Beneath the shadow of Mt Giluwe

By MALUM NALU

National Agriculture Research Institute’s high altitude research station is situated in picturesque Tambul, Western Highlands, on the foothills of the majestic Mt Giluwe.

Mt Giluwe towers over the station

Mt Giluwe is the second highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4,368 metres (14,331 feet), after Chimbu’s Mt Wilhelm (4, 509m or 14, 793ft), and is 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.

Field supervisor Joana Galua in a kaukau (sweet potato) plot

In fact, it is the single biggest producer of fresh vegetables in the country such as potatoes, broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower.
Its people are some of the hardest working who still value their subsistent way of living.
Unlike other parts of the highlands, where tribal fighting, rapes and murders are commonplace, Tambul is one place that begs to differ.
The people are putting down their guns and knives, and picking up their spades and shovels, to work the rich volcanic soils of Giluwe that God has provided.
They are keen to supply the gas project in just a stone’s throw away in neighbouring Southern Highlands.
Tambul station is about 2,224m (7, 296ft) 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, too cold, in fact, to grow coffee
Tambul is already contributing in a big way towards development of agriculture in this country, with the research station.

Wheat grows in proliferation

Around the station, there are cattle, sheep and goats grazing, amidst kaukau, potato, wheat and rice fields in scenes of pastoral poetry.
It’s a joy for visitors like me to wander through the scenic fields, garnished by sentinel-like trees, to the magnificent backdrop of Mt Giluwe.

Taro besides potato screen houses

Tambul, in the Kaguel Valley, is also one of the more lush, fertile and verdant areas of the Highlands.
Vegetables and fruit grown in abundance, supplemented by readily-available chicken, pork, sheep, goat, cattle and fish from aquaculture projects.

 Potato screen houses

Hence, in this land of milk and honey – on the border of Western Highlands, Southern Highlands and Enga provinces - you have a very healthy-looking population.
During my visit, 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.

Station manager Johannes Pakatul at the station signboard

“We have a dedicated team of scientists and staff from all over PNG working here,” Pakatul tells me.
“What we are doing here will benefit the whole country.”
I couldn’t agree more.

Freight subsidy the way to go: Dutton

By MALUM NALU

Former MP Warren Dutton believes the success of Ok Tedi Mining Ltd’s freight subsidy scheme for rubber growers in Western province can be duplicated throughout PNG for every crop produced by rural villagers.
He said this today at a workshop focusing on the impact of LNG on the PNG economy, with particular reference to agriculture.
Dutton, who is chairman of the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC) agriculture sectoral committee, said successive governments over the years were of the view that PNG should not have a freight subsidy policy.
“I would confidently suggest that if our members of parliament were to set aside half of their annual K10 million into a freight subsidy fund, that that K500 million or so would be sufficient to provide a marked improvement in the prices that would be paid for cash crops right throughout all their electorates,” he said.
“I would suggest that it would be an even greater vote winner than the free education policy was some years ago.
“More importantly than that, it would change the mood of the nation.
“It would change that mood, because our rural people would be able to believe that they were at last being recognised as productive citizens of their country, whose labour and sweat deserved an appropriate financial reward.
“Rather than beggars, who are only worthy of recognition at election time!”
Regarding the LNG project, Dutton said successive governments over the years had lacked experience and wisdom to manage and share the wealth from various resource projects to rural people.
He said inflation brought about by the LNG project would squeeze most village cash crop producers out of business.
“If we allow this to happen, we will be responsible for their inevitable reaction,” Dutton said.
“The LNG project will inevitably cause this to happen.
“It may, hopefully, sometime after 2016 supply the revenue needed to continue the alleviation of the problem.”

Sovereign wealth fund to offset ‘Dutch Disease’

By MALUM NALU

The creation of a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) can offset the negative impacts of ‘Dutch Disease’, according to deputy treasury secretary Anthony Yauieb.
He said this today at a workshop focusing on the impact of LNG on the PNG economy, with particular reference to agriculture.
“Can ‘Dutch Disease’ be avoided?” Yauieb said in his presentation.
“Cause of ‘Dutch Disease’ is an inflow of foreign currency into PNG
“It can be reduced by not bringing all of the foreign currency into PNG
“Policy option to minimise the effects of ‘Dutch’ Disease is through creation of an offshore SWF.”
Yauieb said the size of LNG revenues have substantial macroeconomic implications that need to be carefully managed, including:

• Exchange rate appreciation / Dutch Disease;

• Cost and operation of monetary policy;

• Risk of overheating the domestic economy; and

• Adverse effects in non-mineral sectors of the economy.

He said offshore arrangements for the SWF included: state retaining full ownership and control; promoting macroeconomic stability; underpinning long- term development and socio-economic objectives; helping protect non-mineral sector industries; and were robust, transparent and effective.
Yauieb said the plan was to establish a consolidated pool of offshore funds with three coordinated and integrated funds for infrastructure; stabilisation; and future (savings) fund
He said other plans for the PNG SWF were:

• Fully integrating SWF with the budget and fiscal framework;

• Governance, transparency, disclosure, accountability and asset management rules would be based on international best practice;

• Drawdown rules would be developed to ensure prudent macroeconomic management while supporting development objectives;

• SWF would be overseen by an independent board; and

• Investment would be undertaken by offshore investment manager.

‘Dutch Disease’ a real threat to Papua New Guinea with gas project

By MALUM NALU
Bank of Papua New Guinea governor Loi Bakani today warned of the effects of the dreaded ‘Dutch Disease’ on the PNG economy, particularly agriculture, in light of the liquefied natural gas project.
Bakani made the warning at a workshop focusing on the impact of LNG on the PNG economy, with particular reference to agriculture.
World Bank country manager, Laura Bailey, also warned of the dangers of ‘Dutch Disease’ as she gave an international perspective on this.
‘Dutch Disease’, or the ‘resource curse’, refers to an economic condition where a mineral boom leads to an appreciation of the real exchange rate, which in turn depresses output in the tradeable sector, in this case, agriculture.
“The export agriculture sector – such as coffee, cocoa, palm oil, copra and forestry – will be harmed by the real appreciation or ‘Dutch Disease’,” Bakani warned.
“Our exports will be less competitive and so there will be a decline in the export of these commodities.
“This adverse effect can be more pronounced under the aggressive government spending scenario, because excessive government spending will add to the real exchange rate appreciation through increased liquidity and high inflation.”
Bakani said this adverse effect could be mitigated or minimised through the conservative government expenditure approach.
“Apart from strategic careful and prioritised spending, the government can also mitigate the ‘Dutch Disease’ effect on the tradeable agriculture sector by maintaining and reconstructing the existing road network of feeder roads, as well as all the social sector infrastructure of health, education and law and order,’ he said.
“This will aid the producers get their produce to buying points and sustain production and export.
“In other words, the resource sector scenario can be addressed through better and improved infrastructure network.”
Bakani said BPNG, on its part, could mitigate or minimise the ‘Dutch Disease’ effect through its management of the kina exchange rate, as well as encouraging macroeconomic stability as an important foundation for microeconomic development and improvement.
World Bank’s Bailey said the ‘Dutch Disease’ threat was for real.
“The risk of so-called ‘Dutch Disease’, inflation, shifting of all resources into the mineral sector and disadvantaging other sectors including agriculture, are real risks,” she saidafter her presentation.
“But there are three things we can do.
“We can make sensible choices about managing mineral resources.
“The next thing we can do is when we spend the money, we can make strategic expenditure policies, for example, infrastructure that supports agriculture.
 “Thirdly, we need to be very transparent.”

Air Niugini gets 3rd Dash8

By BOSORINA ROBBY

AIR Niugini has increased its fleet to 21 aircraft with the arrival of the third Dash8-Q400 Next Generation aircraft yesterday, The National reports.
The national flag carrier was expecting a Boeing 767 next month, which will replace the current Boeing 757 on its international routes.
ANG chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said they were confident that this additional aircraft would provide operational flexibility for both passenger and cargo movements.
He said this would also assist in providing more frequencies and capacities in the implementation of the new flight schedule which began this week.
Congratulating the ANG staff, management, board and the Q400 project team, State Enterprises Minister Arthur Somare said the arrival of the new aircraft was well-timed to assist ANG carry out its new flight schedule.
He explained that this schedule would now see a fourth weekly service to Singapore and a third weekly service to Honiara, Solomon Islands, Manila and Nadi, Fiji.
The fourth weekly service to Honiara and Nadi still to be approved, Somare said.
The international sector now sees double daily services to Cairns on Wednesdays and to Brisbane on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays on the Boeing 767, and on the Fokker 100 on the other days.

Doctors ordered to end all strikes

By JACOB POK

NATIONAL Court judge Justice Catherine Davani yesterday ordered the executives of the National Doctors Association (NDA) to follow last Friday’s court orders and cease all strike actions until the issues are dealt with in court, The National reports.
“The court order is very specific and very clear for the defendants to be restrained from carrying out further strike actions,” Davani said.
The court was told that the executives of the NDA had failed to comply with interim restraining orders that were obtained by state lawyers last Friday and served on the NDA executives at around 6.30pm the same day.
A contempt proceeding on the doctors’ failure to comply with the court order was filed by the state and would be heard today following a ruling on whether or not the restraining order remained.
State lawyer Sam Koim yesterday submitted that a memorandum of agreement (MoA) was signed by the NDA and the departments of Health and Personnel Management (DPM) on Jan 12, 2007, over benefits for doctors throughout the country.
He said the matters relating to the MoA were addressed through a subsequent agreement signed between the parties under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Jan 11 last year.
Following that, all outstanding matters were implemented except for a new log of claims which were yet to be lodged with DPM which, effectively, was preventing formal negotiations from taking place.
In his submissions, Koim also highlighted the failure by the doctors’ executives to meet with the heads of DPM and Health when requested to prior to last Friday’s strike action.
He also pointed to the refusal by the industrial registrar early this month for a secret ballot on a proposed strike to be conducted by the NDA, simply because there was no dispute and no evidence of a fresh log of claims.
In addition, the state argued that a similar view was expressed by the Public Services Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration tribunal.
The doctors were now into their sixth day of strike.
Based on these arguments, Koim submitted that the restraining order should continue.
He also revealed to the court the verbal abuses and threats he allegedly encountered when serving the court order.
Defending counsel Tai Yai of Kange Lawyers argued in a brief submission for the restraining orders to be set aside.
Yai argued that the doctors had resorted to the strike action over frustrations and dissatisfaction aimed at their employer, who had failed to honour the January 2007 MoA.
He also pointed to a court order of Jan 4, 2007, which the DPM and Health had failed to satisfy.

Breakthrough in doctors' strike

Zibe intervenes to end doctors’ strike
By JEFFREY ELAPA

HEALTH Minister Sasa Zibe has ironed out differences with the striking doctors, paving way for them to return to work today, The National reports.
Zibe personally took charge of the situation as National Court judge Justice Catherine Davani reminded the doctors of her court order last Friday not to strike while she heard substantive matters on their revised log of claims yesterday.
She is due to make a ruling today.
In an unprecedented move, the health minister, who had blamed the bureaucracy for dragging its feet in the doctors’ claim, met with the NDA executives at the PNG Trade Union Congress headquarters to agree on a compromise.
Zibe announced after the meeting that a memorandum of understanding would be signed today by the relevant parties although he did not disclose the content of the MoU.
In a complementary move, Public Service Minister Moses Maladina also met with NDA executives but the outcome of that meeting was not immediately known.
NDA president Dr Kauve Pomat was jubilant last night, saying he welcomed Zibe’s decision to sign an MoU.
Since last Friday, the NDA executive had refused to meet with Health secretary Dr Clement Malau and his Personnel Management counterpart John Kali for further dialogue on their revised log of claims which, they claimed, should have been concluded last September.
Malau and Kali maintained that the 2007-09 MoA had been fully implemented and the doctors were paid more than K10 million in backdated claims.
The NDA wanted a new agreement to revise the 2007-10 awards relating to, among others, medical officers’ salary classifications and progression, medical/dental officer classification, domestic market allowance, consolidated clinical overtime and on-call allowances.
In a separate statement, Malau said he had done all he could to address the doctors’ concerns, adding that a transitional arrangement was made which led to the MoU signed between the state and NDA.
He said this was done to fully implement the 2007-09 MoA while waiting for a new agreement to be signed by the two parties for a new log of claims.
Malau said under the MoU, the Heath Department was to implement a number of key commitments, which included the appointment of a chief medical officer under the new structure, work value study and appropriate remuneration for doctors.
They were fully implemented by the department, he said, adding that Health then worked on its own restructure and alignment of the work value study to restructure doctors’ remuneration packages.
Malau said this package was provided to the NDA to use as part of the new log of claims to be submitted to Personnel Management Department for negotiations to take place.