The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Australian Football League (AFL) Commission has confirmed the final lists for both the senior men’s and women’s national teams for the 2024 AFL Pacific Cup coming up next month in Australia. AFL PNG Senior Football Operations Manager, Mr. Rex Leka said the two teams are now going through the training program, preparing for the Pacific Cup from the 18th to the 24th of November at the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane. “The two teams are ready with 28 players each, which will including two boys and two girls based in Australia to join the team when they reach Australia,” Mr. Leka said. Five countries will be participating in the Pacific Cup; PNG, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand, and Tonga. Australia will not be participating in the competition. Mr. Leka further explained that in the men’s competition, all five countries will be participating. While in the women’s competition, only four countries will participate; PNG, New Zealand, Nauru and Tonga. The senior national teams, the Flames and Mozzies, will leave PNG on the 16th of November for Australia. Meantime, the AFL PNG junior national teams, the girls Kurakums and the boys Binatangs teams, will also participate in the Pacific Cup in the under- 17 competition. AFL PNG Talent Academy already announced the under- 17 final team list. Mr. Leka also mentioned that there won’t be any friendly matches played by the senior national teams, as the teams will just head straight into the games right after the under- 17 competition.

It has been confirmed that the inaugural Highlands Regional Youth (RYG) Games will take place in November at the capital of Eastern Highlands province, Goroka. This confirmation was made following a recent meeting between the RYG Secretariat team and the Highlands Regional Coordinators, held on October 18th at the National Sports Institute (NSO) in Goroka. According to the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA), it was agreed upon in that meeting that the games will be held from the 18th to the 22nd of November 2024. The RYG Council Chairman then endorsed the decision. The Goroka District is set to host the games as confirmed by the District Administrator, Mr. Benson Imara. Also, the Eastern Highlands Governor, Simon Sia, is looking forward to seeing the games unfold. Meantime, of the 36 districts in the Highlands region, so far 17 districts are ready and looking forward to participating in the games. The number is bound to increase over the coming weeks. Preparations are underway beginning with accreditation to be held soon and all other related trainings for the games will be conducted by the team at NSI. The staging the Highlands Regional Youth Games follows the successful hosting of the New Guinea Islands (NGI) Regional Youth Games, which was held in Kavieng district of New Ireland province at the start of the month. According to the Director General of the NYDA Mr. Joe Itaki, the RYGs is an avenue to which the next up and coming sporting talents from the districts and regions of Papua New Guinea can be identified and later selected go through further training programs to become the next best athletes who will in the future represent the country in sports.

Papua New Guinea stands to benefit from stronger gold prices for the reminder of this year and going into 2025. That is the announcement from Kina Bank when stating in its latest economic report that the continued record gold prices will have positive implications for PNG’s gold export proceeds. When releasing its September 2024 Economic Update, Kina Bank Managing Director and CEO Greg Pawson said that gold prices reached record historical highs of US$2, 600 per ounce in September, and that trend is likely to continue given the uncertainties around the global economic outlook, in particular with the looming U.S elections and on-going middle east conflicts. “During these periods, gold is often seen as a safe-haven asset for investors,” Mr. Pawson said. “In addition, the anticipated rate cuts by the U.S Fed is poised to weaken the U.S dollar. There is a historical inverse relationship between gold and the dollar, so further rate cuts in the next quarter could see gold prices continue to spike. This could have positive implications for PNG’s gold export proceeds.” The bank also noted that there have been significant improvements in PNG’s foreign exchange (FX) market. The PGK/USD interbank rate continues its downward trend, with the import order book for essential items decreasing by 25% over the past year for Kina Bank. This improvement is attributed to the Bank of PNG’s consistent intervention levels, with the order book now also including non-essential goods in the import order book. Despite the inclusion of these new orders, waiting times for currency have reduced from months to around 4-6 weeks. Meanwhile, PNG Stock Exchange-listed companies involved in the export of key commodities reported very strong half-year profits, driven by high cocoa prices and resilient global equity markets. “Elevated international cocoa prices and resilient global equity market conditions were some of the key drivers that supported the performance of the local companies. Looking into the second half, we are expecting another strong performance from these companies.”

The law-and-order situation in the Porgera Valley and issues along the road at the landslip areas of Mulitaka in Enga province continues to affect the mining operations at New Porgera Limited (NPL). Just last week on Thursday 17th October, NPL issued a notice announcing that the Porgera mine has stood down operations due to recent violence in the Mulitaka area and illegal roadblocks along the Highlands Highway. Since the announcement, there has been nothing further from NPL on the status of the Porgera mine for almost a week now, meaning that the mine operations have stopped for this long. This is the second time now that the NPL has had to stood down operations, the first time was in September when NPL announced in a statement on Tuesday 17th September that it had to suspend most of its operations until the 19th of September for the protection of its employees due to law-and-order issues in Porgera, as most of the mine’s workforce is from the local community. The mine itself employs over 3, 000 workforce and the continued scale down of operations mean workers will be affected too, and another thing to mention as well is the implications to the country's economy due to the stop work, given that the mine is a major project in PNG. Nevertheless, NPL says that it will resume operations once law- and- order has been restored to the area.

NIUSKY Pacific Limited turns another chapter in its story with the launching of two significant documents aimed at taking the state-owned entity to new heights in its services to ensuring safe skies in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Launched today at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby city, are the NiuSky Pacific 2025- 2027 Corporate Plan and the Strategic Direction witnessed by NiuSky staff, the board and management and invited guests including the Minister for Aviation and Transport and MP for Namanatanai, Walter Schnaubelt. NiuSky Pacific Board Chairman, Mr. Robin Kembo’ nga Kawat said the launching today is a milestone achievement for NiuSky. He said the two documents took 22 months to put together, which started back in January 2023. He said the result today shows the determination of the NiuSky team modernize the entity so as to better provide tower control and air traffic services in PNG. Minister for Aviation and Transport, Walter Schnaubelt took the opportunity in his keynote speech to congratulate NiuSky Pacific Limited for its achievement, stating that this achievement, would not have been possible without external support. “At this juncture, on behalf of the Government and People of Papua New Guinea, I would like to again acknowledge and thank the Government and People of Australia through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for your respective partnerships as NiuSky Pacific’s key development partners, throughout that journey,” said Minister Schnaubelt. “I am proud to declare, that the launching of NiuSky Pacific’s Corporate Strategy through the ceremony we just witnessed, now paves way for the new direction, the new path forward, to what NiuSky envisions as the new future. It is an important next step in the company’s journey to sustaining and building on past achievements, as Papua New Guinea’s thriving Air Navigation Service Provider." He said this signals a new chapter for NiuSky Pacific Limited, aligning its focus with that of the National Government, which is to have a robust transport sector with improve facilities and high-end technologies. “This vision reflects the government’s commitment to enhancing our air transport systems while fostering inclusive development throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an important step forward as we strive for excellence in the provision of aviation services.” “With your renewed Strategic Direction as the compass and the comprehensive 3 year-long Corporate Plan as your commitment to deliver on the outcomes, we trust that we can expect a great deal more advancements in the provision of air navigation and air traffic management services and most importantly, that our skies will continue to be a safe place to travel,” the minister said. “Thank you for this commitment and for the determination to evolve, because you have to. Thank you for the sustained commitment and dedication to ensuring our skies are safe and for your contributions to the realization of our national government’s plans and key priorities for the development of the Aviation and Air Transport Industry in Papua New Guinea.” Meantime, NiuSky Pacific Acting Managing Director, Mr. Graham Blythe who gave a historical background of the evolution of the state entity from its days as a government department to its privatization and its progress to this stage, told his team that now its time to work together to effectively implement these two significant documents to achieve NiuSky Pacific strategic goals.

The national flag carrier, Air Niugini, has just added a new aircraft to its fleet of Q400 aircrafts to improve its services in the domestic route, all thanks to funding support from the National Government. Just over the weekend on Saturday 19th October, Air Niugini welcomed its 4th Q400 to Port Moresby city as part of the airline’s fleet transition program. The acquisition of this aircraft, PXT was fully funded by the National Government through the Public Investment Program (PIP) with the support of Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH). The aircraft costs about 7 million US dollars. There was water salute as part of tradition to welcome PXT as it touched down at Jacksons International Airport. Air Niugini Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Gary Seddon and part of his management team were at the airport to receive the aircraft. Mr. Seddon said it has been 10 years since Air Niugini last purchased an aircraft and the acquisition is a testament to the airline’s commitment to improving and expanding its services across the country. He thanked the Marape/Rosso government for the funding support through the PIP and KCH for its continuous invaluable assistance. “This aircraft will play a crucial role in improving our operating efficiency and schedule reliability on domestic routes. The advanced technology and versality are ideally suited for our operation needs, ensuring Air Niugini continues to provide safe, efficient, and reliable services to the people of Papua New Guinea.” “I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the government, particularly our Minster for State Owned Enterprises William Duma for championing this program as well as chairman and managing director and the team at KCH for their unwavering support in making this possible.” Mr. Seddon said Once all Civil Aviation Safety Authority, PNG (CASA PNG) regulatory requirements are complete, PXT is expected to commence commercial operations by November. The airline is looking at a total 8 to replace the current Dash 8 classics. Q400s are high in demand in this region, they are substantially larger, much faster, more comfortable, with vastly superior and more powerful engines and propellers, and carry up to 76 passengers, about 30 more than Dash8 classics. The Q400s are ideally suitable for operations in PNG environment.

The new TISA Bank is ready to open its doors to customers come next week Monday following its official launching last night in Port Moresby city witnessed by staff, dignitaries and the TISA board and management. TISA Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Sumit Pakharel said the Waigani branch in Port Moresby city will open on Monday 21st October, marking the start of operations for the newest homegrown bank in Papua New Guinea. "After this branch, we will open the Lae, Mt Hagen, Kokopo branches and then the other centers," he said. TISA has over 85, 000 members and the commencement of operations and subsequent extension of its banking services will serve its members better. TISA Bank Chairman, Mr. Moses Koiri, who is a distinguished senior lawyer and Principal of Albatross Law, said TISA aspires to be a bank for the people by focusing on improving banking services to empower customers and businesses to thrive, through its tailored service products to suit different customer needs. He said TISA aims to provide responsible banking services driven by the principle of serving the people. Meanwhile, guest speaker at the launching night Sir Ano Pala the Minister for National Planning and MP for Rigo open, praised TISA for its milestone achievement. Sir Pala, who represented Prime Minister James Marape at the event, said the introduction of TISA Bank into the country's banking sector would lead to better banking and financial services and improve the overall growth of the country's economy in the long run. The introduction of TISA bank will mean healthy competition in the banking sector, which will then lead to improved services and products provided to customers throughout the country, less banking fees, and the reach of banking services to the rural parts of the country will be improved, which will then lead to the country achieving financial inclusion for all Papua New Guineans. He concluded by thanking TISA for its services over the 52 years as a savings and loans society for teachers, and congratulated TISA for rolling out its first and newest commercial bank in Papua New Guinea.

Today in Port Moresby city saw 230 participants, mostly women, graduate with certificates from a new training program provided by the SME Corporation (SMEC). This new training program called "Invest and Grow Money", which runs for two weeks, aims to equip participants with the right skills and knowledge to start up their small business and then provide funding support for the participants through a soft loan, and later supporting them through further trainings to help their businesses grow. The Acting Manager Capacity Building, Mr. Bill Reuben said that initially the SMEC only provides training to participants from the SME sector over the years and does not provide fundings or conduct follow-ups on the progress of their businesses. But this new training program marks a new chapter for SMEC in helping Papua New Guineans start their small businesses. Mr. Ruben said the “Invest and Grow Money” program is new to the SMEC, but it has been very successful in many parts of the world, something which can be mirrored here in Papua New Guinea (PNG). SMEC Officer in Charge (OIC) and Director for the BACB Division, Mrs. Diana Guria said this new training program bridges the gap between training and funding support; a first for the SME Corporation in its 27 years of existence. “SME Corporation has seen gradual decline in business start- ups with its participants in the past Start Your Business (SYB) trainings, and now has opted to use a new approach of lending a manageable amount via revolving fund concept for participants to start businesses,” said Mrs. Guria K100, 000 was allocated by SMEC for this program, where K20, 000 will be diverted to the five main group accounts established with Women’s Micro Bank. Each participant will then get K500 soft loan for start ups. “After receiving the soft loan, all participants will undergo 16 weeks intensive business start- up program. They will start small businesses and manage their income generating projects for 16 weeks with the close supervision, assessment and evaluation by SME Corporation.” “It is anticipated that with the new concept, participants will start micro to small businesses immediately after the training, unlike the trainings conducted in the past because this time soft loans will be made available,” she said. She further added that at the end of the week- 16, each entrepreneur will repay the principle with no interest back to the SMEC and continue to operate with the remaining balance. The five groups consist of 40 participants each, and of the 230 first batch under this training program, 213 are women and 17 are men who graduated today at the FAPNG Building in Gordons.

A team from the Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) from Western province had the opportunity to learn about cocoa beans processing in a recent visit to the Huon Gulf district of Morobe province. Small holder cocoa farmers from the Huon Gulf District hosted the OTDF Board and Executive members to share ideas for community development by showcasing their cocoa drying facility. The visit saw the Nasuapum Cooperative Center showcase the village’s cocoa drier facility funded by Wafi-Golpu Joint Venture (WGJV). The visit was arranged by Mr. David Masani Community Affairs Manager for WGJV Project. Nasuapum Cocoa Cooperative Chairlady and Apollo Elliot Cooperative Center Manager, Mrs. Namoatz Apollo, presented to the visiting OTDF team the idea which the WGJV Project community affairs team term as the “Trupla Morobe” story. The husband-and-wife team established the Nasuapum Cocoa Co-operative, an endeavour aimed at transforming the lives of their community. With more than 50 active members, including women and youth, the co-operative reflects grassroots development through agriculture. In 2023 alone, the group earned K70,000, reinvesting in critical infrastructure projects like solar lighting for local schools. Supported by the (WGJV) and the Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea, it empowers local farmers to become self-sufficient, generating economic stability through sustainable cocoa farming practices. According to Mrs. Apollo, as the co-operative grows, it contributes to education, infrastructure, and skills training, reflecting the founders’ vision of self-reliance and progress. The visit also allowed OTDF officials to witness firsthand the co-operative's transformative impact on local people and infrastructure. Before proceeding to Nasuapum village project site, the OTDF team were shown the WGJV Project Information Center in the heart of Lae, and the production facility managed by the PNG Cocoa Board where the Solar Powered Cocoa Driers were being fabricated by a local team managed by Roy Pinjo of AP & Son fabrication team. This cocoa co-operative highlights the power of local entrepreneurship, innovation, and partnerships to bring lasting improvements to remote areas. It demonstrates how smallholder farmers, with the right support, can create sustainable change for generations to come.

Over ten business houses in the New Ireland province are now in the glaring eyes of the country’s consumer watchdog for price gouging. That watchdog, the Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC), issued a statement on this matter just recently stating that it will prosecute eleven (11) shops in the province for increasing their prices above 10 percent (10%) without prior approval from ICCC. During ICCC’s nationwide price measure exercise carried out in the province recently, it was recorded that 11 shops in Kavieng and Namatanai districts were found to have increased prices of certain goods listed in schedule 1 of the Price Measure No. 4 without seeking prior approval from the ICCC. Out of 32 shops inspected by the ICCC, 11 shops were issued with an Infringement Notice (IN) for failing to comply with the Price Control No. 4. Of this total, 8 shops were in Kavieng, 1 in Lakurumau (Poliamba) and 2 in Namatanai. These shops have been given 14- days if they choose to appeal the IN that was issued by the ICCC. In the appeal, these shops are to justify their reasons for increasing the prices of the certain goods sold or pay a K10, 000 fine for non- compliance. Failing this, they will be taken to court by the ICCC. ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Paulus Ain who was on ground, noted the retail prices for flour, cooking oil, laundry soap and sugar remained steady when the base price was collected last year during Phase 1. However, the prices for rice have been increasing gradually and it is a concern. Mr. Ain is warning shop owners who pretend to comply with the Price Order during the price inspection exercise that this is an ongoing exercise and if they are caught, they will be penalised. “Let this be a warning to all top shop owners that ICCC will not hesitate to penalise any shop that increases its prices of certain goods per Schedule 1 without applying to the ICCC prior to increasing the prices,” Mr. Ain warned. Meantime, the Commissioner also applauded the other shop owners for being compliant and keeping their prices at a reasonable level despite the current inflationary pressure experienced in the country.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape met with the New Zealand High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea (PNG) on yesterday where he proclaimed that NZ continues to be very consistent partner the country’s development. Prime Minister Marape described New Zealand as “steady and reliable” in its partnership with PNG during his meeting with the New Zealand High Commissioner, H.E Peter Zwart. The bilateral meeting saw the two leaders discuss common issues of mutual interest between the two countries, New Zealand’s involvement in community development projects throughout the country, ongoing technical support to the revitalization of the Papua New Guinea public service, and Bougainville. In the next three years, New Zealand expects to invest some K350 million into projects and programs in PNG, including the rehabilitation of Lae market which has started. Prime Minister Marape thanked High Commissioner Zwart and the New Zealand Government for the assistance and continued his call for technical assistance in expertise to support the public service further. He acknowledged the similarity of indigenous cultures between PNG and the Maori and appealed for New Zealand’s assistance in supporting the growth of agriculture in the country, while inviting New Zealand companies to extend their investments in PNG. Marape highlighted to Mr. Zwart the country’s upcoming 50th Independence anniversary next year, revealing that the Government was planning a special reconciliatory event for Bougainville “to bring closure”, which, he said, New Zealand would have a special role to play in because of its continued involvement in the Bougainville peace process.

Indonesia’s President elect, Prabowo Subianto, while on his first State Visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in August, extended his invitation to Prime Minister (PM) James Marape for his inauguration, of which Marape accepted and will attend this weekend. Marape will represent the government and people of PNG at the inauguration of H.E. Prabowo Subianto as the eighth President of the Republic of Indonesia, scheduled for this Sunday, October 20, 2024, at the Senayan Parliament Complex in Jakarta. President-elect Subianto will be inaugurated alongside Vice President elect H.E. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of outgoing President H.E. Joko Widodo. The inauguration ceremony will be attended by an array of esteemed international dignitaries, including leaders and high-ranking representatives. Key Indonesian figures, including former Presidents Megawati Sukarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, will also be present, underscoring the significance of this occasion in the nation’s history. PM Marape’s participation highlights the robust state of PNG-Indonesia relations, which have grown markedly stronger over recent years. President-elect Subianto and Prime Minister Marape engaged in a productive dialogue during the President-elect’s visit to Port Moresby in August, reaffirming mutual commitments to further collaboration between the two nations. The Prime Minister also recently held discussions with outgoing President Widodo during the 3rd PNG-Indonesia Annual Leaders’ Dialogue, hosted in Jakarta from July 13-15, 2024. Since its inception in Jakarta in 2022, this Dialogue has become a cornerstone of bilateral cooperation, paving the way for increased engagement across multiple sectors. In August, Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso led a PNG government delegation to Indonesia, seeking to promote trade and investment opportunities for Papua New Guinean businesses in Indonesian markets. This delegation included prominent leaders, such as International Trade and Investment Minister Hon. Richard Maru and Labor Minister Hon. Kessy Sawang, as well as key figures from the private sector, signalling a deepening of economic and diplomatic ties between the two countries. Reflecting on Indonesia’s progress, Prime Minister Marape remarked: “The remarkable growth of Indonesia, our closest neighbour, from a developing nation to a global economic powerhouse, is nothing short of extraordinary. Reflecting on Indonesia’s growth, Marape said Indonesia’s success in sectors such as downstream processing of minerals and LNG, agriculture, tourism, and SMEs offers invaluable lessons for PNG. “As Indonesia ascends to the world stage, we have much to gain by collaborating and learning from their journey.” He said Indonesia's economy, the largest in Southeast Asia, stands as a testament to what can be achieved through strategic vision and determination.