Posts

It’s not the right time to build PMC

Dr Lusove Ngomo I  have been following the debate on the Pacific Medical Centre. The more the people express their disapproval, the more stubborn the health ministry becomes. Among the many comments, health workers are the ones making the loudest noise as their mark of disapproval.  Most are professional people at the end of the health service delivery system who feel the pinch of not being adequately resourced. They are often forced to make do with whatever little they have. Often they have to improvise to save lives. Most, if not all health facilities, are either understaffed or underfunded as revealed in a case study and published in the The National (Oct 19). Even if funding is available, accessibility is cumbersome, courtesy of long and unnecessary financial procedures. It is quite ironic for a learned doctor like Dr Paison Dakulala to aggressively defend this ambitious project. He was a clinician before being appointed to his current position. Therefore, he should know all th

It’s not the right time to build PMC

Dr Lusove Ngomo I  have been following the debate on the Pacific Medical Centre. The more the people express their disapproval, the more stubborn the health ministry becomes. Among the many comments, health workers are the ones making the loudest noise as their mark of disapproval.  Most are professional people at the end of the health service delivery system who feel the pinch of not being adequately resourced. They are often forced to make do with whatever little they have. Often they have to improvise to save lives. Most, if not all health facilities, are either understaffed or underfunded as revealed in a case study and published in the The National (Oct 19). Even if funding is available, accessibility is cumbersome, courtesy of long and unnecessary financial procedures. It is quite ironic for a learned doctor like Dr Paison Dakulala to aggressively defend this ambitious project. He was a clinician before being appointed to his current position. Therefore, he should know

Mine owners try to silence critics

  Ash Pemberton Owners of the Hidden Valley gold mine in Morobe province, Papua New Guinea, have tried to silence critics of the environmental damage created during the mine’s construction, Little Green Palai said on October 25. Members of campaign group Union of Watut River Communities (UoWRC) have been issued restraining orders by owners Morobe Mining Joint Venture (MMJV). The owners demanded they stop spreading information about the mine's impact on the community and environment, the article said. The MMJV is jointly owned by Newcrest Mining of Australia and South African company Harmony Gold. The Hidden Valley mine sits at the headwaters of the Watut River. The river is a crucial source of food, water, transport and recreation for local people. The Minerals Policy Institute said many complaints have been issued against MMJV over heavy sedimentation along the river as a result of mine construction. People have complained of damage to food gardens and tree crops, as well as erosi

Mine owners try to silence critics

  Ash Pemberton Owners of the Hidden Valley gold mine in Morobe province, Papua New Guinea, have tried to silence critics of the environmental damage created during the mine’s construction, Little Green Palai said on October 25. Members of campaign group Union of Watut River Communities (UoWRC) have been issued restraining orders by owners Morobe Mining Joint Venture (MMJV). The owners demanded they stop spreading information about the mine's impact on the community and environment, the article said. The MMJV is jointly owned by Newcrest Mining of Australia and South African company Harmony Gold. The Hidden Valley mine sits at the headwaters of the Watut River. The river is a crucial source of food, water, transport and recreation for local people. The Minerals Policy Institute said many complaints have been issued against MMJV over heavy sedimentation along the river as a result of mine construction. People have complained of damage to food gardens and tree crops, as well as

Money owed must be paid up

OP/ED Finance Secretary Gabriel Yer and Treasury Secretary Simon Tosali have been slapped with contempt of court charges. They will appear in the National Court soon ( a date is yet to be set), but when they do appear, they will have to explain why they were not able to pay a sum close to K12 million to property owners in Chimbu, in a matter that the same court had awarded damages 19 years ago. A group of village leaders representing the clan in the legal proceedings is in Port Moresby and together with their lawyer, they have served the contempt of court charges against the two men, in an effort to force them make the payment, which they claim is well over due. The action by this group has come about because of the delay by the state to pay for damages or destructions caused by its agents. This is just one of the many judgments that the state has suffered in court cases involving citizens in the country. Lawyers have informed this newspaper that judgments suffered by the state in cour

Money owed must be paid up

OP/ED Finance Secretary Gabriel Yer and Treasury Secretary Simon Tosali have been slapped with contempt of court charges. They will appear in the National Court soon ( a date is yet to be set), but when they do appear, they will have to explain why they were not able to pay a sum close to K12 million to property owners in Chimbu, in a matter that the same court had awarded damages 19 years ago. A group of village leaders representing the clan in the legal proceedings is in Port Moresby and together with their lawyer, they have served the contempt of court charges against the two men, in an effort to force them make the payment, which they claim is well over due. The action by this group has come about because of the delay by the state to pay for damages or destructions caused by its agents. This is just one of the many judgments that the state has suffered in court cases involving citizens in the country. Lawyers have informed this newspaper that judgments suffered by the state in

ADB, Australia to Help Papua New Guinea Expand Microfinance to Rural Poor

The FINANCIAL The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Australian Government will support a $24 million project to help rural communities in Papua New Guinea access credit and financial services. The Microfinance Expansion Project is expected to generate jobs and boost growth in some of the country's poorest and most isolated regions. Lack of access to finance is a major constraint to rural development in Papua New Guinea. ADB estimates that only 15% of the population has access to formal or informal banking facilities, and many parts of the country still use a non-monetary barter system for transactions. "This project will help rural areas move from a subsistence to a modern cash-based economy and in the process it will increase incomes and reduce poverty by stimulating informal business activity," said Robert Wihtol, Director General of ADB's Pacific Department. According to ADB, the project will extend and build on the experiences and lessons learned from ADB'