruption central with 71 cases of identified fraud - 40 per cent of the AusAID total - involving millions in missing funds.
Indonesia, which will receive $458 million in Australian assistance in 2010/11, recorded 31 fraud cases, followed by the Philippines at 20 and Solomon Islands with 19.
AusAID director-general Peter Baxter said fraud levels in foreign aid compared "very favourably" with domestic agencies like Centrelink.
"The level of fraud in our program from 2004/05 until December 2010 was 0.017 of 1 per cent of the $20 billion that had been appropriated to AusAID during that period," Mr Baxter said. And he denied fraud was on the increase, despite 16 cases being reported last November alone.
But FOI documents reveal how taxpayers' money is being squandered, with corrupt local officials and agencies profiting at the expense of the poor. Australia is one of the biggest aid donors in the world, focusing on the Asia-Pacific although the Government wants to expand its aid funding into Africa over the coming years.
The FOI documents reveal the difficulties of trying to manage a $4.5 billion budget while dealing with some of the most corrupt nations in the world. One investigation in Fiji, involving fraud of $37,670, has been closed with AusAID declining to report the matter to police "due to the highly sensitive political environment" in the Pacific island nation.
Other times, AusAID has struggled to establish fraud "because of the lack of a paper trail" while on other occasions businesses were paid money but then closed their offices.
An unknown amount of AusAID funds were caught up in a major scandal involving the African country of Mali with health workers allegedly embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The fraud involved "managing contractors" paid hundreds of millions to manage aid projects - including Cardno Limited, involved in 40-odd cases of fraud.
Asked bluntly whether fraud was out of control, Mr Buckley said "I wouldn’t say that".
Equally he conceded that "any lost dollars are not good".
"We are trying to deal with it," he said, of Cardno’s efforts to combat fraud.
"We reckon that we do a pretty good job."
He said Cardno – one of the biggest managing contractors to AusAID - have to report any suspected areas of fraud within 24 hours of hearing about it.
He said Cardno had "good processes" in place to detect fraud.

Tribunal suspends Somare for 14 days

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has been suspnded for 14 days by the leadership tribunal. after being found guilty of 13 charges of misconduct.

A three-man leadership tribunal in Port Moresby handed down the decision this afternoon to a packed courtroom that for two weeks has heard the case regarding Sir Michael’s failure to lodge financial returns dating as far back as 20 years ago.
The tribunal chair Roger Gyles says the prime minister is suspended from office from and including April the 4 for 14 days.

Crowd outside the court room.




Smiles from Somare supporters


S

Somare and his deputy Sam Abal leave the court room

Subdued crowd leaves the court house

Somare's daughter Betha leaves the court house

National Alliance 'big boys' Simon Kaiwi and Steven Pokawin (obscured) talk to journalists outside court.

Verdict on prime minister slated for 4pm

AFTER 4pm today, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare will know what
penalty has been imposed on him by the leadership tribunal which has
found him guilty of 13 of 25 charges of breaching the leadership code,
The National reports.
Whether he remains prime minister is one of the penalties being considered.
The charges related to lateness and incomplete annual financial
returns statements between 1994 and 1997.
Yesterday afternoon, the tribunal sent out a public notice saying it
would hand down its decision beginning at 4pm today.
On Tuesday, the prosecution had submitted to the tribunal to impose
the maximum penalty of dismissal.
However, the prime minister's defence team of Posman Kua Aisi Lawyers
principal Kerenga Kua and Justin Wohuinangu, led by overseas lawyer
Ian Molloy, argued that the charges did not warrant dismissal,
submitting that he should be fined K500 for each of the 13 charges.
Molloy argued that Sir Michael had attempted to lodge all his annual
returns in his busy schedule that also included changing offices from
Port Moresby to Wewak and on some of these occasions, not being a PM.
He argued that late lodgment or incomplete annual return forms Sir
Michael had lodged was not as severe as that committed by other MPs
over the years since PNG's independence, for which they had only being
penalised fines of between K500 and K1,000 per charge.
Molloy had argued that some of these leaders had totally failed to
lodge their annual returns or had been charged with non-accountability
of public funds and that their penalty were monetary fines.