Papua New Guinea (PNG) is prone to natural disasters and sometimes getting the word out to get help can be difficult if one does not have proper means communication, but that could change with new developments in communication technology recently introduced to the country. Kacific, a next-generation broadband satellite operator in PNG, is the company responsible for the launching of its Kacific CommsBox Ultra – an elevated version of its turnkey solution, designed to be a cutting-edge disaster-resilient communication solution. The system seamlessly and automatically connects to a satellite, offering internet connectivity across islands, mountainous regions and remote areas. Kacific developed the CommsBox Ultra to counter PNG's terrain, which poses problems when disasters strike and can prevent aid from reaching vulnerable communities. CommsBox Ultra's resilient Wi-Fi hotspot enables support crews to coordinate relief efforts from off-grid areas when infrastructure fails. Each Kacific CommsBox Ultra includes: · A shock-resistant, fire and water-resistant transportable container, · 65cm auto-pointing antenna, · Preconfigured modem and satellite electronics, · Solar-power panels, · External battery charger, and · User tablet. According to Kacific, CommsBox Ultra is a game-changing advancement in disaster communication technology aimed at redefining emergency preparedness and response capabilities in high-risk areas. The introduction of this new communication system to the country expands Kacific’s range of disaster communication products, offering an enhanced version alongside the existing and trusted CommsBox.

There are two major events coming up for the sport of Australian Football League (AFL) in 2024 both in the country and on the international stage as well, which should see the local athletes do a lot of preparations in anticipation of these events. The first event should be the National Championships, which should make way for the selections for the National Teams in preparation for the upcoming international event, the International Cup 2024 (IC24) in Australia. According to the AFL PNG Senior Football Manager Mr. Rex Leka, the National Championships is scheduled for April in Port Moresby city, but the actual dates will be confirmed after the AFL PNG Commission makes a final decision on it. He also said that just how many teams that will be coming for the event is also yet to be confirmed, but did acknowledged that the total number of teams will comprise of both the men’s and women’s teams, so it should be a good number of athletes coming into the city. Mr. Leka added that the funding amount for the event has been projected already, but it could change depending on further decisions by AFL PNG. “We are looking at K100, 000 to fund the event, to cater for the accommodation, meals and transportation for the teams, but that too would have to be further confirmed on a later date,” said Mr. Leka. For the IC24, Mr. Leka said that the date will also be confirmed for this year after it was postponed from 2022 to 2024 due to the COVID pandemic during that year. The men’s and women’s National Teams to participate in the IC24 will be made up of the athletes that would be selected from the National Championships; therefore, much is expected of the athletes in terms of preparations for both events this year.

All workers in the country should be glad to know that a review of the current Minimum Wage Rate and a possible increase, is one of the priority items on the to do list of the National Government that it will be undertaking this year. Minister for Labour and Employment, Kessy Sawang said that there have been a lot of calls from workers in the country to increase the minimum wage which is currently at K3.50 per hour, which was set in 2014 when the last minimum wage review was undertaken. As you've heard, our Prime Minister James Marape had informed our country that the Minimum Wage Review will be one of the key things that we are going to do this year, Minister Sawang said. To do that, Minister Sawang explained that there is a council called the National Tripartite Consultative Council (NTCC), which is the body that is made up of the government including the representatives of the employers and the employees. The Tripartite Council is chaired by Minister Sawang as the Minister for Labour and Employment, four other State Ministers and heads of institutions from both the employers and employees. In November last year, I appointed the members of the Tripartite Council who are representatives of the employers and the employees, and its been gazetted and by law we had to give six weeks notice in advance. On that note, she is happy to inform that as of last week Friday, they have given the notice to all the social partners, tripartite members, the Ministers including the representatives from the employers and the employees that on the 15th of March, the NTCC will meet and the review of minimum wage will be one of the main agenda items for the meeting. Currently, the working committee is made up of the social partners including key government agencies. They are working on the Terms of Reference (TOR). There must be a Terms of Reference for the review to happen, so I am happy to inform the country that they have already progressed well in advance with the TOR. By 15th of March, I should inform the country on what the council decides on the TOR, added Minister Sawang. For the employers, the Tripartite Council members who have been appointed are representatives of the Employers Federation of PNG, Manufacturers Council, Rural Industries Council, Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry and PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum. For the employees, the Tripartite Council members appointed are from the PNG Trade Union Congress, Police Association, Banks and Financial Sectors Workers Union, PNG Nurses Association, PNG Teachers Association and Commercial Workers Association. I look forward to conducting the review, which is one of my Key Performance Indicator (KPI) as a State Minister.”

Fuel consumers in the country will have to dig little deeper into their pockets this month after the Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (ICCC) announced that price for all petroleum products will increase on average right across the country, starting on Thursday 08th February. According to the ICCC, these retail price increases are mainly attributed to the average increase in international crude oil prices in the month of January 2024. The average crude oil price increase was mainly attributed to increased demand from China and the United States, and disrupted supply of global crude oil from the Middle East. The domestic retail fuel prices for February are inclusive of the Import Parity Prices (IPPs) or the imported costs for each petroleum product, domestic sea and 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. For the fuel prices for Port Moresby residents, after adding all the various cost components, the maximum retail price movements for petrol, diesel and kerosene will increase as follows; Petrol, K4.41 per liter Diesel, K4.24 per liter Kerosene, K3.96 per liter Retail prices in all other designated centers in the country 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 centers, the maximum retail prices for each regulated petroleum product will all increase on average consistent with the increases observed for Port Moresby city. Meanwhile, as part of the ICCCs enforcement and compliance of fuel prices, the Commissions Investigative Officers will conduct inspections to all service stations to ensure prices of declared petroleum products comply with the allowable maximum prices.

Residents and business houses in a large part of Port Moresby city and parts of Central province woke up this morning to water shortage or no water supply at all because vandals decided to destroy the air valve on a water trunk main at Waigani. According to Water PNG Limited, the incident occurred over the weekend along Pitpit Street where the act of vandalism by the community led Water PNG having to shutdown water supply to a large area with these areas continuing to face water disruptions since yesterday, Monday 05th February. The areas affected are Gerehu stages 1 to 7, Rainbow Estate, the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute, Baruni village, Motukea, Porebada and Roku villages, the University of Papua New Guinea, Tokarara, Ensisi Valley, Burns Peak, Murray Barracks, Hohola 1 to 4, North Waigani, June Valley and Wagani Drive. "The immediate shutdown will allow Water PNG to carry out repair works to our vandalized water valve on our water trunk along Pitpit Street (outside Telikom Compound). Water supply to the affected areas will be restored once the maintenance work is complete, " Water PNG said in a notice. The State owned water company also stressed that vandalism to its properties is a crime and is totally unacceptable and anyone caught doing it will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Water PNG also sincerely apologizes for the inconveniences caused.

The city of Port Moresby faced another issue with the supply of fuel today when vehicle owners discovered that most of the service stations were low on supply, but the reality is that this fuel crisis situation could prolong. This is because of the current situation faced by Puma Energy PNG with the closure of its accounts with the BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP), limiting further the fuel distributor’s ability to purchase fuel from overseas. The Chairman and Managing Director of Puma Energy PNG Group of Companies, Mr. Hulala Tokome initially indicated that this would happen after it was clear that Puma’s request to reopen its accounts with BSP was denied and that Puma would have to open its accounts with another commercial bank in the country. In a letter to the Chief Secretary to the Government dated 19th January 2024, Mr. Tokome stated, “As a result of BSP’s confirmation yesterday that they are not willing to reopen our accounts, we regret that we are left with no choice but to imminently begin the phased reduction of our operations and supply. We confirm that for the time being, the actions which we may take to reduce our business will, with time and effort, be reversible, should an acceptable banking solution be found.” Since that time on, Puma was left to make the transition from BSP to another commercial bank with the deadline for its accounts closure with BSP set for the 08th of March 2024, but that dead line was extended after BSP gave 90 days extension for the accounts closure after the prime minister intervened. However, at this stage it is not clear how long the phased reduction of fuel supply will continue as Puma has not come out clear as to when its accounts with a new commercial bank will be opened and business can resume. For how long it will take, this is not clear either as the Puma management in the country is yet to make a statement, and it is understood that Mr. Tokome would not be speaking to the media either until he is fully briefed on the next phase of action by Puma Energy. Nevertheless, while this is going on, the residents in cities like Port Moresby could be facing a longer period of fuel rationing and fuel shortage situations unlike previously experienced.

About 576 security personnel have been paid out their State of Emergency (SOE) operation allowances already with the remaining 400 officers from the National Capital District (NCD) to be paid theirs this week. That was the confirmation from the Police Commissioner David Manning in a statement which he released this afternoon. Manning said the remaining payments are being processed by the Finance Department and BSP. He explained that the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) Human Resource Division stressed the need to process the allowances in two tranches because of administrative delays by the Zone Commanders in submitting relevant paperwork on time. As a result, and after the allowances are paid out to the remaining personnel, the respective Zone Commanders will be required to provide details on why delays occurred and potentially face administrative action. Commissioner Manning stressed that the country expects police officers to get out and do their duties and the same is expected of the Zone Commanders and administrative staff, who should be ensuring their personnel are properly supported. The Police Commissioner later expressed confidence in the command of the interim NCD/ Central Commander, ACP Peter Guiness and reinforced his expectation that police deliver upon their duty first and foremost, while exercising patience as administrative processes occur.

The National Capital District (NCD) Governor Powes Parkop, has welcomed the opening of the new Hilton Hotel Residential Apartment by Star Mountain Plaza, saying that this shows that there is still very much confidence in doing business in the city of Port Moresby, despite recent events. While delivering his speech at the official opening ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby last week Thursday 01st February, the governor stressed that this is a time to rebuild and recover when refereeing to the Black Wednesday riots last month that saw the destructions of major supermarkets and warehouses by looters. He stated that the opening of the new apartment building plus other upcoming projects in the city, shows the commitment by corporate houses to continue investing in business activities, create employment and contributing to the development of Port Moresby city and the country as a whole, which is something that he greatly appreciates. “I believe we can all do that,” said the NCD Governor. “Since the 10th of January, I’ve had the privilege of launching Modern Bay Apartments at Lowes Road, a massive investment.” He also revealed that he had had discussions with Sea Park developers to make a big investment in the form of a 21 Storey apartment building. All these he said are all great signs that business confidence is still there. “So, there is a lot of confidence still in our capital city, there is still a lot of confidence in our country,” Parkop proudly said. “I think in the next eight years, I would like to think that all our projects come on, our golden time is still a head of us.” The governor later congratulated the Star Mountain Plaza, the project area landowners and the other stakeholders that made it possible for the creation and the opening of the new Hilton apartment building.

About 272 public servants nationwide who are retiring will be finally paid out their entitlements under batch one of 2024 after the Deeds of Release (DOR) for these public servant retirees were approved and sent to Treasury for the release of funding, with a date to be set for them to be paid. Department of Personnel Management (DPM) Secretary, Ms. Taies Sansan, said that this is the second batch of retirees for year 2023; however, due to circumstances beyond our control, they will receive their retirement payments this year as the first batch of 2024. The 272 retirees from 21 government agencies will be paid out a cost of K17.5 Million. “The retirement exercise has been on-going since 2019 and our retirement team validated these 272 public servants who have reached retirement age to be retired and paid out of the Public Service,” said Ms. Sasan. Once these public servants get paid out their entitlements, their names will be terminated on the government’s Alesco Payroll system. “Retirement is a normal attrition that is undertaken by the agencies to retire their aging workforce and submit names to DPM for file checks and validation processes.” Secretary Sansan said the DPM has taken a whole of government approach to administer the retirement exercise and retire public servants in collaboration with Treasury and Finance. “The approach we have taken to identify retirees is through the Alesco payroll, and then we write to the agencies to confirm and submit names of those who have reached the compulsory retirement age to DPM.” Secretary Sansan said retiring the aging public servants has been heavily dependent upon availability of funding to pay them out and that is why many have remained on the payroll until such time funding is available to pay them out. The Government has been helpful as since 2019, a total of K234 Million has been expanded to pay out the retirees. “I thank the government for its commitment to this cause,” said the DPM Secretary. Ms. Sansan is appealing to all government agencies to play their part in retiring their ageing workforce, to fast track the retirement process for 2024 as funding has been made available in the 2024 Budget. Meanwhile, the 21 agencies whose officers are being retired are: · Autonomous Region of Bougainville (1), · Central PA (2), · Central PHA (1), · Cocoa Board (5), · Department of Implementation and Rural Development (2), · East Sepik PA (33), · East New Britain PHA (34), · Enga PA (25), · Enga PHA (13), · Madang PHA (42), · NBC (16), · NCD PHA (1), · NSO (4), · PNGDF (37), · Police Uniform (2), · Public Solicitor’s Office (1), · Simbu PA · Simbu PHA (2), · SHPA (2), · SHPHA (26), and · WNBPHA (15).  

The Star Mountain Plaza has officially opened the stage two of the Hilton Hotel project- the Hilton Port Moresby Residence, which is another milestone achievement for the resource project area landowners from Western and Southern Highlands provinces. The Chairman of the Petroleum Resources Kutubu, Mr. John Kapi Natto when speaking at the official opening of the Hilton Residences and the launching of the stage three of the project on Thursday 01st February in Port Moresby, said the opening is a milestone for Star Mountain Plaza. Mr. Kapi Natto when giving a brief on why they started off the project almost a decade ago, said the idea came about to make an investment for the landowners and also to contribute to the development of the country. “When we under took this project eight years ago, not only was it our aspiration to deliver a world class facility, but to help the government to host the APEC meeting and leaders’ summit in PNG for the first time in 2018,” said Mr. Kapi Natto. “It also marked the coming of age of the hospitality industry in PNG, the introduction of the Hilton Hotel brand to the market for the first time in our country.” However, he said the road to the development of the Star Mountain Plaza at Hohola in Port Moresby was not an easy one with many criticisms and challenges faced, like the COVID- 19 pandemic. But he said they overcame the obstacles, which was a credit to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved. He said the significant of the Star Mountain Plaza is that it is a long term investment that will someday look after the landowners and their generation whenever the natural resources run out. “This investment will be a legacy for every one of us and our future beneficiaries who will be proud of it.” The Chairman then went on the thank the people who contributed to the development and success of the Star Mountain Plaza so far, starting off with the Boards of the Mineral Resource Star Mountain, Mineral Resource Ok Tedi, Mineral Resources CMCA Holdings Limited and his own Petroleum Resources Kutubu. He also thanked the National Government for the partnership, the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) for the support and the banking partners for the faith in providing the finance to ensure that the project is delivered. Meanwhile, the new Hilton Port Moresby Residences was opened by Prime Minister James Marape by cutting the ribbon.

The Local Level Government (LLG) Election is scheduled to take place this year but it is yet to be approved by parliament that the LLG Presidents will be elected by the elected Ward Councilors and not by the people as previously practiced. Last year the Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs, Soroi Eoe proposed the change of the voting process from the people to the elected Ward Councilors and following meetings and government caucuses, most of the Members of Parliament agreed for the change in the system and to be applied this year in the LLG elections. However, this week the office of the minister confirmed that this change has not yet been approved by parliament going forward and with less than five more months to go before the LLG elections are held in the country, the question now remains as to whether this change to the election process will be ratified in the upcoming parliament session. The whole election process now awaits upon the official go ahead by the National Parliament, otherwise it’s going back to the old process. Meanwhile, the LLG elections will be hosted in June as per the schedule released last year, with the Election Writ to be issued on Thursday 27th June at 4pm, opening up the nominations. The Nominations will close on Wednesday 3rd July at 4pm. Polling will start on Saturday 24th August and ending on Friday 6th September and the Writ to be return on or before Thursday 27th September 2024. The Nomination period will be for 7 days, Campaign period for 8 weeks, Polling period for 14 days and Counting period for 21 days.

The new Defence Minister, Dr. Billy Joseph is expected to present the Report of the General Board of Inquiry (GBOI) into the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) training accident last year in the Central province, to cabinet soon for further deliberations. The minister, after he was presented with the Report in Port Moresby this week by the Chairman of the GBOI Col. Bruno Malau, said that it is important that this report is cited by the government to see what had happened and how to address it going forward. The training accident, which occurred on the 04th of July 2023 in Kupiano, saw one soldier dead and several others wounded including a civilian when live rounds were apparently used instead of the standard blank rounds used during military trainings. "Such a tragedy in peace time training of the PNGDF requires an investigation to allow for our people to understand the circumstances leading to the tragedy, and enable closure to the lives of friends and relatives of the deceased," said Minister Joseph. The Minister informed the Board of Inquiry members and other dignitaries at the presentation ceremony at the APEC Haus that he will take the General Board of Inquiry Report and present it to the National Executive Council (NEC) for its deliberations as required. Meanwhile, the minister thanked his predecessor, Mr. Win Bakri Daki, for his wisdom in commissioning the General Board of Inquiry into the unfortunate incident. He also on behalf of the government thanked the Chairman, and his committee members; Jena Kuliniasi, Sumasy Singin, Emmanuel Gorea, the Secretariat and all those who came forward to provide evidence or testified during the inquiry.