Police Commissioner David Manning has defended his recent transfer of senior police officers saying these were made in the best interest of the Constabulary and the country and were within his powers as the Commissioner of Police. Mr Manning made this statement following media reports of six police officers who have taken the Commissioner to Court over the recent transfer directives he issued. Mr Manning said the Police Commissioner has the authority to issue directions to officers regarding the conduct of criminal investigations, applying for arrest warrants, laying of charges, and the deployment of members of police force anywhere within the constabulary and country. He said the Supreme Court made the interpretation in 2014 when it dealt with constitutional issues relating to the commissioner’s powers with regards to arrest warrants and contempt charges. “Justice David Cannings, who gave the ruling on behalf of Justice Colin Makail, Justice Don Sawong, Justice Goodwin Poole and Justice Lawrence Kangwia, said then that the ultimate power of command and the primary responsibility for operational control of the police fell within the domain of the Commissioner of Police. “If officers run to the courts every time a transfer directive is issued then we will get nothing done. This is a disciplined organisation where there is supposed to be command and control and one police commissioner. If officers are unable to comply with directives issued by the Commissioner then they will have to seriously reconsider their continued employment within the Police Force. “Transfer directives are made from time to time by the Commissioner of Police in consultation with the two deputy police commissioners and where necessary the respective divisional assistant commissioners. This was the case in the recent transfers and this is intended for the effective and efficient management of the Constabulary,” Mr Manning said. The Police Commissioner said in the case of the six officers, one has withdrawn his case and is taking up posting as PPC Morobe. The other five officers have cited a breach of contract as the reason for their court case. However, Mr Manning said besides the change of postings the officers do not lose anything. He said these five officers are uniformed officers and continue to earn the same salary. “It has now come to my management’s attention that all the five officers are also over the compulsory retirement age and will need to be retired immediately. My management will have to review the previous transfer directives to compensate for the imminent exit of these five officers,” Mr Manning said. Further, Mr Manning said that when he was appointed as Police Commissioner he took measures to do away with contracts for senior police officers from provincial police commanders to directors as this affected the effective administration of the Constabulary. “Whilst I understand that the performance-based contracts were initially established to improve performance of officers and reward them accordingly, we just did not have the capability or capacity to manage those contracts as intended. What this has done instead is to erode the authority of the Office of the Commissioner of Police to deploy officers as and when required. “Whilst performance-based contracts may be a thing for the future, without the capability or capacity to manage them these contracts become counter-productive and detrimental to the effective command and control and administration of the Constabulary. “In fact contracts created a way for officers to question and refuse to accept directives from the Police Commissioner and further provided them with the justification to go to court as now being experienced in this recent case,” Mr Manning said, adding that he will defend his directive in court. Mr Manning said he is mindful that the National General Election is a year away and decisions have to be made now to strengthen the planning process for the security operations. “I need officers in place on the ground now preparing for a free, safe and secure 2022 National General Elections. If officers feel that they cannot deliver for whatever reasons then they must indicate now. I need good strong committed and disciplined officers who are team players and 110 per cent in the serious business of protection and serving our citizens,” Mr Manning said.

Port Moresby General Hospital will continue to provide normal services amidst the surge in COVID-19 in the city. PMGH serves over a million residents of the NCD, people from Central, parts of Gulf Provinces and referrals from the rest of the country. PMGH is the only public Health facility providing 24 emergency services (with Gerehu Hospital), theatre services and labour ward with 50-60 deliveries per day. PMGH Chief Executive Officer Dr. Paki Molumi said over 300 prescriptions per day are processed at our pharmacy and over 300 x-rays are processed per day at the Radiology Department. The specialist clinics runs every day from 8am to 4pm with over 500 patients per day. Added to that 900 plus inpatients are managed. Patients queue up to receive the service and many wait long hours. "With the scaling down of Gerehu Hospital due to COVID, PMGH will be more stressed. The overcrowding of patients will increase further. The overcrowding is a potential risk of spreading COVID," said Dr. Molumi Gerehu Hospital scaling down operations "The Hospital will continue providing normal services as there is no other Health Facility like PMGH in the city." He said to ensure that, strict COVID protocols are in place to protect the patients been infected, protect our staff whilst managing COVID-19 cases. PMGH activated its surge plan last week to cater for increased cases and also take on the role of Rita Flynn in managing mild to moderate cases. The public is encouraged to adhere to COVID protocols in place when visiting PMGH so we continue provide normal services.

This just in, there has been another COVID-19 related death bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 11. This death comes as 28 new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours...20 in Western and 8 in NCD. This now brings the total number of COVID-19 cases for PNG to 1139 confirmed cases. Continue to practice COVID-19 safety protocols and keep listening to the news on this station & follow our news website: pnghausbung.com for more on this story.

The Teaching Service Commission Disciplinary Committee (TSCDC) made a decision to reinstate (8) teachers of the Kui Wamp Nga High School in Western Highlands who were terminated by the Provincial Education Board for assisting students to cheat in the 2019 Grade 10 National Examinations. Teaching Services Commission Acting Commissioner Policy, Mr Joel Nava, made it clear that the TSCDC decision to reinstate the 8 teachers was handed down by an appeals committee appointed by the TSC which reviewed appeals put forth by the teachers who were terminated by the Western Highlands PEB. The appeals committee comprised of Grade 5 Principal Magistrate of Western Highlands, Her Worship Miss Betty Kup Jacobs, PNGTA Regional Director, Mr John Melson and TSC Acting Commissioner Policy, Mr Joel Nava. “The committee looked at all the cases and they saw some errors on the part of the provincial education board,” stated Mr Nava. “The committee was of the view that the provincial education board did not have the power to terminate a teacher or a member of the teaching service.” “The Provincial Education Board can only recommend to the Teaching Service Commission for dismissal. But in this case they did not recommend to the TSC for dismissal, they themselves terminated [the teachers] from the teaching service, which means they acted beyond their powers.” The appeals committee acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations against each teacher, however on the basis that PEB acted beyond their powers, the appeals committee then decided to reject the decision of the Western Highlands PEB to terminate the teachers and had them reinstated with a lesser penalty.  “Since the committee found out that the teachers admitted to assisting students in the exams, the committee decided to impose a lesser penalty – to reduce their salaries by 4 increments.” Mr Nava further stated that apart from the 8 teachers who have been implicated, there are others who have not appealed to the TSCDC. For those teachers the Western Highlands PEB decision to have them demoted or have a reduced salary classification will simply be confirmed by the TSC.

Meet Charlie Koneng, a man on a mission to fight open defecation by leading the campaign in communities in Nawaeb LLG, Morobe Province to get every household build a toilet and learn the importance of personal hygiene to keep diseases at bay. Charlie left his wife and children behind to be an advocate against open defecation. As one of the over 200-250 Klinpela Komuniti Projek (KKP) motivators , he left behind his family’s poultry business, and spends months as a volunteer with World Vision staff, walking from one community to the next, promoting healthy living. Charlie was met by World Vision staff again, this time in a-plastic compound, a peri-urban settlement a few minutes' drive away from Lae city. This time he had created a model community for the entire Nawaeb District to learn from. Plastic is a community that has risen from plastic makeshift houses to a more permanent community setting and now an Open Defecation free Community. It wasn't a peaceful community to handle in the peri-urban settlements, but Charlie survived to make the change happen for the innocent children of Plastic compound. Working under the European Union-UNICEF PNG Government WASH project, World Vision officers had a different perception of this slim, tall, and easy-going lad from Finschafen and Nawaeb parentage when they first met him. From the first impression, they saw a villager who walks into the World Vision office in Lae. It was not until he invited the World Vision WaSH officers to celebrate the achievement of a first community that had declared itself open Defecation free through his effort. He is highly committed and speaks with authority , and the tone of his voice was of hope and courage, moving the audience to cheer in support. Not only that, he walked the talk as a health motivator. Charlie had to build himself a safe toilet, to know by heart, and practice proper hand-washing and hygiene key messages in order to teach others. In a quick interview with Charlie, this is what he said; “I have worked with World Vision in this project for one year three months as a volunteer. I don't get any allowances, but I will be with World Vision through to the end. “ I have seen many changes in my personal life. I have learned so much about sanitation from the world vision staff. This is a knowledge they could only spend me thousands of kina to learn in a classroom, I had it for free,” Charlie said. Charlie said the most important principle about changing a community is for the person to change in order to be an agent of change. The Klinpela Komuniti Projek co-funded by The European Union and UNICEF initially introduced tippy taps to the community through World Vision as the key implementing partner, however, Charlie from his own innovation created a bamboo hand washing station for 38 households to use. “Not all community members could afford to buy 25 litres containers for tippy tap. I had to introduce bamboo taps’’, Charlie answered when asked about his innovation. He was frank but somewhat passionate in his selection of words when commenting about the seriousness of creating Open Defecation free Communities The most important of his innovation are better explained by himself in these words; “When I tell these people to do tippy taps, their excuses are always on the cost of buying plastic containers and soap for hand-washing. Now that I introduced the use of bamboo as tippy taps and ashes as a substitute for soap, they have no reasons left but to adopt the safety measures. Bamboo is available in abundance to the community. What we did was we got the big bamboos, boreholes through hollow chambers, blocked both ends, and made a hole into the bamboo at one end as a tap. So once we tip one end of the bamboo, the water comes out. The bamboo can hold more water than an 8-litre container’’ He has also taught his community the art of constructing a bamboo tippy tap. Pictured is a bamboo tippy tap constructed in Plastic compound. What amazes the WASH Officers most was how he could modify a sato pan designed for squatting into a sit on a toilet bowl. With no plumbing background and experience, Charlie had learned from creativity. One of such creative modifications was a toilet seat he changed with sato pans for Cletus Miembei, a 66-year-old person with a disability in plastic compound of the Nabak Local Level Government constituency. A squat on sato pan modified onto a sit on bowl for people living with disability. This was done by Charlie.  Nawaeb District invited Charlie to exhibit to the public his simple tippy tap innovation during the Global Hand-washing Day on October 15. From a simple villager , Charlie is         now a recognized village Health Motivator. With no training, he had learned from World Vision WaSH technicians and field officers by observing and creating his own model. With confidence, he said, “I will try out a leech pit at those communities in swampy land where we can't dig pits. I will build it up from topsoil up and place steps to climb up to use or build it under a high post house”. From a humble semi-skilled villager and little of a WaSH specialist, Charlie has equipped himself into an expert of sanitation innovation, a resource person mentored through implementing the EU-UNICEF, PNG Government Klinpela Komuniti Projek, implemented by World Vision, Nawaeb District, Health and Education department as a pilot phase of the PNG National WaSH Policy 2015-2030.

PNG’s long , triple and high jump record holder Rellie Kaputin  is aiming this year to fulfill her dream of representing her country at the Olympic Games. Kaputin is targeting some high level competitions in Australia over the next two months, starting tomorrow at the Coles Summer Series Meet in Canberra. Coach Phillip Newton will be hoping that all the hard work of the past twelve months will be translated into some good results in the coming weeks. Kaputin returns to Canberra next month for the Canberra Track Classic and will also compete in the Queensland Championships next month and the Brisbane Classic, before the season ends with the Australian Championships in mid April. Kaputin was in action in Brisbane last weekend and her best jump was 6.03m and whilst this is some way below her best of 6.50m both Newton and Kaputin are confident that she will get better as the training load lightens and the focus turns to competition.

A cumulative total of 55 new COVID-19 cases have just been confirmed! The cases reported are 15 in NCD, 3 in WHP, 2 in East Sepik & 1 in Central for Monday's 21 confirmed cases. Another 34 new cases today have 23 in Western, 10 in NCD, and 1 in New Ireland. In NCD, 15 cases were reported on Monday of which nine were males and six were females between the ages of nine to 68 years old. Eleven of the 15 cases were showing symptoms of COVID-19 whilst four were asymptomatic at the time of testing.   Three cases were reported in Western Highlands of which all three cases were males between the ages of 21 and 38 years. All these cases were showing symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of testing.   Two cases in East Sepik province were a 56-year-old male and a 26-year-old female who were reported positive. In the Central province, a 41-year-old male is the latest to be reported positive. He was not showing symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of testing but swab samples returned otherwise. For today Tuesday 23 February, 34 new COVID-19 cases reported increasing our cumulative PNG total to 1,111 The latest cases were reported in the Western Province, New Ireland and in the National Capital District. In NCD, 10 cases were reported of which five are males, four females and one unknown. The youngest of the 10 cases was 15 and the oldest was 66 years old. Five cases were showing symptoms of COVID-19 whilst five were asymptomatic at the time of testing. Two out of the ten cases came into contact with a previous positive case. Western Province reported 23 positive cases of which 20 are males and three females. The youngest of the 23 positive cases is 19 and the oldest is 61. Of the 23 cases, two showed symptoms of COVID-19 whilst 21 were asymptomatic. All 23 cases are from the North Fly area. In the New Ireland province a 57-year-old female is the latest to be confirmed positive. She was experiencing a cough, headache and running nose at the time of testing. The country's COVID-19 case as a result stands at 1,111 with 10 known deaths. Seventeen provinces including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) have reported cases. The distribution of the cases is as follows: Provinces Confirmed Cases NCD 422 Western Province 303 West New Britain 194 West Sepik 39 Madang 35 East New Britain 35 New Ireland 23 Eastern Highlands 13 Western Highlands 13 Central 12 Morobe 9 East Sepik 5 Enga 3 Milne Bay 2 AROB 1 Hela Province 1 SHP 1 TOTAL 1,111 Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 111,102,016 including 338,118 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 2,462,911 of which 7,580 were reported in the last 24 hours.

This just in, a cumulative total of 55 new COVID-19 cases have just been confirmed! The cases reported are 15 in NCD, 3 in WHP, 2 in East Sepik & 1 in Central for Monday's confirmed cases. Today's cases have 23 in Western, 10 in NCD, and 1 in New Ireland. This now brings the total number of COVID-19 cases for PNG to 1111 confirmed cases. Continue to practice COVID-19 safety protocols and keep listening to the news on this station & follow our news website: pnghausbung.com for more on this story.

Health Minister Wong Slams Crazy and Reckless COVID-19 Fake News – Commits to Taking first Vaccine alongside PM Marape The Minister for Health, Jelta Wong, MP, has called on all leaders in politics, the public service, business, academia and the broader community to exercise extreme caution and not spread false information on COVID-19. Jelta Wong said Papua New Guinea is now in a critical phase where COVID-19 will either be contained and managed, or negligence and misinformation will cause increased sickness and deaths. “More than two million people have died from COVID-19 around the world, while at the same time the damage has been mild in Papua New Guinea." “But we cannot relax or lower our guard, and we cannot let our people be led by nonsense fake news they have seen online." “I respect that everyone has an opinion on COVID-19, but I also appeal to everyone in our country to be responsible and not repost fake news. The only reason that PNG has been spared the full horror and death from COVID-19 is because our Government has managed the response, and more importantly, because Papua New Guineans have been very responsible in maintaining COVID-Safe practices in their daily lives." “I have seen posts from seemingly very smart people making crazy claims about the virus that must not be believed. So when I see these ridiculous claims that we are immune because of the colour of our skin I become very disappointed at how foolish some people can be.” The Health Minister said the Government is now working day and night to have a fully tested and approved vaccine rolled out to the people before the next wave of the virus hits hard like it has in other countries. He said there are developing countries who were in a similar situation to Papua New Guinea only two months ago, and now they are facing potentially thousands of deaths and widespread panic. “As two examples, Zambia and Zimbabwe had a relatively small number of COVID-19 cases in December, but now the virus is mutating and spreading and killing many people." Minister Wong said Zambia had 249 active cases at the start of December that rose to over 10,000 in January, while in Zimbabwe since December the number of deaths has multiplied six times. “The COVID-19 vaccine will be released in Papua New Guinea at the conclusion of the most stringent tests by Papua New Guinea’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee (MeSAC) alongside many other countries and the World health Organisation. Health Minister Jelta Wong “When we are satisfied with this testing and can assure our people of the safety of the COVID-19 shot, we will offer this to our people to take on a voluntary basis. “To demonstrate the importance of this vaccine, Prime Minister Marape, myself, and leaders from many organisations will received the vaccination as it is distributed amongst our people. “The various vaccines that are now in widescale use around the world are being tested, and the AstraZeneca vaccine appears to be the most appropriate for requirements. “Our Government now looks forward to the final stages of testing being presented to the National Executive Council for a decision to be made on rolling out the most effective vaccine that will protect lives in Papua New Guinea.”

Gordons Police Station in Port Moresby was forced to shut down operations this morning after an officer was tested positive for COVID-19. ACP NCD/Central Anthony Wagambie Jnr confirmed that the station was temporarily closed this morning, under Covid-19 protocols and about 30 other police personnel and 15 detainees from the station immediately sent for testing at the Rita Flynn courts. "I have liaised with Assistant Commissioner Logistics at Police Headquarters who has arranged for a contractor to go to Gordon's Police Station to have it sanitized and disinfected before the station can reopen," said Wagambie Jnr. "I went to Rita Flynn with the PSC Gordon's and his members to have them all tested." More testing will be carried out on our personnel.  The station will remain closed today and tomorrow while awaiting test results, which are expected to come out tomorrow. "We intend to open up the Gordon's Police Station for use by Thursday, depending on the outcome of tests and sanitizing of the building and its surroundings." "I have told my personnel that it is good to get tested, not only because it is a Covid 19 protocol, but to know our status." We have contingency plan in place where our support units have taken over policing the Gordon's area. The station will be closed for today and tomorrow, so we advise people with complaints to go to Airport Police Station, 6 Mile or Boroko Police Station for complaints and policing matters. The policeman who was tested positive had gone to hospital for an ongoing health issue, and as such was also tested for Covid 19. He has been placed on isolation at his home. All police personnel from Gordon's who have been tested have been directed to stay home and avoid going out until the test results come back to hopefully by tomorrow. "We will then follow what the Health authorities directives." He said Police Stations are busy places with people from different walks of life going in and out. "Our personnel come in contact with different people."

The National Superannuation Fund, Nasfund, would like to advise its membership of the closure of its Port Moresby client service centre, located at NCSL Haus, Douglas Street, next to the American Embassy. From Wednesday February 24th 2021, Nasfund services will only be at the Waigani, and Boroko client service centres respectively. In announcing this, Nasfund Chief Officer Member Services Ann Wilson is encouraging members to utilize the Fund’s Waigani, and Boroko client service centres. “The closure of our Port Moresby client service centre is temporary, as the Fund begins work on relocating to another location in the Port Moresby Central Business District (CBD) to accommodate NCSL’s growing operations. In the meantime, we encourage our members in NCD, and surrounding areas, to utilize Nasfund services at our Waigani client service centre, which is located at Lagatoi Haus, adjacent to Lamana Hotel. Services at our client services centres are in addition to those which are accessible via the Fund’s Helpdesk on phone 1588 and email help@nasfund.com.pg” Ms Wilson is also reminding members that the Fund will continue to implement strict COVID-19 safety measures at all branches during this time. “With the recent increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Fund will continue to conduct temperature checks, and implement a no-mask no-entry policy at all its branches. This is to ensure that our members and staff are protected at all times. These measures will continue for the foreseeable future.”

The 28th SP Sports Awards (SPSA) was launched today in Port Moresby after the event was temporarily suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the annual prestigious awards will recognize sporting achievements from 2019 to 2020 and for the first time ever, the event will be staged virtually on EMTV and via social media. The theme for this year is "Excellence through Adversity." “2020 was a tough year for many in Papua New Guinea because of COVID-19. South Pacific Brewery was no different as we had to overcome many challenges as well. It was with regret that we had to cancel the eventin 2020, due to COVID-19 impacting SP Brewery’s operations. Nevertheless, SP Brewery has been an avid supporter of sports for more than 65 years in the country recognizing the achievements and hard work of our local athletes and teams,” said SP Brewery Corporate Affairs Manager, John Nilkare. “Sports has proven to be the glue that brings people from all walks of life together, including families of sponsors and supporters to celebrate achievements at the SP Sports Awards”. With nominations open for the years 2019 to 2020, the SPSA Organising Committee anticipates submissions to flood in from all over Papua New Guinea. The nominations will recognize outstanding sporting achievements in 2019 and 2020 in the following categories: Male Athlete of the Year – Best International Performance by a male athlete in 2019-2020.Female Athlete of the Year – Best International Performance by a female athlete in 2019-2020.Team of the Year – Best International Performance by a team in 2019-2020.National Performance of the Year – Best National Performance by a male athlete, female athlete, or team in 2019-2020.Community Sports Initiative – Best use of sport to help address social issues at a community level in 2019-2020.Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Best Performance by a male athlete who was 18 years and younger in 2019- 2020.Junior Female Athlete of the Year - Best Performance by a female athlete who was 18 years and younger in 2019- 2020.Best Sportsperson with a Disability – For athletes with a physical or intellectual disability who performed outstandingly in 2019-2020.Sports Official of the Year – For individuals who have excelled as a Coach, Referee/Umpire or Administrator in 2019-2020.Sports Photo of the Year – For best photo taken in 2019 & 2020 capturing a sporting moment at any level of sport.Sports Media Award – For media coverage of sports or a sporting event in 2019 by an individual, program, organisation or online.PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD – to be voted on by public from the 3 finalists of the top 4 awards (Male Athlete, Female Athlete, Team, National Performance).Stan Joyce Award (Bi-Annual) - The award will recognize organisations that provide outstanding support through their continued partnership and collaboration with sport in PNG- This award will go to corporate companies under the criteria of: 1. Longevity, 2.Creativity, 3. Impact in the Community and 4. Achievement. In his acknowledgment, Sir John Dawanincura, the President of PNGOC expressed his gratitude to SP Brewery for creating an avenue where athletes are recognized for their achievements in sports. “SP Sports Awards not only recognises Athletes but the people who became part of their achievement as well. By this I mean the media, sports officials and the community at large,” “The awards form the basis of showing how important it is to recognise sports men and women in PNG and PNGOC as a believer of sport and an enabler for sustainable and inclusive development for sports is proud to partner with SP Brewery and PNG Sports Federation in this journey,” Sir John added. The SP Sports Awards is a joint collaboration between SP Brewery, the PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) and PNG Sports Foundation (PNGSF). Participants are encouraged to nominate an athlete, coach, trainer or administrator for any of the categories. Nomination forms can be collected from SP Brewery Head Office in Gordons, PNGOC Office and PNG Sports Foundation Office. Nomination forms are also available on the PNGOC website. SP Sports Awards nomination will close on Wednesday April 7th 2021.