Links
Misc Links
The unofficial Port Moresby High School site is located at http://www.maipng.com/pomhi/
The Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce website can be found at -- http://www.pomcci.org.pg
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 -- www.pngid.org.pg
Papua New Guinea Institute of Accountants -- http://pngia.org.pg
South Pacific Motor Sports Club
Wolfgang Bandisch has designed a web site for the South Pacific Motor Sports
Club. It 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.
South Pacific Exports
If you need that hard to get part for your electrical / communications gear
or even a special tool send email to Peter Goleby at South Pacific Exports
on -- sp.exports@bigpond.com --
he might just be able to help you out or at least point you in the right direction.
Peter claims he will attempt to get anything legal for you so long as he can
add a small amount to cover his own costs.
Buai
For information about betel nut / buai pay a visit to -- http://www.nisbett.com/herbs/a/areca056.html
or http://www.gnosticgarden.com/betel.htm
and http://www.uicc.org/programmes/tobacco/fact_sheets/17fact.shtml
A parody of Waltzing Matilda called Kai Kai the Buai can be found
at http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/WM/Kai.html
Newspapers
For the latest news about PNG visit the Post Courier web site at http://www.postcourier.com.pg
or the National Newspaper web site at http://www.thenational.com.pg
both offer up-to-date news about PNG.
Communication Companies
Alcatel (Now operated by PACOM) -- http://www.alcatel.com.pg
PACOM Communications -- http://www.prosec.com.pg/pacom.
PNG Telecommunications Authority -- http://www.pangtel.gov.pg
RAD-TEL Communications sales and Services -- http://www.radtel.com.pg
TE PNG -- http://www.tepng.com
ConXions -- http://www.conxions.com.pg
Telikom PNG -- http://www.pngtelokom.org.pg
Malaria
If you have ever had malaria or think you may have then visit this web site
-- http://www.rph.wa.gov.au/labs/haem/malaria
Clinically diagnosed malaria is still the leading cause of outpatient presentations,
the second leading cause of admissions and the second leading cause of death
within PNG. In the year 2000 statistics reveal that there were over 1.5 million
suspected cases of malaria, which led to 617 deaths. Almost 225,500 blood
films were examined and 36 percent showed malaria parasites.
Areas above 1600 metres tends to be too high for malaria but between 1200
and 1600 metres there are intermittent cases of malaria being reported with
death rates being high due to a lack of immunity in the local population.
Bougainville Link
This site, By Edwin O. Booth, is dedicated as a resource to the Veterans of
WW II and their families and friends...and to the native Citizens of Bougainville
who assisted the Americans in WW II. Special attention is given to personnel
of the Americal and the 37th Infantry Divisions. It offers a generous selection
of publications related to the Islands as they were in the old days, as well
as updates on current information and facilities. http://www.geocities.com/edbooth_1/
News Items
OTC Grounds - Five-Mile
Telikom PNG is selling the land on the corner of Boroko Drive and Sir Hubert
Murray Highway. The grounds commonly referred to as the OTC grounds have had
approval since 1996 for high covenant housing but due to rising costs Telikom
have not been able to build. The total size of the development would be about
9.5 hectares. Presently Telikom has a high frequency (HF) radio transmitter
on the site and this would have to be moved before any housing development
could take place.
Port Moresby Police
The Port Moresby Police have been commended for keeping Moresby clean by the
Department of Health Secretary, Dr. Nicholas Mann.
Jimmy Maladina
Plans are underway to get Jimmy Maladina back into PNG. It is alleged that
he was involved in conspiring to defraud the National Provident Fund of millions
of Kina. He is currently in Australia where his passport to travel has been
held by an authority issued by the Federal Court of Australia. If PNG was
to apply for formal extradition it would be an expensive process so the PNG
authorities have had an emergency travel document issued by the acting PNG
consul-general in Brisbane. This document allows a person to travel without
a passport to a single country and make a single entry only and stay for a
period of up to six-months.
Aussie Rules
For any people from the southern states of Australia who are Aussie Rules
supporters the great Ron Barassi will be at the Pondo Tavern located in the
Crowne Plaza on Friday the 27th of June. Admission is K15.00 and all proceeds
will go towards the development of Aussie Rules in PNG.
Ron is visiting PNG to increase the profile of AFL PNG and also to raise
funds for the PNG Junior Development Program. Ron was last here in the 1970's
and is keen to come back and support AFL PNG in its efforts to build up AFL
in PNG. He will also be travelling to Lae and Kimbe as part of this trip to
PNG. Phone 325 4943 or 686 6430 for details.
Anglicare - Stop AIDS
Staff of the Anglicare run Stops AIDS group has had a shake up. All employees
apart from an elite group of about four have been terminated and told to reapply
for their job again. StopAIDS has been seen as the only effective campaigner
for AIDS awareness in Port Moresby and was about to embark on work in the
provinces. Anglicare is run by the Anglican Church who recently, along with
other mainstream Churches, closed The Independent Newspaper.
HIV/AIDS
PNG is on the brink of losing a large number of its young people if they are
not protected from HIV/AIDS. 6103 people have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS
since the first case was reported in 1987 and the most affected were between
the ages of 20 to 34, which was the economically productive age bracket. The
leading cause of death at the Port Moresby General Hospital in the medical
ward is AIDS related. The world scenario was no different to PNG - of the
40 million people throughout the world that had the virus, 11.8 million of
those were people between the ages of 14 to 24.
South Pacific Games
The 12th South Pacific Games are set to start in Fiji at the end of this month.
Over 20 disciplines are competing in the games from PNG. It is hoped that
the PNG team will spoil the party for arch rivals Fiji and New Caledonia at
the Games.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the land area of the provinces in PNG?
National Capital and Central,29940 sq kms
Oro Province,19827 sq kms
Milne Bay Province,14000 sq kms
Morobe Province,34,500 sq kms
Madang Province,28000 sq kms
Eastern Highlands,11706 sq kms
Simbu Province,8476 sq kms
Western Highlands,8288 sq kms
Southern Highlands,25988 sq kms
East Sepik,43000 sq kms
West Sepik (Sandaun),36000 sq kms
East New Britain,15500 sq kms
West New Britain,21000 sq kms
New Ireland,9500 sq kms
Manus Province,2100 sq kms
North Solomons Province,9400 sq kms
Enga Province,10790 sq kms
Western and Gulf Province, 135,000 sq kms
More PNG Freqently Asked Question can be found at -- http://www.michie.net/png_faqs
Aviation Rumours
A rumour going around towns says that Qantas is about to start flights from
Cairns to Port Moresby. The current Qantas flights are being flown by aging
Fokker F28 aircraft operated by Air Niugini. Another rumour has said that
one of the owners of a third level airline in PNG has travelled overseas to
view and possibly buy ATR aircraft to compete on Air Niugini routes.
Agricultural Revival
The Managing Director of New Britain Oil Palm has said that the new agricultural
incentives should go a long way to kick starting the industry. He went on
to say that even though the taxation rate would be reduced it would still
benefit the country because at the moment the country is getting 30 percent
of nothing but with the incentives PNG should at least get 10 percent of something.
Rotary Youth
Nasser Kaviani is conducting the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA).
The aim of the award is to provide leadership and personal development skills
and experience. The target group is young women and men between the ages of
18 and 25 years. The course will run from the 30th of June to the 5th of July.
Contact Nasser on email -- <nkaviana@datec.net.pg>
East New Britain
Work on road maintenance will commence soon in East New Britain. The contracts
have been finalised for three local road contractors in the province. Work
will be carried out on the Bitapaka Rd, Reimber and Vunapalading Roads and
Toma / Vunadidr roads. Other roads will also be attended to.
Rice Farming
The Pacific Adventist University will be introducing a course about rice farming.
The course will be an opportunity for agricultural extension workers involved
in rice farming.
Bougainville Logging
Many Bougainvilleans do not want to see large scale logging on the island
however they would support small-scale forest industries. They would like
to be able to export processe3d timber products as this will add value to
any logs harvested. All projects would be community based and all wood products
would initially be for local supply.
Bougainville
The people of Panguna in Central Bougainville are hoping that5 the peace process
will be achieved so that basic services can return to the area. It has been
more than 10 years since basic services such as schools as health aid posts
have been seen functioning in Central Bougainville. People in the area are
now starting small projects such as butterfly farming, cocoa planting and
vanilla farming.
Canoe Racing
Imou Ai was the winner of the inaugural Sir Michael Somare Cup canoe race
held at Ela Beach recently. The win gave the captain K1200 in prize money.
Imou Ai was also the oldest canoe in the race.
Eastern Highlands
The Governor and the Administrator of the Eastern Highlands are keen on straightening
out the mess the province is in. Recently the driving and servicing of the
provincial government transport pool has been farmed out to a private company
to run. It has also been highlighted that in the past grants to groups has
been handed in cash and little has been done to acquit the money against projects.
Southern Highlands
Not only is the Eastern Highlands being tidied up but also it would appear
that the new Governor of the Southern Highlands is attempting to do the same
with his strife torn province. He has said that he will not run the province
from Port Moresby or the provincial capital of Mendi but from the small villagers
within the province. Lets hope that the other politicians and Local Level
Government officials get behind him.
Mendi
Just when it seemed that things were settling down in the Southern Highlands
capital. Sixteen men armed with high-powered weapons broke into the Mendi
Works headquarters and made off with five government vehicles and other assets
such as computers, tools, spare parts for vehicles, workshop equipment, battery
chargers etc. the other night. In fact it would appear that they took everything
that was available and could fit into the five vehicles..
Greenpeace
Greenpeace has called on the government to seize all logs from the Kiunga-Aiambak
area in Western Province and deregister the company currently logging in the
area. The call comes after the release of a independent report prepared for
the National Forest Authority.
Public Boat Ramp
Residents of Port Moresby are concerned that a public boat ramp at Ela Beach,
demolished to make way for the new Ela Beach Road will not be replaced. The
road is nearing completion (at last) and there is no sign of a boat ramp being
constructed. This leaves non Royal Paua Yacht Club (RPYC) members with no
place to launch a boat.
Madang ETC
The Madang Evangelist Training College has received a donation of a truck
worth K30,000 from the Neudbethaisch Lutheran circuit in Germany. The truck
will be used to assist the students during religious instruction outreach,
fieldwork and mission work.
Radio Australia
A reader, Shane McLeod, has said that the ABC Radio Australia Tok Pisin service
has recently upgraded its website. You can check it out at -- http://www.abc.net.au/ra/tokpisin.
It is worth taking a look at this site.
AOG - Cecilia Dow
Cecilia Dow a former AOG missionary in PNG has died of heart failure at the
Townsville General hospital in Australia. She. along with her husband Sasil,
were the first indigenous Australian missionaries to work for the AOG Church
in PNG. They worked in the East Sepik province at Jambitanget AOG Mission
between 1969 and 1982. A funeral service will be held in Townsville on the
27th of June.
Sekunkun School
The Sekunkun Primary School on Lihir Island, New Ireland Province has recently
received more than 2000 books thanks to the generosity of Australians and
Lihir Gold Limited. The school of 407 students have had an empty un-air-conditioned
library for at least 18 months. A local company, Lihir Electrical, fitted
air conditioners free of charge to help keep the books in good condition.
Illegal Imports
An unnamed company has been caught importing goods into PNG with false valuation
certificates. 21 20-foot containers were recently seized by Customs. One of
the containers of imported goods included 20" colour televisions that
had been valued at a landed cost of Singapore $57.95. Other importers have
said that they could not even purchase these at cost price in other countries
for this landed cost.
Budget Surplus
The Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Allan Marat, has said that PNG is making a small
surplus on budgeted figures. but he did not state how much. It is amazing
what can be said by a Parliamentarian without having to quantify / qualify
the statement.
POSF
The Public Officers Superannuation Fund (POSF) has announced an after-tax
profit of K45.9 million for the year 2002. This is said to be an increase
of K200,000 on the 2001 result. Contributors to the fund will see a 10 percent
dividend credited to their accounts.
Post Boxes
For those readers living in PNG Post PNG has advertised the following rates
(including VAT) for private mailboxes and bags in the country.
Private Letter Boxes
- small K495.50
- medium K132.00
- large K346.50
Private Mail Bag
- without a box K346.50
- with a box K346.50 plus box charge.
Highlands Highway
Work on the Highlands Highway from Lae to Goroka is underway. This section
of the road is just on 300 kilometres in length and should take no more than
three to four hours to travel but it is taking anything up to six hours due
to the condition of the road. It is hoped that the current work helps to speed
up the time taken to travels that section and also minimise the damage to
vehicles. Having recently driven along this stretch of the road it would appear
that there is more chance of vehicles being damaged travelling along the streets
of Goroka than along the highway.
National Alliance
Is there a revolt brewing in the National Alliance political party headed
by Sir Michael Somare? The Governor of Madang, James Yali, who is a close
party man and who says he is a founding father of the party has said he would
be one of the first to vote against the government in a vote of no-confidence
if Sir Michael continues to allow a number of senior government ministers
to politically bully and control him. Mr Yali has branded Sir Michael as "complacent
and incompetent" in managing a politically fragile coalition government.
PNG Media
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