The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) is seeking Expression of Interests (EoI) from interested persons to serve as Independent Directors on the PNGRFL Board and on its key program Boards such as the PNG Kumuls, PNG Orchids, PNG National Rugby League Competition, PNG National Schools Rugby League and the respective Provincial and Confederate Boards. This initiative is in line with the PNGRFL’s new governance reforms whereby the PNGRFL is seeking to bring on Independent Directors who can add value to the PNGRFL and its programs. PNGRFL acting CEO Stanley Hondina said interested candidates – both male and female - must indicate in order of preference, the Boards on which they feel they could add value given their experience and skills. He said minimum requirements must include demonstrated experience of involvement in sports at any level; have good management and leadership experience; have good networking experience with both public and private entities including government organisations and be of good standing and credibility with high moral and ethical character. “He or she must be willing and committed to serve in a growing and diverse organization; have sufficient time available to discharge the duties of Board membership; have good people skills to be able to develop cordial working relationships with fellow Board members, staff and the games stakeholders and effectively contribute to the sports growth,” Hondina said. “And membership of the PNG Institute of Director would be an advantage.”He said Expressions of Interest with a brief updated CV and relevant documents can be sent to: Mr Stanley Hondinaa/Chief Executive OfficerPNGRFLPO Box 1845BOROKONational Capital District Applications titled ‘Expression of Interest as Director” can be emailed to:shondina@pngrfl.org.pg; Or Hand delivered to: Suite 1, National Football Stadium, Laurabada Avenue, Boroko, NCD. Hondina said the Expressions of Interest close at 5.00pm on FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12, 2021.

Persons seeking free COVID-19 tests in the nations capital, Port Moresby will have to dig deeper to pay for the service that St John's Ambulance provided for free for the last 6 months until Monday this week. St John Ambulance Services will no longer conduct the free drive-through Covid-19 testing service at the Taurama Aquatic Center as of this week for an indefinite period.  The decision was made by the PNG Sports Foundation and it is disappointing to St John since it is the only place that is fitting to conduct Drive through Testing while the pandemic continues in PNG. St John CEO Matt Cannon said, they have reached out to the Sports Minister Wesley Raminai through the member for Moresby South Justine Tkatchenko, however he has not responded yet. “We are trying to resume Drive Thru Testing as soon as we can a find suitable location.” “At this point of time, we are working with the PNG Sports Foundation to find a suitable location if we are still unable to use the Taurama Aquatic Center,” said Matt Cannon. It is understood that there is no other location for free COVID-19 Testing and responsible authorities are yet to advice on the next location.  Attempts by PNG Hausbung to reach reached out to the Pandemic Controller David Manning and the Minister for Sports Wesley Raminai for a response on the closure of the Drive Thru Testing had failed.

Be responsible for you and your passenger’s safety in the midst of extreme weather conditions experienced in Port Moresby and Central Province. “With the recent heavy downpour of rain in the City and Central Province we are calling on drivers to exercise caution when on the road.” That was the caution issued by the Divisional Commander for NCD/Central ACP Anthony Wagambie Jnr. “Not to speed as the road is slippery and most parts flooded with debris. Speeding will only risk drivers from ending up in accidents,” said Wagambie Jnr.   He said there has been multiple flooding on both Hiritano and Magi Highway and very risky during such conditions for and ignorance and careless driving by motorists. “I am thankful to people living and travelling along the Highways for informing others through the use of social media and messenger apps.” With the modern use of technology, information is easily shared, depending on network coverage. “People helping people is the way to go.” He issued the same warning to people living along the coastal areas to be mindful of the strong winds being associated with the heavy downpour. “Also take into consideration the weather warning by Weather Bureau.” “Do not risk yourselves by going out at sea as the chances of meeting disaster or getting lost at sea is quite high,” said ACP Wagambie.   A fallen tree along on the roads at Erima, Port Moresby. Pic: Rolland Banaba

Four youths are the proud winners of the UN Women Essay Competition on Gender Equality, out of 186 participants who took part in the essay competition which was launched on 26 October 2020 by UN Women under the Women Make the Change Program. We are pleased to announce the following four winners of the essay competition: Konjim Andreas, female, age 17 from Western Highlands ProvinceRicard Isaac, male, age 19 from East New BritainRebeccah Gapi, female, age 19 from NCD andJerome Sesega, male, age 26 from NCD In total, 186 essays were received from young men and women across the country. This overwhelming response highlights the interest from young Papua New Guineans on gender equality and women’s leadership. UN Women, in partnership with the Department for Community Development and Religion and other key partners selected the winners based on the quality of the essay submission, geographical spread, gender and age. Through the entries to the essay competition, it is clear that young people in Papua New Guinea, have a lot to say about the state of gender equality in the nation, and are keen to share their ideas and solutions on how to address some of the challenges the country faces. "We feel very privileged to have heard from young people about their aspirations for gender equality and increasing women’s leadership in PNG,” said Ms. Caroline Nyamayemombe, Acting Head of Agency of UN Women in PNG. The winning essays and the profiles of the winners will be published each week in the Post Courier starting next week. UN Women would like to thank all those who participated in this essay competition.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr. Gianluca Rampolla, has called for an immediate cessation of violence in Hela Province. Mr. Rampolla said: “This senseless violence must stop now before more innocent people are killed, wounded or displaced. The United Nations stands by the Hela Government and is already mobilized to provide for the immediate needs of those affected by the fighting”. The UN Resident Coordinator further stated: “We appeal to the PNG Defense Forces and Police to assist the mediation efforts of the Provincial Government and ensure the safety and security of the affected communities". "Stopping the spiral of violence requires holding to account and bringing to justice the perpetrators of crimes and providing for the immediate needs of those affected, especially women and children". "The recent events once again remind all of us of the need to invest into ensuring longer term development to achieve peace in the Highlands”. UN staff from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) joined a team from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Tari on Saturday, January 30, to verify information on the number of persons displaced, injured, and killed, and to assist in providing for immediate needs of thosedisplaced. Hela Governor, Hon. Philip Undialu, has indicated that urgent support is needed for temporary shelters, emergency food and water, and non-food items, such as hygiene and dignity kits, kitchen and bedding items. “We welcome Governor’s Undialu mediation efforts and are encouraged by the news that the parties have agreed to lay down arms and engage in dialogue”, said Mr. Rampolla. The Disaster Management Team, in support of and in close coordination with Hon. Philip Undialu, together with church partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, and development partners, including DFAT, is now mobilizing resources to ensure these needs are met and that the safety of displaced persons is assured. The UN welcomes the incredible generosity of the communities that have provided shelter, distributed food and collected vital information for those displaced by this recent violence. The outpouring of support for affected families demonstrates the compassion of the people of Hela and reaffirms that the advocates for peace in Hela far outnumber those who perpetuate violence. The United Nations in partnership with the Hela Government is committed to supporting peacebuilding and development in the Province through the Highlands Joint Programme.

East Sepik athlete Isila Apkup is showing great form as the Indoor track competition gets underway in the USA Junior College Programme. After posting some very encouraging times over 60m and 200m in her first two competitions the 22 year old from Ambunti moved up a gear on Monday (PNG time) and clocked a sensational 400m time of 56.94 seconds at Kansas State University, Pittsburg. Teammate Leonie Beu running in the outside lane held back in the first 200m and could not make up the gap on Apkup but still finished with a good time of 57.85 seconds. Ephraim Lerkin was also in great form, running under 1min 55 seconds for the 800m leg of the distance medley relay and following this up with an excellent 1min 22 secs in the individual 600m race. Emmanuel Wanga who only arrived two weeks ago has hit the ground running and recorded pleasing times of 6.98secs for 60m and 49.59 in the 400m. Running in the same 400m race Shadrick Tansi paid the price for an overly aggressive first 200m and faded in the closing stages to finish in 50.95secs Meanwhile National long and Triple Jump champion Peniel Richard started his 2021 campaign  in fine style with distances of 7.15m and 15.31 respectively. Richard returned to the USA in January last year and joined the West Texas A&M programme which brought Rellie Kaputin so much success. With the 2020 season being abandoned with the onset of Covid19 Richard has had a long and very good preparation for the 2021 season. The Kansas based athletes have two more competitions on their calendar before the Regional Championships on the weekend of 20/21 February and the Indoor National Championships on March 5 and 6

Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) today announced that it has returned to normal production after the second of the two processing circuits which were damaged in a fire incident on the 20th December 2020 was restored over the weekend. This follows the successful restart of SAG-2 on 6th January 2021. OTML Managing Director and CEO, Musje Werror commended the efforts of the OTML team, who worked tirelessly for almost 6 weeks to restore the circuit (SAG-1) safely without any incident. “The commitment shown by our workforce, particularly over the festive season, was testament to the One Team Wan Pasin spirit at Ok Tedi,” Mr Werror said. “Returning the first of the two circuits to operation was a key milestone as it allowed the Company to recommence production and meet our January shipments. Damage sustained to the SAG-1 was however more severe and required two new switching equipment. The new equipment, which was flown to site on a specially chartered Hercules C130 aircraft last week, was successfully installed over the weekend,” he added. Mr Werror noted that the financial impact of the incident was about US$100 million as previously reported. He said the Company maintains a strong balance sheet for the purposes of protecting it against such incidents. He cited the shutdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and an earthquake which occurred in 2018 as two such examples. We have demonstrated previously that the Company is able to remain profitable and healthy despite such challenges, and we expect to do so again in 2021,” Mr Werror said.

A young woman died at her Five Mile home in the nations capital, Port Moresby at around 6'o'clock this morning after a tree had fallen on their house following extreme weather conditions experienced in the city and other coastal areas in the country. The strong gusty winds and the heavy rains that started around 4am this morning caused several destruction around the city including two reports of fallen trees on houses, in Korobosea and Five Mile area.  St John Ambulance Services received emergency calls and rushed to the two locations in time and managed to rescue two people that were trapped in their houses with serious injuries and had them transported to Port Moresby General Hospital. A third person from the Five Mile area died as a result of the accident despite the St John's crew giving her the CPR.    CEO for St John Matt Cannon said the unpredictable weather experienced around the city calls for necessary precaution from the general public at this time. “Just a reminder to everyone, stay well away from fallen power lines” “Do not swim in rivers because they can be toxic and the currents are very strong, you could be injured” Mr Cannon also encouraged people to get rid of debris and trees that may pose as threats during this weather. “We also want to remind people to utilise the calm period of the storm to clear up all the debris around the house” “Make sure to attend to those trees that may fall before it occurs”   The St John Ambulance Services will be on standby throughout the day for any emergency calls, however due to the road conditions the ambulances might take a while to arrive at the destination. “We will be available throughout the day but with the current road condition and the localised flooding due to the weather, this is hampering our responses to some areas “ “So we are using our four wheel drive ambulances to reach as much places possible in NCD and Central province” ST JOHN Hotline number: 111

The City Pharmacy Limited Group has come on board as a sponsor in kind to the value of K30, 000 to provide much needed support to the Team PNG Athletes who are currently vying to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July this year. In announcing this partnership, CEO of CPL Group, Mr Navin Raju, touched on the importance of sports as a tool for development and providing the support for PNG Athletes to excel on the international stage. “CPL is proud to support the endeavors of Papua New Guineans and especially our elite PNG Athletes who have been training and working extremely hard in these challenging circumstances. "It brings great satisfaction to us to support our fellow Papua New Guineans in a big global event such as the Olympic Games and we are a proud PNG company that supports Papua New Guineans”, said Mr Raju. Twenty-Nine Athletes across ten sports are currently being supported by the PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) to pursue their Olympic dream. Of the twenty-Nine Athletes, two Athletes from the sport of Sailing have already realized their Olympic dream after gaining two sports for Team PNG in the Men’s Laser and Women’s Laser Radical events. The other Athletes are still in their qualifying stages and will be looking to achieve their Olympic dreams when the qualification competition resumes in 2021. As part of their preparations, staying healthy and injury free is crucial in maintaining their fitness and nutrition which is a key aspect to achieving this. All the Athletes come from different circumstances, with some able to provide for themselves with a job or have good family support. While others, however are not that fortunate and at times are not able to maintain a nutritious diet that can contribute to staying healthy and fit to compete at a high profile competition for Team PNG. “We are proud to know that through our sponsorship, we are making an impact not just only individually but developing successful Athletes and sports in PNG and our support is in line with our value; we care for community, customers and people by giving back to the community we serve, and we demonstrate our community support to this value”, added Mr Raju. In acknowledging CPL Group’s support, Secretary General of the PNG Olympic Committee, Mrs Auvita Rapilla expressed her gratitude to CPL Group for the wonderful support towards Team PNG as they stay focused and continue to prepare to qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. “CPL has a long and proud history of investing and contributing towards the development of sports in PNG and PNGOC is proud to partner with them in this journey and what a fantastic way to achieve this by collaborating with a proud PNG company that values the community and at the same time is able to provide valuable support for our aspiring Athletes”, said Mrs Rapilla. She said nutrition plays a big role in our Athletes preparations in ensuring they remain fit and healthy throughout this period. The sponsorship will see the Athletes provided with support to purchase food and toiletries which will go towards supporting their welfare and wellbeing as well as assist with their everyday living expenses.

The Minister for Public Service Joe Sungi clarified that the National Executive Council had revoked the appointment of Mr Robert Barra Kennedy as Chief Migration Officer and approved the appointment of Mr Stanis Hulahau to the position as the new Chief Migration Officer on and from 28th January 2021. Minister Joe Sungi was responding to comments made by the former Acting Chief Migration Officer, Mr. Robert Barra Kennedy the media claiming that he will only vacate the Office of the Chief Migration Officer once clarification is made on the substantive appointment. Mr. Sungi said that the National Executive Council in its Decision No. 05/2021 on 20th January 2021 approved to advise the Head of State to revoke the appointment of Mr. Kennedy as Acting Chief Migration Officer and approved to advise the Head of State to appoint Mr. Stanis Hulahau as the new Chief Migration Officer effective on and from 28th January 2021 as published in the National Gazette No. G47 of 28th January 2021. Mr. Sungi said before the permanent appointment was made, Mr. Kennedy was in the office on acting basis and this acting appointment has lapsed officially on 27th January 2021. Mr. Sungi further highlighted and clarified that Mr. Kennedy’s actingappointment was extended from 10th December 2020 to 9th March 2021, however the NEC Decision and the gazettal on the new substantive appointment now supersedes the instrument of acting appointment which I can confirm is in order. The Minister now urges the proper hand-over take-over of office to take place between the former acting Chief Migration Officer and the new Chief Migration Officer in the presence of the Minister for Immigrations and Border Security, Westly Nukundj and the new Immigration & Citizenship Authority Board.

The Systems and Functions of Bureaucracy in Morobe Province are now being looked at and rectified to allow effective Services to flow into the Districts of the province. This was the assurance made by Morobe Governor Hon Ginson Goheyuc Saonu, in relation to queries made recently on the lack of adequate transport services to enable simple farmers to access markets in Lae and elsewhere. Governor Saonu said his team of officers is dedicated around the clock to ensure these mechanisms are being repaired to effectively roll out polices and interventions for the majority of Morobeans to benefit. “Planti yia go pinis, tasol wok igo insait lo ol distrik ino kamap bikos system em ino stret lo halvim ol man na meri lo ples.” The Governor made mention of these changes taking place during the witnessing of the Morobe Province SME Program Awareness over the weekend hosted at Immanuel Lutheran School. “The SME program for Morobe is in line with the National Governments endeavours to empower people of Papua New Guinea in business activities.” “In Morobe Province, I have dedicated officers to work closely and take ownership of the National SME Rollout to be made simple for people in Morobe to access. The program further covers Cooperatives to be registered and captured to access funds for business aspirations.” Governor Saonu said his Government will provide a support budget in the 2021 Morobe Provincial Budget that will serve as an Insurance for Morobeans to be able to have equity backing to access funds to go into business as well. “Within the program, Financial Literacy Trainings will be conducted as well and the program in Morobe is part of the Triple 1 Policy to allow Morobeans to be economically empowered.” The Morobe SME Program is part of the Morobe Provincial Content Plan that is steered to enable Morobeans in the future to contribute more Goods and Services Tax into the coffers of the Province. It is being rolled out by Morobe Provincial Strategy Analyst Noah Ariku and a team of qualified individuals engaged to provide and facilitate trainings financial, banking, budget and close monitoring and implementation of SME Programs in the province. Mr Ariku mentioned that freight subsidy, price support, markets and also business models with effective value chains and supply chains are also being arranged to provide an enabling environment for SMEs.

Controller of the National Pandemic Response David Manning has called on all schools throughout the country to observe COVID-19 protocols as the 2021 academic year begins. Mr Manning said every institutions from primary schools up to tertiary must observe measures in the new normal. The Controller said all institutions must  ensure that students comply to measures in the new normal under COVID-19.  He said washing of hands and wearing of masks must be enforced and that institutions must ensure proper hand washing facilities are built in schools. The measures in the new normal which controller Manning made reference to are as follows: 1. Clean your hands often. Wash with soap and water or use an alcohol based sanitizer; 2. Keep a physical distance of at least 1.5 meters between yourself and others; 3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth; 4. Greet others with a smile, a nod or a simple hello-no handshakes, no fist bumps and no high fives; 5. Cough and sneeze in your bent elbow and not your hands; 6. Limit social gathering and time spent in crowded places; 7. Wear a face mask or face covering in all public places to protect yourself and others; and 8. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. Meanwhile, the country's COVID-19 cases stands at 867 with nine known deaths.  A total of 42,789 people have tested for the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Eight hundred and twenty-eight people have recovered whilst 104 samples are pending at the laboratories. Thirty active cases are in isolation. Sixteen provinces including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) have reported cases. The distribution of the cases is as follows: Provinces           Confirmed Cases NCD                   368 Western Province    214 West New Britain   179 East New Britain     30 New Ireland             21 Eastern Highlands    13 Western Highlands  10 Central                     10 Morobe                       9 East Sepik               3 Enga                       3 Milne Bay               2 West Sepik               2 Southern Highlands    1 AROB                       1 Hela Province       1 TOTAL                     867 Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 101,561,219 including 500,985 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.  The death toll is 2,196,944 of which 13,915 were reported in the last 24 hours.