Links
Surfing information for PNG can be found at the Surfing Association of PNG
website located at -- http://www.surfingpapuanewguinea.org.pg/home.htm
and -- http://www.surfing-waves.com/travel/papua_ng.htm
-- The Tourism Promotion Authority December 2003 Newsletter also had an article
on surfing PNG at -- http://www.pngtourism.org.pg/news/newsletters/newsletterdec.htm
The Yahoo regional directory on PNG is located at -- http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Papua_New_Guinea/
Papua New Guinea information includes Anthems, Defence, Economy, Flags, Geography,
Government, Maps, News, and Weather. -- http://www.emulateme.com/papuanew.htm
Jane's Papua New Guinea -- A pictorial insight with comments on Papua New
Guinea traditional culture, art and history. Contains a series of excellent
photographs and can be located at --
http://www.janeresture.com/png_home/
The Lonely Planet Guide to PNG is located at -- http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/australasia/papua_new_guinea/
Papua New Guinea - From Sky to Sea -- http://www.totheweb.com/personal/travel/png/
One Thousand One Papua New Guinean Nights. These stories originally appeared
in Wantok, the Pidgin English (Tok Pisin) newspaper of PNG over many editions.
Thomas Slone has translated and cross-referenced these into two volumes. Information
about how to buy a copy and a few sample copies can be found at -- http://members.tripod.com/~THSlone/1001PNGnights.html
-- Another sample authorised by Thomas can be found at -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/1001.html
Diving in PNG
A site worth visiting, especially if you are into diving is -- http://www.walindi.com
Another Site worth visiting is -- http://www.diversionoz.com/
This is the home of Diversion Dive Travel
P.O. Box 7026, Cairns 4870, Australia,
Ph.: +61-740 390 200, Fax: +61-740 390 300
within Australia: Ph: 07-4039 0200 Fax 07-4039 0300
News Items
St John's Church
The Anglican Cathedral Church in downtown Port Moresby will be celebrating
Saint John's Day on the 9th of May. It is anticipated that the Bishop of Port
Moresby, Bishop Peter Fox, will attend the celebrations along with Retired
Bishop David Hand. All Anglicans are invited along whether they are regular
attendees in the Port Moresby Diocese or just Anglicans who have not been
to church for a while. St John's Day is on the 6th but the 9th of May is the
closest Sunday to the day. The service times are 7:00am and 8:30am each Sunday.
-- http://portmoresby.anglican.org/org/stjohns
Jackson's Airport Security
Having stood outside the Domestic Departure terminal at the Port Moresby
Jackson's airport recently I was able to observe that the guards appear to
only stop women from entering the airport terminal. A man seems to be able
to bluff his way past the guards. This is similar to how the police force
operates in PNG. They tend to focus on the small problems and allow the bigger
problem to pass right by their eyes.
Mendi Show
The inaugural Mendi Show has been declared a success. It was the first show
to be held in the province for 25 years. It is anticipated that the show will
become bigger and better over the coming years. The show was held at Sumia
in the Southern Highlands Province and was an initiative of the governor but
hosted by the people of Sumia. The Western Province Governor opened the show.
Sir Anthony Siaguru
After a long fight with cancer of the liver Sir Anthony Siaguru passed away
at the age of 57 on Friday 16 April 2004. He died at the Wesley hospital in
Brisbane where he had been receiving treatment since October 2003. Sir Anthony
was the founding chairman of the PNG chapter of Transparency International.
He has also held many other distinguished roles in various jobs as well as
holding a seat in the National Government.
Fuel Prices
Following on from favourable rates for the PNG Kina the price of fuel has
dropped. Petrol has dropped by 8.8 toea per litre and diesel is now five toea
per litre cheaper. The approved maximum retail price for petrol is now K2.28
per litre and diesel K1.83 per litre. Kerosene costs K1.52 per litre. These
prices are for the main ports.
Goroka vs. Vanimo
Umm, Goroka up and running and then Vanimo goes down? Not sure if it is the
same equipment or not?
Quote --
Due to failure of the T-VASI lights at Vanimo, F28 flights to Vanimo are suspended
indefinitely. Dash-8 flights are not affected - passengers will be re-accommodated
on Dash-8 aircraft where possible.
End Quote --
The Goroka VASI system has been off the air since last year and it has just
been fixed.
National Fisheries Authority
The Chief of the National Fisheries Authority has been suspended over the
allegation that he received a double payment for two months work as the acting
Managing Director in 1999. It is alleged that he was paid K306,800 for acting
in the position in 1999 and then he paid himself again for the same two months.
It is also alleged that various relationships with overseas donor agencies
has suffered since the person in question took over the leadership of the
Authority. -- http://pnggossip.com/news/g040416.html#nfa
National Fisheries Donors
Possibly with thanks to the suspension of the managing director of National
Fisheries three donor agencies are now showing a willingness to reopen talks
with fisheries. The Asian Development Bank suspended a US$35 million funding
project due to problems with the management of National Fisheries. AusAID
and the European Union have also shown an interest in reopening talks.
In an unrelated item National Fisheries has handed over a K10 million to
the government's consolidated revenue. This is the first payment for the year
out of a budgeted K18 million. Last year National Fisheries managed to handover
a total of K23.25 million to the government.
Potato Blight
The PNG Government has allocated K1 million to fight potato blight to help
support and revitalise the potato industry. The potato industry makes a direct
contribution to the economy of many of the high altitude regions of the country.
Inland Fish Pond
The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research is set to begin
an inland pond aquaculture project to help fish farmers in PNG over the next
four years. Fish farmers from the Morobe Districts of Markham, Huon, Nawae,
Menyamya, Bulolo and Finschaffen will benefit from the project.
Governor General Race
The race for Governor General has had a spanner thrown in the works. Sir
Pato Kakaraya, the person who was elected to the position and even had his
nomination sent to the Queen is now appealing against the decision of the
court that his election was null and void because proper procedures were not
followed. Parliament was due to sit on the 27th of April to elect a new Governor
General but the pending court case has placed a cloud over that.
Madang Governor
The Governor of Madang Province will be charged over the alleged assault
of a senior public servant. It has been alleged that the Governor in the office
of another public servant bashed the Madang District Administrator. Police
have received statements from witnesses to the incident as well as medical
reports.
Southern Highlands
The Secretary of Department of Personal Management has revealed that the
Southern Highlands province has a wage bill of K15 million making it the biggest
employer of public servants in the country. It has been claimed that some
job positions three people have been employed and that many people have been
employed without going through the correct channels. The Secretary said that
it is very clear that there has been a breakdown of the normal procedures
and processes used to employ people.
Death Penalty
Transparency International has slammed the push by the government to implement
the death penalty. The Government is studying the Singapore Republic's legislative
and judicial process on the death penalty with a view to adopting it for PNG.
Other states in the Pacific Islands Forum either no longer have laws providing
for the death penalty or have stopped enforcing them.
Post Courier
The Post Courier has recently won a international award for an advertising
campaign it has run using Stanley "Head Hunter" Nandex. The award
was for the best mono advertisement in its circulation category -- daily sales
from 15,000 - 50,000) in the Pacific Area. The Post Courier web site can be
found at -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg.
Highlands Highway
Without any surprise a risk analysis undertaken by independent foreign consultants
has branded the Highlands Highway as a high risk. Due to the necessity of
the highway linking Lae to the highlands region road users continue to operate
along the road at great risk to life and property. The independent analysis
was carried out on behalf of Shell PNG. Both Shell and Mobil Oil have stopped
delivering fuel past Goroka causing shortages in Mount Hagen and beyond.
Internet Bandwidth
The bandwidth into PNG has been increased by another 2 Megabit but this has
caused problems for some Internet users due to load balancing issues. Of course
the extra bandwidth would have been used up immediately and an individual
would notice little speed increase anyway.
East New Britain Phones
Negotiations for an investment partner for PNG Telikom are delaying the introduction
of a mobile telephone service for East New Britain. It is hoped that once
a partner is found within the next couple of months for PNG Telikom the mobile
service will start.
East New Britain Escape
Five men out of a group of ten that pleaded guilty to manslaughter walked
out of the courtroom and run away minutes before the judge was set to hand
down the sentence. The five remaining behind have had their bail revoked and
are being held in custody. A warrant for the arrest of the escapees has been
issued.
Telikom PNG
The company with a monopoly over telecommunications in PNG has limited phone
calls to PNG from overseas causing frustration for many people attempting
to get through to PNG. Telikom PNG only has agreements with three overseas
companies for calls to PNG and all calls must now be connected through those
carriers. They are Singtel in New Zealand, Optus in Australia and a consortium
from Hong Kong and Telstra (Australia). The problem has stemmed from the fact
that people were bypassing the "expensive" Telikom option and using
cheaper operators using voice over the Internet technology. It has been alleged
that Telikom has blocked the cheaper options but Telikom claim they only have
agreements with those companies and those companies must be used.
Strange Meals
Thanks to Rick for the following link -- http://www.familyhaven.com/travel/melanesianman.html
-- Make sure you are not eating when you read the contents of this page!
PNG Institute of Directors
The PNG Institute of Directors has revamped its website with the help of
an AESOP Volunteer, Peter Griffin. It is an excellent introduction to PNG
company law and related governance issues it can be found at -- http://www.pngid.org.pg
Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce
The Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce website is located at -- http://www.pomcci.org.pg
Milne Bay
The founding Milne Bay Premier, Patrick Paulisbo, died at the Port Moresby
General Hospital at the age of 64. He played an architectural role in establishing
the first Milne Bay Provincial Government.
South Pacific Motor Sports Club
The South Pacific Motor Sports Club web site is located at -- http://www.spmsc.org.pg
-- For information about the car club, located along Waigani Drive in Port
Moresby; this is the site to visit.
Trukai Rice
The Trukai Rice company has an official website located at -- http://www.trukai.com.pg/
-- if you want to find out about what Trukai does then this is the site to
visit. When you hear the name of Trukai you may think of the familiar yellow,
red and green packs of PNG's favourite rice. Trukai Industries encompasses
much, much more than just rice. In fact Trukai Industries has, since 1970,
been a major producer and marketer of a whole range of important foods for
PNG. Trukai supplies over ninety five percent of the PNG rice market.
Under 19 Soccer
The Australian u/19 female soccer team has won a three-nation challenge held
at the Port Moresby Rugby League ground. The PNG team won the fairest team
of the competition. The final game held on Saturday the 24th saw Australia
playing PNG. Australia scored well in the first half and PNG scored its only
goal through a penalty in the second half. The PNG goalkeeper had to be carried
off the ground on a stretcher. The substitute goalie for PNG managed to score
one past the Aussie goalkeeper. As PNG had already used up all of its substitutes
it was not allowed to field its second goalkeeper and had to play with 10
players - one of them becoming the substitute goalie. The final score was
Australia 14 - PNG 1. The Australian team nearly did not make it to the competition
due to visa problems at Jackson's airport. The team did not realise that a
visa was required for the team to enter PNG. Luckily the visa issue was able
to be sorted out on the spot and the team allowed to play.
Medical Symposium
The 40th PNG Medical Symposium will be held by the PNG Medical Society at
the University of PNG between the 6th to the 10th of September this year.
The Society has over 700 members from around the country.
Education Sites
http://www.pngmc.ac.pg -- PNG Maritime
College
http://www.dg.com.pg/Che/index.htm
-- Commission for Further / Higher Eduction
http://www.ibs.com.pg -- International
Business Institute
http://www.iea.ac.pg -- International Education
Agency
http://www.pngimr.org.pg -- PNG Institute
of Medical Research
http://www.unitech.ac.pg -- PNG University
of Technology
http://www.uog.ac.pg -- University of Goroka
http://www.upng.ac.pg -- University of
PNG
http://www.workersmutual.com.pg
-- Computer Training
Radio Eastern Highlands
The radio station that serves the people of the Eastern Highlands has been
off the air since August 2003 due to a shortage of money. It has been reported
that the Eastern Highlands provincial government has failed to fund the radio
station.
Port Moresby Hospital
The Port Moresby General Hospital, the largest public hospital in PNG, has
run short of oxygen. The hospital has had to suspend elective surgery until
more supplies can be obtained. It has been reported that patients have died
because of the shortage. New supplies are waiting at the Port Moresby wharf
waiting clearance and hopefully some will be delivered before this newsletter
hits your mailbox.
South America
A PNG person, Anthony Power, has landed a top job in Peru because of his
experience with land tenure in Melanesia. Mr Power has published more than
20 publications since 1963 that range from philosophy to appropriate technology
to development issues with a heavy emphasis on land, forestry and clan mobilisation.
Female Education
Six provinces have been selected by UNICEF to implement its campaign of accelerating
girls' education. This is part of a major campaign by UNICEF, in partnership
with the Department of Education, to help PNG meet the goals of gender equality
in primary and secondary education by 2005. The six provinces chosen are -
Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, Simbu, Morobe, Madang and East Sepik.
PNG Media
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