North Fly MP James Donald has obtained a restraining order against the signing of the P’Nyang Gas Agreement between the State and the gas developer Exxon Mobil. Donald told PNG Hausbung that he was able to serve the restraining order only to one party before the signing was done yesterday. He said he had to do this because there were several issues that were not yet fully addressed before this project could be signed. “Our grounds are of the reasons that there was no dialogue with the landowners, leaders of the host project and as well as the provincial leaders and also that the developer had no legal standing to strike another deal on the project,” Mr Donald said. Minister for Petroleum Kerenge Kua was named as the first defendant, the state as the second defendant and developer Esso P’Nyang as the third defendant. The matter will return to court on February 25, 2022.

After a lengthy process, the MSG Secretariat has a new Director General, he is Mr. Leonard Louma OBE from Papua New Guinea. This follows an announcement by the Chairman of the MSG and Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Honourable James Marape in an Official Statement issued on the 1st of February 2022 in Port Moresby. The MSG Secretariat was without a Director General since the departure of former Director General, Ambassador Amena Yauvoli of Fiji who served the Secretariat from 2016 – 2020. The Official statement of appointment was delivered on behalf of the four MSG Leaders including, Honourable Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama MP, Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji, Honourable Manasseh Sogavare MP, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Honourable Bob Lougman Weibur MP, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu; and Mr Victor Tutugoro Spokesperson of the FLNKS. Prime Minister Marape stated that the appointment of Mr Leonard Louma was a result of a lengthy and rigorous merit-based process of appointing a new Director General. He reiterated that the process of recruitment of the new Director General was done in accordance to the agreed policy process of recruiting a new Director General which was adopted at the 20th Leaders’ Summit in Honiara, Solomon Islands on 26 June 2015. The Process is based on a merit-recruitment system that allows for a best candidate to be appointed. In compliance with the agreed stipulated policy, a Recruitment Committee comprising of Members (PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu), also called the TROIKA did a thorough screening of applicants, shortlisting and interviewing of the shortlisted candidates. The TROIKA from its interviews and assessment concluded and recommended in their report the appointment of Mr Leonard Louma as first choice. In the event that that he declines then the offer can be given to the alternative next best preferred candidate. The recommendation as contained in the TROIKA report was considered by the MSG Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and duly endorsed out-of-session by the MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM). The MSG Chair further officially requested for his MSG Colleague Leaders to consider and approve out-of-session the appointment of the new Director General in December 2021. And having received no objection from his colleague MSG Leaders when the due date for consideration had lapsed, he proceeded with the necessary preparations to make the formal announcement of the appointment. Prime Minister Marape in his statement stated that, he is satisfied and confident that due process had been complied with and that his announcement of the appointment of the new Director General is in order and in the best interest of the MSG Group. While he conveyed his appreciation to his colleagues, the MSG Leaders, for their continuous support and confidence rendered to him as the MSG Chair, he reiterated the fact that the MSG Secretariat has been without a substantive Director General for 1 year and 10 months and has been the longest since the establishment of the Secretariat. Therefore, the appointment of the Director General is a necessity and a matter of urgency for the Group. Prime Minister James Marape on behalf of the MSG Leaders, in congratulating the newly appointed Director General, Mr Leonard Louma stated that he has confidence in him to continue to lift the visions, spirit and solidarity of the MSG and moreover to lead the MSG Secretariat into new heights. Mr Leonard Louma OBE who hails from Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea is a former seasoned diplomat and a senior public servant who had more than 30 years of senior management experience in both the government and private sector. Mr Louma has served in the Papua New Guinea Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York (USA) and the Papua New Guinea Embassies in Paris (France) and Beijing (China). He was responsible for opening the PNG Embassy in Paris as Charge D’Affaires and was Papua New Guinea’s roving Ambassador to APEC, ASEAN, ESCAP and concurrently PNG High Commissioner to Singapore. Additionally, nationally he had served as head of several departments within the Papua New Guinea Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Prime Minister. In the latter, he served as Special Advisor on International Relations, Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs matters to the Prime Minister and subsequently as Chief of Staff to the late Prime Minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare from 2005 – 2011. Regionally, he has been involved in the development and implementation of many regional initiatives such as the original Pacific Plan and its successor in the Framework for Pacific Regionalism, MSG’s 2038 Prosperity for all Plan as a member of an Eminent Person, The MSG Trade Agreement, Re-enlistment of New Caledonia on the UN list of Non Self Governing Territories, the development and negotiation of the binding tariffs for PNG’s WTO membership bid, and the development of the Pacific Island Forum’s Boe Declaration. Prior to his appointment, Mr Louma continues to be engaged privately as a free-lance consultant providing strategic advisory services to the Papua New Guinea Government including strategic business advisories to several private organisations and businesses in Papua New Guinea. Mr Louma has officially accepted the appointment and preparations are now underway to enable him take up his posting in the MSG Secretariat headquarters in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Jane Marczewski, a singer known by her stage name Nightbirde, who earned a legion of followers after being a contestant on NBC's "America's Got Talent," has died after a battle with cancer, her family confirmed. "We, her family, are devastated by her passing and unimaginable loss," the Marczewski family said in a statement, provided by NBC. Marczewski fought cancer for four years and died Feb. 19, her family said. The singer caught the attention of many after delivering a stunning audition last year on "America's Got Talent," performing an original song called "It's OK." During her performance, she disclosed to the judges that she was battling cancer that had spread to her lungs, spine and liver. She impressed judge Simon Cowell with her positivity and resolve. "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy," she told the judges. Cowell awarded Marczewski a coveted "golden buzzer," which advanced her to the next round of competition. She ultimately had to drop out, but during a virtual interview aired on the show, Marczewski said it was "beautiful to see the world welcome that song into their own dark night." "I'm overwhelmed by it," she said, of the reaction to "It's OK." "Your voice, your story, and your message touched millions. Nightbirde will always be a member of the 'AGT' family. Rest In Peace, Jane," the show said in a statement to CNN. Host Terry Crews and judge Heidi Klum also paid tribute on their own social media accounts. "Those who knew her, enjoyed her larger-than-life personality and sense of humor. She had a witty joke for every occasion—even if the joke was on her," her family added. "Her lasting legacy will be the gift of hope she gave to so many through her music and the strength she found in Jesus. We thank everyone for their messages of love and support." SOURCE: CNN NEWS

North Queensland Toyota Cowboys Elite Pathways Coach Ben Jeffries has been named the Papua New Guinea Orchids head coach for the upcoming Rugby League World Cup in England. Jeffries, who earlier this month coached the Indigenous All-Stars women to an 18-8 over the Māori women, said that he is honoured to coach the Orchids in their second World Cup appearance. “I see PNG as an untapped playing market in the women’s game,” Jeffries said. “If they play with the passion and pride that they normally demonstrate with some football smarts added in, it is a good recipe for success. “I believe there would be more PNG qualified players that could play at the level of NRLW, they just need to be identified and possibly filtered into the NSW & Queensland competitions to provide that steppingstone.” With a long history working in women’s rugby league, Jeffries says the growth of the game over the last couple of years been great to see. “It’s very pleasing to see not only the game and skill levels progress, but the perseverance and time invested within the female format from many personnel is paying off in providing pathways opportunities from the grassroots up. “The game is now reaping the rewards in another market that never existed prior. “The International, Origin and NRLW formats are only going to intensify from this point onward.” Currently the fourth ranked team in the world, the Orchids will open their World Cup campaign against Canada on Wednesday, November 2. SOURCE: NRL NEWS

With only two months to go before the scheduled start of the 2022 National General Elections in Papua New Guinea, many provinces have only just begun the roll update exercise. Jiwaka Province in the Highlands Region is one such a province, with a 10-day roll update exercise for all 214 Wards starting on the 16th of February 2022, and running till the end of the month. Transparency International PNG (TIPNG) was informed of this roll-update exercise by the Jiwaka Provincial Election Office, during a five-day civic awareness from 14-18th February in the province as part of its Building Elections Integrity through Partnership (BEIP) Project. The BEIP Project funded by the #PNGAusPartnership is conducting national civic awareness with Civil Society and election partners across eight target provinces in all four regions of the country. “The reality is that administrative delays in election preparation has severely impacted the rights of Papua New Guineans and the situation will only worsen if partners do not share information and collaborate in the lead up to the elections. Jiwaka, and many other provinces are only now starting to update the electoral roll, and if there is no clear coordination and collaboration, these vital democratic processes will sow mistrust in communities and create avenues for the corrupt to abuse electoral processes,” said Mr. Yuambari Haihuie, TIPNG Deputy Director of Policy and Partnership, who led the awareness team in Jiwaka. “TIPNG is calling on all Provincial Election Steering Committees (PESC) to include well-established provincial Civil Society partners, media outlets and faith-based organizations to ensure information is shared with communities and that electoral planning includes the views of citizens. It is Papua New Guinea’s democracy and Papua New Guineans must participate to ensure that a free, fair, and safe 2022 National General Elections is delivered across all provinces,” said Mr. Haihuie. TIPNG hosted a one-day election awareness workshop on Wednesday 16th February 2022, in Banz, Jiwaka, where members of the Jiwaka PESC presented on elections plans and preparations to the Civil Society Organizations that included; Callan Services, Meri Kirap Sapotim, PNG Tribal Foundation, Caritas PNG, Kosem Coffee, Voice for Change, Post Courier and NBC Western Highlands. In addition to the workshop, TIPNG spoke on NBC Radio and conducted awareness with the following organizations in Jiwaka Province; Meri Kirap Sapotim, Christian Leaders Training College, Fr. Peter Fatima Secondary School, Seventh Day Adventist Mission Church – Banz, Kudjip Hospital, and the Nazerene Nursing College.

Transparency International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG) conducted a week long civic awareness outreach in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province as part of its Building Elections Integrity through Partnership (BEIP) Project. A key part of the awareness in Goroka was a Civic Awareness Information Workshop that brought together key provincial election stakeholders, namely the Eastern Highlands Electoral Commission Office, Provincial Administration and the Goroka Police to provide updates on their preparations for the 2022 National Elections in Eastern Highlands Province. Participants at the workshop included members of various civil society organizations in Goroka: YWCA Goroka, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Helping Hand Youth Honey Producers, Tribal Foundation (Soundhouse Consulting), Caraitas PNG and the NBC EHP. TIPNG’s other voter awareness meetings with youth, churches and citizens in Eastern Highlands Province heard the audience express serious concerns for a truly free, fair and safe elections come July 2022, while women expressed that feeling insecure at a polling station was their biggest challenge. “TIPNG is calling on all sectors in the Eastern Highlands Province to work in partnership with the Eastern Highlands Electoral Commission Office and the Provincial Election Steering Committee to ensure that the right information goes out to the people of the province and that there is real partnership in implementing peaceful elections in the province, said TIPNG CEO, Ms Arianne Kassman.” As part of TIPNG’s civic awareness on voters’ rights and responsibilities, TIPNG conducted two school visits to the Goroka Grammar, Highlands School of Nursing and Goroka Secondary school and community outreach with the Goroka YWCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Bible Mission. The BEIP Project is funded under the PNG-Australia Partnership for Development.

BSP Financial Group Chief Operating Officer, Robin Fleming, has raised concerns over additional EFTPoS fees charged to BSP and other bank Cardholders by BSP EFTPoS Merchants for purchases, cash out and balance checking. Mr Fleming said this when responding to a query raised by a disappointing customer who was charged extra fees when trying to cash out K50 after his purchase using the EFTPoS terminal at Hot Rooster Shop in Buka. “BSP regularly informs customers that they should not pay additional fees to any merchant who tries to apply their own surcharge for use of a BSP EFTPoS terminal,” said Fleming. “Under the terms and conditions accepted by the bank’s merchants, they are not permitted to charge additional fees on customers. If we become aware of a merchant applying a fee for transactions, we will caution them and remind them of the terms and conditions they accepted. If the merchant continues to apply fees, the bank will remove the terminal from the merchant and discontinue the merchant relationship,” Fleming said. BSP Retail General Manager Daniel Faunt also reaffirmed this saying, “The availability of EFTPoS at any business increases the volume of sales as customers find electronic payments safe and convenient to do business with.” “In 2020 BSP removed the minimum fee of K0.50 per transaction for merchants and the fee is now 1% of the purchase amount which for small transactions of say K20 reduces the merchant fee from K0.50 to K0.20. Since May 2021, we have also waived EFTPoS fees for Kundu Standard customers who transact below K26. This means that all transactions below K26 are free whilst transactions above K26 will attract a K0.25 fee to the customer,” said Faunt. “This enables customer’s convenience in paying for goods at stores and withdrawing cash at the checkout using the EFTPoS terminal without BSP charges, rather than withdrawing cash from ATMs. We encourage customers to continue utilising this payment method for cheaper, faster, safer and convenient way to purchase goods and services,” Faunt added. BSP will continue to make banking more accessible, cheaper and safer for its customers through its products, electronic banking channels and extensive network of branches and sub branches across PNG.

BSP Financial Group Chief Operating Officer, Robin Fleming, has raised concerns over additional EFTPoS fees charged to BSP and other bank Cardholders by BSP EFTPoS Merchants for purchases, cash out and balance checking. Mr Fleming said this when responding to a query raised by a disappointing customer who was charged extra fees when trying to cash out K50 after his purchase using the EFTPoS terminal at Hot Rooster Shop in Buka. “BSP regularly informs customers that they should not pay additional fees to any merchant who tries to apply their own surcharge for use of a BSP EFTPoS terminal,” said Fleming. “Under the terms and conditions accepted by the bank’s merchants, they are not permitted to charge additional fees on customers. If we become aware of a merchant applying a fee for transactions, we will caution them and remind them of the terms and conditions they accepted. If the merchant continues to apply fees, the bank will remove the terminal from the merchant and discontinue the merchant relationship,” Fleming said. BSP Retail General Manager Daniel Faunt also reaffirmed this saying, “The availability of EFTPoS at any business increases the volume of sales as customers find electronic payments safe and convenient to do business with.” “In 2020 BSP removed the minimum fee of K0.50 per transaction for merchants and the fee is now 1% of the purchase amount which for small transactions of say K20 reduces the merchant fee from K0.50 to K0.20. Since May 2021, we have also waived EFTPoS fees for Kundu Standard customers who transact below K26. This means that all transactions below K26 are free whilst transactions above K26 will attract a K0.25 fee to the customer,” said Faunt. “This enables customer’s convenience in paying for goods at stores and withdrawing cash at the checkout using the EFTPoS terminal without BSP charges, rather than withdrawing cash from ATMs. We encourage customers to continue utilising this payment method for cheaper, faster, safer and convenient way to purchase goods and services,” Faunt added. BSP will continue to make banking more accessible, cheaper and safer for its customers through its products, electronic banking channels and extensive network of branches and sub branches across PNG.

The Western Pacific University continues our second week of registration and started our orientation program today with our 2nd co-hort of students and our returning pioneers. Our academic theme for the year is ‘Enacting a shared vision of WPU’s digital learning journey in 2022’. Our orientation week program commenced at 8:30am today Monday 21st February and includes presentations from our President, Vice Presidents and other key members of our academic and administration staff. Academic programs offered and policies involving students and their code of ethics and code of conduct will be highlighted. Is it important for students to attend so that that they become conscious students and constructive community members of Western Pacific University. Other activities include movie nights and fun night that will be hosted by the first-ever Student Representative Council (SRC). Registration is between 8:00am and 6:00pm at the Registrar’s Office. Registration closes on Friday the 25th of February 2022. We encourage all students who accepted our offer, to present all original documents during registration. A late registration fee will apply to those students who come to register after the closing date. Our students were accepted through the National Online Selection System (NOSS) as well as our online application portal, accessed via our website. Students, parents, sponsors or guardians who have questions regarding registration, you may contact the Registrar’s office via email registrar@wpu.ac.pg or on phone 70283195.

Two members of the 2022 SP PNG Hunters playing squad – Sherwin Tanabi and Anthony Worot – will spend this week training with the North Queensland Cowboys Young Guns side and will compete in a trial match this weekend against the Mackay Cutters. The match will be the curtain raiser to the North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos NRL trial. Hunters’ assistant coach Stanley Tepend will also spend the early part of the week in the NQ Young Guns camp as part of his ongoing professional development. It is just rewards for Tanabi and Worot who are nearing the end of an impressive pre-season program and now have a chance to impress at an NRL-development level. It is also a wonderful opportunity for Hunters’ players to be looked at by first-grade coaches and for the Hunters’ brand to be represented at that next level. Hunters Head Coach Matt Church is excited by the opportunity: “I am very happy for Sherwin and Anthony to be spending the week with the North Queensland Young Guns squad and I would like to thank the Cowboys for their involvement and support. Both players thoroughly deserve the opportunity and I’m confident they will do the Hunters proud. We have challenged both Sherwin and Anthony to make the most of this week and to share their experiences with the rest of our playing group when they return. I look forward to watching their development continue this season. Additionally this is great opportunity to expose Stanley to best-practice coaching methods and further commit to his development as a coach.” The NQ Young Guns face the Mackay Cutters this Saturday, 5.30pm at BB Print Stadium, Mackay.

On 24 February the Australian High Commission will virtually launch the short film The Bilum Story, celebrating the remarkable PNG women social entrepreneurs who 10 years ago began to shine a spotlight on bilum as a national treasure, whilst driving inclusive economic growth for women weavers. The bilum story is an incredible example of the transformative power of the creative and cultural industry. It shows just what is possible when emerging entrepreneurs have effective access to international markets, support to strengthen their supply chains and are empowered to share their creativity and culture with the world. Australia through the PNG-Australia Partnership has supported entrepreneurs like Florence Jaukae Kamel and her vision for the Goroka Bilum Festival by providing strategic capacity building along the bilum value chain. Pacific Trade Invest Australia helped Florence and key artisans to take bilum to the world stage and find international buyers. The film explores how with a little help, the entrepreneurship and vision of these women can lead to great commercial success and inclusive economic growth. There is now a network of over a thousand weavers across the country, exporting bilum to the world and increasing their income and wellbeing through culture and community. As the film celebrates the achievements to date, it is hoped that this story will inspire more focus and investment into PNG’s rich creative and cultural industry potential. The Bilum Story film will be released with a virtual screening from 24 Feb – 10 March 2022. For more information about the film and virtual screening, visit www.thebilumstory.com

PAPUA New Guinea has now confirmed a total of 39, 909 cases of COVID-19 of which 14 are of the Omicron variant and 733 are of the Delta variant. This is from the last two updates – Thursday, 17th February and Friday, 18th Friday, 2022. On Thursday, a total of 13 new cases of Omicron were reported from the samples that were sent down to Australia, raising the total number of this new variant of COVID-19 to 14 so far. These 13 new cases of Omicron were among 333 new cases of COVID-19 reported on this day. The new Omicron cases were reported from four different provinces namely National Capital District which reported 8; Eastern Highlands (1); Central (3); and New Ireland (2). There were also 25 new cases of Delta Variant reported, raising the number of confirmed cases of Delta to 733. These new Delta cases came from Manus (12) and Gulf (3). Of the 333 new cases of COVID, NCD reported the majority which was 119; followed by Southern Highlands (91); Central (39); Northern (22); Jiwaka (19); Hela (15); Manus (7); Western (5); Morobe (5); West Sepik (5); Western Highlands (2); Eastern Highlands (2); East New Britain (1); and Milne Bay (1). From the 333 cases reported on this day, 2% were reported within the last 24 hours; 36 per cent were reported in the last six days; 28% were reported more than two weeks ago; and 34% were from a month ago. As of 12pm, Friday, 18th February, 2021, there were 329 new cases of COVID-19 reported which has raised the country’s cumulative total confirmed cases to 39, 909. The recoveries stand at 37, 706. There were also 8 new deaths reported which raised the total deaths in the country to 636. The cumulative Delta cases remained at 733 and the cumulative Omicron cases remained at 14. Meanwhile, an internal assessment has now placed Milne Bay Province with NCD as the most high risk provinces. The two provinces have been reporting high number of cases in the past few weeks. East New Britain, which has been in red or high risk for sometime is now in green. New Ireland Province which has been in amber (medium risk) is now in green. Autonomous Region of Bougainville is still in amber. A number of provinces that were in green are now in medium risk, including Western, Central, Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Hela, Enga and West Sepik. Deputy Controller of the National Pandemic Response Dr Daoni Esorom has urged everyone to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols to prevent the number of cases increasing which can lead to over-crowding of health facilities. Dr Daoni said, “Currently, many health facilities in the country are complaining of shortage of medical supplies. Let’s not put more pressure in the health system by adhering to the Niupela Pasin: wear a mask in public; cover you cough or cough into your elbow; sanitize or wash your hands with soap often; avoid crowds and physical distance when in public. “The saying, Prevention is Better than Cure, remains our best bet against COVID-19 and many other infectious diseases.’’