The Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project in Madang was given a K100 million allocation in the 2022 national budget that was tabled today in parliament. Minister for National Planning and Monitoring Rainbo Paita said PMIZ is one of the long awaited projects that has been stalled over the years due to funding constraints and therefore was captured in the budget. “The project looks at generating over 40, 000 jobs for ordinary Papua New Guineans as well as several billions of kina for the national coffers,” Mr Paita said. Fisheries Minister Dr Lino Tom said in parliament last week that the project will kick off next year when funding is made available. The Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) project in Madang was launched in November 2015 and also captured in the recent Fisheries Strategic Plan 2021-2030 where the special economic zone for fisheries will provide necessary infrastructure for downstream processing of fish products.

THE high increase in the number of people going for vaccination in October has dropped drastically this month. This seems to be linked to the drop in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported this month as compared to the month of October. As of today, 25th November, 2021, a total of 272, 141 have received at least one dose of a  COVID-19 vaccine which is 14.6 per cent of the target population of 1, 869, 279 for 2021. Those fully vaccinated stand at 201, 318 which is 10.8 per cent of the target population for 2021. The three vaccines being administered in PNG are AstraZeneca Oxford, Johnson and Johnson and Sinopharm. So far, a total of 359, 659 doses of the three vaccines have been administered of which 227, 858 (63.4%) were for Astrazeneca, 113, 800 (31.6%) were for Johnson and Johnson and 18, 001 (5%) were for Sinopharm. Deputy Controller of the National Pandemic Response Dr Daoni Esorom has expressed his concern over the behavior of the people towards COVID-19. He said this virus will not go away on its own; people  have to do their part and the most effective weapon against it is the vaccine, including adhering to the Niupela Pasin strategies and interventions. “A lot of people came to get vaccinated when they saw the cases increasing and people dying, but when the numbers went down, the number of people coming for vaccination also dropped,’’ said Dr Daoni. “This really reflects the general behavior of our people in all health matters. They do  not take preventive measures until something happens to them and they react. This is why we had lost so many people in this wave, driven mainly by delta variant. Had people listened and got vaccinated earlier, they would have developed some immunity with the help of the vaccine long before the delta variant arrived.’’ He added: “You can’t get vaccinated today and expect to be protected against the virus in the next few days as some had done and unfortunately did not make it when they got the virus. It takes time for the vaccine to work so people have to be smart and get vaccinated now when they’re well and healthy.’’ Despite the number of surges going down,  the number of new cases being reported per day are still high. As of the 24th November, 2021, there were 102 new cases reported raising the country’s confirmed cases to 34, 707. There were also 13 new deaths which raised the confirmed known deaths to 542.

The Minister Health & HIV and Member for Gazelle, Hon. Jelta Wong released a statement on the occasion of the NEC Approval of the Rabaul tuna Export processing zone and the Gazelle Agro-Special Economic Zone. Minister Wong stated that the Marape Government is looking at how best to add value to our natural resources to drive our economy forward. We must seriously choose strategies that are relevant to boosting growth of our economy. We must choose between Industrial Park, Special Economic Zones, Export Processing Zones or Free Trade Zones which have proven to work for other nations throughout the world. PNG has established Industrial Centers in urban settings which provide a starting point in developing business hubs. The roll out of economic Zones in various provinces has a lot of potential, however they are at various stages of development hence the need for better coordination and adapting the right policies that are fit for purpose. In East New Britain, we now have two(2) economic Zones recently endorsed and approved by the NEC. These projects are the Gazelle Agro- Special Economic Zone(SEZ) and the Rabaul Tuna & Coastal Fisheries Export Processing Zone(RTEPZ). I congratulate the Hon. Prime Minister, James Marape for his full support to both projects that will benefit East New Britain and the New Guinea Islands. The Gazelle – Agro Special Economic Zone and Rabaul-Tuna Export Processing Zone have been approved by the National Executive Council last week and I’m proud to announce these two impact project for the people of East New Britain Province and the New Guinea Islands. These projects will: • grow the economy of East New Britain Province and PNG, • apply tax free imports and exports • increase production onshore • maximize returns for ENBP and PNG • increase foreign exchange for PNG • increase employment and • increase SME and spin off business opportunities for landowners They are pilot projects and East New Britain Province is fortunate to trial Agro-Special Economic Zone in the Gazelle District and the Rabaul Tuna and Coastal Fisheries Export Processing Zone in Rabaul District. These projects will only succeed through strong leadership, maximum cooperation between districts and wards, maximum local participation, qualitative transparency, accountability, honesty and integrity and zero tolerance of corruption, mismanagement and nepotism. These projects will resurrect our weak copra and cocoa industry, lost to cocoa pod borer and negligence of coconut rehabilitation. It will catapult balsa to new heights, realign coffee through the existence of a coffee factory in the province and resurrect vanilla and other species and boost the local economy. This FTZ will convert local nuts like galip into an industry and who knows, the same can be done for the giant okari nuts. Inland fisheries may not be impossible for farmers. Livestock will be boosted for local consumption and export. Tourism will increase beyond today. Infrastructure development will include roads, bridges, wharfs, airports and many more. The education will improve through better education infrastructure, material supply and teacher training. International developers will partner with clans to develop their land. Rabaul and Kerevat Town will receive much needed development. By piloting Gazelle -Agro Special Economic Zone and Rabaul – Tuna Export Processing Zone PNG will set foundation and adoption of a PNG Free Trade Zone Development Policy and Strategic Plan using local expertise whose broad experience will be combined to develop them. These projects would not have eventuated without the commitment of: 1. Honorable Member for Rabaul, Dr. Allan Marat 2. Gazelle District Development Authority 3. Rabaul District Development Authority 4. Mr. Sam Manikot for his perseverance and dedication to Rabaul Tuna Processing Zone since 2018 5. United Church Regional Office and our Private Investors 6. The Group CEO of ENBDC and Executive Chairman for their advice and direction in realigning the two impact project for the province. As Minister for Gazelle Open, I thanks the Team that has enable these project to come this far. This is the beginning of a new direction for East New Britain Province and the New Guinea Islands Region. I thank God for His inspiration and Direction enabling us to realize this project. May God bless East New Britain and our Nation of Papua New Guinea.

The Department of Treasury has initiated an internal investigation to identify the person or persons involved in leaking the National Executive Council Decision No. 329/2021. Secretary Vele said “Section 23A subsections (5) and (6) of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council Act 2002 makes it a serious disciplinary offence under the Public Services (Management) Act 1995 and the Public Service General Orders.” The Department of Information and Communications Technology has also been notified of the breach and will commence its own processes with social media providers to identify the source of the post. “This is unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour of any officer and Treasury will act swiftly and decisively. The elected Government must have the trust of the public service to act impartially for the good of the people and my officers must uphold this trust.” said Secretary Vele. “The design and management of the National Budget is the core responsibility of the Department of Treasury and any officer that seeks to undermine that responsibility will be dealt with.”

The altercation between Police officers and members of the Defence Force this week has left many questioning the integrity and discipline of the two forces and whether or not members of the disciplinary forces adhere to command from the top. Social media had a part to play in the events that unfolded over the weekend and boiled over on Monday between the two Forces. Members from both sides’ resorted to social media in their own way, either to instigate or incite violence, provocation, threatening and challenging authority which goes against everything the PNG Defence Force and the Royal PNG Constabulary stands for. During the joint press conference this week between Police and Defence, a question was put forward to both men – Police Commissioner David Manning and PNGDF Commander Major General Gilbert Toropo on what their respective organizations are doing to control how their members are using social media. Police Commissioner David Manning said social media has provided another set of unique challenges that they have to deal with and it’s also part of the modern challenges of being leaders. “The question of whether or not we are concerned about junior officers openly through social media challenging directives and the positions that the office of the Commissioner takes, is we are guided by our Police Force Act, we are also guided by our internal investigation processes and if I get frustrated by every nonsense posted on social media, I will be forced to deal with that on a day to day basis.” Commissioner Manning said one of the key areas of the Command and Control doctrine in the Force is self-discipline and it goes back to individual officers. “How you conduct yourself on and off duty pretty much keeps you relevant in your organization.” “We have not personally had a hand in every single member that has been brought on to our organization but we are stuck with them and we will deal with them.” Manning said he shares the same sentiment and concern with the public on how officers are behaving on social media, however the officers may not be aware of their own actions. Meanwhile PNGDF Commander Major General Gilbert Toropo mentioned similar challenges they are being faced with the service men and women on how they conduct themselves on social media. Toropo said PNGDF is currently working with the Department of Communication and Information to come up with a Social Media Policy that can act as guide to what the members should post and not post on social media.

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Papua New Guinea (ASFPNG) is not in favour of a recent NEC decision to introduce a banking levy as part of the Income Tax Act to collect K190 million per annum. This decision will affect Bank South Pacific Group (BSP), the largest bank in PNG and the Pacific, of whom, superannuation funds on behalf of ordinary workers and tax payers are major investors/shareholders. The imposition of this new banking levy will result in a decline in profitability, dividend payments to shareholders and a decline in BSP’s share price. This is a double blow for superannuation funds as annual crediting rates for members will be affected by lower revenues and portfolio balances. K190 million represents between 2 to 3% annual crediting rate for the major Funds. Superannuation funds have benefitted from strong dividend payments and capital gains due to the strong performance of BSP over the years. Ultimately members of the Superannuation Funds, are the losers. This is unfair. BSP provides a lot of community service obligations in PNG and operates branches in non-profit making areas throughout the country. Will we expect them to close down such branches to adjust to this draconian imposition. Will we expect new costs to be passed on to the bank’s customers and depositors to make up this new tax? Will depositors be discouraged to keep their savings in BSP? Will potential new customers be turned away? These are questions we would like answered as they directly impact BSP’s performance, and that of the Superfunds. There has been no consultation with us as an industry and we suspect with other key stakeholders within the broader community. We are cognizant of the Government’s endeavours to raise more revenue internally and will support initiatives that achieves this objective BUT not at the expense of our members, the ordinary workers of this country who are already doing it tough. Retirement savings with the Super Funds are the only real means of financial protection workers have. PNG does not provide a social security safety net for its citizens unlike Australia for instance. The Super funds fill this vacuum. Any government decision that lessens the prospect for growth and investment returns is not in the best interest of our members. We ask that Government withdraw this decision and allow time for wider consultation.

Athletes from around the country are arriving in Kimbe this week for the second part of the PNG Air Athletics Grand Prix series. The competition will serve as a useful lead up to the PNG Air National Championships which will also be held in Kimbe , from Dec 3 to 5. With local competition programmes having been affected by venue closures this year the Grand Prix has provided valuable competition opportunities for the national squad. The focus will be mostly on track events this weekend with the only field events being  a mens  long jump, mens and womens  high jump and mens javelin. The throws group being coached by Paul Bannister in Port Moresby are making up for lost training time this week and are focusing on the National Championships, as are a couple of PNG’s elite hurdles  athletes Adrine Monagi and Daniel Baul. The events will be hand timed this weekend, however electronic timing and photo finish system will be in operation at the National Championships Eleven members  of Nelson Stone’s Team Nest of 16 athletes will arrive in Kimbe today to compete in the Grand Prix events which are to be spread over three short sessions on  Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday morning. The middle and long distance athletes who have been training in Kerowagi and at Utmei Secondary are already in Kimbe along with Morobe athletes Edna Boafob and Isaac Kambuka. With many top sprinters overseas these competitions are an opportunity for the next crop of young sprinters to show what they can do, and these include  Paias Wisil and Jobbie Kinzu from NSI, local athlete Graham Bai, and Chabbie Solomon from NCD. A good mens long jump competition is expected with PNG Reps Eldan Toti and Karo Iga, 2017 PNG Games champion Rocka Manau and young talent Kenneth Harrison all in the field. Mary Tenge and Scholastica Herman are expected to feature strongly in the 3000m, with Aina Goir and Ongan Awa also aiming for a good showing. Whilst the Grand Prix events are principally for the National Squad athletes, local athletes from WNB will be invited to fill up available lanes in track events. Additional events will also be available for the local athletes to take part in on Saturday and Sunday. Athletics PNG President Tony Green thanked the West New Britain Provincial Administration for their support in allowing the events to proceed and for the logistical support provide through the Sports Division and venue management. He urged local teachers who missed out on the Technical officials training in September to take the opportunity to attend next weeks Oceania Athletics Training Course for Officials which will be delivered by Philip Kamane and Lazarus Bureng. APNG will also be delivering an OBAS Coaching Course from 7 to 10 December in Kimbe.

Prime Minister James Marape has assured the nation that Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey will deliver the nation’s 2022 Budget today amidst delays and many political speculations. “I want to assure Papua New Guinea that your Government is at work, despite many challenges and obstacles, and we will deliver our third Budget today,” he said. “The handing down of the Budget is the single most-important parliamentary occasion of any government. “With hangovers and effects of slowed economy due to COVID-19, your Government has used the last three years of National Budget to ensure our domestic economy was functional and alive, and our crucial services were maintained.” “I want to assure our people and all stakeholders in our economy that we are responsible and prudent to ensure expected outcomes of our budget are achieved.” PM Marape said Treasurer Ling-Stuckey would today “point that our path to economic recovery is correct, and with critical analysis by all multilateral Budget partners like ADB, IMF and World Bank, our positive trajectories show an increase in Gross Domestic Product for next year and beyond as well as a declining budget deficit trend”. “Over the last two-and-a-half years, we have invoked the use of our money plan to ensure schools, hospitals, COVID-19 programmes, road construction, SME funds, retiring old debts and contractual obligations, paying outstanding industrial awards, etc, were our deliberate interventions to keep our economy functioning despite tough times,” he said. “Our 2022 money plan will not have much surprises, except some key Government policy-based interventions that will be evident in both revenue and expenditure allocations, as Treasurer hands down the Budget tomorrow. “We are trying our best to ensure our Budget embraces our national outcomes including opening up all parts of our country, intervening in sustainable economy, starting up Porgera, Papua LNG, Wafi-Golpu for our economy, paying for our children’s education in 2022 and beyond, building new hospitals, ramping up support to Bougainville, clearing up projects like new Supreme Court Building and ensuring the 2022 General Election is fully funded without disturbance. “All the above we are doing whilst maintaining strict discipline in sticking to our money plan, with our development partners observing our discipline to reforms. “Key is our reforms is to borrow low-cost US dollar denominated borrowings like the Australian $400-million dollar zero per cent interest lending, or the Japanese Government US$280million 0.01 per cent five-year grace period lending, which all came directly into our economy by way of Budget support. “I just want to assure our people and our economic stake holders that we are going through tough times, but we will use the Budget policies wisely to share the load of burden and also ensure key infrastructure like the 1900 kilometres of road we built the last two years all over rural PNG is continued. “And today, for the first time also, our Treasurer will put out a plan to bring our nation to surplus Budget by 2027 and reduce our national debt completely by mid 2030s. “I am very optimistic because these tough times have taught us to be prudent and economically strong as we work forward into 2022 and beyond. “Don’t believe the naysayers, be optimistic where ever you all are, be like the 360 small SMEs who borrowed cheaply from Bank South Pacific that Government has partnered with for SME lending and help your country.”

What was supposed to be a peaceful protest is turning violent, with protestors attempting to storm Parliament, and reports of thick smoke coming from the Parliament compound. Protestors gathered at the foothill of Parliament earlier today demanding they be let in, when they were refused entry, they became agitated. Police tried to control the crowd, but the crowd grew when others arrived mid-morning from Malaita. The crowd pushed their way in, police and security officers manning the gates were outnumbered. Unconfirmed reports say tear gas was fired, in an attempt to disburse the crowd. Parliament is currently in session, and reports say riot squads are keeping protestors at bay. Two groups of protestors took to Parliament, one from the town council area up Vavaya ridge road, the other group from the foothills of Parliament from Point Cruz. Members of Parliament from Malaita in government have been urging Malaitans to refrain from illegal protest. They have also blamed the Opposition group of inciting violence, although this has been refuted by the Opposition office. SOURCE: SOLOMON TIMES

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says the Government has no “sinister motives” in holding back K66 million allocated by the Australian Government for maintenance of the rundown Bulolo Highway in Morobe. He said this in Parliament today when asked by Morobe Governor and Deputy Pangu Pati leader, Hon. Ginson Saonu, as to why work was being delayed. The Prime Minister assured Governor Saonu and the people of Morobe that the K66 million given by the Australian Government was intact. PM Marape said he had already explained, in reply to critics, that the Bulolo Highway was so badly damaged and would cost more than the K66 million, hence, his Government would add another K50 million to bring the total up to K116 million. The K50 million is from the K100 million allocated for Wafi-Golpu Infrastructure Development Grants (IDG), K10 million of which had already been given to Morobe Provincial Government and K3 million each to affected districts. PM Marape said he had already travelled the Bulolo Highway three times, the last being in September when he attended a Wafi-Golpu landowners’ meeting, and had seen for himself the extent of damage. “It will take more than K66 million to fix the damage,” he said. “The contract has already been awarded, however, I have written to the Australian High Commissioner and have also talked with the Works Minister about variations to the contract. “This is so that instead of just doing maintenance work, which will be washed away by the rain, we can do a permanent intervention for the better. The Prime Minister said K66 million may sound like a lot of money, however, it would only be used for maintenance work. He said it was his Government that pointed the Australian Government in the direction of Wau-Bulolo for project funding, which critics must know. “We pointed out areas for them (Australian Government) to invest in, one of which was Wau-Bulolo,” he said. “When I drove from Mumeng to Lae, I realised the massive extent of damage along this section of the road. “It’s a very-important economic road so Works Department, Works Ministry and Australian Government have been in discussions over the last few months to see if there can be a variation to the contract. “It will also assist us (Government) in investing substantially on this road, especially the section from Mumeng to the Markham River.”

Josefa Uluinaceva, or Jo, as he is fondly known, has contributed to the evolution of children's literature in the Pacific for many years, in addition to his day job as a Graphic Artist at The University of the South Pacific's Division of Marketing and Communications. Many of us who attended primary school in the Pacific in the 1990s recall reading books with Jo’s illustrations. Some of the books he illustrated include “Priya and Kaman’s Holiday” by Sendar Pillay; “Our New Car” by Taniela Qoroya; “Qalo” by Bessie Kingdon; “Going to the Beach” by Bessie Kingdon; “Two stories from Tuvalu” by Maseiga Ionatana; “Fish again! by Meere Tion Tebeia; “A new broom for Tima” by Keleni Bola; “Weaving” by Rejieli Racule; “Mere and the caterpillar” by Sereima Lumelume and Neil Taylor and “An Island” by Eadinur Deiye.   He has also worked with authors like Cliff Benson, Vika Maloni, Merieisi Sekinabou Tabualevu, Sereima Raimua, Joseph Veramu, Teweiariki Teaero and many others from across the Pacific whose works were published by USP’s Institute of Pacific Studies. Ms Barbara Moore sparked Jo’s interest in illustration. When Jo was just starting out as a graphic illustrator, she worked at the USP's Institute of Education Office on Clark Street, Domain in Suva. Ms Moore was dedicated to children's education and received the New Zealand Literacy Association (NZRA) Citation of Merit in 1996 for her contributions to reading and to New Zealand. “That time, I had just left school and started my first job and Ms Moore asked me if I was interested in illustrating children’s books part-time. I took up this opportunity and since then, I have gone on to meet many Pacific authors whom we have collaborated with for their publication,” he said.   Jo's popularity as an illustrator rose during the period when primary and secondary school teachers were involved in the creation of children's books as part of a USP Institute of Education initiative. He continuously developed his art for illustrations through workshops to develop in the area of children’s book illustrations.   “I was excited to embark on this new journey whereby I could utilise my limited drawing skills for a good cause,” he added.   “Every work I did was a natural progression of my black pen ink illustrations technique and trying different styles including pencil drawing. I was only limited to black and white drawings due to book production cost.”   The feeling of seeing his illustrations published and knowing that he was contributing to educating the young minds of the Pacific inspired Jo to continue his journey as an illustrator.   “There’s a feeling of joy when seeing my work published and knowing that children in the Pacific countries have read the books.   “If it has helped them in their reading and advanced them further, whether in their vernacular or knowledge of the English language, then I can say it is worthwhile.  “Some of these children have grown up and are now working. I am happy to have been part of their development.”   His advice to aspiring illustrators is to always seek new opportunities and to be versatile in their work. “It is hard to earn a living from doing illustrations alone in the Pacific but try and do other creative work like graphic designing, video production, animation and other similar fields where you can still utilise your creative skills,” Jo said. The various books Jo illustrated can be found in the Pacific collection section of The University of the South Pacific Library.  

“Please don’t take COVID-19 to your village!” This is a plea from the Deputy Controller of the National Pandemic Response Dr Daoni Esorom to those planning to go to their home villages for Christmas holidays. Dr Daoni said COVID-19 is now affecting all provinces, but it is still mostly seen in urban areas and those villages and communities accessible to these places so everyone has the responsibility to ensure it is not spread to the rural areas where the majority of the health facilities are not equipped to care for people sick with COVID-19. “We now have evidence that vaccination does reduce one’s chance of contracting the virus, and if by a small chance that you do get it, the symptoms are more like the common cold and are not deadly. “Therefore I urge you to get vaccinated. If you care for your loved ones, you will do this for their benefit as well as your own. People who are fully vaccinated also have a reduced chance of spreading COVID-19 to their loved ones and friends. “I cannot say it any other way. The facts are there. Vaccines save lives so I am encouraging all holiday makers to ensure they get vaccinated,’’ Dr Daoni said. He said it takes two weeks for the body to build an immune system after a person has received the second dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine or two weeks after getting a single dose of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine so those planning to go home for holidays must go and get vaccinated now and not wait until they are a few days from travelling. The Deputy Controller has also said that the two years of experience in the pandemic has shown that the virus transmits faster during big gatherings and urges everyone this Christmas holiday season to take care. Dr Daoni said, “We had a spike in cases in March and April 2020, February to May 2021 and then another one in September to November 2021 following the celebration of Independence. We now have evidence that big gatherings do contribute to the spread of COVID-19 so take care during the festive season.” He also highlighted the need for people to ensure they are wearing masks when they are in an aeroplane, Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs), or other public transports this Christmas. “The congested PMVs are the norm in many parts of the country especially during the holiday season so I am urging everyone to be responsible and ensure they are following the Niupela Pasin. Physical distance by standing 1.5 to 2 metres away from the next person when you are in big crowds, sanitize your hands if you cannot wash them with soap, cover your coughs or cough into your elbow and not into your hands (in case you have to shake hands with another person before you wash your hands) and if you have symptoms of COVID-19 go for a test if you are near a health facility that does tests for COVID-19 so you can get help quickly,” Dr Daoni said. Finally, Dr Daoni said those going home to their villages or communities for Christmas have a responsibility to tell their people about COVID-19 so that they too will protect themselves from this virus that currently does not have a cure. “Let’s all do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our country. Health workers cannot do it alone. Many of them have contracted the virus while attending to patients and have died,” Dr Daoni concluded.