P.N.G. Gossip Newsletter - 29 May 2001

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PNG Gossip Newsletter Meri Milne Bay

Welcome to the Papua New Guinea Gossip - 29 May 2001. A very special welcome is extended to any new readers. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please e-mail them to giaman@png-gossip.com

Articles for this newsletter

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

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. Go to this link for a quick start to a link to a map of Port Moresby. http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pom-map.html




Sites to visit

After mentioning a few recipes in last weeks newsletter I am now attempting to direct people to sites with information about food eaten and grown in PNG.



Betel Nut

Information can be found on betel nut at http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/areca056.html.



Yam

The humble yam appears to have magic properties when it comes to PMS. Perform a search on the scientific name for a yam (dioscorea alata) and it reveals pages of information on natural progesterone made from plant compounds found in wild yams (dioscorea).

For the yam that is commonly eaten in PNG visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea



Water Spinach - Kang Kong

Information can be located at http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/Fmrs/Asian_veg/water.htm



Aibika

Many recipes in Papua New Guinea use Aibika - here is an explanation of what Aibika is.

Aibika Hibiscus (Abelmoschus) manihot, Aibika also known as, Bele (Fiji) Pele (Polynesia) and Ailan kapis (Vanuatu)

A perennial in the tropics or an annual in cooler climates Aibika bears edible leaves on plants reaching 2 metres (6 feet) in height. Pale yellow flowers 15 centimetres (6 inches) across with dark centres make Aibika another attractive background plant. The leaves have a high level of leaf protein, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. They are eaten raw as salad, or mixed with other vegetable in a stew or as a cooked green vegetable. Aibika should not be cooked longer than 5 minutes and turned only once. The flavour is sweet and mucilaginous. Flower buds are consumed either raw or cooked.

Give aibika a sunny location and moist soil, and it will be happy. As summer heats up, aibika will flourish.




Wet Season

It would appear that the Port Moresby dry season has started. The smoke from grass fires is ever-present hanging over the capital.



Royal PNG Constabulary

The Chinese government has donated computers and accessories to the value of K20,000 to the police force. The Chinese government expects to be able to donate more computers later in the year.



Squash

The number one women's PNG squash player has won the Australian Northern Territory Open Championship. Naluge Guy then moved to be a firm favourite to win the squash gold medal at the Arafura Games which she did. She was the only member of the squash team who was successful at the games held in the Northern Territory.



Forestry

The World Bank has said that there is a need for an independent body to help both the National Forest Board and the National Forest Service to vet new timber permits.



Public Officers Superannuation Fund

It has been widely reported that the government owes the POS Fund an amount nearing K80 million in back dated contributions. Its share of the public servants contributions.



Mantles

Hot on the heels of the kerosene lamp explosions it has been revealed again that many of the mantles used in high-pressure kerosene lanterns contain radioactive thorium and pose a danger to the people using them. The first warnings weer issued in the early 90's but nothing seems to have been done about the problem. The only supplier, so far, to be able to demonstrate that their mantles are safe is Coleman. The Primus and Freedom brands have been voluntarily withdrawn from sale.



PMV Fares

The fares charged by the Public Motor Vehicles are set to rise. Some rumours mongers are tipping that the fares will go as high as K1.00 per trip. The way the Price Controller has pegged the price of petrol, airfares and electricity to artificially low prices my tip is that 60 toea might be closer. If this happens I wonder if the drivers will stage a full-scale strike in protest.



Mushrooms

A new buyer of wild mushrooms in the Wau area of Morobe province is looking for sellers of the product. The buyer is also teaching locals about the edible species that may not already be aware of.



Cloned Baby

An 84-year-old man from Australia says he has received genuine offers from two women in PNG to be the surrogate mothers for a clone baby.



Sogeri National High School

Several students have reportedly been suspended from classes for the illegal brewing of alcohol on the school grounds. Sogeri National High is renowned for its annual cultural day, which from memory, is held in August each year. Perhaps the students were just getting ready for the expected influx of locals and overseas visitors during the cultural day?



Laloki High School

The school had been cut off from the electricity supply for three weeks recently. The school is in a bad financial state owing money to stationery suppliers and businesses that supply food for he boarding students.



Harbour City

Anderson's Foodland are the first to move onto a prime piece of real estate next to the new yacht club at the bottom of the freeway in Konedobu. The site is destined to be the premium residential site in Port Moresby and Anderson's are getting in early by starting work on a large supermarket and offie complex which is reported to be worth approximately K5 million. The freeway connects Port Moresby town with the Airport at Jackson's, seven mile.



University of PNG

Eda Ranu, the company responsible for the supply of water in Port Moresby, has waived water charges for a new residential hall complex at the university campus to the value of K80,000.



Morobe Province

Local level government leaders in Morobe province would like to split the province into two. This view has already been raised in parliament by the MP for Kabwun, Ginson Saonu.



Sankwep Bridge

Floods have washed the Sankwep Bridge in Morobe Province away. This has severed the link from the Nawae district to Lae.



First Aid

Students from St Josephs School in Port Moresby have recently attended a three-day first aid course. The students learnt resuscitation skills and how to tie different slings for broken bones. The students also learnt about the structure and functions of the body.



USA politics

It seems that the politics of the United States is following the example set by PNG. Election results are being decided by mere hundreds of voters and individual politicians are controlling the balance of power by switching parties.



Walter Enuma

One of the soldiers at the heart of the Sandline crisis has been cleared on charges of escaping from lawful custody. Soldiers sympathetic to the Rausim Kwik cause in fact forcefully removed him from Boroko police station against his will. Now if only PNG would adopt the US dollar!



Western Highlands

In an incident, which sounds similar to the release of Walter Enuma from the cells at Boroko, a prisoner was forcefully released from the Mount Hagen police cells by warders of the Baisu jail recently. The Divisional Police Commander intervened and gave the warders until close of business to return the prisoner or else he would send his men in to find the "escapee". It is believed the man, a warder at the Western Highlands Baisu Jail, was returned before the deadline.



Honiara Gambling

I have heard rumoured that a casino in the Solomon Islands is attempting to lure gamblers from PNG perhaps for weekend gambling sprees? First Money Rain now Casinos - what next?



International Crime

The Police Commissioner has said that law enforcement agencies in the Pacific region must collaborate to effectively combat the trend of criminal syndicates in the region. Officers in six countries were recently appointed to dismantle a syndicate operating in Fiji dealing in people smuggling and drug trafficking between various countries.



Madang

The Director of the Madang Emergency and Disaster office has said that his office has been operating without cash for the last five months.



Matupit Island

Mount Tavurvur is rumbling again and villagers around the volcano in East New Britain have been warned to be on alert and prepared to evacuate at short notice. At night lava flows are clearly visible with heavy ash emissions visible during the daytime. Meanwhile activity at PNG highest volcano, Mt Ulawun has slowed down after an eruption between April the 26th and 30th.



Power Outages

Once again Port Moresby has been plunged into darkness with little explanation from the electricity company. I think it is becoming a matter of not whether or not you need a UPS for home but rather what size UPS do you require. Even if you have a generator you still need to cover your computer whilst the generator is starting and spinning up to speed.



UPS Power Supplies

The best value for money in UPS's comes from Computers and Communications who offer a 650 VA unit.

Some price comparisons, which may be dated, show that on a toea per VA scale the following can be expected

Computers and Communications 46 toea per VA

Enertec 58 toea per VA
http://www.enertec.com.pg

Daltron 58 toea per VA
http://www.daltron.com.pg



Milne Bay

The Milne Bay Provincial Government has purchased a 25 percent share in the new Alotau International Airways Hotel.



Tourism Sites



Accommodation Sites





Travel Prices

Leisure Holidays and Travel (+675 320 0999) have advertised the following prices from Port Moresby. All prices exclude Value Added Tax (VAT) and other taxes and are the lowest starting price.


The Port Moresby Flight Centre has advertised the following prices with similar conditions to that of Leisure Holidays.




Sites to Visit

Please take a look at the following sites if you are interested in Bougainville.


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29 May 2001
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