The United Nations Development Programme continues procurement of new ambulances in support of efforts to address ongoing pressures of the latest COVID-19 surge on Papua New Guinea’s rural health system. As the number of infected people continues to soar, emergency response services in rural regions are in need of effective ambulance services. On presenting a new ambulance today to the Government of Papua New Guinea for designation to Finschhafen District in Morobe Province, the UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Dirk Wagener explained that the ambulance will “help to address some of the pressure, but we must lift vaccination rates and raise community awareness as an absolute priority,” Mr Wagener said. He thanked the Government of India for its generous support. The Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS, Hon. Jelta Wong, Indian High Commissioner Shri Inbasekar, and the Member for Finschhafen, Hon. Rainbo Paita were present during the handover at the United Nations Development Programme Office, in Port Moresby. “This ongoing support from UNDP and partners will provide valuable strengthening to Papua New Guinea’s provincial COVID response,” said Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS, Hon. Jelta Wong. UNDP procured 10 new ambulances with the generous assistance of the Government of India through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. The first two ambulances were handed over in 2021 and assigned to St. John’s Ambulance Services to boost capacities to cope with recent surges. Additional new ambulances are expected to arrive in Papua New Guinea in 2022 to be handed over to the Department of Health for assignment throughout the country. The United Nations Development Programme has played a critical and wide-ranging role in supporting Papua New Guinea’s national COVID-19 response efforts. UNDP has supported the Government with critical humanitarian and pandemic coordination services through the country’s National Coordination Centre, the procurement of 30 ventilators, and in delivering Papua New Guinea’s first national socio-economic impact assessment on the impacts of the COVID pandemic in addition to the procurement of ambulances and other response services.

On the eve of the 2022 National Elections and in light of reports of administrative delays, the impartiality and integrity required by PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) officials in the provinces to uphold the constitutional guarantee of free, fair and safe elections has never been more crucial. This was the message shared with provincial election managers at a one-day workshop in Port Moresby hosted by Transparency International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG) in partnership with the PNGEC. With only two months before the start of the elections, and delays on key electoral processes, TIPNG is working with partners to bolster mechanisms of electoral conduct including the integrity of decision making by constitutional office holders. “When the Constitution speaks of Rights and Responsibilities we all must take note, these are not mere words, the Constitution makes and invokes guarantee. It is easier to understand when we say that the Constitution is a contract between the State and her People. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea promises and contracts to its people, to deliver free and fair elections. It promises one vote per person it implies that each citizen must cast their votes in confidence and not to be forced or placed under duress,” said Mr. Richard Kassman, TIPNG Director, in his address to workshop  participants. “The Office of the Electoral Commissioner is a constitutional office and it cannot be and should not be directed by other departmental heads. The Electoral Commissioner delegates that responsibility to Provincial Election Managers as constitutional officers. In the conduct of the National Elections, PNGEC Provincial Managers can work with the Provincial Administrators and Provincial Police Commanders to deliver the elections, but they do not take direction from those offices. PNGEC Provincial Election Managers make the decisions when it comes to elections,” said Mr. Kassman. The workshop was attended by Electoral Managers from Morobe, East New Britain, New Ireland, Milne Bay, Central, NCD, Eastern Highlands and Jiwaka. The workshop was opened by Mr. Simon Sinai, PNG Electoral Commissioner, and had presentations by Janet Haue, National Capital District Commission and Mr. Gideon Ikumu, NCD Metropolitan Superintendent who spoke on Provincial Elections Steering Committees and the role of Elections Security Personnel respectively. The workshop under TIPNG’s Building Elections Integrity through Partnership (BEIP) Project was to ensure greater accountability during elections and enforcement of election laws and processes. The sessions included activities on ethical dilemmas and electoral corruption risk assessment. Through the BEIP project, TIPNG is working with partners like the PNGEC to strengthen elections integrity.  

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Opposition leader Chris Luxon have launched stinging attacks on their opponents in their opening speeches to Parliament this year. Ardern today delivered her Prime Minister's statement marking the first session of Parliament in 2022, warning as New Zealand enters its third "challenging" year of the Covid-19 pandemic that Omicron was unlikely to be the end. She also targeted the opposition's approach to Covid-19, housing, and infrastructure in her opening speech to Parliament this year. She said the expert advice was that Omicron would not be the last variant, and New Zealand could expect new and different variants in the future. "It's advice ... that sadly the opposition, I notice, have chosen to ignore. They declared the first of December 'freedom day', the day that the borders should open, even when the World Health Organisation had declared Omicron a variant of concern and the booster campaign had only just begun. "They claim they are ready to manage the pandemic because they had declared it over. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now ... it is not over but that does not mean that we cannot move forward." Ardern outlined the measures taken to try to avoid the worst of the outbreak, including the booster rollout. As schools returned for the new year, she said given the harm closures caused to student learning and wellbeing, the government would only close them down as a last resort in response to significant outbreaks. She said other challenges would also require the kind of planning that had gone into the government's Covid-19 response, including the re-emergence of infuenza; the need for healthier and drier homes; to keep children in school; and to build more public housing. "Kainga Ora and community housing providers will deliver over 2000 additional public housing places - that's adding to the 8700 delivered since November 2017, and while I note some members on the front bench of the opposition may laugh, these are numbers that far outstrip anything that government ever managed to build ... where their focus was on selling down public housing stock rather than building the homes that we need." Health was also in desperate need of reform, she said. "It's not right that the care that you get in this country can vary so much depending on where you live." She said the Māori health Authority was "absolutely key" to fighting inequality in the health system, with Māori dying on average seven years earlier. It was not about separatism, she said, "this is about reaching the equality we currently do not have in this country". Work to remove barriers for disabled people and expand the Enabling Good Lives model of disability services was far overdue, she said. Mental health and addiction services in general practice would be accessible to more than 2.7 million New Zealanders this year, she said, "a step-change in how New Zealanders access mental health services". She highlighted the impacts of mental health concerns for small business groups and the rural sector, particularly in the face of Covid-19, and committed to engaging with those sectors this year. New Zealand's Covid-19 recovery must not be a return to business as normal, she said. "We are better than that, in fact we were elected to address the challenges that have held too many back for too long. That's why our economic plan is to provide a high-wage, low-carbon economy." She pointed to free trade negotiations with the EU and her planned delegations to Asia and America, but said the crucial plank in the government's plan was infrastructure. "Historical underinvestment in infrastruce has been a handbrake on our economy, it's why we're planning for the next 30 years instead of electoral cycles." That also included a promise to "fix the issue of persistent under investment in our water services", signalling the government's intention to press ahead with its three waters reforms. Tackling climate change would also be a core part of the strategy, she said. "Other countries are moving to compete for and seize these opportunities and New Zealand cannot afford to be left behind. Not economically and not morally either." "The opposition claim they share our climate ambition. Why then have they opposed almost every initiative that would bring our emissions profile down? Climate change is a challenge we cannot postpone, just like child poverty, just like housing, just like mental health." Ardern today said the peak of New Zealand's Omicron outbreak might be in late March. Luxon responds National Party leader Christopher Luxon moved that the House that all the words of Ardern's speech be deleted and replaced with "this house has no confidence in this government that returns to Wellington at the start of each year with more promises it has no intention of keeping and fails to deliver". He said the National Party "is ready", and Kiwis were tired of a government failing to get things done. "A government that has turned out to be what? All spin and no delivery. This government has never met a problem it didn't think it could solve with just a little bit more government, a little bit more Wellington, a little bit more centralisation, a comms plan, more bureaucracy, and less input from affected communities." He said the government was out of steam and in less than two years would be voted out of office. "This government confuses words with action and they are two very very different concepts, and now here we are with an overheated economy ... and it's squeezing everyday New Zealanders." New Zealand was suffering from a "productivity disease" and the government's spending was leading to a "cost of living crisis", pointing to the price of a block of cheese and unsustainable rents. He said the government had promised to solve the housing crisis but made it much worse. "This from a prime minister who promised to build 100,000 Kiwibuild houses in 10 years, but here we are, we're four years in and how many more do we have to go? Another 98,000 houses." He said one of Ardern's first promises was a tram from the airport to Mt Roskill, and all that had been delivered was a new price tag of $15bn. "I reckon for all of that the government could actually go out and buy each of the team of five million people a brand new state of the art swish e-bike, and they'd still have billions of dollars left to invest." He said the spiralling debt of the country had to be repaid, which would mean inability to invest in better public services and Labour increasing taxes. "Labour broke that election promise of no new taxes in pretty quick time. What we saw was a ramming through of a stealth capital gains tax, that was quickly followed by the infamous ute tax, and if that wasn't enough Grant Robertson has now cooked up another brand new tax - this time he wants to slap it on every single worker and every single business in New Zealand." He also lambasted the three water reforms, saying Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta would soon be out of a job. "She made up her decision on day one, she locked in on a model, she's gone through a sham consultation process with local government and despite saying it would be voluntary lo and behold it's now been compulsorily aquiring the assets. "Grant Robertson is worried, right, he's been studying those polls over summer ... he's gonna come in and he's gonna squash these reforms too. You mark my words." SOURCE: RNZ NEWS

The first shipment of the Novavax COVID vaccine arrived in Australia last night ahead of the rollout later this month. The shipment, containing about 3 million doses, landed in Sydney airport from Singapore. Another 48 million more are expected to arrive over the coming weeks to make up Australia's full order of 51 million doses. Novavax is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine approved for administration in Australia. Who is eligible to get Novavax? The Theraputic Goods Association (TGA) has cleared Novavax for anyone over the age of 18. It is available to be used as a first and second dose, but at this stage it is not possible to book in for a booster. MRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna, and viral vector vaccines such as AstraZeneca, have been shown to be safe and effective at protecting people against COVID-19. However, TGA head John Skerritt acknowledged a very small section of the community had been hesitant about those vaccines in particular, and expressed a preference for the Novavax formula. The government says part of the reason it has made Novavax available is to offer more choice to those who cannot or do not wish to get existing coronavirus vaccines. "For some who may have had contraindications or reactions with regards to other vaccines, this will provide an additional opportunity for them, as well as those who for whatever reason have not taken up the program so far," Mr Hunt said. "But I do want to encourage everyone, unless there's a contraindication, please continue to come forward and take the existing vaccines." When can I make an appointment? The vaccine will be supplied to GPs, pharmacies and state hubs across the country, and will be available from February 21. However federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says they first have to undergo batch testing by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. "Subject to successful batch testing, the Novavax vaccine will be available to be administered," he said. The TGA has approved Novavax for use in a two-dose course, with the two jabs being administered 21 days apart. [caption id="attachment_18918" align="aligncenter" width="660"] The government plans to distribute Novavax by late February.(AP: Alastair Grant)[/caption] How does Novavax work? The Novavax vaccine works in a different way to other vaccines that protect against infection or severe symptoms of COVID-19. The more common mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna contain a genetic instruction telling your body how to make a spike protein like that on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so that your immune system learns to recognise and fight it. Novavax, on the other hand, delivers the spike protein itself into your body, and your immune system then learns to fight the virus in the same way. Two separate worldwide trials found Novavax had a 90 per cent efficacy rate at preventing symptomatic infection with no major signals of adverse events. But those trials were conducted before the emergence of the Omicron variant. The company says it is conducting further studies on the efficacy of the vaccine against newer variants. What side-effects can I expect? One phase three trial on Novavax found its most commonly reported side effects were headaches, muscle pain and fatigue. In the study, side effects were more commonly reported after the second dose of the vaccine. SOURCE: ABC NEWS

What a great way to start off the 2022 Academic Year for the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Natural and Physical Sciences, particularly, the Earth Sciences Division, to have the Chief Executive Officer and Director of K92 Mining Ltd, Mr. John Lewins, present the K92 Tertiary Scholarship in Geology on Thursday, 03 February, at the UPNG’s Waigani campus. The 2022 Recipient of the K92 Tertiary Scholarship in Geology, Ephraem Nick, who is a final year Earth Science student, was awarded the Trotsky Benjamin Medal, by Mr. Trotsky Benjamin, Superintendent Mine Geology, a senior staff and the longest standing member of K92 Mining Ltd. The presentation was witnessed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frank Griffin, the Executive Dean of the School of Natural and Physical Sciences, Prof. Simon Saulei, the Divisional Head of the Earth Sciences Division, Associate Prof. Joseph Espi, representatives from the Mineral Resources Authority and the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, and staff members and students. The Vice-Chancellor, in his remarks, explained that the Earth Sciences Division carries out hands-on programs to expose students to a wide range of environments from which they can learn practical skills of Geology in Earth Science, in the country, and by extension in the world as well. He added that the University as part of its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, is promoting the implementation of partnerships and engagements. This Scholarship is a great start for the School of Natural and Physical Sciences, on which the University can build. Prof. Griffin thanked K92 Mining Ltd for seeing the value in the awardee’s achievements. He added that scholarships like this are not just sponsorships, but recognition of the students’ ability to be able to deliver, and also the value in the program that is provided at the Earth Sciences Division of the School of Natural and Physical Sciences. Executive Dean, Prof. Saulei described the presentation as a rare occasion for the School and the Division to have sponsors from external organisations, and expressed his gratitude to K92 Mining Ltd for the initiative. He hopes that the scholarship presentation is one of many to come in the future. The CEO and Director of K92 Mining Ltd, Mr. Lewins elaborated on the company’s focus which includes education, that they are happy to extend the scholarship initiative, and have plans to continue in the years to come. Divisional Head, Associate Prof. Espi, in his remarks said that this particular award is the foundation on which the Earth Sciences Division will work together with K92 Mining Ltd and the graduates to make sure they meet whatever standards are required of them in the industry, so that what is being taught here in the University is comparable to what they practise in the industry, and the world. This scholarship will set a benchmark for students to work hard and give them motivation to be a valuable member of the industry. Prof. Espi thanked the K92 Mining Management Team for their initiative and extended his thanks to the stakeholders, staff members, and students for their contribution to the industry.

Australia has announced that its international borders will reopen for all travellers including Papua New Guineans from 21st February. Likewise, Philippines has announced that its international borders will reopen for all travellers including Papua New Guineans from 10th February For both Australia and Philippines, travellers must be fully vaccinated but do not have to quarantine on arrival. Normal visa requirements still apply. Travel on direct services from Papua New Guinea to Cairns on is still banned by the Queensland Government, presently until 26th March. Passengers flying into Australia must complete a negative rapid test within 24 hours of scheduled departure. This can either be conducted at the airport, or the passenger can bring a compliant certificate with them issued by a Doctor. A negative PCR test within 3 days of departure is also acceptable. All passengers flying to Manila must either complete a negative PCR test at the airport, or the passenger can bring a negative and compliant PCR test certificate with them. For Philippines the RT-PCR test needs to be completed within 48 hours of departure. Vaccination Certificates valid for international travel includes (amongst others) the PNG International Certificate of Covid Vaccination (ICCV) , the WHO yellow card, the Australian Covid-19 Digital Vaccination Certificate, as well as compliant certificates issued by other countries. The PNG International Certificate of Covid Vaccination is available from PNG National Department of Health (NDoH) upon production of a copy of your green vaccination card and passport either to email: intvaccinecertificate@gmail.com or by visiting the NDoH office- Level 3 Aopi Centre in Waigani. The Green Card PNG Vaccination Certificate is not valid for international travel, as it does not include either the persons Date of Birth or their Passport Number. Passengers without any valid certificate of vaccination valid for travel cannot be checked in. Passengers travelling to Australia are required to complete a new “document” being the Australian Travel Declaration/ATD including as part of this an attestation (confirmation) that the passenger is fully vaccinated and the certificate is valid. The ATD is a mobile phone App and available for download at the Apple iPhone Store for iPhone, and Google Store for Android phones. Initial one off entry of set-up information takes about 15 minutes, so it is recommended this is downloaded and updated prior to coming to the airport. Manual paper forms will be available at check-in if required.

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape yesterday commended and thanked the leadership of China for allowing for a very positive engagement to expand their country’s ongoing interest in Papua New Guinea’s oil and gas sector, particularly in two of our biggest gas projects coming up – Papua LNG and P’nyang. The Prime Minister said this in relation to the negotiations between his team and China’s giant petroleum company, Sinopec, held on Saturday 5 February 2022 in Beijing. PM Marape also thanked and commended his Minister for Petroleum and Energy Hon. Kerenga Kua and Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd Managing-Director Wapu Sonk who led the negotiations on his behalf with the senior vice president of Sinopec on Saturday 5 February 2022. The meeting discussed Papua New Guinea’s petroleum sector and Sinopec’s involvement in the upstream and downstream opportunities in PNG, including the company’s interest to buy LNG from Papua LNG and P’yang Gas. “I express our deep gratitude to both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang for asking Sinopec to meet with our Petroleum Minister and MD Sonk. The meeting has turned out very well with Sinopec indicating it would look at buying more gas from Papua LNG, P’nyang and others we may have in the pipeline,” said Prime Minister Marape in Port Moresby yesterday. “Our intent for the trip to China was to promote our government’s move into downstream processing, a message that was received well and supported in full by Premier Li during my own virtual meeting with him, leading to him committing his government’s full assurance." “It was very unfortunate that the scheduled meeting on Friday with President Xi had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the meeting the next day with Premier Li went well, for which I am grateful." “I am pleased with the outcome as we look forward to having our own leading petroleum company, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd, partner with Sinopec to progress the discussions into practical solutions for both our countries,” said the Prime Minister. Sinopec is a foundation LNG buyer of PNG LNG on long-term contract of up to 20 years and with this re-engagement with PNG, will be extending its interest in PNG oil and gas. Sinopec is acronym for China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation. The company is the biggest supplier of oil and petrochemical products in China and one of the biggest in the world, and is listed as a state-owned enterprise.

Foreign Exchange (FX) liquidity and the Kina performed well in the final quarter of 2021, with strong commodity prices supporting the FX market turnover’s rise by 9.8 percent over the past six (6) months. According to BSP Financial Group Limited’s Pacific Economic and Market Insight Q4 report for 2021, strong commodity prices in Crude Oil, Copper, Palm Oil and Coffee have supported an increase in FX market turnover. Loose Monetary Policy in the US drove a continued uplift in the US Dollars, and by extension the PNG Kina /Australian Dollars, through most of the quarter. Inflation, COVID-19, and Monetary Policy are the major trend drivers. BSP Financial Group General Manager Treasury – Rohan George in highlighting the market performance said firmer commodity prices, combined with increased project specific, donor foreign currency inflows and end of year dividend payments, offset the lost FX market inflows from the closure of the Porgera Gold Mine - an FX inflow that was down by 75% for Barrick. April 2022 remains the targeted date for the Porgera Mine re-opening. “The Kina has been stable and unchanged against the USD at 0.2850 for the past 14 months; however the pullback in the AUD/USD, amid COVID-19 related weakness in the Australian economy, strength in the U.S. economy helped strengthen the Kina/AUD. The Kina is likely to remain stable against the USD, while a steady AUD will see improved stability in the Kina/AUD cross rate,” Mr. George said. In terms of outlook for the coming quarter, the BSP Treasurer said the very strong FX inflows in December 2021 are expected to taper in the March Quarter of 2022. December FX inflows have substantially reduced outstanding FX orders from high levels seen in November, and this is expected to reverse in January, February with post-Christmas restocking. “With market turnover dropping, and outstanding FX orders expected to rise in the first quarter of the year, Corporate and Retail customers can manage the volatility in foreign currency inflows by placing FX orders (with correct documentation), as soon as possible and ensure orders are cash backed whilst awaiting execution, tax clearance certificates are current and reflect the expected FX order execution time,” Mr. George added. Meanwhile Papua New Guinea’s commodity recovery remains steady as prices for major agricultural exports – Palm Oil and Coffee trended upwards in the last quarter of 2021, on both supply constraints and firm demand. Gold and precious metals were trending downwards, constrained by a strong USD, rising interest rates and reduced gold purchases. Copper prices have notably cooled from November peaks, as central banks around the world begin to reign in pandemic-era stimulus programs. Arabica Coffee prices continue to trend upwards, due to reduced coffee production from leading producer Brazil and rising global coffee demand while LNG continues its bull run as demand surged in Q4, due to the energy crisis in Europe and post COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.

The Australian curling team will compete in Beijing on Sunday afternoon after being given a "late reprieve" in the wake of Tahli Gill's positive COVID-19 test. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced earlier on Sunday Gill and Dean Hewitt would forfeit their remaining matches and fly out of China. But it released an update on Sunday afternoon, announcing Gill and Hewitt would be allowed to contest their match against Switzerland. "Australia's curling team in the mixed doubles has been given a late reprieve and will compete this afternoon following an urgent meeting of the Medical Expert Panel (MEP) in Beijing," an AOC media statement read. "Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt will compete in this afternoon's match against Switzerland. "The Australian Olympic Committee has just received an email from the Chinese Public Health System advising that the pair can continue under the Close Contact provisions. "The MEP examined Tahli Gill's CT values following PCR testing over the past 24 hours and determined that they fell into an acceptable range." Australia's chef de mission Geoff Lipshut said Gill and Hewitt were excited to be given the opportunity to continue competing. "We are thrilled for Tahli and Dean and I am delighted that our headquarters team continued pressing her case, after earlier advice that the pair could no longer compete," he said. Prior to the development on Sunday afternoon, the AOC announced the Olympic debutants had opted to forfeit and fly out of China rather than have Gill go into an isolation hotel. The 23-year-old originally contracted COVID-19 in Canada in December. Her tests had wavered between positive and negative during her time in Beijing and she had been managed as a "close contact", which meant restricted movements and twice-daily testing. The AOC said at the time the results of Gill's most recent test meant Olympic officials would not allow her to play in the final two round-robin ties with Switzerland and Canada. SOURCE: ABC NEWS

On the eve of the 2022 National Elections and in light of reports of administrative delays, the impartiality and integrity required by PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) officials in the provinces to uphold the constitutional guarantee of free, fair and safe elections has never been more crucial. This was the message shared with provincial election managers at a one-day workshop in Port Moresby hosted by Transparency International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG) in partnership with the PNGEC. With only two months before the start of the elections, and delays on key electoral processes, TIPNG is working with partners to bolster mechanisms of electoral conduct including the integrity of decision making by constitutional office holders. “When the Constitution speaks of Rights and Responsibilities we all must take note, these are not mere words, the Constitution makes and invokes guarantee. It is easier to understand when we say that the Constitution is a contract between the State and her People. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea promises and contracts to its people, to deliver free and fair elections. It promises one vote per person it implies that each citizen must cast their votes in confidence and not to be forced or placed under duress,” said Mr. Richard Kassman, TIPNG Director, in his address to workshop participants. “The Office of the Electoral Commissioner is a constitutional office and it cannot be and should not be directed by other departmental heads. The Electoral Commissioner delegates that responsibility to Provincial Election Managers as constitutional officers. In the conduct of the National Elections, PNGEC Provincial Managers can work with the Provincial Administrators and Provincial Police Commanders to deliver the elections, but they do not take direction from those offices. PNGEC Provincial Election Managers make the decisions when it comes to elections,” said Mr. Kassman. The workshop was attended by Electoral Managers from Morobe, East New Britain, New Ireland, Milne Bay, Central, NCD, Eastern Highlands and Jiwaka. The workshop was opened by Mr. Simon Sinai, PNG Electoral Commissioner, and had presentations by Janet Haue, National Capital District Commission and Mr. Gideon Ikumu, NCD Metropolitan Superintendent who spoke on Provincial Elections Steering Committees and the role of Elections Security Personnel respectively. The workshop under TIPNG’s Building Elections Integrity through Partnership (BEIP) Project was to ensure greater accountability during elections and enforcement of election laws and processes. The sessions included activities on ethical dilemmas and electoral corruption risk assessment. Through the BEIP project, TIPNG is working with partners like the PNGEC to strengthen elections integrity.

Nineteen rangers who have recently completed the inaugural Ranger Capacity Development Project are ready to strengthen the Kokoda Track Authority’s (KTA) management of the iconic Kokoda Track. The rangers completed five months of basic training including Conservation and Ecosystems management skills to equip them to better manage the Track and its unique surrounds. The KTA Ranger Capacity Development Project (RCDP) is supported by the Australian Government through the Kokoda Initiative, part of the PNGAustralia Partnership. KTA Acting Chief Executive Officer Julius Wargirai congratulated the rangers at the ceremony and acknowledged their commitment through the intensive training program. “This is an important milestone. This is the first ever training provided to KTA rangers to conserve and maintain the Track, support the tourism and trekking industry, protect the natural environment, and maintain sites of military significance,” said Julius. “Through this ranger training program KTA, for the first time, has engaged four women as rangers on the Kokoda Track”, he added. “The Kokoda Track is one of Papua New Guinea’s most important tourism assets. The better trained our rangers are, the better and safer the Kokoda Track will be for both international and domestic trekkers to visit,” added KTA CEO. A select number of graduates will progress to an advanced curriculum in 2022 to enable the KTA to take on more responsibilities to protect the environment, tourism and heritage resources in partnership with Kokoda Initiative agencies including CEPA, the NMAG and the TPA and Oro and Central Provincial Governments. This will see advanced graduates awarded with an internationally recognised Certificate in Conservation and Ecosystems Management. In attendance during the graduation were the Australian High Commissioner Jon Philp, Northern Province Governor, Hon. Gary Juffa MP, Minister for Tourism Arts and Culture, Hon. Isi Henry Leonard MP and other guests. High Commissioner Philp congratulated the rangers for completing the training program and acknowledged the resilience of the of men and women rangers. “The Kokoda Track is an important symbol of the enduring partnership between PNG and Australia, and an important driver of people-to-people links,” the High Commissioner said. “This ranger capacity training program will strengthen what the KTA is doing to ensure the track is safe and well managed for everyone. “Australia is very pleased to support the PNG Government and local communities in their management of the Kokoda Track and the surrounding region,” he added “The addition of more rangers, including women rangers, to the KTA team will make the Kokoda Track an even more attractive tourist destination when international travel can resume.”

Foreign Exchange (FX) liquidity and the Kina performed well in the final quarter of 2021, with strong commodity prices supporting the FX market turnover’s rise by 9.8 percent over the past six (6) months. According to BSP Financial Group Limited’s Pacific Economic and Market Insight Q4 report for 2021, strong commodity prices in Crude Oil, Copper, Palm Oil and Coffee have supported an increase in FX market turnover. Loose Monetary Policy in the US drove a continued uplift in the US Dollars, and by extension the PNG Kina /Australian Dollars, through most of the quarter. Inflation, COVID-19, and Monetary Policy are the major trend drivers. BSP Financial Group General Manager Treasury – Rohan George in highlighting the market performance said firmer commodity prices, combined with increased project specific, donor foreign currency inflows and end of year dividend payments, offset the lost FX market inflows from the closure of the Porgera Gold Mine - an FX inflow that was down by 75% for Barrick. April 2022 remains the targeted date for the Porgera Mine re-opening. “The Kina has been stable and unchanged against the USD at 0.2850 for the past 14 months; however the pullback in the AUD/USD, amid COVID-19 related weakness in the Australian economy, strength in the U.S. economy helped strengthen the Kina/AUD. The Kina is likely to remain stable against the USD, while a steady AUD will see improved stability in the Kina/AUD cross rate,” Mr. George said. In terms of outlook for the coming quarter, the BSP Treasurer said the very strong FX inflows in December 2021 are expected to taper in the March Quarter of 2022. December FX inflows have substantially reduced outstanding FX orders from high levels seen in November, and this is expected to reverse in January, February with post-Christmas restocking. “With market turnover dropping, and outstanding FX orders expected to rise in the first quarter of the year, Corporate and Retail customers can manage the volatility in foreign currency inflows by placing FX orders (with correct documentation), as soon as possible and ensure orders are cash backed whilst awaiting execution, tax clearance certificates are current and reflect the expected FX order execution time,” Mr. George added. Meanwhile Papua New Guinea’s commodity recovery remains steady as prices for major agricultural exports – Palm Oil and Coffee trended upwards in the last quarter of 2021, on both supply constraints and firm demand. Gold and precious metals were trending downwards, constrained by a strong USD, rising interest rates and reduced gold purchases. Copper prices have notably cooled from November peaks, as central banks around the world begin to reign in pandemic-era stimulus programs. Arabica Coffee prices continue to trend upwards, due to reduced coffee production from leading producer Brazil and rising global coffee demand while LNG continues its bull run as demand surged in Q4, due to the energy crisis in Europe and post COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.