P.N.G. Gossip Newsletter - 16 Nov 2003

[ Latest Newsletter | Newsletter Home | Previous | Next | Newsletter Index ]
Index to all Newsletters

PNG Gossip Newsletter Meri Milne Bay

Welcome to the

Papua New Guinea Gossip Newsletter


A very special welcome is extended to any new readers. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please e-mail them to giaman@pnggossip.com

Articles for this newsletter

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- please e-mail your contribution by clicking here

 

 

 

Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"
Tok Pisin English
taim time
apinum afternoon
apinum early evening
nait late evening
aua hour
bihain last
bihain later on
longpela taim long time
monintam morning
kaikai long monin breakfast
switpela kaikai dessert
kaikai long belo dinner
liklik kai or belo lunch
minit minute
de day
taim long san daytime
nait night
belo kaikai noon
secon second
sampela taim seldom

 

 

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 28.5 - 29 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

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 and Tourism Directory located 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.expedia.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

PNG Religious Sites

Anglican Church of PNG (Port Moresby Diocese) -- http://portmoresby.anglican.org
Bible Society Work in PNG -- http://www.biblesociety.org/bs-pap.htm
Catholic Church of PNG and Solomon Islands -- http://www.catholicpng.org.pg
Christian Brethren Churches of PNG. -- http://www.dg.com.pg/~cbcpng/
Church of God in PNG -- http://www.zip.com.au/~openshaw/begin02.html
Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG -- http://www.lutheranworld.org/Directory/ASI/EvangelicalLutheranChurchofPapuaNewGuinea.EN.html
Hetune - Community of the Visitation, Popondota -- http://orders.anglican.org/arcyb/cvl.html
MAF Service in PNG -- http://www.maf.org.au/png/pnginfo.php
Melanesia Field is part of Nazarene World Missions. It is part of the Asia-Pacific Region and has its headquarters in Kudjip, PNG -- http://www.melanesianaz.org/
Nazarene Hospital at Kudjip in the Highlands of PNG is a mission hospital operated by the Church of the Nazarene, serving the people of PNG since 1967 -- http://www.kudjipnazarenehospital.org
New Tribes Mission Aviation in PNG -- http://www.ntmpng.org/ntma.htm
PNG Christian Links -- http://www.geocities.com/jbnirenga/christ-a.html
PNG Church Partnership -- http://hometown.aol.co.uk/pngcpluxton/PNGChurchPartnership.htm
Pioneer Bible Translators: PNG. -- http://www.pioneerbible.org.pg/
Religious Television Association of PNG -- http://www.rtapng.com.pg
Society of St Francis -- http://orders.anglican.org/arcyb/ssf-pac.html
The meaning of the Vow of Poverty in the third world -- http://orders.anglican.org/arcyb/2000-RichardCarter.html
The United Pentecostal Assemblies of PNG. -- http://www.upcpng.org/



Miscellaneous PNG Websites



- Kenmore group of companies -- http://www.kenmore.com.pg
- Markham Group -- http://www.markham.com.pg
- Milne Bay Estates -- http://www.mbe.com.pg
- National Research Institute -- http://www.nri.org.pg
- PNG Poetry -- http://members.cruzio.com/~png/prev.html
- PNG Woman -- http://www.pngwoman.com
- Seeto Kui -- http://www.seetokui.com.pg
- Keynote Music -- http://www.keynote.com.pg

A parody of Waltzing Matilda called kai kai the buai can be found at http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/WM/Kai.html

Traditional Story Illustrations from PNG -- http://www.rosesgallery.com/pngstory.html



Communication Sites



- Alcatel (Now owned by PACOM -- http://www.alcatel.com.pg
- ConXions -- http://www.conxions.com.pg (also Ericsons PNG)
- PACOM -- http://www.prosec.com.pg/pacom.
- PNG Pacific Mobile Communications -- http://www.tiare.com.pg
- PNG Telecommunications Authority -- http://www.pangtel.gov.pg
- PNG Telikom -- http://www.teklikompng.com.pg
- RAD-TEL Communications Sales and Services -- http://www.radtel.com.pg
- TE PNG -- http://www.tepng.com
- Matryx -- http://www.matryx.com.pg

 

News Items

Discount Money



It is sad to see that one of the stores not far from the Boroko police station near Garden City has come up with a scheme to fleece customers of even more money. If the paper money handed over at the cash register is not crisp and clean the store deducts a percentage of the value. If you have a note with the corners missing the note is valued at something less than 100% of the face value of the note. I am not sure what value the note is reduced to if it is in very poor condition but I would think that this would be highly illegal. As far as I know so long as you have the two serial numbers the note is still worth exactly the face value of the note. Thanks to Gadoeno for that news item. Maybe it is time to start washing your notes and hanging them out to dry so you can get better value for your money. Some stores are already claiming that there is a shortage of one and two toea coins so that they can round up and sometimes down the purchase price. Other reputable stores seem to be able to get a good supply of small coins and also accept you money at face value no matter how torn or dirty your paper notes are.



Fuel Prices



The price of petrol in PNG has risen again. This time it has gone up by 8 toea per litre. Diesel has increased by 2.7 toea per litre and kerosene by 6.3 toea per litre. The hardest hit, aviation gasoline, has gone up by K1.10 per litre. It will be interesting to see what repercussions this has with the section of the aviation industry that uses avgas.



Telecommunications



The head of the PNG Telecommunication Licensing Authority has said that PNG has been classified as the lowest ranking telecommunication service provider in the world. As little as 2 percent of the population of PNG has access to telecom services.



Red Meat Levy



The Livestock Development Corporation has recommended a levy of ten toea per kilogram on all imports of red meat into the country. It is hoped that this would help the ailing cattle industry in the country and encourage the industry to supply meat for local consumption.



Labour and Employment



On the surface it looks like Air Niugini may have had a win in its battle against the Labour and Employment Minister wanting to remove the Chief Executive Officer of the airline. The Prime Minister has removed the Minister from the portfolio and appointed another to the position. Of course the removal could be for any number of reasons but who would want to put that in front of a good piece of gossip!



Air Niugini



The Air Niugini Boeing 767 went in for a service recently and once the service was completed a test by the pilot indicated something was not quite right. After many such test flights the fault was finally found and fixed and then it was time for Air Niugini to make an attempt to return the heavily disrupted schedule to normal. Well it appears that when you are down you are really down. It would appear that on return to Port Moresby after a short flight to Brisbane, Australia the plane had an incident with a bird requiring a replacement window for the plane and a burial for the bits of the bird that could be found throwing the schedule out even more. One passenger wonders why they had to pay an extra K30 facilities charges tax to the PNG Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on top of the existing K30 facilities tax and K30 departure tax. It would seem that none of the K60 facilities charges per passenger are being used by CAA to get rid of a bird problem at Jackson's airport. It would also appear that very little of the money is being used for any facilities at the airport.

Domestic passengers are now paying a K10 facilities charge and a recent visit to the domestic terminal revealed less security personal than when passengers were paying nothing to CAA. Of course domestic passengers were inconvenienced even further as Air Niugini used some of the domestic fleet to ferry international passengers to Cairns, Australia instead of being able to get them to the correct destination of Brisbane or Sydney. Air Niugini introduces a new domestic timetable today (16 November) that replaces the last of the F28 1000 series aircraft with a new, to Air Niugini, Dash 8 aircraft. This will mean longer flying times for all trips but it is hoped it will mean a more reliable service for the travelling public. Another Dash 8 aircraft will be introduced soon to further boost the domestic network.



Gas Pipeline



The Petroleum and Energy Minister has said that he is confident that the PNG Australia gas pipeline project would be viable by the end of the year. He said that negotiations with two potential customers in Queensland were in the final negotiation stages. If negotiations were successful this would be sufficient to kick start the longest gas pipeline in the Southern Hemisphere. He said the government was still seeking ways to raise finance for its side of the agreement.



Corruption


PNG has been rated in a survey as one of the worst countries for corruption in the world. It will be interesting to see what the politicians have to say about that announcement. PNG has been rated as the 13th most corrupt country out of 133 countries rated in the world.



Miss PNG 2003



Miss MRDC Cynthia Vaka Asi has won the 2003 Miss PNG Red Cross Quest. She was also crowned Miss Charity Queen. The crowning was held at the Grand Palace Restaurant on Saturday the 8th of November. The Miss PNG second runner-up was Miss Skala/Evoluxe Alice Solomon and the first runner-up was Miss Milne Bay, Helen Stephen. The Miss PNG Quest entrants and their sponsors managed to raise a record for the PNG Red Cross Society of K458,000.

The first runner-up for Miss Charity Queen was Miss RH Hypermart Sibona Bogahenao who raised K101,255.02 while the second runner up was Miss PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Stella Lamboku, who raised K77,400.76.
Together, the nine contestants for 2003 made PNG Red Cross proud in raising a total of K458,711.75.

In the minor prize categories, Miss Friendship went to Miss NCD/Central Red Cross branch Christine Oa. Miss Photogenic went to Vanimo Beach Resort Jenny Sourang, Miss Traditional was MRDC's Cynthia Asi, Miss Quest Sponsors Choice was awarded to Miss Warehouse Nite club Baia Kidu, Miss committee's choice went to Miss Highway Automotive Mary Efi and Miss people's choice was awarded to Miss Milne Bay Helen Stevens.



Manus Home Brew



Community policing efforts in Manus are trying to raise awareness of the effects of consuming home brew. The police have been carrying out awareness programs over the provincial radio, Radio Manus, as well as talking to Grade Ten and Grade Twelve students. The efforts are aimed at students who will be finishing their exams and looking for home brew to celebrate or drown their sorrows.



Food Crisis



Villagers living on the Carteret Islands and Atolls are struggling to find food and relief efforts to send food are being hampered by a lack of money to pay for fuel for the MV Sankamap. Many of the villagers want to move off the islands that are sinking into the ocean but their efforts are being stopped by landowners wanting money for the land the villagers are to be relocated to. To make matters worse business houses in Buka are still waiting for payment of foodstuffs provided to the National Disaster and Emergency Office four months ago. It is believed that his food has already been shipped to the islands.



Bank South Pacific



The Bank South Pacific has agreed at a meeting of shareholders to subdivide the Bank's existing shares on a 10 to one basis. This means that each shareholder will have ten times as many shares. Each share will only be worth a tenth of the existing value. It is hoped that the spilt of shares will make it easier for prospective purchasers to buy shares. The split became effective on the 3rd of November 2003.



Gulf Province



A new ship, the MV Tara Spirit, intended to serve the Gulf Province has run aground on a sand bank on one of its first voyages to the provincial capital of Kerema. The Gulf Governor, Chris Haiveta, has questioned the Department of Transport's maritime division as to what has happened to the navigational aid equipment project for maritime provinces after the incident.



PNG Cattle



Another export of live cattle is to be made soon for the Asian market. The most likely destination for the cattle will be the Philippines but there are negotiations currently underway with other Asian countries to take PNG cattle. PNG has already made three live cattle exports to the Philippines. Two shipments last year and one shipment earlier this year. Many small holders are involved in raising cattle. Out of the last three shipments more than 65 percent of the cattle have come from customary landholders. At independence PNG had an estimated 160,000 head of cattle but even after considerable effort has been made to regrow the herds this figure still only stands at 80,000.



Governor General



The swearing in of the Governor General designate, Sir Albert Kipalan, has had to be postponed indefinitely, pending the outcome of a Supreme Court hearing. The swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for Thursday the 30th of November.



World Heritage Listing



The world famous Kuk swamp archaeological site in the Western Highlands has failed to gain a world heritage listing because the necessary paperwork to list the site was not in order. The site, in the Wahgi Valley, is reported to be one of the very first agricultural sites in the world. It is claimed that the Western Highlands site was tilled more than 10,000 years ago.



ITI Graduation



The International Training Institute held its 14th graduation ceremony at the Crowne Plaza in down town Port Moresby. Over 250 students graduated with the main presentation of Diplomas and University of Southern Queensland Certificates being performed by Dr Ross Cole the Deputy Vice Chancellor from the Pacific Adventist University. Photo's of the event can be found at the PNG Business Directory site -- http://www.pngbd.com/photos/showgallery.php?cat=600&password=



Education Payroll



Teachers are now getting paid using a new payroll system. Manual cheques will now be a thing of the past with the new system. All payments will be by way of a system generated pay advice.



Media Censorship



The Prime Minister of PNG has called on the PNG press to be regulated. Sir Michael Somare said this in Parliament when attacking the media for reporting an international perception survey resulting rating PNG as the 15th most corrupt country in the world. This is a major shift from his previous comments on the freedom of the press. The Post Courier has said "don't shoot the messenger" because the rating was done by Transparency International Berlin in its annual Corruption Perception Index of 133 countries.



Road Safety Campaign



Careless motorists have been warned by the National Road Safety council to be on their best behaviour over the coming festive season. The Safety council's "Arrive Alive" road safety campaign begins on the 1st of December and will go through to the 2nd of January next year.



Fruit Fly



There are over 189 confirmed fruit fly species in PNG but there are others waiting to be identified. Some fruit flies only take a liking to one particular type of fruit whilst others attack several types of fruit. For example the banana fruit fly only attacks bananas. They are considered dangerous pests and can be found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.



Drop-in Centre



The Jim Jacobsen Memorial Centre has been reopened in Lae. It was first opened by the Salvation Army in 1995. With the reopening of the centre the needy, including HIV/AIDS sufferers, would have available a home-like environment in which to drop into, be it for fellowship, to get counselling or even acquire life skills.



Eastern Highlands Roads



It is estimated that the recently reopened roads in the Okapa and Obura districts of the Eastern Highlands Province are contributing up to K4 million from coffee sales in the two areas. The two roads had been closed for 15 years but since their reopening, had resulted in up to K3 million worth of coffee from Okapa reaching Goroka and another K1 million from Obura.



Languages of PNG



PNG has three national or official languages -- they are Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin and English. Overall in the whole of PNG the number of languages listed equals 832. Of those, 823 are living languages and nine are considered to have become extinct in the last fifty years as some groups are absorbed into others and more influence is exerted by tok pisin speakers to make it a truly national language for the country.



The Drum



The famous Post Courier Column "The Drum" has been in the electronic age for sometime now. For all of those people who are familiar with The Drum you can now email titbits of gossip to thedrum@spp.com.pg or you can still send a facsimile message to +675 320-1781. For those not familiar with The Drum then I suggest taking a look at the Post Courier website located at http://www.postcourier.com.pg and follow your nose to "The Drum".






PNG Media


If a friend has given or sent you a copy of this newsletter and you would like to keep receiving free copies then please visit ../news/index.html for instructions on how to join the list.

Articles for this Newsletter

If you think you have a PNG page worth mentioning then please send e-mail to giaman@png-gossip.com.

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter queue please e-mail your contribution to pngnews-queue@png-gossip.com



If you want to subscribe please fill out the application on the following page.

If you want to unsubscribe then select the unsubscribe option on the next page.


ArchivesView PNG Gossip Newsletter Archive




[ Latest Newsletter | Newsletter Home | Previous | Next | Newsletter Index ]



-- THE END --

Some of the ways of saying "that's all" are courtesy of Liz and her friends at the University of Technology in Lae. http://www.unitech.ac.pg

If you can add to this list then please send email to PNG-News@pnggossip.com

 






Created 16 Nov 2003
Updated 16 May 2004

Sponsored by
www.michie.net


©2003 - 2011 Gia Mann