Even the rain couldn’t stop it from happening, the inaugural Port Moresby Australian Football League (AFL) MoniPlus Easter Cup challenge kicked off this afternoon with a total of six teams: four men’s and two women’s teams, each representing the four regions. Port Moresby AFL Association President Mr. Douglas Lai who was at the sidelines today, said the men’s division started things off. The first game saw the Momase region with 7 goals and 5 behinds to reach 47 in the fourth quarter to defeat Southern which secured 4 goals and 3 behinds reaching total 27. In the second match of the men’s division saw Highlands defeating Niugini Islands 22 to 17. The Highlands region boys secure 3 goals and 4 behinds to reach 22, while the Niugini Islands boys managed to secure 2 goals and 5 behinds to reach 17 in the final quarter of the match. This state of origin like format of challenge is being played out at the Colts Oval with the grand finals set for tomorrow Easter Sunday 17th April. “We will go back and workout the points table and then start off with the finals tomorrow. There will also be trophies and prize money to be given out and there will be prize money for runners up as well.” “There’s two thousand Kina prize money to be given, so we will work out how much will go to winners and how much will go to runners up.” The MoniPlus Easter Cup challenge this long weekend should see things geared towards or lead up to the 2022 proper season, which is to start next week Saturday the 23rd of April. The president also added that the success of this first Easter Cup challenge will see it continue for years to come as an annual Easter match event for the code, and hopefully adopted by other AFL associations in the country as well.

The government should have made better decisions back then on some projects in the resource sector that would have eased current economic burdens, than just to resort to imposing additional tax on vital service providers today to make up for lost revenue. Opposition Leader Belden Namah who made this statement, said although the state may be arguing that the additional tax imposed on Digicel PNG and BSP Financial Group will go towards increasing tax revenue for the country, it may only put more burden on the people. Instead, Namah said that there are other projects that the government could have better handled earlier that would have eased things now. He said these include matters like the start of the Papua LNG project and the operation of the Porgera Mine. “The Papua LNG was properly executed when Marape (prime minister) was the chief finance advisor to the prime minister back then Peter O’Neill, and for him to come and stop Papua LNG from going into the construction phase, he stopped a 13billion US dollar foreign direct investment into the country,” said Namah. “He stopped Papua New Guineans from getting employed, Papua New Guinean companies from getting spin off businesses and from this important LNG project to go ahead so that it could bring in the much needed revenue to our country.” Namah continued that Prime Minister James Marape’s decision to also put a stop to the Porgera Mine in Enga province over two years ago has contributed to the current situation. Once again this could have been avoided had a better decision was made because at the time of the decision to stop Porgera Mine from operating, Namah said the gold price was recorded high at about US$2, 000 per ounce. The opposition leader further stated that by putting in additional tax is not the way to go now to fix these issues in the country’s economy, as it will only add more problems to the country and for the next government to deal with after the 2022 National General Elections.

Opposition Leader Belden Namah is not going to stand- by and watch while workers face imminent cuts to their retirement savings or the population facing high costs in communication after the government decision to introduce additional tax and therefore, has filed a Supreme Court Reference this week to challenge that decision. Speaking at a press conference in Port Moresby, Namah said apart from the recent request by the government for Digicel PNG to pay K100 million in tax, the additional tax of K190 million on the BSP Financial Group Limited announced last year, which is expected to come into effect in September, is one that will really harm the retirement savings of members of the country’s four superfunds. Most of them are workers in both the private and the public sectors. “Today I have taken this fight and to join the PNG Trade Union and all the other unions in this country on behalf of the silent working class and majority of our rural population who rely essentially on the banking, finance, and the telecommunication services, and of course the members of the superannuation industry in our country,” said Mr. Namah. “I have instructed my lawyers last week, the Young and Williams Lawyers, and yesterday (Wednesday 13th April) I have filed an affidavit to challenge the super tax imposed by the Marape government on Digicel and Bank South Pacific. We will have this matter heard in the earliest time possible.” Meanwhile, the Executive Officer for the Association of Superannuation Funds of Papua New Guinea (ASFPNG) Mr. Vera Raga, has also vocalized the implications of these additional tax, especially on the members contribution. “This year Nasfund contributors may have got 6% credited to them, but if this law had been put in effect last year, you would have gotten 4% or 3%." He explained that the four superfunds own 25% of BSP and each year they pay dividend and that dividend translate into annual crediting rating.” “So, even before that money comes into your lifetime savings, it is taken by the government. They are in fact taxing you up to 42%, every hundred Kina you earn they get K42.00,” he explained. Mr. Raga said this should be a concern for the workers as their savings will be eroded by this new additional tax by the government. He said workers are being heavily taxed already and with this new additional tax, it will put enormous burden on them. “Therefore, I am very thankful for this action that has been taken by Mr. Namah so that commonsense prevails,” added Mr. Raga. Mr. Namah’s challenge of this government decision has the backing of the Papua New Guinea Trade Union Congress (PNGTUC), which welcomes this announcement of his decision to fight for the people who are going to be affected by a government decision.

Set for this week will be the double launching of two events in the Port Moresby Australian Football League (AFL) Association 2022 calendar, and one of the events will be the start of a new tournament to mark an annual Easter sporting event for the code. According to the Association President Mr. Douglas Lai, the 2022 Port Moresby AFL season and the inaugural AFL Easter Cup tournament will be simultaneously launched this Thursday 14th of April. The president said the double launching is part of the idea to get things flowing after the last season had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the competition. “The main idea here is to draw the interest of the clubs and the players into the sport once again, so to get that momentum going to hold the matches because the National Championships is coming up.” The Easter Cup this weekend from the 16th to the 17th of April should see things geared towards or lead up to the 2022 proper season, which is to start on the 23rd of April. Meanwhile, this weekend’s Easter Cup tournament should see some high-level matches played with teams for both the men’s and the women’s clash, each representing their own regions. Mr. Lai said the tournament will be like a state of origin type of game format with the men’s teams to play in an 18 aside format and the women’s teams to play a 2 aside format of the game. The official double launching will take place at the Sir John Guise stadium at Waigani.

The people of Lealea village in Central province continue to put to good use the funds allocated to them from the PNG LNG Project, to establishing community projects to benefit them like a new modern multi purpose community hall. The village officially opened this new community hall yesterday much to the delight of the villagers who will be using this new facility for many years to come. Lealea village is one of four PNG LNG project impacted villages that continue to benefit from the project and as long as the massive LNG Plant sits on their land, the funds allocated for that will be parked in trust accounts with the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC), which are then used for community projects delivered to the communities through their landowner company, Gas Resources Plant Limited through a partnership with MRDC. Speaking at the grand opening of the facility was MRDC Legal Councilor and Company Secretary Mr. Richard Aupai, who represented his Managing Director Mr. Augustine Mano. Mr. Aupai said this new community hall is just one of many projects delivered to their community through the Community Investment Trust under MRDC. “Over the last four years Gas Resources Plant has delivered a number of projects throughout the four villages, a total of K17million was spent and for Lealea alone, a total of K5million has been spent so far in areas of education, health, agriculture and transport.” Mr. Aupai also told the people that this new community hall will greatly serve the people and they should take ownership of it as it is theirs and funded and built from their own landowner funds. “This project is not just about the money, it’s about providing for the future for the community. Important decisions, events and occasions will take place in this building,” added Mr. Aupai. Meanwhile, Lealea’s Director on the Gas Resources Plant Board Mr. Dikana Igo, said the new community hall costs about K3million and took 18 months to build replacing the old one that had served the community for more the 50 years. The new community hall itself has two large meeting rooms, four offices, a kitchen, a first AID room, restroom facilities and a storeroom. Mr. Igo went on to thank the MRDC, ExxonMobil PNG and the contractor Pacific Architecture Consortium, for their support in their community hall project.

“Cheers to the 70 years,” that is the slogan to mark seventy years of the SP Lager brand, the first brand to be manufactured and rolled out by SP brewery back in 1952 and starting seven decades of the iconic PNG name both locally and internationally. SP Brewery General Manager Mr. Edd Weggemans at the official launching of the celebrations this week in Port Moresby, said SP Brewery has a new logo as well to go with the commemorations this year, which encompasses the value behind the brand in bringing people together. “Since 1952, SP Lager is a brand name enjoyed by many consumers national and visitors alike,” said the General Manager for SP Brewery. “It is safe to say that the brand is a national icon referred to as the national beer proudly made in PNG for seventy years.” “The brand has journeyed with the nation marking many milestone occasions that have fostered the feeling of national pride and togetherness. “Through SP Lagers slogan Bungim Yumi, we continue to build our value of brewing the joy of togetherness, both as a brand and as a company. This is what makes us uniquely Papua New Guinean,” he added. Mr. Weggemans further added that only a few national brands can bring Papua New Guineans together and SP Lager is one of those brand names. “From the first locally hosted South Pacific Games in 1969, which SP co-sponsored, to celebrating the national flag for the first time in 1975, as well as various other events and community initiatives, SP Lager’s been there.” We’ve also journeyed in the local sporting arena, first with the SP inter- city cup in the 1990s to one of the biggest highlights in PNG rugby league when the SP Hunters entered the Queensland cup and winning it in 2017.” He said SP Brewery as a PNG registered company also played in important roles in contributing to the economy through the SP Lager brand and other brands the company produces as well. “The journey of SP Lager is how the brand was able to stand the test of time, growing with popularity and evolving with the changes while maintaining the same great quality for over seventy years,” said Mr. Weggemans. Meanwhile, in marking the 70 years of the brand name, SP Brewery will be having promotional activities like merchandising and limited-edition collectable items to name a few, in store for this year.

The Open Budget Survey report that is expected to be released in May, should reveal whether Papua New Guinea (PNG) has improved in information transparency on budgets, their audits and other information relevant to it, to ensure accountability on the part of the government. According to the PNG Institute of National Affairs (PNG INA) Director Mr. Paul Barker, the Open Budget Survey is part of a global survey conducted every two years and looks at the openness of the budget process in terms of how much information governments release on the budget and how budget expenditures have occurred in the past and the audit of the budgets. He said the survey asks whether information on new budget documents, the end of year reports, the mid-year reports and the auditor general’s reports, are released in a timely and comprehensive manner. “So, every two years this is conducted, and PNG is usually somewhere in the middle of countries, but when it comes to reporting and public participation, it comes out very poorly.” “The auditing is many years out of date, and it makes it very difficult to hold the government accountable for the use of public money within government departments, statutory authorities and state-owned enterprises, and right through to local level governments and district development authorities,” said Mr. Barker. “We’ve done it since 2005 and instead of improving over the several years, PNG has gone a little bit backwards.” He further added that unless the government improves on making the information on the budgets accessible, it will be difficult for the public to hold the government accountable. Nevertheless, Barker said the regional report, the country report and the global report on the survey should be released next month and it should be interesting to see where PNG now stands in comparison to the other countries in the Open Budget Survey that was conducted.

The recent launching and introduction of the new Nissan Navara PRO 4X vehicle to Papua New Guinea (PNG) by Boroko Motors and the parent company - WR Carpenters also saw a new deal for vehicle loans announced by BSP Finance to cater for customers wanting to purchase the vehicle. BSP Finance Head of Lending Mr. David Managa announced the new deal saying that this should make things a bit easier for customers interested in owning one for themselves. BSP Financial Group and WR Carpenters have a very long relationship history on PNG and also in the pacific and for BSP Finance a subsidiary of the BSP Group, we also share a very strong relationship with Boroko Motors, said Mr. Managa. In support of Boroko Motors with the launch of the new Nissan Navara, BSP Finance will support by giving customers special discount on the interest rate and also a fuel card of K500 from Puma with any approved financing from our customer vehicle loan. Mr. Managa added that this launching also coincided with the recent changes to BSP Finance Consumer Vehicle Loan product, which is designed similar to a personal loan. He said customers interested in this special offer can always contact BSP Finance for more detail or visit their website. Meanwhile, the new Nissan Navara PRO 4X was launched on Wednesday 30th March in Port Moresby and should be available at all Boroko Motors branches nationwide. Boroko Motors is the main distributor of Nissan vehicles in the country. The new PRO 4X also boast some new high-tech safety features including the Intelligent Forward Collision Warning, which monitors two vehicles ahead as well as the vehicle directly on front, to avoid accidents and make driving safer for the driver the passengers.

The people of Papua New Guinea (PNG) can expect more electricity projects to power homes and business through donor partners like the New Zealand (NZ) government continuing its support for electricity projects in the country. NZ’s High Commissioner to PNG, His Excellency Philip Taula, said with this great partnership NZ will continue to closely work with PNG to promote better electricity service and try connecting 70% of the country by 2030, under the PNG Electricity Partnership (PEP) with countries like Japan, Australia and the United States as announced during the 2018 APEC Summit held in the country. High Commissioner Taula, who spoke at the recent commissioning of one of these electricity projects- Hula Electrification Project in Central province, said this is one of the projects under the New Zealand government’s cooperation with the country. “A key focus for New Zealand, both now and the future, is to try to extend the national grid (Electricity grid) into rural areas and to support renewable off- grid generation aimed at connecting households, businesses, schools and public buildings,” said the high commissioner. “New Zealand has worked in this sector for many years. Over the last decade we’ve funded electrification projects to increase household connection in Enga, Oro, West New Britain and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville as well as Central province.” “We’ve also provided policy development support, for example to draft PNG’s geothermal policy. New Zealand is also working with PEP to help to strengthen institutions such as PNG Power Limited and the National Energy Authority, which are both critical to success in the sector.” He added that his country plans to work with the other partner donors under the PEP to further increase the number of connection right across the country because there is still a great deal of work to be done. “I believe that this kind of partnership in bringing power to people’s homes and communities can transform lives. We see important value in education and health.” The high commissioner concluded by saying that helping bring power to the houses so that children can do their studies at night time and making household tasks easier, and supporting families health and welfare, drives the purpose of this partnership in helping bring electricity service to the people. Picture: The New Zealand High Commissioner to PNG

In preparation for the inaugural Australian Football League (AFL) Easter Cup challenge, the Port Moresby AFL Association will be holding trial matches starting this Saturday 2nd April. According to the association President Mr. Douglas Lai, the trials will get the players and clubs fine- tune themselves for the challenge up ahead next month. “The trials will be for both women’s and men’s teams and eight regional teams will also be confirmed at the trials for the Easter Cup Challenge,” said the president. This inaugural Easter Cup Challenge is sponsored by MoniPlus and will be named the MoniPlus Easter Cup Challenge. There will be cash prices for winners, runners up and trophies for the best players in both divisions. Meanwhile, Mr. Lai said the Easter challenge will run for two days using the state of origin like format with teams to play using the 12 aside format. The Easter Cup challenge is confirmed for the 16th and 17th of April at the home of AFL in the city of Port Moresby, the Colts Oval at the Bisini sporting precinct. The president further added that this cup challenge is the warm- up for the actual proper season which should start on the 23rd of April.

The effort to reach 70% connectivity of homes to electricity in Papua New Guinea (PNG) will need the support of national, provincial and district government authorities to ensure that electricity projects sponsored by donors, are being delivered to the people. That was the message put forth by the PNG Power Limited (PPL) Acting General Manager Sustainable Business Development and Government Relations Mr. Mairawesi Pulayasi, when speaking to the people at the Commissioning of the Hula electrification project today in Rigo in the Central Province. Mr. Pulayasi said PNG Power continues to work with donor partners like the New Zealand Government and other contractors to light up homes in the various projects initiated by the donors, but it can only do so much. “What we have is evidence of a project that lightens lives and impacts our people, what does that mean to the provincial governments and the DDAs (District Development Authorities)?” asked the Acting General Manager. Mr. Pulayasi said the pathway to electrifying PNG is a challenging one and PNG Power alone can’t do it without help. “One of the biggest challenges we see and that has been recognized by our partners as well, is dealing with land issues. We sincerely invite the provincial governments and DDA's and we also are working with traditional chiefs to be champions in this.” “Please provide your support to PNG Power by providing land, providing corridors so that electrification can be managed.” He added that electricity is a vital service that improves the living standards of people and support business and economic growth be it in a district, a local level government area or nationally. Therefore, to achieve a better electricity coverage, there must be good collaboration between all parties involved. The Commissioning today of the Hula Power project marked the start of better things to come for villagers from Galamaruku all the way to Hula. This project is an initiative of the New Zealand government and is expected to benefit 30, 000 people at a cost of about K20million, which was supported and funded for by the people of New Zealand.

Although the intention of the government to ease the impacts of inflation on the people through these tough times may be reasonable through the temporary suspension of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), it could result in prices going further up for consumers going forward. This was the warning from the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Institute of National Affairs (INA) Director Mr. Paul Barker when commenting on the recent move by state to suspend for six months the 10% GST on goods and services as a means of combat the current inflationary impacts brought about by the pandemic and partly by the current events internationally. Barker said it’s best not to make changes at this time as it could result in further price increases after the six months. “If you say you’re going to do it in six months and in that six months’ time if prices are still high and going on up, and then you put it (GST) on again, then prices will keep on going further up.” “So, it would be much better not to do changes now just because there is an election coming, it would be better to remain consistent.” Mr. Barker instead said the government should look at reducing the excise duty or tax charged on goods produced within the country, on fuel, of which he said should be a better option to lessen the inflationary impact currently experienced. He explained that the high cost of fuel is directly affecting the prices of goods and services as well due to it being used for transportation of goods around the country. This high cost is then passed on to everything. “Now the fuel price has gone up, but it might as well come down again in six months’ time. So, it is easier to just administer the excise duty on fuel and to adjust quickly, then it is to adjust the GST.” “So, it is probably better to reduce the inflationary effect by reducing the fuel excise duty for a period of time.” Barker added that the prices are already going to be high and that’s already having the effects of discouraging the use of fuel, but by reducing the excise duty on fuel it can reduce the costs.