Two districts in the Highlands region are ready to establish their own District Youth Development Councils to assist their youths in participating in the development of their districts. The two districts are Sinesine Yongomugl in Simbu province and Wabag in Enga province. The Liaison team from the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) to Wabag and SineSine Yongomugl Districts conducted on-ground consultations from the 7th to the 10th of October, where they met with the District Development Authorities, Provincial Community Development Advisors, Local Level Government (LLG) Managers, Provincial Administrators, representatives from churches, stakeholders and the youths. The assessment from these consultations concluded that both districts are ready to mobilize their youth leaders in preparation for the establishment process of electing their youth council executives and appointed representatives in compliance to the National Youth Development Authority Act 2014. The liaison team from the NYDA also conducted a desktop youth development mapping exercise to connect potential youth programs and projects after the establishment of the youth councils, and further strengthen partnerships and collaboration with key actors in sustaining the operations of the youth councils and programs in both Districts.

The increasing rate of development and economic growth in Papua New Guinea (PNG) would see the country become a go- to- country for investments in next decade. The Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru said that this presents a great opportunity for world indigenous businesses to connect with local indigenous businesses, so to tap into the opportunities and help develop the country along with it. “In the next ten years, Papua New Guinea will be one of the most exciting investment destinations throughout the world, the opportunities here will be unparalleled,” said the minister. “Yes, we have our challenges today, but the future looks good, and we are looking at investors from right across the world to come and help us unlock our vast economic potential.” He said PNG has a population of 11 million and is growing at a rate of 3.2%, which means that the demand for goods and services will continue to increase. “In terms of population, we are becoming an even bigger market ourselves,” Maru said. Touching on the country’s economic growth rate and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Minister Maru said PNG expects to hit a GDP of K120 billion and the size of the economy to double in the next 7 years. “We expect by next year our economic growth rate to go from 4% to 5% and we expect in many years to come, be even higher than 5%.” Minister Maru also told the international delegates that the country has major potential for business in the resource sector with 9 projects currently operating and 5 new projects coming up in a few years’ time. In addition to this, he told them that PNG also has fertile land that can be used for agriculture and cattle farming. The ocean’s richness of marine resources and the Special Economic Zones projects coming up and topped by some favorable government policies on investments, makes PNG the go- to- nation for indigenous business investments.

The President of the Republic of Hungary H.E Katalin Novak flew out of Port Moresby to beautiful Manus Island this morning as she embarks on the second day of her Presidential visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG). Whilst there, she will visit and lay wreath at the memorial of the Martyred Missionaries to start off her visit to the island province. After that she will visit the Maria Molnar Training Center where she will be presenting computers to the Maria Molnar Music and Bible School. Following that event, the president will then depart the Manus main island for Pityluh Island to visit the historical site of Hungarian missionary Mari Molnar's house, where she will lay a single flower on the monument in honor of her. President Novak will then depart for Port Moresby after the trip to the island, to wrap up her second day of visit. On the third day, Friday 27th October, the president will pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister where they will have a closed-door meeting. Meanwhile, the Hungarian President touched down in Port Moresby at 4:50pm on Wednesday 25th October for her three days Presidential Visit to the country. She was officially given a guard of honor put on by the First Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (1RPIR) at the APEC terminal. She was later received by the traditional landowners of Port Moresby city with songs and dances performed to welcome her to their lands.

The approval to host the 14th World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) here in the city of Port Moresby is to showcase Papua New Guinea (PNG) to the world that the countrys indigenous businesses can be able compete in business development and partnership with the rest of them, with the right guidance and help. This prestigious international event shows the faith that the WIBF has in the successes of local indigenous businesses in connecting to the rest of the indigenous businesses word wide. Mr. Andrew Carrier, the Vice President Manitoba Metis Federation and Chair ILDII, in his opening speech said the WIBF draws attention to indigenous economies and aims to connect, share and inspire the local indigenous Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) expand and increase their businesses. “We welcome Papua New Guinea into the indigenous brotherhood for positive economic and social reform, with the help of your connection at the world Indigenous Business Forum, said the Vice President. He said the WIBF has been to most parts of the world where they met indigenous businesses and now it is PNGs turn and for the first time too, that WIBF came to assist local businesses looked at exporting through out the world. “The Forum provides and opportunity to connect and continue discussions on economic development with international partnership, specifically to lead and facilitate a greater capacity to build economies for indigenous people and their communities.” The Forum will concentrate on hearing the grass- roots experiences, sharing best practices to overcome a pandemic and prosper despite the obstacles.” He said the international Forum speakers are from multi- sector backgrounds and it promises to be a remarkable few days for participants and delegates.

PNG Power Limited (PPL) will now be working towards appointing a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after the incumbent, Mr. Obed Batia handed in his resignation just recently. The PPL Board resolved to accepting his voluntary resignation and thanked Mr. Batia for his 34 years of selfless service to the State-owned power company. During his career with PNG Power, Mr. Batia spent 13 years in Executive Management roles, and lately as the CEO for the last two years. Mr. Batia has contributed immensely to the PNG Power in the various roles he occupied over the years. In the interim, Mr. Nehemaiah Naris will be the Officer in Charge for the time being. Mr. Naris is the incumbent Deputy CEO and has over 15 years of experience holding various senior positions within Kumul Consolidated Holdings and lately as Deputy CEO of PPL. Mr. Naris has an MBA from the University of Illinois and a Master of Laws in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of Auckland. The PNG Power Board and Management and staff once again thanked Mr. Batia for his services and wished him all the best in his future endeavors.

The Secretary of the Department of Defence (DOD) has come out to fully clarify on the K15 million Commercial Support Program (CSP) funds, to put to rest the misinformation circulated on social media recently by members of the Defence Force, regarding its existence in the Trust Account. The DOD Secretary, Mr. Hari John Akipe in a press conference on Tuesday stated that the funds are still in the CSP Trust Account where it had been for the past years since the creation of a commercial arm for the Defence Force. By way of background, Secretary Akipe said that in 2012 the National Executive Council (NEC) approved the establishment of a Defence Commercial Company on the 18th of October that year. “Prelude to this, the Minister for Finance approved for an account to be opened at BSP Bank through a Trust Deed on the 11th of September 2014. The intention was to migrate the CSP to the Defence Company,” stated Mr. Akipe. However, when he assumed office, he discovered that vital components for practical financial management were not in place that would safeguard the Trust Fund and the operations have also diverted away from the original intentions. “Consequently, I requested Finance Secretary to freeze expenditure to the Trust Account to ensure the CSP Trust Account comply to the Trust Deed, put in place proper governance structure or mechanism and employ essential financial process requirements, including annual budget, work plan, operational plan, and approval and the expenditure of the funds.” That decision by the Secretary left the fund in the Trust Account without being accessed for some time and had accumulated. “I want to inform all of us that in the last three years, since the fund was frozen on the February of 2020, as at September 2023 the fund has amounted to K16, 537, 405. 23.” "I want to inform all of us also that the Defence Council has protected and gurded the Commercial Support Program from abuse thus far and continues to do so. It will also strive to ensure that the funds are properly utilized so as to maximize returns to the force,” the Secretary assured.

The 14th World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) will officially be opened this evening with all the activities to take place for the next two days in the city of Port Moresby, and with over 500 delegates expected to attend, the event will be a great experience for the nation, city and local indigenous businesses especially. Much is expected from this major international event, especially the sharing of business ideas and the connections that will be made between the local and international indigenous businesses. Mr. Ivan Makil, who is a Senior Board Member of the WIBF body and President of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (SPRMIC) in the United States, said the critical thing in this forum is to understand each indigenous groups, their challenges and then work out what can be done to offer them help, so to enable them to progress and grow in their small businesses. Meanwhile, the 14th WIBF opening event will take place at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium starting at 5:00pm and ending at 9:00pm.  

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is fully ready to host the 14th World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) come Tuesday 24th October in Port Moresby with delegates from the rest of the world arriving today along with the local indigenous business owners and operators. Minister for International Trade and Investments, Richard Maru said the event will officially kick off tomorrow at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium with celebrations to be hosted by National Capital District Commission (NCDC) Amazing Port Moresby team. “I want to confirm that we will have over 300 official PNG delegates attending the forum and 150 delegates from around the world and I understand from 14 different countries,” said Minister Maru. “It is a real honour from our country to host the World Indigenous Business Forum for the first time in our country and I want to on behalf of our government and the country, thank the Management and Board of the World Indigenous Business Forum based in Canada, for granting us the right to host the Forum.” Maru said the PNG team has been working tirelessly for the last 10 months to prepare to host this very important event. Ms. Mackenzie Oatway, who is the Manager at Indigenous Leadership Development Institute (ILDI) in Canada, said the team is excited to be in the country to host the event because of its significance to helping indigenous businesses. “The purpose of WIBF is bringing business to indigenous people, indigenous people to indigenous people. The connection with one another, the sharing of business ideas, best business practices and creating partnership across the world,” said Mackenzie. Meanwhile, the WIBF official opening program will commence at 5pm in the evening at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Konedobu, where the delegates and dignitaries will attend.

Over a hundred international delegates from 14 different countries will be arriving in Port Moresby next week for the World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF). The 150 international delegates are part of over 500 delegates that are expected to converge into Port Moresby next week to attend and participate in the WIBF that will be hosted from October 24th to the 26th. Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru said that this is really a great opportunity to market Papua New Guinea (PNG) to the world. “I also look forward to seeing our local businesses showcasing their products, building international networks, creating partnerships, and looking for markets among all the countries that will attend the forum,” said the minister. Minister Maru also called on all indigenous SMEs and large companies who have registered to prepare well and take full advantage of this one-off opportunity to market their products and services to the delegates from around the world who will be coming to attend this forum. “You must also canvas new business opportunities and forge partnerships to grow your businesses with new indigenous partners from around the world.” This three-day event will start with a grand opening ceremony hosted by National Capital District Commission (NCDC) and the Amazing Port Moresby Team at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium on Tuesday, October 24th. The forum will be officially opened on Wednesday, October 25th by the Prime Minister, and will end with an official closing ceremony which will be hosted by NCDC and the Amazing Port Moresby Team at Ela Beach on Thursday, October 26th. Meanwhile, Minister Maru also wants all citizens, especially those in Port Moresby, to welcome all the delegates and give them a very good impression of the capital city. “We must all work together to ensure that they go back with very good memories of their time in Papua New Guinea.”

Great news for fuel consumers, PUMA ENERGY PNG should resume full supply of fuel by this afternoon. PUMA ENERGY PNG Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Hulala Tokome confirmed with PNG HAUSBUNG that the fuel rationing will stop and all sites should be back to normal at least by 4pm this afternoon. "We have received FX thanks to the Bank of PNG and the Deputy Prime Minister intervening," said Mr. Tokome. Earlier this week, Puma Energy announced that it was forced to commence fuel rationing to manage declining fuel stocks to protect fuel security in the country, after the fuel distributor did not receive in time the required Foreign Currency (FX) to continue normal operations. Puma Energy PNG needs roughly USD$50 million on a monthly basis to import fuel and to cater for the company's unpaid fuel bills that are well in excess of USD$100 million. Nevertheless, the recent release of FX should enable the normal supply of fuel nationwide for the time being until a better solution is found to end this cycle of fuel rationing experienced lately in the country.

The recently hosted inaugural Momase Regional Youth Games (RYG) was deemed as success especially because sixty youths were identified by the Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation (PNGSF) to go for further sporting development. According to the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA), the PNG Sports Foundation High Performance Unit had scouted sixty players in total under the five sporting codes of volley, basketball, touch footy, soccer and para-athletics from the games played from the 5th to the 30th of September in Madang. Furthermore, two male soccer talents from Angoram in East Sepik province were also scouted to join the National Soccer League (NSL) and one female basketball talent was selected join the FIBA Under- 17 Oceania Championships Women’s Basketball hosted recently in Port Moresby. These are rural talents brought right to the fore by using the RYG as the sport career pathway, to give them the opportunity to further their sporting dreams. The Regional Youth Game concept aligns with three important government policy; PNG Sports Policy, National Youth Policy and Integrated Community Development Policy, making it a home-grown concept with rural focus and aims to identify rural talents and push them for further skills development. The NYDA also thanked Madang Governor, Ramsey Pariwa, and Provincial Administrator, Mr. Frank Lau for their undivided support to the concept, and the Games Organizing Committee. Meanwhile, the three partners behind the concept the NYDA, PNGSF and the Department for Community Development and Religion, are pleased with the outcome and look forward for the Highlands and the New Guinea Islands Regional Youth Games next year.

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Treasury and JICA, will soon proceed into phase two of the boosting of data transparency in the Mining and Petroleum sectors following the signing of the "Record of Discussion” in Port Moresby this week. The signing of the Record of Discussion is for the project for Improving Resource Related Revenue Management Phase Two between the three organisations and is aimed at improving resource related revenue management through enhanced EITI reporting to ensure transparency in how the funds are managed. PNGEITI Head of National Secretariat, Mr. Lukas Alkan said the Record of Discussion between PNGEITI and its stakeholders and JICA was undertaken back in August and the signing on Wednesday 18th October, has now set things in motion for phase two to commence early next year. The second project will be undertaken by JICA experts to continue building and improving capacity at the Department of Petroleum and Energy from work that was undertaken in phase one of the project and at the same time, focus on building capacity at the Auditor Generals Office to improve financial data quality, reliability and timely availability of recourses related to data and information for public used, said Mr. Alkan. He further explained that the JICA technical cooperation program will focus on building and strengthening capacities at two key government organisations; the Department of Petroleum and Energy, and the Office of the Auditor General. Mr. Alkan said addressing weakness in data reliability and quality in these two agencies is important to the work of the PNGEITI Secretariat in its endeavors to addressing the data and information gaps as highlighted through the EITI reporting process. The three year program would basically pick up from where JICA had left off at the Department of Petroleum and Energy when phase one of the project ended a year ago. The project is also intended to assist strengthen capacity at the Auditor Generals Office to ensure that the financial data that are used in the EITI annual report are audited and are reliable to improve the quality of these reports. Mr. Alkan then thanked the Japan Government through JICA for its continued support in the Government of PNGs efforts to implement the EITI Global Standard to improve extractive sector governance. He also acknowledged JICA for coming on board for the second time to help improve extractive transparency, which is the core mandate of the EITI in the PNG Mining and Petroleum space. The second phase of the project will commence in March, 2024. Meanwhile, the signing of the Record of Discussion was done between the Acting Chairman of the PNGEITI Multi- Stakeholder Group Mr. John Uware and Mr. Matsuoka Hideaki, the JICA Chief Representative to PNG.