Western Highlands Province will now have two fully serviced branches come July 2023, thanks to the BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP). Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday 28th August, 2022, in Dobel, Western Highlands Province, BSP Chairman, Sir Kostas Constantinou said BSP is pleased to be part of the ceremony and looks forward to the construction of the new BSP Dobel Branch which is set to open its doors in July 2023. The new BSP Dobel Branch will be the second fully serviced branch that will gain privilege of servicing Western Highlands and its neighboring provinces. The establishment will be a double-storey, fully suited modern banking facility that will have a mass market-banking chamber, premium branch, 4 ATMs, and a banking chamber that will offer a full array of financial services from personal, business and corporate specialists. Sir Kostas said, “Mt Hagen and the Western Highlands Province, is the Capital of the Highlands regions and is a key contributor to PNG’s economy for the Highlands region. Having a branch here is only fitting to meet the number of growing customers and serve our people better.” “This selected site in Dobel will provide our customers with easy access to our branch and serve as a prime location for us to continue to grow and expand in the market for years to come,” added Sir Kostas. Sir Kostas also mentioned that Dobel Branch would add to the existing BSP’s network of 1 branch in Mt Hagen, 1 sub branch in Minj, and hybrid branch in Banz, 468 active EFTPoS, 18 ATMs and 18 Cash Agents in the Western Highlands and Jiwaka Provinces. In his speech, Rupert Bray, the Managing Director of Steamships stated, “Steamships is very pleased to be teaming up again with the Duckworth family and Tininga to develop the Dobel project. The Dobel BSP branch forms the first phase of a larger development that will help transform the region and Tininga and Steamships are pleased that such an iconic company as BSP is our first customer.” Hon. Wai Rapa, Governor for Western Highlands said, “The Dobel development by the Steamships and Tininga joint venture will bring significant employment and growth opportunities for the people of Mt. Hagen and the greater Western Highlands Province.” Governor Rapa also thanked BSP for its renewed commitment with a second branch in Western Highlands Province. BSP Group CEO Robin Fleming also reaffirmed that, “our customers play a major role in shaping the new format branch. The furnishings and design of the facilities are fully oriented toward people’s needs. We aim to offer all banking services to accommodate our customers’ banking needs. This may also help in cutting long banking queues, waiting time, and smooth service delivery.” “We will provide a comprehensive array of digital and traditional banking products and services to meet the needs of personal, business, professional and corporate customers in the region. The BSP Doble building is valued at K5 million and is a double floored building with 700m2 of Leasable Area. The design provides off-street and secure car park spaces and is conveniently located in a central location with frequent traffic that is paramount for BSP’s business, but more importantly expanding its service in the province. This BSP branch is part of Phase 1 of the Dobel Commercial Development, which will be completed by the 3rd quarter of 2023. While we start construction on the new Dobel Branch, our new Eriku Branch in Lae is also nearing completion for commissioning to continue to better serve the residents and people of Morobe Province.” BSP PNG’s branch network currently operates with 48 branches, 42 sub branches, over 200 agent locations, 301 ATMs and over 9,000 EFTPoS across the country.

The Prime Minister James Marape has arrived in the US Capital, Washington D.C. for the first ever US-Pacific Islands Countries (U.S-PICs) Leaders’ Summit at the White House this week. Mr Marape arrived at the Dulles International Airport, Dulles, Virginia at 9.20pm local Washington DC time in an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo, Japan where he had been attending the funeral of slain and late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, amongst other world leaders and thousands of mourners. He was received and greeted on arrival by Mr Cephas Kayo, the Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of Papua New Guinea to the US and H.E Mr Max Rai, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of PNG to the United Nations, representatives of the US Department of State and the US Secret Service. On Thursday 29th September, Prime Minister Marape will join other Pacific Islands countries Leaders in meeting US President Joe Biden at the White House this week. Mr Marape will attend the first day of the US-Pacific Islands Country Leaders Summit on Wednesday, 28th September, 2022 to be held at the US Department of State Office in Washington DC. Prime Minister Marape is being accompanied by Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko, Mrs Rachael Marape, Member for Goilala, Casmiro Aia, North Waghi MP Benjamin Mul, East New Britain Governor, Michael Marum, Secretary for Foreign Affairs Elias Wohengu and other senior technical officials for the US-PICs Leaders’ Summit. The US and Pacific Leaders will be holding discussions on People centered development in the Pacific, economic and trade ties, climate change action, climate resilience and clean energy transformation, challenges in the maritime domain, fishing and maritime law enforcement. On Thursday, 29th September, Washington DC time will be the 2nd Day of the US-Pacific Islands Country Summit at the US Chamber of Commerce. Prime Minister Marape will have an audience with US Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Rayburn Room, United States Capitol building also in Washington D.C. Mr Marape will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko, Foreign Affairs Secretary Elias Wohengu and Charge d’ Affaires Mr Cephas Kayo and selected PNG government officials to those meetings. Following Mr Marape’s meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi he will meet US President Joe Biden at the White House. US President Biden will receive the Leaders of the Pacific Islands Countries who are attending the US-PICs Leaders’ Summit at the White House for a family photo and dinner. To conclude the 2 Day US-PICs Leaders’ Summit the leaders will sign a Declaration on US-Pacific Partnership. The proposed Declaration likely include amongst others a resolve by the leaders to strengthen the US-Pacific Partnership, commitment to bolstering Pacific regionalism, addressing climate change together, ensure the partnership supports the advancement of economic growth and sustainable development in the Pacific. The Joint US-Pacific Partnership Declaration also addresses support for each other during natural disasters, support the Blue Pacific and laws that govern it. The Leaders are also committed toward peace and security across the Blue Pacific region. The proposed Joint US-Pacific Islands Countries Declaration will guide the US-Pacific Partnerships in the implementation of the resolutions through mutual respect, transparency and accountability. The two-day US-Pacific Leaders’ Summit also noted that the officials will meet regularly, bilaterally and collectively to ensure that the US-Pacific Partnership continues to deliver practical results for the people in the Pacific and the world. Prime Minister Marape will be flying home via Brisbane Australia on Friday 30th September, ending almost two weeks of overseas official engagements. Mr Marape’s first engagement was the funeral of the late British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, followed by the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly-UNGA where he delivered the PNG country statement. He then flew to Brisbane where he met his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at the PNG-Australia Prime Ministers 13 rugby match between the two countries. The two leaders then flew to Japan for the funeral of late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where he met and held fruitful discussion with current Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Leading digital bank, Kina Bank is continuing to push the digital boundaries when it comes to everyday banking in Papua New Guinea (PNG). “This latest digital advancement will take personal banking to the next level, it is a game changer,” Kina Bank Chief Transformation Officer, Mr Ivan Vidovich said. “Our team has developed a banking tool that is easy to understand but most of all it runs across a platform that everyday Papua New Guineans are familiar with, the WhatsApp application. According to recent digital stats, WhatsApp is one of the most downloaded mobile applications in this country and it made sense to allow our customers the opportunity to bank across the platform,” he said. Kina WhatsApp Banking is a secure online banking solution that will enable customers access to their Kina Bank accounts and allow them to complete everyday transactions across the WhatsApp platform. Better still, Kina WhatsApp Banking will allow customers to bank on the go, anywhere in the world. The platform will be a free tool for all Kina Bank customers, furthering Kina Bank’s mission to bridge the digital divide in PNG. Mr. Vidovich acknowledged that technology had become a driver in banking, but it has to be presented to people in a way they understand and feel comfortable with. Kina Bank customers are able to complete a range of everyday transactions on the newly developed platform. From mobile top up, to making funds transfers and even requesting statements, it can all be done by sending a message to Kina WhatsApp. In total, Kina customers can complete over 11 different banking actions via the platform. Mr. Vidovich said Kina Bank prided itself on being the leader in digital banking in Papua New Guinea. Kina takes seriously the need to bring customers, and potential customers, respectfully into the digital age and help them understand and navigate change. “We remain the nation's leading digital bank and we respect the need to help our customers to adapt where necessary and explore opportunities to achieve their financial goals. "The bottom line is that accessibility, simplicity and a helping hand are all key principles of Kina Bank.

Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council Secretary, Ivan Pomaleu yesterday clarified that all foreign media intending to visit Papua New Guinea have always been screened before they are issued appropriate visas. It is not a new process or intention. This clarification follows a news article published by Post Courier newspaper today claiming that this process was planned and implemented recently by this Government to halt all foreign media from entering PNG; should they not provide all documentations as required to obtain a journalist visa. Secretary Pomaleu said this is a process that the Department has been managing since its inception some years ago; therefore, there is no need to alarm the foreign media intending to visit PNG as there is a process in place and is administered by some relevant government agencies including this Department. “The departments involved in screening and processing the visa for overseas media include the Department of Foreign Affairs; PNG Immigration & Citizenship Authority; PNG National Filming Institute and this Department,” he said. “Let me clarify to Post Courier that this process is in existence all this time and even published on our Department website www.pmnec.gov.pg and on PNG ICA website www.ica.gov.pg as well. “However, as a matter of courtesy to our visiting journalists; a guide was recently released by this Department Media to assist foreign media in obtaining a journalist visa. “It is in no way, in its message disseminated on Monday (26/09/22) to the mainstream media, implying a recent intention to restrict foreign media from traveling to PNG,” he said.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Papua New Guinea (ASFPNG) supports the actions taken by Nambawan Super Ltd (NSL) to recoup outstanding rental arrears owed to NSL by Government departments that occupy office space in NSL buildings. “Whilst many public servants who are NSL contributors will be affected by the lock-out, they will ultimately benefit from the monies that are owned to their super fund. “The Association is concerned that essential government services will be halted until such time the Government pays the K160 million. “We call on the Government to settle the outstanding amount as a matter of urgency so that key departments and agencies, including Finance and Internal Revenue Commission, continue to provide much-needed services. As well, statutory authorities like the Ombudsman Commission must not be hindered from performing their constitutional duties. “Moreover, this lock-out exercise should be a wake-up call to Government departments and agencies to pay their rentals and other bills on time. The bad management practice of accumulating rental, electricity and other arrears must cease if the public service is to become more efficient and effective in delivery of services to the country.”

The Department of Education will soon roll out the ‘Inclusive Education Model Schools’ in the country. These model schools targeting the inclusive education sector are being piloted in five schools in three provinces – Simbu, Eastern Highlands and East Sepik. These schools are Faniufa and Kassam Primary Schools in Eastern Highlands Province, St. Josephs Primary School in Simbu and St Lourdes and Kaindi Demonstration Primary Schools in East Sepik Province. Consultations for this project began in June 2020 by the Teacher Education Division and was supported and funded by Christian Blind Mission – New Zealand through Callan Services National Unit. It is intended to make all mainstream schools and institutions inclusive for all learners. This information was provided to the Senior Education Officers Conference in Kavieng this morning by the Assistant Secretary for Teacher Education in the Department of Education, Mr. Allan Jim. An inclusive school means all children must learn together in the same classroom and in the same school. Different and diverse students learn side by side in the same school and infrastructures must be inclusive considering all forms of disabilities. Teachers in both the mainstream and Inclusive Education Resource Centres (IERC) were called upon to work together in making sure teaching and learning is inclusive for all learners. The challenges that led to the initiation and piloting of these model schools include: · Lack of support from inclusive resource centres teachers when they visit mainstream schools to support both teachers and students on a daily basis. · Minimum support from the mainstream schools’ administrators, teachers, Board of Management, parents and peers to facilitate teaching and learning. · The mainstream school environment and teaching and learning resource are not conducive and welcoming for children with special needs. · Curriculum activities and career pathway are focused on the academic results and not considering the ability of students with special needs. Currently, there are 23 Inclusive Education Resource Centres with 160 teachers in the country. These centres are not located within the vicinity of mainstream schools. Students with special needs are integrated into different mainstream schools The Secretary for Education Dr, Uke Kombra has encouraged the Department to work together with every stakeholder to institutionalize inclusive education into the school system. This may take some time however; he said that this concept will ensure that all children are given a fair opportunity to get an education as a normal child. He also urged schools to use their Government Tuition Fee Subsidy funding to refurbish existing infrastructure in the schools so that they are friendly for students with disabilities.  

With over 20 years’ experience in Psychiatry in both Papua New Guinea and abroad, Dr Ludwig Nanawar has come up with the initiative to provide mobile mental health and telepsychiatric service. Dr Ludwig Nanawar said that he came up with this service to take advantage of the evolution of tele health. “Telehealth, or in my context telepsychiatry can reach people who can make to to a psychiatrist due to lack of access to one or distance and cost of travel.” “Another advantage is it is conducted in private so it reduces the chance of being stigmatised when attending a crowded clinic.” “I am targeting working class people who don't have time to go queue up in clinics and fear being stigmatised.” “Studies have shown telepsychiatry is as effective as face to face interview but with the added advantage alluded to above.” Dr Nanawar said that for the mobile mental health service, he will go to patients home or office to provide the psychiatric service and Telepsychiatric service, consultation is done on video or telephone call. He added that his services are prepaid so clients can reach out to him and book their appointments then then prepay. There is no fixed cost for the services that he provides as this is fairly new however, after consultation with Dr Nanawar then a cost be set according to the service provided. Dr Nanawar further added that for his clients, he will be providing free consultations between scheduled appointments. For anyone interested to reach out for his service, he can be reached on his social media page or 72012211.

PNG Prime Minister X1 Men Soccer team wonder boy Nigel Dabinyaba scored from the penalty to help PNG secure the first spot in the MSG Prime Minister Cup grand final on Friday. Dabinyaba was rushed into the side after sorting his passport to join the team only yesterday made his presence felt in the game when he combined well with national team playing partner Raymond Gunemba scored the only goal of the First Semi Final match. In fact, Mr Gunemba was fouled in the box and the referee without hesitation pointed for the penalty. In the second semifinals between Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Development Team, the match went down to the wire when both teams drew 1-1 the regulation time. Both teams completed the extra time with no goals found and they went into the penalty shoot-out which host Vanuatu won 5-4. PNG will now meet Vanuatu Development team in the final while Solomon Island will play Fiji in the minor placing play-off on Friday. Coach Harrison Kamake gave credit to the boys for playing smart football to win the match. He applauded Raymond Gunemba for playing a good skipper role which also earned him the Man of the Match in this match. “Raymond played a leading role despite replaced in the dying minutes of the second half. He combined well with Nigel, Pala Paul until replaced and Kolu Kepo upfront but the midfielders the major role in setting the pace of the game. In defence, the midfielders cut down Fiji star player Roy Krishna who had little room to find the opportunity to score,” he said. Skipper Raymond Gunemba said his boys played well every time in these matches during the MSG Cup. “We are improving every game and that is something we have done and will go on to play Vanuatu Development Team on Friday. We beat them 2-1 in a scrapy match in the opening round but we will come better this time.” Source: PNG Football Association

The Bahasa Indonesia language program is proving to be an interesting subject to a group of widows in Port Moresby. The 20 women are members of the Widows, Orphans and Deserted Association , a non-government organization, founded in Port Moresby but has aims to spread to other provinces in the country. Among them are also two men, who are also members of the association. Since a month ago, these people have been attending the program, Teaching Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speaker, at the Indonesia Embassy with a hope that this will open doors for them to improve their lives. Founding President of the association Cathy Tani said widows, orphans and deserted children are struggling with no government support going directly to them. For this reason, she has been trying to find avenues to help them, and when she was given this opportunity she grabbed it. “I’m really thankful to God for connecting me to the Indonesian Education Attache. Widows and deserted children are struggling. They have been neglected for many years. Learning a language is the first thing. When you know a language, you will be able to communicate (your needs) with others,’’ she said. Ms Tani said she would like her association to connect with the Indonesian women groups that would be of help to women and children in PNG. The association has 2000 members of which 22 are now attending this program. The next lot of their members to attend this program will be young men and women. Indonesia Embassy’s Education Attache Chaerun Anwar said the Bahasa language program is setting a foundation for those who wish to do business with the people from Indonesia or for those that may want to go for studies in Indonesia. For example, he said this will benefit TVET (Technical Vocational and Education Training) students that the Prime Minister James Marape would like to see connect with institutions in Indonesia. “In future, we may invite some Indonesia businessmen to come and meet with PNG businessmen and women, and so on… “We would also like to support the SME conducted by women.’’ The program is held every Saturdays between 9am to 12 midday at the Indonesian Embassy. It’s a six-month program and has three parts to it. In the second and the third part, the participants are also taught music, dance, photography skills and some cooking techniques. The program is taught by Papua New Guineans. Mr Anwar said the Indonesian Embassy would like to invite young men and women in Port Moresby to attend the program at the embassy. It is for free. He said the program, Teaching Bahasa Indonesia for Foreign Speaker, is also taught at Lae Secondary School, PNG University of Natural Resources and Environment , University of PNG, University of Goroka, Melanesian Institute in Goroka and at the Indonesian Consulate in Vanimo. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the program was also aired on Radio Maria. There are plans to re-engage with this radio station. Mr Anwar said the chances of the participants using Bahasa language for communication is high as it is the 9th common language spoken in the world and is the third largest spoken in the Asia Pacific region. Of the more than 300 Papua New Guineans that have completed the program since it begun in 2012, many have used their new found skill to pursue studies in Indonesia. A number of them have found jobs in companies in PNG where the language is spoken by the company staff such as the Malaysian-owned companies.

Papua New Guinea Sports Media Association is prepared to assist Solomon Islands with their Media & Communications Plan for the 2023 Pacific Games. PNG SMA President Peter Sevara Jr said the onus is on PNG to ensure the “Happy Isles” glean the best from their aspirations. “Both countries continue to benefit from Government to Government relations over the years and it is no different this time around. “While Team PNG will also come to compete, the onus is on PNG to ensure their experiences of hosting big games will come in handy to assist Solomon Islands achieve a successful outcome,” Sevara said. The President and PNG SMA Secretary Isaac Liri are both attending the Pacific Sports Media Dialogue in Honiara in conjunction with the 6th Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Media Summit in Honiara from the 26th to the 30th of this month. The Pacific Sports Media dialogue hosted by the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) has been assisting PNG and four other Pacific Islands to set up its Sports Journalist Association over the past five years. “Collaboration throughout the Pacific region is what we need and I believe we have enough capacity to reach out to our brothers and sisters to offer them a hand in building their preparedness. “We are only as good as those around us so in true Pacific fashion let’s support each other because we understand each other more,” Sevara added. Sevara said the current Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup hosted in Vanuatu is an example of the region coming together to build awareness on our capacity and foster mutual relationships. The meet was graced by Koroi Hawkins, a part Solomon Islander and Fijian who was employed by Radio New Zealand International straight out of Solomon Islands. Hawkins shared that news from our region has always been negative but said sports reporters in the pacific can change that. He added that the opportunity to use their sport writing skills to change negative perceptions of our region lies on their shoulders because in world news, pacific sports news travels faster and further throughout the world than any other news genre

The Philippines will stop operations of 175 offshore gambling firms and deport about 40,000 Chinese workers, a justice ministry official said on Monday, part of a crackdown on the notoriously opaque online gaming industry. The sector emerged in the Philippines in 2016 and grew exponentially, as operators capitalized on the country’s liberal gaming laws to target customers in China, where gambling is banned. At their peak, Philippine offshore gambling operators, or POGOs, employed more than 300,000 Chinese workers, but the pandemic and higher taxes have forced many to operate elsewhere. “The crackdown was triggered by reports of murder, kidnapping and other crimes committed by Chinese nationals against fellow Chinese nationals,” justice ministry spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said. The POGOs targeted for closure had licenses that either expired or were revoked, for violations like non-payment of government fees, Clavano said, adding the deportation of the Chinese workers would start next month. The government generated 7.2 billion pesos ($122.21 million) in 2020 and 3.9 billion last year in POGO fees alone, according to the finance ministry. Economists estimate considerably larger amounts are being spent on taxes, workers’ spending and office rental. China’s embassy in Manila in a statement said Beijing supports the deportation and crackdown on POGO-related crimes, adding the government “firmly opposes and takes tough measures to combat gambling.” The Philippines regulator, which recently said there were 30 licensed POGO firms versus 60 before the pandemic, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Real estate consultancy Leechiu Property Consultants estimates that a complete exit of the POGO industry would leave vacant 1.05 million square meters (259 acres) of office space – a third of the size of New York’s Central Park – and 8.9 billion pesos ($151 million) in foregone annual rent. The sector employs 201,000 Chinese and 111,000 Filipinos, according to Leechiu’s data, which estimates POGOs deliver 190 billion pesos ($3.22 billion) to the economy each year, a boon to the property and retail sectors. Source: CNN

Queen Elizabeth II's cherished corgis were with her to the end. The late monarch, who died on September 8 at 96 years old, took comfort in the company of her pups -- Sandy and Muick -- as she prepared to say her final goodbyes. The dogs had been given to her as a gift by Prince Andrew, who has now taken over their care, and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. A source tells ET, "Queen Elizabeth’s beloved corgis were with her in her final hours in her room at Balmoral," adding that the pair "were there to comfort the queen." In addition to her corgis, Elizabeth also was able to see her eldest son, King Charles III, her daughter, Princess Anne, and Charles' wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort, before she died. Other members of the royal family, including her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry, traveled to Balmoral upon the news of her declining health, but sadly did not make it in time to see the late monarch before she died. Sandy and Muick were also seen loyally waiting for their late owner as the queen's coffin returned to Windsor Castle before her burial last week. The moment was "a touching" one, said Dr. Roger Mugford -- an animal psychologist who previously worked with the queen's dogs. Elizabeth was long known for her love of dogs, and it's something, Mugford believes, that likely brought her joy as her health declined. "It was so lovely that, in her last couple of years, she had two little corgis and and other dogs around her," he recently told ET, "because there's no doubt that any of us, at any stage in our life, but particularly when our life feels like it's declining and stressful... to be able to reach and stroke and be loved by an uncritical admirer, which is a dog, is a great comfort."   Source: Entertainment Tonight