The latest must have fashion item is a Lavagirl design outfit or an accessory from Maku Gifts. For the convenience of customers in Port Moresby, and just in time for the festive season too; designer behind the labels - Annette Sete and her team, have just recently opened their Port Moresby shop at the Pacific Palms’ Steamships complex, Ahuia Street, Gordons. From a mixed parentage of East New Britain and East Sepik Province, Entrepreneur and Fashion Designer, Annette Sete has come a long way in her fabric design pieces and jewelry line collection.  “A lot of travelling was involved overseas and domestically. The struggle to find little gifts items that were truly Papua New Guinean was difficult.” “The initial plan was to use what available resources we had to create something that is not found in the market.” “And in mid-2014, one of the big gaps in the market was finding an appropriate fabric with local prints that truly tell a story.” Ms Sete added that quite a lot of misinterpretation of prints created by Chinese had Highlands’ men in a head-dress sitting in a canoe but that did not make sense and did not have a story behind it. That was when the birth of the idea Annette used to print local authentic designs on fabrics that were very particular to the people and that Papua New Guineans could identify happened. She also got creative by doing earrings and home decorative pieces like wind chimes and coasters. “Craft markets only concentrate on bigger items like bilums, baskets, carvings but what I was looking for was something small that I could pack into my laptop bag or bilum or my hand bag and take with me.” In mid-2014, Facebook was used for a lot of Ms Sete’s marketing and advertising. At that time of advertising on social media, there were not a lot of people making and selling things. “It wasn’t the ones that use smartphones or things like that. They were our village mothers, our settlement mothers and our housewives. They were the ones selling at the craft market.” She further stated, “I’d like to think and say that we influenced a little bit of what the market is doing right now because when we posted about making earrings and the dresses, people were loving the idea.” “Women created clothes and sold along the roads but to find a particular print Papua New Guineans could relate to, was what we were able to bring to the market.” She also added, for that, she had to find the problem in the market and find a solution for that and using her experience in Media and Marketing aided with the growth. “We only created one item at first and would have it advertised and based on the number of sales for that item on that day, we would create the product. And in a way it grew our business and customers.” Although there are a lot of designs that look like Lavagirls, it is easier to differentiate as clarified by Annette herself. “We focus only on one design on a particular fabric and do not mix or squeeze a lot of designs onto the fabric.” That is the aspect of Lavagirl that sets it apart from others and what makes that; along with Maku Gifts, and Sete’s Men’s Fashion Wear, Xplosion so appealing to so many people.

Prime Minister, Hon. James Marape, MP, has urged public servants within the Department of Prime Minister & National Executive Council to be loyal and committed to their work to serve the country. He said this during the department’s staff Christmas function at Sir Manasupe Haus in Port Moresby today. He said every one including himself as prime minister, ministers, politicians and senior public servants were there for a purpose and must remain committed to their work - whether small or big. “Each one of us have been made and put where we are, in whatever position and division we work, to do our best in our nation’s progress and development,” Prime Minister Marape said. “We must ask ourselves what we can do for our country and not what we always expect the Government, politicians and country can do for us. You and I are one of the, or amongst the top elites and educated people, and are privileged to be working in the public service." “We are getting paid when majority - over 90 per cent of our people - remain unemployed and are in the far flung fringes of our rich and vast beautiful country.” Prime Minister Marape told the staff, including his Ministerial staff from the Office of Prime Minister, that their actions and or inactions towards their work could cause and or have a huge impact on the progress and development of the country. “We still have about 90 per cent of our people living in poverty and not accessing basic Government services,” he said. “We owe it to them to work hard to ensure Government policies are implemented and projects delivered on time. “As we look back to this year 2020, with the many challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, a downturn in our economy and the political events of late, we ask if we have remained faithful to our duties and work." “Every end of the year, and at other times, we end up having huge workshop luncheons and Christmas functions with food and drinks. “But have we done enough to ensure our people get the benefits they deserve?” Prime Minister Marape also informed staff that the Government was focused on the small business sector. He urged public servants and staff of the Department to look out of their work environment and do something for themselves when they retired. The retirees are: Messrs. Hudson Ramatlap, Arai Pula, Pondros Selan, Petrus Awang, Joe Malachy, Joachim Gahekave and Veari Kapi. Prime Minister Marape, whilst thanking them said their 184 years of combined service to the Government and country, was a sign of commitment and dedication. He announced the Government was looking at ensuring that public servants and other workers in the private sector could be able to access land to build homes. “We are working closely with the Minister for Lands (Hon. John Rosso), and Housing and Urbanisation (Hon. Justin Tkatchenko), to make land titles available to first-time home buyers and owners who want to build their own homes,” Prime Minister Marape said. “Land is scarce and a need. “We will do what we can do for our citizens to live in a home, and go to work to serve our people.” Prime Minister Marape also commended outgoing Chief Secretary to Government, Ambassador Isaac Lupari, for his continued support to the Public Service and Government. He said the Chief Secretary’s position was abolished to create thinner and flatter public service structure to ensure secretaries of each department reported to their ministers and Cabinet directly. The Government has appointed Ambassador Ivan Pomaleu as the new Secretary to the Department of Prime Minister &NEC. He takes up his position in early 2021.

Over 17,000 Grade 12 students from secondary schools and national high schools nationwide will miss out on placings at tertiary institutions for 2021. Only 9,371 grade 12 students have been selected and are eligible to proceed onto tertiary institutions out of 27, 143 students that sat for the National Grade 12 examination for 2020. In total, 17,772 students have been denied a space, a slight drop from last years figures of 18, 318. This was revealed by the Secretary for Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST), Fr Jan Czuba during the launching of 2021 Admission selection of grade 12s today. He said these lot of students have met the required GPA for programs offered at the various tertiary institutions. Fr Jan admitted that there will be alot of disappointed students and parents given the results for this year's exams. "Our Grade 12's academic year has been cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic which has disturbed their studies" Fr Jan said there are 3000 spaces still available in the Tertiary institutions and he called upon the institutions to open their doors to those students who have been put in the admission pool. It is understood there about 18, 609 students named in the admission pool. Meanwhile students can be able to go online now on their NOAS account and check their names against the program and they applied for. The official publication of the selection result will be available on the DHESRT website by January 2021.

It is with deep sadness that I acknowledge the passing of Sir Mekere Morauta last Saturday afternoon, 19 December 2020. I know he fought a long battle and finally succumbed to his illness. Mine and Lady Veronica’s thoughts are with Lady Roslyn and James Morauta and Sir Mekere’s extended family at this time. In paying my respects I acknowledge the role Sir Mekere played at Independence in setting up our structures in the Department of Finance and the various roles he played in the fiscal, macroeconomic and structural policies and institutional reforms  of our country. He served PNG well from the very beginning. I also acknowledge his role in politics when he became a member of parliament in 1997 and later Prime Minister in 1999. In his short term as Prime Minister he introduced notably the Organic Law on Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPACC) that enabled the National Alliance Party to form government and provide political stability from 2002 to 2011. The National Alliance Government was able to bring PNG back from the brink of economic collapse in 2002 as a result of Sir Mekere’s fiscal reforms. With political stability provided by OLIPPAC and good fiscal management PNG saw almost a decade of constant unprecedented growth. It is a lesson for us going forward that we must maintain good policies implemented by previous governments if we are truly serving the interests of our people. Furthermore we should give credit where credit is due. I therefore as former Prime Minister and former leader of the National Alliance Party am grateful to Sir Mekere for his contributions to laying foundations for the building of our nation, PNG. May his soul Rest In Peace

PM James Marape has named 5 new ministers to take up vacant portfolios in his new cabinet announced over the weekend after the departure of several government ministers from government to opposition. The new-look cabinet includes a slight reshuffle in ministries for his loyal ministers as well as MP’s that defected and returned to government ranks, given portfolios including Sam Basil, John Pundari, Wesley Nukundj and Tomati Kapili. Prime Minister Hon. James Marape said the ministerial line-up he announced reflects the Government’s vision of taking back the country.“My ministerial line-up is part of reconstructing our country,” Prime Minister Marape said.“This line-up combines youth, dynamism, vigor, energy and experience in taking back our country from the wrong path of corruption and complacency we have been travelling on for so long, especially over the last 10 years.”Prime Minister Marape said to turn around Papua New Guinea was not a task that could be achieved in 18 months.“However, we have started well, embarking on reforms in the resource sector, public service sector and law-and-justice sector,” he said. 1. Hon James Marape MP - Prime Minister & Minister for Bougainville Affairs 2. Hon Sam Basil MP - Minister for Commerce & Deputy PM 3. Hon Ian Ling Stuckey MP - Treasurer 4. Hon Sir John Pundari MP - Minister for Finance & Rural Development   5. Hon William Duma MP - Minister for SOE 6. Hon Soroi EOE MP - Minister for Foreign Affairs 7. Hon Joe Sungi MP - Minister for Public Service 8. Hon Walter Schnaubelt MP - Minister for Forest 9. Hon Johnson Tuke MP - Minister for Mining 10. Hon Michael Nali MP - Minister Works 11. Hon Jimmy Uguro MP - Minister for Education 12. Hon Westly Raminai MP - Minister Higher Education (DHERST) 13. Hon Jelta Wong MP - Minister for Health 14. Hon Westly Nukundj MP - Minister for Immigration 15. Hon Tomait Kapili MP - Minister for Labour & Employment 16. Hon John Simon MP - Minister Agriculture 17. Hon Henry Leonard Isi MP - Minister for Tourism 18. Hon Seki Agisa MP - Minister for Civil Aviation 19. Hon Wera Mori MP - Minister for Environment & Conservation 20. Hon William Onguglo MP - Minister for Police 21. Hon Bryan Kramer MP - Minister for Justice 22. Hon Win Bakri DAKI MP - Minister for CS 23. Hon Wake Goi MP - Minister for Community Development. 24. Hon Lino Tom MP- Minister Fisheries 25. Hon Timothy Masiu MP - Minister for ICT 26. Hon Pila Niningi MP - Minister Provincial Affairs 27. Hon Justin Tkatchenko MP - Minister for Housing 28. Hon Solan Mirisim MP - Minister Defence 29. Hon William Samb MP - Minister for Transport 30. Hon John Rosso MP - Minister for Lands 31. Hon Kerenge Kua MP - Minister for Petroleum 32. Hon Saki Soloma MP - Minister for Energy & Rural Infrastructure. 33. Hon Rainbo Paita MP - Minister for National Planning

"He was a man with very clear vision and determination. Sir Mek and I shared professional and cordial relationship and mutual admiration," said Sir Julius Chan. Sir J recalled back in 1973 when the late Sir Mek became the first national Secretary for Finance replacing English man Harry Ritchie while Sir J was Minister for Internal Finance. "Our first international loan pilgrimage for only $US 5 million from the Swiss Bank was repaid back before maturity, establishing PNG's credibility without Aussie guarantee." "We went from Zurich to St. Moritz, where we were lifted in a cable car with snow all around us. It was an experience of a lifetime." Sir J said it then that, their continued personal and working relationship together with Sir Henry ToRobert began the Grand Financial and Banking revolution for PNG. "Sir Mek was a clear and meticulous thinker. A man with a clear purpose in life. " "Stella and I have lost a great friend and PNG a visionary leader. Our prayers are with his family at this time of sorrow."

Controller of the National Pandemic Response, David Manning has called on all citizens to use the Christmas celebrations leading into new year to reflect on how they have fared this year in their compliance to COVID-19 protocols with an aim to improve in the new year (2021). Controller Manning when making the call, urged citizens to remain vigilant of the dangers of COVID-19 during the time of Christmas and New year celebrations. Mr Manning reiterated his earlier calls further calling on citizens to practice basic hygiene and safe distancing as part of a new culture as individuals, families and communities prepare to celebrate the festive season. With six days before Christmas, Mr Manning is concerned that citizens may drop their guard against the virus during the time of celebrations. “Every citizens must adopt to behaviors and actions that are consistently practiced to reduce risk of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases,” says Mr Manning. He said citizens must not lose sight of measures contained in the new normal during the time of celebrations. He said the measures contained in the new normal are as follows: Clean your hands often. Wash with soap and water or use an alcohol based sanitizer;Keep a physical distance of at least 1.5 meters between yourself and others;Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth;Greet others with a smile, a nod or a simple hello-no handshakes, no fist bumps and no high fives.Cough and sneeze in your bent elbow and not your hands;Limit social gathering and time spent in crowded places;Wear a face mask or face covering in all public places to protect yourself and others; andClean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. Meanwhile, the country’s total positive cases todate stands at 761 and 9 deaths. Sixteen provinces including AROB have reported cases. The distribution of the cases is as follows: ProvincesCasesNCD361Western Province204West New Britain124Eastern H/lands13East new Britain13Western H/lands10Central9New Ireland8Morobe6East Sepik3Enga3Milne Bay2West Sepik2Southern H/lands1AROB1Hela Province1TOTAL761 Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 72,851,747, including 642,738 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 1,643,339; of which 12,407 were reported in the last 24 hours.

Acting Chief Secretary to the Government, Ambassador Issac Lupari has conveyed the Executive Management and staff of the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council and the entire PNG Public Service, deepest condolences to Lady Roslyn and the Morauta family on the passing of the former Prime Minister, Sir Mekere Morauta, KCMG. Sir Mekere is the current Sitting Member for Moresby North-West Electorate until his passing yesterday (Saturday, 19 December, 2020) in Brisbane. "His death is a great loss to the people of Moresby North-West and Papua New Guinea as a whole." Sir Mekere, 74, from Kukipi Village in Gulf Province graduated at the University of Papua New Guinea and was the first Papua New Guinean to receive a Bachelor in Economics in 1970. His contribution to Public Service, as a senior Public Servant and Department Head, Governor of the Bank of PNG, Minister and Prime Minister is unsurpassed. He was an eminent economist and spearheaded economic and public policy reforms that continue to deliver benefits to our people and our nation to this very day. "Sir Mekere was a visionary leader who leaves a lasting legacy. May his soul rest in eternal peace, and may we be forever grateful for the contribution that he made."

A man of few words, with a long decorated political career of just over 20 years, the late Sir Mekere Morauta had contributed immensely to the growth and progress of Papua New Guinea before his passing and will be sadly missed by his political family circle and those who met him and came know him in person. The late member for Moresby North-West Sir Mek died peacefully on Saturday in Brisbane, Australia after a long battle with cancer, according to a statement from his family. He is survived by his wife Lady Roslyn and son James Morauta. Funeral arrangements will be made available at a later date. Sir Mekere was born in 1946 in Kukipi, a coastal village east of Kerema in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea. He was educated at local primary schools, at Kerema High and at Sogeri National High. He went on to study at the University of Papua New Guinea, where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics in 1970. He was also an exchange student at Flinders University in South Australia. In a statement from his family, Sir Mekere Morauta was the first graduate in Economics from the University of Papua New Guinea.  He became a Member of the Papua New Guinea National Parliament in 1997 as a member of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) and was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002.  From 1997 to 2012 and 2017 to 2020 he held the seat of Moresby North-West in the national Parliament. Prior to entering politics, Morauta was Secretary for Finance (1972-1982), Managing Director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation (1983-1992), Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea (1993-1994), a company director and successful businessman. As Prime Minister, Mekere Morauta is credited with initiating significant constitutional and economic reforms.  In 1999 the Papua New Guinea economy was on the brink, with government finances in disarray and a currency that was spiralling to inconvertibility.  Morauta devised and led a rescue package, which stabilised the economy and the budget.  Key institutions of state were strengthened, and important reforms were introduced to the financial sector, especially in banking and superannuation, and to the structure and workings of the public sector.  Constitutional changes were also introduced which brought stability to politics in Papua New Guinea and laid the foundation for the orderly development of political parties.   As Minister for Public Enterprises from 2011-2012, Morauta re-set the primary focus of the Independent Public Business Corporation, concentrating on strengthening it to undertake the important job of rehabilitating the state-owned enterprises. After retiring from politics in August 2012, Sir Mekere was appointed by the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum as the Eminent Person to review the Pacific Plan.  The report was published in 2013. In 2012 he was also appointed Chairman of the Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Program Company. In 2017 he re-contested for Parliament and won the seat of Moresby North-West. Sir Mekere was born in Kukipi Village, Malalaua District, East Gulf, to Morauta Hasu and Morikoai Elavo. His father, Morauta Hasu, was a leader of the Toaripi people of East Gulf, a Local Government Councillor, and Deacon of the London Missionary Society (later United Church). He was prominent in the Cooperative Movement for the Toaripi Association. Picture sourced:

A female staff member of the Divine Word University Administration was arrested and charged with thirty-nine (39) counts of stealing by false pretence and another thirty counts (39) counts of misappropriation of over K400,000.00, belonging to Divine Word University in Madang. Mrs Florence Roberta Airegi Castro-Sale of Tinganalom village, Kokopo District, East New Britain Province was reported to the National Fraud & Anti-Corruption Directorate (NFACD) by the Divine Word University, Administration alleging misappropriation of funds over K700, 000.00 belonging to the University. Upon receipt of the complaint, NFACD commenced investigation into the allegations made  which revealed that Mrs. Florence Roberta Airegi Castro-Sale whilst being employed by Divine University as Data Entry Officer / Accounts Payable, deliberately posted the duplicate claims to different account codes instead of the appropriate account code for Tuition Fee Refund. The alleged perpetrator manipulated the System on different dates & time through altering the name (description) of the student by adding characters, rearranging Initials, first name & surname back to front and vice versa to avoid a match in the system, which would have been rejected. The duplicate cheques were then brought to the signatories for signing. It was quite difficult for the signatories of the account to suspect anything because the unsigned cheques were accompanied with genuine (approved) documents and most cheques were Pay Cash and not by payee’s name. After signing, she then at different dates and time cashed the cheques whilst she deposited some genuine payments. She then misused other genuine and duplicate cheques. Through this scheme, she cashed a total of 112 fraudulent cheques over the Bank counter and walked away with K423, 587.00 money belonging to Divine Word University by abusing the school (DWU) policy and system of Students Tuition Refund. She was interviewed at Jomba Police Station, Madang and after the interview and completion of arrest and charge procedures, she was later detained at Jomba Police Station cells and will appear before the Madang District Court this week. Photo sourced:

News just in: We have received confirmed reports on the passing of the member for Moresby Northwest Sir Mekere Morauta today. Government sources close to late Sir Mek said he died in Brisbane Australia after a long illness. More updates to come as new information is made available.

Bank of South Pacific is proud to announce the launch of their online payment solutions for Tactical Ranger Systems (TRS), a local SME that specializes in providing innovative ICT solutions and valued added services to consumers and business in Papua New Guinea. “We aim to be the most agile end-to-end ICT solutions provider in PNG leveraging both our experience and expertise in security and digital technologies to customers over sound business practices and strong affiliations with various well-known tech vendors around the world”, said Director of Tactical Ranger Systems Ricky Kirori. He added on saying that as far as online payments are concerned, TRS goal is pretty simple, to bridge the technology gap and reduce the complexities that SME’s face in transacting securely and seamlessly with their customers. We like to keep things simple, and convenient, believing that tapping into a variety of online payment options for all SME’s is valuable, and attracts more business for them and in return, restoring trust and reliance with us and our digital platform and partner, BSP.  Our key products in focus are web design and development, hosting and software service solutions,” added Mr Kirori. TRS ICT Operations Specialist Glen Kiapgugu also said that, TRS understands the competitiveness of these specialized niche markets, however, envisions itself to be a pioneer portraying continuous improvement in reliability, adaptability with pricing and technology to protect customer loyalty. “Online transactions are rapidly evolving as a global trend and emerging technology in the digital space. More and more businesses are offering payment solutions in so many different forms, utilizing online payment platforms can considerably mitigating issues such as cumbersome processes, long queues, insecurity in transactions and risk of exposure,” added Kiapgugu. TRS operates headquarters in Port Moresby providing advanced innovative, reliable, modern security and ICT solutions to local businesses. Director of Tactical Ranger Systems, Ricky Kirori