P.N.G. Gossip Newsletter - 6 May 2004

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PNG Gossip Newsletter Meri Milne Bay

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Papua New Guinea Gossip Newsletter


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Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"
TRANSPORTATION
Neo Melaneasian English
kar car
truk truck
motobaik motorbike
wiliwil bicycle
balus plane
ples balus airport
bot boat
pul long kanu paddle or row
sip ship
bateri battery
brek brake
taia tyre (tire)
winskrin windscreen
waipa windscreen wiper
pasindia passenger

 

 

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 29.5 - 30 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

Niugini Holidays



If you are thinking of visiting PNG then visit -- http://www.nghols.com -- Niugini Holidays - There you will find the Essential Handbook about PNG available.



Ex Kiaps



http://www.exkiap.com -- (Kiap - government official). This site is a good source of info particularly for finding kiap mates. This link has come via Arthur Williams.



Financial Institutions



ANZ Bank -- http://www.anz.com.au/png
Bank of Papua New Guinea -- http://www.bankpng.gov.pg
Bank South Pacific -- http://www.bsp.com.pg
Credit Corporation -- http://www.creditcorporation.com.pg
Finance Corporation -- http://www.fincorp.com.pg
Kina Securities -- http://www.kina.com.pg
Public Officers Superannuation Fund -- http://www.posf.com.pg
National Superannuation Fund -- http://www.nasfund.com.pg



 

News Items

St John's Day



The Anglican Cathedral Church in downtown Port Moresby will be celebrating Saint John's Day on the 9th of May. The Anglican Bishop of Port Moresby, Bishop Peter Fox, will be attending the celebrations along with Retired Bishop David Hand. All Anglicans are invited along whether they are regular attendees in the Port Moresby Diocese or just Anglicans who have not been to church for a while. St John's Day is on the 6th but the 9th of May is the closest Sunday to the day. The main service times will be 8:30am.

http://portmoresby.anglican.org/org/stjohns



Health Expo



The annual Health Expo sponsored by The National newspaper -- http://www.thenational.com.pg -- is on again this coming weekend (8th and 9th of May) at the Sir John Guise Stadium at Waigani. The two-day event is aimed at promoting good health amongst the people by bringing different service providers and businesses together under the same roof to create an awareness of their work and the kind of services and health products available in PNG.



Noni Juice



Hot on the heels of a report stating that Tahiti was building a factory to process Noni juice at a cost of US$14.3 million the national president of the PNG Growers Association has called the agricultural research institutions, the provincial and national governments to immediately look a the potential of noni juice and consider it for cultivation especially since it has always grown in places like East New Britain. The market for noni by-products is widening with dietary supplements, herbal teas and cosmetic products being the most popular.



Road Safety



In a bid to raise road safety in PNG the Transport and Civil Aviation Minister has appealed to people issuing licences to not issue them to people who have failed their driving test. He has said that drivers must not go through the back door and see someone they know to obtain a licence.

The National Road Safety Council is attempting to improve and promote road safety in a cost effective manner. In PNG that will be a major task as no one seems to have any idea about road safety. Even the Road Safety Council produces adverts that are totally incorrect. A quick drive around Port Moresby can usually find dozens of road safety items that would cause uproar in most developed countries and that is not even counting the six-inch deep potholes.



Horse Racing Machines



Despite being banned by the PNG Supreme Court several gaming machine operators have been caught breaching the Court's orders. The National Gaming Board will be filing a contempt of court charge against the operators. Gaming board inspectors and police located 22 sites with a total of 64 gamming machines still be operated in Port Moresby.



Mount Bagana



The inspection of dormant volcano, Mount Bagana, on the island of Bougainville is being delayed while funds are found to pay for the helicopter necessary to do the inspection. The volcano is discharging lava towards nearby Torokina villages. It last erupted in 1842 and 1883.



Another Politician Bites The Dust



Yet another politician has been dismissed from office by a leadership tribunal. Michael Nali, the member for Mendi was found guilty of receiving K50,000 from the Southern Highlands Regional Member's Trust Fund and depositing this into his own personal bank account. It is also claimed that he used this money at his own discretion. The tribunal also found that he applied larger amounts of money in a dishonest and reckless manner.



Highlands Telecommunications



Telecommunications to the Highlands are currently facing major problems with the mobile telephone service being cut and many business facing communications problems with telephones. Businesses are complaining about loss of business. Telikom has confirmed that many lines are faulty throughout the region and the acting Operations General manager for Telikom has confirmed that there is a transmission problem in the Highlands area. A transmitter at Mount Strong, near Wau in Morobe Province, has gone down and Telikom workers cannot get to the mountain to fix the problem because of bad weather that has prevented the workers from flying in by helicopter. technicians are on standby in case the weather clears and a helicopter gets permission to land at the site.



Fishing Licences



Five companies have been granted licences to fish in Morobe waters. Three companies are currently operating in the area and two more should join shortly.



Festival of Arts



PNG Government has given K200,000 towards sending people to the South Pacific Festival of Arts to be held in Palau. This leaves the National Cultural Commission in arrears by K500,00 if it hopes to send the 150-member delegation to the event. The last Festival was held in the year 2000 in Noumea.



Ryan Pini



Ryan Pini has been granted citizenship of PNG in time to compete in the Olympic games. The 22-year-old swimmer was born and bred in Port Moresby where his family have a successful business. Ryan said he was proud to be granted citizenship and will be honoured to compete for the country at the games.



Bank of PNG



The PNG Bank -- http://www.bankpng.gov.pg -- according to some shops is still short of 1 toea and 2 toea coins. Other countries have done away with the small 1 and 2 unit coin denomination. Maybe it is time PNG did the same thing? Maybe that is what the bank is attempting to do?



Air Niugini Loan Society



The Air Niugini Loan Society has announced a huge 76 percent increase in profits. The society is predicting a good year for 2004 as well. The increase is attributed to a policy decision to cease withdrawals per quarter and the increase in membership of the society due to a change of the common bond.



PX Executive Club



The Air Niugini Executive Club has undergone some great changes recently. Personal computers have been installed at the Paradise Lounges in Port Moresby thanks to Datanets. The Executive Club has also purchased a modern membership card printer that produces a professional looking card in house rather than one that looked as if it was better suited to the 80's. behind the scenes all was not well. The special software was delayed and the demonstration version would not even save a design let alone allow you to print a card. The diligent people at Air Niugini Info Tech came up with the production of the cards using Paint Shop Pro and Microsoft Word. Card production took about 1 minute per card and with 1000's of cards to print it looked like a mammoth task. The correct software eventually turned up on a slow boat from Singapore and now the airline can produce all its cards from one database with little human intervention. Interested in becoming a member - please contact Lynette on +675 327 3453 or email her at -- exec.club@airniugini.com.pg



Diving



If you are interested in diving in PNG then any of the following websites may be of interest to you -
http://www.underwaterphotos.com/tiata2.htm
http://www.cathychurch.com/png.html
http://www.diversionOZ.com/epngdive.htm
http://www.worlddive.com/phgal/png/pngpix.htm
http://www.blueseacharters.com



Enga



The governor of Enga has imported certified fungus resistant potato seed from Australia. The move comes as a relief to potato farmers who have been affected by the recent potato blight disease in the Highlands Region. It is hoped that the imported seed will have an important impact on the industry especially for local farmers.



Rabaul Escapees



The five prisoners who escaped from custody as the judge was about to bring down their conviction have been recaptured and charged with escaping from custody as well as being sentenced for the original crime.



Port Moresby General



It has been reported that nurses working in some of the wards at Port Moresby General Hospital are now selling biscuits and confectionary to patients and visitors in a bid to raise money to buy drugs.



Car Dealers



Boroko Motors -- http://www.borokomotors.com.pg
Ela Motors -- http://www.elamotors.com.pg
Hertz Hire Cars -- http://www.leasemaster.com.pg
PNG Motors -- http://www.kenmore.com.pg



Birth Registration



The deadline for the free registration of individuals born in PNG has been extended to the 22nd of May 2004. All parents and guardians are invited to register the birth of their children. Many clinics, churches and school are participating by being centres where parents can register. Tougher measures will be in place and a birth certificate will be the only way that a person will be able to be identified as being a PNG National as well as being able to have an official date of birth and know their age. Without a birth certificate it will become increasingly difficult to get a PNG passport for travel overseas.



Governor General



Four candidates have managed to gain enough votes to become candidates for the position of Governor General. They have passed the initial scrutiny of the Clerk of Parliament. They are -- Sir Paulias Matane, Sir Joseph Nombri, Sir Pato Kakaraya and Sir Albert Kipalan. The four will be subject to further checks by the Clerk. It is hoped that the documents and processes are scrutinised in a better manner than the past two failed attempts at voting for a Governor General. It may be possible that three of the four will be excluded becasue of defects in their applications. The only women candidate, Nahau Rooney did not have enough time to muster the minimum number of votes to be able to contest the vote. The nomination period was very short and many politicians were not available to place their nomination for various candidates.



Gumanch Plantation Raid



After a dramatic raid on the Gumanch Plantation coffee estate near Mount Hagen police have been able to seize three high-powered weapons. Police will investigate the matter to see if charges can be laid against the custodians of the guns.



Rotary Clubs



A successful gathering of Rotary clubs from PNG and the Solomon Islands has been held recently in Kokopo, East New Britain. The Kokopo Rotary Club hosted the conference. During the conference each club was helped to develop an action plan for this year and 2005. A total of 50 people took part from 13 different clubs in PNG and two from the Solomon Islands.



PNG Crude



The first shipment of crude oil from Kutubu is expected to arrive at the InterOil refinery at Napa Napa just outside Port Moresby sometime in June. A second shipment has been scheduled for late June as well followed by regular shipments from then on. InterOil is a Canadian owned company who have built a PNG based refinery. InterOil have also acquired BP's PNG subsidiary, BP Papua New Guinea. Assets of that company include over 40 retail outlets.



PNGDF



The commander of the PNG Defence Force, Peter Ilau, has said that the Defence Force will adopt a strategic approach towards combating illegal trade and criminal supply lines and their much need lines of communication in the country. This approach will be implemented in provinces that serve as gateways to the country.



Goroka Coffee Festival



The Goroka Coffee Festival and Trade Fair will be held in the Eastern Highlands capital at the Raun Raun theatre on the 14th and 15th of May. A Member of Parliament for Goroka has given K5,000 of taxpayer's money to organisers of the event. The festival has been described as unique with a special emphasis on the promotion of coffee. 40 exhibitors and nine sponsors have already been confirmed for the event.



Goroka F28's



The runway has been extended and F28's should now be back. I believe that Air Niugini has scheduled one flight a week on Monday afternoon with the rest of the weekly flights being catered for by Dash 8 aircraft.



Divine Word University



On the 29th of April the Divine Word University (DWU) in Madang officially opened its Friendship Library. The library is so named because it represents friendship in the truest Melanesian sense. It represents the friendship between Australia and PNG that made the project possible. The library was made possible with help from the Australian AusAID Incentive Fund to the tune of K10.8 million. the library will be opened to the broader public in Madang and not just staff and students at Divine Word.



Namatanai



Namatanai recently celebrated its 100 years of civil administration. The German governor officially declared it a district on The 30th of April in 1904. Local MP Byron Chan and acting Prime Minister, Moses Maladina were able to attend the celebrations.



Religion



It has been four years since the census so the figures shown below may be out of date but they are the only figures available.

Christian

- Anglican -- 166,046
- Evangelical. Alliance -- 266,598
- Evangelical. Lutheran -- 1,001,005
- Roman Catholics -- 1,391,033
- Salvation Army -- 10,377
- SDA -- 520,098
- United -- 591,458
- Pentecostals 440,904
- Baptist -- 130,987
- Other Christian -- 415,592

Other Religions

- Baha'i -- 15,409
- Church of Christ -- 20,516
- Jehovah's Witness -- 20,625
- Other Religion -- 15,857

The total population for the 2000 PNG Census was -- 5,140,476

The above figures show Christians totalling 4,934,098, Other Religions - 72,406, No Religion - 30,733 and Not Stated -- 103,239 for a total of 5,140,476



Manus Problems



The small island of Manus has seen panic buying of rice, sugar and flour recently because supply ships have not called in to restock the island. The town of Lorengau has run out of essential supplies. Queues of shoppers have been seen outside the main shops. The reason for the delay is that the shipping companies have below the minimum cargo requirement required to send it to Manus.



Sandline



The following web site may not be operation much longer -- http://www.sandline.com -- Sandline was a mercenary force that brought down the Sir Julius Chan and Chris Haiveta led government in 1997 over the issue of sending mercenaries to Bougainville.

Sandline has reportedly shut up shop due to a lack of governments requiring the use of mercenary forces or private military armies willing to help end armed conflicts in such places as Africa. During the height of the Sandline crisis in PNG there were up to 85 members of Sandline conducting training exercises near Wewak in the East Sepik Province. Primarily Gen Singirok pulled the plug on the PNG operation on The 16th of March 1997. The assault on Bougainville was scheduled to take place in April 1997.



Illegal Water??



Eda Ranu, the authority responsible for attempting to supply water to Port Moresby, is still unclear whether water supplies to a number of the settlements around the town are legal. Many paying consumers have expressed concern that the settlements receive water free of charge with little policing done on the amount of water that is wasted. Many consumers are struggling to pay their Eda Ranu bill every time it comes due yet they see wastage in the settlements. Many consumers, such as David C are up in arms because even though they are connected to the water pipes they have not received water for ages yet Eda Ranu is still billing them. Eda Ranu has been accused of showing favouritism to High Commission and Embassy residences and leaving the people that pay to feel like third or fourth rate consumers.



Pomio



A crocodile has killed a six-year-old boy in the Pomio area of East New Britain. The victim was fetching water from the river when the crocodile attacked him.



Scouts



The World Scout Bureau Regional Director of Asia Pacific is currently visiting PNG to meet with national scout leaders to learn about the progress of scouting activities and facilities around the country. He said the main objective of the scouting movement around the world was to promote and encourage youth to have faith and value in life.






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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 6 May 2004
Updated 16 May 2004

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