The Moni Plus Port Moresby AFL 2023 Premiership Cup season is slowly winding down with the preliminary finals set for this weekend at the Colts Oval. Following last weekend’s major and minor semi- finals, the teams that have proceeded on to the preliminary are the now gearing up to do battle for a spot in the grand final. According to the President of the Port Moresby AFL Association Mr. Douglas Lai, the A Grade preliminary final will see the University Tigers meet the Lamana Dockers while in the A Reserve, the Gordons Kokofas will meet the Gerehu Magpies. All in all, the 2023 season has been quite good since the COVID Pandemic disrupted the previous seasons. “We had a good run to the season, and we are happy that the season is almost complete,” said the president. He also said that most of the teams have, for the first time in the competition, made it into the finals season apart from the same ones that usually do. “They are new teams going into the finals and it has shown as well that we have developed as a game,” said Mr. Lai. Meanwhile, the National Championships is coming up in November in the city of Port Moresby and the president is confident that when selections are made for the National Teams for the International Cup 2024 (IC24) after the Championships, most of the Port Moresby based players will be considered to make the teams because of the excellent season and the performance they displayed.

The Kuriva community in the Central province will now benefit from a mini solar power grid to an ambulance service all thanks to Papua LNG and its partners to ensure basic services reach the communities they operate in. Firstly, in partnership with the USAID Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership Activity, Papua LNG embarked on a solar electrification project to provide a 42-kilowatt renewable energy mini-grid for the St John Bosco - Kuriva Primary School and the Kuriva Sub-Health Centre, which was commissioned on Tuesday 26th September. The Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP PNG Limited, Mr. Jean-Marc Noiray said the reason for them providing this support is because health and education are the backbone of any society, as they ensure the future of the next generation. “I am pleased to inaugurate this project for the Kuriva Primary School and the Kuriva sub-health centre, which demonstrates among the many social benefits, the jobs and value creation that projects like ours can bring to our neighbouring communities, so we may prosper together,” he added. Also, Papua LNG is committed to improving the education and health services in its surrounding Project communities in cooperation with the Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA), to progress Afforestation / Reforestation (A/R) and forest conservation activities at the Kuriva forestry station. This relationship was further solidified through the signing of two pivotal agreements on August 22nd between TotalEnergies EP PNG Limited and PNGFA. Additionally, PNGFA Chief Operating Officer Mrs. Magdalene Maihua together with Mr. Noiray, announced at the event that the Kuriva community will also benefit from a St John Ambulance team to be based at the Kuriva Health Centre as part of the project’s initiative. Meanwhile, to commemorate the newly stationed ambulance service, the keys were ceremoniously handed over to the Member for Hiri-Koiari Keith Iduhu by the Deputy Commissioner of St John Ambulance Ms. Jacquie Hennessy and TotalEnergies EP PNG Limited Business Director, Dr Sangkaran Ratnam. TotalEnergies EP PNG Limited, as operator of the Papua LNG Project, is fully committed to delivering an exemplary Papua LNG Project, with a strong focus on sustainability, enhancing biodiversity and encouraging low carbon emission solutions.

Pacific Island Tax Administrators have been urged to incorporate innovative approaches and work together with partners from the regional and international, in order to better reform and enhance their own tax systems. The outgoing Chair of the Pacific Island Tax Administrators Association (PITAA) Executive Committee and proxy to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fiji Revenue and Customs Services, Ms. Kelerayani Dawai, gave this urging to the Tax Administrators at the opening of the 20th PITAA Annual Heads Meeting in the city of Mount Hagen on Monday 25th September. “The Pacific region, with its unique characteristics, will play an increasingly significant role on the global stage, our responsibilities are substantial, but so too are our abilities,” Ms. Dawai said. She said by combining this with improved cooperation among tax authorities, policymakers, development partners, businesses and others, will enable the pooling of expertise, resources, and perspectives, leading to the development of innovative strategies that promote sustainable taxation practices, thus contributing to social and economic goals nationally and regionally. “This provides a platform for exchanging ideas, sharing best practices and developing strategies that will contribute to a sustainable future for the Pacific.” Meanwhile, when delivering the keynote address, the acting Prime Minister (PM) William Duma called on tax administrators to embrace strategies that collect taxes fairly while nurturing businesses that generate revenue. “In the realm of fiscal sustainability, our nations grapple with the challenge of maintaining financial stability while striving for development,” said Mr. Duma. “The stability and growth potential of tax revenue sources must be explored, as overreliance on volatile sources can destabilize our fiscal standing. “To uplift the well-being of our people, we must efficiently extract a significant portion of our economic activity through taxation, an endeavor that necessitates improvement in tax administration.” The Acting PM also highlighted the need of tax systems to adapt to the rapid technological advancements by embracing it to accomplish efficiency and precision. A total of 44 delegates are attending the annual meeting from 13 PITAA member countries and 11 partner organizations. The meeting concludes on Friday 27th September.

The inaugural Momase Regional Youths Games (RYG) is well into its third day of events today with youths from the various districts of the four provinces of Morobe, Madang, East Sepik and West Sepik participating in Madang town. Themed “Go Rural, Go Global,” the Youth Games ensures that young people right at the ward level participate in such programs to display their raw talents, engaging in sporting activities and also in traditional dances and dramas. Meanwhile, the opening ceremony on Monday 25th September saw a beautiful display of cultural attires and dances from the region, with performers from Bulolo in Morobe Province, East Sepik Province, West Sepik and Rivo in the North Coast of Madang. The Malamal Primary School students of Madang also sang and exhibited their traditional dances and dramas . The opening ceremony was graced with the presence of the Minister for Youth, Religion and Community Development, Jason Peters, RYG Chairman and National Youth Development Authority (NYDA) Director General Mr. Joe Itaki, and Madang Mayor Mr. Peter Yalsi. Also attending the opening was Executive Director of Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation, Mr. Albert Veretau and Chief Censor, Jim Abani.

The National Parliament has confirmed the passing of the sitting Member for Dei Open, the late Steven Pim, who passed away at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby yesterday. The late Member’s passing also marks the second People’s National Congress (PNC) Party member to have died this year. The first was the Member for Maprik, the late Gabriel Kapris who passed away just last month also in Port Moresby. The late Member was first elected to the 11th National Parliament in the 2022 National General Election for the Dei Open as a PNC party candidate. He was the shadow minister for Petroleum and Mining under the Lelang-Tomuriesa led opposition. He was also a member of Public Works and 2022 General Elections Parliament Committees under the Marape-Rosso cabinet, 1st term in this Parliament. Condolence messages have started to come in from people and from fellow Members of Parliament. Meanwhile, the electorates which will go for by-election will now be eight, with the inclusion of Dei Open.

The development of the country’s human resource through improvements to education and support provided in this area, should be the priority of the State going forward. That was the message from Mr. Collin Pake the Director of Life PNG Care, a charity organization that takes care of unfortunate children and supporting them through formal education. Mr. Pake said the number of young children out on the streets of Port Moresby and other main centers in the country, is concerning because the number is growing and what must be done now is to have better mechanisms in place to get these children out of the streets and get them into some form of education program to help their lives. To develop the human resource through helping these children. He said the government seems to be focusing its attention on the resource sector like oil and gas, hosting conferences and forums to attract investments into this sector. However, these resources will one day go and the only one that will remain will be the human resource of this country. He said the government should be also encouraging more investments in the education sector to help develop the human resource. “Human resource is the key resource that Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government needs to invest in. Don’t believe in oil and gas becasue these are non- renewable, and they will extinct one day,” said Mr. Pake. “With the number of kids that are on the streets, it’s a pandemic in itself. It’s a time bomb waiting to explode.” Mr. Pake said Life PNG Care has gone to Lae city and the situation is the same in the city of Port Moresby where a lot of homeless children are just on the streets either begging or doing some form of informal business, which he said is a very sad sight to see. He said the State needs to help these unfortunate and vulnerable people because these children are the future leaders of PNG and helping them through providing proper education and support, should be a good way to go moving forward.

Life PNG Care is a charity organization that is looking after and attending to the basic needs of the unfortunate children supporting them through education, but one of its education projects has not been running for some time due to a lack of financial support. The Director of Life PNG Care, Mr. Collin Pake, said their Mobile School project that they ran in the settlement areas in the city of Port Moresby, has not been operating since the COVID- 19 pandemic hit. Mr. Pake said Kumul Petroleum Holding Limited (KPHL) was supporting their Mobile School project but when the COVID pandemic hit, he said that support was diverted to the health sector. “Since COVID, we did not run the school, so we stopped the project. We started Mobile School in 2017,” Mr. Pake said. He said in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to stop the project, but they are thinking of reviving it with support from potential sponsors because of its significance. He explained that the aim of this particular project is to provide education to the children who are unable to attend school due to other factors. He said the government is providing free education, but there are other factors that can lead to children not being able to attend school and that’s where they come in with the Mobile School that they host. “They are not in school because they have no uniforms, they may have no stationaries. Government is saying free education, but uniform is not free, bus fare is not free. So, because of these associated costs, children don’t want to go to school, especially children from parents who are not working.” He said that it’s through this project that they identify those unfortunate children and put them through formal education. “We have a program called Strongim Pikinini Education Program and under that program, we identify children who are unfortunate, who are unable to go to school.” “We have a process that we assess called Identification, Assessment and Assistance. So, in that program, we have to identify the kids that meet the criteria to benefit, and it’s a long-term support for them,” said the director. Life PNG Care is being supported by some organizations to deliver some of its programs, but there are other areas that will need further support, like the Mobile School.

The public in Port Moresby were left stranded after Public Motor Vehicle (PMV) operators serving the number 9 and number 7 routes opted to go on a strike and stop work this afternoon after two PMV buses were allegedly damaged by police officers. The incident took place at the Waigani bus stop area where eyewitnesses at the scene claimed that the buses had their windscreens broken by police. According to one of the PMV operators, the drivers have come together to show their frustration and support for their colleagues by stopping the bus service this afternoon. He said they will be taking this matter up with the proper authorities to address because its harassment on the part of the police to be doing this and this is not the first of such incidents. Police officers and vehicles were also present at the Waigani bus stop and the traffic lights area to control the flow of traffic and negotiated with the operators to calm the situation down. A senior officer at the scene urged the operators that were attacked to make a formal complaint with police so that the matter can be properly investigated. Meanwhile, people including school students were seen walking from Gerehu up to Waigani and even from Vision City down to Waigani in the afternoon heat. The operators on strike were also seen stopping the other PMV buses still running, ordering them to support them with the strike by stop operating the routes.

The BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) has once again come on board to support the staging of the annual Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) PNG Conference for another year. “BSP Financial Group has a long-standing relationship with the Certified Practicing Accounts (CPA) of PNG and is pleased to continue that by supporting the annual CPA PNG Conference for another year,” says BSP Head of Financial Reporting, Douna Vaname. As the biggest financial institution in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Accounting Profession is just one of many that BSP supports. Human Resources through the PNGHRI and Internal Institute of Auditors are among other various professional bodies. “BSP has over 100 Certified Practicing Accountants within the organization, and we are pleased to be part of an event that promotes professional development through such affiliations and conferences. In fact, we have supported this annual conference for 32 years consecutively,” said BSP Head of Financial Reporting, Douna Vaname. “Since 1992, BSP has assisted with over a million kina in sponsorships to date. We are proud to support the 2023 Certified Practicing Accountants Annual Conference with a Gold Sponsorship of K50, 000.” The main CPA conference is set to take place in Port Moresby from the 24th to 25th of November 2023. Conferences in Buka and Lae have already taken place. CPA PNG Executive Director, Yuwak Tau, said CPA is committed to training and developing accountants in PNG. The Annual CPA PNG Conferences see the CPA PNG body meet to develop and enhance a worldwide accountancy standard as a member of the International Federation of Accountants in PNG. “Accountants continue to take up leadership roles in their respective organizations. I would like to acknowledge the continuous support of BSP Financial Group Limited. The support that we continue to receive not only helps us to run our events but also promotes integrity, professionalism, and positive influence in our respective workplace. Thank you very much and we look forward to the event in November,” Tau added. Over 12, 000 affiliated members have attended the conference in the last five years and CPA PNG membership continues to grow attracting graduates and raising the quality of CPA PNG reputation.

There is still more life left in one of the oldest mines in the country, the Ok Tedi Mine in the Star Mountains of the Western province, with the Board of Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) recently approving in principle a further mine life extension from 2033 to 2050. This marks a significant milestone for OTML, its shareholders and for Papua New Guinea (PNG) in general and is a sign of the confidence the Board has in the company's ability to deliver over the next two decades. The approval was based on the latest Strategic Business Plan submitted by the Executive Leadership Team and discussed during the OTML Board meeting held in Tabubil on 13th September 2023. This extension brings to life OTML’s Vision to operate with excellence, maximizing the value of the mineral resource in an environmentally friendly way, to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits to the mine communities and the people of PNG. Several factors have enabled the extension including a strengthened long-term copper price outlook, additional mine waste management solutions such as Engineered Waste Rock Dumps and a Tailings Storage Facility to minimize impact on the environment, renewal of aged processing plant assets and implementation of other strategic projects that are currently in various stages of completion. "The approval by the Board on the eve of PNG’s 48th Independence anniversary is a welcomed gift to the communities in which we operate and who provide us the social license to continue, as well as to the people of PNG," said the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Kedi Ilimbit. "The revised mine life will see the company generate in excess of K30 billion in dividends, royalties, compensation payments, and taxes for the benefit of OTML’s shareholders, communities and Papua New Guinea as a whole over the next 27 years." Jeffrey Innes, Chairman of the OTML Board, also shared his optimism about the company's future. "The latest Strategic Business Plan gives the Board confidence in OTML's continued operational success,” he said. “OTML has tripled its value in the last six years and the outlook is a positive one. The mine life extension reaffirms OTML's commitment to sustainable growth, economic prosperity, and community well-being supported by environmental sustainability, community development and operational excellence.

The Mining Minister, Sir Ano Pala has come out to brush aside a recent media report stating that the most talked about opening of the New Porgera Mine in the Enga province, was an empty promise made by the government. Sir Pala in a statement said that the National Government is committed to ensuring that the Porgera Mining Project commences operations before the end of this year and the slight delay was due to technical issues. He explained that the government was ready to grant the Special Mining Lease (SML) on 16th September, signaling the re-start of the mine. However, in the weeks leading up to that date, the Mining Advisory Council (MAC) identified a few technical issues that the applicant New Porgera Limited (NPL), needed to address in their application. He said the issues were flagged with NPL, adding that the MAC had received a response from NPL on this matter. He also assured that the MAC will deliberate on the response from NPL immediately. We want the project to re-open as soon as possible. This is because of the expected boost to the country's economy. However, as a responsible government, we must make sure that all regulatory requirements are met, and all laws of the land are abided by, said the Minister. The minister would be making a submission to cabinet at the end of this month to have the SML granted. Meanwhile, the Acting Managing Director of the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA), Mr. Jerry Garry said the MRA and its line agencies, had been conducting two separate but related processes in parallel. These are the regulatory aspect of the project and the Community Development Agreement (CDA) initial consultations. He said on the regulatory front, which is basically the assessment of the SML application by NPL, the MAC met two weeks ago to deliberate on the application. It was then that they discovered the issues with the application. Mr. Garry said on the CDA front, landowners and stakeholders had submitted their position papers to the State. A State team is currently going through the position papers to incorporate them into a matrix in preparation for the actual negotiations. The negotiations will begin in about two weeks from now. He further explained that because the two processes were separate and running parallel to each other, the SML could be granted ahead of the completion of CDA process. Now this means that the mine could re- start operating once the SML is granted, and the CDA process would continue as the mine operates.

The world is currently in the phase of transitioning from the use of fossil fuel to renewable energy sources to drive economic growth as countries opt to green energy usage. For countries like Papua New Guinea (PNG), this transition phase is making its way in slowly because the country is very much dependent on the production of hydrocarbons like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and oil to support its economy, and supply to markets that are still in demand of it, but who are making efforts to transition as well. However, the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy has its perks, something which PNG would eventually experience, probably in the next 10 to 15 years as the country makes its transition in to tapping into the greener energy sources. According to the Vise Minister for Petroleum and Energy Mr. Thomas Opa, the rapid scale of allowing the development of new energy sources like hydrogen and ammonia, means a growing demand for skilled workers. “The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has calculated that between 2012 and 2020, nearly 5 million jobs were created in renewable energy along,” said the vise minister. “Renewables will create more jobs than fossil fuels and for PNG, this will happen soon as we drive just energy transition.” He explained that this is because energy transition will require change in workforce skills, set with more capacity building around the areas of new and renewable climate and environmentally friendly technology that comes with the energy transition. Vise Minister Opa said this during the recent Petroleum and Energy Conference held in the city of Port Moresby.