Minister for International Trade and Investment and Yangoru-Saussia MP Richard Maru visited inland Hawain in Wewak, East Sepik yesterday to discuss with the leaders and the members of the communities in Arang village on the new Yangoru-Hawain road which will be constructed next year. Minister Maru's visit to Hawain was to hear from the people and the leaders there if they were willing to give their land for the road to be built through. "I am very grateful that this road has been included in the 2023 National Budget, but I just want to be given assurance that the people will cooperate and give their land without demanding for compensation for the road to go through." "I was very happy with the outcome of my visit; the people are in support for the road to be built so as soon as the funds are released, we will start the construction of this new road by next year." This new 34km road will connect Yangoru to Hawain inland, linking the two districts from Yangoru Station to Wanjo in the inland Hawain region of Wewak. Minister Maru said that this road is aimed at opening up more land for cocoa farming and two new crops that Yangoru-Saussia District want to introduce in a big way, and they are coconut and kava and even carbon trade given the vast primary untouched forest in this untouched area. "Papua New Guinea needs to produce more and export more. A big land for Yangoru-Saussia that needs to be worked and developed is sitting there untouched; it is an important stretch of land that we are not utilizing. I want to get this road constructed so the people can go settle there and work the land. This road will become an important economic road for the province and the country." 

TIPS FOR KIDS “Tailored Individual Programs Supporting children in Need” is a newly established home-based Private Consultancy providing Educational Services to working parents at safe locations and family homes in Port Moresby. TIPS FOR KIDS operates by providing in-home services which will be provided to your home. This may be a new culture shock for many Port Moresby residents. “We operate to provide educational services to parents who may have a desire to support their children’s individual progress at School; and academically at home” says founder Dianne Meli. In an interview with the founder she spoke briefly about TIPS FOR KIDS and its services in the community: “During the Covid19 school suspension when schools in Port Moresby switched to modes of distance education such as stay at home learning packs; we recognized the need for student individual support programs through the emergent gaps students where showing in school progress reports. It became more apparent that in order for children to succeed in learning Progress; they needed more individual support from the teacher. And we understand that in a collective environment such as a school students may be unable to receive that individual support. This can also be a direct result of overcrowding and exceeded teacher-student ratios. We also recognize that children in primary school age and grade levels have been affected by the unexpected election-related riots in Port Moresby that disrupted their education this year.” By bridging those gaps in education and meeting a need for parents in the community, we are providing Homeschool Services that will operate throughout the school calendar, school quarterly terms, and throughout the academic year.” We are open for enrollment, and would like to encourage more and more parents to come forward and try something new! Miss Meli says she also provides tutoring services for very young children in early childhood ages and grades. “Our tutoring services are for children ages 3-8 currently attending early learning centers in Port Moresby, or in grade school preschool, kindergarten, prep, grades 1-2.” I decided to use my Australian Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care to provide tutoring for very young children in the community because there is a need for early childhood tutoring to support our children at an early age and build a strong foundation for School.

Minister for International Trade and Investment and Yangoru-Saussia MP Richard Maru visited his former primary school- Passam Primary School yesterday as a Guest Speaker to speak to the pioneer grade 8 and 10 students after the school obtained a junior high school status. Minister Maru thanked the school for finally inviting him to one of their graduations. "It's a very emotional day for me to be here as I come back to my old school. I was one-year old when my parents brought me here and I grew up here in Passam. I started my education journey here up to grade 6, went on to Brandi High School, came to Passam National High School, went on to Papua New University of Technology then went into the corporate world, worked in Australia, worked in London, went and did my Master's Degree in England became Managing Director of the National Development Bank and onto where I am now. It all started with my humble beginnings right here in Passam, this is where my roots are and I am extremely privileged and delighted to be here." Minister Maru reminded the grade 8 and 10 graduands that the only way that they could succeed in their education and get to the top of the country was to have a vision and a dream, and by partnering God. "I went to school here just like you, but I had a dream and a vision to get up to the top in Papua New Guinea. While here in Passam Primary School I have already decided in my mind that I would go to Papua New Guinea University of Technology and I did; I had a vision and a dream, and I partnered God. I didn't just come to Passam Primary School, I wanted to get to the top of the country. Only those who have a dream for the future will have a future. You must plan to be somebody and work hard to get there, and never forget to partner God. If I made it to where I am now from Passam Primary School then you can do it too." "We had a lot of opportunities in my days but today there are no opportunities and no jobs. Only the smartest, the brightest and the most hardworking are going to make their way through in this country. About 30, 000 students graduate at grade 12 every year and only 7, 000 are given the opportunity to attend universities and colleges while 23, 000 go back home. You have to compete to be the best," he said. Minister Maru also appealed to the headmaster and the teachers at Passam Junior High School to not just focus on taking in students into the school but to focus on academic excellence to give the students a future. "Don't just put the students in school for the sake of them to be in school because the students will join the queue of unemployment and end up going back to the villages," he said. Minister Maru made a commitment to Passam Junior High School that he would find half a million kina and help the school to compete its eight classrooms that were incomplete. He appealed to the Board of the school to dedicate some of the classrooms as a FODE Centre so grade 8 and 10 students who do not have the grades to go on to grade 9 and 11 can continue their studies through FODE. "The students must not stop their education at grades 8 and 10; they must go beyond that and one way to help them continue their education is to offer FODE. This is something that the Marape-Rosso Government is encouraging right throughout the country." Minister Maru also added that he will do his best to help the school to build some new staff houses. "That is the only way that I can say thank you to my old school and my community." "Passam has a name in the country. Some of the students that Passam National High School produced are at the top of the country and they are Hon. Don Polye, Hon. John Pundari, Hon. Gabriel Kapris, Hon. John Rosso, former Chief Secretary Issac Lupari, current Works Secretary David Wereh, and the current Secretary for the Department of Planning and Monitoring Koney Samuel to name a few. Passam community has been a blessing to this country, and it is only fair that the government helps them so I will do my part by completing their classrooms and help in any way that I can to recognize Passam community for its contribution to nation building and also for my own personal experience"

Police have commenced investigations into the deaths and burning down of Trans Wonderland (TWL) properties at Nogoli and Komo in the Hela province. Hela Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Chief Superintendent Joseph Tondop has directed the Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigation Division (OIC-CID) in Tari to commence investigations immediately upon taking office as the new PPC for Hela. “I was settling in as incoming PPC on Thursday November 29 and took formal command on Friday December 2 when I learnt of the criminal acts. I visited the scene of crime at Nogoli straight after the handover/take over parade that same day to see for myself. I was shocked at the devastation and destruction of properties. It brought home to me the seriousness of the breakdown of law and order in the communities and the many weaknesses in our internal security systems. There is no excuse,” Mr Tondop said. He has since directed the OIC/CID-Tari to visit the crime scene and commence immediate investigations by documentation of the crime scene and securing of witness statements. “I have also reported this matter to my Regional Commander requesting for support with independent police investigators from outside of Hela Province. “In the interim I have taken steps to establish dialogue with parties involved to ease the tension pending the commencement of proper criminal investigations. I also tasked officers of my provincial headquarter team to visit the conflicting parties separately and talk to them. “I have heard a rumour that “war” has been declared between the two parties. I appeal to all parties to remain calm, refrain from violence and allow the law to take its course. Further violence, death and destruction will help no-one but will only cause more suffering for the people. “I assure all parties that police will be thorough and swift in our investigations,” Mr Tondop said.

Police Commissioner David Manning has commended the Water Police for intercepting and confiscating 20 kilograms of marijuana bound for Kimbe, West New Britain, via Lae, on Wednesday in Port Moresby. A total of six plastic packs of marijuana was on board MV Momase ready to be shipped to Kimbe when members of the Water Police Directorate, acted on a tip-off, and intercepted the drugs. Water Police Director Chief Inspector Chris Smith said initially a female student from Goroka School of Nursing was framed in the ordeal and the three main suspects escaped. He said the three suspects saw police and escaped. However, they were later tracked down after five hours and arrested. “They are currently behind bars and appropriate charges will be laid,” Mr Smith said. Commissioner Manning said, “A specialist police unit has been formed to deal with drug syndicates and illicit substances and so far, the team has made great progress in a number of operations. “I’m warning those who are involved in distributing and consuming such illicit substances, once you are caught you will be severely dealt with under the new laws of the country.”

Members of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary today welcomed a delegation of the Indonesian National Police who are in the country for bilateral consultation meetings with the Constabulary. The head of the International Relations Division of the Indonesian National Police, Inspector General Krishna Murti, S.I.K, M. Si, led the Indonesian delegation. He began his three-day visit to Papua New Guinea. Inspector General Krishna Murti was given a Guard of Honour and Cross-Arms today at the National Police Headquarters in Port Moresby. The event was witnessed by the senior officers of the Constabulary. Chief of Staff to the Police Commissioner, Commander Steven Francis, said the Indonesia National Police delegation’s visit highlights the importance and the value of the meeting between the two police organisations. Mr Francis said the bilateral meeting will strengthen the Indonesian National Police and the Constabulary’s cooperation and will also shape pathways for future arrangements. “Our discussions will also update and review the expired Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2015 between the two countries on cooperation in preventing and combating Transnational Crimes and capacity building. The MoU framework provides a pathway to identify common activities for both police organisations. “Given the current security challenges and law and order issues encountered by both countries along the PNG Indonesian borders, this bilateral meeting overlays arrangements which will collectively address these challenges,” Mr Francis said. Mr Francis said both countries require collaboration and partnership arrangements to collectively address the issues of transnational crimes.

More than 1,000 survivors of family and sexual violence, many of whom are children, have directly sought medical and psychosocial treatment at the ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital’s refurbished Family Support Centre (FSC) in Lae since it opened in March 2019. Prior to the new building, the FSC could only assist about 15 people a day. Now the Centre can assist an additional 12 people a day while maintaining privacy and offering a safe space for survivors. FSC Nurse Manager, Sister Anastacia Wakon, said the poor condition of the previous building impeded the FSC staff’s ability to respond to the increasing number of survivors presenting for treatment. The facility was too small for the number of clients treated, the roof leaked, and the center flooded when it rained. Now, with the improved space, Sister Wakon and her team can treat survivors and provide counselling, thus meeting their physical and mental health needs. The center provides a private and safe place for patients before, during, and after admission. Purposefully located at the rear of the hospital campus, the FSC’s position allows discrete access for survivors seeking assistance and protection from perpetrators. “Our services are available from 8am till 4pm however those presenting outside of these hours go through the emergency ward and rape survivors are referred to the Family Support Centre emergency on call staff who handle such cases after hours, especially to administer post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) within 72 hours and emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) within 120 hours,” said Sister Wakon. Addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in the community is a crucial element of the ANGAU Hospital. For this reason, the Redevelopment project managers consulted FSC staff during the design phase, and consideration was given to features including secure fencing, an air-locked pre-admission screening area, a secured waiting area, screened patient deck, and separate access point for direct vehicle entry or exit. The building design maximizes the use of natural lighting and ventilation and provides a welcoming space. “Having this new facility has significantly contributed toward addressing the issues of family and sexual violence in Morobe, Momase Region and in Papua New Guinea. I’m very grateful to the Australian and PNG governments and I am encouraged because I feel that my team and I are now empowered to give our best and to reach out to the survivors and the community,” said Sister Wakon. The ANGAU Hospital Redevelopment is Australia’s single biggest infrastructure investment in Papua New Guinea, but it is more than just a building, the focus of the project is to respond to needs and enable the highest standard of care.

Athletics teams from all regions of PNG are descending on Port Moresby this week for the PNG Air sponsored 61ST National Track and Field Championships . Thirteen provinces will be represented at the Championships, though this includes Sandaun and Western Province which only have a token presence of one athlete each. A total of 210 male and 100 female athletes have been nominated , with a total of 16 teams representing NCD , Central , Oro , Sandaun , Western , East Sepik , Morobe , Eastern Highlands , Simbu , Lae , East New Britain , West New Britain and New Ireland. APNG President Tony Green thanked all the teams for submitting their entries in advance and re affirmed that no further entries will be accepted after the final deadline of 5pm Thursday. Green said it was essential that every team send a delegate to the technical meeting at the sir john Guise at 1pm on Friday to receive important information about the event and reconfirm their final entries. Green thanked major sponsors PNG Air and Prima Smallgoods and a host of other sponsors and supporters including Panamex Pacific, PNG Olympic Committee , PNG Sports Foundation and HP. He also acknowledged Kumul Consolidated Holdings for their support of National Squad athletes through PNG Olympic Committee. Competition is scheduled to kick off at 2pm on Friday with heats of the 800m , 400m and the 5000m races. Saturday will see action in the 100m , 400m , 1500m and the 3000m steeplechase whereas Sundays track events will include the 200m , 800m , 3000m and the 10000m. Many of PNG’s top throws athletes will be in action including Lakona Gerega, Sharon Toako and Jacklyn travertz, with 2015 Pacific Games Rep Jane Pulu also participating. Throws will also be conducted for the Para athletes including Javelin , Discus and Shot put for both ambulant and seated. These events have been made possible through the support of the active throws training group in Port Moresby under coach Paul Bannister. Strong competition is expected in the mens middle and long distance events as athletes gear up for the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst. The 5000m in particular will be very competitive with Abel Siune , Wilford Baia, Sune Kagl , James Kuadua and Israel Takap all showing good form in lead up races. Scholastica Herman is expected to dominate the womens middle distance events and will be aiming to break one or two junior records in what will be her last major event as a junior athlete (Under 20). Herman has shown outstanding form in recent training sessions as a memorable year for her draws to a close,completing sessions such as 12*200m in 30 to 31 seconds on grass with only 2.5min recovery between each. Christina Moiyang , Mirram Toby and Jeminah Mondo from Simbu will compete with Mary Tenge and Ongan awa in the 5000m. Olympian Rellie Kaputin flew in from Brisbane yesterday with Herman and is expected to take part in the 100m and Long Jump. \ However PNG’s star athlete is understandably apprehensive about jumping at the Sir John Guise stadium after breaking a bone in her foot there in 2019. The mens 400m is always one of the highlights of any national championships as this has always been PNG’s strongest event. Benjamin Aliel has already thrown down the gauntlet with an impressive 47.9 sec clocking two weeks ago, however Daniel Baul has been quietly preparing at NSI in Goroka. Both Adolf Kauba and newcomer Lot Samare from New Ireland will add quality to this event. Athletics PNG will be on the look out for new talent to strengthen its training squad for the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara and have been urging visiting teams to ensure that those athletes with outstanding potential make it to Port Moresby. This is also the case for 15 and 16 year old athletes with the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games only nine months away.Athletics will be selecting athletes for this event after the Championships.

The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is increasing its support to the fisheries sector in Papua New Guinea through its new project, OurFish OurFuture. Through its implementation partner, World Wildlife Fund PNG, the project held a national inception workshop on December 8. The workshop assessed the current ecosystem-based fisheries management status for PNG and identified gaps where the OurFish OurFuture program can usefully contribute to improving coastal fisheries management, compliance and enforcement, improving private and public partnerships, and improving the resilience of key actors, including youth and women. “The implementation approach for this program is unique. It will use a community-centered approach to ensure maximum impact and that the people and communities are a core focus of the OurFish OurFuture program,” said USAID Chargé d’Affaires, Mr. Joseph Zadrozny while opening the event. “This community-based management approach demonstrates USAID’s commitment to empower local communities to design and lead initiatives to manage your own resources and improve your own well-being.” The project will also identify potential members of a national advisory committee that will steer the implementation of the program in PNG over the next four years. The OurFish OurFuture program aims to address the drivers of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing that are degrading coastal fisheries and biodiversity and negatively impacting local livelihoods, food stability, and maritime security in the Pacific Islands region.

The Investment Promotion Authority is calling on business houses, corporate Organisations, small and medium enterprises and the general public, to look out for new changes in the display and content of its newly launched online registry service as it undergoes transition. In addressing participants at the PNG Mining and Petroleum Conference in Sydney Australia, Managing Director of the IPA Mr. Clarence Hoot alerted companies of the need to re-register their companies to avoid them being struck off the new upgraded online registry system. Mr. Hoot said. “Re-registration is free and a window of one year period from 1 December 2022, will be given for clients to update all their company records for free. Companies who fail to re-register within this period will have their companies struck off the IPA business/company registry,” . The IPA’s new and upgraded online registry service went live on the 1st of December 2022 with additional features for users to manage their company records and also register entities. The IPA is informing its clients that there will be some teething-in issues from the Go-Live date and cautioned its clients that not all data would be available at this stage. The Authority will continue to provide updates on what is happening and what is expected from them as part of embracing the new changes. Since the new system went live, the IPA has ceased accepting hard copies of forms lodged to renew or update business records. It is only accepting paper forms for the registration of new entities. Existing entities will be able to update their data online once the data migration process has been completed. During this period the IPA will waive any late filing fees for companies whose annual returns are due during this period. Clients who have an existing online account should expect an email from the system prompting them to create new passwords for their accounts. Those with prepaid accounts are not able to access their accounts at this stage as the account balances are being migrated at the moment. The IPA continues to embrace ICT to modernize its systems and processes to to be on par with the current global trends in doing business.

PNG singer and songwriter Danielle has been crowned Pacific Break's 2022 winner, the first female artist to take out the top prize in the competition's history. This year’s judges unanimously awarded the prize to her song Fight which tells the story of West Papuans’ fight for freedom. "I wasn't expecting it," Danielle said when she found out she won. "It means so much to me because it's been a really hard road." Source: ABC Pacific

Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) welcomes the appropriation of K50 million to commence work at Central Provincial Hospital. PMGH is currently overburdened by patients from the National Capital District (NCD), Central and Gulf Provinces as well as referrals from outside Port Moresby. Patients lining up in cues to receive healthcare services are always a concern at PMGH. Once the Central Hospital is completed, PMGH will be able to offload 300 of its current 1, 200 beds, reduce the loads at the maternity section, Emergency Department and many other sections of the hospital. The National Capital District Provincial Health Authority (NCDPHA), National Capital District Commission (NCDC) and the Government of Papua New Guinea also need to start work on the NCDPHA Level 5 hospital to offload another 300 beds. Offloading of primary and secondary care will allow PMGH to deliver its tertiary health care as mandated under the National Health Plan (NHP) 2021-2030. Quality specialized health care can be provided to the people of PNG with a manageable bed number of 600-700. Source: Port Moresby General Hospital