The official start of the Port Moresby AFL 2024 season has been pushed back to this weekend to give time for the preparation of the Colts Oval before the matches are held. President of the Port Moresby AFL Association, Mr. Douglas Lai confirmed that the pre- season should start this weekend. “This week, we will be clearing and cleaning the field, cut the grass and do line markings to mark the boundaries,” said President Lai. He added that this week they’ll be looking at securing a sponsor for this season as well and that is expected to be announced, along with the season opener, on Thursday 21st March. The pre- season was scheduled to commence the 2024 season last weekend, but due to the wet conditions caused by the heavy rains, this has now been moved to this Saturday, 23rd March. The Port Moresby AFL Association along with the clubs, their teams and the fans cannot wait for the season to start and hauling in another exciting year of footy action. Meanwhile, the AFL Easter Cup is also confirmed to take place this year with the matches to be played out during the Easter weekend.

The Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) has revealed a number of factors that are behind the increases in the domestic price of rice products, which it has been monitoring for some time. The ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Paulus Ain, said the domestic price for rice products have remained high for some time and further increased in early 2023 to the beginning of 2024 as a result of a number of global and domestic factors. Rice, being one of the declared goods directly under the ICCC price monitoring oversight, and as part of ICCC’s price monitoring role, the Commission noted an increase of about 12.88% for the 1kg medium grain (blended) since March 2023, and an increase of 12.96% for international prices of rice since January 2023. These are increases at the factory level (factory- gate- price) and the international prices since 2023. “The ICCC has been closely monitoring the trend in domestic prices of rice at the factory- gate level as well as at the wholesale and retail levels, to identify and address any inefficiencies that may add to increased prices of rice domestically,” said Mr. Ain. “Whilst a few of the retail shops may decide to increase their prices for genuine and valid reasons, some retailers may use such opportunities to increase their prices at unreasonably higher levels than what they should be charging." Mr. Ain said with the government’s initiatives to help the consumers during these unprecedented times, the ICCC is keeping a close watch on businesses to ensure they don’t increase their prices unnecessarily to the disadvantage of the consumers. However, the ICCC can only observe the domestic prices and do less on price controlling because since the ICCC’s mandate on rice as a declared good is more light- handed, the Commission is limited only to price monitoring as opposed to controlling the domestic price of rice. Therefore, Mr. Ain explained that the government will have to seek exceptional powers outside of its legislative limitations to impose stringent controls (maybe price control) on the wholesale and retail prices for some food items, including rice. Meanwhile, the other factors behind the increase in the domestic price of rice products are; · General increases in the international prices for rice, especially long grain Indica variety and the Glutinous variety. The reduction in international supply of rice due to reduced harvest, has forced world market prices for rice to soar higher, affecting domestic prices in PNG, since the country imports most of its rice from overseas markets. · Shipping delays and disruptions due to re- routing of ships also affect international export prices for rice products, such as India. This has affected domestic prices. · Fixed (contract) international prices. The domestic importers of rice enter into purchase agreements with their international suppliers by locking a certain price. The agreed price will not be adjusted regardless of the price increases or decreases in the future. · The current weak performance of the PNG Kina against major trading currencies has also impacted the domestic prices of rice, despite reductions in the international prices for certain rice varieties, including all other imported food and non- food items.

The population in the rural parts of the country can expect better internet access using their devices all thanks to Telikom’s new OneWeb partnership with SkyTel. Through this partnership, Telikom customers can now stay connected through Low Earth Orbit Internet with OneTel, delivering high- speed internet coverage wherever they are operating. Simply put, OneWeb means that no location in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has to be remote. Now, mining companies, local communities and government operations can benefit from high-speed internet connections via satellite. “OneWeb is designed for PNG conditions,” said Telikom Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Amos Tepi. SkyTel CEO, Mr Michael Cratt, is excited about the benefits this partnership delivers to the nation. “At SkyTel, we’re thrilled about today’s announcement, and we are committed to supporting Telikom’s endeavours to provide top-notch telecommunications solutions for the people of PNG,” said Mr. Cratt. “It is a privilege to support these projects and we are eager to collaborate further to make sure the people of PNG benefit from improved connectivity.” This partnership underscores the vital role of connectivity in today's world and exemplifies the power of collaboration in addressing connectivity challenges. In everyday terms, OneWeb delivers fast internet connections wherever it is needed from the highlands to the islands. And, in technical terms, OneWeb offers low-latency connections at speeds of 30–130Mbps. “It enables a fibre-like user experience without expensive infrastructure costs whether you are operating in a fixed location, or on the go.” The Telikom COE added that the aim of the Telikom-SkyTel partnership is to connect non-connected people and places to enrich their lives and businesses. Meanwhile, SkyTel’s regional network spans Australia, New Zealand and the South pacific, and its global network spans everywhere else.

A local female entrepreneur, who has been supporting local taro farmers in the Morobe province by exporting their products to overseas markets, has been encouraged to continue with what she is doing with the help of the government to further grow the market opportunity of quality taro from Papua New Guinea (PNG). Mrs. Anna Wissink is the Managing Director of Muruk Tropical Produce Limited. The company exports frozen taros from PNG to selected markets in the United State of America (USA) and Australia. She operates by buying fresh taros from the farmers in the five districts of Morobe Province; that is Nawaeb, Huon Gulf, Markham, Finschhafen and Lae, and even from outside the province like from Mt. Hagen city in Western Highlands province, which she later exports. It is because of the focus of her business operation that she initially requested the Department of Agriculture to look at the demand for taro, the cost of freight, and the level of subsidies that could be provided for taro alone to support the local taro farmers. “We have been receiving requests from taro farmers across the country who want to sell their taros to us, but high freight cost is a serious issue that we are struggling with,” Mrs. Wissink said. “The taros are there; they are locked up in the village, we cannot move them to the market because of the freight cost.” While this has been going on, the demand for taro continues to increase in the markets the company exports to. “Our market in the USA wants us to supply eight 20-feet reefer of frozen taros a month- that is how big the market is. Our selling price for a 20-feet reefer (14 tons of frozen taro) to the USA is K136, 000 and to Australia is K126, 000.” “The market is there, the demand is there, the supply is there, and the farmers are willing to participate, but freight is a serious issue.” “We need government’s immediate assistance to this infant export industry by ways of freight subsidy,” Mrs. Wissink added. Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, while visiting her company in Lae city recently, acknowledged her concerns and assured Mrs. Wissink that he would request the Minister for Agriculture to look into this and have the department assist in the taro business. “Our short-term goal is to provide freight subsidy for taro alone and the long-term goal is to go into large-scale commercial taro farming in Morobe and expand to other provinces as the demand grows,” Minister Maru said. “The last thing we want is to kill the market opportunity by not being able to deliver more taros to meet the demand because it is difficult to get the taro to Lae due to high cost of freight." “We need to support our SMEs like Muruk Tropical Produce Limited and our taro farmers just like how we have supported our coconut, coffee, and cocoa farmers in the freight subsidy,” he added. Minister Maru also congratulated Mrs. Wissink for her efforts in exporting PNG taro to overseas markets and supporting local taro famers in the country.  

Footy fans in the city of Port Moresby have something to look forward to this weekend, the start of the 2024 AFL season; however, they might be disappointed because the season opener will now depend on the weather. Port Moresby AFL Association President, Mr. Douglas Lai said as per the calendar for the 2024 season, the pre- season is schedule to start this Saturday 16th March at the Colts Oval, but this might be pushed back to a later date due to the current bad weather being experienced in the city. “If it continues to further rain throughout the week, we may have to push back the starting date because the field (Colts Oval) will be flooded, making it difficult for matches to be played on the field,” said the president. The Colts Oval itself is located in a part of the Bisini Sports Precinct where the surface is a bit sunken from the surrounding area and therefore, whenever there is a massive storm or continuous heavy rain, the area becomes flooded, and the turf becomes very soft afterwards. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the weather becomes fine as the week progresses. Meanwhile, this season might see a reduction in the number of clubs participating in the competition with one AFL club facing banishment from the field for its involvement in the unfortunate on- field violence incident last year during the grand finals.

Goodman Fielder International (GFI), after establishing its new feed mill in Lae city, now calls on the government to establish a corn industry in the country because of the potential it will have with regards to manufacturing feeds locally for commercially farmed animals. The GFI Managing Director, Mr. Sun Xing Tao made this call during the visit of the Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru and the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) team to GFI’s new feed mill at 11mile in Lae city on Tuesday 05th March. “With our new USD200 million worth world-class feed mills, we can produce chicken and pig feed as good as anywhere in the world depending on what the farmers want,” said the GFI Managing Director. “Right now, we are importing wheat as our basic ingredient for feed; however, our big challenge is that we wait for over a month for our order to arrive and it is very expensive because of the declining value of the Kina.” He said GFI is willing to substitute to a corn-based diet and buy all the corn that local farmers can produce so to reduce imports of wheat for feed, but this can be achieved only with the input of the National Government. “The Government must support us by establishing a commercial corn industry, so we can fully utilize our feed mill whose current under-utilized capacity is around 6, 000 metric tons per month (72, 000 metric tons per year), which is more than enough to replace all importation of poultry feed,” said Mr. Sun.” Meanwhile, much to the delight of GFI, Minister Maru encouraged GFI to negotiate a Memorendum of Understanding (MoU) with NARI to go into large-scale commercial corn faming to supply feed to GFI feed mill. “PNG imported over 49, 000 metric tons of feed last year,” the minister revealed. “We have to stop importing by going into large-scale commercial corn farming so we can stop spending over K70 million annually to import feed alone- this money should be going into our people’s pockets.” “The market and the capacity are already here but we are not producing. Once we start using local feed, we will ban all the imports of feed so we can support the local industry,” added Minister Maru.

Following the increase of fuel prices last month, this month will also see another increase of prices for all petroleum products distributed in the country. The Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) announced in a statement that for March, the Indicative Retail Prices for petrol, diesel, and kerosene will all increase on average throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG). The retail price increases are mainly attributed to the average increases in international crude oil prices in February. “The average crude oil price increases were caused by disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea and via the Suez Canal, signaling an increased demand amid a reduction in crude oil supply,” the ICCC said in the statement. So, for Port Moresby city, the new price rates are K4.67 per liter for petrol, K4.50 per liter for Diesel and K4.07 per liter for kerosene. Retail prices for other centers will change according to their quarterly approved domestic freight rates for the first quarter of 2024, and their respective annual retail margins for this year. “For all other centers, the maximum retail prices for each regulated petroleum product will all increase on average consistent with the increase observed for Port Moresby.” The domestic retail fuel prices for this month are inclusive of Import Parity Prices (IPPs) or the imported costs for each petroleum product, domestic sea road freight rates for the first quarter of 2024, the annual wholesale and retail margins for 2024, and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), including the applicable excise duties among other parameters. The changes to the prices of the petroleum products started today, Friday 08th March.

The Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) has discovered from its national price inspection exercise that rice has been the main food item on the Commission’s watch list that has seen illegal price hikes imposed by a good number of shops in Port Moresby city. The ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Paulus Ain, says rice was the main product or food item that saw traders increasing their prices above the 10% limit without seeking prior approval from the ICCC, breaching Price Measure No. 4. “The ICCC acknowledged that prices are increasing due to increases at the supply end; however, it is advisable that traders must approach the ICCC to seek approval before increasing the prices of listed goods,” said the Commissioner. The listed goods are the ICCC declared goods (which includes rice) listed in Schedule 1 of the Price Measure No. 4 that should not be increased beyond the 10% limit. Nevertheless, while some shops have increased the prices of goods sold, the ICCC noted that a few shops have maintained their prices at reasonable levels, not above the 10% limited, and ICC commends those shops for complying. Meanwhile, the ICCC team continues its price inspections and this week over 50 Infringement Notices were issued to shops in Port Moresby and also parts of Central province for breaching Price Measure No. 4. Mr. Ain warned those shops that have been issued with infringement notices to settle their fines of K10, 000 within 14 days. If they fail to settle this fine, the ICCC will take them to court for breaching Measure No. 4.

The Minister for International Trade and Investment wants to see pacific island states and the rest of the world come together and do more to protect the fish stocks in pacific waters from overfishing by foreign fishing vessels. Minister Richard Maru, following the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, stated that the demands of the big influential foreign fishing nations, who are not prepared to remove harmful fisheries subsidies, will lead to overfishing which will eventually lead to the destruction of tuna and fisheries stocks right throughout the Pacific Region. “I reminded the WTO Director General and the Chair of the Fisheries Negotiations many times during our meetings at MC13 that fish is the only resource for many Pacific Island nations and we cannot allow anyone to destroy our fish,” said the minister. “The distant water fishing nations forget that they do not own the resources. 50 per cent of the world’s tuna is found in the Pacific Region- we are the custodians and we have a stewardship responsibility over these resources, not only for us, but our future generations and also for the world.” He said the whole fisheries negotiations has failed because the distant water fishing nations were not willing to compromise with pacific countries on what they felt was best for them under a win-win partnership, hence the next step now he suggested was for island nations to take ownership of fishing in their own waters as a way forward. “The real motives of the distant water fishing nations have been seen- they are not here to look after our future,” he said. “So, it is up to us to rise up, have our own fishing fleets, fish our own waters, and start processing our fish onshore so we can fish in ways that are sustainable and we can preserve our marine resources for our current generation and the generations to come.” Maru said this is something that Papua New Guinea (PNG) is now tapping into under his leadership as the Minister for International Trade and Investments. “For Papua New Guinea, we are negotiating for a Joint Venture with RD Corporation to start our own local fishing fleet. “There must come a point in time when we would not need other people to come and fish in our waters. We will embark on the domestication of our fishing industry from 2024 onwards with the proposed Joint Venture and PMIZ (Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone),” he added.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has called on the Opposition to stop misleading the public and inciting anxiety among the people after accusing them of creating dissent regarding the vote-of-no confidence motion. "It is very irresponsible of the Opposition MPs or the so-called Alternate Government to be contesting issues concerning their vote-of-no-confidence motion in the public space, which the Parliament Private Business Committee has deemed to be flawed and does not qualify to be listed on Parliament notice," Marape stated. He made this statement in response to the Opposition's announcement, revealing their decision to forego challenging the actions of the Private Business Committee in court. Marape had earlier welcomed the Opposition’s plan to bring to court their grievances with the Private Business Committee's decisions, but was surprised that they now are saying that they will not go to court but wait for Parliament to resume to mount another challenge. “Their decision to challenge Government is within their constitutional rights but it is becoming apparent that a big part of their political strategies involves the use of social media or mainstream media outlets, to cause public confusion, apprehension and tension,” the PM said. "After Parliament was adjourned to May, the Opposition claimed they would challenge the Private Business Committee's actions in court." "They have every right to do so; however, their recent declaration of abandoning the legal challenge in favor of waiting for the May sitting of Parliament, primarily leveraging social media for dissent, merely breeds confusion," added the PM. The prime minister further highlighted the inconsistency in the Opposition's actions, implying a lack of confidence in their legal stance. Marape noted that during the February Parliament session, the Opposition failed to demonstrate significant support, notably during the vote to declare PNG a Christian country, where they could not muster more than 14 members against the government's overwhelming majority. He is now appealing to the public to recognize the Opposition's tactics as an attempt to incite dissent, potentially leading to unrest, and he criticized certain media outlets for supporting these divisive strategies, and urged the Opposition to engage in constructive political debate and leadership. Nevertheless, PM Marape reassures the nation that the government remains unshaken by the vote of-no-confidence motion. He emphasized adherence to due process and proper procedure as outlined by the Constitution, Standing Orders and Supreme Court rulings, and condemns any further attempts to undermine these processes through improper submissions or without full consent in procuring support for the motion, as any such actions would be scrutinized by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee.   Ends//EM

The country’s consumer watchdog, the Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) has been on the prowl inspecting shops to see if they have been complying with the price measures imposed on certain goods under the Commission's radar. In Port Moresby city, the price inspection exercise this week discovered about twenty- five shops in various suburbs in breach of Price Measure No. 4 and were issued with Infringement Notices (IN) on Tuesday, 27th February 2024. The ICCC staff were deployed throughout the city and parts of Central province as well to inspect shops and verify whether they have been complying with Price Measure No. 4, which was issued under the National Pandemic Act 2020 by the Office of the Controller on 30th March 2023. Measure No.4 states that the price increases of declared goods, which includes rice, sugar and flour, must not be above ten percent or more. Since the commencement of the inspection, more than twenty shops were inspected and twenty- five were caught increasing the prices of the declared goods without seeking prior approval from the ICCC. The ICCC officers on the ground said shop owners or managers were informed last year during the first phase of the price inspection; however, seeing price increases on some of the listed items was sheer negligence and ignorance on their part. It was discovered that some shops had more than ten items with their prices increased above ten percent. ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Paulus Ain, also said they had conducted mass awareness nationwide to inform shop owners about Measure No. 4 and the penalties for noncompliance. He explained that Measure No. 4 came into effect due to the effects of inflation experienced in the country, and after shops had calculated the selling prices for their goods, they are not to take advantage of the inflation and unnecessarily increase the final selling price for the goods. “We told them that if they lift the prices without our approval, then the penalty is K10, 000 on the spot fine, and if they refuse, we then proceed to the courts.” Meanwhile, the ICCC will continue to carry out the second phase of its nationwide price surveillance after starting just last month. Phase one of the price surveillance and inspection exercise was conducted between August and October of 2023 and the prices collected during phase one will be used as ‘base prices’ by the ICCC to monitor any subsequent price increases of the declared goods.

Footy fans in the city of Port Moresby are expected to see some changes to the lineup of teams that will be participating in this year’s AFL competition, as they prepare to welcome the 2024 season. According to the President of the Port Moresby AFL Association, Mr. Douglas Lai, this is because two clubs could face exclusion from the competition this year; one for its involvement in the on-field violence witnessed during the 2023 finals, while the other for not meeting certain requirements to continue in this year’s competition. The Port Moresby AFL Association members, following their meeting this week, submitted their recommendations regarding the two clubs to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) AFL Commission for deliberation. Mr. Lai said the association is now awaiting further instructions from the PNG AFL Commission on whether to go ahead with the exclusions, or not. He added that if the exclusion does go ahead, this will mean both the men’s and women’s teams of these two particular clubs be removed from the competition. This then would see only eight clubs left to participate this season. Nevertheless, the 2024 AFL season is set to kick off this month says the president. “The pre-season will start on the 16th of March with the proper season to commence on the following week,” President Lai said. The AFL Easter Cup will be on again this year with the event set for April.