Post Courier, Tuesday January 13, 2015

Chief cracks cracks whip

Annual report deadline creeps up on slow govt agencies

BY ISAAC NICHOLAS

DEPARTMENTAL heads and

chief executive officers are highly paid by the tax payers and there is no excuse for not submitting their performance report on time, says Chief Secretary to Government Sir Manasupe Zurenuoc.

He gave this blunt message to

department secretaries, provincial administrators, and managing directors of State-owned companies as the January 16 deadline for the submission of financial reports draws near.

Sir Manasupe said yesterday that he had received only a few submissions and was concerned about the slow pace in which

the performance reports were coming into the Department of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council.

He said key departments like Police, Works and Health, which were priority areas, have not submitted their reports.

“The secretaries, provincial administrators and chief execu-

tive officers are very well paid and looked after by the tax payers – the people of Papua New Guinea,” he said.

“They owe it to the people of PNG to show the results of their performance for the previous year.

“Filing of performance reports is easy and there is no reason

for any delays and if there is any delay I will just say they are lazy. It is not hard. They owe it to the people of PNG.

“Public servants must get simple things right and filing a report is a simple thing and they must get it right.”

CONTINUED PAGE 2

CHIEF Secretary Sir Manasupe Zurenuoc

Move on if you don’t have the heart for PNG

APUBLIC notice was put out yesterday in the newspapers by the Chief Secretary Sir Manasupe Zurenuoc advising top bureaucrats of a looming deadline. The departmental heads, provincial administrators and CEOs and managing directors of State-owned Entities and Commodity Boards have to submit their 2014 Performance Reports by this Friday, January 16. They were advised of the deadline two months ago and only a few of them have submitted documentation.

In a story in today’s edition of the Post-Courier the Chief Secretary revealed that the police and the departments of Health and Works have yet to submit their reports and expressed concern as they represent important sectors. The sectors come under the Government’s priorities consequently a large amount of funding.

We concur with Sir Manasupe and note the two-month timeframe for them to collate the necessary information and fill their reports. There is ample time for them to meet that important requirement hence any further delays or failure to submit their reports is unacceptable.

The annual Leaders’ Summit, which is an initiative of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, plays an important role in ensuring that the performance of our top bureaucrats are kept in check and they continue to deliver on their objectives and that of their respective departments and agencies. The output from departmental heads, CEOs and provincial administrators at the conference are then fed into the Government’s own reporting system and should ultimately translate into the effective provision of goods and services to ordinary Papua New Guineans in our urban and rural communities.

The Chief Secretary has indicated that those bureaucrats that failed to furnish their reports will have to explain to their respective ministers. However, we believe that they also owe an explanation to the people of this nation for failing them (Papua New Guineans) by not meeting that requirement. It is time for our bureaucrats to acknowledge that their failures at the policy implementation level often translates to the loss of basic government services, which depending on which part of the country you live in can be devastating or even fatal to ordinary Papua New Guineans. We have come far since our independence close to 40 years ago but the journey has not been without its challenges. Bureaucrats will continue to play an important role in the development of this nation, they are paid by Papua New Guinean taxpayers to implement government policy and to roll out government services to the four corners of this country. It is an honour to be charged with such a responsibility in a young nation that is still trying to find its feet in a changing world.

If you think that being a public servant is an ordinary 8.00am to 4.06pm Monday to Friday job that anyone can do without fully committing oneself to the task on hand, then obviously you got your priorities wrong and are in the wrong place. You can do this country and its 7.5 million people, who have suffered long enough, a favour by resigning from your job and giving the opportunity to another Papua New Guinean keen on making a difference in the lives of the people.

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City land deal probe still continuing

BY DONALD WILLIE

IT is still unknown if foul play was involved in attaining the title of a land in Port Moresby as investigation reports are yet to be tabled before the Lands Minister, Benny Allan.

Mr Allan had directed the Lands Department secretary, Romily Kila-Pat, in June last year, to immediately issue a stop work notice to the developer of the Nomads Cricket Ground, after he noticed fencing around this well known recreational land near Laguna Hotel.

It is alleged that the Nomads Cricket Ground had been given away to a controversial multi-million kina company.

For this, he had ordered an investigation into the alleged dubious land deals.

An internal investiga-

tion was to be carried out and presented to him as he queried if the developer had complied with the procedures of the application to be considered by NCD Physical Planning Board

and the National Lands Board.

Seven months through, no report has been presented yet to the Minister for Lands and Physical planning.

The piece of land was

owned by a group of trustees in the 1980’s and was used by locals for cricket competitions and other sports purposes until fencing started.

After being mortgaged to the bank, it was later discharged for special purposes for public use such as sports.

“Why was there no public notice for comments on the transfer of the sports and recreational land to private ownership,” he said in a previous media statement.

Mr Allan said that NCDC had lost many of its sports and recreational land to foreign companies including Part of the Unagi Oval and now Nomads Cricket Ground.

An announcement will be made as soon as the Minister receives the reports of the investigation.

Govt agencies yet to hand in reports

FROM PAGE 1

“SECRETARIES, CEOs and provincial administrators have no excuse as this has been government

practice since 2012 and sufficient notice was given in November to submit the reports by January 16.”

He said the performance report when filed would be

entered into the summit booklet for the leaders forum on February 5. “If they do not provide the reports, than they will have to explain to their respective Ministers

and the Government why they failed.”

He said any report after January 16 will not be included in the summit booklet.

Deforestation in Papua New Guinea is mainly a result of illegal logging, which contributed to 70-90% of all timber exports. The bottom line

THE Nomads Cricket Ground has been fenced off for construction. Lands Minister Benny Allen has ordered a stopwork on the site. Picture: KENNEDY BANI

Cops furious over claims for compo

FORMER Porgera-Lagaip MP

Mark Ipuia claims the January 6 landslide on Porgera road at Mulitaka has caused substantial damage to villagers in the area who should be compensated.

According to police, Mr Ipuia had lodged a claim for damages at Mt Mungalo, Yambli village.

He has claimed that 15 pig farms with 3000 pigs valued at K4000 each were destroyed together with a poultry farm with 5000 chicken valued at K50 each and 1000 goats valued at K50 each.

The bottom line

the drum

DEADLINE

DID you see the public notice put out yesterday by the Chief Secretary to top bureaucrats? They have until this Friday to complete and submit their 2014 Performance Reports. They were told two months ago but to date no one has submitted.

NAME EM

THE Chief Secretary might want to give us the names of those top shots who fail to meet the deadline this Friday. It is time to name and shame those who don’t take their public service responsibilities seriously.

SCAVENGERS

THOSE living in settlements on the fringes of the NCD have some serious issues. Last weekend some of them were seen pulling apart the Nine-Mile market. Only steel frames remain at the site with the roof gone, probably to build another shack somewhere.

NO RESPECT

IT MAKES one wonder whether we can take care of the new facilities that the Government is building for the 2015 Pacific Games. The ransacking of the Nine-Mile market isn’t new, it happens time and time again targeting public infrastructure.

DOOMED

At a glance

COMPENSATION: Former Porgera-Lagaip MP Mark Ipuia claims the January 6 landslide on Porgera road at Mulitaka has caused substantial damage to villagers in the area.

CLAIMS: He also claims the Works Department owes an outstanding of more than K6 million to his people.

More than 30 houses and 30 gardens valued at more than K200,000 were covered

by the landslide, according to Mr Ipuia who wants the Enga disaster relief agency to compensate his people before the landslide is cleared by Covec road construction company.

He also claims the Works Department owes an outstanding of more than K6 million to his people for the road construction through his land.

Enga police commander George Kakas has refuted Mr Ipuia’s claims, saying they were fraudulent and there was proof of these

alleged destructions.

Acting Superintendent Kakas warned the former politician that he and anyone trying to obstruct clearing work by Covec would be arrested under the appropriate Road and Infrastructure Protection Act.

The landslide has stopped traffic for the past week and affected the delivery of vital logistics required by the Porgera gold mine.

Covec started clearing the landslide as of Saturday and should be completed by today, weather permitting.

People in Western China, Tibet, and Mongolia put salt in their tea.

THE PNGDCF

THE recent engagement of the PNG Defence Force and the police in the PNG Power Ltd-focused State of Emergency has inspired the coining of a new acronym: PNGDCF. The PNGDCF stands for the “PNG Debt Collection Force”!

ALL GOOD

THE Fiji and Solomon Islands governments have buried the hatchet after they suspended direct flights between the two countries last year over differences relating to a code share agreement between their national airlines.

PX ANGLE

TAKE a closer look at this all-Melanesian aviation scuffle and you will note the role that our own Air Niugini played in the stoush. It seems the Fiji government indirectly targeted the Solomon Airlines’ HoniaraNadi code share agreement with Air Niugini.

NO MONEY OKAY if you are still holding on to paper banknotes of K2, K5, K10, K20, K50 and K100 then they are worthless. That’s right they ceased to be legal tender in PNG in 2012 when they were replaced by polymer (plastic).

BUT information often takes time to trickle down to the ordinary folk so the Bank of PNG announced they would accept the return of paper notes until December 31, 2014. The deadline has lapsed and if you still got paper notes you are doomed.

PENGEE: thedrum@spp.com.pg

LANDSLIDE being cleared by Covec Road Construction Company at Mulitaka, Porgera, with assistance from the security forces despite local demands with fraudulent claims.

Rough seas play havoc in rescue bid

THE skipper of the vessel involved in the last Friday’s rescue of 11 people missing at sea for 12 days yesterday described the weather as “terrible”.

“It was raining heavily and the winds were blowing at 20 to 30 knots and the waves were two metres to 3.5 metres high but we still continued on,” Peter Wojem, who skipper the Pacific Towing vessel MV Victory, said.

Mr Wojem said they found the survivors at 17.50pm, the three women were cold and were huddled under the canvas to keep out the rain

The bottom line

God saved us, say survivors

BY NICOLE JOANNES

THE survivors of Manus to Madang boat ordeal said they are alive because God heard their prayers and saved them. They said they did not panic when drifting in the open sea but prayed and trusted God for their rescue while surviving on rain water and raw sago.

The nine passengers are now being looked after by the West New Britain Provincial Disaster Centre in Kimbe while the operator and crew are still at Vitu Island waiting to be brought to Kimbe.

The 11 people include three students. Six survivors are from Madang and the other five from Manus.

The Madang group was in Manus to sell betelnut and was returning to Madang when they were joined by the other five from Manus. The survivors said they have travelled many times between Manus and Madang which takes eight hours.

The weather was fine when they left Manu at 9.30am on December 29 but encountered rough weather in Madang waters and their boat powered by two 40 horse power engines ran out of fuel and they drifted out to open sea.

At a glance

SURVIVORS: The 11 people missing at sea for 12 days were rescued last Friday and described the weather at sea as terrible.

RESCUE: The dinghy and the survivors were located 42 nautical miles offshore from Kimbe after an Australian Search and Rescue plane spotted them on Thursday and dropped supplies along with an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon which was able to give the rescue team the survivors’ location.

SKIPPER: The skipper of the MV Voctory is Peter Wojem.

and wind while the men were sitting down.

“They were weak so our crew helped them onboard and gave them something hot to drink before they took a warm bath,” he said.

He said the survivors were thankful when they touched last and thanked the MV Victory crew before being taken to the Kimbe General Hospital.

The 11, including three

children, had headed out of Baluan Island in Manus on a 23-foot motorised dinghy on December 29 and were headed for Pana Island outside Madang Town when they were reported missing The dinghy and the survivors were located 42 nautical miles offshore from Kimbe after an Australian Search and Rescue plane spotted them on Thursday and dropped supplies along with an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon which was able to give the rescue team the survivors’ location. Pacific Towing general

manager Neil Papenfus said a number of small boats had been dispatched earlier to rescue the survivors but due to the deteriorating weather conditions had sought shelter at a nearby island. He said the weather was quite bad and because the survivors had been out at sea for almost two weeks, they would be exhausted and hungry.

Mr Papenfus spoke with the National Maritime Safety Authority and then dispatched MV Victory with its five men crew at 2 o’clock on Friday afternoon to rescue the survivors.

The human brain can hold 500 times the information in a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

A member of the group Laurie Pangheen said on January 7, after being adrift for nine days, the operator Junior Richard Manini and crew Charlie Anis jumped off the boat to swim ashore around the waters of BaliVitu Islands to find help.

Mr Pangheen said this was when they were sighted by the Australian aircraft which dropped survival kits. These included water and biscuits and Emergency Activator Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon that showed the rescuers their exact location.

The Australian Surveillance Centre also alerted the PNG ports who in turn alerted the others.

THE nine survivors in front of MV Victory after they arrived at the wharf.

Faulty system benefits users

THOUSANDS of PNG Power customers in the nation’s capital and Lae have been benefiting from a malfunction in the EasiPay meter system which is accepting expired receipts.

Customers who have kept EasiPay receipts from previous years have found that some of these old receipts are still useful.

“For example, if you still have an EasiPay receipt from 2013 or past and you run out of units for your house electricity, punch in one of the old receipts on the meter and you get your power credits in-

At a glance

EASIPAY: Easipay is a user-pay system where customers buy power (kilowatt hour) receive a computer generated 16 or 20 digit, representing the information about the customer meter and the amount of power (kWh) purchased.

MULFUNCTION: Customers benefiting from a malfunction in the EasiPay meter system which is accepting expired receipts.

WARNING: EasiPay users who are resorting to these illegal opportunity would be detected by the system and penalised.

stalled, we have found out it works,” one customer told the Post-Courier

“We enquired at the PNG Power office but because there are too many clients

Finances sound with K8 million

BY ISAAC NICHOLAS

PNG Power financial position has now stabilised with K8 million in the accounts after more than two years in the red of more than K40 million overdraft facilities with commercial banks.

“PNG Power is now in the black and not red,” Public Enterprises and State Investment Minister Ben Micah told the nation yesterday on FM100 radio’s talk-back show. He said the Sate Of Emergency declared would help the company back in a better financial position for the future.

He said six million out of the seven million people were still living under lamps and candle lights and the state of emergency declared was a start to help PPL back on track to hook up electricity throughout the country.

He said the company is proving to stabilise financially but was still owed more than K138 million by consumers.

Mr Micah also said the freeze on tariff increases as ordered by the Prime Minister would remain in force until all the issues surrounding PPL, the illegal connections and outstanding bills were addressed.

He said the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) normally approves tariff increases.

“In the last two years, I think the cost of tariff not applied is K170 million –money which PPL needs to address some of the issues that have been affecting them financially but I believe the decision by PM is the correct one because now this SOE process will enable us to go down and look at the actual cost per kilowatt hour, the real of providing power from the generator, to transmission and distribution and how much we are really suppose to pay.”

“I have instructed the working group in the SOE to work out the tariff regime, different tariff rate from different sources of power generation and advice me on what are the bottom line cost to bring to cabinet.”

PNG Power is now in the black, not red

to deal with, we have been advised that PNG Power will still detect abuses in the system and penalise,” he said. Some callers to the Post-Courier since the announcement

of a state of emergency on PNG Power were querying if these sorts of mishaps would be detected by PNG Power and the SOE committee.

PNG Power when contacted yesterday for a response and detailed information on the matter said they were aware this was happening.

But they warned that EasiPay users who were resorting to these illegal opportunity would be detected by the system and penalised.

PNG Power, which will issue a statement today on the matter, warned yesterday that the organisation will come

hard on those that are found to have benefited from this alleged malfunction in the Easipay meter.

Part of PNG Power’s plan as a business entity is to introduce the Easipay system throughout the country so that consumers pay for the amount of electricity they use.

Easipay is a user-pay system where customers who buy power (kilowatt hour) receive a computer generated 16 or 20 digit number, representing the information about the customer meter and the amount of power (kWh)

purchased. The customer enters the digits on the meter, which has a keypad similar to the telephone keypad. If the numbers are entered correctly, the amount of electricity in kWh is registered on the meter. A lighting system similar to the traffic light system will show green for sufficient power, amber for one week’s supply and red for three days supply.

When the light is red, the customer buys another lot of units and if not, the meter switches off if the last unit is used up.

CHEERS!

“goodbye”.

The world’s biggest source of energy for producing electricity comes from coal. The bottom line

CHEERS! They sang in unison as they posed for TARAMI LEGEI at Laws Road in Port Moresby. Defined by the Webster Dictionary, the word “cheers” is used as a toast to wish everyone happiness, used as an informal way to say “thank you,” and it used as an informal way to say

BEN MICAH Port Moresby

Medical experts: Vaccines safe

BY MAUREEN GERAWA At a

MEDICAL professionals say former health minister Jamie Maxtone-Graham’s recent comments on vaccination were dangerous and the public should ignore them.

Medical Society of Papua

New Guinea president Professor Nakapi Tefuarani said the comments were wrong, adding that more doctors, the World Health Organisation and the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety would be speaking out in the days to come.

The former politician had gone on social media urging Papua New Guineans not to vaccinate their children, saying parents were often not aware of the risks involved in vaccinations, including the risk that could leave a child debilitated for life or even kill him.

However, Prof Tefuarani urged parents to take their children for vaccination, saying vaccines in PNG were safe and were given to children to protect them against childhood illnesses, starting from birth and at different times of their growing up.

“We all are saying the same thing – that the vaccines in Papua New Guinea are safe and parents must take their children for vaccination,’’ said Prof Tefuarani, who is also a child health specialist and paediatrician advising the Health Department.

Former professor of child health and member of Regional Committee for Certification of the Elimination of Measles John Vince said parents should not be misled by misinformed individuals, no matter how eminent in society they may be.

Kokopo police, public foil robbery

A SUSPECT allegedly involved in an armed robbery incident in Kokopo Town yesterday (Monday) was severely beaten up by the general public after he was chased on foot by police and the crowd.

The man had to be rescued by police.

VACCINATION: The administration of antigenic material to stimulate an individual’s immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate morbidity from infection.

VACCINE: A biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease.

OVERFLOW

He said these people should take advice from professionals on health issues.

Prof Vince said Mr Maxtone-Graham could speak on lifestyle diseases, but vaccination had little to do with lifestyle – it is about preventing death in children from infections.

He has worked for 39 years in PNG and says PNG was free from measles for some years due to immunisation and then there was an outbreak in 2013 which is still continuing in some parts of the country. The disease which came in from outside the country, he said, could have seen more children die without mass vaccination coverage.

Family homeless after tree smashes into home

BY MICHAEL KOMA

A GIANT tree near a health centre in Sinasina’s Koge village fell and destroyed a home next door last Thursday. Strong winds blew down the dried trees, destroying Koge Health Centre’s perimeter fence and on the adjoining home, built at a cost of nearly K100,000, about seven metres away.

The distraught home owner Moses Eregul Kamen said he and family members were not home at the time.

Mr Kamen said he had repeatedly warned the health authorities that the dead trees posed a threat to the health centre and to his house but they were reluctant to let him chop it down. He said he should be compensated by the Sinasina-Yongomugl dis-

trict administration which is responsible for the health centre. “I built my house with funds I generated from selling garden produce,” he added.

District administrator Bal Numapo said he would assign his officers to assess the damage and would recommend to the Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committee for funds to rebuild Mr Kamen’s house.

According to East New Britain Provincial police commander Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Junior, the man was one of three to four suspects who held up a female worker at the Lings Freezer gate around 9am yesterday morning and took off with a substantial amount of money as well as the company vehicle she was driving.

The woman was on her way to the bank. Police were alerted by the security firm mending the premises.

PPC Wagambie said the stolen vehicle sped towards the Kokopo Market and the Kokopo Task Force Unit vehicle which was on the opposite lane gave chase.

However, he said during that time, his officers did not know there was a robbery but police chased the vehicle because it was speeding.

One of the suspects, armed with a bush knife jumped off the vehicle near the new Kokopo/Urban LLG office and escaped on foot.

He was chased by police and the general public and beaten up. Police found a gun in the bag he was carrying.

The other suspects in the vehicle drove up towards Kenabot and another task force unit vehicle chased them all the way to Ulagunan. The vehicle hit a tree and the suspects escaped on foot.

However police were able to recover the vehicle and the stolen cash. They also found a gun and a mobile phone belonging to one of the suspects.

PPC Wagambie said police know the identity of the two men and they will be investigating the incident further. He thanked his members for their quick response which resulted in the recovery of the vehicle and the stolen cash.

The PPC issued a warning to would-be robbers that police were always on alert.

Basil queries Erima resettlement scheme

MINISTERs responsible for lands and housing must work together to develop proper planned residential areas to cater for needs of title holders and residents, says Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil.

He made the call yesterday in relation to NCD Governor Powes Parkop making a commitment to resettle people from the Erima Highway by relocating them to 1000 blocks at Durand Farm.

Mr Basil asked if these allotments were within the proposed Durand Farm Housing Estate by the National Housing Corporation or another scheme within the same area.

“It is interesting to know whether all the people removed from development sites around NCD are relocated to planned suburbs or is the NCDC creating other unplanned and settlements that will continue to create

problem with customary landowners, titleholders and other users and lessees in the new locations”.

Mr Basil, who is Bulolo MP, said the old low housing schemes such as in East and West Taraka, 1-4 Mile in Lae, Morata, Erima and Five-Mile in NCD and West Goroka must stop as these schemes did not provide for proper water and sewerage, sanitation and telephone services. Also, no land was available

in this type of scheme to cater for construction of other amenities such as community health centres, police stations, markets, schools, recreational areas and LLG wards and district administration offices, he said.

While Mr Basil commended the Government for its initiatives to provide houses and accommodation for the people, “we must not use it as a gimmick to appease our low income earners and those

unable to purchase houses in the proposed housing loans scheme, which is definitely out of the capacity of the middle and low level public servants”.

“We cannot continue to develop more settlements while removing illegal settlements or relocating people from infrastructure development sites to land and areas that are not legally approved and planned for proper residential estates”.

A BROKEN water pipe overflowing onto the main road along Angau Drive in Port Moresby being attended to by Eda Ranu, the city’s water authority, who were busy on site to repair the damage and ensure service was restored.

Electricity plays a role in the way your heart beats. Muscle cells in the heart are contracted by electricity going through the heart.

The bottom line

JAMIE Maxtone-Graham

the days are counting

mum on TFF

THE Education Department is quiet about 2014 tuition fee free education audits but still maintains that all school data must be sent to the national education office this month.

The Post-Courier last week tried to get comments from the Education Secretary on the issue of audits but was unsuccessful.

It has become a norm that yearly the Education Department places paid advertisements of tuition fee free for since the introduction in all public and permitted schools. In those same advertisements schools that have bank issues such dormant accounts are also mentioned. Last year, this information was not made public.

The education department refuses to admit that the department lacks funding for such purposes but some of its senior offices admit there is lack of funding even for advertisements.

Medical institute to conduct study

THE Institute of Medical Research (IMR) will embark on a major health economic project this year.

In collaboration with overseas development partners it would conduct an “efficiency” study of all health facilities.

The IMR, in collaboration with the University of South Carolina, USA, and the

Nossal Institute for Global Health, Australia, recently won a competitive tender to conduct this study.

According to IMR’s newsletter, the project would be funded by the World Bank and study would assess how efficiently health facilities, especially hospitals, use resources at their financial disposal , human and medi-

cal supplies among others, to deliver health care services.

This project undertaking would compare the efficiency of government versus church-run health facilities and would allow the impact of the recently introduced free healthcare policy to be properly assessed.

According to Nelly Saweri,

an IMR health economist who will be leading the study, “An efficient health service is one that uses all the resources at its disposal to deliver as many needed services as is possible to a high standard and with minimal wastage.”

“An inefficient health facility, on the other hand, is one where financial, human or

Muddle clarifies private practice queries

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

THERE is no authorised private practice at the Port Moresby General Hospital, says hospital chief executive officer Grant Muddle.

Mr Muddle said this when responding to queries about whether he was aware that certain doctors at the Port Moresby General Hospital may be doing private practice in their own time.

He said the national doctors’ award states that doctors on government payroll could do private practice in their own time and the hospital was in discussion with the Health Department and National Doctors Association on how this would be pursued. But there is currently no authorised private practice at PMGH at present.

Mr Muddle also said that doctors who were spreading rumours about PMGH being turned into a private hospital were now pushing PMGH management to allow private practice at the hospital.

“I have no other reason for it than financial,’’ he said, when asked if he had any reason for it.

The Post-Courier has been asked by members of the public to find out whether the hospital management was aware that the doctors they see at PMGH were also seen at certain private hospitals in

Port Moresby.

Mr Muddle said it was common in many parts of the world for doctors to do private practice in their own time, but the question lies

on whether they could manage because the doctors work between eight to 10 hours and if they were working additional eight to 10 hours, they could fall asleep driving on

medical resources are wasted and service provision is less than what it could be,” she added.

This study would be IMR’s first health economics project and would also be the first project for PHDU’s recently established ‘Health Systems and Health Economics’ research section. Dr Justin Pulford, head

of PHDU said this is a really exciting study as the findings would be of interest to a wide audience and would directly inform policy and planning to improve health care service delivery. The one-year study would involve all provincial level and higher hospitals as well as district hospitals in 11 provinces.

the road and get into accidents.

They could also make mistakes in diagnosing and treating patients, he said.

WITH only a few months away and

down fast before the South Pacific Games in July, the contractors are doing all they can to get the facilities ready and be set for the games. Here are the workmen at the Sir Hubbert Murray stadium getting the job going

SIR HUBERT MURRAY STADIUM TAKING SHAPE

THE Port Moresby General Hospital. Picture: CARMELLA GWARE

SABL case still before courts

THE Government has been restrained from implementing all the recommendations relating to all Special Agriculture Business Leases (SABL) until a National Court ruling in Wewak, East Sepik Province.

Limawo Holdings Limited said in a media statement yesterday that they were challenging the decisions made by the National Executive Council to cancel SABL based on the commission of inquiry reports that had recommended their cancellations.

“We are challenging, among other things, the so-called final reports and recommendations of the inquiry because the Commissions of Inquiry Act envisaged one final report from the commissioners which shall comprise the proceedings and the results of their enquiries and the reasons for their conclusions to be presented to the Prime Minister, but commissioners presented three different reports.”

These were the interim report in 2013, the final report by John Numapo on June 24, 2014, and the report by Nicholas Mirou in July 24, 2013.”

Limawo Holdings, through company secretary Willie Nilmo, said their judicial review application challenging these reports into SABLs, sought to challenge the findings and recommendations contained in the purported final reports of the much published commission of inquiry (CoI) into SABL.

It said the three reports have been stayed by the Na-

Police probe city killing

BY MEROLYN TEN

POLICE are still investigating the death of former newspaper journalist Harold Farapo, his former diplomat father Tony Farapo said yesterday.

The grieving father said his son’s body was awaiting a postmortem as police continue their investigations.

Harold Farapo’s body was found dumped near Tatana village, on Sunday morning.

At a glance

SABL: The abbreviation means: Special Agriculture Business Leases.

LEGAL CHALLENGE: Limawo Holdings Limited will challenge the decisions made by the National Executive Council to cancel SABL based on the commission of inquiry reports that had recommended their cancellations

REPORTS: Interim report in 2013, the final report by John Numapo on June 24, 2014, and the report by Nicholas Mirou in July 24, 2013

tional Court which effectively restores the status quo to what it was before the CoI.

And as such, neither the CoI reports nor the NEC decision, which were based on them, be relied upon.

According to the court orders of August 13, last year, the Prime Minister, the NEC and the Ministerial Committee by their servants, agents, employees and whosoever associated with them are being restrained from further dealing, considering and or deliberating in any manner or form with the CoI purported repor t of March 2013 and the purported final reports of 24 June and July 24, 2014, respectively pending determination of these proceedings.

Deforestation in Papua New Guinea has been extensive in recent decades and is continuing at an estimated rate of 1.4 per cent of tropical forest being lost annually.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

“POWER to the People” is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1971. The song was written by Lennon in response to an interview he gave to Tariq Ali and Robin Blackburn. A passionate political activist at the time, Lennon’s perception of the song changed during the 1970s. In ‘Skywriting by Word of Mouth’, he called the song “rather embarrassing” and supported Hunter S. Thompson’s claim that the anthem was “ten years too late”. In 1980, he stated that the song “didn’t really come off” as it had been “written in the state of being asleep and wanting to be loved by Tariq Ali and his ilk”.

According to Mr Farapo, his son was a consultant with the Kikori Gas pipeline landowner association for the past seven years and a former executive officer to the Gulf Provincial Government.

“Just recently he went to China with the Prime Minister to meet with the Chinese investors about the setting up of Kikori township.”

He appealed to the people his son was with on Friday night to help police with their investigations.

He said the late Harold Farapo, who lives at Morata, had visited the chairman for the Kikori Gas pipeline landowner association around 10pm at Hohola. Mr Farapo said the killing took place after he had left Hohola for home later that night.

Vendors a traffic hazard

PORT Moresby resident have been urged not to buy goods sold by children at busy street junctions and traffic lights because they obstruct the flow of traffic.

The call was made by first Assistant Secretary for Land Transport Division, Herman Wakia on Friday.

Mr Wakia said young children were engaged in such dangerous activities that could lead to fatal accidents if the street vendor gets in the way of a speeding motorists.

Villager warn youths of land grabbing

BY HAIVETA KIVIA

A BUSAMANG villager in the Huon Gulf District of Morobe Province is asking educated young men and women from the neighbouring tribes of Buang, Wampar and Ahi to corporate to avoid land grabbing and disputes.

Matthew Tomala, who has worked with the Morobe Mining Joint Venture and Ok Tedi as a business development consultant, is asking educated locals to be alert and work in tandem with his Awasa tribe of Busamang.

The bottom line

“PNG is not a poor country and there are no reasons why parents are allowing their children to fend for themselves.” At a glance

Picture: TARAMI LEGEI

MATTHEW TOMALA: He is a former business consultant from Busamang village in the Huon Gulf district of Morobe Province.

ARTICLE: A lot of educated youths are tricking their village folks into selling their land under false pretence and as a result overlapping into the traditional boundaries of other tribes.

LEGAL CLAIM: The Labus went as far as registering the map of what they says is their land.

Mr Tomala said in recent years, many educated young people, especially men, were misleading their village folks and the actions of these young men are mechanisms

for moral and ethical disasters for their people.

He said a lot of these youths are tricking their people into selling their land under false pretence and they were also

overlapping into the traditional boundaries of other tribes.

He said the aerial survey of the land from the eastern side of the Old Lae Airport, the whole of Lae Seaport land, the land running adjacent to the Highlands Highway, along the coastline starting from Markham River down to Buli near Busamang village and up to Wagau in Buang local level government and down to Omsis on the Wau-Bulolo Highway is a clear indication of such abuse of trust.

Mr Tomala said the land

survey carried out by Nambawan Surveyors, a surveying company based in Lae and commissioned by the Labu tribe, is a contradictory to the traditional boundaries of the Awasa, Buang, Wampar and Ahi tribes with the Labu tribe.

He said such people were also causing anger and disharmony amongst neighbouring tribes and clans, and it was not healthy for everyone as it is detrimental to their societies as well.

He said the Labus went as far as registering the map

they says is their land and they; the Awasa, Buang, Wampar and Ahi tribes, have put a stop to it in the interim and they will mount a legal challenge to the claim.

“This claim is outrageous, criminal in nature and does not conform to the traditional myths and legends,” he said.

He said in that context the Ahi and Wampar tribes will be meeting the Awasa Tribe of Busamang on 25 January and to sort themselves and talk about the legal challenge they will mount against the Labus.

Should there be a crash, Prince Charles and Prince William never travel on the same airplane as a precaution

Customs: Regular border checks needed

BY JACOB POK AND GRACE SALMANG

REGULAR checks by the PNG Customs Service and border security officials are needed to cut down on illegal activities such as vehicle smuggling.

The need came to light when a joint operation uncovered an alleged vehicle smuggling racket in a remote part of Rigo district in Central Province, last September.

According to Customs Services officers, the vehicles were currently at Eight-Mile and the company responsible for breaching the Customs Act has paid up the duty fees

LOs call for separate gas project

BY ADRIAN MATHIAS

THE P’nyang Resources Association, who is the mouthpiece of P’nyang Gas project landowners in Western Province, wants their resource project to be a standalone with completely new and separate agreements.

The association chairman Michael Betkimsok and treasurer, Edwin Ingsim said they wanted P’nyang to be standalone to avoid petroleum development license (PDL) variations while strongly opposing the proposed pipeline of their project connecting Hides in Southern Highlands Province.

Mr Betkimsok said P’nyang should be a standalone project to give maximum benefits to the people in Western Province, especially the landowners.

“P’nyang is not part or amalgamated with what was signed in Kokopo, where it can connect through Juha or Hides in the Southern Highlands Province using the old agreement. P’nyang gas pipeline will not pass through Southern Highlands Province so we are not going to talk about it nor agree to it,” Mr Betkimsok said.

“If developers want the gas to underpin current LNG, the gas should be processed in the P’nyang project area to maximise benefits for landowners.

The association chairman and treasurer also warned the contracted company Oilmin not to go into the project area to do any work or conduct activities until formal agreement is signed.

At a glance

CHECKS: There is greater need for regular checks by the PNG Customs Services and border security officials to cut down on illegal activities.

INCIDENT: This became very apparent after 50 Asian model buses were found hidden in cassava plantations in the Rigo district in September last year.

ASIAN: The buses had been smuggled into PNG under the pretence of being used for the PNG LNG project.

CUSTOMS: The commissioner and his executives will meet this week to discuss the issue further.

owed last Friday. About 50 Asian model buses were confiscated at an abandoned cassava plantation site near Launa Kalana in the Rigo district when the authorities

searched the area.

PNG Customs Commissioner Ray Paul yesterday said that he and his executives would meet this week to discuss the issue further. He was

unable to give more detailed information on this issue.

He added that he would make a proper statement after the executive meeting.

The cassava plantation is operated by an Asian-owned company but was closed down sometime back due to landownership issues. Still few local workers continued to provide security in the area.

The buses had been kept there since last June.

Customs Services records showed that most of the vehicles and other goods were imported by an Asian contractor engaged with the Central Province construction phase of the PNG LNG Project.

Since the contractor was engaged by the LNG Project, it was allowed under a special agreement with the State to have tax exemption for goods that it imported for work associated with the project on the understanding that the goods would be returned to their country of origin following the completion of the project.

However, the contractor did not repatriate the goods in line with the agreement and allegedly opted to keep them.

In doing so, it failed to declare them to Customs Services for the appropriate tax duties to be applied.

They also expressed lack of communication between themselves and the project developers (Oil Search and ExxonMobil together with their contractor Oilmin), saying owning the license doesn’t give ownership of the area.

“There are people there. We have leaders at the LLG, district, province and the association through which communication and information flow regarding the development of the project. So far, leaders at these levels, including the association, have not been consulted and even bypassed.”

He said the developers are dealing with the villagers directly and this must stop.

PNG, Japan aim to bring in more tourists

BY TUMBE SAM JNR UPNG STUDENT

THE tourism, arts and culture industry in PNG is expecting a facelift with the prospect of increasing tourists from Japan after the Japanese ambassador met with the industry’s minister.

His excellency Morio Matsumoto joined the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Boka Kondra to discuss the Government’s plans for the sector, and the declining number of Japanese tourists that visit PNG annually and

The bottom line

what could be done to improve this.

Minister Kondra said he is very confident that through cooperation, the sector will build confidence and eventually increase the number of Japanese tourists to PNG.

Mr Kondra said, “Japan is Papua New Guinea’s third largest holiday market after Australia and the United States, and one of the highest spending markets for Papua New Guinea.”

“It is very sad that after 2008, PNG has been receiving less and less Japanese tourists.

The lowest was 1538 tourists in 2013. My desire is for both countries to work together to address issues that prevent Japanese tourists from visiting PNG.

“With this I understand that PNG and Japan have an Air Services Agreement, and that currently there is one direct flight to Narita Airport. But it will be very good to increase it to two direct flights.”

He also expressed that there have been ongoing discussions to establish direct flights between Tokua in East New Britain Province, and Tokyo

in Japan. If this is successful, than it would be an opportunity to transport Japanese tourists directly to East New Britain Province.

“I think that the TokyoTokua direct flight would also help increase the number of annual inbound visitor.

“The growth will be supported strongly by the implementation of PNG Tourism Promotion Authority plans, the PNG Tourism Master Plan, and Air Niugini’s plan to expand its flight services to other international and domestic destinations.”

Humans are the only primates that don’t have pigments in the palms of their hands.

THE buses before they were seized by customs officers last year.

JAPAN Ambassador Morio Matsumoto and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Boka Kondra exchanging gifts. Picture: TARAMI LEGEI

Quick thoughts

GAS PRICE, WHY HIGH?

World crude oil prices have dropped significantly in the past six months or so. This has seen a drastic drop in diesel, petrol and kerosene prices in PNG. However, cooking gas retail price remains unchanged. I thought that gas is a by product of crude oil and so should be low as well. Can PNG’s monopoly supplier Origin Energy please shed some light on the reasons why they continue to fatten their margins and profit?

Domestic gas user

EXPATRIATES NO NEED

It is very disturbing and sad to see our national flag carrier’s current position structure being dominated by expatriates. Air Niugini is a State Owned Entity and most of the executive and middle management positions can be undertaken by a Papua New Guineans. Most of our locals are capable and qualified to handle such top positions. Basically, we bring in expatriates so they can train and share their knowledge and expertise in their specified field to our local employees. Yet it is not the case with PX as most of these expatriates are not willing to train and share their knowledge. Expatriates are brought in on a contract basis, their work permit allows them to stay and work for a period of three years and also allow them to renew their contracts. However, most of the expatriates at PX seem to be here for more than three years and keep renewing their contracts. Last year PX introduced the Value Enhancement Program to reduce the cost of the company. Subsequently the executive management agreed on the 10 per cent staff layoff of the workforce (approximately 200 plus employees) which fortunately did not occur. It is unfair and absurd that the executive management can come up with such decisions without realizing that almost a substantial 80 per cent of the cost of the company in fact comes from the expatriates salary, accommodation and allowances.

Concerned employee

Looking for someone?

I AM looking for a middle-aged woman from Nonga in rabaul, East New Britain Province. Her name is Niuta Toule and she used to work at the operating theatre at the Nonga Base Hospital. If someone knows where she is, please ask her to call me on 7350 3517.

George Arua

No peace, no development

“SHOULD Hela continue on with tribal fights?” This was the debatable question asked by Hela Christian Ministry students during their peace awareness campaign led by Taju Marako.

I admire their courage for breaking the silence in public. We can no longer pretend that everything is alright at home and I challenge every individual Hela man and woman to come out and support this approach taken by our students’ ministry to combat law and order issues.

I led a group of Hela students during the 2007 Christmas period with a similar peace awareness campaign –theme: “No Peace, No Development!” It was the initiative of our Minister, James Marape. Its been four years

since we broke away from Southern Highlands. Are we ready to race with other well-established provinces or will we be hindered by tribal warfare?

Schools are either burnt or shut down due to continuous tribal fights, depriving our children their rights to education. Some flee to other centres, becoming street kids and beggars. If we continue on with this barbaric and hostile way of life, our children’s future will be doomed.

How can Hela people demand their elected leaders for new development when they are killing? No new infrastructure development will take place if and unless people change their habit of the ruthless and senseless act of killing and murder.

We may yell and blame our Parliamentarians for not bringing tangible development but first people need to ask themselves if they are ready for those changes.

Hela people are now boasting that Hela will change with the help of revenue from the sales of our prophetic gas project, but I am afraid that those credit scheme monies will be diverted to projects in other provinces if tribal fights in Hela Province continues.

It is very fearful and too risky for one to venture into business activities in Hela if people do not change their stone age ways of life.

Daniel Pokaraija Tumbiari Piripu village, Tari

views expressed on these pages are the opinions of our readers. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Post-Courier – Editor

Enga’s police commander George Kakas condemns sorcery related killings in the Province.

WRITE TO US Text us on 208

Global oil prone to low prices

THE abrupt plummeting of world crude oil prices in recent months has caught the world by surprise. It was a major shock of proportional scale and the impacts are profound for energy companies and host nations of major energy projects.

I am not surprised. I knew prices of major fossil fuels would fall when observing certain key global factors such as the slowdown in the Chinese economy and the aggressive efforts by the US to promote LNG exporting by developing its huge shale gas reserves which have been stranded for centuries.

The slowdown in economic growth in China and Japan will no doubt drive energy prices further down as demand declines.

On the other hand, we see the Japanese government currently pushing for an increased market share for nuclear power generation in the Japanese national energy mix.

Japan imports more than 99.9 per cent of its energy requirements and

at high costs. Nuclear power generation ranks top in terms of per unit cost.

Japan is playing smart despite the ugly risks associated with nuclear power. Japan knows that the market will react by setting the economic price of energy.

Currently, the Asia Pacific region dominates the global LNG market both in terms of demand and supply so the region is the hub of global energy business.

For the first time, the USA is now targeting this same market by planning to export significant LNG cargoes in the next few years. PNG is amongst other nations like Australia and Qatar currently supplying this same market.

The LNG market will soon be saturated with more cargoes, hence will push prices to drop.

Interestingly, Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude oil producer, may have played a key role in the recent sharp decline in energy prices.

The Saudis rank top in terms of production cost on a per unit basis so by increasing their exports substan-

Text us on 208

CHAIN OF COMMAND

tially at prices lower than rival producers, they can have a control over others in setting a desired price.

The Saudis have more oil and gas reserves to influence world crude oil price.

Another factor is that most LNG projects around the world now export rich LNG to their customers so if you compare LNG and crude oil from an energy equivalent basis, LNG, which is natural gas, is energy rich. This is a significant factor.

In terms of pricing, LNG price is normally indexed to crude oil prices. Given that LNG now constitutes increased or higher heating value compared to crude oil, this can also push the price of crude oil down to its correct position.

No wonder, we see more vehicles now running on natural gas due to energy efficiency and cost advantages.

Because of the facts explained above, global energy prices will remain low for some time before the market bounces back.

K. Koya Ialibu, SHP

We need sealed roads more than anything

ALLOW me to express my frustration here. Since independence, it has taken the Papua New Guinea Government so long to realise what service our people in the rural areas need most.

I was a 2nd year law student casually attached with Panamaseier Resource Pacific Limited as one of their logistic officers to distribute medical kits here is East New Britain.

I came to realise the efforts in carrying medical kits from Alakasm to Raunsepna Health Centre, a six-hour walk.

While interviewing the Baining people, they told me that they needed road service more than any other service. All their fresh produce can-

not be sold because there were no roads. Clinics and schools in the area have poor access to their supplies.

It is about time our government concentration in linking roads to all remote places of the country rather than spend so much money on nonpriority areas such as the Pacific Games that does not even have the slightest practical improvement on the lives of the entire population.

Prioritising road service is the way forward because road service is similar to human blood vessel. Blood vessel links all parts of our body enabling effective flow of blood to transport oxygen and mineral pumped by the heart to sustaining a full human existence.

Similarly, if our Government were to finance all road service with full concentration like it is doing with the development of infrastructure for the 2015 South Pacific Games, I suppose it would have major improvement to the livelihood of our people than one can ever imagine.

If you don’t agree with me I would request any MP to carry 2 Boxes of Medical Kits weight 6-7 kg and walk the 6 hours walk like I did up and down the mountainous slippery bush track to taste the peoples suffering. Come on leaders, we just need wellsealed roads.

On page 12 of Monday’s Post Courier (Jan 12, 2015) a junior environment officer making environmental damage comments against a mining company at Sinivit in East New Britain is incorrect. That officer is a junior technical officer. His duty is to make visitations to the mine site, make assessments, recommendations and provide advise on possible solutions to the Department of Environment and Conservation for media releases. If not the Secretary than the Minister. This is a mockery on the seniority chain on the senior staff level of the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Masen Iningi

REMOVE RANGERS

I wish to bring to Mr Andy Bawa, Labi Amaiu and Powes Parkop’s attention the behaviour of city rangers at Unagi Oval bus stop at Gordon. The temporary bus stop is unsafe since it started engaging City Rangers, many people are being assaulted for minor offence. For example, on the 6th of January, a civilian had few beers from elsewhere and was on his way home on a Bus 16. In his possession was a half filled beer bottles. The City Rangers checking through buses noticed he was intoxicated and dragged him out. They start assaulted him and threw him in a waiting police vehicle. I believe in the near future pick pocketing and other petty crimes will start again and will be worse than the previous Gordon bus stop. The temporary bus stop was much better when it started without City Rangers.

Regular traveller

PPL BLAME GAME

Minister Ben Micah thinks that by declaring a state of emergency, seizing control of PNG Power Limited (PPL) from its Board and by engaging the military to do debt collection

work, he will somehow correct the problems. In case Mr Micah has ignorantly forgotten, PPL has its own debt collection department. Why waste K4M to perform a function which the debt collection department can perform? What Mr Micah fails to understand is that for PPL to perform well financially, it has to stop the rot from within. There is stealing and corruption within PPL. PPL, earns an income of around K900 million every year. This equates to an income of K75 million per month. The Minister should ask the CEO and the Executive Management Team (EMT) as to how this massive monthly income is spent. The people of PNG must not be fooled. Most of the power consumers are on easy pay meters – consumer pays for power in advance. If money is paid in advance for power use by the bulk of PPL customers, where does the K75m per month disappear to? The former acting chairman, Bradshaw, tried to clear the rot by suspending the CEO and ordering investigation into the EMT. Mr Micah and the Government did not support Bradshaw. Serious allegations were made against the CEO and members of the EMT, such as PPL credit cards being used for personal shopping. No one has been arrested over this. The Government and Mr Micah are making decisions on the run, without taking time to understand and to address the root causes. Under Mr Micah, SOEs have declared losses in 2014. To Mr Micah, you don’t have to fool people by coming up with grand schemes that will only cost PPL more money and not address the real problems. Sit down, take a good look at problems facing the SOEs, understand them, get proper advice if you have to and adopt long term strategic plans to address these problems. Please stop this nonsense.

Power Analyst

How could simple village women take out the out heart of a living, breathing person, when this can only be performed by specialist heart surgeons in surgery in a modern hospital?

Livai Kuaken LLB 2 Student, UPNG

The Southern Highlands Provincial Government terminates the contract of a senior officer for allegedly authorising cheque payments.

Gerehu hospital salaries paid by Health Dept

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

THE Health Department is taking care of the salaries of the health workers at Gerehu Hospital in Port Moresby.

Health Secretary Pascoe Kase said a grant was being given to St John PNG to run Gerehu Hospital and its services, but its previous management had not manage the funds properly resulting in the organisation running out of money and not able to pay its staff.

As a result, the Health Department decided to take on the payment of the salaries of the health workers until St John’s current management put a new arrangement in a place.

Mr Kase was responding to an article in the Post-Courier last month about St John’s financial woes and not being able to pay staff. Its next

allocation of grant from the Government would be paid this month, the non-governmental organisation said.

He also said the current management was taking steps to address the situation.

“The Health Department does not owe any funds to St John Ambulance. All appropriated funds have been paid to St John in accordance with their approved budget,’’ he said.

“Given the deteriorating management situation at Gerehu clinic in particular, the National Department of Health has stepped in to review management and funding arrangements. The National Department of Health is managing the situation carefully to ensure service quality is maintained and ultimately improved for the people of National

Capital District.’’

The hospital staff were paid on December 18 and would thereafter be paid by the Health Department.

Meanwhile, this newspaper has been informed that St John has also received a cheque of K200,000 from the office of the National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop on December 18 and a day later of another cheque of K260,000 from the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s office.

National Superintedent Ambulance Mollen

Molki said this has made it possible for the organisation to continue its humanitarian services during the festive season.

He said the funds were specifically tied to wages for staff until St John received its quarterly grant from the Government for this year.

STROLLING UNDER THE SHOWERS

WOMEN at 16 -Mile outside Port Moresby enjoying their stroll out on the road under the showers. They could not resist to smile at the camera despite the wet weather.

Festival site open to public

THE Constitutional Park which hosted the main events of the 5th Melanesian Festival of Arts and Culture will remain a public park for any organisation or individuals to host their events.

This was announced by the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Boka Kondra in a small but significant meeting with the Ambassador of Japan to PNG Morio Matsumoto to strengthen partnerships and provide specific training to cater for the Japanese tourists who visited PNG yesterday.

The park ,which contains the symbolic representation of the cultural backgrounds of the different societies in Melanesia, will be preserved for future events and for the upcoming generations to get a feel of their culture.

“So much time, efforts and resources have been put to host the event and also the building and construction so we can’t just leave it idle,” Mr Kondra said.

“We are working in partnership with the relevant authorities to keep the spirit of the cultural activities and other events alive in the park. We still have big plans for the venue and we want to utilize the facilities which are already there.

“I am appealing to friends and families to make prior appointments to visit the site and get a feel of the cultural identity which are there.

“There are some fees applied to book the venue and that is not for the profit motive but for maintenance purposes for the running of the facilities,” he said.

The minister said he had received an invitation to work closely with the South Pacific Games Committee to display the cultures groups and arts and crafts exhibitions to entertain the athletes during their free time.

Police ready for games

BY TONY SII

THE involvement of NCD Police in the Pacific Games in July will not affect the normal police operations in the nation’s capital.

Deputy Police commissioner for operations Jim Andrews has assured Port Moresby city residents that work will be as usual for police officers on shifts at police stations throughout the city during the games period.

“The officers will continue with their normal shifts from 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm and 11pm to 7am,” Mr Andrews

said. However the only NCD police officers participating in the games security operations will be from the mobile squads, members of the fask force and foot beat and few others from other divisions such as the CID, Mr Andrews said.

He said these selected police officers make up the 2500 security personnel who also include members of the Defence Force and Correctional Services.

These personnel will be divided into units under the leadership of respective commanders and stationed at

each of the games venues.

Mr Andrews said the involvement of the officers from the disciplinary forces during the biggest sporting event in the Pacific region was crucial in protecting the lives of the 3000-plus athletes, officials and spectators as well as proprieties during the games.

“The biggest challenge for us is ensuring the Games is free of disruptions,” Mr Andrews said.

The deputy police commissioner said signs were positive for the games as far as security was concerned.

A POLICE parade at Laloki, outside Port Moresby, in December last year. Picture: DONALD WILLIE

BY TUMBE SAM JNR

gathering to watch the different cultures on display at the Constitutional Park during the 5th Arts

cgware@spp.com.pg

Methodist church donates to disabled

A DONATION worth K13,000 was made to the Papua New Guinea Rehabilitation Centre by the Port Moresby Methodist church over the weekend.

The contribution in kind was made up of a range of food stuff and household goods including rice, noodles, soap, biscuits and even umbrellas for the rainy season.

Chairman of the Papua New Guinea Rehabilitation

Centre Brown Kapi said this was by far the largest donation made in kind to the centre and the second from the Methodists after their first donation in June of last year.

“Your donation will go a long way and it is very timely as our work starts in February and this will allow the centre to continue to reach out to people with disabilities in and around Port Moresby,” he said.

Church lay leader Andrew Tiong said June was the first time that the church got to know Kapi and the work the centre was doing and will continue to visit and assist the cause of disability.

Mr Kapi said when people like the Methodist Church provide such support other organisations, government

At a glance

DONATION: A donation worth K13 000 was made to the PNG rehabilitation centre by the Port Moresby Methodist church.

CONTRIBUTION: The contribution in kind ranging from food stuff to household goods including rice, noodles ,soap, biscuits and even umbrellas.

BROWN KAPI: He is the chairman of the rehabilitation centre.

organisations recognise the cause and begin to open up as well.

The church members were also briefed on how their help would go further and reach out to people with disabilities (PWDs) through various outreach programs.

“In the PNG society our disabled people are often stereotyped, excluded and most of them are held back so you will see that they are illiterate and uneducated,” Mr Tiong said. “Through people like you God helps people who want to reach out to them so Mr Kapi on behalf of the Rehab centre thanked the Methodist church for the kind donation which will be used to help others.”

ENORMOUS HARVEST

Nature park launches kids conservation program

PORT Moresby Nature Park launched its “kids for conservation” school holiday program yesterday.

The initiative will continue each weekday until January 23, in the lead up to the new school term.

The program is being run

for two age groups, 8-11 years and 12-16 years and includes animal feeding and interactions, games and other activities focused on environmental learning. Cost is K40 per child and also includes morning tea and lunch.

Each kids for conservation group is strictly limited to 20 children per day so advanced bookings are essential. The program is running from 8.30am-3pm and is fully supervised by the parks education team.

To make a booking or for

further information, contact Port Moresby Nature Park’s reservation team on 326 0258.

For further information contact Michelle McGeorge, on 326 3495, 326 0248 or email portmoresbynaturepark@ gmail.com

Esa’ala to begin medivac service

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

A PARLIAMENTARIAN from Milne Bay Province is taking drastic steps to tackle high maternal and infant mortality rates in his district.

Esa’ala MP Davis Steven is launching a medivac service for his district which he hopes will contribute to his efforts to improve health services.

He said from Esa’ala yesterday that Esa’ala district integrated development plan envisioned improved health indicators by 2017.

“Number of recorded deaths over the years for Esa’ala have been worst in the province for many years,” he said.

“The sea passage between the islands and Alotau has exacerbated the high rates of preventable deaths. Maternal and infant mortality rates are high

At a glance

ISSUE: Esa’ala MP Davis Steven is launching a medivac service for his district to tackle the high maternal and infant mortality rates in the district.

LAUNCHING: The launching of this service will be held on Wednesday at the Salamo health centre.

in the category.”

He said the district health authority in consultation with Milne Bay Provincial Health Authority has endorsed the medivac services arrangement with Manalos Aviation Services.

Mr Steven said Esa’ala district government would pay about K400,000 to start the service because of the increase in health sector funding by Government

this year.

“The PHA and Milne Bay administration will support the initiative for improved health service delivery.’’

Under a memorandum of understanding that was signed, Manalos would have a helicopter based in Alotau to provide the service to Esa’ala District and other districts in the province if they could enter into similar agreements.

Mr Steven said a scholarship for training of a female aircraft engineer and a pilot from the district was part of the deal.

Digicel and Esa’ala district were providing 10 tablets for all 10 health centres that would have an emergency app specifically designed for the medical evacuations.

The launching of this service will be held on Wednesday at Salamo health centre.

If you have a story to tell, call us on 309 1042, or email

SIXTEEN-year-old John dug this gigantic yam out of his family garden in Port Moresby.

If you have a story to tell, call us on 542 2602, or email posthagen@spp.com.pg

Compo claim stops road development

BY JEFFREY ELAPA

COMPENSATION claim is a major huddle to progress and development in the country, Minister for Works and Implementation Francis Awesa said.

Mr Awesa said when appealing to the people of Southern Highlands to respect and take ownership of several major road projects that would be rolled out by the national Government and its partners in the province.

“Compensation is a major problem and I call on the people of Southern Highlands to respect and take ownership of all developments for their benefit and for the future generations,” he said.

NOT ONLY IN HIGHLANDS

Warring tribes end four year tribal fight

BY JOHNNY POIYA

THE Paipeli and Linapini tribes involved in a fierce tribal fight in Tari yesterday made peace.

In an historical turnout, the two factions made peace in the traditional Jiwaka style by breaking sugarcane.

The peace process brokered by Finance Minister James Marape, and three LLG presidents from Tari Pori was made

in Minj, Jiwaka Province.

The warring factions also signed an MoU, stating that there would be no more animosity between them.

The fight between the two groups had raged for four years with over 30 deaths, including women and children.

Minister Marape thanked Tari mayor Ken Arowi, Aiyapuka LLG president Tomson Paipe, Tagali LLG president Hekala Undialiu, police and

the ground working committee for effectively coordinating the peace process.

Tribesmen from both factions travelled down to attend the peace process which ended one of the most notorious tribal warfare in the Hela Province.

Mr Marape praised the warring groups for choosing to make peace.

Mr Marape said those responsible for the deaths would

bear the responsibility of compensation while normal police investigations would be conducted and arrests would be made after the peace process.

Mr Marape said though the two groups started the fight, outsiders infiltrated and caused more damage.

He called on both sides to take responsibility for the deaths and pay compensation within a month.

Mangape praises security forces

BY JEFFREY ELAPA

MEMBERS of the security forces engaged in the state of emergency callout in the Porgera area has been commended for a job welldone.

Member for Laigamp Porgera

Mine Nixon Mangape said by phone from Porgera that law and order that had crippled the district and the gold mine had been stabilised after the declaration of the SOE by the National Executive Council last year.

Mr Mangape, also a chief landowner of the world class Porgera Gold said credit should go to the national Government for the short term intervention to address law and order and other illegal activities in the gold town.

He said the members of the joint security forces also deserved to be commended for doing a marvellous job in contain-

ing law and order problems and bring normalcy into Porgera.

He said the New Year has been a quiet period and families enjoyed and celebrated a true festive season in the presence of the security forces led by Norman Kambo and his counterpart from the PNG Defence Force. He said when the call-out was

made, the NEC approved a daily allowance of K200 but since the engagement the members of the security forces were receiving only K100.

“This is unacceptable, they need to be paid their ful allowance of K200 and I call on the authorities to pay the funds to PJV so that they manage and pay the members of the force and not through the police and defence force as part of their allowance has been diluted somewhere along the way,” he said.

However, he said the recent callout is a temporary measure to address the feuding issues affecting the world’s second gold mine and the surrounding communities. He said in the long run, the government through the Police Minister Robert Atiafa and police commissioner Jeffery Vagi are tasked to set up a permanent mobile squad base in Porgera.

The tribes were told to surrender all illegal firearms and start looking for resources for the compensation.

The Linapini- Paipeli fight was the worst out of 11 others in Tari Pori and Komo Magarima electorates which triggered the Provincial Executive Council to declare Hela a fighting zone and deployed security personnel for special operations.

He said the Mendi Tambul road sealing is one example of excessive compensation demands that has delayed the project.

He said there were two separate compensation claims submitted to the Department of Works.

He said the first valuation by the department of works was at K4 million but another valuation was also submitted with an inflated value of K8 million.

However the problem has been verified and the road project would resume in the New Year.

Mr Awesa said other road projects to start in the New Year are the Nipa-Lai road funded by the Asian Development Bank, the K70 million Ialibu–Kagua road sealing, the continuation funding of the Hiri-Lai road connecting the Mendi-Kandep road.

He said in 2016, the government would also build the Mendi-Kagua road, the Tambul-Tona Pimbil to Red Karanas road to allow vegetable from Tambul to be brought in to serve the Western Pacific University in Ialibu.

VEHICLES like shown in this picture is popular in the Highlands but it is also useful in the lowlands when it comes to crossing flooding rivers and navigating slippery roads.

NIXON Mangape

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Village database vital for service delivery

BY ABRAHAM AVEDIBA

PROPER multi-sector database of villages is an important tool in assisting the government in delivering services to remote villages, says a consultant.

Managing director of Social Impact Consultancy Meredith Tutumang described the multi-sector database as a record that would capture up-to-date information on the various demographic, economical and agricultural activities that take place in a village within a local level government area.

“Speaker of Parliament and MP for Finschhafen Theo Zurenuoc had assigned us to carry out a thorough finding and to create a multi-sector database for Huon and Finchafen districts in Morobe Province.

“After commencing work in April 2013, we’ve noted that about 80 per cent of the population in these areas are often dependent on government services, which in most case doesn’t reach them,” Ms Tutumang said.

According to Ms Tutumang, all results and reports from the work that had been carried out was supplied to Mr Zurenuoc and Huon district administrator Robin Bazinuc on June 29, last year.

“There hasn’t been any response from these parties, to suggegst whether they would fun or table this report at their level, so we’ve decided to carry out assistance to these villages by ourselves instead,” she added.

She also challenged the heads of provincial and local level government to keep accurate database to identify

key areas in remote settings that need government services.

“Heads in the provincial government often sit with a few representatives, especially those who don’t really conduct proper findings with local villagers and as such, they come up with guess estimations.

“And it is with such guess estimations that the real needs of the local people are over-looked.

“Therefore, it is vital that government heads at the provincial and district level strategise a mechanism to establish proper village database to capture realistic needs, whether it be roads, bridges or classrooms,” she added.

She said sustainability is often noted by project implementers.

SEMI-TRAILERS

THIS KENNEDY BANI picture shows a semi-trailer caught by branches of a rain tree along the Two-Mile road in the nation’s capital. A semi-trailer is a trailer without a front axle. A large proportion of its weight is supported by a road tractor, a detachable front axle assembly known as a dolly, or the tail of another trailer. A semi-trailer is normally equipped with landing gear (legs which can be lowered) to support it when it is uncoupled.

Rural Morobe to get agricultural tools

BY MELISHA YAFOI

SOROPTIMIST International Lae will be donating agricultural tools and other supplies to the people of Salamaua in Huon Gulf district, Morobe Province. The goods are being sent in from Australia and New Zealand and others gathered from partners of the Soroptimists in Lae such as Panamax, Riback Stevedoring, Lae Builders Construction, Lae International hotel, to name a few, and those residing in town.

Meredith Tutumang from Soroptimist Lae, says the donations will be given according to the different needs of the communities in terms of agricultural purposes, housing, health and hygiene.

Ms Tutumang said the donations will also be made to schools in the remote areas of Salamaua.

She said the donations are given to selected areas or project sites the organisation has identified to have not receiving basic services.

She said there will be two donations.

One will be presented by the Soroptimist International in Lae to the ward councillors to distribute in their communities and the other will be donated by the Social Impact Consultancy who (is a partner with the SWP in Lae) will give tools and machineries that will help the people to do road construction projects. SIC is currently helping communities to realise and recognise the sustainability of what they have in the community.

Ms Tutumang said there are about 80 per cent of the rural people not receiving services and that is where the Soroptimist International steps in to assist.

She said the main aim of the organisation is to mobilise more resources from different partners and distribute them to the people.

“We will be signing an agreement of partnership between the Soroptimist International in Lae to work with SIC prior to the donation on Saturday.

Call for community police

BY LISA HEBEI

THE chairman of law and order in ward five in Lae urban local level government area says there is much to be done in 2015 to maintain law and order.

Sam Oyaya said security in the form of community policing in Lae city is the first issue to improve in 2015.

Mr Oyaya recalled the member for Lae Loujaya Kouza making the commitment to the people of Tent City

set up

last year to set up a community policing unit by recruiting and training youths to become reserve police. He said the Tent City community is waiting for the MP to action her words and make community policing pro-active before the school year starts.

He cited lack of community policing unit to prevent ethnic clashes in Lae last year which resulted in the death of an innocent Bumayong Secondary student.

Student on holiday dies in car accident

BY GRACE TIDEN

ANOTHER fatal car accident in Manus Province has claimed the life of a 21-yearold man.

The mishap took place over the weekend at Lundret village along the Manus Highway. Manus acting provincial police commander Senior Inspector David Yapu said the victim was travelling with two other people in a Toyota land cruiser when the vehicle went off the road and overturned.

The incident occurred very early on Saturday morning.

Mr Yapu said the victim sustained serious head injuries and was rushed to the Lorengau Hospital but died soon after.

Fisheries design ready

THE Kurakakaul fisheries development project preliminary design and documentation was completed recently. This K6 million project cofunded by the Rabaul Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committee and the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) will include construc-

tion of a jetty and an on-shore facilities to be constructed at the Kurakakaul growth centre where the Rabaul district headquarters is located.

The completion of the design and documentation has resulted in the production of the concept design covering jetty designs, on-shore

facility design and design for water and power supplies to the project. Preparations for the project commenced in 2013 with detailed site investigations which included topographic survey, hydrographic survey, geotechnical investigations and load assessments for the impact

project which will be located along the north coast road within Talili Bay.

NFA industry development officer Bolton Towok said 18 companies bidded for the project but only 11 have been shortlisted by NFA assessors. A company will be awarded the contract to do detail de-

Rabaul allocates K400,000 to assist tertiary students

TERTIARY students from Rabaul district in East New Britain Province can once again benefit from the district’s elite scholarship scheme which went into recess last year.

The scheme introduced in 2010 had sponsored Rabaul-based students in education institutions for three years.

However, due to the non-release of DSIP funds to the district lately, the scheme was non-existent last year.

According to deputy district administrator Hubert Wangun, about K400,000 is currently available for tertiary students where K100,000 each has been made available for students from the four local level governments of Kombiu, Balanataman, Watom

and Rabaul Urban LLGs.

Mr Wangun explained that tertiary students needing assistance from this scheme would need to pay half of their tuition fees while the scheme will cater for the other half.

He said applications would need to be submitted to ward members who will present to the LLG preliminary assessment committee to be headed by the education chairmen in their respective LLG assemblies.

He pointed out that unlike previous years the current allocation will strictly be for students in tertiary institutions and rigid criteria’s will be followed during screening of applications.

Mr Wangun revealed that some students who had benefited from

the scheme during its initial stages are already working in renowned fields such as a pilot from Iawakaka village who is now flying in the United Emirates and others who have graduated from universities and colleges in the country.

A policy submission is currently being prepared to be presented at the coming Rabaul Joint District Planning and Budget Priorities Committee meeting to endorse disbursement of the funds.

Mr Wangun has called on interested students from Rabaul District attending tertiary institutions in the country to apply through their ward members. LLG Selection panels will be identified as soon as the JDPBPC endorses the submission.

Sea swells force islanders to move inland

BY MICHAEL WARTOVO

VILLAGERS in the Duke of York Islands in East New Britain Province continue to move inland due to ongoing sea swells, especially during bad weather conditions.

Strong winds and heavy rain in recent days has again affected villagers living along the coasts, especially at Pirtop and Molot

wards. President of the Duke of York LLG Henry Libai said most wards towards the eastern part of the Duke of York Group of Islands towards west coast Namatanai also face similar problems.

People in these communities continue to experience high sea swells as well as flooding.

He said over the years, people havfe to build their homes and

make their food gardens further inland due to yearly sea swells as well as the increase in population.

Only a few people continue to live in their original coastal villages.

He said the high sea swells are expected to continue until the end of this month depending on weather conditions.

signs and also will prepare tender documents for construction and will facilitate the construction tender process.

Mr Towok added that Tenders for construction of the project should be advertised around June this year, and construction soon after.

Mr Yapu said it was an unfortunate incident, especially since the victim, 21-year old Norman Guka, was the son of a dedicated and long-serving police officer, senior constable Frank Guka.

He sent out his condolence to the officer and his family for the untimely death of their son who was a student and had returned to Manus for the holidays. Mr Yapu said the unlicensed driver, who was permitted to drive by the actual driver, has been arrested.

PART of the road at Morokea leading to a village in oil palm areas is under water. Most areas from Hoskins to Talasea have been affected by the heavy rains. Picture: NICOLE JOHANNES

ROAD UNDER WATER

Women urged to lead B’ville

BY ROMULUS MASIU

BOUGAINVILLE lacks lead-

ers who can make decisive decisions and lead their people by example.

This message was delivered by Panguna district executive manager Otto Noruka to 30 women who underwent a five days training workshop on women leadership and management in Panguna district of Central Bougainville.

The workshop, funded and facilitated by Strongim Pipol Stongim Nesen (SPSN) through Bougainville Peace Building Program (BPBP), was held at Panguna administration headquarters.

FEMALE INMATES GET MOSQUITO NETS

MAMA Lucy of the Good Samaritan Natural Disaster Volunteers (GSNDV) went to visit the Arawa prison with dozen of mosquito nets after the New Year. She handed over mosquito nets to female inmates. Mama Lucy, originally from Samarai Island in Milne Bay, has not left for her home after the Bougainville crisis. She joined the GSNDV and is doing a lot of charitable work in Bougainville, especially in the former mining township of Arawa. She is seen here handing over much needed mosquito nets to the female inmates at the Arawa police station cell block.

Unwanted pregnancies high in Bougainville

BY ROMULUS MASIU

UNWANTED pregnancies is on the rise in Bougainville and is getting out of hand, says a medical doctor.

Dr Joe Vilosi, who is now based at the Arawa Health Centre, said if young people of Bougainville don’t change their mindset and attitude, child pregnancies, which in most cases are unwanted, will

spiral out of control. Dr Vilosi, who has moved from Buka General Hospital to Arawa, said violence in the family is caused by these people.

He said he was sorry to see that after coming out of another crisis (Bougainville Crisis), they are creating another crisis for themselves, and that is violence in their own homes and communities.

“Our dreams of becoming

independent one day will not materialise if we don’t respect women and our own communities. If we don’t respect this particular woman who has brought us peace, then we are definitely heading for another crisis which we are creating ourselves,” Dr Vilosi said. He said being traumatised, uneducated or unemployed doesn’t give one partner the

right to beat the other.

He took a swipe at the education system in Bougainville, which he said is failing the youths and people.

“Unwanted pregnancies are rife with school age girls getting pregnant,” he said.

“In Buka I attend to three to four cases a week of school age girls getting pregnant and requesting abortion.

“Some do abortions on their

own, resulting in deaths.”

Dr Vilosi also called for all families to go into family planning for manageable sizes because families won’t control their children in large families.

He said family planning is a must for all families. There is not even any fall back plan for kids at high school who drop out of formal schooling, he said.

Mr Noruka called on the women to take the lead and replace their male counterparts in the decision making level. He also called on them to lead their people saying that at the moment Bougainville lacks leadership.

“Leaders now go into parliament and find it very hard to lead the people, instead they tend to serve their self-interests and fill their pockets with public funds while the people are suffering in the area,” Mr Noruka said.

Other speakers, including Me’ekamui leader Moses Pipiro, said Panguna is the last frontier where the people are suffering and women are left with nothing at all.

The women need more funding from the governments –both ABG and National – to start up their projects that can sustain them and their families.

“Women play a vital role in Bougainville. Most outstandingly is the peace process in Panguna where even us the Me’ekamui respect our women that we came out to negotiate peace with ABG and the National government.”

Youths make up 70 per cent of Bougainville population

BY ISHMAEL PALIPAL

YOUTHS make up 70 per cent of Bougainville’s total population.

This was revealed at a recently run Bougainville touth policy review workshop held in Arawa.

The review found out that youths of Bougainville totalled around 259,000 in actual count with the region’s total population count standing at more than 370,000 people.

This means adults and children account for 30 per cent of the population.

With the statistics, youths can make a huge impact in the communities.

However, according to one of the youth leaders from Kongara in the Kieta district of Central Bougainville, Martin Nakara, youths must be united for a much better impact throughout the region.

Mr Nakara said if youths of Bougainville stand divided, the region’s future is at stake because they are the ones who hold the backbone and the informal workforce of the region.

Therefore, in the years

leading up to referendum and elections, Mr Nakara is urging all Bougainvillean youths to stand united and vote for a good leader, a president who will lead the region forward with good understanding of all things the region goes through.

Mr Nakara, who is also a founder of a youth group known as United Bougainville Youths, said youths must aim at bringing more awareness to the people, especially youths to make and see the importance of referendum and what it is all about plus other social

issues effecting the region.

“Through this, me and my group members aim to bring some understanding to other youths so that we can have the same knowledge of what Bougainville has been going through,” Mr Nakara said, adding that most of our youths still do not know what the government is doing or what referendum is or how it is going to be done.

He believes that youths can make a big impact towards referendum if they start to prepare themselves now and his group is preparing to do so.

energetic work force.

MARTIN Nakara, founder of United Bougainville Youth Group

Picture: JACOB IENU

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Report: Japan eyes PNG to secure gas

THERE could be a silver lining for Papua New Guinea LNG producers in recent oil price slides and geopolitical instability, with Japan becoming increasingly interested in security of supply.

An article published at the weekend by The Australian which is the view of Credit Suisse analysts who released a report also over the weekend, said Japan, the world’s biggest LNG buyer, was no longer as interested in fostering LNG development from the US, Russia and East Africa as it had been a year ago.

“We believe we are moving into a new phase where the world’s largest LNG off-taker will de-emphasise its recent focus on US-linked LNG pricing and refocus on energy security in light of the geopolitical risks concerning gas supply (USRussia) and marine disruptions in

CREDIT SUISSE GROUP: A Switzerland-based multinational financial services holding company, headquartered in Zürich, that operates the Credit Suisse Bank and other financial services investments.

ANALYSTS: Believe that the world’s largest LNG off-taker will de-emphasise its recent focus on US-linked LNG pricing and refocus on energy security in light of the geopolitical risks concerning gas supply and marine disruptions in the South China Sea. Japan could underpin development of further LNG projects in PNG, and buoy the fortunes of Oil Search and Santos and InterOil.

the South China Sea, which 60 per cent of Japanese LNG currently passes through,” Credit Suisse said.

This could see Japan underpin development of further LNG projects in PNG, and buoy the fortunes of Oil Search and Santos, which are partners in the recently started PNG LNG plant, and InterOil, which operates PNG’s biggest un-

developed gasfield.

“As we started 2014, Japan appeared keen to support greenfield LNG capacity in Russia and was interested in the East African developing opportunities in Mozambique and Tanzania,” Credit Suisse said.

“However, developments in Ukraine reminded Asian buyers that gas can be a geopolitical tool

and we suspect planning in Japan may have de-prioritised Russia as a greenfield LNG supply source.”

Sliding oil prices have also taken the gloss off Japanese plans to foster US LNG development. Credit Suisse estimates that at recent averages US LNG was no cheaper than oil-linked LNG from Australia and PNG. A recent visit to Australia and PNG from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was probably driven to some extent by a desire to build LNG supply relationships, the analysts said.

Unfortunately, the benefits are unlikely to foster New Australian LNG projects.

“For Australia, Japan probably already has contracted as much as it would like to see — hence new capacity would likely need to find buyer interest outside of Japan,” Credit Suisse said.

Market Snapshot

Weak US data boosts $A to one month high

SYDNEY: The Australian dollar has hit its highest level in almost a month as it continued to rally on disappointing US wage growth figures. At 1700 AEDT on Monday the Australian dollar was trading at 82.52 US cents, up from 81.40 US cents on Friday, and its highest level since December 16. The dollar jumped above 82 US cents late on Friday when official figures showed slower-than-expected wages growth in the US in December, just keeping up with inflation. That was despite the unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level in more than six years.

Global oil price slump opportune time for Oil Search

THE global oil price slump may provide opportunities for potential buyers to sniff around, including Oil Search Limited (OSL).

According to a report published by The Australian Business Review, shared by newswire businessspectator. com.au; Oil Search Limited, which is focused on liquefied natural gas projects in Papua New Guinea, will shy away from making major acquisitions. But, the newswire said the company (OSL) will prob-

ably eye some small deals in the country.

It is considered a good time to pick up good oil and gas assets, but views vary on potential buyers.

Some argue the US and European groups will be at the front, while others expect to see more Asian investors and financial investors such as private equity firms who have funding and patience.

The newswire stated that while oil and gas producers may dread the scenario of a

continuing slump in oil prices, bankers in the sector will prepare for more actions in the sector.

According to another article published in The Australian Business Review last week and shared by businessspectator.com.au; the oil price plunge will force energy producers to slash capital spending, and may hold up some potential deals in the short term. But with more companies falling into distress, chances are those better-cap-

italised hunters will take the plunge in the downturn.

This is probably the year mergers and acquisitions activities will pick up enormously in Australia’s Cooper Basin, as companies look for alternative sources of gas assets in a sector that is trading at distressed share prices, according to sources as quoted by businessspectator.com.

au. The basin, which hosts the likes of Beach Energy, Drillsearch Energy and Senex

Energy, has been identified in recent years as one of the most promising regions in the world for shale gas and Australia’s best chance of replicating the shale gas boom in the US.

Industry bankers have long been expecting a consolidation between Beach and Drillsearch, since Beach tried to take over Drillsearch in 2009. The two have already formed partnerships in exploration activities in the basin, with Beach owning nearly 5 per

According to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, Singapore is the second freest economy in the world.

cent in Drillsearch. Beach also holds an 18 per cent stake in junior player Cooper Energy, which may be an easier target.

SPIRIT of Hela sailing off to the Asian market laden with LNG Cargo. Picture supplied

OSL will shy away from making major acquisitions ...

Govt urged to watch oil prices

BY TUMBE SAM JNR

THE fall in oil prices has prompted Central Bank (BPNG) Governor Loi Bakani to urge the Government to closely monitor the trend and its impact on the 2015 budget revenue.

Mr Bakani in a statement released recently pointed out that whilst the fall in oil prices will feed through to lower domestic fuel prices and domestic inflation, it can adversely affect oil export revenue and taxes paid to Government in 2015.

The Governor also expressed concern that distributors of fuel in PNG would be forced to pass on the price decline to industries and consumers.

He said, “fuel is an important input for many industries, and the lower fuel prices can have consequent decline in prices of other goods and services that rely on fuel.”

Mr Bakani also noted that global inflation is projected to increase slightly in 2015 with inflation in advanced economies forecast to be 1.8% from 1.6 % in 2014.

The rise in global inflation will translate into higher imported inflation, which could lead to increase in domestic prices of goods and services.

He said 2015 National Budget approved by Parliament contained a record expenditure of K16.2 billion, against a revenue projection of K13.9 billion. This is expected to yield a budget deficit of K2.3 billion or 4.4% of GDP, down from 5.9% in 2014.

The Governor stated that a large portion of the revenue increase is expected to come from the mining and petroleum taxes in addition to the K0.5 billion in LNG dividends.

“Given the significant decline in oil and gas prices, the tax revenue target may not be achieved if some portions of the gas sales are not locked in forward contracts,” he said.

Hence, the Governor encourages the Government to closely monitor developments in the international prices of these important export commodities, and be prepared to make prompt adjustments to its planned expenditures.

“Those non-priority recurrent expenditures should be deferred or cut, while priority areas of education, health, infrastructure, law and order and agriculture should continue to be supported” he added.

Mr Bakani further explained that higher debt service is not productive as it diverts financial resources away from productive investments and developments. Despite the concerns and limits on exposure to Government debt, the Government has a clean record of not defaulting on any of its debts in the past and to date. He said it is therefore crucial that the Government should act quickly with arrangements to raise this financing for the Budget.

The Governor also suggested that commentators should observe the trend in the Kina exchange rate over longer time horizon rather than focus and draw conclusions on a one year development.

InterOil gets consensus rating of ‘hold’ from brokers

INTEROIL Corporation (InterOil), the Elk-Antelope gas resource focused oil and gas company has received a consensus broker rating score of 1.25 (hold) from the four analysts that cover the stock, Zacks Investment Research reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendations to the company.

When asked to comment on the rating and the possible cause, an InterOil executive advised the Post-Courier at the weekend saying “yes, standard stuff really. Like all companies associated with petroleum industry

IOC, is affected by the dropping oil price, whilst uncertainty about the outcome of the arbitration between Oil Search, Total and InterOil may also be a factor in this low price scenario.”

The report said brokers have set a twelve-month consensus target price of $75.63 for the company and are predicting that the company will post ($0.37) EPS for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Zacks has also given InterOil an industry rank of 255 out of 265 based on the ratings given to related companies.

Shares of InterOil opened at 41.75 last Wednesday. InterOil has a one year low of

$41.72 and a one year high of $69.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.32 and a 200-day moving average of $55.66. The company has a market cap of $2.063 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51.

InterOil at the New York Stock Exchange last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14. The company reported ($0.34) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of ($0.51) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $10.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.00 million.

During the same quarter last

year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. InterOil’s revenue was down 98.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Zacks upgraded shares of InterOil from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24. They now have a $54.10 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on shares of InterOil in a research note on Thursday, December 18. They set a “buy” rating and a $69.50 price target on the stock.

MV Chebu assists SMEs in New Guinea Islands region

BY ABRAHAM AVEDIBA

CHEBU Shipping Limited (CSL) is currently assisting local small to medium enterprises (SMEs) ship frozen goods between Morobe Province and the New Guinea Islands (NGI) region.

CSL managing director (MD) Fabian Chow said since the ship’s commencement of operation in November last year, only few have utilised

the service but are pleased with the arrangement.

“We’ve got sufficient cargo space on MV Chebu that can hold a large amount of frozen goods such as meat and vegetables.

“Many have yet to try this service but, we are currently notifying small and medium businesses in Kimbe, Rabaul and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) to start using this service,” Mr

Chow said. He explained that SME’s in the NGI region often have a difficult time trying to air freight and ship frozen store goods from Lae due to the high cost of freight and other surcharges.

“Many of the small businesses who sell frozen goods at their shops often want to purchase supplies of good quality and in large quantities from Lae.

“But the problem is that they can’t afford to pay for cargo space on the larger ships to have them shipped over to them.

“So with the service that we provide in transporting passengers to those in the NGI, these businesses, can have their frozen items shipped on schedule and at a fare that is affordable for them,” Mr Chow added.

Meanwhile, the ship has

been docked in Rabaul for further mechanical check-up and analytical and report to be conducted on it.

“The ship has been held back in Rabaul since last week Thursday for further checks but it will commence its services on Wednesday this week,” Mr Chow further stated.

He went on to state, while making reference to Rabaul Queen’s sinking, that safety

is of paramount importance to the company.

“Safety of our travelling passengers is important, so even though we are trying to assist SME’s in shipping their goods, we are also trying as much as possible to load cargoes within the range that the vessel can allow for.

“We don’t plan on overloading as this often leads to other issues when travelling out at sea, “ Mr Chow stated.

FROM (L-R) NPCP managing director Wapu Sonk, InterOil chief executive officer Dr Michael Hession, Petroleum Minister Nixon Duban and InterOil Board chairman Chris Finlayson at one of Elk-Antelope drilling site in the Gulf Province.

Picture: PATRICK T WUNDAI

It is therefore crucial for the government to act now ...

BPNG GOVERNOR LOI BAKANI Port Moresby

Energy giant keen on Canadian project

EXXON Mobil Corp, the parent company of PNG LNG Project operator ExxonMobil PNG Limited, plans to spend up to $25billion (K65.01 billion) on a British Columbia (BC) terminal to export liquefied natural gas, saying it has the global expertise to make the Canadian project viable.

According to the Globe and Mail newswire at the weekend, the U.S. energy giant is

positioning itself to make up ground on Malaysia’s stateowned Petronas, which is widely viewed by industry experts as the front-runner among 18 entrants in the race to export LNG from the West Coast.

But Petronas decided last month to delay its decision on whether to forge ahead with its Pacific Northwest LNG joint venture near Prince

Rupert, citing the need to decrease anticipated construction costs, overcome environmental hurdles and consult further with First Nations.

The newswire reports that Texas based Exxon Mobil and its Canadian unit, Imperial Oil Ltd., disclosed the strategy for the first phase of their West Coast Canada LNG project, or WCC LNG, in a 141page report.

BANK OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA

“Exxon Mobil Corp. has more than 40 years of LNG project development experience, with interests in liquefaction capacity of approximately 65 million tonnes per year in Qatar, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea,” according to the report filed by WCC LNG to the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office.

WCC LNG hopes to secure a provincial environmental

PUBLIC NOTICE

assessment certificate by the end of 2016. Engineering studies are slated to be completed in 2017. That would clear the way for WCC LNG to make a final investment decision in 2017 on constructing an export terminal at Tuck Inlet, near the community of Prince Rupert in north-western British Columbia.

WCC LNG forecasts that there will be up to 6,000 con-

BEWARE OF MONEY SCHEMES & SCAMSUSE YOUR MONEY WISELY, DURING 2015. DON’T LOSE IT TO FRAUDULENT MONEY SCAMS.

The Bank of Papua New Guinea (the Bank or Bank of PNG) continues to warn the public to be cautious and avoid placing their hard earned cash with promoters or agents of fast money schemes and scams. These fast money schemes/scams are illegal and fraudulent. People who place their money with promoters or agents of these money schemes/scams risk losing their hard earned cash. Be smarter than them, and use your money wisely during the festive season.

The Bank is aware of certain individual(s), agents or groups operating in many parts of PNG who ask innocent individuals to invest their cash in their operation with a promise for a hefty return of 100-2000% on their investment. They also claim that a huge sum of their money, gold or investments in Treasury bills and bonds (often in billions/trillions) is held by the Bank of PNG and is awaiting clearance for immediate payment.

The Bank is also aware of recent scams using mobile phone text and email messages, fraudulent documents with the signatures of Governor of the Bank of PNG, name of the prime Minister, Government Ministers and politicians, winning of lotteries and prizes, request for upfront fees for facilitating access to funds held in offshore accounts and other fraudulent means. These are all different types of scams which are illegal and fraudulent.

Be advised that the Bank of PNG does not deal with financial transactions for any individuals or private groups. The Bank only deals with financial transactions for the Government and licensed financial institutions in

struction workers at the peak. Construction is expected to take seven years for an operation with an initial capacity to ship 15 million tonnes a year of LNG to buyers in Asia. The capital cost for the first phase could range from $15billion (K39b) to $25-billion (K65.01b), depending on factors such as whether a bargebased marine facility or an onshore terminal is built.

PNG. Do not send money for upfront fees to any nominated accounts locally or overseas, and avoid giving money to individuals and groups that promise to pay high returns.

If you have given your money to these schemers, you should report those individual(s) to the Police, or demand your money back from them.

REMEMBER: DO NOT PLACE YOUR MONEY WITH ILLEGAL FAST MONEY SCHEMES AND SCAMS. YOU SHOULD USE THE SERVICES OF LICENSED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ONLY. BE SMART,USE YOUR MONEY WISELY DURING 2015.

WISHING ALL THE PEOPLE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA

A PROPEROUS HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

GOD BLESS PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Authorised by:

Loi M. Bakani Governor

REGARDLESS of the current rainy weather in Port Moresby, its business as usual for these contractors as they work on upgrading this section of the road at Waigani.

COME RAIN OR SHINE

Pilotage vital for maritime safety

PROVIDING pilotage services is one of the roles of PNGPorts Corporation Limited (PNGPCL). PNGPCL provides piloting services in the declared pilotage areas in the country such as Port Moresby, Lae, Madang, Alotau, Rabaul and Kimbe port. Pilotage is a vital service provided to ships within port limits and coastal waters and ensures that ships are guided safely to berth. It also deals with any

pilotage requests to the PNGPCL sea ports and promotes maritime safety and avoidance of damage to ships, port infrastructure, the marine environment and local community property. Piloting services are also available at other ports and can only be provided upon request by travelling ship masters through shipping agents. PNGPCL has been in charge of this vital service for over 50 years.

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EMAIL. info.ssl@southsealines.com.

PICTURE shows PNG Ports Corporation Limited’s Alotau Port pilot boat Mahana at rest after successfully carrying out pilotage duties and bringing cruise ship Pacific Dawn (at right) to berth at the Alotau Port in Milne Bay Province. Hundreds of tourists on board the ship flocked into Alotau for the annual ‘Kenu & Kundu’ festival towards the end of last year. PNGPCL was one of the major sponsors of the event.

NMSA reports successful sea rescue

ELEVEN people including three children who have been drifting for over 10 days at sea have been successfully rescued. Two people had earlier swam ashore to Garove Island and raised the alarm. The remaining 9 persons were fi nally picked up by the Pacific Towing Limited owned tug “VICTORY” approximately 30 nautical miles west of Lolobau Islands at 9 pm on Friday, January 9, 2015. All nine people were well but generally weak due to possible tiredness and dehydration. Tugboat MV Victory brought the survivors to Kimbe at 5 am on Saturday morning where they were immediately rushed to the Kimbe General Hospital for a medical examination. All survivors are reported to be doing well and currently accommodated at the WNB Provincial Disaster Office in Kimbe.

Upon interviewing the survivors, it is known that a group of 11 people was returning to Pana Island outside Madang follow-

ing an apparent “buai” run from Baluan Island, Manus Province. They were travelling on a 23 foot banana boat powered by two 40 HP outboard motors on Tuesday December 29, 2014 and was expected to arrive at their destination on the following day when it encountered difficulties. Their failure to arrive had raised concern among their relatives who had informed the Madang Provincial Disaster Office which contacted the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (PNGMRCC) to initiate a full search and rescue operation. After failed attempts of any sightings, the PNGMRCC sought additional aerial support from the the Australian Maritime Safety Authority for enhanced search capability

A Search and Rescue P3 Orion aircraft was dispatched from Cairns early Thursday morning and at about noon time a sighting was reported. The aircraft dropped a “Rescue pack” on to the

sea surface to be used as a rescue survival craft and a position marker. An EPIRB and a VHF transmitter included in the survival pack as weather condition made it impossible to carry out their immediate rescue. Attempts were made to dispatch rescue crafts from Kimbe through the efforts of the WNB Provincial Disaster Office and the personal endeavor of the NMSA Board Chairman, Mr. Peter Humphreys. However, due to deteriorating weather conditions two such rescue missions had to be called off. Assistance was then sought from the Pacific Towing Limited and its tug MV Victory finally made the rescue possible.

Acting General Manager / CEO of NMSA Captain Nurur Rahman has applauded the efforts of all involved in the search and rescue operation and ensured no lives were lost. He thanked the PNGMRCC, the Provincial Disaster Offices of Madang and West New Britain, the Australian RCC,the

crew and management of the MV Victory and all others who assisted in launching a successful rescue mission. Capt Rahman stated that “As a statutory government Authority responsible for Maritime Safety this is a responsibility that is not taken lightly and all available resources, though limited, have been used as best as it was for achieving a favorable outcome.”

However, the Acting General Manager of NMSA called on the boat owners and the passengers who travel on these banana boats to take heed of the safety awareness broadcasts which have been transmitted on the national radio every two hours or so since before Christmas and to operate boats in a safe manner and not put to sea in adverse weather conditions if lives are to be saved. Extensive resources are used to carry out a rescue mission, however, all missions are not successful. It is a warning to all those who take out an unsafe craft to sea that there

are penalties in the legislation against such offenders which will be implemented in future including impounding of their boats, when recoverable !

Meanwhile, there is a confi rmed report of yet another banana boat with four passengers on board having capsized whilst enroute from Papa Village to Pari village in the Centre Province. Two of the four have been reported safe however another two are still missing. MRCC is investigating this matter. NMSA reminds all maritime users in particular small craft owners, operators and passengers to be safety conscious to ensure their safety at sea especially during this current weather condition.

A third incident is currently being coordinated in the Vitiaz Strait area involving a banana boat carrying five passengers. Just being reported that the 5 people have been rescued by a vessel, “AAL Newcastle” and have been brought over to Lae port.

THE PNGPCL Alotau Port Wharf pictured in the evening. Anchored in the background is cruise ship ‘Pacific Dawn’ with hundreds of tourists who were recently in Alotau to see the ‘Kenu & Kundu’ festival. PNGPCL, through its pilotage services, is also responsible for bringing the ship alongside the wharf.

‘PACIFIC DAWN’ AT DUSK

2015 to be exciting year for airline

BY ROSALYN ALBANIEL

AIRLINES PNG says 2015 will be an exciting year for the airline and its customers with all focus on its rebranding and introduction of new aircrafts to its fleet, it was reported last week.

Despite the ongoing challenges in the Aviation Industry in the past years, the company had been able to make some notable achieve-

ments.

The most significant being the recapitalisation exercise resulting in the change of shareholding in the company with Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) and Nasfund now the major shareholders.

Other gains in 2014 as stated by the chief commercial officer-Commercial Paul Abott is the commencement of new services to the New Guinea Islands including

Lihir while the company was also able to finalise its agreement to refleet using ATR 72 aircrafts.

Chairman Murray Woo said the airline successfully changed its focus to the growing but competitive and lower regular passenger transport (RPT) market, that will lower its operating costs.

Mr Woo stated that refleeting would give the airline the capacity to service growth in the market flying more

routes at lower costs. He said after thorough evaluation the board and management had identified the ART 72-600 the right one for the company and it would be looking at acquiring a total of six over a three year period.

“The ART’s will decrease ongoing maintenance costs, fly more and improve on-time performance-at similar per sector operating costs than its existing Dash-8 Fleet.

“The company sees the renewal of its fleet as an opportunity to undertake a rebranding exercise to refresh the company’s presentation and breathe new life into the brand, thereby generating passenger loyalty and demand,” Mr Woo stressed.

Meanwhile, the airlines last week also announced the appointment of Norman Carl May as an additional Director of the Company.

Mr May is the managing director and major shareholder of May Fuels Distribution Limited in Daru, having previously been terminal manager for ExxonMobil PNG Limited in Port Moresby (Idubada).

Mr May holds a Diploma in Business Management and has experience of the airline industry through the provision of ground and ticket agency services by his company.

AN AIRLINES PNG aircraft at the Aropa Airport during the airport’s opening late last year.

ENJOYING THE SEA

THESE boys from Krangket Island off Madang town are seen enjoying the crystal blue sea as it is holiday time. Just like other coastal kids throughout the country, they are fond of the sea. Krangket Island is home as well as people from other parts of the country who work in Madang. Picture by MATHEW YAKAI of MY Media & News Agency.

Tidal Basin project to cost K400m

BY ROSALYN ALBANIEL

MINISTER for Public Enterprise and State Investment Ben Micah has confirmed work on Phase-Two of the Lae Tidal Basin to be progressing in Lae.

Mr Micah said Phase-Two of the Lae Port is expected to cost the government K400 million. He told the Post-Courier last week that there to have been a savings of about K170 million from Phase-One of the project which cabinet had approved last month for China Harbour to continue work.

He said additional funds would be sourced from other sources to ensure project completion.

“Work has already commenced on Phase-Two and when finished will enable the port in the industrial hub of Lae to accommodate two panamax sized vessels, the largest containerised vessels in the world, each of them takes up to 5000 40 foot containers.

“It will mean that Lae will become the major turnaround hub in the pacific region.

“At the moment the vessels are going to Australia and New Zealand and goods are being transshipped and that is why goods are expensive,” he said.

With regards to local participation in Phase-Two, Mr Micah assured that locals are going to participate under a new policy that he announced during the port opening, for landowners and provincial governments to become part owners of all state assets, SOEs.

With regards to Dataco Limited, the minister briefly said the entity is now in the process of taking over all assets of Telikom and PNG Power Limited.

This is so that it can become the back bone company of the state.

Five-year low in tanker spills

HALF-WAY into this decade and the downward trend in oil spills from tankers is sustained. For the last two and a half decades the average number of incidents involving oil spills from tankers has progressively halved, with the current fi gures showing the lowest yet, at less than two per year.

At a time when focus on protecting the marine environment is high, this trend should provide encouragement to tanker owners. It is also a testament to the ongoing work by industry and governments to maintain high standards of operations in sea-borne transportation.

During the year, ITOPF recorded one large spill of bitumen (~3,000 MT) from a tanker in the South China Sea, and four medium spills of various oil types, totalling five spills of seven tonnes and over. Interestingly, a number of tanker incidents reported in the media in 2014 involved fi re and explosion, where potentially significant quantities of cargoes and bunker fuel burned. The cargoes involved included condensate, diesels and fuel oils.

Source: International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF)

SEEN in the main picture is the Kookaburra Flyover taking its form. This is at its Erima portion. Inset are vehicles involved in the roadworks on the overpass, Picture: TARAMI LEGEI

FLYOVER TAKES SHAPE

Shipowners look to marine gasoil

ONE week into tighter emissions standards, shipowners are opting for marine gasoil for compliance rather than boutique ultra-low sulfur fuel oil-type material, which is less expensive but also unfamiliar and potentially risky, US market sources have said.

Since January 1, ships traveling within 200 miles of North America must burn fuel with a maximum sulfur content of 0.1 percent, down from 1 percent.

Many shipowners are buying MGO, a distillate fuel that is double the cost of high-sulfur bunker fuel, rather than seeking an alternative fuel that might save money but brings with it unknowns.

“You have to do modifications to the vessels to be able to handle the product,” an East Coast trader said, adding there is a high likelihood of high and ultra-low sulfur fuels co-mingling in tanks and pipes. “So there’s a big risk of being noncompliant when the fuel hits the engine.”

Some bunker fuel suppliers are offering MGO alternatives, often made by blending ultra-low sulfur heating oil or ULSD with residual fuel oil, low-sulfur straight-run fuel oil, VGO or something else. The

companies include Chemoil, Atlantic Gulf Bunkering, Shell and Peninsula, to name a few.

But the companies’ products — if they are available — often differ when it comes to viscosity, API gravity, acidity and even sulfur, which gives pause to shipowners, who like consistency.

“Over the last few weeks [suppliers] have said they will carry this new low-sulfur product and then when we ask for pricing and deliv-

ery dates for inquiries they say they have nothing available,” a Houstonbased trader said.

Several market sources have said through the first week of January no deals for 0.1%S bunker fuel have been reported; however, a US Gulf Coast physical bunker supplier said some sales were closed with very small volumes, but neither price nor volumes of such deals were disclosed by the supplier.

The product is available in Freep-

ort, Bahamas, at a $50/mt discount to MGO, an East Coast trader said.

But the trader cautioned against reading too much into the price because the port has only one supplier.

Other market sources have said MGO alternatives have been offered anywhere from $10-$40/mt less expensive than MGO; however, buyers have mostly eschewed a 0.1 percent S dirty fuel in favor of MGO, a US Atlantic Coast supplier said.

“Almost all customers are buying MGO,” the supplier said. “There’s little to no 0.1 percent S dirty oil demand.”

It would cost each ship upward of $1 million to clean tanks, add equipment and more for ships to take a 0.1 percent S dirty fuel.

“The savings in a 0.1 percent S fuel is around $30-$40/mt. It’s not worth the investment at this time,” the supplier said.

Other sources generally agreed, but did not rule out the possibility of greater adoption of a 0.1 percent S dirty fuel if a more uniform specification were to be adopted by the industry and crude prices rebounded. The need to pinch pennies has waned in recent months. In Houston, shipowners are paying for MGO near what they paid for RMG 380 3.5 percent S in summer 2014, when Brent crude was still trading north of $110/b, compared to the low-$50/b mark now.

“At this point, every shipowner is looking at historically cheap bunker fuel,” the Atlantic Coast supplier said. “Even MGO is cheaper than high-sulfur bunker fuel from just last year.”

Source: Platts

Watch out for fake MLTR tickets

THE party capital of PNG the Lamana Gold Club brings for the first time to Papua New Guinea, Michael Learns To Rock LIVE Saturday 17th January 2015.

The popular Danish pop/rock band group also known as MLTR) is set to perform live this coming weekend.

Formed in 1988, the band has sold over 11 million records worldwide, mainly in Asia, and additional 6 million or more paid downloads for their single “ Take Me To Your Heart” which was awarded ‘ most downloaded single of the year in 2006’.

Tickets are available from Lamana Hotel’s reception at K150 Arena and K250 Balcony.

Advice to all that there are fake MLTR tickets being sold outside of Lamana Hote which will not be entertained.

Lamana Hotel has not engaged anyone to sell MLTR tickets and as such fake tickets will not be accepted at the gate on the show night. Genuine tickets are only sold at Lamana Hotel’s reception. See you at the Gold Club, your party capital!

SNAPSHOTS ... SNAPSHOTS ... SNAPSHOTS ... SNAPSHOTS ... SNAPSHOTS ... SNAPSHOTS ... SNAPSHOTS ... SNAP

TAKING time out at Nature’s Park.

COLLEAGUES, Nancy Gah and Danica Willie, chilling and enjoying Christmas out at 17 Mile, Port Moresby.

GUARDS John, Murphy and Ian pose for camera.

THE popular Danish pop/rock band group Michael Learns To Rock (MLTR) is set to rock PNG live this coming weekend at the Gold Club.

‘American Sniper’ ideal Clint Eastwood?

A MERE six months after releasing the Four Seasons drama Jersey Boys, Clint Eastwood has again lapped his younger directing colleagues with his second film of 2014 and his best movie in years.

American Sniper is quintessentially Eastwood: a tautly made, confidently constructed examination of the themes that have long dominated his work.

American Sniper, based on Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle’s best-selling memoir, is both a tribute to the warrior and a lament for war.

Shirking politics, the film instead sets its sights squarely on its elite protagonist (Bradley Cooper), a traditional American war hero in

an untraditional war.

Here is an archetypal American: a chew-spitting, beer-drinking Texas cowboy who enlists after the 1998 bombings of American embassies with resolute righteousness and noble patriotic duty.

The once wayward Kyle finds his true calling in the Navy and he heads to Iraq with a moral certainty that no amount of time served or kills will shake.

“American Sniper,” a Warner Bros. release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references.” Running time: 124 minutes. Three stars out of four.

‘The Imitation Game’

MOVIE REVIEW

A YOUNG man interviews for a job with the British government early in World War Two. He is portrayed as more than a little cocky but at the same time also a true genius. He is a mathematics professor at one of England’s top universities.

The military officer conducting the interview [Commander Denniston played superbly by Charles Dance] is about to dismiss the brash young professor [Alan Turing played at the peak of the craft by Benedict Cumberbatch] when Turing casually drops the name “Enigma” and instantly Commander Denniston has renewed interest in Turing. Twist one.

As the story unfolds it becomes a never ending series captivating revelations that among other things does a very rare excellent job of fairly depicting the real essence of true genius. Most film makers and for that matter most educators have an extremely difficult time dealing with true genius. Major universities have huge commitments to sports proudly displayed at every opportunity.

But while the jocks get the fame, the girls, maybe a Heisman Trophy and a multimillion dollar NFL contract, the kids with 180 and above IQ’s are barely mentioned and when they are it is typically disparaging and in a whisper. In the film “The Imitation Game” the condition of genius is presented very well and with extraordinary accuracy not only with respect to its lead character but including those he works with.

While I hate using the cliché it is so apropos I can’t really avoid it. “The Imitation Game” is very much a big rich onion; every few minutes another layer is revealed. This film is anything but predictable. But I will not use this platform to spoil the experience.

Suffice it say that early on Britain is faring poorly against the ruthless onslaught of Nazi Germany. A big part of the problem is the German’s “Enigma” coding system that totally blocks all British attempts to decode any message sent using Enigma

Being able to decode those messages in real time could absolutely change the direction of the war but to all the finest minds breaking Enigma seems impossible; all the brightest minds that is except for Alan Turing.

As powerful and compelling the code breaking and wartime Europe was and shall forever be, it is only a part of this great movie. It becomes so much more complex and explores so many aspects of the human condition.

“The Imitation Game” has been nominated for five Golden Globes and should also be in line for an Oscar or two.

“The best thing you can do in 2015 is go and watch this magnificent movie. It will I believe ultimately join the ranks of “Gone With the Wind” and “Casablanca” as one of the best movies ever made.

BENEDICT

Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing, the obsessive genius who cracked the German Enigma code during World War II in “The Imitation Game”.

KYLE Gallner, left, and Bradley Cooper appear in a scene from “American Sniper.” Picture: AP PHOTO/WARNER BROS

63-year-old man in drug bust

A 63-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with possessing a commercial quantity of cannabis after a sniffer dog alerted police to the stash at a traffic stop in Alice Springs.

Detective Acting

Superintendent Peter Malley said officers were conducting a roadblock on the Stuart Highway about 30 kilometres south of Alice Springs when they stopped a Mitsubishi Magna about 4:20pm on Sunday.

“Drug detector dog Quella provided a positive reaction to the vehicle and police located 1.4kg of cannabis divided into three separate cryovac bags inside the car,” Acting Superintendent Malley said.

“The 63-year-old driver and his 44-year-old passenger were arrested and charged with possess cannabis in a commercial quantity.”

The pair will appear in Alice Springs Magistrates Court today. –ABC

Tourists trapped as heavy rains descend

HEAVY rain in South Australia’s far north will see several roads and tracks closed for weeks with reports some tourists are stranded in the region.

The Birdsville, Oodnadatta and Strzelecki tracks are among roads that have now been closed since parts of the Flinders Ranges and outback recorded rainfall of between 100 and 200 millimetres since Friday.

Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said conditions on some of the roads remained dangerous.

“People who are looking to cross over creeks or floodways should check the latest advice to make sure that it’s safe to do so,” he said.

“The last thing that we want is people to be stranded or get into further trou-

ble trying to move around or between these communities.”

However William Creek pilot Trevor Wright said the State Government should be sending out officials to check on the safety of any travellers who might be stranded.

“I think [overseas tourists] have heard about how hot it becomes, with dust storms etc, but to have the complete reverse of that happening now would have been a shock to them,” Mr Wright said.

“I think a lot of these overseas tourists have no idea what it’s like to be stuck out for a week or more without any infrastructure or civilisation.

“We know of at least one that is stuck about 40 kilo-

metres out of Oodnadatta.

I don’t think there’s been any contact with him for a while.

“At what stage do they start to worry and take decisions into their own hands and start walking?”

Mr Wright said the Federal and State Governments should be looking at telecommunications, especially mobile phone coverage, for remote areas.

“It’s been a pressing matter for the last decade out there and no one’s paying any lip service to it,” he said.

“What we’ve been pushing for years is the safety of it, whether it’s 45 degree heat or people are stranded because it’s raining and they cannot physically move.

“As far as how many peo-

ple are stuck on the roads? Who knows.

“I think it’s going to be quite a few days before these roads are open again.”

Mr Wright said water was covering a large swathe of Lake Eyre for the first time in several years.

“It’s been local rains that have started to fill it up and a lot of those waters have come down from the Macumba and the Neales Peake... area and also the fact of natural downpours that have occurred up the northern end of the lake.

“It’s not coming down as hard as it was last night.

“We’ve still got very low cloud and it’s drizzling.”

Ashlee White said her Cowarie Station property on the Birdsville Track had received 83 millimetres of

Storm warnings

ADELAIDE: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of South Australia, with heavy rain potentially set to deliver flash flooding.

rain in past week - 71 millimetres of that in one day. She said the rain was welcome after dry years forced the de-stocking of the property.

Ms White said with the heavy falls and expected flows from Queensland, the outlook had improved.

“At this point in time we’d probably be looking to take on agistment cattle as opposed to restocking, because the rain was so widespread throughout Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia, cattle prices are probably going to be quite expensive.”

She said the creek on her property was now running and the dam was full for the first time in three years.

Gold Coast traffic in chaos after flash floods

GOLD COAST: Motorists have been stranded and tram services suspended on the Gold Coast when flash flooding caused chaos.

Heavy rain dumped more than 100mm in just two hours on parts of the Gold Coast late on Sunday evening.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said some northern suburbs received up to 214mm in 24 hours.

The weather wreaked havoc, with flash flooding

forcing people to abandon their cars.

The tram system was also suspended for several hours because of water inundation, however normal services have resumed on Monday morning.

Emergency crews responded to multiple calls for help from motorists, with at least one woman’s car washed away.

One motorist was charged with driving under the influence and driving without due

care and attention after driving through flood waters at Helensvale.

He and his passengers had to wade to safety after the water rose past the vehicle’s bonnet.

More rain is expected across Queensland for the rest of the week, with much-needed falls likely in the interior.

The BoM says it is unlikely two low pressure systems lurking off the coast of Cooktown in the northern Coral Sea will form cyclones.

The weather bureau has issued the warning for the Flinders and Northeast Pastoral districts, with very heavy rainfall predicted in Leigh Creek, Moomba, Hawker, Arkaroola, Marree and Olary.

Residents in affected areas should stay indoors, away from windows, while conditions are severe and avoid driving through flood water, the State Emergency Service says.

“We are urging parents to keep a close eye on their children around flooded creeks, drains and other waterways,” SES chief officer Chris Beattie said.

Residents told to help

MELBOURNE: Bendigo residents have been urged to report flooding as the full impact of recent torrential rain remains unknown.

The town is still mopping up after the deluge which hit the regional Victorian city on Friday. Early indications show the rain is amongst the heaviest ever experienced in Bendigo, Mayor Peter Cox says.

“Friday’s downpour, with reports over 80mm in a short period of time, was a serious test for the city’s stormwater drainage infrastructure,” Mr Cox said.

“Council is encouraging residents and businesses to contact the city, so we can garner a better understanding of the floods.”

NT Police allege 1.4kg of cannabis packed into three bags were being carried by a couple stopped for a routine traffic stop. Picture: ABC

The bottom line

Discrimation change rejected

AUSTRALIA’S Race Discrimination Commissioner has flatly rejected calls for possible changes to the nation’s discrimination laws in the wake of the terrorist attacks in France.

Federal Government

backbencher Senator Cory Bernardi has again called for changes to Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, the section of the act that bans language that offends, insults or humiliates people.

Last year the Government

wanted to remove the words “offend, insult and humiliate” from the act, but the Prime Minister abandoned those plans in an effort to garner widespread community support for tougher national security laws.

Race Discrimination

Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said he rejected Senator Bernardi’s call as it was ill-founded and ill-informed.

“There’s no cause for revisiting the Racial Discrimination Act debate.

Parties rule out minority govt

IPSWICH: Both major parties have decided they don’t want the poisoned chalice of a minority government when Queenslanders go to the polls later this month.

Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has now expressed the view in emphatic fashion after previously refusing to address the issue at all.

“Let me make it very clear: no, no, no, no deals. Next question,” Ms Palaszczuk said while campaigning in Ipswich on Monday.

It was part of a response where she said “no” 10 times in under 15 seconds to emphasise her point.

It flies in the face of Premier Campbell Newman’s campaign strategy to scare voters into the prospect of Labor “flopping over the line” with the support of minor parties and independents.

The premier has been even more vocal against a hung parliament, going as far to say as he would “absolutely” rather be defeated than form a minority government.

“Let’s not hang Queensland with a hung parliament,” he said.

“We have a very strong team and a very strong plan and we can do great things for Queensland if we are elected in our own right.”

The idea of a minority government has emerged with several recent polls putting both sides neck and neck, or thereabouts.

It would have been considered almost impossible after the 2012 election, which saw Mr Newman’s Liberal National Party claim 78 of the 89 seats in Queensland’s unicameral parliament.

The prospect has encouraged the formation of a loose alliance between independents Peter Wellington, Alex Douglas and Carl Judge and Katter’s Australian Party MPs Rob Katter and Shane Knuth in opposition to privatisation.

Mr Wellington, a vocal opponent to the government’s controversial anti-bikie legislation, says he wouldn’t make any deals with the LNP anyway.

“I will not support a continuation of their extreme and vindictive policies,” the Nicklin MP said.

Kiwi wins right to join Aust army

WELLINGTON: After years of being shut out, a former New Zealand soldier living in Perth now has the right to join the Australian army under a loophole for long-term residents.

Only citizens, or those with permanent residency who are in the process of becoming Australian citizens, can join the nation’s defence force.

Former NZ soldier Duncan Sandilands has been working for years for the right to enlist in the Australian army.

Last month, the 54-year-old had a small victory when he was granted a resident return visa, which is open to people who have lived in Australia since before 1994.

This visa gives Mr Sandilands the permanent residency status required by the Australian Defence Force for enlisting.

Mr Sandilands says he has now been invited by ADF recruitment to sit an entrance test in January.

We had extensive, exhaustive debate about this issue last year and the overwhelming majority of the Australian public have made emphatically clear that the current law should be retained,” he told PM’s Naomi Woodley.

Mr Bernardi has long campaigned for the revisions, saying they protect freedom of speech. He is supported by the likes of the New South Wales’s Solicitor-General, who wrote in The Australian today of the contradiction

he sees in people who say they support Charlie Hebdo but campaigned against the 18C changes.

France’s satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo was last week the target of a devastating terror attack that killed 17 people because it often published material that offended and insulted some people of the Muslim faith. But Mr Soutphommasane said people could be both supporters of Charlie Hebdo and Section 18C as it currently

stands. “People can make complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act only about things which concern the attributes of race, colour, ethnicity and national origin,” he said.

“There is complete and unfettered freedom to discuss and debate matters of religion, religious identity, religious belief and religious practise.

“There is in any case wide protection for anything that is artistic work or fair comment on matters of public

interest, provided that it is done reasonably and in good faith.”

He said offensive language and racial abuse did not add any rigor to genuine public debate.

“Debating values and beliefs is one thing, but there’s very little that racial abuse and vilification adds to genuine public debate and that’s what the Racial Discrimination Act and its provision under Section 18C and B deal with,” he said. – ABC

Man on ice before police station death

A MAN who died at a police station after being Tasered at a McDonald’s restaurant had been on methamphetamines for several days, his partner says.

A drug-fuelled domestic dispute is believed to have triggered a chain of events that ended with the death of Kevin Norris, 38, in the New South Wales southern highlands on Sunday night.

NSW Police said two female officers sustained head injuries while trying to arrest Mr Norris at the Mittagong restaurant, and police needed to use a Taser and capsicum spray to control him. His partner, Raylene Waters, said she last saw Mr Norris when he left their home after a fight.

“We had a little bit of an argument,” she said. “He’d been on ice for three days.

“He ran down the stairs, grabbed me by the hair, pulled me halfway down the stairs. That’s fine, I hit him as well.”

Abbott absence clouds Queensland election

BRISBANE: Queensland

Premier Campbell Newman wanted the phrase of the day to be “Strong Plan”, but instead it was “Tony Abbott”.

The Liberal National Party has been forced to deny the prime minister is in “witness protection” and avoiding the state election as Labor has taunted.

Mr Abbott is on leave this week, but was also conspicuously absent from the Victorian election in November, where the focus on the unpopularity of the prime minister and federal budget cuts helped bring down the coalition government.

And in Queensland he has not yet shown his face on the hustings.

Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss stood in for him on Monday as Mr Newman announced $147.8 million roads project funding as part of his “Strong Plan for Queensland” on Monday.

The federal government will contribute to some of the projects, but Mr Newman says some state funding will depend on his asset-leasing plan.

“It comes from a strong LNP government, a strong team, to actually deal with issues that will actually help people get home to their loved ones on time and safely,” Mr Newman said. But questions quickly turned to Mr Abbott and the chance of federal issues influencing voters.

The premier isn’t concerned about federal factors at the polls, saying he’s always stood up for Queenslanders.

Mr Truss says Mr Abbott’s presence isn’t necessary anyway.

“Premier Newman doesn’t need someone else to hold his hand. He’s an experienced premier. It’s his election,” he said on the Gold Coast.

Mr Truss wasn’t the only federal face in town, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten joining state Labor Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk on the trail in Ipswich.

Ms Palaszczuk is well aware the most recent poll shows support for the Abbott government has

tumbled dramatically and Mr Shorten is the preferred prime minister in most states.

In his second day in the sunshine state, Mr Shorten said it was simple why the “acting” and not the actual prime minister had joined Mr Newman on his campaign.

“Everyone knows why Tony Abbott’s not here,” Mr Shorten said. “It’s because he’s a vote loser.

“He’s box office poison.”

Ms Palaszczuk promised to set up a $40 million Business Development Fund to encourage innovation in the private sector.

She also pledged to tie politicians’ pay rises to those of public servants if Labor wins government.

Aussie’s Java case delayed

JAKARTA: An Indonesian court has delayed sentencing an Australian man over a package of drugs police found in his home, because of his illness.

Andrew Roger, 52, has been in Indonesian custody for eight months after marijuana, crystal meth and various pills were seized in the raid in Surabaya, East Java.

Prosecutors argued the former Darwin resident should serve 16 years from a maximum 20 years, because of the quantity and variety of drugs involved.

Roger’s lawyers argued he needed rehabilitation for proven marijuana dependance that had spanned 35 years of his life.

He was due to be sentenced on Monday but Roger told the court he felt so unwell, he couldn’t focus on the proceedings. He said medications he needed were out of stock at the prison where he’s remanded.

Indigenous activist faces court over trespassing

DISRUPTIVE scenes unfolded in the ACT Magistrates Court when an Indigenous activist charged with trespass, after trying to set up a new embassy in a public housing property, refused to cooperate with the court.

Jeremy David Joseph Geia, also known as Murrumu Walubara Yidindji, was arrested on Friday after he failed to obey an eviction order at a governmentowned house in Canberra’s south.

The 40-year-old former journalist last year formally renounced his Australian citizenship and has reverted to the laws of the Yidindgi Tribal Nation in Queensland.

Geia had attempted to claim the Canberra house as an embassy for his nation, but allegedly overstayed his welcome and was arrested for trespass. He was held in custody over the weekend and was brought before the court on

Monday morning to be formally charged and bailed, but he refused to cooperate with the court.

Magistrate Bernadette Boss asked Geia to stand, but he remained seated and instead attempted to question the prosecutor.

When the magistrate tried to interrupt, Geia told her to be quiet.

“Do not talk while I am speaking,” Geia told the magistrate.

“Do not talk while I am

speaking, I will let you know when I am finished.”

Magistrate Boss chose to adjourn the court and left the bench.

“He who leaves the battlefield first, loses by default.

I dismiss all charges,” Geia yelled twice before he was taken away by court officers.

An hour later Geia was brought to the court for a second attempt, but again refused to cooperate.

Magistrate Boss then

decided to hear the matter by way of a remote witness room, meaning Geia would only appear by CCTV in the courtroom, allowing the court to mute him when he interrupted.

She entered pleas of not guilty on his behalf and “strongly encouraged” the prosecution to consider dropping the charge, as Geia had already spent a number of days in custody for a crime that normally only warrants a fine. –ABC

KEVIN Norris died at Bowral Police Station after officers used capsicum spray and a Taser on him. Picture: AAP/ABC

Jeremy David Joseph

In 2012, there were 905 natural catastrophies worldwide, including severe storms, droughts, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and others

The bottom line

Divers recover flight recorder

INDONESIAN divers have retrieved the flight data recorder of crashed AirAsia Flight QZ8501, say officials.

They believe they have also located the cockpit voice recorder, the second part of the so-called black box, but divers have not yet managed to reach it.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 disappeared in bad weather on 28 December with 162 people on board.

The aircraft, which was flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, is thought to be deep in the Java Sea.

Dozens of bodies have been recovered but most of the victims are believed to still be inside the fuselage, which has not been found.

Speaking in Jakarta, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency Bambang

Soelistyo told reporters: “I received information from the National Transport Safety Committee chief that at 07:11 (00:11 GMT), we succeeded in bringing up part of the black box that we call the flight data recorder.”

He said the device was found under the wreckage of a wing.

Hours later, other officials said the cockpit voice recorder had also been detected but divers had not yet managed to reach it.

The two recorders, usually housed inside the rear part of the plane, are designed to survive a crash and being submerged in water. They contain underwater locator beacons which emit so-called “pings” for at least 30 days.

Supriyadi, operations co-ordinator for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said that based on initial analysis of

At a glance

AIRASIA: is a Malaysian lowcost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to 100 destinations spanning 22 countries.

BLACKBOX: Indonesian divers have retrieved the flight data recorder. The device was found under the wreckage of the wing.

the wreckage, the plane could have “exploded” upon landing on the water.

“The cabin was pressurised and before the pressure of the cabin could be adjusted, it went down - boom. That explosion was heard in the area,” he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Over the weekend, three ships detected pings that were thought to be from the black box’s emergency locator transmitter. However, strong currents and high waves prevented the search operations.

The tail section of the Airbus A320-200 was brought to the surface, but the flight recorder was not inside it, as had been hoped.

Then on Monday, weather allowed for divers to retrieve the flight data recorder.

The international search for the fuselage and the remaining missing passengers and crew is continuing in the Java Sea.

Mr Soelistyo said all ships now “will be deployed with the main task of searching for bodies that are still or suspected to still be trapped underwater”. - BBC

BIRTHDAY ORGY

KUALA LUMPUR: Police in Malaysia arrested 29 people including two auxiliary police officers in a raid on a birthday party which they said had turned into a drug-fuelled orgy. Officers were called to a hotel in the town of Klang near the capital Kuala Lumpur early Sunday (Jan 11) after a complaint about noise in one of the rooms. Ten women and 19 men were arrested while drugs including heroin, Ecstasy and ketamine were impounded, police said. “We suspect it to be a sex orgy cum birthday party,” said North Klang police chief Mohamad Shukor Sulong. A police officer involved in the investigation told AFP on condition of anonymity that all 29 were ethnic Malays and ranged in age from 20 to 35. “They brought girls, drugs and beer to celebrate the birthday party,” the officer said.

FLIGHTS STOPPED

Jakarta: The Indonesian government has suspended a further 61 flight permits issued to five airlines following the discovery that the ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 departed Surabaya last month without an authorised flight permit. Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan announced the suspension of all AirAsia flights within 2 days of the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ8501, saying that the flight was illegal. He said on Friday said that an audit showed that 61 flight permits were found to be violating regulations set by the government.“The flight permits have been frozen”, he said.

PAPAL VISIT

Church bells will simultaneously peal on Thursday, January 15 to welcome Pope Francis in the Philippines, but today security and readiness of the route of the papal convoy will be tested by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in a simulation drill that will involve thousands of police, soldiers, and volunteers. The dry run of the papal convoy will start at 6 p.m. from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City to the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue in Manila, said MMDA Chairman Francis N. Tolentino. “It is going to be an actual simulation of Pope Francis’ arrival from the airport, going to Andrews Avenue, then to Roxas Boulevard, going to Quirino, and to the papal residence,” Tolentino said. He appealed for understanding from motorists who will be affected by the dry run. Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive on Thursday.

Former Thai PM questions impeachment motion

BANGKOK: Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, summoned to appear before the Legislative Assembly in defence of an impeachment motion over allegations of corruption in the government rice programme, questioned the necessity of an impeachment.

The former prime minister said that an impeachment motion over allegations of corruption in the government rice program was ‘re-

dundant’.

She told the legislative Assemby that she was removed from office and ‘holds no position to be impeached from’ Yingluck Shinawatra was ousted from government by the declaration of Martial Law in May with the appointment of Gen Prayuth Chanocha as commander of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The former prime minis-

ter denied all charges made against her by the Thai National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) who voted unanimously in May that there was sufficient evidence to indict the ousted prime minister on charges of dereliction of duty in the national rice pledging programme.

The commissioners said that the former Prime Minister had failed to perform her duty in the best interest of the country in her role as

Asia covers a total land area of 44,579,000 square kilometers.

Chair of the National Rice Policy. The former prime minister told the Legislative Assembly on Friday that she ‘ran the programme correctly and transparently’.

The commissioners had reportedly formally warned the Prime minister that the national rice pledging programme could create problems and incur great financial losses.

The Yingluck Shinawatra government had not paid

Thai rice farmers for their rice following the dissolution of the Thai parliament in December 2013 followed by the call for an election.

An agreement signed in November 2013 by Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisanto to sell 1.2 million tonnes of rice to China was reportedly stopped on the dissolution of the Thai Parliament. - The Southeast Asian Times

FORMER Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

MILITARY policemen carry the flight data recorder of AirAsia QZ8501 at the airbase in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan January 12, 2015. The flight data recorder arrived at the airbase in Pangkalan Bun, before being taken to Jakarta. - BBC

INVESTIGATORS are checking the tail section for indications of what went wrong. - BBC

Kerry urges strong relations

US Secretary of State John Kerry has called for stronger US-Indian trade ties at an international investor conference ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to India this month.

Mr Kerry said better economic ties would help boost India’s growth and fight climate change.

Bilateral foreign direct investment now stands at nearly $30bn (£19bn).

Mr Obama will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day ceremony in the capital on 26 January.

Speaking at the investment conference in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Sunday, Mr Kerry described Indian PM Narendra Modi as a “visionary prime minister”.

“We can do more together, and we must do more together, and we have to do it faster,” Mr Kerry told the meeting. “Together, we can create an environment where all of our companies play leading roles in bringing cutting-edge technologies, equipment, capital, and know-how not just to

Gunmen kill 7 Pakistani soldiers

QUETTA, Pakistan:

Gunmen have attacked a checkpoint in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, killing seven paramilitary soldiers, an official says.

Abdul Haleem said the attack took place early on Monday in the mountainous Mekhtar region in Lorali district.

Lorali is 250 kilometres northeast of Quetta, the provincial capital.

Haleem says the checkpoint started taking fire after midnight, which continued for hours.

India but to countless countries that need this growth and development now.”

At Sunday’s meeting, Mr Modi pledged to cut red tape, pursue predictable policies, ensure stable taxes and make India the “easiest place” to do business.

“We are trying to complete the circle of economic reforms speedily,” he told the meeting.

“We no longer live in a world where a country is going to be competitive if the bureaucracy sends people from door to door and window to window and meeting to meeting,” he said.

Reports said US officials were working on agreements that could include a solar energy deal and a plan to improve rural electrification that they hoped could be signed during Mr Obama’s upcoming visit to India.

In September, Mr Modi and President Obama called for a “new agenda” between their countries during Mr Modi’s visit to America, his first since being elected this summer. – BBC

Sri Lanka to probe ‘Rajapaksa plot’

THE new government of Sri Lanka has said that it will investigate what it says was a coup attempt by defeated President Mahinda Rajapaksa after he lost elections on Friday.

“People think it was a peaceful transition. It was anything but,” leading presidential aide Mangala Samaraweera told a press conference.

Mr Rajapaksa’s spokesman has said that the allegations are baseless.

The deposed president endured a shock defeat to Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr Sirisena was the main opposition candidate who only two months ago was a minister in the government of the ousted president.

In an address to the nation on Sunday, the new president called for a government of national unity to carry out political and economic reforms he advocated during his election campaign.

Mr Rajapaksa, who had been South Asia’s longestserving leader before losing last Thursday’s elections, had initially been

widely praised for conceding defeat to Mr Sirisena before the final results were announced.

Among those who gave him credit for overseeing a smooth transition of power was US Secretary of State John Kerry.

But Mr Samaraweera told reporters on Sunday that Mr Rajapaksa had in fact attempted to persuade army and police chiefs to help him stay in power - if necessary with the use of force.

The first thing the new cabinet will investigate is the coup and conspiracy by President Rajapaksa,” he said.

“[The president] stepped down only when the army chief and the police inspector general refused to go along with him.”

Mr Samaraweera said diplomatic pressure had also been brought to bear on Mr Rajapaksa to ensure a peaceful transition.

Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya told the AFP news agency that he was “not aware” of any coup attempt.–BBC

CHILDREN in Peshawar travelled to school for the first time since the Taliban attack in December. Picture: AFP/ABC

Pakistani schools reopen

SCHOOLS in Pakistan’s north-western city of Peshawar have re-opened for the first time since 150 people, mainly children, were killed in a raid by the Taliban on December 16.

The attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar by a group of gunmen and suicide bombers ended in the deaths of 134 children and 16 others.

Across the country, schools remained shut for an extended winter break as authorities beefed up security. At least 20 soldiers were seen at the main entry point of the Army Public School on Monday (local time), with an airport-style security gate installed at the front.

Elevated boundary walls with steel wire fencing were put in place around Peshawar and in schools throughout the rest of the country.

Raheel Sharif, the head of

Pakistan’s powerful army, made an unannounced visit with his wife, greeting students with handshakes and hugs.

Parents spoke of having to sit down with their children and mentally prepare them for their return to the school, which has undergone a complete renovation to remove all traces of the bloody attack.

“He was terrified but we talked him up, we can not keep him imprisoned between four walls and we must stand against militancy,” Muhammad Zahoor said as he walked his son along the main Warsak Road.

His son, Muhammad Zaid said: “I want to go to school to see my friends, I will join the army after my schooling and will take revenge.”

Other survivors recounted Taliban gunmen moving from room to room

hunting for students and teachers, sometimes toying with them and pretending they would let them go, before lining them up and executing them in front of their peers.

For 16-year-old Shahrukh Khan, who was shot in both legs while pretending to play dead in his school’s auditorium, going back was traumatic.

“I have lost 30 of my friends, how will I sit in the empty class? How will I look to their empty benches?” he said.

“My heart has been broken. All the class fellows I had, have died, now my heart does not want to attend school.”

Other students struck a defiant note.

“I am not scared, no force can stop me from going to attend my school,” said 16-year-old Zahid Ayub, who sustained minor wounds. –AFP/ABC

The official said he did not know who was behind the attack.

The province is home to Baluch separatists as well as various Islamist militant groups.

New president gets majority

SRI Lanka’s newly-elected president Maithripala Sirisena has secured a parliamentary majority essential for radical constitutional reforms, officials say.

The president-elect’s spokesman, Rajitha Senaratne, said more than 40 parliamentarians have shifted their allegiance from Mr Sirisena’s predecessor, Mahinda Rajapakse, whom he unseated in Thursday’s presidential election.

“We now have more than we need in parliament,” Mr Senaratne said. “We can have our legislative program approved without any difficulty whatsoever.”

Mr Sirisena previously had the backing of 89 parliamentarians and needed another 24 to secure a simple majority in the 225-member house. The new leader, who is himself a defector from Mr Rajapakse’s party, has already pledged to reverse many of the constitutional changes brought in by his predecessor which gave huge powers to the position of president.

He is set to make a national address late Sunday from the historic hill city of Kandy.

Mr Sirisena wants to establish independent commissions to run the police, the public service and the judiciary. –AFP/ABC

India must recycle waste, says expert

INDIA is home to some of the filthiest cities in the world, but the success of its mission to clean up its streets will hinge on whether it can completely revolutionise the way it recycles waste, one expert says.

In October, prime minister Narendra Modi launched the clean India campaign, a five-year bid to modernise the country’s sanitation system by installing toilets, sweeping filthy streets and taking down trash mounds.

The director of the Centre for Science and Environment in New Delhi,

Sunita Narain, said India’s cities are drowning in rubbish because the country does not have a garbage management system.

“We are generating more and more waste because we are getting to be a more and more affluent society,” Ms Narain said. “We are using more and more products which have a lot more plastic [and] which have a lot more waste as a result.”

Ms Narain said it was time governments became involved in what was currently an informal sector run by so-called “rag pick-

ers” and junk shop owners, who scour the rancid rubbish heaps looking for items to sell.

Ravi is one of an estimated 300,000 rag pickers who spend their days sifting through piles of rancid garbage in Delhi’s capital.

“We find old clothes here,” Ravi said, “plastics, tins, iron materials”.

He sorts through the soiled and discarded items at the Gaziapur dump in Delhi’s north, where rubbish is piled almost as high as the towering apartment blocks nearby. “The garbage from

the entire city comes here,” Ravi said. “Gas forms here and there are fires at night and we get out of here before it gets dark because there is so much heat and gas.”

Three of the city’s four rubbish dumps reached capacity five years ago, but the garbage continues to pile up, and a study by JNU University found high levels of nickel, zinc, arsenic and lead in Delhi’s landfills.

Ms Narain said the current sanitation system, run by rag-pickers like Ravi, was untenable in the long term. –ABC

Prison raided over attack

LEBANESE security forces have raided a prison after an investigation found detainees were connected to a suicide attack over the weekend, officials say.

Television pictures showed troops entering and searching inmates’ rooms and smoke rising from Roumieh prison.

Officials said some detainees had set light to mattresses in protest at being transferred from one wing to another.

The interior minister said

intercepted telephone calls proved some were linked to bombings in Tripoli on Saturday.

Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, claimed it was behind the attack on a cafe in the northern Lebanese city’s predominantly Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen, which left nine people dead.

But officials said its rival, Islamic State, might have been responsible.

Helicopters hovered above

Roumieh prison as Internal Security Forces (ISF) personnel and ambulances entered the facility on Monday morning. The official National News Agency quoted an ISF statement as saying it had carried out an operation to transfer a number of prisoners from “Building B” to “Building D”.

Building D reportedly houses a number of high-profile Islamist militants.

“Some detainees started fires in protest against the

Islamic fight kills 30 kurds

ISLAMIC State group fighters attempting to retake a town in northern Iraq held by Kurdish peshmerga forces have killed at least 30 Kurds, an Iraqi military spokesman says.

The battle for the town of Gwer demonstrates the Islamic State group’s ability to still launch offensives in Iraq, despite a months-long campaign of airstrikes by a US-led coalition. And while an alliance of Iraqi troops, Kurdish fighters and Sunni and Shi’ite militiamen have made some gains, their advance remains tenuous at best.

The fighting began Saturday as the extremists approached Gwer, just outside of the northern city of Mosul, which the Islamic State group

controls, said Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman for Iraqi Kurdish forces in Irbil. Hekmat said he had no information about casualties suffered by the Islamic State group.

Backed by US-led airstrikes, Kurdish forces retook Gwer in August after the Islamic State group’s offensive saw it seize a wide swath of Iraq. Kurdish fighters from Iraq also have deployed in small numbers to help Syrian Kurds battle the group’s fighters in the Syrian border town of Kobani.

Gwer sits near Irbil, the Kurdish regional capital. Retaking it would allow Islamic State group fighters a new base to potentially launch assaults targeting the city. -AAP

security measures,” the statement added. “However, the security situation is under control and no injuries have occurred.”

Earlier, Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk told the Reuters news agency that the operation was launched after intelligence showed some of the inmates were connected to Saturday’s attack.

“We made sure of their involvement through monitoring their communications,”

he said. Mr Machnouk said the prisoners had used mobile phones and internet video chat programme Skype to communicate with fellow militants.

“I can confirm that Roumieh prison is an operations room for Da’ish,” he added, using a pejorative term for Islamic State based on an acronym formed from the letters of its name in Arabic.

Al-Nusra Front, several of whose members are inmates,

threatened to retaliate for the raid.

“As a result of the deterioration of security in Lebanon, you will hear about surprises regarding the fate of the prisoners with us,” the group said on its Twitter account. AlNusra and IS are holding more than 20 Lebanese soldiers and police officers hostage. They were seized in an assault on the border town of Arsal in August. Four of them have already been killed. – BBC

SP SPORTS AWARDS 2015 NOMINATION FORM P NOMINAMINATIONFORM M SPORTS AWARDS NOMINATION FORM

NOMINATE NOW!

Conditions of the SP Sports Awards 2015

Nominations will only be accepted on this Official Nomination Form in respect to performance and achievements during the period January 1st to December 31st, 2014.

There are twelve categories in the SP Sports Awards 2015, of which the following eleven can be nominated for:

1. Male Athlete of the Year – Best International Performance by a male athlete in 2014

2. Female Athlete of the Year – Best International Performance by a female athlete in 2014

3. Team of the Year – Best International Performance by a team in 2014

4. National Performance of the Year – Best National Performance by a male athlete, female athlete, or team in 2014

5. Community Sports Initiative – Best use of sport to help address social issues at a community level in 2014

6. Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Best Performance by a male athlete who was 18 years and younger in 2014

7. Junior Female Athlete of the Year - Best Performance by a female athlete who was 18 years and younger in 2014

8. Best Sportsperson with a Disability – For athletes with a physical or intellectual disability who have performed outstandingly in 2014

9. Sports Official of the Year – For individuals who have excelled as a Coach, Referee/Umpire or Administrator in 2014

10. Sports Photo of the Year – For best photo taken in 2014 capturing a sporting moment at any level of sport

11. Sports Media Award – For media coverage of sport or a sporting event in 2014 by an individual, programme, organisation or online site

*People’s Choice of the Year - Public to be given opportunity to vote on which finalist from the first four categories they feel deserves to win this award Nominations can be submitted by anyone including national sporting associations, individual sportsmen and women, coaches, administrators, clubs, sports officials, the media and the public for any of the above awards.

The SP Sports Awards are for all sporting persons and bodies. The decision of the Awards Selection Committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Closing date for nominations in all categories of the SP Sports Awards 2015 is Wednesday 25th February, 2015.

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ROUMIEH prison had become an “operations room” for Islamic State. -BBC

SUICIDE bomber targeted a coffee shop in the Alawite district of Jabal Mohsen. -BBC

France in crisis mode after attacks

THE French government has been holding a crisis meeting with cabinet ministers on national security after last week’s deadly attacks.

The meeting comes amid questions over how militants known to the authorities were able to launch the raids in Paris.

The assault on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and separate attacks on police officers and a kosher supermarket killed 17 people.

More than 1.5m people marched in the capital on Sunday in a show of unity.

The French government said the rally turnout was the highest on record. Across France, nearly four million people joined marches, according to an interior ministry estimate.

About 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.

They included UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

President Francois Hollande was meeting his cabinet, including Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, as well as the heads of police and security services on Monday.

Ministers said that 10,000 extra soldiers were being deployed to boost security. Mr Cazaneuve announced that nearly 5,000 police would be sent to protect France’s 717 Jewish schools, and that troops would be sent as reinforcements over the next two days.

The security meeting is a chance for President Hollande to be briefed on the latest in the investigation into last week’s attacks. New elements include the discovery of a second flat where Coulibaly seems to have stored his weapons.

There will also be preliminary discussion of what - if any - new measures need to be taken in the fight against jihadism. There has been much talk about a possible French Patriot Act - similar to what the US enacted after 9/11. But there seems little appetite to make major legislative changes.

A new anti-terrorist law has only just gone through parliament. Emphasis is more likely to be on improving the means - in manpower and material - available to the intelligence services, and also combating the growing problem of radicalisation in prisons.

In London, Prime Minister Cameron is also consulting senior intelligence and security officials over Britain’s response to the attacks in France.

Last week, Mr Valls admitted there had been “clear failings” after it emerged that the three gunman involved in the attacks - Said and

Cartoons attack in German

POLICE in Germany have detained two men suspected of an arson attack against a newspaper that republished the cartoons of French weekly Charlie Hebdo.

The newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost said on its website on Sunday that the overnight arson attack destroyed several files in its archive, but didn’t injure anyone.

Hamburg police said it had detained the two young men near the newspaper building.

Police spokeswoman Karina Sadowsky said several stones

and a Molotov cocktail were found in the newspaper’s archive in the basement of the building.

She didn’t identify or give any further details about the suspects.

A spokesman for the Hamburg fire department said they were first alerted when a security company called them after the building’s fire alarms went off, early on Sunday morning.

“We quickly managed to extinguish the fire,” spokesman Joern Bartsch said.

The Hamburg tabloid news-

paper published the Charlie Hebdo cartoons the day after the attack against the newspaper in Paris to express its solidarity with the slain journalists.

Several other national and local German newspapers also published the cartoons. They are now getting police protection.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Sunday called on all citizens to be vigilant in their everyday lives in response to the attacks in neighbouring France. - AAP

Cherif Kouachi and Amedy Coulibaly - had a history of extremism.

The Kouachi brothers were on UK and US terror watch lists and Coulibaly had previously been convicted for plotting to free a known militant from prison. Coulibaly met Cherif Kouachi while in jail.

Coulibaly and the two brothers were shot dead on Friday after police ended two separate sieges.

Coulibaly killed four people at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday before police stormed the building. He is also believed to have shot dead a policewoman the day before.

Ahead of Sunday’s rally in Paris, a video emerged appearing to show Coulibaly pledging allegiance to the Islamic State militant group.

In the video, he said he was working with the Kouachi brothers: “We have split our team into two to increase the impact of our actions.”

One of the Kouachi brothers said they were acting on behalf of Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda (AQAP). But experts say it is highly unlikely that Islamic State and al-Qaeda, rivals in the Middle East, would plan an attack together.

The attacks in Paris started last Wednesday, when the Kouachi brothers raided the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people - including eight journalists and two police officers.

President Hollande warned France to remain vigilant on Friday, saying the country faced further threats.

French police are still hunting for accomplices of the three gunmen, including Hayat Boumeddiene, Coulibaly’s partner.

However, she is believed to have left France before the attacks. The Turkish foreign minister said she had arrived in Turkey on 2 January from Madrid, before continuing to Syria six days later.

Mr Cazeneuve has said France will remain on high alert in the coming weeks.

He hosted a meeting on Sunday morning of fellow interior ministers from across Europe, including the UK’s Theresa May, to discuss the threat posed by militants.

Following the meeting, the ministers issued a statement saying that greater internet and border surveillance was needed to combat terrorist attacks.

Wednesday 7 January 10:30 - Two masked gunmen enter Charlie Hebdo offices, killing 11 people, including the magazine’s editor. Shortly after the attack, the gunmen kill a police officer nearby.

11:00 - Police lose track of the men after they abandon their getaway car and hijack another vehicle. - BBC

Gunmen radicalised in jail

AT least two of the gunmen who unleashed terror on France are believed to have been radicalised in prison, a fertile ground for extremism that authorities are struggling to contain.

Both Mohamed Merah, the Al-Qaeda militant who shot dead seven people in a series of 2012 attacks, and Mehdi Nemmouche, last year’s Brussels Jewish museum killer, were radicalised in jail.

And in the latest attacks, Cherif Kouachi, one of the brothers who massacred 12 people in an attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine, came under the influence of Djamel Beghal, a known figure of French radical Islamism, when serving time in the Fleury-Merogis prison.

Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed a policewoman and four shoppers, also came under Beghal’s influence and met Kouachi in the same jail, Europe’s largest.

“We have a real problem with our prison policy,” said Martin Pradel, a lawyer who has defended jihadists. “Promiscuity, idleness and a lack of psychological support is all fertile ground for radical practices to bloom.”

The justice ministry, while acknowledging the problem, says it is not quite as dire as believed.

“Of the 152 people currently jailed in France (out of 67,000 prisoners) as part of terrorist cases, just 16 per cent of them had already served time in prison, 84 per cent therefore radicalised elsewhere,” said ministry spokesman Pierre Rance.

And among the 152, “around 60 have been identified as preachers engaged in proselytism among other Muslim detainees,” he added.

The justice ministry also aims to fight against Islamist proselytism by increasing the number of mainstream Muslim chaplains in prisons.

PRESIDENT Hollande said that Paris was “the capital of the world” on Sunday as the capital held a huge rally

MR Hollande led the march, stopping to hug Charlie Hebdo journalist Patrick Pelloux along the way

FRANCE’S interior minister has said that the country will remain on high alert in the coming weeks. Pictures: BBC

Man arrested over teenage murder

FLORIDA authorities say

George Zimmerman, whose acquittal of murdering an unarmed black teen sparked a national debate on race and self-defence laws, has been arrested for allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend.

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office says the 31-yearold Zimmerman was arrested for aggravated assault in Lake Mary about 10pm Friday (local time) and is being held at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility.

Zimmerman was released on a US$5000 bond Saturday afternoon. At a court appearance earlier Saturday, he was ordered to avoid contact with the woman, who was not identified.

US officials point out copycat attacks

TOP US officials have again warned that deadly attacks similar to those in France could happen in the United States and raised fresh concerns about potential vulnerabilities in the nation’s counterterrorism system.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. - speaking in interviews from Paris, where he traveled over the weekend to meet with European counterparts in the wake of attacks that left 17 people dead - discussed the potential for strikes against the United States by individuals or small groups tied to al-Qaeda or another terror organisation.

“It’s something that frankly keeps me up at night, worrying about the lone wolf or a group of people, a very small group of people, who decide to get arms on their own and

do what we saw in France,” he said on CBS’s Face the Nation.

“It’s the kind of thing that our government is focused on doing all that we can, in conjunction with our state and local counterparts, to try to make sure that it does not happen.”

According to several reports, Cherif and Said Kouachi, the two brothers whose attack on the offices of a French satirical newspaper last week left 12 people dead, had ties to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and at least one of them had traveled to Yemen.

French officials had them under surveillance, with American officials providing information about Yemeni ties, but French security officials had stopped monitoring the brothers months before the attack.

In a series of appearances

on political talk shows yesterday, local time, Holder did not comment on whether the lapse represented an intelligence breakdown by French security officials or a law enforcement resource issue.

“There’ll be time for an afteraction analysis of exactly what might have been done better,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “You always look back to determine how you might do things better. I will say that the French have been among our best allies, our greatest friends in this fight against global terrorism.”

Holder’s comments came as at least 1.3 million people, including world leaders and dignitaries, flooded the streets of Paris for what French officials described as the largest demonstration in the country’s history.

Several senior lawmakers also warned of the spectre of similar attacks, saying that they would be pressing the Obama administration to keep closer tabs on US citizens and others who travel overseas to train with terrorist groups and then attempt to return home.

Small-scale attacks are “very difficult to detect, deter and disrupt, which is really our goal,” Texan Rep. Michael McCaul, who leads the House Homeland Security Committee, said on CBS.

“I think we’re going to see more and more of these taking place, whether it be foreign fighters going to the warfare and return[ing] or whether it be someone who’s getting on the internet and then radicalising over the internet.”

McCaul and other lawmak-

ers said that the US “no-fly” list remains an important antiterrorism tool but worried about the vulnerability of the visa waiver program, which allows people from designated countries to travel into the United States for up to 90 days without first obtaining a visa.

“The visa waiver program is the Achilles’ heel of America,” Californian Democrat Dianne Feinstein, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary panels, said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.

While the Kouachi brothers had been placed on the US no-fly list, Feinstein said that other suspects could undergo terror training and then slip into the United States undetected through a visa waiver country.

-STUFF NEWS

Judge John Galluzzo gave few details of the incident, but said a wine bottle was involved and that the alleged assault happened at Zimmerman’s Lake Mary home. Prosecutors questioned whether substance abuse treatment was needed, but the judge said that didn’t seem to be a factor.

After the brief hearing, Zimmerman’s attorney, Don West, told the Orlando Sentinel his client was arrested after allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend several days ago.

Zimmerman was also told by the judge to stay out of Volusia County, where the woman lives.

The judge ordered Zimmerman to pack up any personal belongings his girlfriend may have left at Zimmerman’s home and give them to his lawyer.

Zimmerman, who wore blue scrubs and handcuffs, appeared calm during the brief hearing. At one point, he laughed and joked with an officer as he signed paperwork.

Although the incident didn’t involve a firearm, the judge ordered Zimmerman to surrender any weapons out of an abundance of caution.

Zimmerman is scheduled to appear back in court on February 17. -STUFF NEWS

Protests go on in Haiti during last-minute election

PROTESTS have been continuing in Haiti as President Michel Martelly seeks a last-minute deal with the opposition to resolve a standoff over elections.

The negotiations come ahead of a deadline on Monday which could see parliament dissolved and the president ruling by decree.

The crisis talks come after months of violent demonstrations with protesters calling for Mr Martelly to stand down.

His opponents accuse him of stalling the elections which were due in 2011.

The crisis comes as Haiti prepares to commemorate Monday’s fifth anniversary of a devastating earthquake which destroyed most of the county’s infrastructure and left hundreds of thousands of people living in temporary camps.

The country has been slow to recover with around 80,000 people still living in squalid tent camps and only 67% having access to

latrines. Two weeks ago, Mr Martelly announced he had reached a deal with the Congress to solve the crisis.

Under the agreement, Haiti’s deputies would keep their seats until 24 April and senators until 9 September.

The Senate is yet to vote on the proposal. Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe resigned on 14 December and was replaced by Evans Paul, a former radio journalist.

But the move was not

enough to end the street protests which continued, with renewed calls for Mr Martelly’s resignation.

Mid-term Senate elections had been originally due in May 2012, while the municipal poll is three years behind schedule.

They were postponed again on 26 October – the day they were due to be held – because of the stalemate between the government and a group of opposition senators over an electoral law. –BBC

A WEEKEND rally in New York’s Washington Square Park showed support for free speech following three days of violence in France. -STUFF NEWS

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 2x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 6 inclusive

crossword: 10824

Solution to puzzle SL0828

ARIES 1 8 14 19 23 31 35 37

stars

Last minute changes in plans are annoying. Admittedly, however, you’ve been conscious existing arrangements aren’t working out as well as you’d hoped or others expected. Knowing that, instead of trying to find a quick solution, invest time in exploring alternatives. The effort you make now will pay off handsomely later.

TAURUS 20 32

March 20 - April 19

April 20 - May 19

Last week your ruler Venus moved into the decisive midheaven angle of your chart, beginning a cycle of both review and planning. While, mostly, this is a relief, in others you’re under considerable pressure. If you’re unsure of your facts, don’t put off making plans, just ensure they can be easily changed.

May 21 - June 20

Few things are more irritating than dealing with those who’re convinced you need their assistance in making decisions. Although you welcome their guidance, they don’t seem to understand that’s enough. The secret is to tell them exactly that. Discuss your feelings clearly and be firm. You’ll be surprised how understanding they are.

June 21 - July 21

Although, looking back, you’ve achieved a great deal, it’s been at a cost. And this is that you’ve had to ignore those who matter most to you. If you discussed this with the individuals in question when the issue first arose, they’ll not only understand, they’ll have been rooting for you.

July 22 - August 22

Usually, the Full Moon’s influence is felt only days or, at most, a week before it takes place. However, because early February’s Full Moon is in Leo, you could already be feeling the upsurge in both ideas and emotions triggered by this powerful cycle. For now, reflect on them but make no decisions.

August 23 - September 22

As a Virgo and a sensible earth sign, you’ve a strong instinct about what’s worth investing your time, effort and heart in and what isn’t. Recently, however, something has so stirred your passion that you could say or do more than is wise. Instinctively you know this. You simply need to remember it.

September 23 - October 22

You’re in a period in which the mood is, put simply, disagreeable. This is the ideal moment to forget about your usual graciousness and tackle those issues you haven’t quite known how to deal with. Adopt a forthright, if not abrupt, manner and you’ll put several of these to rest, mostly swiftly.

October 23 - November 22

Do you feel stuck in arrangements that were once rewarding but no longer are? That’s no surprise. You’re in a period of review and reflection. What you learn now won’t just provide a fresh perspective, those insights will guide you to new ways of thinking and, ultimately, to long overdue changes.

November 23 - December 22

Watching ideas you’ve worked hard to organise come undone can be disappointing. But one particular plan is dear to your heart, enough you’re not ready to let it go. You needn’t. However, keeping it going will require not only some thought. It could mean seriously reassessing arrangements you regarded as perfectly acceptable.

December 21 - January 19

For you, as a cautious and thorough Capricorn, saying no is easy. Agreeing to an offer is another matter. It can make you feel oddly vulnerable. At least try to overcome these concerns. Once you do, you’ll realise everybody struggles with similar feelings and, oddly, talking them over minimises their influence.

January 20 - February 17

Most Aquarians are amazingly easygoing about matters that upset others. Yet it appears that in certain business or financial matters you’ve been a little too flexible. Think through the situation in question, outlining the facts for yourself, so that when the time comes, you can explain them clearly.

Every once in a while a situation reaches the point where you must either reorganise things from the ground up or disentangle yourself before things get any more complicated. You’ve reached that point now. Discuss your concerns frankly with others. That alone will help clear your thinking and form your plans.

Eating Healthy 2 12 24 30

3 17 25

18 36

4 26 39

5 9 15 21 27

10 16 28 33 38

6 13 34

11 22

7 29 Solution No.10823 U P P E R E D U C E D O L U R E D A G E A N N U L M U D S O S D D E L I C A T E P S E V E R R A R E E I R I S M T E N D E R N S R O L E S U A E L A T E D D R A F T C A B E T M E L E E U O P E R A T E S E R A M L A X R I F L E E W E T I M I D E S E N I L E T E A R S

DEATH NOTICES

In Memoriam

STATEMENY BY THE CHAIRMAN, SIR FREDERICK REIHER, KCMG, KBE

AIR NIUGINI BOARD WELCOMES THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW PILOTS’ EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT.

The Board of Air Niugini Limited welcomes the successful implementation of the new Pilots Contract, covering the terms and conditions of employment, between the Airline and the pilots employed by the airline.

This agreement is, in the view of the Board, a fair and reasonable one, and the Board compliments our management negotiating team, and the pilots’ representatives, on achieving an outcome that will help secure the long term future of the national flag carrier.

The finalisation of the Pilots Contract comes at a critical time in the life of Air Niugini. Along with every other regional, and international, airline, Air Niugini faces significant challenges that can only be successfully met by management and employees working together constructively. The importance of this outcome in contributing to Air Niugini’s future growth, and viability, cannot be underestimated.

On behalf of the Board, and our shareholder, the National Government, I thank our Pilots, and their representatives, for working so constructively with our CEO, Simon Foo, and his management team, to secure an outcome that will directly benefit all our employees, and the travelling public.

The Board and Management can now proceed with confidence to implement the government approved program to secure the future of Air Niugini in a difficult and challenging environment.

The program will include a major re-fleeting exercise to bring in new aircraft suited to passenger demands, and at the same time reduce the number of aircraft types in the fleet, and the commencement of an ownership restructuring process that will bring in private equity.

The Board and Management will ensure the stability and viability of Air Niugini is both secured, and strengthened, during this period, and we will keep our employees, and the travelling public, fully informed on developments throughout 2015.

The Board of Air Niugini extends to all its loyal and dedicated employees, and to our valued customers, the very best wishes for 2015.

Miou Savare, Morove Tu. Aroai Mivi Ori, Mitoro Lelesi, Aro Pora Iruri Avavu, Oe Opa.

Oa Kari Ve Lalafare Mori, Karua Fare Mori, Hai Mori, Iti Mori.

A Elakave Auavavu, Mikafiru, Lalafiru, Miarupoe, Orotipoe, kiripope sare, 13 January, 2011 - 11.30 am, iti isosare 13 January 2015-Sisoro oraka oraka soa loita meha.

Aro sare formai hai kaeai vovea.

Oa aea Lou, Antonio, Andreas, Adrianna aea Philomena, New Delhi, India.

Jean, Diego, Selena, David, Zhana, Elosie, Wade aea Jeremy, Australia Gwen, Alex, Nonnie aea Siuke Francis, Port Moresby

PUBLIC NOTICES

OUTAGE NOTICE TO NCD CONSUMERS

PNG Power advises consumers that it will carry out power interruptions to allow workmen to do urgent maintenance work on;

PLANNED INTERRUPTION

Date: SATURDAY JANUARY 17

Time: 9:00am - 1:00pm.

Areas Affected: - Along Erima & 8 Mile Road.

Date: SUNDAY JANUARY 18

Time: 8:00am - 5:00pm.

Areas Affected: Telikom Rumana, Civil Registry Office and nearby Government Offices.

Date: SUNDAY JANUARY 18

Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm.

Areas Affected: Taurama Shopping Cntr, J Mart, Parts of 2 Mile, Shady Rest, Paradise Hospital and Parts of 3 Mile area

PNG Power regrets any inconvenience caused to consumers

DEATH NOTICES

This is to inform family & friends of the passing of Late Lavai Hillary on Thursday 08th January 2015 after long illness. For funeral arrangement, please contact:- Jenny Jenkins - 736 5679, John Hillary 728 46669, Joe Hillary 7100 4368, Glenda Kiki Hillary 724 08701

PUBLIC NOTICES CIRCULATION 309 1160 309 1168 309 1102 309 1074

Sir

Chairman Air

Frederick Reiher, KCMG, KBE

Niugini Limited.

KRISTY AMY ERI

PAPUA NEW GUINEA IN THE NAITONAL COURT OF JUSTICE AT WAIGANI PROBATE JURISDICTION

In the Estate of HEARO HOIVE, late of Ovahuhu, Ihu District, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea, Intestate.

After the expiration of seven (7) days from the Publication of this Notice, an application for LETTERS OF ADMINITRATION of the Estate of late HEARO HOIVE, of Ovahuhu Village, Ihu District, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea, Shift Security Supervisor, Deceased, will be made at the National Court. Intestate will be made by the late HEARO HOIVE’S wife RUTH HEARO HOIVE, the administrator of the estate.

Creditors are required to send particulars of their claim upon his estate to the National Judicial Staff Service, P.O. Box 7018, Boroko, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea.

Dated the 13th January 2015

KATHY MAIDANG

Lawyer National Judicial Staff Service

INVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY

Papua New Guinea Associations Incorporation Act

Reg,.2 Sec. 2. Form 1

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPLY FOR THE INCORPORATION OF AN ASSOCIATION

I, MARIUS TARUPIU of Kobuan Village, Buka, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea person authorized by the committee of the association known as BARAPANG TAKURANG CLAN ASSOCIATION INC.

5-100417

give notice that intend to apply for the incorporation of the association under the Associations Incorporation Act.

The following are the details of the prescribed qualifications for incorporation as specified in Section 2 of the Act;

(2.1) The association is formed (or is being) (or is operating) for the purpose of;

(a) To empower the members to live a peaceful and harmonious life within the communities and with neighbours with commitment, responsibility, pride and honesty.

(b) To encourage and enhance human resource and development within the Barapang Clan.

(c) To encourage and promote participation in social economic activities by Barapang Clan members and others within the member communities.

(d) To enhance networking and partnership amongst the ten (10) sub – clans of Barapang clan and as well as other clans within our communities.

(e) To develop a simple but effective land tenure system to be accepted by the clan members.

(f) To prevent human right abuse by the clan members and neighbours within the members communities.

(g) That the associations will apply to profits or any other income in promoting as objects.

(h) That the association will prohibit the payment of any dividend or payment in the nature of a dividend to as members.

This Notice has been approved by the Registrar of Companies

Dated 28/07/2014.

The validation code for this Notice is ASSOCIATION-38945348.

To check the validity of this Notice enter http://www.ipa.gov.pg/pngassociations/verify/ 5-100417/ASSOCIATION-38945348.html in your browser.

Notice generated 28 July 2014 11:30 AM PGT

NOTE: A person may within one month after the publication of this notice, lodge with the registrar an objection to the incorporation of the proposed association in accordance with Section 4 of the Act.

BEATTHERUSH

K42 quality channels for only in Port Moresby 55per month plus GST

Ph: 302 2311 Fax: 325 0349

Email: mailout@hitron.com.pg www.hitron.com.pg

INVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY

Papua New Guinea Reg.,sect.2. Form 1

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPLY FOR THE INCORPORATION OF AN ASSOCIATION.

I, Dick Avi, of Tatana Village, c/-P.O.Box 79, Konedobu, N.C.D, person authorized by the committee of the association known as TATANA-ARAIRA DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (TADA) INC.

Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea

Review of Enabling Legislation Public Notice

The Ombudsman Commission of Papua New Guinea wishes to inform the general public that it is reviewing two (2) of its principal legislation that is the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibities of Leadership and Organic Law on Ombudsman Commission.

The Commission is now distributing a Discussion Paper to gather feedback from the public as part of this review. The paper is to consider ways to review the current responsibilities and powers of OC and comes with a series of questions on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Commission.

Your feedback will assist develop a policy proposal to improve the work of the Commission.

Call into our Head Office at Deloitte Tower in Port Moresby or visit our Regional Offices in Mt Hagen, Lae and Kokopo to get a copy of the Discussion Paper.

Interested parties are invited to comment on this paper by writing to

The Ombudsman Commission PNG P.O Box 1831, PORT MORESBY NCD

Visit

For more information contact the Legislative Review Coordinator on 308 2635 or 308 2600

Authorised

by:

Joseph Molita Secretary to the Commission

POSITION VACANCY

Medecins Sans Frontieres ANESTHETIC TECHNICAL OFFICER (ATO)

For Operating Theatre Department & NURSES at Tari Hospital.

Starting date: As soon as possible

General presentation of MSF:

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international, independent, medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural or man-made disasters. In PNG, MSF works in the communities of Tari, Buin and Port Moresby, providing health care to vulnerable populations affected by violence.

Requirements: ATO

Essential:

and professional body multi-disciplinary team stimulating and diplomatic out of work hours

multi-disciplinary team

Requirements: NURSES Essential: registration of work hours multi-disciplinary team.

Desirable:

l registration, reference contact details and a contact phone Donald Kazungu, Medical Team Leader or Allan De la Rosa, via email to tari-mtl@oca.msf.org or tari-log@oca.msf.org

We will only contact short listed candidates. Please send in your photocopies as no documents will be returned.

5-101268

give notice that I intend to apply for the incorporation of the association under the Associations Incorporation Act. The following are the details of the prescribed qualifications for incorporation As specified in section 2 of the Act

REFER TO THE CONSTITUTION FOR MORE DETAILS OF OBJECTIVES & PURPOSES

This Notice has been approved by the Registrar of companies

Dated 10 December,2014

Note: A person may within one month from the date of the publication of this notice, lodge with the Registrar an Objection to the incorporation of this proposed association in accordance with Section 4 of the Act.

Land Groups Incorporation (Amended) Act 2009 NOTICE OF LODGEMENT OF AN APPLICATION FOR RECOGNITION AS AN INCORPORATED LAND GROUP File No: 18171

Pursuant to Section 33 of the Land Groups Incorporation Act, notice is hereby given that I have received an Application of a customary group of persons as an incorporated land group to be known by the name of

KAEVAGA LAND GROUP INCORPORATED

The said group claims the following qualifications for recognition as an incorporated land group

(1) Its members belong to Kaevaga Clan in Baruni Ka Village.

(2) Its members regard themselves and a regarded by other members of the said clan as bound by the common customs and beliefs.

(3) It owns the following customary land and properties in Motu Koita Local Level Government, National Capital District.

Property Description

1. Sasiva Bay / Savana Grassland

2. Odo Nimu Hills

3. Gohigo Makara Hills / Mountain

4. Koe Makara Hills / Mountain

5. Mogo Makara Hills / Mountain

6. Borema Nimu Mountain

7. Vauria Open Plains / Grassland

8. Goduru Eve Creek

9. Mahita Buru Rollings Hills / Range

10. Nugu Nonu Urida Bay

11. Bubu Tabu Rolling Hills / Savanah Grassland

Dated this 08th day of January 2015

Note: A persons(s), group, the District Administrator or the village court within the local level government of this particular land group may within 30 days of publication of this notice, lodge with the Registrar of

Looking For An Exciting & Rewarding Sales Career

“RE- TENDR”

JACKSONS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PUBLIC TENDER FOR THE PROVISION OF LANDSIDE SECURITY SERVICES

National Airports Corporation (NAC) is committed to providing the best safety, security, facilities and services to our customers and is undergoing a number of operational improvement programs to deliver an enhanced customer experience.

National Airports Corporation (NAC) invites sealed Tenders from suitably qualified Service Providers with the capacity for provision of the Landside Security Services. All queries shall be directed through the Managing Director, National Airports Corporation Limited, PO Box 684, BOROKO, for Attention: Stuart Ainslie, Executive Manager, Port Moresby International Airport on telephone (675) 3244 4762 or via facsimile (675) 325 0833 or E-mail address: sainslie@nac.com.pg or alternatively vacaucau@nac.com.pg

Tender documents will be issued from the Office indicated below upon evidence of payment of a non-refundable fee of K500.00 per Tender document by Bank Cheque only paid to the NAC Finance Section located at NAC Office, 7 Mile, NCD. And for those who already submitted their tender, you are requested to re-tender again without a tender fee.

NAC PMIA Office

Level 1 Domestic Terminal

Port Moresby International Airport 7 Mile, Port Moresby

Tenders shall be lodged in the NAC Tender Box at the above location. The closing date for submission of Tenders is on the 30th January at 4:00pm. No late Tenders will be accepted.

Authorized by:

JOSEPH TUPIRI Acting Managing Director and CEO

Sprague to run Juste Si at Kempsey

HORSE RACE

PORT Macquarie trainer

John Sprague has given punters a lead-in by electing to run Juste Si at Kempsey in preference to Canterbury.

The seven-year-old mare lines up in todays West Kempsey Hotel Benchmark 65 Hcp (1450m) with Peter Graham in the saddle.

“I was going to start at Canterbury on Wednesday but the Kempsey race looks winnable,” Sprague said.

“If I thought she had a good chance at Canterbury you’d imagine she would be hard to beat at Kempsey.

“She’s a very consistent, very honest mare. After two runs back from a spell she’s nearly spot-on.”

Juste Si, who is raced by a syndicate which includes Sprague’s wife Julie, was bought as a two-year-old from Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley operation. She has registered seven wins and 17 placings from 47 starts.

Peter Graham has been the mare’s regular rider and will again partner her at Kempsey.

Ball boy helps to save goal in penalty shoot-out

SOCCER

THERE’S a new football hero in China – and he’s got nothing to do with their 23-man squad!

A 12-year-old ball boy stationed behind the goals at Suncorp Stadium during China’s clash with Saudi Arabia has endeared himself to fans of the Team Dragon thanks to the advice he dished out to goalkeeper Wang Dalei as he sized up Naif Hazazi from the penalty spot.

The youngster, Stephan, hinted to the stopper to dive

to his left, apparently after the custodian asked him which way he thought he should go. The keeper duly obliged.

And China went on to win the game 1-0.

PSYCHIC animals are a prerequisite for any major football event these days and the Asian Cup is no different.

And thankfully for those relying on their animal friends for some betting guidance over the first three days of this year’s tournament, our friends at the Australian Reptile Park have provided some pretty shrewd assistance.

The tipsters feature ahead of each matchday’s first game on Fox Sports’ Asian Cup coverage and so far, they’re three from three!

The omens were good when Bluey the Cockatoo hedged his bets on the Socceroos, but Rango the Lizard’s choice of South Korea and a very wise tortoise’s selection of UAE means the animals are doing their best to live in the shadow of Paul the Octopus, whose 2010 exploits made him the World Cup animal oracle.

Ironic, given Iran’s football history in Melbourne, but

AAMI Park was full of colour and noise as a 17,000 strong crowd filed in to watch Iran beat Bahrain 2-0.

The support even surprised their coach, the former Real Madrid boss and Manchester United assistant, Carlos Queiroz.

“I was very much impressed with this stadium... (and) the spectators and the way we were treated,” he said.

Iran’s games have been the next best in ticket sales behind Australia’s, a product of an effort to engage local communities to get behind

teams.

“We are delighted to see such a big, enthusiastic and loud crowd at the Iran v Bahrain game,” Asian Cup organising committee chief executive Michael Brown said.

“We have done a lot of work engaging the multicultural communities and our Iranian community ambassadors have done a superb job rallying their supporters to come out and support their team.” It caught organisers at AAMI Park off guard, with queues backed up outside due to the unexpected demand.

“Just Si needs a senior rider,” Sprague said.

“I’ve tried apprentices on her a couple of times but she’s half too smart for them.

“You’ve got to get into her. If you stop on her she’ll stop on you.

“She’ll bludge on you as much as she can. Peter knows her well.”

Juste Si resumed from a 14 week spell with a 4-3/4 length seventh on her home track on December 15 after which she suffered a foot abscess.

She showed she was nearing another win with a half length third to Pesaro and Myonerose in a 1400m Benchmark 60 handicap at Taree on January 6. She’ll

Chris Gayle hits 90 in record T20 chase of 231

CRICKET

CHRIS Gayle has blasted 90 off 41 balls as the West Indies achieved a world record run chase in the second Twenty20 international to beat South Africa by four wickets.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis hit a 46-ball century in his team’s total of 231 for seven — their second highest total in the shortest form of the game.

But it was overhauled with four balls to spare on a recordbreaking day at the Wanderers with West Indies captain

Darren Sammy finishing the match with a six to take his team to 236 for six.

Man of the match Gayle was again the star for the West Indies as he shared a second wicket stand of 152 off 75 balls with Marlon Samuels, who made 60.

“Cricket was the winner today,” said Sammy. “We were dominated in the Tests but we have different energy in this series.” It was astonishing batting by both teams in ideal conditions on a field where the world record 50-overs run chase was achieved by South

Africa when they scored 438 for nine against Australia in 2005/06. The previous T20 record chase was 211 for four by India against Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2009/10.

Du Plessis said his South African record score of 119 off 56 balls was “bittersweet”.

He added: “I said at halftime that this game is very far from finished. Nothing is out of reach. Chris played so well up front, it is very hard to contain him.”

The tempo of the match was set when Du Plessis and David Miller (47) put on 103

off 49 balls for South Africa’s third wicket.

Du Plessis hit five sixes and 11 fours, while Miller’s three sixes and four fours off 26 balls included arguably the biggest hit seen at the ground, a mighty blow over long-on which cleared a four-tier grandstand and sailed into an adjacent golf course.

The West Indies replied with even more brutality at the start of their innings.

They raced to 86 for one in the six-over power play, with Gayle and Samuels posting a fifty partnership off 21 balls. CHRIS Gayle pounded 90 from 41 balls.

and second team in 1937.

CHINA goalkeeper Wang Dalei points to his help behind the goalmouth. Insert: The youngest tactician in the tournament.

The first soccer game televised was a friendly match between Arsenal’s first

JOHN SPRAGUE Kempsey

28 vie for Agmark Cup

RUGBY LEAGUE

BY MICHAEL WARTOVO

THE NGIP/Agmark Cup

Nines rugby league competition has been delayed to start this weekend in Kokopo.

The organising committee had to defer the games because of bad weather conditions that did not allow them to prepare the field on time.

Around 28 teams have confirmed their participation in this year’s competition.

Tournament director Mapua Tamtu said this will be the single biggest nines competition compared to previous years.

This is due to more teams from the Toma Vunadidir area of the Gazelle District registering their teams.

He said all team nomination fees and players registration are closed and the games committee has now finalised the master draw for the twomonth competition.

Tamtu further confirmed that Guria players will again be scattered amongst teams to add more competition.

Tamtu said it was good to see quite a number of teams coming out from the various Wards to participate.

“This is the competition that will contribute towards identifying raw talents for possible selection trials with the Guria’s Digicel Cup trainon squad,” he added.

The team affiliation and players registration fee is K600.

2014 a challenging year

DARTS

BY MIRIAM ZARRIGA

THE 2014 National Capital District Darts Association (NCDDA) season was a challenging one for players and management.

NCDDA president Kenny Smith said this during their presentation of individual and team awards at the Sports Inn on Saturday.

“It was competitive and

challenging for the 28 teams and for the management to run the competition each weekend,” he said.

“We initially had 32 teams but had to four to manage the competition effectively,” he said.

“There is also a huge interest amongst the younger generation including women wanting to take up the sport as well,” he said.

This saw the females join

the competition in the mixed doubles and team categories. Smith added.

“At the PNG Games in Lae 99 per cent of the Team NCD darts were members from the NCD Darts Association which was very good,” he said.

“Our very own Angela Haro went on to win gold at the PNG Games and we are very happy with her performance,” added Smith.

Lagatoi Transport also an-

nounced its sponsorship for the 2015 season and saw an injection of a further K20, 000 from the company to the NCDDA.

NCDDA secretary Willie Topur said the 2015 calendar for the NCDDA will see the club championships in April in Lae over the Easter weekend.

“The two teams who finished first and second from the 2014 season would repre-

sent NCDDA at the tournament,” Topur confirmed.

The two teams are winners Edgewood PX 1 and runnersup KBS Kumunz 1.

In September the national championships will be cohosted by Lae and POM. Topur said this will see teams from around the country converge into the two cities.

The NCDDA 2015 season will begin on the second week of February.

Tamtu also said the organising committee of the Agmark Nines competition will have zero tolerance on alcohol consumption by players and team officials when there are in the field of play this year.

He warned players and team managements that those found consuming alcohol in the field of play will be dealt with accordingly.

This is based on the tournament rules which have been clarified to each of teams during a recent meeting for them to abide by.

He said his committee has put up gate fees for the entire competition which will be K1 per player and K2 for spectators.

Axellerate sports open shop at Murray Barracks

AXELLERATE Sports Marketing Ltd (PNG) is proud to announce the opening of the very first Axellerate Sports Shop at Murray Barracks Sports Complex.

Axellerate Sports is the exclusive supplier of genuine BLK apparel - body science supplements, Xblades boots and runners.

Minister for Sport Justin Tkatchenko was on hand to officially open the shop which is based at the Murray Barracks gymnasium.

Axellerate Sports has had a long standing relationship

bottom line

with a variety of sporting codes in Papua New Guinea for the past six years.

This includes designing and fitting out sporting teams from the grass-roots to the PNG Kumuls, PNG Hunters, all Digicel Cup teams, all National Soccer League teams and also Team PNG for both Youth Olympic Games and Commonwealth teams.

Axellerate Sports & BLK are the exclusive suppliers of all Pacific Games and Team PNG Merchandise for the Pacific Games 2015. Port Moresby and all this range of

merchandise will be shortly available to the general public at Axellerate Sports Shop in Port Moresby, said managing director Anthony Toscano.

Axellerate Sports designs and supplies custom rugby union playing gear to such teams as the Black Orchid 7’s team and has their merchandise available in the shop as well, Toscano added.

This is a milestone in PNG being the first non-national based team getting appropriate support through proper channels and seeing a revenue stream flow back to

the grass-roots. All sporting products in Axellerate Sports Shop are genuine products being sold at affordable prices, he added.

“All official Pro-Team Gear in shop is comparatively cheaper than that available through the major sporting stores in Australia,” he added. Axellerate sports shop in PNG signifies investor confidence but more importantly complimenting the significant investment by the PNG Government into building world class sporting infrastructures.

On the professional circuit, players are allowed to throw darts that are 12-inches long.

WINNERS are grinners....the 2014 NCDDA champions Edgewood PX 1 with the spoils of their victory. Insert: Kasty presents one of the individual awards.

SPORTS Minister Justin Tkatchenko (left) officially opens the new Axellerate Sports shop with managing director Anthony Toscano

Stewart: All areas covered

PACIFIC GAMES

BY MIRIAM ZARRIGA

ALL athletes, officials and spectators will be safe and have good access to the Pacific Games Venues.

Games Organizing Committee (GOC) chief executive officer Peter Stewart said they are spending in the region of K200 million to ensure nothing goes wrong.

There are areas where a lot of time and effort has been put in, but yet doesn’t get a mention in the news.

There are four key areas that include the accommodation, catering, transport and the venues that will soon see a two and half year planning stage come to fruition.

Stewart said that the four key areas are important as they want the athletes feel at home while at the Games.

The Games village is the most important area and we have ensured that it will run in a proficient and organised manner.

“Staff will be employed to ensure the facility is maintained appropriately,” he added.

City United wins Cup

SOCCER

BY JOSEPH DAWAI

LFA club KK Kingston City United has won the PunjasWawen Cup off-season soccer tournament.

City United beat rival Lahi Football Association club Consort United 3-1 at LFA Park on Sunday.

And it didn’t take City United long to stamp their author-

ity when they opened the scoring at the 15th minute through striker Sammy Hiob.

Hiob’s early goal set the tone for the match as they grew in confidence to dominate the rest of the game.

Even teammate Eliude Fugre was given several chances but failed to budge the Consort goal-keeper.

Promising junior Alex Kamen who also looked dan-

gerous each time he touched the ball, scored City United’s second goal from a cross from Hiob to take a 2-0 lead.

Consort were finally given break just before half-time when striker Semi Rufus kept them in the race with a much needed goal to be 2-1 at the break.

In the second-half, when Kamen scored his second-goal for a 3-1 lead, the latter had

no chance of bridging the gap with City United playing with more purpose to ensure the victory. The win keeps LFA’s record intact over Lahi clubs in this competition.

City United claimed the Punjas-Wawen Cup and K900 cash prize-money. Consort United were presented a trophy and K700 for their efforts.

The third consolation prize went to Saints FC who beat

Watara seeks PNGFA support

SOCCER

BY MICHAEL WARTOVO

THE Watara Soccer Association continues to strive in the Duke of York Islands of the East New Britain Province.

The competition which in November last year has 16 teams registered.

Watara Soccer Association coordinator Samuel George said they have eight men’s and eight women’s teams.

He said the competition is into its 44th year and described it as the oldest competition in the Duke of York Local Level Government area.

The association went into round two of its competition last week.

George said they plan on having their knock-outs soon and grand-final to end another competition.

George said their long-time sponsor ATSS has supported them again, and hope to get some funding assistance

from the LLG once they pay their affiliation fee. As of round one, the top five men’s teams are NSA 2 leading with 12 points, followed by Lapun on 10 points, Dewise on eight, Coral on six, and ATSS on four points.

In the women’s, the top five are Coral Sea on 14 points, followed by NSA on 10, Trans on eight, ATSS on six, and Mix Mates with four points.

He said five Kokopo based soccer players in the men’s competition have

Westpac supports sports awards

WESTPAC Bank (PNG) Limited is proud to support the SP Sports Awards for the first time this year by sponsoring the Best Junior Male and Female Athletes of the Year awards.

Westpac made the sponsorship announcement recently (Wednesday, Jan 07, 2015)after the launching of this year’s Awards last week in Port Moresby.

As part of Westpac’s Community Service program it is proud to assist to motivate the young athletes to pursue and excel in their sporting careers.

“It is always good to see success-

ful stories of our talented young PNG athletes domestically and internationally,” Westpac PNG managing director Geoff Toone said.

“These young athletes will be our future stars and follow in the footsteps of PNG’s best such as our Commonwealth champions Dika Toua and Steven Kari,” he said. “If we can help to recognise, motivate and develop many more of our promising young talents in their respective sporting careers, Westpac is glad to be a part of it,” he added. The SP Sports Awards were launched on Wednesday

January 7 and nominations are now open for the category awards. There are 12 award categories and the presentation night will be staged on March 28.

The Organising Committee of the SP Sports Awards thanked Westpac for coming on board and supporting PNG’s premier event in recognising the achievements of those involved in sport.

Westpac operates in seven Pacific countries, the Cook Islands, Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu through its network of more than 50 branches.

Panamex Cosmos 2-1 in extratime. All clubs that did not make the finals received K200 as a consolation prize for participating in the tournament. Individual awards were given to Consort United’s Rickson Naleng (player of the tournament), Fugre (golden boot), Eriku Wawen’s Nicky Napa (golden gloves), and Jimmy Normboi of Admin (oldest player of the tournament).

“A range of services will be provided to make the village look good, banners and flagpoles will be erected. Services will include entertainment, free WIFI, international zone, a convenient store, and other necessary services that the athletes may need to feel at home,’’ Stewart said.

“Athletes will also have access to three meals a day in the dinning hall that will cater for 1600 to 1700 diners a day,” he said.

“The dining hall will operate from 4am in the morning till 10pm in the evening. This is so athletes who finish late from their respective sports will be able to have a meal before turning in for the night,” he added.

teaming up with the different teams on the island to strengthen their player base competition.

“This has seen a significant improvement of the level of skills being displayed in recent years,” he added.

George said the level of games has improved but he has requested if there is a possibility of establishing proper dialogue with the Kokopo Soccer Association to seek consultation with the PNG Football Association.

PETER stewart

THE Champions KK KINGSTON City United. (inset) Champion club captain Cooper Ipako

Medals hunt

SHOOTING

BY MIRIAM ZARRIGA

PAPUA New Guinea is aiming for seven medals in shooting at the July Pacific Games.

Shooting Association of PNG president Mel Donald say they will be targeting medals in the pistol and shot-gun categories only.

She said progress so far has been positive with up to 20 registered members of the Port Moresby Gun Club in the PNG shooting development squad.

With huge interest picking up over the last two years, they are now looking to select a competitive team for national duties.

The top 10 shooters in PNG at this stage are Peter Leahy, Angus Donald, Nick Constantinou, John Beattie, Darcy Leahy, Ole Pedersen, Danny Wanma, Steve Patrick, Jason Yip and Gary Parker.

Donald said with the competition intensifying the list may change as they push for the shooters to show-cause over the next few months.

She said eight countries have confirmed their participation, with the predominant shooters from Fiji and New Caledonia expected to dominate in various categories on offer.

“Our shot-gun team successfully completed a two-day intensive coaching clinic with Australian Olympic and World Shooting champion Russell Mark and his wife Lauryn, also an accomplished shooter,” she said.

“The focus of the coaching clinic was to fine tune each of our shooter’s technique and to

make necessary adjustments on the competition equipment they will be using for the Games,” she said.

While the team had to make quite a few adjustments to their shooting techniques, we are confident that these will be reflected in their improved scores over the next few weeks of training, she said.

Ten shooters will be selected to represent PNG by February.

The shotgun team is looking strong with Peter Leahy as our number one contender for a med-

al at the Games, she added.

“Angus (Donald) who is our junior shooting champion from 2001 and 2005 at the Arafura Games comes a close second while Nick Constantinou, a relatively new shotgun shooter has shown great potential over the past 12 months and is also identified as a strong contender,” she said.

The PNG shot-gun team will be competing in Brisbane in March and May. They will have another coaching clinic with Russell and Lauryn Mark in April prior to the Games.

TEAM PNG shot-gun shooters (from (from left) Nick Constantinou, Darcy Leahy, Beatrice Geita and Peter Leahy going through their paces at the Gun Club in Port Moresby. Picture: MARK TALIA