The Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) 2021 focus will be on putting in efforts to improve its capacity to deliver support in nation building.  Commander Defense Force (CDF), Major General Gilbert Toropo, when giving his keynote address at the end of the year Commander’s Parade today in Port Moresby, said the focus of the PNGDF in 2021 is to deliver the establishment of a true nation building capacity and capability focused on civic action supply.  “We will look to contribute to the benefits and prosperity of the nation by engaging in a whole of nation approach and initiate programs to integrate the program by the government agencies, national, regional and local authorities, and key private sector stakeholders.”  “We will start in earnest to look to upgrade and where necessary, acquire the platforms, systems and equipment to undertake effect command, control, coordination and communication delivery to civil defense responses. Provide resources on humanitarian security delivery, and the starting of a national youth development program.”    Meanwhile, the commander also urged his men and women to continue to carry out their duties diligently in serving the government of the day and the country and its people during this time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the country and the world.   CDF Toropo also said when the virus hit the country early this year, it affected a lot of things, including the PNGDF. But the Force responded quickly and was able to work with the government and other organizations to handle the virus.  “We have come a long way in the last 12 months despite the constraints and restrictions placed upon us by COVID-19. We still have a long and exciting journey ahead of us and I am confident we have now set the conditions for the next step of our voyage,” said the CDF.   Nevertheless, the PNGDF as an organization is ready to take on the uncertainty that 2021 will bring, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on country, said Commander Toropo. 

The CPL Group of companies continue to make shopping convenient for its customers with the launching of its new Online Supermarket website this week in Port Moresby. CPL Managing Director, Sir Mahesh Patel, said the new online service will make shopping easy for customers who may not have time on their hands to do shopping in their various outlets around the city. The CPL Managing Director also admits that there are other e-commerce platforms around but believe that this one is unique as it offers health and beauty lines, and general merchandise lines apart from the main food lines. “We got a whole team of people who will be servicing the customers. Delivery will be done to your offices or to your homes or you could actually pay, what we call click and collect, so you can pay, and your order will be ready.” “You could order online, come here at a certain designated time and you just pick and go. We got a specialized team focusing on it to make sure the quality controls are checked, and the customer services are done. This is all purely online so if the products are not available or out of stock, it will drop off from our website,” he said. The CPL group is planning to go nationwide with this new online service. Right now, its only for customers in Port Moresby, but the service should go nationwide in January 2020. The new website went online as of yesterday and customers can just log into shop.cpl.com.pg to see the various items to choose from and order. [audio mp3="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CPL-next-phase.mp3"][/audio]

Despite the increase in energy supply to the Port Moresby power grid, power transmission is letting the people down with the current poor state of power infrastructures.  This has been the case lately with numerous power outages experienced by residents and business house in the nation’s capital city. The latest case was yesterday where a High Voltage Line (HVL) fell at Gerehu Stage two at 2:45pm, which caused the Waigani Feeder 4 to trip causing a blackout in the Gerehu suburb. Some parts were restored later in the afternoon while the rest restored in the evening at around 7pm.    Nevertheless, there is a major project coming up very soon that should address this issue. The project was mentioned quite recently by the PNG Power Ltd (PPL) Board Chairman Mr. Peter Nupiri, which would see the maintenance and improvement being done to address the power transmission problem in the city.  “We’re starting to do some work now and through ADB, there is a K60 million funding. Some study going on at the moment to try to understand what’s happening with the grid and how best we can be able to improve,” he said.   Meanwhile according to the state-owned power company, this feasibility study is expected to be completed soon before moving on to the actual project and contractor approval for the start of the project.    

The upcoming inaugural 2020 Sepik Culture and Agriculture Show, apart from it showcasing the Sepik cultures and traditions, will also be a catalyst for the promotion of domestic tourism.  Mr. Alois Mateos, who is the owner and operator of Sepik Adventure Tours and President of the Sepik Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said this event has the potential to pull in local tourists, and already his guest house in Wewak town has been fully booked by cultural groups for the event.   Mr. Mateos, who was at the official launching of the event in Port Moresby on 14th November said, “For domestic tourism, this is the way to go. But we need to really study the local market to see where we are at with this,” he said.   The COVID-19 pandemic really impacted the tourism industry, hurting the small-time operators like himself, and events like this where operators can benefit from domestic tourism, is appreciated.     Meanwhile, things are progressing with the preparation to stage this event with traditional groups already coming in to register said Mr. Mateos.   The event will also signify the passing of the torch from the old leaders of Sepik, including Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare and Sir Peter Lus, to the young leaders. Mr. Mateos said this will be the highlight of the Sepik Culture and Agriculture Show.  The three days event will be staged next week in Wewak town from the 11th to the 13th of December.  

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) restructuring exercise will see the office of the Commander and Chief of Staffs restructured and then down to the other branches. Commander Defence Force (CDF) Major General, Gilbert Toropo, announced yesterday that the Office of the Commander will have two deputy Chief of Staff under a new structure: Deputy Chief of Defence Operations and Deputy Chief of Defence Administrations. Toropo said this restructure will take place over the festive season break and will signify the shift from current standard of operation, to moving the defence force to a new level under the “Force 2030” plan. “The Force 2030 plan is a good plan to modernise the PNG Defence Force so that we are better structured and we build our capabilities to conduct our core tasks, that includes maritime security, land security, internal security as well as one of our important key activities that will also comprise of these changes, the nation building program activities, which also includes a reserve force that we want to incorporate the national youth development program with,” said the CDF. The plan is to create a professional military organisation that is capable of handling internal matters and engaging in overseas missions. But this will require funding and other support from the government and from partners, like Australia and New Zealand, said the Commander.  This is because the restructure will see the expansion of the force as well and that will require equipment and new military bases to cater for the manpower.  “Because we believe that with this restructuring, it will really help our people internally with nation building activities, so we need every government support where possible.” “Our partners have been made aware of it and are willing to come on board the journey we’ve started and they have been part of this planning process, so we are happy with the support they have given, especially Australia, New Zealand.” Meanwhile, CDF Toropo also said the United States is looking at partnering the PNGDF as well, which is a welcoming news especially at this time. 

The Papindo Trading Company is the first company the Independent Consumer Competition Commission (ICCC) is taking to court over its breach of price regulations under Order 8 on certain goods, during the COVID-19 State of Emergency (SoE) and lockdown periods this year. ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Paulus Ain, said the Company was found to have increased prices for rice and sugar in their Goroka retail outlets more than 5% without seeking approval from ICCC to do so. The Commission on the 18th of November, filed proceedings in the Waigani District Court against Papindo for failing to pay fines to ICCC pursuant to the SoE Order 8. Mr. Ain assured that Papindo is the first of many other prosecutions that the ICCC will be taking up in the next two months. The case is the outcome of the Price Surveillance exercise conducted by the ICCC during the COVID-19 SoE into businesses on the unjustified increase of prices for certain goods monitored by the ICCC. Those businesses that breach the order were fined K5, 000 for first time offenders and K10, 000 for repeated offenders. Although some have paid up for breaching the order, others have not, and it is these ones the ICCC is going after. About 246 businesses did not comply with the regulations and halve of that have not paid up their fines. “The ICCC is now taking steps to prosecute these businesses for failing to pay their fine. Failure to pay the fine amounts to a breach of the Emergency (General provisions) (COVID-19) Act 2020,” Mr. Ain said.

When COVID-19 hit the country earlier this year, everything slowed down, and new measures were put in place to ensure safety for everyone. This later affected a lot of things including sporting activities, which saw cancellations or postponements of sporting events and competitions. The AFL code was one of the victims, having to wait for a long while before getting the approval from the National Pandemic Response Controller to go ahead like the other sporting codes. Eventually it did and AFL Port Moresby was one competition that wasted no time to kick things off with a short season, which started in October and eventually ending this Saturday, 28th November with the grand finals. Port Moresby AFL President, Mr. Douglas Lai, has nothing but praises for the clubs for making this 2020 season a success despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. “Let me say thank you to all the clubs that participated in the short POM AFL season, thank you very much that we reached our grand final today.” Meanwhile, in the 2020 Moni Plus Senior Men’s grand final match between the defending premiers the West Eagles and the Kokofa-Cats, saw the Eagles defeated their opponents in a hard and fast footy match. The Eagles dominated the first, second and third quarters of the match. Although the Kokofa-Cats really put on a challenge in the final fourth quarter with two goals, it was not enough to score a victory. The final scores; West Eagles 44, Kokofa- Cats 33. Eagles captain, Jeffery Namati, thanked the boys and attributed the victory to good teamwork. “To the boys of West Eagles, club management, the team, thank you for everything for the short season.” “We put in a hundred percent into training, day in day out. So, thank you very much this one is for you guys.” Also, in the Senior Women’s match saw the Lamana Dockers defeated Mix Mates to grab the victory for 2020 Moni Plus Women’s Premiership. Like most sporting events, things would not have been possible without sponsors. Therefore, the President also thanked Moni Plus and local businessman and former PNG Mosquitoes, Mr. Walter Yongomina for the continuous and generous support this season. Meanwhile, the 2021 Season is expected to start early around February.

Who would have thought so much could ride on an All Blacks Test against Argentina? But this weekend's game has taken on much more significance given the side's first ever loss to the Pumas two weeks ago and the fact they've lost two tests on the trot - something they haven't done since 2011. Some All Blacks fans and punters might be baying for Ian Foster's blood but would getting rid of the All Blacks coach be a short-sighted knee jerk reaction or right move? We're also talking cricket - the Black Caps international summer gets underway with a three match T20 series against the West Indies. It's been 260 days since the New Zealanders last played - so what can we expect? And Wynton Rufer talks about getting the better of the late great Diego Maradona. Joining Bridget Tunnicliffe on RNZ's Extra Time is White Fern Suzie Bates from managed isolation with an update on her injury status, veteran cricket commentator Bryan Waddle, and RNZ sports reporters Joe Porter and Barry Guy. [audio mp3="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/extratime-20201127-1300-extra_time_for_27_november_2020-128.mp3"][/audio] Source: rnz.co.nz  

THE oversupply of power into Port Moresby’s power grid has its benefits, one being a reduction of the cost of electricity passed on to customers but benefiting from this will now depend on an improved distribution of electricity provided by PNG Power Ltd (PPL), the state-owned power company. PNG Power Board Chairman Mr. Peter Nupiri, when speaking at the commissioning of the new Dirio Gas and Power plant in central province on Thursday 19th November, said with this oversupply, the company will now be looking at how it can be able to utilize it. “We now need to start looking at how we can be able to utilize that power. That of course is a challenge for PNG Power,” he said. But some of the power infrastructures that have been classified as poor or deteriorating, must be fixed, or improved also to cater for this supply, so that uninterrupted service can take place. Therefore, the focus will be on putting the money where it is needed, that is in the infrastructures, but funding has always been an ongoing challenge with PNG Power. “Many of you know PNG Power we have not been doing very well, but it’s a long journey and we have all those challenges there. In terms of power generation, Port Moresby we are okay, but we still have to address a whole lot of other issues we have.” “We haven’t been able to invest enough money to upgrade, to repair our existing infrastructure. That’s our biggest challenge in the Port Moresby grid” But this is not stopping the power company to put in efforts to improve its service to the people. Mr. Nupiri, also announced that work is being done to really do something about this matter. “We are starting to do some work through ADB, there is a 60million Kina funding with some studies going on at the moment to try to understand what’s happening with the grid, so we can improve,” he said. Meanwhile, the oversupply is attributed to direct input of 45 megawatts from the new Dirio gas power plant, 55 megawatts from the Niu Power gas power plant and 40 megawatts from Rouna hydro. This, however, will further increase with 25 megawatts from Edevu hydro power plant in central province. PNG Power is responsible for the distribution of electricity on the city’s grid, and apart from its own Rouna power stations, it purchases power from other providers such as Dirio and Niu Power.

The newest private power plant, Dirio Gas & Power project in Central province, should boost the electricity supply to the city of Port Moresby after it was launched just recently. It was officially opened on Thursday 19th of November by Prime Minister (PM) James Marape, to start generating electricity using gas supplied from the PNG LNG project. The plant will generate 45 megawatts (MW) of power that will be supplied to the city’s power grid at a rate of 37 toea per kilowatt, which will then be distributed by PNG Power Ltd as per the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between the two companies. [audio mp3="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dirio-Power.mp3"][/audio] Hela Governor, Philip Undialu, hopes that from this major achievement, the developers of the PNG LNG project will now have great confidence in the resource landowners in getting into other major business projects in the future. “We have 20 years of power supply contract with PNG Power and almost 25 years of gas supply from ExxonMobil PNG, so your investment is not wasted,” he said. “Welcome you all to the class of corporate world, we are no longer the bystanders, rent collectors and royalty collectors.” He also thanked everyone involved including the National Government, for getting this massive project off the ground for the landowners. The idea to invest in the electricity business was coined back in 2018 when the project’s initial stages also started. Meanwhile, PNG Power Ltd has been urged to put together a formula that should see residents and business houses in Port Moresby pay less for electricity supply. PM Marape said with Dirio coming online and Niu Power already producing electricity, plus the hydro power generation coupled with other private power producers generating electricity, means over 103 megawatts of power is now supplied to the city, which is an oversupply of electricity, and this should see a reduction in the cost of sale of electrical energy to PNG Power. “I want all our manufacturing plants in Port Moresby to have excess to cheap power. PNG Power you now have first opportunity with half the cost of power being passed to you, I want this to be passed on to customers and customers to enjoy cheap power in Port Moresby,” said the PM. The Dirio project proposed to supply Port Moresby with 45 MW of power using natural gas purchased from the PNG LNG Project. The plant will operate three 15 MW Titan Solar turbines, producing the total energy capacity of 45 MW. The landowner company signed the PPA with PNG Power in September 2019, agreeing to supply electricity at a price lower than other third-party suppliers. Dirio aims to deliver cheaper power, making electricity more affordable.

The 2021 National Budget was passed in parliament yesterday in a house consisting mostly of government members, but whether due process was followed or whether if it was legal the way it was passed, is now up to the lawyers of both sides of the house to debate on. The Executive Director of the Papua New Guinea Institute of National Affairs (PNG INA), Mr. Paul Barker, who commented on what unfolded yesterday, said it is true that the proper process was not followed and this was attributed to the situation surrounding the two sides at the moment, which are the legal aspects of the adjournment of parliament by the Opposition to December 1st and the reconvening of the sitting called for by the Speaker of Parliament, which the recent events that unfolded in parliament, lead to. “The Opposition was not present, certainly the government would argue they chose to leave, and the argument would be made by the government that the adjournment was not conducted accordingly. I will leave that to the lawyers to debate the requirements,” he said. “But, if that was valid and if it was not adjourned properly, then I suppose that parliament had not adjourned and therefore was still sitting and therefore, the budget session was still ongoing and the government of the day had all the right to proceed.” “Legality is one thing; due process is another and you can argue that parliament is not being used to its fullest, and the openness and transparency process is not being used.” “I have no doubt that during the course of time the Opposition will be seeking legal advice as will be the government and maybe battling it out for reference in the supreme court for the legality.” He said the courts will be tested to give their assessments on what the Government and the Opposition have done in the last few days. [audio mp3="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Legality-and-Due-Process_.mp3"][/audio]