PNG Gossip Newsletter - 16 Feb 2006

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Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"

Tok Pisin English
bagarap break down / worn out
bagarapim spoil
fiksim / piksim fix
moa nogut worse
mobeta better
rongim wrong / offend
resis competition / race (contest)
rum slip bedroom
rum room / apartment
sloim ka slow down
so exhibition
solwara sea
sop soap
sop bilong tit toothpaste
sop i gat smel toilet soap
sop / sop i het gras shampoo
sops chops
sopstik chopsticks
 
Interested in having your own Web Site? Worried about the cost? It may be cheaper than you think. Take a look at pricing at the PNG Web Hosting site. Sites with space for 15,000 MB of data, 300 GB transfer per month and 24/7 ticket/phone support for less than US$5.00 per month. -- DOT COM Domains from US$9.00 per year.
 

Remember that this mailing list is meant (mainly) 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 30 - 30.5 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 -- The PNG Business and Tourism Directory also has daily rates based from a PNG perspective

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 click here and use the submission form.

Articles for this newsletter

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- please click here and use the submission form.



Warning: PNG web sites seem to come and go. The fact of life is that it costs money to host a web site and there is not much return on the outlay to most businesses in PNG. If you do click on a link and use the services or even have some comments to make then please contact the people at the relevant web site and let them know so they at least know that someone has gained some value from their efforts. If you are so inclined then mention that you heard about them from this web site and if you want to donate to keep this newsletter coming at least twice a month then click on the "donate" button above. -- The PNG Gossip Newsletter.

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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.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

National Anthem



Chris Luxton has advised that the following is a link to a working version of the PNG National Anthem -- http://www.navyband.navy.mil/anthems/ANTHEMS/New%20Guinea.mp3 -- visit Chris's web site at -- http://hometown.aol.co.uk/pngcpluxton/Prayers.htm



ABC Australia



Postcard from Port Moresby - A transcript from "Correspondents Report" aired recently on Australian ABC Radio can be found at -- http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2006/s1567614.htm -- please take the time to read the article.



Luke Lucas



Luke Lucas has the following contribution to the newsletter. It will be of interest to all Territorians and those that have high speed access to the Internet. Many people will remember Luke from the time when he was the PNG Electoral Commissioner and the owner of Agnes Cooking Pot in Boroko.

quote --
I just put two videos on my website under the heading "Videos" which feature all the songs by Larry Daniels, one time night club owner in Port Moresby. Songs such as; Kai kai the buai, Streets of Mt Hagen etc.

These files are not small but that's the only way I could get the music out.

Luke
-- end quote

If you are interested then the following URL's will be helpful --

http://lukesnewplace.com/streetsofmthagen.exe and
http://lukesnewplace.com/kaikaithebuai.exe



Wantok Radio



Wantok Radio -- http://www.wantokradio.net -- has remote FM translators in Ialibu, Goroka, Kainantu, Lae, and Rabaul. A few weeks ago there was a significant lighting strike that hit the EMTV tower on Burns Peak. That strike knocked out the satellite uplink equipment for Wantok Radio. Wantok Radio is happy to report that things have been cleared and the network is back on the air. This outage did not affect the short-wave broadcasts on 7120 kHz. Wantok Radio Light is also broadcasting on 93.9 FM in Port Moresby.



PNG Chancery



The visiting Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Sir Rabbie recently performed a groundbreaking ceremony on a plot of land allocated by Solomon Islands for the PNG Chancery in Honiara. Full story is available at -- http://www.pacificislands.cc/pina/pinadefault2.php?urlpinaid=20069



Les Eastcott's Daughter Replies



Much has been written in the local papers about the Vice Chancellor of the University of PNG. Much of it is obviously biased and some of it totally wrong. The Professor's daughter makes an attempt to set the record straight. The letter is too long to be reproduced here but it can be found on the PNG Gossip web site at -- http://pnggossip.com/news/gs0602a.html



Alotau



Napatana Lodge is Alotau's first eco lodge. They offer timber bungalows on the bay and an open air bar and restaurant. I am told that the prices are very reasonable. They are able to offer weekend tours and village based activities as one of their specialties. For more information contact -- grettak[@]daltron.com.pg



Misc Links



Management Consultants -- http://www.2kmc.com

Department of Treasury and Finance -- http://www.treasury.gov.pg/

Bank of Papua New Guinea -- http://www.bankpng.gov.pg/

Internal Revenue Commission -- http://www.irc.gov.pg/

Government of PNG online (other agencies) -- http://www.pngonline.gov.pg/

SIL PNG -- http://www.pnglanguages.org

M. I. Rent A Car -- mirent_acar[@]yahoo.com



News Items

UniTech Expertise



The Lae City Council will now be able to draw on the expertise of the University of Technology after Morobe deputy governor Utika Siserta put pen to paper and signed partnership agreement between the two bodies. The agreement will enable the university's expertise in various technical fields such as surveying, engineering, planning, architecture and marketing compete at commercial rates with Lae businesses through Unitech's business-arm, UniTech Development Consultancy Ltd.



Wapenamanda Flights



Eng Governor, Peter Ipatas, has given a K50,000 cheque to Air Niugini to subsidise airfares for passengers using the Wapenamanda airport. He has now urged the people of the province to use the service instead of flying to Mt Hagen and catching public transport from there. Another cheque for K1 million was presented to the provincial Works division for the Wabag town sealing and a further K20,000 to the Kompiam Baptist Hospital to subsidise MAF flights bringing in sick patients from the rural areas to the hospital. Because many public servants have refused to work in the province Mr Ipatas also presented K165,000 to the board of Wabag General Hospital as special allowances and incentives to attract medical officers to come and serve at the hospital.



Embezzlement



Another former MP is facing embezzlement charges. Former Anglimp South Wahgi MP Kuk Kuli has appeared before the National Court to face charges of allegedly misappropriating a substantial amount of money belonging to the National Gaming Board. The ex-MP applied for money from the Gaming Board to buy ambulances for his electorate but instead he purchased five vehicles for his own use. One of the vehicles was used as an ambulance and sent to his electorate. The whereabouts of the other vehicles are not known.



UNICEF Report



Women leaders in Arawa, Bougainville have criticised the United Nations Children Educational Fund (UNICEF) findings on school-aged girls having sex with businessmen. The women leaders said the report was biased and "taken out of context" without consultation with the women leaders and non-government organisations



NasFund



The National Superannuation Fund (NASFUND) has declared a profit of 32.8 percent with 29 percent of that going back to members of the fund for the year ended 2005. The fund has warned members not to expect the same rate next year. The success of the fund last year has been attributed to the emergence of Bank South Pacific as the main bank in PNG.

Former Prime Minister and Member for Moresby North West and PNG Party leader Sir Mekere Morauta has applauded last year's National Superannuation Fund results attributing the outstanding results to the financial sector reforms initiated by his government.



Casino Raid



A raid on a Port Moresby based casino in late December, 2005 has found over 500 items associated with gambling. The "casino" was previously raided in April 2005.



Telikom PNG



It has been reported that Telikom PNG is set to sign a $US100 million (K321.54 million) deal with a new group of "southern partners" to start new underground telephone cabling work in the country. The partners include Telecom New Zealand and Australia's telecommunication companies Telstra and Optus. Telikom PNG would contribute $US6 million (K19.29 million) as part of funding component. Telikom's communication system was initially designed to cater for 20,000 customers, however, the facility was now overloaded with 75,000 customers and urgently requires an upgrade.



Telikom Cable Vandalism



An ex Telikom worker accused of having attempted to cut telephone cables at Koki in the National Capital District has appeared in court. The accused, along with other men, damaged several cables that threw business houses and banks into chaos and cut all telephone services into and out of the country for two consecutive days. It is estimated that the damage to the cables cost Telikom around K700,000 for repair works and loss of revenue during the two-day telephone blackout.



Tractor Trip



Ten villagers from outside Goroka have had to endure a tractor ride that saw them leaving their village at 8 am and arriving in Goroka at 11 pm just to be able to sell coffee beans. The Government is pushing the "green revolution" and using the PNG Defence Force Air Wing to transport produce around the country but obviously this is not enough when coffee growers will spend 15 hours on a tractor just to move 25 bags of parchment coffee for sale. The road conditions were reported as being terrible even for a tractor. the villagers have over 1000 bags of coffee sitting back in the village so they plan to do many more trips on the back of the tractor.



Medical Waste



City authorities are alarmed at the dumping of medical waste from the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) at the Baruni tip. The incinerator at PMGH has not worked properly since 2002 and medical waste that has not been incinerated properly has been dumped. Some of the rubbish has also been buried at the hospital.



Grand Chief



The Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare who can also call himself the "Grand Chief" due to the awarding of the title under the Order of Logohu, has said that he will lead his National Alliance party to the 2007 general elections. He has hinted, however, that he may step down after reaching his 40th year in politics. That is due to happen in 2008. The Grand Chief will turn 70 on the 9th of April.



Strip Shows



It has been claimed that so long as a man or women does not expose their "private parts" then strip shows, mud wrestling, wet t-shirt competitions and calendars girls are all legal activities at night clubs in PNG.



Election Awareness



It has been announced that limited preferential voting (LPV) awareness exercises and electoral roll registration will continue throughout the country in March. The electoral boundaries report will also be presented to Parliament this week. It has also been reported that the number of voters on the PNG common roll was inflated with some provinces having more than double the number of eligible voters recorded.



PNG Power



The recruitment of an overseas officer to become the CEO of PNG Power has been revoked. The chairman of the power utility has also resigned. Mr Lawrence Solomon is currently acting as CEO at PNG Power. PNG Energy Workers Union has welcomed Mr Jeffreys' resignation and the revocation of the new CEO as a "double victory" for PNG Power workers.



Air Niugini



The chopping and changing continues at the national airline. The person appointed to the General Manager Marketing position has not turned up and the position has been readvertised in the local papers. The General Manager Engineering and Supply Manager were given their marching orders last week and the CEO position is being filled on an acting basis by the General Manager Finance. With the elections coming it is tipped that politics will most likely play a big part in who is appointed to run the airline. The airline has returned a profit recently and given past experiences it will be time for politics to take control again.



Airlines of PNG



Airlines of PNG is currently giving the National Airline, Air Niugini, a run for its money by competing on the Port Moresby - Cairns sector. Prices are being advertised at K99 for a one way fare. As with all advertising usually done by Air Niugini and Airlines of PNG the price advertised is without taxes, fuel surcharges, insurance surcharges etc. The actual one-way price is about K360-K370 for one way and K940 for a return fare. The price does fluctuate a bit due to variances in the Kina to Aussie dollar rate.



Breath Alcohol Tests



It is rumoured that one of the major domestic airlines is giving employees, including pilots, random drug and alcohol tests. This should be applauded and while probably not enforceable in a court it can slot easily into company rules and anything that makes the travelling public safer should be adopted by all the airlines.



Defence Force



The Defence Minister Mathew Gubag says that the Defence Force has a "zero tolerance" level policy on personnel who break the laws of the country. He said the recent arrest of two soldiers from an infantry battalion did not portray the true image of the defence force. He also said appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against the soldiers as soon as the outcome of their court cases was known. The soldiers allegedly used PNGDF hand-grenade and firearms.



PNG Defence Force Armouries



The PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) Commander, Peter Ilau has said that the armouries belonging to the PNGDF have been strengthened making it impossible for firearms and related items to end up in the wrong hands. He also said the hand-grenades and firearms used by the two soldiers in the article above where old and no longer used by the PNGDF. He said they might have been leftover from the conflict on Bougainville.



Ammo Seizure



Security and police have confiscated more than 1,500 rounds of live ammunition at Mt Hagen from a passenger from Port Moresby. The ammunition was hidden in two tubes and neatly packed in a patrol box and an empty beer cartoon and then shipped to Hagen Police have detained a suspect from the Mul district of the Western Highlands province in connection with the incident. Police are baffled at how such a large quantity of ammunition could get past the scanning equipment in Port Moresby. Hagen police believe that the live ammunition could be stolen from the PNG Defence Force armoury.



Morobe Province Roads



Along with most other provinces and the National Capital District roads in the Menyama district of the Morobe province have deteriorated to a stage where normal motor vehicles are being damaged just by being driven down them. Many people growing crops now find that due to the poor quality of the roads they can do nothing other than watch their crops rot because vehicles cannot come to transport the goods to market.



K500,000 Robbery



A person suspected of being involved in the K500,000 robbery of the PNG Electoral Commission headquarters last November has been found dead. Police say that they do not know the cause of his death but they believe that he was possibly killed by his fellow gang members to silence him. The body of the suspect was recently found at the Tahira boating centre just outside Port Moresby.



Gas Pipeline Projects



It has been estimated that more than K8.3 million will be required to fund the construction phase of the PNG Gas Pipeline Project. About the same amount will be spent during the operational 30-year life of the project. As a direct result of the project going ahead 42 bridges will require attention this includes 15 new bridges, 22 bridges will need to be modified or rebuilt and five existing bridges will need to be replaced altogether.






PNG Media


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-- THE END --

In Tok Pisin - em tasol

For other ways of saying the end please pay a visit to -- ../emtasol

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 Feb 2006
Updated 26 Feb 2006

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