Transparency International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG) is sounding the alarm on the risk of an inadvertent breach of both the election laws and the Constitutional requirements pertaining to the conduct of the 2022 National General Elections (NGE). Key information from the PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) has not been forthcoming inspite of several attempts made by TIPNG. Chairman Peter Aitsi said “Two weeks ago Electoral Commissioner Mr. Sinai published an announcement of the revised election schedule issued by Head of State, Governor General Sir Bob Dadai. On Friday 6th May 2022 PNGEC officials were unable to produce a gazettal notice, giving effect to this announcement.” This is a serious concern he went on to say. “TIPNG understands that the delay in the commencement of an election is the administrative prerogative of the PNGEC. Our concern is that the Constitution is quite clear on the deadline for the return of writs, which is the fifth anniversary of the last return of writs. In the 2017 NGE, writs were returned on the 29th July 2017. It is important to take note that the NGE must be viewed as a holistic process. It commences with the issue of writs, and is completed when the writs are complied and returned. Mr. Aitsi elaborated: “The Organic Law on National and Local Level Government Elections prescribes time frames for the scheduling of elections within the 3-month period before the anniversary of the return of writs. For instance, the nomination period has to be 7 days, the polling cannot start less than 8 or more than 11 weeks after the issue of writs and the return of writs has to take place no more than 21 days after the close of polling. The Organic Law sets a hard limit that if in special circumstances the PNGEC wanted to extend the polling period, they are still legally bound under s177(2) of the organic law to return the majority of writs, 5 days before the fifth anniversary of the current Parliament.” “Fundamentally the issue is that we believe that both the Organic law on National and Local Level Government Elections and the Constitution, may not have contemplated an extensive delay in return of writs, thereby breaching the 5th anniversary deadline, and this is where we envisage a constitutional crisis may emerge,” said Mr. Aitsi. Further to this, the law requires the formal appointment of Returning Officers for 118 districts (electorates) must be made and gazetted immediately. Then each RO must be in place to receive nominations on Thursday 12th May 2022. Undue delays continue to place immense pressure on the staff of the PNGEC. To retain public confidence the PNGEC needs to provide regular and clear information on the plans and actions they are taking to ensure the 2022 elections adhere to Constitutional requirements, TIPNG calls for: 1. The PNGEC to publish in the National Gazette the Election Schedule; 2. The PNGEC to publish the gazette of the Appointment of Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers; 3. The PNGEC to ensure formal media statements are issued regularly with weekly press conferences open to all media outlets; 4. All stakeholders to respect the independence of the PNGEC as it fulfils its constitutional mandate to deliver for the people of Papua New Guinea a free, fair and safe elections.

This is the highest rate of UK military spending on a conflict since the height of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will include military kit like anti-battery radar systems to target Russian artillery and night vision devices. A further £1.3bn in military support will be provided by the UK to Ukrainian forces as they fight against Russia's invasion. The escalation of British assistance for Volodymyr Zelenskyy's forces is the highest rate of UK military spending on a conflict since the height of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. The £1.3bn, drawn from the UK's reserves, includes £300m of military kit promised by Boris Johnson earlier this week. Mr Johnson, US President Joe Biden and leaders from other G7 nations will hold talks with Ukrainian president Mr Zelenskyy on Sunday to discuss the additional support on offer. The military kit promised by Mr Johnson includes anti-battery radar systems to target Russian artillery, GPS jamming equipment and night vision devices. The news comes as Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said all remaining women, children, and elderly people have been able to leave the Azovstal steel plant in the besieged city of Mariupol. She said: "The president's order has been carried out: all women, children and the elderly have been evacuated from Azovstal. This part of the Mariupol humanitarian operation has been completed." Cities across Ukraine are preparing for an expected increase in attacks ahead of Russia celebrating its traditional victory day on Monday. Johnson to meet arms companies over production Mr Johnson will host a meeting of arms companies later this month to discuss increasing production in response to the demand created by the conflict in Ukraine. Officials said the announcement would help support the British arms industry, which could benefit from the global shift away from reliance on equipment from Vladimir Putin's sanction-hit Russia. The PM said: "Putin's brutal attack is not only causing untold devastation in Ukraine, it is also threatening peace and security across Europe." The funding comes on top of earlier commitments worth about £1.5bn, which included £400m in humanitarian aid and loan guarantees for £700m in additional World Bank lending. US promises artillery shells and radars President Biden has promised a package including artillery shells, radars and other military equipment. Sunday's virtual meeting of G7 leaders could also consider additional sanctions on Russia. The White House views the meeting as a way of displaying Western unity on the eve of Moscow's 9 May victory day parade. There has been speculation that the Russian president had hoped to use the symbolically important date to highlight his success in Ukraine, but the fierce resistance put up by Kyiv's forces has scuppered any such claim. The UK's Ministry of Defence said Russia's ability to fight with modern equipment was being damaged by losses in Ukraine and the impact of sanctions. The MoD said at least one of Russia's most advanced T-90M tanks had been destroyed in fighting, while sanctions were restricting access to microelectronic components for sophisticated equipment. SOURCE: SKY NEWS

The SP PNG Hunters have responded admirably to a challenging start to the season, narrowly falling to the defending premiers Norths Devils 28-24 at Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba during Round 7 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. From the kickoff it was clear the Hunters had a point to prove, defending their line for consecutive sets and denying Norths on both edges before forcing them to find points with a kick to Brendan Frei in the 3rd minute. The Hunters would react convincingly, again turning Norths away on their own line before defending a second attacking kick. Hunters’ winger Terry Wapi would make a superb defensive catch to take possession for the Hunters before getting them 50m upfield with a clever run down the touch line. Unable to score on the back of that line break, the Hunters would force an error in the next set thanks to a huge shot from Sylvester Namo and Solo Wane was the beneficiary when PNG shifted the loose ball to score in the corner. Norths would reply with three quick tries in ten minutes as the Hunters struggled for possession, but a try in the 31st minute to Brandon Nima - courtesy of a pinpoint grubber from Mark Tony and a slick catch-and-pass back on the inside from Wapi – would see the Hunters finish the first half with confidence. That belief flowed into the second half, with Wapi finally crossing himself for a well deserved try. The Hunters fired a shot down their left edge and Wapi took advantage of the disrupted defensive line to scoot from 10 metres out and barge over to bring the scores to 18-22. As the crowd came to life in very wet conditions at Clive Berghofer Stadium, so too did the Hunters. Twice in the dying stages of the match they looked like earning a repeat set thanks to the kicking game of Mark Tony, only for the Devils to somehow make it out of their own end. The Devils also managed to deny centre Rodrick Tai – who looked like he got the ball into the in-goal – only for the ref to determine he had been held up. Norths would have some better luck down the other end of the field when Brayden McGrady somehow grounded the ball before travelling dead in the 67th minute in a try that came against the run of play. Far from dropping their heads, the Hunters would dominate the final ten minutes of the match, scoring next to the posts through Kingstimer Paraia before forcing Norths to finish the game camped on their own line. Coach’s Comments Head Coach Matt Church was delighted with the response his squad showed, particularly in tough conditions in the second half. “I was really pleased with how they responded in the second half,” Church said. “We were a little passive in the opening forty and I challenged the boys to lift their intent, run harder and play to the conditions. I thought they did that well in the second half.” After a string of consecutive losses, it was not the result they were after but Church says the hard work is close to paying off. “It was a real bounce back from our last performance,” Church said. “We put ourselves into a position to win that game, which we haven’t been doing to begin so far this year. I’m proud of the boys’ efforts and if we play like that every week the results will quickly swing in our favour.” Results Norths Devils 28 def. PNG Hunters 24

Newcrest Lihir has commissioned an improved Temperature Measuring Unit (TMU) that further enhances safety for personnel working at its geothermally active mining pit. This second generation TMU comes after the christened Anako 13, commissioned on 6 March 2018; it engineers out the risk of personnel exposure to geysering events during drill hole measurement activities. Anako 13 allowed geothermal technicians to operate a mobile arm from the vehicle remotely and simultaneously lower or raise a probe safely to measure and record temperature, water level and depth. All these are done from the safety and comfort of the vehicle cabin. Newcrest teams collaborated with several business partners to deliver the improved Anako early this year, allowing geothermal technicians to continue doing their work safely as Lihir’s mining pit phases extend deeper and further north into Kapit orebody. Manager – Mine Technical Services, Mr Ben Likia, thanked various Newcrest teams and business partners for delivering the project safely and ensuring a timely site deployment of Anako Sense, including training sessions for key personnel. “I also congratulate our national employees who completed their training sessions. We have competent geothermal personnel who are now operating the new TMU, and several mobile maintenance personnel who will assist in ensuring the TMU is regularly maintained and fit for purpose,” he said. “As a business, we value collaboration in creative and innovative work because it makes our business safe and sustainable in Papua New Guinea. The safety of our people in Lihir is our number one priority, and this improvement is testimony to that. We are committed to ensuring everybody goes home safe and healthy every day,” Mr Likia added. Superintendent – Geothermal Operations, Mr Kaipale Pano, said the enthusiasm and feedback from the project team and personnel were heartening. “The project is a success for Newcrest Lihir because we (Newcrest) encourage employees to experiment with new ideas to improve safety and production performance. We displayed Newcrest’s practice ‘Bottom-up Innovation’ and values ‘Working Together’ and ‘Innovation and Problem Solving’ through this project. We are proud to have the best people and outstanding operators, mostly Papua New Guineans, who constantly team up to deploy safe and latest mining technologies at Lihir,” said Mr Pano. The name Anako was inspired by an incident at Lihir eight years ago. In 2013, Mr Samuel Ayata, a geothermal technician from Eastern Highlands and Morobe, sustained injuries from geysers when collecting data. His father, Ayata Anako, collapsed upon receiving news about the incident and was bedridden for almost three weeks, begging his son to quit his job. “The scars on my body were a drive for our team to take on this safety initiative and continue improving it; we named the TMU after my father. I thank Newcrest for supporting our commitment to work safely for our families,” said Mr Ayata.

Air Niugini has now rolled out a centralised Customer Service and Support solution that can automatically track and manage all customer queries from a single contact point. This solution aimed at ensuring your queries are addressed in real time went live on Monday 02nd May. Customer queries can now reach Air Niugini through your preferred communication channel such as Facebook Messenger, Twitter Direct Messaging, Web Feedback forms as well as through Air Niugini’s Customer Service email address csc@airniugini.com.pg Depending on what your issue or query is, the system will automatically categorise and correctly route your message to the right support team within the airline, so that your queries are quickly attended to. The solution will ensure a unified view and visibility of customer interactions and personalised help in real time. It will also provide the Airline Management team oversight to ensure matters raised are indeed addressed in a timely manner. A self-service hub has also been introduced for customers to browse and find quick answers to common airline and travel queries without the need to reach customer service agents. This support hub can also be accessed here: https://support.airniugini.com.pg/support/home

Continuing their support to the Nature Park for the second consecutive year for the BSP Trash to Treasure Sculpture Festival are youth members from ATS community in Port Moresby. Now into its fourth year running, the BSP Trash to Treasure Sculpture Festival has educated and inspired more students and youth around Port Moresby and Central province about the importance of recycling and reusing waste material for better purposes in the household and community. For the youth at ATS, their involvement in the BSP Trash to Treasure Sculpture Festival is part of their community leaders’ efforts in changing youth mindsets that living in a settlement should not limit them to opportunities that can earn them employment or more learning to better their livelihoods. Their involvement in last year’s festival as volunteer artists was an added bonus to the Park as they collaborated with volunteers from the University of Papua New Guinea to create some very fascinating sculptures from trash collected around the city. The Port Moresby Nature Park and all its volunteers are now hard at work putting together more trash sculptures for the upcoming BSP Trash to Treasure festival in June and call on residents around Port Moresby to help donate reusable trash such as cans, plastic bags and bottles, aluminium trays, etc to aid the volunteers construct more sculptures this year. To find out more about the BSP Trash to Treasure Sculpture Festival and how you can donate reusable waste material towards the sculpture festival, you can call Port Moresby Nature Park’s Sales & Marketing team on 326 0248 or email marketing.pomnp@gmail.com Port Moresby Nature Park is a charity organisation that relies on grants and donor funding to operate. By visiting the Park and joining our Membership, you help support the Park’s efforts in preserving PNG’s unique natural environment for future generations, including the Park’s 350 resident animals, majority of which have been surrendered to the Park for care.

18 teams from 18 unions in 17 provinces are set to participate for the next four weeks in the Kumul Petroleum Super 7s series beginning tomorrow at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby. Patron of PNG Rugby Union and NCD Governor Powes Parkop officially welcomed all the provincial teams this evening at the stadium as he urged them to take the game to a new dimension. Speaking to the players from the different provincial teams this evening, Parkop said the recent investments were made to lift the game and the onus is now on the players to give their best on the turf. “This is the new horizon for this sporting code and it starts this weekend,” Mr Parkop said. “All the other sporting codes have received government and public support over the years while Rugby Union has been a sleeping giant.” “But with the new management under Paul Siwi and the recent launch of the corporate plan for this game, we want to unleash its.” The code recently received a funding support of K10 million from the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited for the next three years and Governor Parkop also committed K500, 000 from the National Capital District Commission for the series this weekend. Governor Parkop further said the series is set to be staged at a very iconic venue where the country for the first time raised its national flag in 1975 and NCDC has marked Sir Hubert Murray Stadium as the new home ground of Rugby Union. PNG Rugby Union President Paul Siwi thanked all the stakeholders who have played a part in reviving the game and urged the participants to give their best for the games this weekend. “This is the biggest gathering of a national rugby event since the arrival of this game and I want all your unions to work together and promote this sport,” Mr Siwi said. “We have the right kind of support we can ever get at this time and it is our time now to play our part.”

Although they are not in the current MoniPlus Port Moresby Australia Football League (AFL) pre-season challenge, the Alavana Swans from Hula village in Central province are building up their teams in preparation for their first ever season in the city competition. The Head Coach of the Swans Mr. Paul Dickson said they are fine tuning the boys and girls with trainings and team preparations before they kick off the proper season in a week’s time. “Last year we played three games in Port Moresby and the boys are familiar with the competition and how it goes, so this year we should be good to go with the season,” said the coach. Coach Dickson also clarified that the club for now will be hosting matches in the Hula village and which clubs that will be on the draw to challenge them, will travel to Hula to play against the Swans in the various divisions. The Swans is one of two newest clubs joining the city competition this year. The other club is Port Power which is currently playing in the pre-season games. Meanwhile, the Swans will go all out by putting in two men’s teams, one for the A grade and the other for the Reserve grade, and a women’s team as well for the female division.

The reopening of the Panguna Mine has become inevitable following an agreement between the landowners and the Autonomous Bougainville Government to reopen the multi-billion kina defunct mine. Following the meeting of the ABG and the Panguna Mine Landowner Clan Chiefs held at Tunuru Catholic Mission, Kieta District on Wednesday 04 May 2O22 and the signing of the Post Summit Resolution between the ABG and the landowners both parties have agreed to reopen the mine. The ABG and the Panguna landowners have also agreed that the government with the landowners will jointly establish a completely new local Bougainville entity to develop the mine, and not an existing entity that has had history with the Panguna Mine. The completely new local Bougainville entity once established, will be jointly owned by the Panguna Mine Landowners and ABG on behalf of the people of Bougainville. The five major clans; Mantaá, Basikang, Barapang, Bakoringku and Kurabang and their 22 sub clans have unanimously agreed to the undertaking in partnership with the Autonomous Bougainville Government. Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama who signed on behalf of the Autonomous Bougainville Government has congratulated the landowners on their courage to finally put aside their differences and work with the government. ‘’The Panguna Mine was the economic guarantee for Papua New Guinea’s independence in 1975, in the same manner the Panguna Mine will be the economic guarantor for Bougainville’s Independence,’’ declared President Toroama. ‘’In 1988 when the Bougainville Revolutionary Army High Command decided to shut down the Panguna Mine, the Late Francis Ona incentivized the mine as the key to Bougainville’s independence,’’ President Toroama revealed. ‘’Today as we stand on the threshold of creating a new future for Bougainville where we are finally on the path to independence I stand here to thank the landowners of Panguna in making a strong decision on the fate of the mine,’’ President Toroama said. President Toroama assured the landowners that the Autonomous Bougainville Government will work in partnership with the landowners in creating the locally owned entity to redevelop the mine. He said the government will not compromise the rights of the landowners but will work towards ensuring a benefit sharing agreement that benefits all of Bougainville.

The Board of Pacific Re Limited (Pac Re) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Victoria Clifford as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. From North Sydney, Australia, Victoria brings more than 20 years of industry experience into the business. She has worked for a number of insurance and reinsurance companies, and underwriting agencies across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands during this period. Victoria is a Fellow of both the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) and the Financial Services Institute of Australia (FINSIA). She has a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics; a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance & Investment from FINSIA, and an Executive Certificate in Insurance from ANZIIF. Victoria’s passion for agriculture and her work in the technical and specialised agricultural segment of the various markets has allowed her develop a strong market and leadership profile among various insurers, brokers and reinsurers. Her industry experience includes working with two (2) of Australia’s leading reinsurers spanning Australia, New Zealand and, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Given her track record and experience, the Board is confident that Victoria will provide the much-needed leadership to drive growth strategies and product development initiatives. With the appointment of the CEO, the installation of the full Board and the strong financial support from Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited (MVIL), Pac Re is well positioned to realize its full potential in the reinsurance. We welcome Victoria to Papua New Guinea and to Pacific Re Limited.  

Amini Park will be alive with the first Trukai VPL for 2022 kicking off. The six franchise teams, Fairprice Furniture Mambas, Panamex PNG, Gamoga Lawyers Spirit of Rigo, Northern Alexanders, Koita Warriors, Zara Wanderer’s will start playing from 9am, each hoping to win the Trukai VPL 2022 Cup and first prize of PGK 20,000. The first T10 match will be Panamex PNG taking on Zara Wanderer’s at 9am. Over the day, all teams will play in their pools, hoping to take top position for the finals the following Sunday. The top placed team from each pool will automatically advance to the Semi-finals, while the lower teams will face immediate elimination in a Knockout Quarter-final. Entry for fans will be free and for those that can’t make it in person you will be able to follow the live scoring through CricHQ https://www.crichq.com/competitions/14568/draws/55924/rounds/pool/1 and livestreaming through our match centre powered by Interact Sport https://www.cricketpng.org.pg/ The teams were set a month ago with each franchise competing for players, and now is the time to see how they perform on the big stage. Each game in the Trukai VPL matters, with no one wanting to finish the tournament early, going home without any prizemoney. We want to also acknowledge all mothers on Sunday, and we hope to see many mothers come to Amini Park to celebrate Mother’s Day with us at the Trukai VPL. Our very own Kumul Petroleum PNG Lewa, Ravini Oa, will be having a particularly special Mother’s Day as she lines up with the Fairprice Furniture Mambas as the only women playing in the Trukai VPL. Ravini is a star for the Lewas, and she is breaking barriers playing in the Trukai VPL. Cricket is the sport for everyone, and we welcome everyone to be part of the Trukai VPL this Sunday.

Kwikila Secondary School, a pioneer high school in the Central Province, established in 1959, have rarely seen much infrastructural development in the schools 62 years of existence, becoming a boarding school in 1960 and gaining secondary school status later on. After six decades of operation serving students in the province with rundown infrastructure, Central Governor Robert Agarobe came to the aid of the school pumping in a whooping K2.5 million under the provincial governments phase one 'restoration of schools program.' The first new infrastructure from the program are two staff houses that were completed and launched this week in the school. “You can see around that these buildings are 60's classrooms, 60's dormitories, 60's toilets even teachers houses,” said the Kwikila Secondary Board of Governors Chairman, Mr Kore Burana during the official opening of the two staff houses for the school. “62 years on, we are changing the classrooms, dormitories and other infrastructure facilities in this school.” The two staff houses built were part of the 6 staff houses that were to be constructed for the school under the restoration program. Two houses are completed, two are in still under construction and 2 more to be built. Mr Burana added that Kwikila Secondary school is currently a level 9 school and they are working towards getting the school upgraded to a level 10 school. “We need at least 42 teachers houses, 10 dormitories for girls and 12 dormitories for boys and then we’ll qualify to their standards.” Meanwhile, Governor for Central Province, Mr Robert Agarobe said that he has 4 phases for Kwikila Secondary and Kupiano Secondary school. “I have given K2.5 million to Kupiano Secondary and another K2.5 million to Kwikila Secondary.” Phase 1 includes staff housing, double dormitories for the girls and boys and 4 in 1 classrooms and phase 2 includes specialized classrooms such as science labs, practical skills workshop and home economics classrooms. The total money given to both schools is for both phase one and phase two of the restoration for the schools.