P.N.G. Gossip Newsletter - 21 Jan 2001

[ Search Newsletters ]

[ Newsletter Home | Previous | Next | Newsletter Index ]

Welcome to the Papua New Guinea Gossip - 21 January 2001. A very special welcome is extended to any new readers especially Fiona. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please e-mail them to giaman@png-gossip.com

Articles for this newsletter

PNG Gossip Newsletter Meri Milne Bay

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- please e-mail your contribution to pngnews.queue@png-gossip.com

Remember that this mailing list is mainly meant for people who have an interest and already know a little bit about the people and geography of Papua New Guinea. The PNG Kina, which is mentioned from time to time, is currently worth somewhere around 28 - 30 United States cents but varies on a daily basis.

If you really want to find what the Kina is worth on the world market then you can find a currency converter for most world currencies located at http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/moni.html

For those who are not so familiar with the geography of Papua New Guinea I suggest taking a look http://maps.expedia.com and then click on the find a map option. If you want a quick start to a link to a map of Port Moresby then, courtesy of Expedia, click on the following link http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pom-map.html

Also remember that the accuracy of the information in this newsletter should not be relied upon - it is, after all, a gossip newsletter.


Sometimes, in the email edition of this newsletter, the email client can not place a long link (url) on the one line so if a long URL appears to be broken, please manually cut and then paste the link into your browser.

Motor Vehicles insurance Limited

The MVIL offices are open again after a decision by Justice Maurice Sheehan to decline the stay order by the MVIL Liquidator, Rex Paki. Many motorists have breathed a sigh of relief, as the police would not allow unregistered cars on the roads. Many customers lined up patiently waiting to register vehicles and renew drivers' licences as soon as the offices reopened.

Fishing

The rivers of New Hanover have yielded some magnificent Bass recently. It is hoped that the fishing can become a tourist attraction for the Mansava Lodge on Tsoi Island. The bass is a favourite of game fishermen as it puts up a great battle and they can grow to 30 kilogram in weight.

Power Outages

Power outages continue to hit Port Moresby with no advanced warning. UPS's are getting a hammering with little time in-between outages to recover a full charge of the batteries.

Soccer

The Oceania Club Soccer Championships are well underway. It looks like as if the Wollongong Wolves will come out on top of the competition. The Wolves redeemed themselves this week by visiting the children's ward at the Port Moresby Hospital and giving away soccer balls, balloons, t-shirts and other items to the kids.

Privatisation

The project management consultancy team for the privatisation of state assets has been finalised for the following state run bodies. Nothing has been announced for Air Niugini and Telikom yet.

Telikom

Changes to the Telikom board have seen Pila Niningi replaced by Leo Hannet. Mr Hannet is a former premier of the North Solomons province. Telikom has also announced a K20 million profit, which is a remarkable turnaround from the losses of previous years. Critics have said that even if the K20 million profit is true it would be swallowed up by the massive debt that the company has over its head.

Elcom

Brian Amini has been appointed to head the Elcom board. He replaces Sir Mekena Geno who resigned last year.

Gabriel Dusava

The former MP who represented Yangoru-Saussia, Gabriel Dusava, has been cleared to hold public office after the order not to hold public office for three years expired recently. Mr Dusava was convicted of misconduct in office on the 17th of October 1997.

Mt Lamington, Oro Province

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Mount Lamington blowing its top. It is estimated that approx 3000 metres of the 8000 metre mountain was blown off in the big explosion on the 21st of January 1951. The explosion killed almost 3000 people on what has been named "Black Sunday". Up until the recent 1998 Tsunami at Aitape the explosion was the biggest natural disaster in PNG.

2002 Elections

The Electoral Commission is updating the common roll in preparedness for the 2002 elections. They hope to make it as accurate as possible with help by the Australian Government through the Australian Electoral Commission. The project will also help the PNG Commission to run the elections. The project is estimated to cost AUS$10 million (K20 million) over a four-year period.

Sogeri National High

Once again the National High at Sogeri has suffered damage. This time a tree has fallen on one of the dormitories. An estimate of damage is not yet available. Sogeri is one of the oldest schools in the country.

History will be made this year when a Bougainvillean woman takes charge as principal of Sogeri National High. Lillian Ahai has also become the first principal for any National High School.

University - Goroka

Land woes continue to hit the University at Goroka. A meeting has been planned to try and resolve the situation between the alleged landowners of the university, the prime minister and university staff. The landowners are after a claim of K2.7million. The university is unsure whether the academic year will be allowed to start on time or at all for this year.

University - UPNG

According to the acting registrar of UPNG fees at the university will not rise this year. Tuition fees will remain at K600 per year. It will be possible to break this into to two equal payments. The remaining K300 would be due before the commencement of the second half of the year. On top of tuition fees the students have to pay K6 for the Students' Representative Council and K113 as a service fee.

Koki and Ela Beach

Road works have begun on a four-lane road between Koki and Ela Beach.

Correctional Institutions

Newly appointed Correctional Services Commissioner, Richard Sikani, has vowed to clean up the mess within the department. It is hoped that he will be able to provide decisive leadership to an organisation, which seems to be lacking any control at all.

Richard Sikani was formerly the head of the political and legal studies division of the National Research Institute.

East New Britain

The acting governor of East New Britain, Ephraim Jubilee is still the legitimate governor of ENB until the official swearing in of the governor elect, Leo Dion.

Miss PNG

Miss PNG, Ephreddie Jubilee, daughter of the acting ENB Governor, officiated at an AusAID briefing function for AusAID scholarship holders in ENB recently. Miss PNG, herself, was sponsored by AusAID to attend the James Cook University in Townsville where she obtained her Bachelor of Law Degree.

The briefing is held each year before the departure of sponsored students to the various colleges and universities in Australia.

Central Province

The roads in Central Province are in the worst state of disrepair that anyone can remember. Many of the bridges have large holes showing the rivers below making it impassable for sedan vehicles. Only the larger trucks can navigate these bridges. The roads are only passable by four-wheel drive unless you want to stop and wait to be towed through the many boggy sections.

In other areas the road has been narrowed down by erosion to about 2 metres making it impossible for big trucks to be able to pass oncoming vehicles and get through. In yet other areas trucks are having to offload their passengers on to other trucks on the other side of broken culverts that they can't drive over or around. Note: - to those who aren't familiar with transportation in PNG. Three tonne trucks are used to move passengers around. Some trucks are equipment with bench seats whilst others let the passengers sit of the tray of the truck.

Air Niugini

The new Chief of the Defence Force Air Transport Squadron is hopeful that they will be able to strike a deal with Air Niugini and lease one of the Defence Force Cassa 235 aeroplanes to Air Niugini as a freighter transport.

The new chief promptly resigned over the statement after he was reprimanded for making media statements. He has apologised to Air Niugini and the Defence Force for any inconvenience the statement may have made.

A deadline of March has been set for the 49 percent sale of Air Niugini. It is hoped that the formalities will be finalised by the 30th of March but I like to say the 1st of April as April Fools day has a nicer ring to it.

Defence Force

Senior officers of the defence force and the police force have agreed to work together to help improve the image of both disciplined forces.

The new Defence Secretary, John Vulupindi, has said that the media over sensationalises the many issues facing the PNG Defence Force. He went on to say that the media should only report the facts and not sensationalise issues.

Prices

Babes Real Estate who are supposed to have a website at http://www.datec.com.pg/babes, but I couldn't find it, has advertised the following rental properties around Port Moresby.

LJ Hooker has advertised the following properties



Milne Bay

The governor of Milne Bay has said that the local level governments will receive a share of K300,000 from the export of sea slugs (bech-de-mer).

Milne bay has earned K5 million in 1999, K6 million in 2000 and expects to make K7 million this year from the export of bech-de-mer. This is provided the resource is conserved and maintained.

Mining Links


A parody of Waltzing Matilda called "Kai Kai the buai" is located at - http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/WM/Kai.html




Other Links

http://www.tufitelita.com/index.html This website looks after the interests of the Tufi Dive Resort and Telita Cruises.

Tufi is located close to Port Moresby but on the other side of the island. Quoting from the website Tufi is located on the northern side of the mainland of Papua New Guinea and approximately 250 kilometres due east of the capital, Port Moresby. It lies between Lae and Alotau on the tip of Cape Nelson in Oro Province and it is accessible only by sea and air.

http://www.fallingrain.com/air/cache/geo/PP/icao.C.html This is a list of Airports, Heliports, and Weather stations in Papua New Guinea of quality C so-so Sorted by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) order

http://www.pngtours.com - is the website of TRANS NIUGINI TOURS, the leading inbound tour operator in Papua New Guinea. In addition to being an inbound tour operator they also own and operate a series of world famous Wilderness Lodges in PNG. They own and operate their own mini coaches in Port Moresby, the Highlands and Madang. They operate their own boats on the Sepik and in Madang. They also have their own aircraft, which link the various Lodges. Take a look at their website and learn a bit more about the tourist side of PNG.

Larry Santana's PNG art pages are located at http://www.santartgal.com.pg


PNG newspaper sites


If a friend has given or sent you a copy of this newsletter and you would like to keep receiving free copies then please visit http://www.michie.net/news/index.html for instructions on how to join the list.

Articles for this newsletter

If you think you have a PNG page worth mentioning then please send e-mail to giaman@png-gossip.com.

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter queue please e-mail your contribution to pngnews.queue@png-gossip.com



If you want to subscribe please fill out the application on the following page.

If you want to unsubscribe then select the unsubscribe option on the next page.


PNG Gossip Newsletter ArchiveView PNG Gossip Newsletter Archive




[ Search Newsletters ]

[ Newsletter Home | Previous | Next | Newsletter Index ]
Created 21 Jan 2001
Updated 21 Jan 2001
Sponsored by
www.michie.net


©2001 - 2010 Gia Mann