A rightwing French lawmaker has caused uproar by shouting “Go back to Africa” during a Black lawmaker’s comments at a parliamentary session broadcast to the public on Thursday. Grégoire de Fournas, parliamentary representative from the National Rally (RN) party, interrupted Carlos Martens Bilongo, a representative from the far-left party France Unbowed (LFI) during a session of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament. Bilongo was calling on the French government to cooperate with EU counties – notably Italy and its newly-elected far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – to assist several hundred African migrants rescued from the Mediterranean sea. De Fournas interrupted, shouting “go back to Africa.” Chaos immediately ensued in the chamber, leading Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the National Assembly, to temporarily suspend the session. Bilongo and his party have described the shout as a racist personal attack, though de Fournas’ party has argued that the interjection was actually intended for the migrants under discussion. [caption id="attachment_29685" align="alignnone" width="906"] MP NUPES Carlos Martens Bilongo speaks to the journalist at the exit of questions to the government at the National Assembly in Paris, France on November 3, 2022[/caption] Today, some people once again put my skin color at the center of a debate. I’m born in France and I am a French lawmaker and I didn’t think that today I will be insulted [like this] at the National Assembly,” Bilongo told reporters after the incident. Mathilde Panot, leader of the far-left France Unbowed group at the National Assembly, has demanded that de Fournas face the toughest punishment for a French lawmaker — expulsion. “Racists like him have no place in our parliament,” Panot tweeted. De Fournas said that he was referring to migrants, tweeting that the France Unbowed had “hijacked” his words in a “disgraceful manipulation.” “My answer concerned the boat and the migrants, obviously not my colleague,” he tweeted. According to French phonetic rules, there is little audible difference between the sentences, “He should go back to Africa” and “They should go back to Africa” as de Fournas expressed them. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right RN’s party group at the French lower house, voiced support for de Fournas in a tweet. “Grégoire de Fournas obviously spoke about the migrants transported in boats by the NGOs that our colleague mentioned in his question to the government. The polemic created by our political opponents is crude and will not deceive the French,” she wrote. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne told journalists after the session that “racism has no place in our democracy.” The parliament will hold a meeting Friday to decide on a punishment for de Fournas. Expulsion, the toughest punishment given to a lawmaker from the parliament, was only handed down once during the French Fifth Republic, to a communist lawmaker Maxime Gremetz for disrupting a parliamentary session in 2011, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. Source: CNN News

Pacificana a Local MSME has partnered with BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) through registering as a BSP Mobile Merchant. Customers can now order and pay using Pacificana’s BSP Merchant Code 56997. Pacificana, a well-established local micro-SME has taken a positive step to diversifying their payment options by now becoming a Mobile Merchant. Located in the heart of Gordons, Spoonbill, this local SME is a home-based business with a customer reach stretching across PNG and abroad. They offer a variety of products ranging from clothing and accessories such as hair flowers, coconut earrings, pacific designed shirts, tops and polarized sunglasses under their Tropikool brand. With a customer, reach stretching across PNG and abroad, Business owner Ms. Amanda Kanasa states, “now with the added payment option it will help our business grow its customer base as BSP Mobile Merchant is convenient, safe, secure and cheaper payment option, which benefits both business and customers with payments that can be done from the safety of your home using any mobile phone.” She further stated, “apart from the benefits, it gives them credibility that we are a genuine business, and customers will trust that their orders will be delivered to them.’ Ms. Amanda Kanasa highly recommends that other Micro-SMEs & Sole Traders who have an account with BSP Financial Group Limited should look at signing up as BSP MB Merchant and not only limit your options to receiving payments through an eftpos machine. She further stated, “there is a lot of trust issues between customers and small business owners especially on social media (which is their main platform for sales), and being recognised as a BSP Mobile Merchant gives customers that security of knowing that your business is genuine. Almost everyone has a mobile phone and mobile banking is the way forward and convenient method of cashless payment.” Visit any BSP branches and sign up now. BSP is enabling local business to access digital payments platforms making it convenient for customers to pay anytime anywhere with a convenient and secure online experience and enjoy doorstep delivery

Prime Minister James Marape says the Government is investing in key infrastructure development such as the K125.7 million Kavieng Airport Development. He said this on Thursday, November 3, 2022, when opening the project which he launched in June 2020, built through the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded Civil Aviation Development Investment Programme (CADIP) and Government counterpart funding, in front of a massive crowd in the New Ireland capital. The project covered pavement strengthening and 500m runway extension to achieve a total length of 2200m; construction of the new terminal building; construction of the new airport market facility; construction of the powerhouse and installation of standby power supply; installation of an airfield lighting system; installation of water supply; and a new carpark. PM Marape thanked ADB for its support of CADIP since 2009 which will continue through CADIP II. He also announced: • K10 million for expansion of Kavieng Town and urged local landowners to free up land for this purpose; and • That a new port would be built in Kavieng through Australia-PNG partnership. The Prime Minister and a large delegation from Port Moresby arrived in an Air Niugini Boeing 737 aircraft to demonstrate that Kavieng Airport can now handle international flights. He was accompanied by Civil Aviation Minister and Namatanai MP Hon. Walter Schnaubelt, Treasurer and Kavieng MP Hon. Ian Ling-Stuckey, Finance Minister Hon. Rainbo Paita, ADB Country Director David Hill, management of major airlines Air Niugini and PNG Air, department heads, provincial administration representatives, local leaders and the New Ireland people. Meantime, across the Bismark Sea in Manus, Deputy Prime Minister Hon. John Rosso opened the East-West Coast Highway Redevelopment. “This indicates that the Government of today is willing to invest in key economic infrastructure to carry the economy of the country forward,” PM Marape said. “This sort of infrastructure has a return on investment. “This airport in Kavieng has a return of 16 per cent-plus. “This is economic-enabling infrastructure to anchor New Ireland and this part of the country so that you are not just a contributor from Lihir (mine), but can now go the next mile in as far as the economy is concerned.” PM Marape challenged the people of New Ireland to break away from the status quo and work with Government in developing the economy. “The Government is investing and focusing on going back to agriculture, fisheries, tourism and sustainable forestry and wants to work with provincial government in this space,” he said. PM Marape cited the case of the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu which had a population of only 300,000 people but attracted 88,000 tourists in 2020. “If 50,000 tourists come to Kavieng, and each of them spends K1000, that is K50 million for the New Ireland economy,” he said. “This is more money than from the Lihir mine. “In a place like New Ireland, where law-and-order is not a major issue, we are willing to invest more. “I want to talk about opening up Kavieng Town; opening up tourism, agriculture, fisheries in New Ireland. “I want to talk about power-generation for reliable power in this province. “I want New Ireland, over the next 10 years, to become a strong economic contributor through not only agriculture, but especially tourism and fisheries.” PC: Rolland Banaba 

To build and enhance the capacity of fisher groups, including youths and women folks with necessary skills in riverine fishing as well as to run an agribusiness, the FAO-led EU-STREIT PNG Programme conducted 15 days of intensive training in three separate locations of East Sepik Province which brought together 307 fish farmers inclusion of youths and women. The trainings which comprised many theory and practical sessions to ensure participants are well equipped with technical know-how and skills started in Chambri Lakes area of Wosera-Gawi District with fishers from 10 wards and continued onto Murik Lakes and Angriman areas in Angoram District. To ensure gender and youth participation as an important focus of this rural agriculture development programme, the villagers were also sensitised on the importance of mainstreaming gender perspectives in value chains, particularly the critical roles, responsibilities and untapped potentials of women in agri-rural communities and also on root causes of gender-based violence and its mitigation through inclusion at all nodes. The sessions on riverine fishing covered the biology and life cycle of fish (Tilapia as a case study), gillnet application and maintenance, net mending, rope works for different knots for different riverine activities applications, general maintenance of boat engines and processing of fresh fish on-boat. Job Opu, the Programme’s National Fisheries Officer who facilitated the training said: “The people are very happy with the training because according to their testimonies, they have learned many skills and acquired knowledge to improve fish production. The turnout was equally impressive.” To support and strengthen Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the fisheries value chain, the executives of Chambri Lake Fisheries Cooperative were also sensitised on the need for youth and women to engage in business group management. The villagers were explained the importance of women's participation in group decision-making and also advised to organise into cohesive community such as youth councils and women’s groups, thereby enabling women and youth to engage and benefit equally from fisheries activities supported under the Programme. The chairperson of Chambri Lake Fishing Cooperative, Andrew Pekul extended his appreciation of the support extended by the EU-STREIT PNG Programme and said: “Rural people are looking for new information and ideas and this is the first learning opportunity where villagers, including youths and women, have been given the opportunity to speak out and be heard on how they can undertake fishing business and improve their fishing practices. Riverine fishing is the lifeline of the Sepik River communities.” The sessions on Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives and Youth Inclusion in the fisheries value chain ensured that every member in a family unit or household is sensitised properly on cultural gender norms and practices that lead to equality. The particiapnts were sensitised on the gender roles and responsibilities that encourage equal gender and youth participation in agribusinesses along the fisheries value chain. Commonly, women and girls play a dominant role in riverine fishing, including processing and marketing of fish. With this insight, a rights-based approach was applied to brainstorm on family units and gender-based constraints with a focus on individual roles and responsibilities. This was done to ensure that training participants understood their roles and responsibilities within a family unit and how they could support each other. Fish is an essential part of the daily diet of the riverine communities in the Greater Sepik Region in Papua New Guinea. It is also a reliable source of regular income for smallholders in the area. In the low-altitude communities in the region, fish consumption is the most important source of protein, comprising around 40% of all food from animal sources. The FAO-led EU-STREIT Programme in Papua New Guinea, in collaboration with the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) and provincial divisions of Fisheries & Agriculture, provides support to sustainably increase productivity and profitability of fish while also contributing significantly to food security and nutrition at the household level. The support includes strong investment in developing the capacity as well as the introduction of improved practices, techniques, equipment and facilities for better production, processing, and marketing of fish among fishing communities, fisheries enterprises, and relevant government institutions. The Programme is also committed to facilitating the access of fisheries communities to the markets and assisting them in improving existing transport safety and equipment. The EU-STREIT PNG, being implemented as a United Nations Joint Programme (FAO as the leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as implementing partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. The Programme focuses on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through increasing the economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains and strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers including the business environment and supporting sustainable, climate-resilient transport and energy infrastructure development.

Star winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak replaces suspended prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in the Kiwis squad for the World Cup quarter-final against Fiji Bati in Hull. The return of Watene-Zelezniak is the only change from the team which beat Ireland last weekend and the 27-year-old fills the vacancy caused by Waerea-Hargreaves’ one-match suspension for a high tackle on Wolfhounds prop Dan Norman. Apart from Waerea-Hargreaves, the other players to miss selection in the 19-man squad were prop Moses Leota, centre-second rower Marata Niukore, centre Sebastian Kris and hooker Jeremy Marshall-King. For the second time in successive World Cups, the Kiwis and Fiji meet at the quarter-final stage of the tournament. When the two nations met for the first time in 2017, the Bati caused a major shock by winning 4-2 in a tryless contest in Wellington. [caption id="attachment_29690" align="alignnone" width="906"] Match Highlights: New Zealand v Ireland[/caption] Of the squad named today, Watene-Zelezniak, Jordan Rapana, Joseph Tapine, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Isaac Liu all played in the 2017 encounter. Waerea-Hargreaves was also in the line-up that day while Kenny Bromwich and Peta Hiku weren’t selected. The Kiwis go into their quarter-final after topping Pool C with victories over the Lebanon Cedars (34-12), Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors (68-6) and the Ireland Wolfhounds (48-10). After losing 8-42 to the Kangaroos in their opening match, Fiji beat Italy’s Azzurri 60-4 and the Scotland Bravehearts 30-14 to finish runner-up in Pool B. Meanwhile, England skipper Sam Tomkins is set to return to action to lead the host nation's World Cup charge against Papua New Guinea in Wigan. As England continue their quest to lift the trophy on home soil, coach Shaun Wane has announced five changes to the team which beat Greece 94-4 in their final Group A match. [caption id="attachment_29691" align="alignnone" width="906"] Four tries for sensational Young[/caption] Tomkins returns after being rested against the Titans, while centre Kallum Watkins has recovered from the injury he sustained against France and is back in Wane’s matchday squad. There is no place for record try-scorer Ryan Hall, with 21-year-old sensation and the tournament's leading try-scorer Dom Young preferred. Herbie Farnworth, Michael McIlorum and Elliott Whitehead also return to the side but Canterbury Bulldogs prop Luke Thompson is a shock omission. Tommy Makinson, who deputised for Tomkins at full-back against Greece, will return to the wing for the knockout stages, while Jack Welsby is in line to partner George Williams in the halves. Papua New Guinea have had two fewer days to prepare than their opponents after beating Wales in their final group match on Monday night in Doncaster. The Kumuls welcome back Watson Boas and Sylvester Namo to the pack after they were rested from the team that defeated Wales to ensure a place in the quarter-finals. Prop McKenzie Yei is also back from suspension as the Kumuls look to advance to the last four for the first time in their history. Source: NRL.com

Two-try hero Martha Molowia struggled to hold back tears following Papua New Guinea's opening victory against Canada, as she described the pride she felt in following in her father's footsteps by representing the country at a World Cup. Molowia and her father Tuksy Karu, who played for the Papua New Guinea Kumuls in the early 1990s, are the first ever father and daughter to represent the country in its national sport. Molowia was the best player on ground in her Test debut on Wednesday morning (AEDT), helping the Orchids pick up their first ever win at World Cup level with a pair of impressive tries, three line breaks and 238 metres in the 34-12 win. “I feel honoured and proud to be the first Kumul’s daughter to follow in their father’s footsteps. My father’s dream has come true," Molowia said in an interview published by the team. "Back home he used to encourage me to do what I want. I told him I really wanted to play just like him, and he used to give me advice. I am representing all my sisters back home too. It's great an honour to do this. Martha Molowia Molowia, 27, previously played for the PNG Prime Minister’s XIII, last month coming off the bench for 35 minutes against the Australia Prime Minister’s XIII. Orchids coach Ben Jeffries was impressed by Molowia's performance, particularly given how she responded after making a couple of errors early against Canada. "Proud of her. She had to face a bit of adversity at the start with a couple of errors, but she pulled through very well," Jeffries said. "She thoroughly deserved her couple of tries and player of the match award. "Martha's a talent, she's proven that over the last 12 months, this is why she is on the big stage now." Source: NRL.Com

BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) has served in K50, 000 to Papua New Guinea Volleyball Association to host the 2022 National club championships scheduled from November 8th – November 11th, 2022. This is the second year BSP has pledged its support as naming rights sponsor of the national volleyball club championship. BSP corporate sponsorship Manager Amelia Minnopu when presenting the cheque to the Papua New Guinea Volleyball Association Committee said, “BSP has always been committed to supporting the communities we serve. Through our corporate investment agenda, we have supported numerous sports like Golf, Tennis, Cricket, and Rugby League among others.” “Naming rights is a great testament not only for the sport but provides an opportunity to support local people while at the same time providing the opportunity for a corporate company to work together with communities valuing quality, respect and skills enhancement,” added Minnopu. “The fundamental aspects are by always placing our people and communities at the core of our business not only through sports but any other community engagement which develop participation and growth, “said Ms Minnopu. Papua New Guinea Volleyball Association President Edward Aisi when receiving the cheque said, “We recognize the good community work and support of the bank and highly appreciate the support to the federation. “The funds will assist us to host the club championships and the junior club championships prepare us for upcoming international volleyball tournament. Your support will certainly groom our teams to develop capabilities to enable us to win on bigger stages,” said Mr. Aisi. BSP continues to foster relationships through its partnership with communities through sports, health and education in the communities it operates in.

Air Niugini continues to achieve the highest level of schedule reliability in the last three months, again outperforming many airlines in Australia and the Pacific. When compared with Australia’s major airlines’ performance in their domestic sector for the last three months, Air Niugini’s domestic on time departure performance (flights leaving within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time) sat at 81% as compared for the last month with the Qantas Group at 65% and Virgin Australia with 66.7%. In this three months Air Niugini operated over 5,500 flights with more than 90% of these being domestic within PNG connecting Papua New Guineans. The cancellation rate for the last 12 months to August has been under 3% compared to the Qantas Group which cancelled 9.7% of all their services, Jetstar having cancelled 11.9% of all flights and Virgin Australia cancelling 8.2% of their flights for the same period. Air Niugini’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bruce Alabaster is impressed with the continuous positive results. He said, “To be able to continuously achieve such a result in an environment like this against other larger regional airlines is not easy, I commend all staff from our porters to the traffic officers, those at check-in, pilots, engineers, catering, flight planning, commercial staff and everyone else for a job well done.” Mr Alabaster confirmed that this strong performance has allowed the airline to return to profitability after a tough two years when the international borders were closed due Covid-19. He noted this is allowing investment into better product offerings for the travelling public, including new sales offices in Gerehu and 8 Mile in Port Moresby, and new ECM lounges at Kavieng and Goroka. Additional sales offices and ECM lounges will also be opened as well as other exciting new offerings which will be unveiled over the next couple of months.

A revision of curriculums being taught at the nursing schools and Community Health Worker (CHW) schools in the country was undertaken last week in Port Moresby. ABOUT 100 educators and clinicians from all the nursing and CHW schools throughout the country worked together to write up subjects for the revised CHW certificate and Diploma General Nursing Curriculums. Led by the National Department of Health (NDOH), organised under the Strengthen Health Workforce Education in Papua New Guinea and funded by WHO and the Australian Government (DFAT), the goal for the workshop was to develop a draft of the curriculums. Since the World Bank Report on the health workforce crisis in PNG came out in 2011, a total of 12 new Community Health Worker schools have been opened by the private, government and Church-run health services, increasing the total CHW institutes to 19 so far. There were also eight new nursing schools that came up following that report, increasing the total number of nursing colleges to 16 so far. National Department of Health Training Advisor, Ms Mary Kililo, said the Government through the National Department of Health and relevant agencies have responded to the call to address the critical shortage of health workforce including producing an increased number of graduates every year from the nursing colleges and CWH schools. “ We are now trying to ensure that we are not only addressing the quantity of health worker graduates, but also the quality of graduates,’’ said Ms. Kililo. Ms. Kililo said a review and gap analysis was conducted by the WHO Collaborating Centre in Nursing and Midwifery University Technology Sydney (UTS) on key health priority areas and existing curriculums being taught at CHW and nursing institutes in 2021. In addition, the NDoH conducted an assessment on the impact of these curriculums, the gaps identified from these two reports are now being used in the new curriculums. She said the revision is also overdue as there was no review done in the last two National Health Plans (2001 – 2010, 2010 – 2021). Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre in Nursing and Midwifery University Technology Sydney, Dr Michele Rumsey said the Strengthen Health Workforce Education in Papua New Guinea is a collaboration and partnership between WHO, Australian Government (DFAT), Department of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology (DHERST) and the National Department of Health, Medical Board, Nursing Council, Nursing and CHW Associations, clinicians, Provincial Health Authorities and nursing and CHW institutes. She said how important it is to be working with all partners on this program and now the focus is on strengthening the quality of nursing and community health worker education. Dr Rumsey said despite the increase in the number of graduates coming out from the nursing and CHW institutes since 2012, there has been limited support for educators or revision of the curriculums taught. “This workforce are critical as they are on the frontline of all areas of health care in the country whether in remote, rural or urban centres, and they makeup 72 per cent of the national regulated workforce.’’ She said the new curriculums will go through an extensive accreditation process for delivery in 2024. Alongside this process a pathway program to upgrade current educator and senior clinician’s qualifications will take place. The curriculums are being developed with an evidence-based approach linked to the National Health Plan 2021-2030 to address the health needs of the country.

Police in the Indian state of Gujarat have arrested nine people in connection with the collapse of a pedestrian bridge that killed at least 141 people. Four of those detained are employees of a firm contracted to maintain the bridge in the town of Morbi. Hundreds were on the structure when it gave way, sending people screaming for help into the river below in the dark. Hopes of finding more survivors are fading. Many children, women and elderly people are among the dead.The 140-year-old suspension bridge - a major local tourist attraction - had been reopened only last week after being repaired. Police investigating Sunday evening's disaster say the nine people arrested are all associated with Oreva group, the firm contracted to maintain and operate the bridge. [caption id="attachment_29631" align="alignnone" width="606"] People climb up collapsed Gujarat bridge to escape river[/caption] They are being investigated for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, senior police officer Ashok Kumar Yadav said. "Of these nine, two work as managers, while two work as ticket booking clerks [all employed by Oreva] at the bridge site," he told a news conference. The other five accused include two people contracted to repair the structure, as well as security personnel at the bridge. There was no immediate response from Oreva to news of the arrests. Earlier, a company spokesman told the Indian Express newspaper: "While we are waiting for more information, prima facie, the bridge collapsed as too many people in the mid-section... were trying to sway it from one way to the other." Questions have been raised over why Oreva Group, a company which once described itself as the "world's largest clock manufacturing company" - before it also began making lighting products, battery-operated bikes, home appliances and TV sets - was given responsibility for maintaining a bridge. Concerns have also been raised about whether safety checks were carried out before the bridge was reopened. The 230m (754ft) bridge on the Machchhu river was built in 1880, during British rule in India. As it happened: India bridge collapse tragedy In travel brochures, a visit to the Julto Pul (or the Hanging Bridge) is listed among "the top 10 things to do in Morbi" and it attracts a large number of sightseers and local people on holidays and at festivals. Officials have not yet said how many people were on the bridge when tragedy struck at around 18:40 (13:10 GMT) on Sunday, but estimates put it between 400 and 500. More than 177 people have been rescued, officials said. [caption id="attachment_29632" align="alignnone" width="996"] The wreckage of the bridge had to be pulled clear in the search for survivors and bodies[/caption] On Monday, a dozen boats with members of the national and state disaster response teams searched for survivors while divers from the Indian navy were on standby, reported BBC Gujarati's Roxy Gagdekar at the scene. Four cranes were deployed to pull out the bridge wreckage and rescuers looked for bodies trapped underneath. Distressed relatives searched for their loved ones and as the hours passed, their desperation grew, our correspondent said. A young man told the BBC that he had been searching for his six-year-old sister since Sunday night. "I was holding her hand when the bridge collapsed and we fell into the river. I survived and have been looking for her everywhere, I went to the government hospital also, but my sister is nowhere to be found," he said, sobbing. A video shot before the collapse showed the overcrowded bridge swaying while people gripped the netting on its sides. After the incident, dozens were seen clinging onto the wreckage as emergency teams attempted to rescue them. Some survivors clambered up the bridge's broken netting, and others managed to swim to the river banks. Early on Monday morning, rescuers made an opening in a small dam on the river, about 500 metres downstream, to reduce the water flow. The bridge above the dam was packed with people, waiting to hear news of their loved ones. Gujarat is the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has announced compensation for the families of victims. He said he was "deeply saddened by the tragedy" and its cause would be investigated. In pictures: India bridge collapse tragedy Leader of the opposition Congress party Mallikarjun Kharge demanded a judicial inquiry to find out how the bridge collapsed within just "five-six days" of being reopened, and who allowed so many people on it. Prateek Vasava was on the bridge at the time. He told 24 Hours, a Gujarati-language news channel, how he had swum to the river bank. Several children fell into the river, he said, adding: "I wanted to pull some of them along with me but they had drowned or got swept away." Source: BBC News

Rape, sexual violence and the traumatic journey of survivors are the themes of Vanuatu film, Mat Mo Pig. It takes viewers through the difficulties women face when seeking justice before the courts and through traditional kastom reconciliations. The film by Wan Smol Bag was released in Vanuatu in 2021 and is heading offshore with a nomination in the Sydney Women's International Film Festival. Actor Helen Kailo, who plays a prosecutor in the film, said she hoped audiences will be inspired by the film to stop blaming victims of sexual assault for other people's crimes. "Victim blaming is something that Vanuatu society is still doing very much," she said. "We're just trying to show that everyone has the right to feel safe." Source: ABC Pacific

Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) continues to look at opportunities to mitigate the adverse effects of a very volatile global economy as some of the Fund’s investments struggle to cope amid the tough economic challenges in 2022. NSL’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Paul Sayer explained, “NSL employs an investment strategy that aims to diversify risks by running a balanced investment portfolio. This is done with a view to protecting Members’ savings from threats of losses from the kinds of volatility seen in the current environment”. “The Fund maintains around 20% of our portfolio in offshore investments and around 80% in local investments. This year has been the ‘perfect storm’ in terms of challenges faced by investors both locally and internationally.” “NSL has seen our investments come under pressure due to a combination of high inflation, supply chain disruptions, rising fuel and energy prices, the introduction of the Additional Company Tax on the BSP Financial Group, rising interest rates from Central Banks globally but falling yields on local fixed income investments, and the risk of recession for many of the World’s leading economies”. “As an economy that imports most of what it consumes, PNG is grappling with imported inflation resulting in an increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by 5.5% in the June quarter of 2022 with the full year projection at 6%.” “The high rate of inflation has raised the cost of living putting a strain on many local businesses and ventures, including those that the Fund has invested in. As a result, this will impact Members' returns”, Mr Sayer added. A recent report from the Australian Financial Review showed that other super funds around the region are also facing significant downgrades in their investment earnings with some facing the prospect of declaring negative returns for their Members. Returns for the average balanced super fund slipped to an average loss of nearly 5%, with the worst performer losing 11% during the past 12 months to the end of August, according to analysis by research group Rainmaker. – Australian Financial Review Mr Sayer explained, “While the Country is starting to experience an economic upturn, NSL has seen the value of our offshore investments reduce by approximately K250 million due to the drop in equity market values”. “However, as the market prices decrease, this could be an opportune time for investors to take advantage of the lower prices of high-value international stocks to generate long-term returns once the global markets recover. The Fund will look at these opportunities as and when Foreign Exchange is made available to the Fund”, Mr Sayer added. Mr Sayer stated that despite the current tough economic conditions, Members shouldn’t be disheartened. “Superannuation is a long-term investment that will continue to generate returns for Members throughout their working life”, Mr Sayer added. “NSL will continue to manage the short-term market volatility and make investments that create jobs, support PNG’s economic growth and deliver strong returns for our Members and their families over the long-term”, Mr Sayer concluded.