PNGBLOGS

SOUTH PACIFIC POST PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday axed his “close friend” Don Polye from the job of deputy Prime Minister and appointed another Engan MP and Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Abal as the new DPM. While Minister Polye still maintains his Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry, his removal as DPM is expected to spark a revolt from within the Highlands bloc of the National Alliance Party who claimed last night that the PM acted in breach of the party constitution which says the job of Deputy PM should be given to one of the four regional parliamentary leaders. Mr Abal is not a regional leader of the Highlands bloc and is therefore not a heir-apparent of the deputy PM’s job. Sir Michael’s axe also fell on Attorney-General and Member for Rigo Mr Ano Pala who was replaced by the Governor of Madang and former Chief Justice Sir Anorld Amet. Sir Arnold flew to Kokopo yesterday on the government-owned falcon jet where he was sworn in by the Governor-General Sir Paul

SOUTH PACIFIC POST PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare yesterday axed his “close friend” Don Polye from the job of deputy Prime Minister and appointed another Engan MP and Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Abal as the new DPM. While Minister Polye still maintains his Works, Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry, his removal as DPM is expected to spark a revolt from within the Highlands bloc of the National Alliance Party who claimed last night that the PM acted in breach of the party constitution which says the job of Deputy PM should be given to one of the four regional parliamentary leaders. Mr Abal is not a regional leader of the Highlands bloc and is therefore not a heir-apparent of the deputy PM’s job. Sir Michael’s axe also fell on Attorney-General and Member for Rigo Mr Ano Pala who was replaced by the Governor of Madang and former Chief Justice Sir Anorld Amet. Sir Arnold flew to Kokopo yesterday on the government-owned falcon jet where he was sworn in by the Governor-General Sir P

OP/ED The 11th Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney, Australia kicked off yesterday. And in a packed room, PNG’s Oil Search Limited, a major partner in the LNG project, shocked the experts and government officials including ministers from both countries that it has spent a whopping K11.931 billion in oil benefits between 1992 and 2009. And that is nothing on the ground to show for this money, the company says. That is the verdict from oil industry supremo Dr Peter Botten of Oil Search Limited who said there was “no significant appropriate improvements in living standards” had occurred to Papua New Guineans from billions of kina received by landowners, provincial governments and the national government as resource benefits over the last 17 years. Today we are told some 200 people have died from cholera in Western Province. Apart from Cholera, TB, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Cancer and many other diseases are killing our people. The National Department of Health has admitted that our health

OP/ED The 11th Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney, Australia kicked off yesterday. And in a packed room, PNG’s Oil Search Limited, a major partner in the LNG project, shocked the experts and government officials including ministers from both countries that it has spent a whopping K11.931 billion in oil benefits between 1992 and 2009. And that is nothing on the ground to show for this money, the company says. That is the verdict from oil industry supremo Dr Peter Botten of Oil Search Limited who said there was “no significant appropriate improvements in living standards” had occurred to Papua New Guineans from billions of kina received by landowners, provincial governments and the national government as resource benefits over the last 17 years. Today we are told some 200 people have died from cholera in Western Province. Apart from Cholera, TB, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Cancer and many other diseases are killing our people. The National Department of Health has admitted that our heal

PLATTS Work to reopen the world-scale Bougainville copper mine after a 20-year hiatus can potentially begin within two years, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare was reported as saying Monday. Restarting operations will cost an estimated $4 billion, Australian media quoted Somare as saying at the opening of the PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment conference in Sydney. The Panguna mine on PNG's eastern island of Bougainville shut down in May 1989 after sustaining damage during a secessionist uprising in which the issue of how income from the mine should be distributed was a key factor. Bougainville's local media reported Monday that an agreement paving the way for the reopening of the mine had been reached with local landowners over the weekend. "We are very satisfied on the meeting's outcome," the president of shareholder association European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper or ESBC, Axel Sturm told Islands Post's online edition. "This gives

PLATTS Work to reopen the world-scale Bougainville copper mine after a 20-year hiatus can potentially begin within two years, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Michael Somare was reported as saying Monday. Restarting operations will cost an estimated $4 billion, Australian media quoted Somare as saying at the opening of the PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment conference in Sydney. The Panguna mine on PNG's eastern island of Bougainville shut down in May 1989 after sustaining damage during a secessionist uprising in which the issue of how income from the mine should be distributed was a key factor. Bougainville's local media reported Monday that an agreement paving the way for the reopening of the mine had been reached with local landowners over the weekend. "We are very satisfied on the meeting's outcome," the president of shareholder association European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper or ESBC, Axel Sturm told Islands Post's online edition. "This

AAP PAPUA New Guinea must accelerate development of its natural gas projects and lock in customers or risk losing out to other nations pushing coal seam and shale gas projects, an oil and gas expert says. Independent researcher and the chairman of FACTS Global Energy, Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, gave the warning at the 11th PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney today. The three-day conference has so far focused on the US$15 billion PNG LNG (liquid natural gas) project under development by ExxonMobil in PNG's Southern Highlands. The joint venture project with Santos, Oil Search Ltd and the PNG government is on track to deliver its first shipment of LNG in 2014. Dr Fesharaki says PNG must act quickly to secure Asian markets for that and other LNG developments, or face competition from the cheaper Qatar LNG currently being sold into the US market. "You have to be aware that this threat is there, so you have to act to shore up your customers,'' Dr Fesharaki

AAP PAPUA New Guinea must accelerate development of its natural gas projects and lock in customers or risk losing out to other nations pushing coal seam and shale gas projects, an oil and gas expert says. Independent researcher and the chairman of FACTS Global Energy, Dr Fereidun Fesharaki, gave the warning at the 11th PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference in Sydney today. The three-day conference has so far focused on the US$15 billion PNG LNG (liquid natural gas) project under development by ExxonMobil in PNG's Southern Highlands. The joint venture project with Santos, Oil Search Ltd and the PNG government is on track to deliver its first shipment of LNG in 2014. Dr Fesharaki says PNG must act quickly to secure Asian markets for that and other LNG developments, or face competition from the cheaper Qatar LNG currently being sold into the US market. "You have to be aware that this threat is there, so you have to act to shore up your customers,'' Dr Feshar

OP/ED Last Thursday, Planning and Monitoring Minister Paul Tiensten called a press conference to talk about how the MP for Telefomin Peter Iwei was “stupid” and “naïve” when he was conned into depositing K10,000 into someone’s bank account. It surfaced that Mr Iwei was “authorised” to make the deposit to receive a K12.4 million cheque for works on a hospital and a market in his electorate. Minister Tiensten said Mr Iwei’s action amounted to corruption because he should not pay for a cheque to be cleared if he followed proper procedures and processes. And the cheque he was given was not a registered cheque of the National Planning and Monitoring Department. So, MP Iwei now knows what it is like to be conned. There are two very important issues that have risen out of this debacle. The first is the corruption in the National Planning and Monitoring Department. Why should members of parliament, government institutions or contractors to government pay public servants who are already paid by

OP/ED Last Thursday, Planning and Monitoring Minister Paul Tiensten called a press conference to talk about how the MP for Telefomin Peter Iwei was “stupid” and “naïve” when he was conned into depositing K10,000 into someone’s bank account. It surfaced that Mr Iwei was “authorised” to make the deposit to receive a K12.4 million cheque for works on a hospital and a market in his electorate. Minister Tiensten said Mr Iwei’s action amounted to corruption because he should not pay for a cheque to be cleared if he followed proper procedures and processes. And the cheque he was given was not a registered cheque of the National Planning and Monitoring Department. So, MP Iwei now knows what it is like to be conned. There are two very important issues that have risen out of this debacle. The first is the corruption in the National Planning and Monitoring Department. Why should members of parliament, government institutions or contractors to government pay public servants who are already paid

PNGEXPOSED BLOG The National newspaper has done it again – publishing the public relations spin paid for by its parent company as if it is news and, worse still, not having the common decency to point out its clear conflict of interest. The National newspaper in Papua New Guinea is owned by Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau which is frequently criticized for illegal and unsustainable logging and human rights abuses – not that those accusations ever appear in The National. Rimbunan Hijau employs a guy called Alan Oxley to defend its logging operations and publish flattering reports about its behaviour under the guise of his consultancy company ITS. Today The National published as a news item a story (see below) about Oxley’s latest report, commissioned no doubt by RH, which claims that restricting illegal and unsustainable logging would be bad for PNG. Not one word from The National about Oxley’s connection to RH, not one word from The National about its connection to RH. Apart f

PNGEXPOSED BLOG The National newspaper has done it again – publishing the public relations spin paid for by its parent company as if it is news and, worse still, not having the common decency to point out its clear conflict of interest. The National newspaper in Papua New Guinea is owned by Malaysian logging giant Rimbunan Hijau which is frequently criticized for illegal and unsustainable logging and human rights abuses – not that those accusations ever appear in The National. Rimbunan Hijau employs a guy called Alan Oxley to defend its logging operations and publish flattering reports about its behaviour under the guise of his consultancy company ITS. Today The National published as a news item a story (see below) about Oxley’s latest report, commissioned no doubt by RH, which claims that restricting illegal and unsustainable logging would be bad for PNG. Not one word from The National about Oxley’s connection to RH, not one word from The National about its connection to RH.

SMH AID workers in Papua New Guinea will be making health patrols to isolated villages, in the steps of predecessors who brought the New World to locals more than 60 years ago. Australian patrol officers, known as kiaps, often trekked for days in harsh conditions, spreading the idea of government and law and order to villagers who had never seen white faces before. A product of the colonial era, the kiaps brought much-needed health supplies and new tools. They provided basic education and prolonged villagers' life expectancies. Advertisement: Story continues below Since independence in 1975 PNG governments have failed to deliver in remote areas despite huge resource revenues. With the kiaps now a distant memory, PNG is filled with highly paid advisers and consultants who rarely get their boots muddy or leave their air-conditioned Port Moresby offices. But late last month, in a significant shift of approach, an Australian special forces soldier and a doctor and nurse team helped PNG

SMH AID workers in Papua New Guinea will be making health patrols to isolated villages, in the steps of predecessors who brought the New World to locals more than 60 years ago. Australian patrol officers, known as kiaps, often trekked for days in harsh conditions, spreading the idea of government and law and order to villagers who had never seen white faces before. A product of the colonial era, the kiaps brought much-needed health supplies and new tools. They provided basic education and prolonged villagers' life expectancies. Advertisement: Story continues below Since independence in 1975 PNG governments have failed to deliver in remote areas despite huge resource revenues. With the kiaps now a distant memory, PNG is filled with highly paid advisers and consultants who rarely get their boots muddy or leave their air-conditioned Port Moresby offices. But late last month, in a significant shift of approach, an Australian special forces soldier and a doctor and nurse team he

OA AMORA Recent long delays to get my relatives issued with visas to come to Australia has prompted me to raise this concern to all Papua New Guineans.  PNG is now classified Category D by Australian Foreign Services. PNG is in the same category as Afghanistan, Iraq  etc. These countries are considered highly dangerous and problematic. Visa processing now takes one week before approval is given. This is to ensure proper background checks are made, whether people have sufficient funds to travel to Australia, whether their relatives in Australia are able to support them etc etc etc. As PNG is category D classification, there will continue to be delay after delay at the Aussie High in Pom. What irks me is that PNG politicians do not seem to give two hoots about this, yet many flock to Australia like grasshoppers. I was saddened to see my birth countryman standing for hours on end like cattle to be loaded on the road trains. I had tears in my eyes to see them standing in long windy lines.

OA AMORA Recent long delays to get my relatives issued with visas to come to Australia has prompted me to raise this concern to all Papua New Guineans.  PNG is now classified Category D by Australian Foreign Services. PNG is in the same category as Afghanistan, Iraq  etc. These countries are considered highly dangerous and problematic. Visa processing now takes one week before approval is given. This is to ensure proper background checks are made, whether people have sufficient funds to travel to Australia, whether their relatives in Australia are able to support them etc etc etc. As PNG is category D classification, there will continue to be delay after delay at the Aussie High in Pom. What irks me is that PNG politicians do not seem to give two hoots about this, yet many flock to Australia like grasshoppers. I was saddened to see my birth countryman standing for hours on end like cattle to be loaded on the road trains. I had tears in my eyes to see them standing in long windy li

IN this era when the government hands down record budgets, and there is runaway excess funds sufficient to bring on successive supplementary budgets, what is happening to the management of simple things such as payment of bills. The non-payment of a mere K11,040 worth of electricity bills has put at risk K6 million worth of medicinal supplies, which are kept in the Lae area medical store, for most parts of the country that requires constant cooling. It is not good enough that the accounts section of the Health Department yesterday released a cheque to pay the bill. The power was turned off at 10 am on Monday. More than 24 hours had elapsed. Were it not for the use of a diesel generator by the time the power was switched on, most of the medicine could have been beyond recovery or use. Much of the drugs are antibiotics and other medicine for pathology and laboratory. The drugs in the area medical store supply Morobe, Northern, Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Western Highlands, Enga,

IN this era when the government hands down record budgets, and there is runaway excess funds sufficient to bring on successive supplementary budgets, what is happening to the management of simple things such as payment of bills. The non-payment of a mere K11,040 worth of electricity bills has put at risk K6 million worth of medicinal supplies, which are kept in the Lae area medical store, for most parts of the country that requires constant cooling. It is not good enough that the accounts section of the Health Department yesterday released a cheque to pay the bill. The power was turned off at 10 am on Monday. More than 24 hours had elapsed. Were it not for the use of a diesel generator by the time the power was switched on, most of the medicine could have been beyond recovery or use. Much of the drugs are antibiotics and other medicine for pathology and laboratory. The drugs in the area medical store supply Morobe, Northern, Eastern Highlands, Chimbu, Western Highlands,

 BY SCOTT WAIDE It was election year in 2002 when campaign efforts were at their peak. I arrived at a school in the Tekin Valley in remote Oksapin in the Sandaun province after a 6 hour trek though the jungle. The rain had just ended when I began an interview with a local teacher. He was one of the few government representatives in this very isolated part of Papua New Guinea. The only government aid post in his village had closed down a few years ago. The orderly left for the provincial capital of Vanimo and never returned. I wanted to know about infant and maternal mortality rates. At the time the teacher was the only person available who could give me a fair analysis of the situation. Having come from Port Moresby where one relies on easily accessible and “reliable” statistics, I got straight into asking a series of questions trying to establish the number of mothers and children who had died in the last 12 months. “We really don’t know.” He said. “We only k

 BY SCOTT WAIDE It was election year in 2002 when campaign efforts were at their peak. I arrived at a school in the Tekin Valley in remote Oksapin in the Sandaun province after a 6 hour trek though the jungle. The rain had just ended when I began an interview with a local teacher. He was one of the few government representatives in this very isolated part of Papua New Guinea. The only government aid post in his village had closed down a few years ago. The orderly left for the provincial capital of Vanimo and never returned. I wanted to know about infant and maternal mortality rates. At the time the teacher was the only person available who could give me a fair analysis of the situation. Having come from Port Moresby where one relies on easily accessible and “reliable” statistics, I got straight into asking a series of questions trying to establish the number of mothers and children who had died in the last 12 months. “We really don’t know.” He said. “We

WORK on the new Papua New Guinea High (PNG) Commission office at Town Ground has reportedly been halted for the past seven months because of lack of funds. The $30 million dollar construction was supposed to complete its first phase this month but workers claimed lack of funds has forced them to discontinue work. When contacted several times yesterday the PNG High Commission Third Secretary Mary Karo said that they have been informed by the acting High Commissioner Mrs Joyce Bundu not to discuss any matters relating to the incomplete construction. “We have been advised by our acting commissioner not to discuss matters relating to construction of our new office. Therefore, we will not be commenting on this matter”, Mrs Karo from the PNG High Commission said. However, the Solomon Star visited the construction site yesterday and spoke to two disgruntled workers. The two workers who wanted to remain anonymous said it has been seven (7) months now since they were laid off from work.

WORK on the new Papua New Guinea High (PNG) Commission office at Town Ground has reportedly been halted for the past seven months because of lack of funds. The $30 million dollar construction was supposed to complete its first phase this month but workers claimed lack of funds has forced them to discontinue work. When contacted several times yesterday the PNG High Commission Third Secretary Mary Karo said that they have been informed by the acting High Commissioner Mrs Joyce Bundu not to discuss any matters relating to the incomplete construction. “We have been advised by our acting commissioner not to discuss matters relating to construction of our new office. Therefore, we will not be commenting on this matter”, Mrs Karo from the PNG High Commission said. However, the Solomon Star visited the construction site yesterday and spoke to two disgruntled workers. The two workers who wanted to remain anonymous said it has been seven (7) months now since they were laid off