Sunday, March 24, 2019

Saturday, March 23, 2019

It's raining again in Port Moresby

@8-Mile on March 23 2019.
Rain is good for Port Moresby but it also highlights potholes, drains and garbage.

Shot and produced with DJI Osmo Pocket

Local Tourist: 'There must be sunshine after rain'

The sun is back in Port Moresby after days of rain.
I shot this yesterday afternoon.


Sky views of Ela Beach, Port Moresby

I flew my drone over the new-look Ela Beach in Port Moresby to capture these images on Thursday, March 21.

The beach is one of the remarkable transformations of the Papua New Guinea capital.
Enjoy.



Local tourist: A walk on the Ela Beach side

I took a walk along Ela Beach on Thurday morning, March 21, before going to work, and shot this short clip with my DJI Osmo Pocket.
Enjoy...


Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Yalu Bridge to 9-Mile is an International disgrace

The stretch of the Lae-Nadzab Road between Yalu Bridge and 9-Mile.

Despite all the hype about this road (I know, having covered it from the beginning) it remains to be completed.
Sure, the first stage between Bugandi and 9-Mile has been completed, however, the stretch from 9-Mile to Yalu is an  international disgrace.
It is no longer a road, rather, a bush track full of potholes.
So many accidents have happened along this stretch recently, especially caused by vehicles trying to avoid the massive craters which would rival the Rabaul volcanoes, but nothing has been done.

Return of the Potholes in Lae

In Lae, while most urban thoroughfares have been completed, transforming “Pothole City” into “Cement City”, the Busu Road stretching from China Town to Malahang is falling apart.
This road was built by Australian company, Barclay Bros, in the late 1990s and early 2000s and has stood the test of time until now.
It was once the best road in Lae which we were all proud of.
I am shocked to drive through potholes between Butibam and Ampo, and from Hunter to Malahang.

~Shot and produced with DJI Osmo Pocket PS: I have posted this video the hope that this road is fixed urgently.

A rainy Saturday in Port Moresby

A rainy Saturday in Port Moresby.
Shot and produced with DJI Osmo Pocket.
March 16 2019.

Nadzab Airport, Lae

Nadzab Airport, Lae.
Shot and produced with DJI Osmo Pocket.
March 8 2019

Friday, March 15, 2019

Local Tourist: A PNG Air flight to Lae

A travel vlog of a PNG Air flight from Port Moresby to Lae on Friday, March 8, 2019.
Shot with and produced by my DJI Osmo Pocket.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Wagang Beach, Lae

Beautiful Wagang Beach, Lae, where Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture plans to pipe millions of tonnes of tailings into the Huon Gulf.
For better or worse?
 March 8 2019


Monday, March 11, 2019

Skyviews of Lae, Papua New Guinea

I took these skyviews of my beloved hometown of Lae on Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10 using my DJI Spark drone.
Edited using DJI Mimo app on my Huawei Mate 10 phone.
 Thank you to bro Kila Veapi for driving me around, Philemon Nalusi for security and my nephew David Nalu Jr for your company.
This is for all the people of Lae and Morobe.


Thursday, March 07, 2019

Beautiful Port Moresby Nature Park

A day at Nature Park on Saturday, March2, 2019,  with my kids.
It also happened to beWorld Wildlife Day.
Video taken and produced entirely by the DJI Osmo Pocket and its Mimo app.


World Wildlife Day 2019 in Port Moresby

World Worldlife Day on March 2 2019 at Nature Park in Port Moresby.
This is shot and produced entirely with my new Osmo Pocket.
Subscribe to my channel for more videos about about our amazing and beautiful country.








World Wildlife Day at Port Moresby Nature Park

Port Moresby Nature Park General-Manager Michelle George talks about World Wildlife Day on March 2, 2019, and the park in general:


Hobuc, Nawaeb, Morobe: My first vlog

On Saturday Jan 26, 2019, I accompanied Tourism Promotion Authority Chairman and Nawaeb MP Kennedy Wenge  and TPA officers, Hudson Arek and Joel Ombo, to Nawaeb High School at Hobuc, on the foothills of the magnificent Saruwaged Range.


Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Tourism Promotion Authority kickstarts tourism on Siassi

Tourism Promotion Authority chairman Kennedy Wenge says the TPA is committed to develop tourism in the remote Siassi islands of Morobe.

Tourism Promotion Authority Chairman Kennedy Wenge presents the K10,000 to Siassi LLG representative Willa Omole.


He made the committment on Friday during a short visit to Siassi Lutheran High School where he presented K10,000 for development of tourism, arts and culture education at the school.

Siassi dancers welcome Tourism Promotion Authority Board chairman Kennedy Wenge to Siassi High School on Friday.


Wenge made the presentation of behalf of Tourism Arts and Culture Minister Emil Tammur and TPA chief executive officer Jerry Agus to Siassi LLG representative Willa Omole.

School Chairman John Gerson assured Wenge the money would be put to good use.

The Siassi islands, because of their remoteness, have an intact traditional culture and untapped tourism potential.

Wenge said this potential must be tapped into to bring about development on the island.

He said TPA's committment to develop tourism on Siassi had seen him travel the long distance across the Vitiaz Strait.


"The rich culture of the Siassi islands must not be lost," Wenge said.


"My presence on the island today shows our commitment to develop tourism here.

"People from all over the world must travel here to see the rich arts and culture of the island.

"What TPA can do is market the Siassi islands as a tourism destination in Morobe."

Wenge said the Government was keen to develop tourism throughout Papua New Guinea.

"Siassi is one of the best places to develop tourism," he said.

"Tourism is an industry that puts money directly into everyone's pockets."

Wenge said last October, he attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG's national women's conference at which he had made a commitment to return.

He lived up to his words on Friday.

"We want ships and planes to come to Siassi," he said.

"We wants wharves and airstrips.

"When these are in place, visitors will come.

"Siassi is the first place I have visited as it has so much potential for tourism."

Siassi tourism promoter Clyde Aigilo welcomed the TPA support.


Friday, October 19, 2018

Sir Mekere:500 cars procured by APEC in free-for-all


APEC Authority documents show that at least 500 vehicles have been procured by the O’Neill Government for APEC, many of them Land Cruisers and Prados similar in luxury to the Bentleys, Maseratis and Mahindras.

“The astonishing total indicates that a free-for-all of greed is taking place under the guise of APEC,” Sir Mekere Morauta, Member for Moresby North-West said yesterday.

“Many of them have been claimed by the Prime Minister, the APEC Minister and top APEC Authority officials, who already have vehicles allocated to them as part of their contracts.

“Others have gone to ministers and their outriggers, public servants and the heads of statutory bodies who are also allocated vehicles as part of their contracts."

Sir Mekere said the APEC Authority documents do not reveal the total cost of vehicle acquisitions.

 But it must be astronomical, he said.

Nor do the documents indicate whether public competitive tenders were called for all these vehicles, as required by the APEC Act, whether their procurement was scrutinised by the APEC Probity Auditor, as required by the Act, or whether they are to be disposed of after APEC by competitive public tender as required by the Act.

The details are:
Prados and Land Cruisers 208
HiLuxes 88
Forerunners 11
Rav 4s 30
Hyundai Accents 23
Ford Rangers and Everests 12
Maseratis 40
Mahindras 80
Bentleys 3
Mazda BT50s 5
TOTAL 500

“This vehicle procurement by APEC highlights the greed and self-indulgence of the Prime Minister and the APEC Minister,” Sir Mekere said.

“It highlights their twisted priorities - spending tens of millions of kina on luxury vehicles at a time when ordinary Papua New Guineans are suffering unprecedented hardship, and the nation is almost bankrupt. What is the total cost of vehicles purchased for APEC? K100 million? Or more?

 “That money should have been spent on health and education and other essential services, not a giant party for foreigners and PNC cronies.

“Just as the need to solicit donations from Australia, China, New Zealand, the USA, Japan, Canada, Indonesia and Korea demonstrates that Papua New Guinea cannot afford APEC, if we really needed 500 cars to host APEC, that also shows that Papua New Guinea cannot afford to host the event.”

The full details of the vehicle arrangements are available here, https://apecpngtenders.org/tenders/ under the item Transport Managing and Maintenance.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Opposition Leader: Government blocked FM100 talkback show

Opposition Leader Patrick Pruaitch said yesterday he was dismayed to learn that the O’Neill Government had effectively censored the PNG media and threatened one of the pillars of democracy in this country.

Pruaitch said two prominent Opposition leaders, East Sepik Governor Allan Bird and Madang MP Bryan Kramer, had been scheduled to discuss the scandal surrounding the import of 40 Maserati cars from Italy on FM100.

Reports coming in from Port Moresby, Lae and various parts of Morobe indicate these broadcasts were blocked by the O’Neill Government in an unprecedented action.

 Pruaitch said: “It has long been acknowledged that freedom of the press in PNG is a key pillar of the nation’s democratic institutions, acting as a safety valve on many issues of public interest.

“Freedom of the press and the role of the media has helped PNG retain its reputation ‘as one of the persevering democracies in the developing world,’ as one political scientist put it.

“From this perspective this is a sad day today for all Papua New Guineans.

"It says a lot that no one is surprised by this development because the O’Neill Government is the first PNG Government on record that has set out to manipulate the mass media in the past few years.”

 Pruaitch said he was adding his voice to the call to all Papua New Guineans, in the public and private sector, to stand up and say, ‘enough is enough’, and demand an end to waste and corruption by supporting the nationwide strike on Thursday and Friday initiated by colleagues in the Opposition.

"This government is the recipient of more revenue than any government in the nation’s history, but it is constantly broke and unable to keep up with budgeted payments for education and health and causing numerous offices to be locked out of their premises for failure to pay rent.

“These are problems that have never been encountered on this scale in the past.

“The O’Neill Government has no trouble paying for luxury cars, without going through normal government tender processes.”

Sir Mekere: APEC Bentleys bought through controversial Borneo Pacific drug company

APEC Authority documents reveal that the K2.3 million purchase of three super-luxury Bentleys for the Prime Minister, APEC Minister and others was carried out through the Malaysian medical supplies company Borneo Pacific.

An invoice for the cars sent to APEC Authority CEO Christopher Hawkins comes from South Pacific Ventures of Kuala Lumpur, which describes itself as a business consultancy and health services provider in PNG.

Borneo Pacific and SPV are both controlled by a Malaysian family which is close to the Prime Minister, Mr Peter O’Neill, and other senior politicians, businessmen and public servants.

The family has extensive octopus-like business interests in PNG, and is currently rumored to be starting a brewery in partnership with the Prime Minister.

Borneo Pacific has been criticised for the provision of over-priced medical supplies and faulty medicines, and hitches in its supply chain.

 It has attracted widespread criticism, including from the Australian Government, for its failings.

The Member for Moresby North-West, Sir Mekere Morauta, says the deal shows the contempt the O’Neill Government and the APEC Authority have for proper process if it did not go through an open and competitive tender as required by the APEC Authority Act.

“Neither the Prime Minister, APEC Minister Justin Tkatchenko nor Mr Hawkins have been able to provide evidence that the APEC luxury car deals, now worth over K32 million and counting, are legitimate,” he said.

“There is nothing to show that these dubious deals went through the proper process, including scrutiny by the supposed APEC Authority Probity Auditor.”