Police in the Southern Highlands Province are taking stock of manpower, police issued firearms and vehicles in the province as part of its pre-election operations for the 2022 National General Elections. Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen, who has recently taken over the command, said he needs these important details before he can commence pre-election and election-proper security operations. “We currently have on record 224 policemen and women in the Southern Highlands Province. However, I will have to conduct a manpower audit to confirm whether this number is actually present in the province. Parades will be conducted in the following week to cross check names to ensure the current manpower list of 224 are actually on the ground,” Mr Yangen said. Mr Yangen said the names of policemen could be on the list but most of them may not be in the province. The PPC said the role of police is to provide security to ensure the electoral process takes place as smoothly as possible. “I am also taking stock of firearms in the province. Most of the firearms are registered under the names of individual police officers. All firearms will be checked and registered under the command and not under individual members. Some of these firearms were purchased by the provincial government for police to use but a number of those firearms are still in possession of individuals,” Mr Yangen said, adding that he has directed these policemen to return the firearms to the Police armoury in Mendi. He said these firearms have to be brought back into the police armoury and reallocated to locations considered hotspots for security operations for the 2022 National General Elections. Mr Yangen said the same will be for police allocated vehicles. All vehicles will be identified and reallocated accordingly. He said individual policemen should not be holding onto and exclusively using these police assets. “I am strongly warning individual police officers to comply with the instructions. If they do not comply with this directive then they would be charged administratively and followed by criminal charges for illegally using police issued firearms, weapons and vehicles,” Mr Yangen said. He said he is not waiting for resources to come from headquarters to conduct security operations for the national general election. He said as much as possible current manpower and assets will be reallocated to ensure security is provided for the election to take place. The PPC also warned that he will not tolerate policemen in uniform driving civilians in private vehicles. He said policemen will only use police allocated vehicles. “I do not want police officers to be escorting intending candidates. For the current sitting members, I must be informed if authorisation has been given for Close Protection Officers which is usually from the Office of the Commissioner of Police. Otherwise, there should not be any police officer attached with any leader, whether sitting MPs or intending candidates,” Mr Yangen said. Mr Yangen appealed to the leaders and their supporters to respect the police and allow them to do their constitutionally mandated responsibilities without fear, favour or undue influence.

Partnering with key stakeholders through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to upgrade and improve the Goroka Water Supply and Sewerage System. An MOU was signed on Friday 25th March in Port Moresby between Water PNG Limited (WPNGL), Eastern Highlands Provincial Government (EHPG), Goroka District Development Authority (GDDA), and the Goroka Urban Local Level Government (GULLG). Under the MOU, WPNGL will conduct system audit and valuation assessment of the Goroka water supply and sewerage system to identify improvements and repair works required to upgrade the assets. The EHPG will be responsible for funding arrangements and ensure smooth management, operations and maintenance work is carried out. It will also assist with addressing landowner and community issues with the support of GDDA. The GULLG will allow WPNGL staff and agents free access to the assets for the purposes of management, operations and maintenance of the water supply and sewerage system. The signing ceremony was witnessed by members of the WPNG Board, the Executive Team and WPNGL Business Centre Managers who were in Port Moresby for a one-day workshop themed “Reducing Debt to Stimulate Growth”. “Honorable Member for Goroka you are lucky. The people who will work on the water project are here. Our workshop is to develop a strategy to collect our debt,” WPNG Chairman Amb. Olmi said. The Chairman added that Water PNG faced many challenges, which included inaccessibility due to the county’s rugged terrain and finance remained the greatest challenge. Acting Chief Executive Officer Parkop Kurua acknowledged that Goroka was a large urban centre that needed adequate water and sewerage services for its residents. “Goroka has been declared a water district. Goroka’s water and sewerage system upgrade is part of our strategic plan. This MOU signing marks a milestone for the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government and the Goroka Urban LLG,” said Mr. Kurua. MP for Goroko Mr. Tambua thanked Water PNG Board and Management Team for signing of the MOU. “I am very happy to say that the MOU paves the way for more water in Goroka,” an elated Mr. Tambua said.

Will Smith will not be allowed to attend the Academy Awards for the next 10 years, as a result of his slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage during this year's Oscar ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced in a statement obtained by CNN. "The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement on Friday. The decision was made during a Board of Governors meeting held earlier in the day in Los Angeles. The meeting, initially scheduled for April 18, was expedited after Smith announced his resignation from the Academy last week. Smith issued a quick, concise statement on his ban from the Oscars for the next decade. "I accept and respect the Academy's decision," the actor said in a statement to CNN. CNN has reached out to Rock's representatives for comment. The decision came following "tons of debate" on what the consequences of his on-stage slap should be, a board member tells CNN. The Academy's letter added: "The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage." "During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room," the letter went on to state. "For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented." The Board of Governors said in a previous statement that they wanted the matter to be "handled in a timely fashion." Smith's resignation means that he is no longer part of the Academy's voting body, but it does not prevent the Oscar winner from being nominated in the future, a source with knowledge previously told CNN. Typically, the previous year's best actor winner presents the current year's best actress award (and the reigning best actress presents to the best actor trophy). With Smith's ban, the Oscars will have to break that tradition. What happened and what came next The actor struck Rock as the comedian was on stage presenting at the Academy Awards on March 27 after Rock had made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's, close-cropped hair. Pinkett Smith suffers from hair loss due to alopecia. Rock has not spoken in depth publicly about the incident. Days after it occurred, Rock appeared at a comedy show in Boston as part of his "Ego Death Tour" and said "I don't have a bunch of s*** about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I had like a whole show I wrote before this weekend. And I'm still kind of processing what happened, so at some point I'll talk about that s***. And it'll be serious and it'll be funny, but right now I'm going to tell some jokes." Smith publicly apologized to Rock the day after the incident via social media. Smith also reached out the next morning to the show's producer, Will Packer, apologized and expressed his embarrassment, the producer told "Good Morning America." During the interview with "GMA," Packer said officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were prepared to arrest Smith for battery, but Rock said he didn't want that. In its letter, the Academy expressed "deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances." "This action we are taking today in response to Will Smith's behavior is a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy," the letter concluded. "We also hope this can begin a time of healing and restoration for all involved and impacted." SOURCE: CNN NEWS

A remote TVET institute located in the heart of Kutubu Local Level government graduated its first batch of 21 electrical students on Thursday 31st of March. The graduation ceremony brought guests from the Southern Highlands provincial Education board, Mineral Resources Development Corporation, Advancing PNG Women Leaders Network and communities around Pimaga and Bosavi to witness the first ever graduation ceremony. ‘’The youth will carry on our legacy, they are the next generation of leaders and we must play our part by investing in their future and providing them with a platform to express themselves to drive positive development in our community, said an emotional Pimaga TVET institute Principal and Manager, Warubi Masahimu. "I am very proud to see 21 students graduate with an electrical trade certificates." "Among the male students, we have two females who braved their way to achieving their goals. We have to be proud of our children’s achievements. This is not theirs only but for us, our family and our community,’’ Mr Masahimu added. The TVET institute birthed from a youth forum that was held in 2016 in Pimaga station during an International Youth day (IYD) program sponsored by ExxonMobil. The IYD is a day used as a youth empowerment advocacy program, an initiative of the Kutubu LLG Council of Youth & Women and supported by Advancing PNG: Women Leaders Network. In addition, with a strong support system established by the ECPNG Kuige Church, a local leader Mr Warubi Masahimu, the Kutubu LLG youths, the community, community-based organisations, Oil Search Foundation and Southern Highlands Provincial Education board, the TVET institute was established in 2019. ‘’We wanted to set the pace to be that model community and initiate projects to benefit our children. Our youth population is well over 12 thousand here in the Kutubu area and as a chairman, I was worried that there weren't any opportunities for them. This institute is quite an achievement and first of its kind in the Kutubu area. It has now opened the pathway for our people, especially the youths," said Steven Farabo, Pimaga TVET Chairman and Kutubu LLG Council of Youth Chairman. In 2019, Pimaga TVET Institute opened its doors to youths offering trade courses in Electrical, Mechanical and Carpentry Trades. 113 students enrolled and among them were six girls. That same year, the Southern Highlands Provincial Education Board recognized the efforts of the community and its partners and registered the institution. Pimaga TVET Institute is a fully-fledged registered government institution with six trade skills instructors that provide relevant practical skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding relating to the skills provided in various sectors of the formal and informal economic and social life of Papua New Guinea. ‘’We just started the foundation and there is a serious need to train and develop young people in this part of the region. We need dynamic teachers, good students and a supportive community." ‘’I have big dreams for this school. I would like to see proper infrastructure set up in the coming years. I want to produce quality and skilled students but, most importantly, great leaders. And finally, if God willing and I’m still alive, I’d like to see this school become paperless and move into using cloud-based platforms to educate the young minds,’’ said Warubi Masahimu. Mineral Resource Development Corporation (MRDC) has jumped on board and provided student sponsorship in 2021 and 2022. The only Tertiary Institution in Kutubu is looking forward to more support from MRDC, Santos (Oil Search), ExxonMobil, the Local Level Government, Petroleum Resource Kutubu, the Churches, local Community based Organisations, NGOs, and its communities to provide the second chance opportunity for the youths that are pushed out of the formal education system. The institute currently enrolls students from Pimaga, Mubi Valley and the surrounding villages however, plans are underway to get students from Lake Side, Bosavi, Poroma or Homa Paua once dormitories are built.

Two brand new police vehicles were handed over to the Gulf Provincial Police Commander Chief Inspector Jeffery Lemb today at the Southern Divisional Command Headquarter in Port Moresby. Director Media, Chief Superintendent Dominic Kakas handed over the keys to the two vehicles on behalf of the Commissioner of Police David Manning. Mr Kakas said the vehicles were purchased under the Kina-for-Kina scheme initiated by Police Commissioner Manning to replace the aging police fleet of vehicles nationwide. He said police in Gulf province have not been given new vehicles for a long time so the Police Commissioner arranged these vehicles under the kina-for-kina scheme for the Gulf Province. Under the kina-for-kina scheme Commissioner Manning wanted to alleviate the logistical problems for police nationwide so the constabulary entered into the arrangements with various open and regional members whereby every kina they put in the constabulary reciprocated and purchased vehicles for their provinces and electorates. Similar arrangements were done for Namatanai Open, Madang Open, and the Northern Province. He said for Gulf province, the Constabulary is still waiting for the governor or one of the open members to participate in the scheme. “Gulf has a serious mobility issue so the Commissioner made these allocations and whatever assistance that comes later from the leaders will ensure the province will have more vehicles,” Mr Kakas said. Chief Inspector Jeffery Lemb thanked Commissioner Manning for helping Gulf Police with the two new police vehicles in time for their pre-election operations. Mr Lemb said the vehicles would help them carry out their pre-election operations effectively to prepare for a free, fair and safe 2022 election for the people of Gulf Province. Meanwhile a hand-over-take-over parade is scheduled to take place on April 13 in Kerema, Gulf Province, where outgoing PPC Chief Inspector Maria Johns will hand over the command to Mr Lemb. Mr Lemb said he will launch the pre-election security operations for the Gulf Province on April 20, 2022.

A new shareholders’ agreement has been signed by Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL) and the State of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) nominee, Kumul Mineral (Porgera) Limited. The shareholders’ agreement now only awaits the signature of Mineral Resources Enga (MRE) for the document to take effect, which would clear the way for the incorporation of a new Porgera joint venture company and the application for a new Special Mining Lease, a condition of the Porgera mine’s reopening. The new Porgera joint venture company will be owned 49% by BNL and 51% by PNG parties, including an increased equity stake for the landowners of Porgera. Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said Barrick remained committed to an early restart of the mine and called on all stakeholders, especially the landowners, to work together to make it happen. Bristow said that despite the delay in reopening, Barrick has continued to invest in care and maintenance with its capital outlay at about USD $312 million (over K1 billion) to date. “We recently completed our strategic planning meetings with the mine’s key leadership team, comprising 80% PNG nationals, and we look forward to welcoming back more than 2,000 local miners as we ramp up to full production,” he said.

Police in Morobe have been assisted with a K3 million funding from the Morobe Provincial Government for security operations in the upcoming 2022 National General Elections. Provincial Police Commander Superintendent Jacob Singura in thanking the provincial government said a big portion of this money will be used to cater for the allowances of the additional manpower from PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) and the PNG Correctional Services (PNGCS) as well as logistical support for police. “Manpower and logistical support are our biggest challenge, especially for a province like Morobe with a big landmass and scattered population,” said Mr Singura. He said his command had proposed to engage 90 plus personnel from the PNGDF and PNGCS to boost manpower in the province and was awaiting approval from the Police Headquarters. With logistical support being a big challenge, Mr Singura has advised Police Station Commanders (PSCs) throughout the province to carry out election awareness at their level within their areas of command. He said there will be a big launching of the election operation at a later date. The PPC said the Morobe province’s manpower nominal roll has been finalized and submitted to the National Election Planning Team at Police Headquarters and demonstrates that Morobe is well prepared to deliver the 2022 National General Election.

Madang Airport now has the additional nine Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) officers to boost the strength of its ARFF personnel to continue meeting the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) compliance and requirements at the airport. The nine officers, seven males and two females, graduated recently in Madang as fully fledged ARFF officers after completing a serious of training since March 2021. “These officers coming on board will boost ARFF staff capability at Madang Airport to meet the CASA requirements, said National Airports Corporation Acting Chief Operating Officer, Alex Auga. The addition of the nine officers has boosted the strength of ARFF officers in Madang Airport from 11 to now 20. Mark Sahin General Manager Regional Airports at NAC said NAC’s vision is to have smart airports, however the organization must improve its capability of complying with the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization and CASA, which regulates airport operations. He challenged the officers to read the CASA rules that governs the ARFF operations to better understand their job and to guide them do the right thing when on and off duty. ARFF is an important function at Madang Airport because Madang is categorized as Category 6 aerodrome. This means it has the minimum extinguishing agents, rescue & firefighting vehicles, sufficient ARFF personnel, optimum response capability and communication and alerting system to provide safety for passengers and aircraft in an emergency situation. The boost in ARFF is timely for Madang Airport as it undergoes upgrade and refurbishment to its aircraft pavement, runway extension, new terminal and new fire station buildings.

As the outdoor track and field season gets into full swing in the USA Emmanuel Wanga has continued the great form he showed indoors with his, 47.43 second clocking last weekend moving him from thirteenth place to eighth on the PNG All Time Best performance list for the 400m. Only Nelson Stone, Subul Babo , Baobo Neuendorf, Geoffrey Bai , Clement Abai , Takale Tuna and Daniel Baul have recorded faster times. Competing in the same heat, Jonathan Dende posted an excellent 48.75seconds, just outside his personal best of 48.74 run at the PNG Air Grand Prix in Port Moresby last year. Fellow Morobean Athlete Leonie Beu is also in great form, clocking 56.09 seconds in the 400m. Meanwhile Roland Hure is edging towards his long jump personal best of 7.21m that won him Gold in the last Pacific Mini Games in Vanuatu , with a 7.14m effort in his sixth and final jump last weekend at the University of South Dakota, Greenfield. Sprinter Monica Korowi is also improving her times in the 100m and 200m though both her 100m times of 12.22(+3.9) and 12.39 (+2.2) were wind assisted.Annie Topal and Ephraim Lerkin are both expected to return to action this weekend after recovering from injuries

Trukai Industries Limited has once again has demonstrated its support for sports in PNG by signing up as the naming rights sponsor of the Trukai Village Premiere League (VPL) Tournament. Trukai’s Marketing Manager Maryanne Tom said the VPL Tournament is a great platform that aligns very well with the Trukai brand. “The Village Premiere League although in its second year, is growing in popularity and has followers both domestic and international. This year through our sponsorship we have increased the first prize cash money from K10,000 to K20,000. So this will make it even more exciting for the teams participating,” said Mrs. Tom. She reiterated stating, “This sponsorship also means that we are now a part of the family of sponsors for Cricket PNG and we are excited about partnering in the Cricket Development Program for school aged children nationwide.” “Our values at Trukai are community, family, healthy living and healthy eating and so this partnership is a great marriage of our brands,” said Mrs. Tom. Cricket PNG’s General Manager Tony Naidu acknowledged the partnership and explained the shared sentiments that both entities value. “Cricket PNG is about sports and wellbeing and Trukai is about nutrition and health and wellbeing; and with our shared beliefs we want to bring out the message that cricket is the sport for everyone,” said Naidu. Both Trukai Industries and Cricket PNG are already in talks discussing how this partnership can impact the lives of people around the country through Cricket PNG’s development programs. This year there will be two Village Premiere Leagues Tournaments played at the Amini Park in May and November. There are six teams that have registered for the May tournament that will be held on Sunday May 8th and 15th, they include Panamex PNG, Zara Wanderers, Spirit of Rigo, Koita Warriors, Northern Alexandrias and Fairprice Furniture. This Friday April 8th these teams will participate in a Player Draft to select 13 players for their squad at the Hilton Hotel. The first ever of its kind in PNG. “The VPL is a competition based on skill that is why we will host an auction with each team bidding on their players,” said Naidu. As naming rights sponsors of the VPL, Trukai will support the tournament through the monetary value of the prizes and support the development programs of Cricket PNG with sponsorship in kind. Apart from this sponsorship Trukai Industries is also well known to support sporting codes such as weightlifting, rugby league and its flagship sponsorship of Team PNG through the Trukai Fun Run.

The Lae and Goroka based distance runners along with NSI based sprinter Pais Wisil were in Port Moresby last weekend for PNG Air Sponsored trials to gauge their progress towards the Pacific Mini Games in June. The highlights were another high quality mens 1500m race with Aquila Turalom just getting the better of George Yamak to win in 4min 06.7 secs and a great effort from Wilford Baia in the steeplechase with a time of 9min 56.3 secs. Turalom finished second in 10mins 08 and the weekend also saw another solid 5000m performance from Dilu Goiye. In the girls races Ongan Awa and Scholastica Herman have maintained the good form they showed at the National Championships in Kimbe last December and look set to improve their times as they move into the next phase of training. Officials were pleased to see three girls finishing closely together in the 2000m race with Aina Goir pushing Awa all the way to the line. With Mary Tenge also coming back to form over in Rabaul, the womens distance squad for the Games is taking shape. Mens and Womens Discus National Record Holders DeBono Paraka and Sharon Toako also took the opportunity to gauge their own progress at this stage in their respective preparations. In the mens sprints Terrence Talio impressed in the 200m to win the race in 22.1 from Pais Wisil and then put in a strong finish to overhaul Wisil right on the line in the 300m with an excellent time of 35.4 secs. The athletes are now looking forward to next weeks training camp at the National Sports Institute. Big thanks to PNG Air for sponsoring the athletes’s flights into the Capital.

The National Government has granted a Special Purpose Lease to Newcrest’s wholly owned subsidiary Lihir Gold Limited (LGL), which now allows the company to develop the Londolovit Township on Lihir Island further. Minister for Department of Lands and Physical Planning, Mr John Rosso, handed over the Special Purpose Lease (SPL) for Portion 1021 in Lihir, Namatanai, to LGL in Port Moresby last week. “On behalf of the Department, I thank Newcrest Lihir and key Lihir stakeholders for seeking our assistance with the consolidation and grant of the SPL for Portion 1021,” said Mr Rosso. “Newcrest Lihir is the first mining project in the country to have considered planning and developing a town with post-mine closure in mind; I commend Newcrest for taking this approach,” added Mr Rosso. The consolidation and granting of the SPL are the first phase of a project that would ultimately create a sustainable future for the people of Lihir post-mine closure. Newcrest Lihir embarked on this project following consultations with key stakeholders on Lihir. The process involved the conversion of two Agricultural Leases for Portions 422 and 717, held by LGL, to the consolidated SPL. The first subdivision of the SPL will see the development and grant of approximately 100 state leases to the Kapit families affected by mining activities. The second subdivision will further develop Londolovit township to boost economic growth. “I am delighted that Newcrest is committed to utilising the state lease to achieve these outcomes. DLPP committed to delivering the consolidated title to you (Newcrest), and we are proud to have delivered on our commitment. We will continue to support you at every stage of the project,” Mr Rosso said. Additionally, Mr Rosso encouraged his technical teams within DLPP to develop a long-term partnership that would benefit all stakeholders in the project. He also urged Lihirian people to support the project. “Lihirian communities, take ownership of this project and support it because this township (Londolovit) is important for the generations of Lihirians yet to come,” he said. In partnership with the Nimamar Local Level Government (NLLG), DLPP and other key stakeholders, Newcrest Lihir is preparing to continue with other project phases, which include town planning and surveying. Newcrest Lihir General Manager, Mr Johan Labuschagne, received the SPL on behalf of the company and thanked the DLPP Minister, his team, and key stakeholders for collaborating on this project. “We are delighted as a company and the first mining project to achieve this outcome as it sets the trend for future projects. Owning this Special Purpose Lease is a unique situation in PNG. We are fully committed to creating a sustainable and positive legacy through this lease,” said Mr Labuschagne. “We are proud of this achievement and look forward to collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure Londolovit Township becomes a prosperous town, supporting our mining operation now and post-life of mine,” he added.