Fresh vegetables galore in Western Highlands province

Western Highlands province is the fresh vegetable capital of Papua New Guinea, as these pictures which I took on Tuesday this week show.

Taking a drive up to Tambul, we came across this wonderful vegetable market, near the Western Highlands-Enga border.

As we drove into Tambul - near Southern Highlands and on the foothills of the majestic Mount Giluwe (PNG's second highest mountain) - we came across this unbelievable brocolli garden.

Makes we wonder why we continue to import food from overseas.

Pictures from Mount Hagen market

Above are pictures of Mount Hagen market, which I took on Tuesday this week.

An excellent market, foodwise, although be warned that there are a lot of conmen, pickpockets and thieves around.

The kids hung around me like leeches.

I did like the excellent strawberries, and bought buckets of them for my children before travelling back to Port Moresby on Tuesday night.

In praise of the humble potato

Two of the new potato screen houses at Tambul, Western Highlands province
Fresh Produce Development Agency potato garden at Tambul
Potato growing at Tambul
Inside one of the new potato screen houses at Tambul

The importance of the potato industry in Papua New Guinea has been stressed in no uncertain terms.

Potato’s virtues were extolled in the country’s potato capital of Tambul, Western Highlands province, during Tuesday’s opening of Fresh Produce Development Agency’s 12 new potato screen houses there.

The aphid (potato pest)-proof houses, valued at K50, 000 each, were funded by the national government’s public investment programme (PIP).

They are situated next to the National Agriculture Research Institute’s high altitude programme at Tambul.

The 12 new screen houses add to the existing 12 and will be a major boost to PNG’s K100 million potato industry as it makes a comeback from the devastation of the notorious Potato Late Blight Disease of 2003, which almost destroyed the industry in the country.

Potato plantlets from the tissue culture laboratory at Aiyura Valley in the Eastern Highlands province will be taken to Tambul, where they will be grown in the screen houses before being distributed to farmers.

This technology allows FPDA to produce disease-free seedlings which can be rapidly multiplied before being distributed to farmers.

Tambul potato farmers’ representative Philip Talopa said the potato industry was one of the larger agricultural industries that could be worth K100m or more.

“We have 52 seed growers in the Highlands, 30 of whom come from Western Highlands province and the majority comes from Tambul,” he told hundreds of people who gathered at Tambul, beneath majestic Mt Giluwe, on Tuesday.

“Tambul produces about 75% of potatoes in PNG.

“Other major areas of production include Okapa and Daulo in Eastern Highlands, Gembogl in Simbu province, Upper Ialibu in Southern Highlands and Kandep in Enga.

“Tambul, however, is the backbone of the potato industry in Papua New Guinea.

“In good times, and in bad times, we fall back on potato.

“We now have 12 new potato screen houses at Tambul, which added to the existing 12, makes for 24 altogether, at which plantlets from Aiyura are grown before being distributed to farmers.

“FPDA and NARI now have an agreement, and they are producing more plantlets.

“We at Tambul are the engine room of the industry.

“We will now be able to produce more seeds.

“We don’t have any other major cash crops, apart from potato.

“We have the right climactic conditions here to be able to mass-produce seeds for distribution to farmers.”

Mr Talopa wants the government to stop imports of potatoes to give a chance to local farmers to develop the industry, government to subsidise costs of chemicals and fertilisers, and frost-resistant varieities of potato to be developed as Tambul and other high-altitude areas that grow potatoes are prone to frost.

Agriculture businessman and strong potato advocate Grame Ross, of Alele Farm Fresh Produce, said potato had the best returns in agriculture with an 86% profit margin; the industry was worth over K100m and was a guaranteed source of food security.

“The potato, according to experts, is the crop with the best return in Papua New Guinea.,” he said.

“We have a big need for quality seeds in PNG.

“Many people in PNG are crying for quality seeds.

“These new screen houses are a big step forward.

“Before 2003, we were importing a lot of seeds from Australia.

“Today, we are independent in seed production.

“Papua New Guinea can do it.

“We don’t have good distribution.

“You Tambul have good supply.

“There must be equal distribution in Papua New Guinea.

“The seed industry is a new one which can be worth up to K46m annually.

“There is an urgent need for training, especially in such areas as safety when using chemicals.

“Potato is a big deal.

“It is disease-free and nutritional.

“This will create family values in PNG.”

Eastern Highlands agricultural advisor John Sari said potato was the best bet for farmers in high-altitude areas of PNG.

“Tambul has the ideal climate or growing potatoes, being situated 2,000m above sea level, where coffee doesn’t grow well,” he said.

“There is now light at the end of the tunnel.

“Potato will one day beat coffee and cocoa.”

Five Papua New Guineans secure UK scholarships

2008/09 UK Chevening scholarship recipient Mellie Samson (in blue shirt) who returned from the UK on Friday after completing his masters in conservation science briefs the departing scholars. Next to him is Deborah Kakis, Reichert Tanda and facing him is Rosemary Benjamin, Junior Novera and Erick Kowa during an induction programme at the British High Commission in Port Moresby. BHC scholarship officer Kila Kome is sitting next to Mr Tanda.

Papua New Guinean scholars (L-R) Junior Novera, Rosemary Benjamin, Deborah Kakis, Reichert Tanda and Erick Kowa who are successful recipients of the 2009/10 Chevening, Steamships Chevening and Commonwealth scholarships in the UK. Behind them is Steamships general manager (business development) Gary Seddon and British High Commissioner to PNG David Dunn.

Five Papua New Guineans have secured UK Government educational scholarships to study in the United Kingdom.
In a first for PNG, one of the scholars, Junior Novera, is the inaugural recipient of the Steamships Chevening Scholarship a partnership between the Steamships Trading Company Limited and the UK Government.

Junior will be studying for a masters degree in conservation biology and wildlife management at Lancaster University.
The other recipients, awarded scholarships under the Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarship Programmes include Erick Kowa, who will study energy futures at the University of Aberdeen and Rosemary Benjamin who will study biotechnology at the University of East London.

Reichert Tanda will study economic development at the University of Bradford and Deborah Kakis will study the modern application of mathematics at the University of Bath.
Steamships managing director David Cox said the company’s sponsorship of the Steamships Chevening Scholarship scheme was integral to the company's commitment to the future and development of PNG and its desire to build local expertise and world class scientific capacity.
“We at Steamships and the broader Swire Group take pride in being environmentally aware and responsible.

"Strengthening research capacity in PNG is one of the most effective and sustainable ways of advancing conservation and environmental responsibility.

"Congratulations to Mr Novera on securing the scholarship and we wish you well in your studies,” he said.
British High Commissioner to PNG, David Dunn, thanked Steamships for co-funding the Chevening Steamships scholarship and congratulated Mr Novera and the four other scholars on securing scholarships to undergo a masters programme in the UK.
“The UK spends more than half a million Kina a year on educational scholarships in PNG. By securing a Chevening or Commonwealth scholarship you are now clearly identified as a future leader in your area expertise.

"I hope that you will get the most out of your experience in the UK, and proudly fly the flag for PNG during your 12 months abroad.

"Safe travels and we look forward to welcoming you back to PNG next year when you can put to work the skills and experience you have developed during you’re time in Britain" he added.
The scholars underwent an induction programme at the British High Commission last Friday where they were briefed on studying in the UK by BHC staff and previous Chevening/Commonwealth scholars.

They were then joined by members of the British Graduates Society to wish them well on their travels.
Applications for UK scholarships for academic year 2010-2011 will open in the next two weeks. Visit http://www.ukinpng.fco.gov.uk/ or watch the local press for information.

Anti-venom breakthrough for Papuan taipan

The deadly Papuan taipan, one of the most-venomous snakes in the world.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

David “Snakeman” Williams and the Papuan taipan that bit him in 2007, while filming a segment for the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent programme on PNG’s anti-venom woes.

A new anti-venom for the deadly Papuan taipan, one of the most-venomous snakes in the world and leading cause of death in Papua New Guinea, has been developed by the Australian Venom Research Unit and will cost one-eighth of the current very expensive price.
Clinical toxinologist and herpetologist David Williams – popularly known as “Snakeman” because of the number of snakebite victims he has saved – told of the breakthrough as he prepares to leaves PNG this week to take up an appointment to the World Health Organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The cost of a vial is currently K4, 500; however, the new anti-venom will cost K600-K650 per vial.
“The Papuan taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) is responsible for more than 90% of all cases of envenoming in south-eastern PNG, and the cost of treatment with available anti-venoms manufactured in Australia currently exceeds K4, 500 per vial,” Mr Williams said.
“Analysis of the incidence of bites by taipans have resulted in needs estimate of at least 700-1, 000 vials of appropriate anti-venom each year, yet, much less than this is purchased by the National Department of Health because it cannot afford this many vials at the current prices.
“We have developed a new equine whole IgG (Immunoglobulin G) monovalent anti-venom raised against venom from Papuan taipans maintained in the research collection at the University of Papua New Guinea.”
“This new product ‘Papuan taipan monovalent IgG anti-venom ICP’ was raised by
immunising horses maintained at the Instituto Clodomiro Picado in Costa Rica with venom and harvesting plasma for fractionation to obtain a whole IgG preparation.”
Mr Williams said after passing all the preclinical stages, the anti-venom would then be ready to be shipped to PNG for clinical evaluation of dose, safety and efficacy.
“We therefore propose to seek both ethical approval and funding for a randomised,
control trial of this new anti-venom - against current taipan anti-venom - in the second half of 2010, and hope that local doctors will embrace participation in the important trial,” he said.
“As a result of global warming, and the expansion of agricultural practices such as palm oil production, forestry and rice growing, the incidence of envenoming by Papuan taipans will undoubtedly increase over coming years.
“If patients are not to be left to die, then we must take action to enable PNG to control the production of anti-venom to meet the present and future needs.
“Our new IgG anti-venom is likely to have a final production price of K600-650, and will not only produce significant cost savings to government, but through wider availability and greater stability, save many thousands of lives in years to come.”

New death adder found in Papua New Guinea

Milking a death adder of its venom.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

New Guinea small-eyed snake.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

Snake keeper Jasper Gabugabu with a death adder.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

A new species of death adder – a major killer in Papua New Guinea - has been found by the Australian Venom Research Unit, according to clinical toxinologist and herpetologist David “Snakeman” Williams.
In other snake news, Australian-made Commonwealth Serum Laboratories tiger snake anti-venom has the strongest binding affinity for lethal toxins in small-eyed snake venom, small-eyed snake being a major killer in PNG, particularly on Karkar Island in the Madang province.
Mr Williams told of these developments as he prepares to leave Papua New Guinea this week to take up a new posting with the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland.
“We have been studying the taxonomy of death adders in PNG for several years, in collaboration with the University of Wales in the UK, and have identified at least one new species of death adder, which we will be naming soon,” he said.
“We are also investigating regional variation in the venom of death adders to determine how effective current anti-venoms are at neutralising the lethal effects of death adder bites from all areas of the country.
“University of PNG masters in medical science student, Owen Paiva, is leading the local venom work, and will be collaborating with scientists from the University of Melbourne and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research to try and map the diversity of toxins in death adder venoms from different parts of PNG.
“The project has in part been driven by the discovery that patients bitten by death adders in the North Fly district of Western province sometimes develop severe renal failure after death adder bites – something that has not been reported elsewhere in PNG or in Australia.
“Since renal dialysis is rarely possible in Port Moresby, let alone in Western province, this is a major issue for health workers in the North Fly, and we need to determine as quickly as possible whether or not Australian-made anti-venom will prevent the development of renal failure if administered as soon as possible after a bite occurs.”
As regards the small-eyed snake, Mr Paiva has studied the venom of the New Guinea small-eyed snake for his MMedSci, and one of the key discoveries has been the finding that Australian-made CSL tiger snake anti-venom has the strongest binding affinity for lethal toxins in small-eyed snake venom.
“Tiger snake anti-venom is also present in the CSL polyvalent anti-venom, but Owen’s finding that the monovalent CSL tiger snake anti-venom bound the small-eyed snake toxins at half the concentration needed if you use polyvalent anti-venom is a very important result,” Mr Williams said.
“It provides strong evidence for the use of CSL tiger snake anti-venom in the treatment of small-eyed snake bites, instead of the much more-expensive polyvalent anti-venom, which costs almost five times more.
“Interestingly tiger snake anti-venom was used to treat small-eyed snake bites on Karkar Island in the 1960’s and early 1970’s by the late Dr Ed Tscharke at Gaubin Hospital.
“Owen (Paiva) is also identifying and characterising toxins from small-eyed snake venom to develop a catalogue of the toxins produced by this endemic New Guinean snake.”
Mr Paiva won the Debra Lehmann Prize at the recent Medical Symposium for his talk on this subject.

Papua blacksnake not ‘extinct’

The Papuan blacksnake.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

The deadly Papuan taipan, one of the most-venomous snakes in the world, which is often mistaken for a Papuan black.-Picture by DAVID WILLIAMS

The Papuan blacksnake, thought to have become extinct due to cane toads, is alive and well in parts of the Central province.
However, snake expert David Williams, says it is unlikely to bite people like the deadly Papua taipan and should be protected and preserved as part of Papua New Guinea’s natural heritage.
“It is important that people also be told that our studies of the behaviour of this snake, suggest that it is very shy, extremely reluctant to bite, even when handled, and combined with the knowledge that none of the patients seen at Port Moresby General Hospital in the past five years had been bitten by blacksnakes, it is very unlikely to cause snakebites,” he said.
“ As a potentially-threatened species, and one that is well known to all Papua New Guineans and expats alike as a native animal symbol of PNG, it should be protected and preserved as an important part of PNG’s natural heritage.
“In January 2006, we were finally able to confirm the continued presence of Papuan blacksnakes in Central province, with the discovery of a freshly-killed specimen on the Magi Highway about 45km out of Port Moresby.
“On dissection, we found that the snake in question had been feeding on rodents, which offered a possible explanation for the survival of the species in an area that was heavily infested with cane toads.
“The snake was also found close to a forested area that backed onto swamplands: undisturbed natural habitat.
“In June 2008, a second specimen was given to us by staff from the Exxon-Mobil LNG project after it was killed near one of their buildings at the project site along the Lealea road.
“This was followed in December by the discovery of another adult specimen from the same area, which died from injuries incurred when it was caught by LNG workers.
“These two snakes are strong evidence that a population of these very shy snakes still exists in the Boera-Papa-Lealea area.
“Then just before Christmas, we were given a live juvenile blacksnake by Andrew Taplin, a biologist working with Department of Environment and Conservation.
“Andrew caught the snake while bushwalking near Sogeri in thick rainforest at an altitude of around 950m.”
Mr Williams said this was a very important discovery, because it was the first time that this species had been discovered living in forest in mountainous country, and opened the possibility that the species may be much more widely distributed than had ever been thought before (it was always believed to be restricted to low-lying areas along the southern side of PNG, typically in areas of scrub, grassland or swampland), and could perhaps even occur on the northern side of the Owen Stanley Range in Oro or Milne Bay provinces where the mountain ranges are below 1, 000 metres.
“We have heard stories from Oro and Milne Bay people about ‘blacksnakes’ being found there, and this now seems very possible, since the discovery of this snake at Sogeri means that mountains below 1,000m are not a barrier confining their distribution,” he said.
“The other important thing is that until these four specimens were found, this species had not been positively identified in Central province since 1992 and was considered to be at risk of local extinction east of Gulf province (it is still common in the South and Middle Fly districts of Western province).
“The discovery of these four snakes proves that there are at least three different populations of Papuan blacksnake in Central Province, and probably many more.”

'Snakeman' Williams leaves Papua New Guinea

Snakemen…David Williams (centre) with his assistant Owen Paiva (left) and snake handler Jasper Gabugabu with a deadly death adder.-Picture by MALUM NALU

Australian Venom Research Unit clinical toxinologist and herpetologist David Williams – popularly known as ‘Snakeman’ because of the number of lives of snakebite victims he has saved - leaves Papua New Guinea next week to take up an appointment to the World Health Organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland.
He will be working on a project to improve access to snake antivenoms in the developing world, particularly in Africa and Asia.
Mr Williams has worked and lived in PNG for almost 15 years, and even though his posting to the WHO is temporary, he said that leaving PNG even for a little while was perhaps the most difficult decision he has had to make.
“I have made the best of friends here, in towns, cities and in villages in far-flung provinces,” he said,
“I have been welcomed into homes and communities with warmth and generosity.
“I have seen Papua New Guinean people at their best, and I have had the great privilege to help some of them, when they were at their worst.
“It has been for me, the most challenging, confronting, frustrating, alarming, and yet at the same time uplifting, inspiring, insightful and educational time of my life.
“Papua New Guinea feels more like ‘home’ to me, than my own country, Australia does, and I will miss it very much while I am gone.
“I hope that the Minister for Health will give me the opportunity to come back to PNG and continue my work here, once my appointment to WHO ends.”
For the past four years, Mr Williams has been studying the clinical effects of snake bite at Port Moresby General Hospital, and at one stage, even became a patient himself, after being bitten by a 2.5m long Papuan taipan at Napa Napa during the making of a documentary on PNG’s dire antivenom woes for the ABC Foreign Correspondent programme in 2007.
Through his work, the lives of many snake bite patients have been saved, and with the development of a new taipan antivenom that costs less than 1/8th the price of the current antivenom, he hopes that many thousands more lives will be saved in years to come by enabling the national government to supply more antivenom to many more parts of PNG than ever before.
But regardless of which antivenom is used to treat snake bite, Mr Williams says that the secret to saving snake bite patients lies in having a well-trained and responsive health work force.
“In rural health centres, such as Veifa’a in Mekeo, the snake bite mortality rate has plummeted as a result of the training we have given to local health workers, and because of their willingness to embrace this new knowledge” he said.
“To some extent, rural health centres who have trained staff and access to antivenom, now do much better at managing snake bite than even Port Moresby General Hospital, perhaps because the staff are in the same boat as their community members – any one of them can be bitten by a snake, so they are acutely aware of just how urgent an emergency snake bite is, and they take extreme steps to manage snake bite well.
“It is sometimes a bit more difficult at PMGH, which has a very under-resourced emergency department that is grossly overcrowded and often under-staffed; patients sometimes fall through the cracks.
“We have also had ongoing problems with access to antivenom at PMGH.
“Supplies that run out on a weekend often cannot be replenished until the next Monday, and this means patients admitted on a Saturday or Sunday may not get antivenom when they need it, resulting in a poor prognosis.”
Mr Williams also said that while work needed to be done to prevent unnecessary deaths after snake bite, that people should have confidence in the medical service provided by the hospital.
“Nursing staff, particularly in the ED, Ward 7 and the intensive care unit are among the most-dedicated and professional health workers in the country, and the care they provide to snake bite patients is exemplary” he said.
“There are also a number of young doctors coming up through the ranks now who take a serious interest in the treatment of snake bite, and they should be encouraged to consider toxinology as a career sub-specialty, because PNG badly needs local snake bite experts in its hospitals.
“The most wonderful memories I have from my time in PNG, are of people who survived their snake bites.
“I consider it a privilege to have been able to help make it possible for these men, women and children to take back their lives and go home to their families.
“There is nothing better in this world than the smile on the face of a person whose life you have helped save.”
In Mr William’s absence, the snake bite project will continue, and will be managed by his colleague, emergency physician Dr Simon Jensen while the day-to-day operations of the snake bite laboratory will be handled by Owen Paiva and Jasper Gabugabu in collaboration with Dr Jensen and Prof Lohi Matainaho, dean of research at University of PNG.
“We also expect to have a number of visits from other University of Melbourne collaborators and other visitors in coming months to support Owen and Jasper, and to further develop specific projects,” Mr Williams said.
“We anticipate lodging an application for ethics approval to conduct a clinical trial of the new taipan antivenom before the end of this year, with a start date for the trial in 2010.
“If the taipan antivenom succeeds then we will look at developing a new bivalent death adder/small-eyed snake antivenom in 2012.”

InterOil increases investment in Gulf Province gas fields

PORT MORESBY, FRI SEPT 18: INTEROIL Corporation has moved to increase investment in its Elk Antelope gas exploration fields in the Gulf Province.

The company has announced two separate transactions aimed at giving it a greater control over and share of the LNG project.

In the first transaction the company has agreed to acquire indirect participation interests currently held by a number of external investors.

This will involve InterOil acquiring a total of 4.3364% participation in Elk Antelope in exchange for the issuing of  common shares to the value of approximately $US 56-million.

The deal will also cover any future discoveries made as a result of four exploration wells still to be drilled.

In the other transaction, InterOil has sold a 2.5% direct working interest in gas and condensate discovered at Elk Antelope to Pacific LNG Operations Limited a foundation joint venturer in InterOil’s LNG Project.

InterOil will receive $US25-million for the deal and also acquire 2.5% of Pacific LNG’s economic interest in the joint venture (LNG) project.

When finalised, the two transactions will see InterOil with a 73.6614% direct interest in its exploration licences for the Elk Antelope fields.

This figure excludes the interests of the state of Papua New Guinea.

Also, InterOil has announced that its Antelope reservoir may be higher than first thought.

Latest drilling has intersected the top of the reservoir at 6,007 metres, which is 105 metres higher than pre-drill estimates.

InterOil CEO Mr. Phil Mulacek said the company was pleased to have made the discovery.

“We believe it could result in a meaningful increase in our internal gas resource estimates”, he said

 

For further information contact

 

Susuve Laumaea

Senior Manager Media Relations

InterOil Corporation

Ph: (675) 311 2796

Mobile: (675) 7201 3870 / (675) (7) 684 5168

Email: slaumaea@digicelpacific.blackberry.com

In Loving Memory of Mathias Jaggen Nalu

In Loving Memory of Mathias Jaggen Nalu, who left us on September 17, 1993.

Remembered by children Alison, David, Malum, Lepung and Anna; plus 14 grandchildren; family and friends all over Papua New Guinea.

Mum left us on September 2, 2009, to be with you.

Your legacy will live on.

University of Goroka rewards contemporary art

Vice chancellor Dr Gairo Onagi, artist Apa Tengere, New Guinea Fruit Company owner James Watson and Dr Susan Cochrane at the awards ceremony

ARTISTIC talent was recognised and rewarded at the University of Goroka (UOG) with the presentation of the winning entries for the Live Lave Art Awards competition earlier this month. In a follow-on from the first art exhibition initiated by the UOG for the 2008 Coffee Festival, this year’s competition was, for the first time, sponsored by local Goroka-based business New Guinea Fruit Company Limited.
Special guests from Australia and Port Moresby were invited to judge the entries.

Renowned Australian art scholar and researcher Dr Susan Cochrane, chief executive officer of the National Museum and Art Gallery Simon Poraituk and Dr Nicholas Garnier from the University of Papua New Guinea were pleased with the depth and variety of entries for the awards.
Vice Chancellor of the UOG, Dr Gairo Onagi, said: “UOG believes in working together with the community and showing the talent of our people.”
He said he was grateful to New Guinea Fruit Company as they had financially aided the university by giving such an opportunity to people in the arts of PNG.
Dr Onagi appealed to other businesses to help UOG continue to showcase PNG art through such sponsorship.
He also highlighted that UOG was searching for funds to construct its own art gallery in the near future.
New Guinea Fruit Company owner James Watson said he was very happy and had a big belief in UOG and the artists.
He also confirmed that Live Lave would continue to sponsor the awards.
Maria Kopkop from the National Museum and Art Gallery committed Kopkop College to sponsor the encouragement award for the next five years as part of the Live Lave Art Awards at UOG, to encourage further artistic development from young artists.
At the awards, first prize in the painting category went to Southern Highlands artist Apa Tengere, with his artwork entitled Huli Culture.
George Sari came in second place, with his painting entitled Creation of Gahuku Tribe.
The encouragement award went to Kelly Gauwe.
There was a tie for the printing category by Bunesito Thaross (artwork entitled Customary Wealth) and Joelyn Korong.
Entries for the competition came in paintings and prints from all over PNG, totalling to 26 pieces. In an innovation to recognise and preserve contemporary art, the artworks are now part of the university’s permanent collection.
The awards night was attended by the UOG staff, students, partners and the local business community who were all interested to see the artworks and to witness the presentations for the winning entries.

Independent but dependent: Papua New Guinea 34 years on

By GELAB PIAK

Wednesday, the 16th of September 2009, will mark the 34th year of Papua New Guinea’s independence.

We, as Papua New Guineans, are proud of our nation but on the other hand, are troubled by the torturing thought: what really are we celebrating about?

Yes, we may be celebrating our freedom, or may be are celebrating our independence.

Both are right.

However, what is freedom.

Freedom is the power to express one’s thoughts, action, words and rights without objection or intimidation.

Freedom is having no objection to your rights, unless they violate the law of the land.

Last month, Metropolitan Superintendent Fed Yakasa, in stopping the infamous’ NGO political march said that the actions of the police were to protect the people’s rights.

First of all, what rights are the police protecting, when in fact, contradictorily, they are depriving the people’s rights and freedoms.

The people have the right, under the law of the land to expression of freedoms, such as freedom of speech and as such they had a right to express their thoughts, actions and words without objection.

Secondly, people have the right to services and the duly-elected government has the obligation to provide services to the people.

When the government doesn’t do what it is obliged to do, then the civil society has to stand up.

The vibrancy of any democracy depends on the freedoms and the liberation of its civil society to exercise its rights.

When the civil society’s freedoms are suppressed, a nation’s democracy is under threat. The opposition has on several occasions cried foul about Parliamentary democracy not being exercised.

Are these tell-signs of suppression and oppression, and at the highest level?

Thirdly, what is independence?

Independence simply means being independent.

Independent and independence are two big words.

So what is it like to be independent?

Being independent is being able to fend, provide for oneself, and meet one’s own needs. Put it that way, it is very hard to see the PNG government fending, providing or meet the needs of its people, now or in the future.

There is a great need for policy makers to draft effective medium term policies.

Malaysia and Venezuela are good examples of countries that have been transformed through short, effective medium term policies.

Long-term policies and plans such as 40-year plans, may not be effective, may not realise and may be thrown out by future government that may not understand the need to make such policies.

Big projects: an illusive idea

Our future mustn’t depend on ‘big projects’.

The idea of ‘big projects’ is an illusive one that is luring landowners to give away their land without proper consultations with other villagers and community members, who, to the landowners’ misunderstanding, will be affected by the landowners’ decisions.

‘Big projects’ are creating a lot of problems in our Melanesian society of communality, brotherhood and peace and harmony.

‘Big projects’ are often rushed, and when they are rushed, no proper social mapping is done, no proper assessment for environmental damages is done, (e.g. how would the project affect the ecosystem of the particular area, etc, have we had any thought of that?), landowners form factions as self-interest eats away at the morals of society, corruption becomes rampant in the Government, and unwise decision are made.

It has also created a mentality in this contemporary society where villages wait for big projects such as oil, gas or mining and do not take initiatives to develop themselves with small projects that are community orientated like small holder plantation estates (coffee, cocoa, copra, etc) or sawmills instead they often wait for the big projects.

Overall, once the projects fail, we, as a nation, tend to lose millions or even billions of Kina.

We need to look at ways of becoming self-reliant, (almost can be better than fully), with a government that is the main services and goods provider.

Thus we can say that we are independent, because by then we have a government that fends, provides and meets its people’s needs.

A sad fact is that the Australian government, through AusAid, is more popular in rural areas than the PNG government.

This paints a picture of a government that is not able to provide and meet its people’s needs so other governments have stepped in.

Does that mean we are dependent?

Yes, it does, as we are dependent on overseas aid and that nevertheless means we are dependent.

We must, as our Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare always says, be an export orientated economy or nation.

Not an exporter of raw materials and vast natural resources, but an exporter of finished products.

But that will only come about if there is government leadership, and there must be government leadership.

A good example is Japan.

Japan today is the floating factory of the world.

How did Japan become the floating factory of the world?

By government leadership and a bold move towards industrialisation, only now known as the industrial revolution.

The government must lead by investing in downstream processing.

The government must build factories; enter into partnerships with companies to build factories and produce locally.

Producing locally would create more jobs, boost the economy, increase our GDP and greatly reduce our imports.

Exporting and producing locally maybe deemed as a far cry or something that happens in the future, but for it to eventuate in the future, we must start now.

PNG should start producing small products such as peanut butter, coffee jam, copper wires, etc., and then we can look at bigger products and projects like partnering with auto giants Toyota or Nissan to produce cars and trucks locally; as PNG imports thousands of vehicles every year from these two companies.

We can then become a cheaper option for our close neighbors when they want to import cars as these cars will be genuine Toyota or Nissan made products.

The Government must also enact tariff laws for a certain period of time to help local products gain popularity among consumers.

This type of Government leadership is lacking in our country and that is demonstrated by the fact that many of our exports are raw materials and do have a higher value thus the returns are mere peanuts to what is made and earned by other countries out of our resources, that are later sold back to us as finished products.

Until then are we really independent.

Infrastructure, education and health: the secrets to prosperity

The secret to a nation’s prosperity is its infrastructure, education and health.

The government of Papua New Guinea needs to seriously consider the state of its infrastructure such as bridges, roads, airstrips, government hospitals, schools and communications infrastructure; i.e. towers for two-way radios.

Are they in good, useable conditions?

Does the state of the infrastructure affect the economy and puts a strain on the economy?

Yes.

Bad state of infrastructure is a bottle neck to the economy.

The PNG economy while enjoying growth over the years, is struggling and the tell-signs are evident.

Exports of products such as coffee, cocoa, copra, and rubber may drop if road conditions are not improved and more farmers can not have easy access to markets.

This will have much greater impact on the smaller farmers who grow cabbages, tomatoes, ginger, and other crops for sale at local markets and also markets outside their province. Such is the case where farmers of garden produce from the highlands bring their farm produce to Madang for sell at the local markets.

The state of the Highlands Highway is also costing trucking companies thousands of Kina.

With the deteriorating road conditions pot holes form and becomes every truck driver’s nightmare; they either avoid them or go through them.

If they avoid them, they risk the chance of bumping into an oncoming vehicle, and, if they go through them, it wears out the truck’s tyres other parts under the trucks.

This is cause for concern to bosses of trucking firms as they know they will be ordering more parts, thus losing thousands.

This is a call for the Government to invest in infrastructure.

Investing heavily in infrastructure will not only improve the economy but also provide jobs.

Road condition must be fixed and maintained to acceptable standards where they are in a useable and working state.

Roads must be built to villages far out in remote areas which are in isolation.

Using these roads the people can then access markets to sell their produce or other services provided in the towns.

Bridges that have broken down due to lack of maintance must be fixed, so that people can have access once more, and may revive agriculture and farming in the ‘cut off’ areas.

The government must look at putting aside funds to rebuild bridges and other infrastructure destroyed by disasters.

An educated nation is a healthy nation.

Education must reach all the rural areas.

Schools that have shut down must be reopened, and teachers must be sent up there.

The government has to invest in education by building schools in both town areas and rural areas, and must pay teachers properly so that they are happy to go into the bush and teach, and they must also have good houses so that it boosts their morale as educators of tomorrow’s generation.

With an educated populace a nation will progress, as most of its citizens will be in a position to understand the problems facing their country or the economics of their country.

If many of the citizens are educated, PNG would find itself having a competitive work force.

Today, PNG’s workforce is not that effective, in the sense that there is no competition and workers are not competing for jobs.

What happens, and is happening now, is that the current work force is aging and there isn’t a younger generation to fill the gap created.

Thus, the education of the youths and not only the younger generation and children, must become a priority for the Government.

It must focus on equipping its people with knowledge, as the present world is a world where technology rules and a young, striving nation like Papua New Guinea must equip its people with knowledge so that they understand the technology and use it for the benefit of their nation.

A meaningful and effective start would be investing in vocational training education. Why don’t PNG start training its next generation of welders, carpenters, plumbers, and mechanics?

These people are equal contributors to the immediate building of the nation.

As well as providing scholarships to universities, the government should provide scholarships to vocational training schools.

It is again these very people who will be involved in the infrastructure building and building of huge investments such as factories and hotels in this nation.

We need not bring other people from outside; that happens when a nation forgets about building its own workforce through investing in its people’s education.

Thus the nation is not healthy.

Healthy citizens contribute meaningfully to the building of a prosperous nation.

When a nation has a healthy workforce, production is said to double its normal rate.

The recent outbreak of cholera shows clearly the concern our government has for the health of its people.

Little that is, and that’s demonstrated by its snail-paced response to the recent cholera outbreak.

Not only had that, but the lack of health services also contributed to the deaths that have occurred in the affected areas; as some of the deceases are treatable.

Cholera was a time-bomb waiting to happen, as many rural areas do not have aid posts or the aid posts have been run-down and shut for many years now.

Even in towns, the standard of healthcare provided by the Government is no where near any standard at all.

Port Moresby General Hospital is no exception with rotting wood, ill-equipped and lowly funded; the hospital now cannot cater for Port Moresby residents.

The government is now planning to build a second hospital in the city or outside of the city.

This is good, but the government must build more aid posts with proper and enough medications in rural areas to ease the number of patients seeking medical help in towns and cities and putting a strain on the services the hospitals provide, as the hospitals built in towns and cities are built to cater for the town or city residents and cannot cope with increased number of patients.

The increased number of patients put a strain of health services provided by hospitals in towns and cities.

Nurses and doctors must have good housing and transport must not be a problem to hospitals, which need to transport patients or staff.

Providing a better healthcare system will ensure a brighter future for Papua New Guineans and a more productive workforce, resulting in a growing, demanding economy, thus a prosperous nation looms in the making.

A challenge for everyone:

Members of Parliament really need to stop their corrupt practices and have a true nationalist feeling that drives them towards nation building.

Nation building is not an overnight job. It takes, many people, in fact a whole nation, many years, and many hearts.

One pure heart can not turn the many unclean hearts.

It has to take courage for everyone to change, and if the politicians are not serious about building this nation called Papua New Guinea, then who else?

No one may take the courage to build our nation, as you politicians are the top leaders, everyone are looking at you, and this Independence, everyone will be looking at you to hear what you will say.

Together, let’s build a nation in Papua New Guinea, so that we can have something to celebrate about.

Ela Vista to transform the face of Port Moresby

View towards Ela Beach and Paga Hill

Artist’s impression of the superb Ela Vista overlooking Ela Beach

Artist’s impression of Ela Vista at night

Ela Vista apartment

Ela Vista semi-detached

Ela Beach terrace

View towards Koki

View over Ela Beach

Ela Vista, a new luxury low-to-medium density residential development is coming up on Touaguba Hill, facing Ela Beach.
This development promises to transform the face of Port Moresby once completed in the next few years.
The whole project totals 180 residential units on a land covering about 3.5 ha.
The K250 million-project will be developed in stages by Glory Estate Ltd (formerly known as Kembis Holdings Ltd).
The first stage totals 87 units, comprising semi-detached, terraces, and triplex apartments.
Set high on Touaguba Hill, Ela Vista looks over Ela Beach and beyond toward the sea.
It also looks over the Koki area.
Apart from the spectacular view it affords, the development is also handily located near amenities.
It is only 300 metres from the city centre.
Ela Vista boasts a contemporary design offering open-plan living to suit the lifestyle of young executives or a family.
Each unit is designed to take full advantage of the views while offering safe, convenient and comfortable living.
Ela Vista will have 24-hour security, back-up power and water supply through a centralised property management team appointed by developer, Glory Estate Ltd. Common facilities like street lights, landscape and rubbish disposal will also be taken care of by the team.
Managing director Lee Teck Kong said that earthworks and infrastructure work began early this year.
“About 70% of the earthwork has been completed and construction of the first phase units will start soon,” he said,
Mr Lee added that the initial offering of 26 units of one, two and three-bedroom apartments was taken up in two weeks.
“We are very encouraged by such a good response and we will in due course put more units out for sale,” he said.
Mr Lee said that the development was a good investment for the individual and even a trust fund because he was convinced it would offer good capital gain and return on their investment.
Enquiries may be made to Glory Estate Ltd on telephones 238818/3112249 or email gloryestate@gmail.com