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

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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

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Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"
Tok Pisin English
hia here
hiden heathen
holim hold
holim i stap contain
holim long tingting / no lusim tingting remember
holim pas keep / detain
hon horn
hop hope
hos horse
hostes / e hostes hostess
hotel hotel
hotim heat
huk hook
hukim pis catch fish

 

 

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

Misc Sites



The Milne Bay Tourism website can be found at -- http://www.milnebaytourism.gov.pg

Trobriand Islands Sex in Folklore - Myths and Legends -- http://www.janesoceania.com/trobriands_sex_folklore/

World War II wrecks around Kiriwina Part of the Trobriand Islands - Latitude 8° 40' 0S Longitude 150° 55' 0E -- http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/png_kiriwina.html

http://www.ianmurray.net/trophoto1.html -- thumbnail pictures from Kiriwina.

PNG Post Code lookup -- http://www.pngbd.com/postcodes.php

Looking for Airport Codes in PNG then try -- http://www.aircraft-charter-world.com/airports/oceania/papuanewguinea.htm - Note: this web site doesn't show all the airports in PNG. Of course you could try -- http://www.michie.net/balus/iatapgcodes.html


 

News Items

Bank South Pacific



The Chief Executive Officer of the Bank South Pacific, Noel Smith, is saying farewell to the country after 12 years with the Bank. Garth McIlwain will be taking over the position of CEO. Mr Smith has attended many farewell functions recently and it has finally hit home to him that he is leaving.



Alotau by Boat



A Milne Bay businessman, Henry Benoma, has come up with the idea of providing a door-to-door service that stretches from Alotau to Port Moresby using a 10-metre boat called the MV Benoma that he built himself. The boat recently dropped off 40 passengers and cargo from Alotau. Mr Benoma said the four-cylinder boat can take 11 tons of cargo and can travel at up to 10 knots but for safety reasons this has been limited to one third this capacity. A one-way fare will cost a passenger K150.



Maritime Budget



The Kiriwina-Goodenough MP, Brian Pulayasi, has said that past government budgets have not addressed the inclusion of water transport for Maritime Provinces. Mr Pulayasi was querying Planning and Monitoring Minister Sinai Brown as to whether future plans were in place to address this issue, adding that many Maritime Provinces needed water transport to market their cash crops. Many of the members of Parliament who were present in Parliament booed Mr Brown when he answered this question with an abrupt answer saying that his ministry did not have any plans for maritime areas to have sea transport.



Australian Aid



Australia has pledged to pour an additional K2 billion ($A800 million) into PNG. It is anticipated that the money will help to prevent the country descending into anarchy and corruption. Hundreds of police, lawyers, economists and other public servants will be sent to PNG from Australia to try and stem the systemic corruption and financial mismanagement that has plagued Australia's nearest neighbour in recent years. Up to 230 Australian police officers, some of which have already arrived in Port Moresby, to be drawn from the Australian federal service and the States will work with PNG's forces in Port Moresby and in Bougainville. Nearly 20 Australians will be posted to PNG's law and justice agencies, including the position of Solicitor-General and five prosecutors in the Prosecutor's Office. The money will be spent over five years and is in addition to the aid contribution of $A330 million given by the Australians to PNG every year.



Dept Community Development



The National Executive Council has endorsed a name change for the Department of Social Welfare and Development to reflect the new policy direction of the department. The new name is the Department for Community Development. It has also been known as Department of Religion, Youth, Women, Recreation that was later shortened to Home Affairs.



School Curriculum



The PNG School curriculum has come under heavy fire from one of the country's most respected educationists - The University of Technology Vice Chancellor Misty Baloiloi. He said the curriculum is designed with the exclusive emphasis on producing intellectual competency at the expense of emotional competency development. He said this is why students today are more unruly, depressed and vulnerable to drug use and impulsive behaviour than before. He has called on the education planners to immediately redesign the curriculum as well as the mode of instruction and address the problems.



Education Web Sites



http://www.ibs.com.pg -- International Business Institute
http://www.iea.ac.pg -- International Education Agency
http://www.iti.com.pg -- PNG International Training Institute
http://www.pngmc.ac.pg -- PNG Maritime College
http://www.pta.com.pg -- Pacific Training Academy
http://www.unitech.ac.pg -- PNG University of Technology (Lae)
http://www.uog.ac.pg -- University of Goroka
http://www.upng.ac.pg -- University of PNG
http://www.workersmutual.com.pg -- Workers Mutual Computer Training



Surf's Up



For those who are interested the surf is up in the southern part New Ireland Province. There are many big waves waiting to be ridden in the area. The area is ideal for the adventurer who wants to experience the powerful force of the ocean as it slams thousands of tonnes of blue water on the beaches of the southern-east coast of New Ireland.



Port Moresby Power



Once again Port Moresby has had trouble with power. This time criminals have ruined the power supply for people on the outskirts of Port Moresby and villages in Central Province. The chief executive officer of PNG Power, Lawrence Solomon, said that a pole transformer exploded near the Six Mile dump after criminals climbed the pole and opened the maintenance valve and drained all the insulating oil out, resulting in the transformer overheating and eventually exploding. It is thought that the criminals will use the oil from the transformer as a lubricant for motorcars. This, it is said, will cause damage to the motorcar as oil has chemicals in it that are highly corrosive and will damage car engines.



Electricity Increase



Electricity consumers have been advised that they are to face another nine percent increase in electricity charges from the 1st of January 2004. The increase takes into account inflation, foreign exchange movements and fuel costs over a twelve-month period. The increase has been granted provided PNG Power meets certain service standards on the supply of electricity.



Dental Training



The government, after two decades of neglect, is attempting to revive the dental profession in PNG. The dental bachelor program was abolished in the 1980s and transferred to the medical faculty of the University of PNG in 1994. The school of medicine at Taurama recently launched two-degree programs of dental surgery and oral health. AusAID and the PNG Govt. are funding the refurbishment of the old dental centre. Currently there are only 14 trained dentists in the government sector that obviously cannot cater for PNG's population of 5 million. It is hoped that the program will help to alleviate this problem. The Rotary clubs of Port Moresby and Adelaide have donated eight dental chairs to the school for training purposes.



Quality Leaders



The Chief Justice of PNG, Sir Mari Kapi, has said at the grade-12 graduation ceremony for Gordons Secondary School in Port Moresby that the quality of leadership in this country has decreased in the past 30 years. Sir Mari told the graduands that in the past people were concerned about their moral and ethical conduct in public and there were less law and order problems compared with today.



Environmental Pilot Project



A pilot environmental project recently launched at Barakau village in the Central Province aims to address environmental concerns at the community level. The program will focus on action at the community level to address priority environmental concerns relating to community based waste management, protection of freshwater resources, sustainable coastal fisheries and marine protected areas. 60 communities along the entire Central Province coastline have shown a keen interest in being part of the pilot project.



Minimum Wage



A new interim minimum wage has been set at K37.20 per week. The new wage is an increase of K12.52 on the previous level of K24.68 per week. A memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the employers and unions recently paves the way for minimum wage earners to be paid K0.8455 per hour for a 44-hour week.



PNG Republic



Peter Ipatas, the Governor of Enga, has called for PNG to become a republic and the Governor-General's office to be replaced by a president. In a move likely to raise eyebrows after the recent election of the Governor-General along regional lines, the Governor said the time was right for the country to cut its ties with the British monarchy and become a republic headed by a president.



Female Education



A global report has found that investment in girls' education has multiple returns and yet in PNG they very often miss out on school. The report, the 2004 State of the World Children's Report published by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was launched in Port Moresby recently. The recently published Development Atlas on Children in PNG showed that for every 100 boys in school, there were 80 girls in primary and about 65 in secondary schools.



Madang Coconut



The operating company of the Madang Coconut Mill has been sold to Elan Trading Corporation for K6.4 million. The interim liquidator has said that Elan Trading will operate the mill under a joint venture agreement with local growers through Madang Commodities Limited. Elan will hold 60 percent equity and growers will hold the other 40 percent.



Medical Drug Wastage



PNG incurs losses of about K12 million in medicinal drug wastage annually because it does not have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) mechanism in place. The aim of the SOP would be to reduce high wastage of drugs, currently at 20 per cent (K12 million) of K60 million annual spending; and to train health professionals to order the right drugs at the right time and in the right amount.



PPP Fight



The National Court has recently dismissed a court bid by ousted Leader Alan Marat to remove the recently elected leader of People's Progress Party (PPP), Andrew Baing. Mr Baing described the decision as a victory for the party and the country.



Gas Pipeline



Oil Search say they are a step closer to getting the long delayed PNG-Australia pipeline up and running following WMC Resources Limited signing a conditional agreement to buy gas for its Olympic Dam project.



Public Accounts Committee



The Public Accounts Committee's (PAC) deputy chairman, Wewak MP Kimson Kare, has urged the Government to give the PAC more authority. He said the Government had to give support and more authority to the Committee given the important work it did. He said there would be 15 government organisations including the Bank of Papua New Guinea, the Agriculture Bank, the Department of Finance and the Civil Aviation Authority will appear before the PAC in the first quarter of 3004



PAC Financial Boost



The Public Accounts Committee has received a million Kina boost for next year following the success of its work this year. The PAC's budget came under the Parliamentary budget which had a lot of other departments to look after as well. This year the PAC only received K58,000 given and this was not enough for the committee to carry out its mandated functions.



Real Estate Agents Association



The Real Estate Agents Association has advertised their web site. It is located at -- http://www.reia.org.pg.



Real Estate Agents



Arthur Strachan (Lae) -- http://www.arthurstrachan.com.pg
Century 21 -- http://www.century21.com.pg/ and http://www.siule.com.pg/
Kohoy Real Estate -- http://kohoyrealestates.tripod.com/
L.J Hooker -- http://www.ljhooker.com
Ray White Real Estate -- monian@online.net.pg
Strickland RE -- http://www.sre.com.pg/
The Professionals -- http://www.theprofessionals.com.pg



School Subsidies



A government Minister has said that K40 million of the 2004 national education budget has been allocated for schools subsidy payment. The Transport Minister and Member for Kandep, Don Polye, said this at the Mt Hagen Park High School's 26th Grade 10 graduation. Mr Polye said another K17.7 million had been provided in provincial government budgets functions grants that were to help with the operating costs of provinces' education institutions. The subsidy allocation would meet some of the cost, while the rest needed to be paid for by parents and schools through fees and other initiatives such as self-reliance projects.



Valentine Kambori



The National Planning and Rural Development Secretary, Valentine Kambori, will be jailed for six months and fined K2500 for contempt of court if he does not arrange payment of K3.7 million to a landowner group from Vanimo before the 19th of December. If he manages to do that then he will receive a 12-month good behaviour bond and the K2500 fine instead of the custodial sentence.



National Research Institute



The National Research Institute (NRI) Council has dismissed its director, Dr Beno Boeha, following directives from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently during hearings into the Institute's financial operations. It has been alleged that Dr Boeha invested K800,000 in fast money schemes to raise funds for the institute.



Bougainville Police



Over 400 Bougainvilleans, both men and women, have applied to join the police force when the Autonomous Bougainville Government is established. The first 100 applicants have been selected (from the 400) to train at Bomana hopefully early next year.



Police Mobile Squad



A police mobile squad, from Goroka, has been sent to Madang to help curb crime and bring final eviction awareness for settlers to move out before the exercise begins on the 15th of December. They will carry out the final eviction warning exercise to settlers who were still living in the settlements despite several notices sent to them over the past several years. Police had been monitoring the situation in Madang town and had found that there was a lot of vandalism done to State and private properties, petty crimes and armed hold-ups recently.



Logging



The courts have ordered Malaysian logger Kerewara to pay K6 million to landowners at Kubuna in Central Province. The landowner group welcomed the court decision.






PNG Media


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-- 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 Dec 2003
Updated 29 Feb 2004

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