P.N.G. Gossip Newsletter - 12 Sep 2002

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PNG Gossip Newsletter Meri Milne Bay
Welcome to the Papua New Guinea Gossip - 12 Sep 2002

A very special welcome is extended to any new readers. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please click here

C O N T E N T S
Links PNG CD Maps
PNG Tourism Malahang
Wewak Literacy
Privatisation Car Purchase
Australian High Comm RIFL
Porgera Judicial System
Taxation Post PNG
Bougainville Child Abuse
K18 Million Write Off Braille News
Blind Hold-up Road Statistics
Six Mile Slaying Port Moresby Hash
Talasea Independence
Hiri Moale Festival Milne Bay
Goroka Show Mount Hagen
Red Cross Parks and Gardens
Terence Walton Internet Banking
MP's Trips Morobe Show
PNG Media The End

Articles for this newsletter

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- then please click here

Remember that this mailing list is mainly meant for people who have an interest and already know a little bit about the people and geography of Papua New Guinea. The PNG Kina, which is mentioned from time to time in this newsletter, is currently worth around 23-24 United States cents but varies on a daily basis.

If you are really keen on finding out what the Kina is worth a currency converter for most world currencies can be located at http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/moni.html

 

 

Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"
Tok Pisin English
Draiva driver
buskanaka savage
inglis British
kepten captain
kuk cook
kuskus clerk
lapun old person
liklik dokta medical assistant
mangi boy / youth
meri woman
manmeri everybody
pikinini child
pren friend
rabisman no-hoper
sista nurse / nun
skulboi schoolboy
tisa teacher

Want to find out more about Papua New Guinea? Try searching at -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo -- and -- http://www.michie.net/png_faqs. -- The PNG Business Directory at -- http://www.pngbd.com -- is also an excellent place to look for PNG information.

For those who are not so familiar with the geography of Papua New Guinea I suggest taking a look -- http://maps.google.com -- and then click on the find a map option. Go to this link for a quick start to a link to a map of Port Moresby. http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pom-map.html

Also remember that the accuracy of the information in this newsletter should not be relied upon - it is, after all, a gossip newsletter.



Links

Car Dealers
Boroko Motors - http://www.boroko-motors.com
Ela Motors - http://www.elamotors.com.pg
Hertz Hire Cars - http://www.leasemaster.com.pg

Training Institutes
PNG Maritime College -- http://www.pngmc.ac.pg
International Business Institute -- http://www.ibs.com.pg
International Education Agency -- http://www.iea.ac.pg
Pacific Training Academy -- http://www.pta.com.pg
PNG University of Technology -- http://www.unitech.ac.pg
University of PNG -- http://www.upng.ac.pg
Computer Training -- http://www.workersmutual.com.pg

Miscellaneous
PNG Orchids website by Wolfgang H. Bandisch -- http://www.orchidspng.com
General PNG Information -- http://home.worldonline.dk/csv/Geography.htm
Remington PNG -- http://www.remington.com.pg
Investment Promotion Authority -- http://www.ipa.gov.pg
Airlines of PNG -- http://www.apng.com
Century 21 real estate -- http://www.century21.com.pg

 


 

News Items


PNG Maps on CD



Maps in full colour including latest updates with street details for Port Moresby, Lae, Mt Hagen, Goroka, Rabaul. Kokopo and Madang are now available for K495 each or K395 each if you purchase six or more CD's. For further details contact mapper@daltron.com.pg




PNG Tourism Promotion Authority



The PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (http://www. pngtourism.org.pg) has launched a new logo. The new Corporate Logo "Papua New Guinea Experience" was launched at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Port Moresby on Thursday the 22nd of August, by the new Culture and Tourism Minister. The new slogan emphasises that you have to come and experience PNG in order to feel the difference. It replaces the old image known as "Paradise Live".




Malahang



The Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG has handed over the ownership of a large piece of land (420 hectares) at Malahang on the outskirts of Lae to the traditional landowners.




Wewak



An earthquake has struck Wewak and the offshore islands. The epicentre of the earthquake was only 575 metres offshore from Sowom village on the west coast of Wewak. At the moment four people are confirmed dead on Kairuru Island but the casualty list could be higher. The quake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. At least 14 people have been admitted to Wewak hospital with injuries.

All schools in Wewak have been closed and the hospital at Boram may have to be closed due to a shortage of water. One of the taxiways at Boram airport has had to be closed due to a large crack appearing almost down the centreline.




Literacy



The chief of Transparency International, Sir Anthony Siaguru, has said that 44 per cent of Papua New Guineans were illiterate and only 56 per cent could read. Of these, perhaps only half were fully and functionally literate. Females were generally more disadvantaged in this respect than males.




Privatisation



The government will investigate the sale of the PNG Banking Corporation to the Bank of South Pacific. The make up of the IPBC has also been changed to have political representation.




Car Purchase



The purchase of luxury vehicles has been declared as grossly inappropriate. A 1986 policy states that the heads of departments may only have vehicle up to the value of a Mazda 929 which is far less than the K350,000 of the vehicles purchased recently in West New Britain.




Australian High Commission Message



The following message has been received from Mark Lynch at the Aussie High Commission.

I write to advise that there has been a change of the guard in the Consular and Passport Section. My name is Mark Lynch, I am the new Consul at the Australian High Commission, Port Moresby, telephone 325 9333 extension 324. I have been in Port Moresby since December 2000, from then until recently I was head of the Finance Section.

Once I settle into the position of Consul, I hope to be in touch with you all on a regular basis to keep you informed of current and any new developments that may be of interest to Australian citizens in PNG.

We encourage all Australians to register with the High Commission. It is a means of contacting citizens if the need arises for example, there is an emergency concerning your family in Australia or abroad. The information provided is protected by the Privacy Act, ensuring
that your contact details are not divulged to another party.

If you know of any Australian citizens that wish to register or you would like to advise a change of address/contact details please do so in one of the following ways:

on-line - www.orao.dfat.gov.au

e-mail - ahcpmsb_consular@dfat.gov.au

cards - registration cards are available at the High Commission


Kind regards


Mark




RIFL



The Labour and Industrial Relations Minister has confirmed that he invested K2 million of his own money in shares in the failed Resources and Investment Finance Limited (RIFL). According to newspaper reports the Public Officers' Superannuation Fund (POSF) is also understood to have invested several million kina of contributors' money in the now troubled (RIFL).




Porgera



The Porgera Joint Venture Gold Mine has not been able to process any gold since the 16th of July. The mine contributes approximately 14 per cent to the country's gross domestic product. As reported here previously the processing operations were halted after power pylons leading to the mine were damaged on several occasions. Some of the workers at the mine have been sent home.

The mine will have lost K160 million in revenue since the closure. The Ok Tedi mine is also facing production problems due to the lack of rainfall.




Judicial System



Approval has been given for four additional judges to be appointed to National and Supreme courts.




Taxation



The Internal Revenue Commission and Lands and Physical Planning departments will be given assistance to improve the tax collection system. The government hopes this will increase the amount of tax collected. There are currently only 18 judges and they are overworked.




Post PNG



Post PNG has been able to revoke the appointment of the interim liquidator as it returns to profitability. New systems are now in place to ensure that Post PNG runs more efficiently.




Bougainville



The Prime Minister, Michael Somare, has given the go ahead for Bougainvilleans to contest a class action suit against Rio Tinto in the United States.




Child Abuse



The deputy secretary of the Social Welfare Department has said that child abuse in PNG had increased rapidly in the last 10 years. The increase has been attributed to unstable family relationships, neglect of children by parents, inter-marriages and second marriages which contributed to family instability.




K18 Million Write Off



Peter Yama has brought up the write off of K18 million from the Gaming Board during the reign of the Morauta government. Mr Somare has said he will repeal the legislation passed that allowed this to happen and investigate the issue further.




Braille News



Blind people in PNG have access to a Braille Newspaper produced by the PNG Post Courier and the Fiji Times as a community services project. The third issue of the paper is available free of charge to people in Fiji, PNG, Australia, Tonga, Samoa and Chile. The paper uses the resources of the Post Courier, the Brisbane Courier-Mail and the Fiji Times.




Blind Hold-up



A policeman who was blinded by a shotgun blast on Bougainville has been robbed at gunpoint on the weekend. The policeman, the president of the PNG Disabled Sports Association, was robbed of K500 which was intended for a disabled amputee to take part in a competition in Korea.




Road Statistics



6000 reported accidents
3000 reported injuries
300 deaths as a result of road accidents in PNG every year.




Six Mile Slaying



A Chinese storekeeper at six-mile in Port Moresby has been slashed to death from knife wounds to his midriff after he was attacked by two men armed with a bush knife and a pistol. Police have mounted a massive operation in the surrounding areas but no arrests have been made.




Port Moresby Hash



The Hash runners from Port Moresby will be celebrating their 1500 run.




Talasea



Work is underway upgrading the old airstrip at Talasea in West New Britain. Work has begun so fast that there is some debate whether the engineering people at the Office of Civil Aviation had time to test the landfill being used as to the suitability of it for use as a runway. There appears to be some dispute as to who the real landowners are and whether permission has been given by the right people to use the airstrip.




Independence



PNG Celebrates its 27th Independence day on the 16th of September. The Hiri Moale festival, which is held in Port Moresby, is well and truly underway. Contestants in the Hiri Hanenamo quest are currently being judged. Two lagatois (traditional canoes) have been completed and others will be ready to be sailed from Manubada Island to Ela Beach during the Hiri Moale festival.




Hiri Moale Festival



The annual Hiri Moale festival held every September celebrates one of the epic trading voyages between Central Province villagers and the people in the Gulf of Papua. It is a three-day festival of traditional dance, singsing, and drama. During the festivities, Port Moresby's Ela Beach is lined with stilt houses, canoes and swaying dancers decorated with leis of frangipani and hibiscus.

A traditional seven-piece African Combo group will be playing musical instruments from Guinea in West Africa during the Hiri Festival.




Milne Bay



Alotau, along with all other towns, has planned events for the Independence weekend starting on Saturday the 14th of September with the Milne Bay Alive! Agri-Cultural Show which is to be held at the Alice Wedega Park (next to the Town Market). A Craft Market will also held at the Park. There will be cultural performances from around Alotau and other Milne Bay areas.




Goroka Show



The Goroka Show, run by the Eastern Highlands Cultural Show Society, is being held between the 14th and 16th of September to coincide with PNG's 27th Independence Anniversary Celebrations. The first Goroka Show was held on in 1956 and it is one of the oldest in PNG.




Mount Hagen



Mt Hagen suffered a shortage of water over the weekend because only one water pump was working to pump water. Shafts on the other water pumps had broken due to the constant failure of the electrical supply.




Red Cross



The PNG Red Cross is actively helping people in West New Britain province after the recent volcanic activity. The society has sent 18 volunteers and two containers containing relief and medical supplies to the province to assist victims of the Mt Pago volcanic disaster. 12,000 people are now being housed at eight care centres in the province. The volcano erupted violently again last weekend spewing out heavy dark smoke but activity has now subsided again.




Parks and Gardens



The Port Moresby Parks and Gardens headquarters near Rainbow estate just outside Gerehu were burnt down last week. About 50 percent of the buildings were destroyed. Several previous attempts had been made on the building but were not successful.




Terence Walton



Here is an unusual query from Catherine Brown who is hoping that a reader may be able to help her.

Quote
My parents lived in Port Moresby in the 1960's and worked with the Public Service Association. My Dad travelled a great deal with his work all over PNG and developed a strong interest in its flora and fauna.

Whilst in Moresby they commissioned two paintings of two Birds of Paradise. An artist called Tristan Walcot did both. Mr Walcot's real name was Terence Walton DSc FRZS and he and a W. I. Adams ran a business, I think, called Safari Assignments. I think it was
based in Banz in the Western Highlands.

I know that Terence Walton did some work for one of the national museums but do not know if it was a PNG or Australian national museum. I am trying to find out more information on Terence Walton or his business. I do not know if they are still operating etc.

I realise this is an out of the ordinary request and hope you are still able to help. If it isn't in your area any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Regards, Catherine Brown
End Quote

If anyone can help Catherine then please send me an email and I will forward it to her.




Internet Banking



The ANZ Bank is almost ready to start Internet Banking in PNG. Work should have already begun and will become a reality early next month.




MP's Trips



The Speaker of Parliament, Bill Skate, has announced that overseas trips for Members of Parliament, apart from Government Ministers, have been cancelled until January next year, Government Ministers do not come under the control of the Speaker but are under the control of the Prime Minister.




Morobe Show



The Morobe Province Agricultural Society will be held on the 19th and 20th of October. Traditional Sing Sing groups have been encouraged to register for the show with registrations closing on the 4th of October.

 





PNG Media


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-- THE END --

Some of the above are courtesy of Liz and her friends at the University of Technology in Lae. http://www.unitech.ac.pg

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Created 12 Sep 2002
Updated 22 Sep 2002

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©2002 - 2008 Gia Mann