Links
Warning:
PNG web sites seem to come and go. The fact of life is that it costs
money to host a web site and there is not much return on the outlay
to most businesses in PNG. If you do click on a link and use the services
or even have some comments to make then please contact the people at
the relevant web site and let them know so they at least know that someone
has gained some value from their efforts. If you are so inclined them
mention that you heard about them from this web site. -- The PNG
Gossip Newsletter.
New Guinea Traders
New Guinea Traders have a website located at -- http://www.newguineatraders.com
-- the company is a limited liability corporation importing green arabica
coffee beans. Originally established by Aarlie and Larry Hull for the
purpose of helping indigenous Papua New Guineans realise a greater return
on their labours and a more equitable profit from the magnificent natural
resources of their country.
PNG Aviation
Air Niugini, National Airline of PNG -- http://www.airniugini.com.pg
Airlines of PNG -- http://www.apng.com
Airlink -- http://www.airlink.com.pg
Bill Purcell's Site -- http://www.billpurc.com/aviation.htm
MAF Australia (PNG Info) -- http://www.maf.org.au/png/pnginfo.php
Michie.NET PNG Aircraft Register -- http://michie.net/balus
Online Airline schedule -- http://www.pngbd.com/travel/flights.php
PNG Balus Project -- http://www.balus.gov.pg
TNT Air Cargo -- http://www.tnt.kenmore.com.pg
Surfing PNG
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
--
Taklam Guest House
The Guest House, actually it is now called Taklam Lodge and Tours,
was originally located in Rabaul but was relocated to Kokopo after the
twin volcanic eruptions destroyed Rabaul in 1994. They commenced operations
in 1990 offering a home away from home service. A web site is located
at -- http://www.taklam.com.pg/
Communication
- ConXions -- http://www.conxions.com.pg
-- (also Ericssons PNG)
- PNG Telikom -- http://www.teklikompng.com.pg
- PNG Pacific Mobile Communications -- http://www.tiare.com.pg
- PNG Telecommunications Authority -- http://www.pangtel.gov.pg
- RAD-TEL Communications sales and Services -- http://www.radtel.com.pg
- PACOM -- http://www.prosec.com.pg
- Alcatel (Now owned by PACOM) -- http://www.alcatel.com.pg
Telephone Management
If anyone is in PNG and looking for a good telephone management system
for their Ericsson, Oki, Panasonic, NEC or possibly other PABX then
I suggest taking a visit to MATRYX -- http://www.matryx.com.pg.
This PNG system boasts over 100 customers within PNG. The company can
also offer web development and various IT services. It is also associated
with the PNG Business and Tourism Directory located at -- http://www.pngbd.com
Air Niugini Fokker F100
A bit more information about the latest Air Niugini Fokker F100 (P2-ANB)
can be located at http://michie.net/pnginfo/px_f100.html.
News Items
PNG Tall Poppy Syndrome
Now that Air Niugini has returned to being a profitable airline it
is the time that the armchair experts come out and say that they could
have done a better job and in a shorter time of turning around the airline.
Many of these so-called experts are politicians and other people with
no idea of running an international business with most of the costs
in overseas currencies. This problem is not confined to Air Niugini
and could be likened to the tall poppy syndrome in Australia.
Hillside Gardening
For many years gardeners have been allowed to take over the slopes
of hills in Port Moresby and plant various market vegetables for harvesting
and selling. Many trees in the city have also suffered as people chop
them down and sell the timber as firewood. Little is done to replace
the chopped trees and stop the gardening. Over the years this has led
to the erosion of valuable topsoil and the clogging of many drains.
The Primer Minister, Sir Michael Somare, has said that he will introduce
a law to stop the cultivating of the hillside land in Port Moresby.
Amateur Radio
The article on Amateur Radio operators in the Gordon's area, being
upset that a public broadcaster has been allowed to flood the 40-metre
band, brought this response from the broadcaster.
QUOTE
As far as the complaints against the short wave is concerned here are
some things to pass along:
1) The frequency was selected by Sam Rowley, of HCJB. Sam was a great
guy who had spent a lot of time building short-wave transmitters and
stations throughout his career with HCJB. He was not a ham. Sam passed
away right after he helped put the FM on the air in Port Moresby. He
tried to obtain a frequency that would cover PNG well. Apparently he
succeeded at that effort.
2) 7120 is a SHARED radio frequency and not allocated exclusively to
Amateur radio. Hams are secondary users of the 7.1-7.2 MHz sub-band.
That fact will not change until 2009.
3) After our application was approved and the frequency assigned but
before the station was installed the WARC 2003 conference chose to make
the 7.1 to 7.2 MHz band exclusively amateur by the year 2009. We constructed
the station based on the license issued, knowing that it would be a
temporary frequency. Our other choice was to delay construction by a
couple of years - something we did not want to do nor did we have an
obligation to do.
4) We are endeavouring to find a suitable frequency that is outside
of the amateur bands to move to as soon as it is practical to do so.
Unlike amateurs who can simply turn our dial a few kilohertz, we must
maintain the assigned frequency until a new frequency is assigned. I
have been given a few possible frequencies to check out so I am on the
issue and hope to get something going on an application soon.
5) So far we have determined what our equipment can do without the
need to replace the transmitter or to build a new antenna and with that
information we are searching for a frequency that will work for us.
6) Our transmit power is 1 KW - less than many hams use and not at
all in the class with the common 50 and 100 KW short-wave stations.
We are flattered to be told our signal is so strong. Our peak signal
for most of the daylight hours is in the central highlands and the software
that we use tells us that the signal is 50 dbU at that point. Signal
levels in other areas are less.
7) I can work VK's on 40 meters on 7110 and my home QTH (Gordons) is
5.50 km from the centre of our antennas. Our signal is a maximum of
10 kHz wide on my ICOM 706 MKIIG. (7115 to 7125) The audio filters on
the transmitter have extremely sharp cut-off at 5 kHz. Modulation is
tightly controlled to remain below 100% so there is no splatter.
8) We are unaware of any complaints from other commercial users. If
they have a complaint shouldn't they be telling us about it?
9) Land suitable for construction of this station is not readily available
as anyone who lives in PNG can tell you. We felt lucky to get what we
have. If someone has land for sale that would be more suitable please
contact us.
What more can I say?
Dave Olsen
END QUOTE
Nonga Base Hospital
The morgue at Nonga Base Hospital may have to close if relatives and
friends do not come forward and remove the bodies currently filling
the mortuary. Apparently the hospital has imposed a rule that any locals
that die will have their body released immediately and will not be held
in the morgue until further notice. The morgue is the only such facility
for the whole of East New Britain province.
Kaugere Coffee
Kaugere, about three kilometres away from the coast, has proved to
be a location where it is possible to grow coffee. Coffee is usually
grown in the higher and cooler regions of the country. Three coffee
trees were planted 18 months ago and the growers thought they were just
another type of flowering plant until the trees bore the first flowers
and fruit. The trees have already been harvested twice.
Training in PNG
Some providers of private training in PNG have been accused of providing
low quality training at a high cost to the people of PNG. Some institutions
are keen on providing top-level training for students but unfortunately
others are only interested in making a huge profit leaving some students
with little prospect of getting a good job in the field they have chosen.
Bougainville
The first president of the Autonomous Government on Bougainville has
been declared and Joseph Kabui is the successful candidate who managed
to poll a total of 37,928 votes. This was almost 14,000 votes more than
the runner up John Momis. As indicated last edition John Momis will
dispute the count due to perceived intimidation by supporters of the
winning candidate. Internal observers who oversaw the elections have
given their stamp of approval on the conduct of the elections. They
have declared that the elections were conducted in a transparent, open
and proper manner.
President Kabui, at the height of the conflict/crisis on Bougainville,
was declared by Waigani as being the 'most wanted" person on the
island with a price on his head.
Political Appointees?
Two people close to Sir Michael Somare have been appointed to key positions
in state run bodies. His son, Sana Somare, has been appointed to the
Board of PNG Power and Glen Blake, Sir Michael's financial advisor,
has been appointed to the board of the Independent Public Business Corporation
(IPBC). The IPBC is chaired by Sir Michael's legal advisor, lawyer Sumasi
Singin.
Other changes to boards see NASFUND's Rod Mitchell and POSF's Leon
Buskins appointed to the board of Telikom PNG which brings out the rumours
that Telikom will be prepared for sale yet again but this time with
input from the superannuation funds. The chairman of the Telikom board
has stepped down citing work pressure and the need to spend time with
his family as the reason. Air Niugini has had another member appointed
to the board. Frederick Reiher has been appointed replacing a failed
attempt by Captain Paun Nonggor and Sir Hugo Berghuser to be appointed
to the board.
Telikom Outage
Telephone Subscribers located in a large area from five to seven-mile
have once again faced cuts to their telecommunication service. Vandals
cut a large section out of five main cables feeding the area last week
and subscribers were left without any telecommunication service. Some
people were lucky to have emergency services reconnected the same day
and others are still waiting. Telikom claim that they lose up to K3
million a year on replacing stolen and damaged cables.
PNG Orchids
A successful second international Orchids Show has been held at the
Sir Rabbie Namaliu Orchid Gardens in the grounds of Parliament House.
The two-day event saw orchid growers, lovers and collectors coming from
Port Moresby and flying in from outside the city to see the many species
the country has on display. Orchid officials from Taiwan, Malaysia and
the president and secretary of the Orchid Society of South East Asia
attended the event.
Television Crime
A senior policeman in the highlands has said that western influences
were contributing to the breakdown of law and order in the Western Highlands
Province and other parts of the co. Crimes like kidnapping, ambush,
and hijacking were "foreign crimes" introduced to the country
through television and movies.
Fuel Prices
A small reduction in the price of fuel has made motorists happy around
the country. Petrol will now cost K2.68 per litre in Port Moresby and
K2.76 in Lae. Diesel -- Port Moresby K2.19 and Lae K2.27. Prices will
be higher in other areas of the country.
Traditional Healing
Due to the ongoing shortage of drugs at all major hospitals around
the country people are turning to traditional methods in a bid to find
a cure for their sickness. The hospitals are turning patients away and
pointing them to private pharmacies but many people cannot afford the
high prices being charged for medicine so the next step is to turn to
traditional herbal medicine. The Minister for Health has said that hospitals
will not receive a shipment of necessary drugs until next month (July).
Forestry Bill
The World Wide Fund (WWF) is concerned that changes to the Forestry
Bill will be a step backwards for the forestry industry. The WWF has
joined with other concerned groups to call on the Prime Minister to
withdraw the proposed Forestry Amendment Bill. WWF is concerned that
the changes will take away the rights of the landowners for direct consultation
when dealing with the allocation of timber permits. Other obligations
will also be removed by the proposed changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the land area of the provinces in PNG?
- National Capital and Central -- 29,940 sq kms
- Oro Province -- 19,827 sq kms
- Milne Bay Province -- 14,000 sq kms
- Morobe Province -- 34,500 sq kms
- Madang Province -- 28,000 sq kms
- Eastern Highlands -- 11,706 sq kms
- Simbu Province -- 8,476 sq kms
- Western Highlands -- 8,288 sq kms
- Southern Highlands -- 25,988 sq kms
- East Sepik -- 43,000 sq kms
- West Sepik (Sandaun) -- 36,000 sq kms
- East New Britain -- 15,500 sq kms
- West New Britain -- 21,000 sq kms
- New Ireland -- 9,500 sq kms
- Manus Province -- 2,100 sq kms
- North Solomons Province -- 9,400 sq kms
- Enga Province -- 10,790 sq kms
- Western and Gulf Province -- 135,000 sq kms
More PNG Frequently Asked Question can be found at -- http://michie.net/png_faqs
Scarlet Taxis
Scarlet Taxis are becoming popular for taxi users in Port Moresby.
The company is 100 percent nationally owned and has been in operation
for five months. The taxis are popular amongst expatriates and working
class people because the cars look clean and presentable from the outside
and inside and offer a metered service around town. All the drivers
are non-smokers and do not chew betelnut and drink beer. The taxis also
are hooked back to base via radio.
Living and Working in PNG
Here is an excellent and up-to-date article about living and working in PNG
-- http://www.sagric.com.au/jobs/asf/More-about-PNG.pdf
-- Note you will need an Adobe Portable Document Format reader to be
able to display this article on you computer.
Coming Events
Golf - The 36 hole 17th West New Britain Open will be held on
the 18th and 19th of June at the Mosa Golf Course.
East New Britain Warwagira and Mask Festival. The Warwagira
will be held on the 6th to the 12th of July followed by the Mask Festival
on the 13th to the 16th of July. Both events will be held at the Queen
Elizabeth Park.
Squash - The K50,000 Steel Industries PNG Squash International
has been set to be held between the 16th and 21st of August in Port
Moresby. The event is part of the official Men's World Tour and is being
run under the supervision of the Professional Squash Association - the
world governing body for Men's Squash. The main event will be held at
the Holiday Inn Sports Plus Club at Waigani.
PNG 30th Independence Day Celebrations -- 16th September 2005.
Hiri Moale Festival -- the week leading up to Independence Day
Goroka Show -- Independence Weekend
The Milne Bay Canoe Festival is to be held near the end of October.
Building Boom
According to a building board member of the National Capital District
Commission - Port Moresby should be heading for a building boom. It
has been tipped that over K280 million of construction work is about
to commence in the city. In the coming year construction work should
increase by five-fold and possibly up to seven-fold in the following
years. A drop in loan interest rates has been attributed as the main
factor for the proposed boom. In recent years several companies have
wound down their operations to a minimum and other companies have closed
shop altogether.
Some of the forthcoming projects include -
36 home units on Touaguba hill valued at K23 million,
A K2.5 million fit out of Deloitte Tower by the European Union,
A building valued at K50 million for the Japanese Embassy as well as
many smaller projects for apartment blocks and home ownership schemes
for workers.
PNG Media
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