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 then
mention that you heard about them from this web site. -- The PNG Gossip
Newsletter.
New Sites
SP Brewery -- http://www.sp.com.pg
Coral Sea Hotels -- http://www.coralseahotels.com.pg
TNT PNG -- http://www.tnt.kenmore.com.pg
The above sites have all been prepared by CyberMasta
Web Design -- http://www.cybermasta.com
Updated Sites
The exchange rate, loan calculators and online loan applications pages
of the Bank South Pacific website have been updated / rewritten recently
-- http://www.bsp.com.pg
The Lamana Hotel website has also been updated -- http://www.lamanahotel.com.pg
The above sites have all been updated by CyberMasta
Web Design -- http://www.cybermasta.com
Miscellaneous Sites
Port Moresby Stock Exchange -- http://www.pomsox.com.pg
National Capital District Commission -- http://www.ncdc.gov.pg
Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry -- http://www.pomcci.org.pg
South Pacific Motor Sports Club -- http://www.spmsc.org.pg
Rocky Roe -- http://www.rockyroephotographics.com
National Research Institute -- http://www.nri.org.pg
CyberMasta Web Design -- http://www.cybermasta.com/portfolio.htm
Milne Bay Accommodation
The Tawali Resort is located on a volcanic bluff overlooking the clear
protected waters of Milne Bay and accessible only by boat. The Tawali
Resort web site can be found at -- http://www.tawali.com/tawali/
Email link for Masurina Lodge -- <masurinalodge@masurina.com.pg>
Email link for Napatana Lodge -- <napatanalodge@global.net.pg>
The website for Ulumani Tree Tops Guest Haus located at Waga Waga in
Milne Bay can be found at -- http://www.pngbackpacker.com
The Milne Bay Tourism website can be found at -- http://www.milnebaytourism.gov.pg
Automotive Related Sites
Avis PNG -- http://www.avis.com.pg
Boroko Motors -- http://www.boroko-motors.com
Ela Motors -- http://www.elamotors.com.pg
Freeway Motors -- http://www.freewaymotors.com.pg
Hertz PNG -- http://www.leasemaster.com.pg
Thrifty Hire Cars -- http://www.lamanahotel.com.pg/lamana_thrifty.html
News Items
Special Care Unit
Rotaract is raising funds to rebuild the nursery (Special Care Unit)
at the Port Moresby General Hospital. The nursery is the only facility
within the National Capital District (NCD) and surrounding villages
for premature babies or newborns that need special attention. It was
last rebuilt in 1972. Currently it is considered a fire hazard, is overcrowded
and deteriorating. It is by no means up to the standard a Special Care
Nursery should be in!
Post Courier
The Post Courier had a minor hiccup the other day and had to produce
a black and white masthead on the front page. It managed to have some
pages with colour though -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg
Bech-de-mer
The six-month moratorium on the collection of bech-de-mer has come
to an end and buying and harvesting has rapidly started. Many villagers
have jumped at the opportunity so close to the start of the school year
to earn some much needed money to be put towards school fees. Each province
that has the ability to collect bech-de-mer is allocated a quota. For
example Milne bay province is allocated a total catch of 120 tonnes.
Sources have said that bech-de-mer is so plentiful in the province that
this amount is easily reached before the season closes.
Air Niugini
After getting the Boeing B767 back in the air after suffering wind
shear while attempting to land at Sydney's Sir Kingsford Smith's international
airport the Boeing schedule has once again been thrown into chaos by
the bad weather at Tokyo's Narita airport. The airport was closed due
to severe snow and ice. The plane had to be diverted to Nagoya and then
had to stay until the next day whiole passengers stuick at narota had
to make tehir way to Nagoya. Once again the national airline had to
enlist the support of its Fokker F100 fleet to fly passengers to and
from Brisbane while the Boeing caught up to the scheduled timetable.
Reported in an earlier newsletter -- the current CEO of Air Niugini,
Rod Nelson, did the right thing and advised the Air Niugini board that
he would not renew his contract in June. The board, just having got
rid of Joe Tauvasa as Chairman voted to pay Mr Nelson out rather than
find a suitable replacement and have an orderly handover. The Finance
and Administration General Manager, Wasantha Kumarasiri will act in
the position of CEO until a suitable replacement can be found.
Boram Hospital - Wewak
Nurses at the Boram Hospital in Wewak have gone on an indefinite strike
until the Health Minister and Health Secretary personally visit the
hospital and address the nurses. The nurses are concerned over the recent
appointment of a senior hospital official.
Porgera Strike
The strike at the Porgera Gold Mine has ended and ownership of the
company has changed hands. Barrick Gold now have a majority shareholding
in the Porgera Joint Venture Company.
Telecommunications
It is likely that the mobile phone monopoly enjoyed by Pacific Mobile
Communications will be broken next year. Plans are currently underway
to allow two-more mobile phone carriers into the country to allow competition.
It is anticipated that, along with extra competition, the cost of mobile
phone calls will drop and services will be extended to other areas of
the country that currently do not have mobile phone coverage. The Independent
Consumer and Competition Commission is currently drawing up tender documents
that will be ready to be issued in March.
James Yali
The Governor of Madang province has been convicted of raping the 17-year-old
sister of his defacto wife in October 2004. The Family and Sexual Violence
Action Committee has applauded the recent sentencing of the Raikos MP
and said that the sentencing indicates that no one is above the law.
His lawyer will appeal against the 12-year sentence.
Western Highlands Budget
The Western Highlands Provincial Assembly has passed a K66 million
budget for 2006. K8 million has been given to prioritise roads and bridges
in the budget. The provincial government has also earmarked K100,000
for environment and conservation, K150,000 for Habitat for Humanity
and the allocation of K650,000 in church grants for major development
projects.
September Quarter Exports
PNG was able to export goods to the value of K2504 million in the September
quarter last year. This is a 37 percent increase over the same period
in 2004. The increase is mainly attributed to increases in the prices
paid for gold, copper, crude oil, coffee, cocoa, copra oil, forestry
and refined petroleum products. These increases offset the fall in the
prices paid for palm oil, tea, rubber, marine products and other non-mineral
products.
Human Rights
PNG has bee mentioned as a country where human rights are abused and
nearly always go unpunished. The annual World Report prepared by Human
Rights Watch's group in USA said that PNG Police regularly used violence
and torture against individuals in custody, with children as frequent
targets. The report went on to say that violence against women and girls
were pervasive with police often ignoring complaints of sexual or domestic
violence.
Bougainville By-elections
The counting of votes for the recently held Bougainville by-election
have started. Police will be present to provide security during the
counting of the votes. The election for a new governor began early this
month to replace John Momis the former governor. The New Zealand High
Commissioner is one of the key figures witnessing the counting of the
votes.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry are hosting their
next breakfast at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Port Moresby from 7am
to 9am on Tuesday 30th January, 2006. The guest speaker will be the
Mayor of Townsville, Mr Tony Mooney who will speak on "Business
Opportunities in North Queensland / PNG Gas Project".
Port Moresby Rain
The wet season has hit Port Moresby with the usual flooding of roads.
It is the time of the year that food gardens and soil from mountaintops
ends up clogging the drainage system and causing water to backup over
roads and footpaths. The end result is that the existing potholes are
getting bigger and deeper and more suspension wrenching than ever.
Mekeo Floods
Villages, food gardens, betel nut and coconut trees in the Mekeo area
in Central Province are under water. Parts of the Hirotano highway are
under water and four-wheel drive vehicles can only traverse some parts.
Morobe Landslides
A massive landslide in the Buang area of Morobe province has buried
thirteen people alive. Eight bodies have so far been recovered and the
rest remain unaccounted for.
Legal Head
It has been announced that PNG will soon have an Australian as its
Solicitor General under the revised Enhanced Co-operation Programme
(ECP). Four Australian judges will also be deployed in the country.
The Justice and Attorney General Department, Correctional Service and
the Judiciary will engage the Australian personnel.
Enhanced Co-operation Programme
The second attempt at the Enhanced Co-operation Programme or ECP Mark
II as it is known is under fire by Western Province Governor Dr Bob
Danaya. The first ECP was stopped in its tracks when Morobe Governor
Luther Wenge mounted a court challenge over the legality of certain
points contained in the original package. The first ECP was then declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court leading to the revised Mark II
programme being announced. Dr Danaya has raised questions about the
legality of an Australian citizen holding the Solicitor General position.
PNG Folktales
One Thousand One Papua New Guinean Nights:
Folktales from Wantok Newspaper
Translated and Edited by Thomas H. Slone
One Thousand One Papua New Guinean Nights is a two-volume collection
of folktales that were originally published in Papua New Guinea's Wantok
newspaper. The folktales were in Tok Pisin, the Pidgin English language
of Papua New Guinea. The two-volume collection presents the complete
set of over 1000 folktales published between 1972 and 1997. The book
represents one of the largest general collections of Papua New Guinean
folktales and it is worthwhile getting a copy. All of Papua New Guinea's
provinces and approximately 35 percent of Papua New Guinea's 800 language/culture
groups are represented. The first volume includes the introduction and
550 folktales; the second volume includes the remaining folktales, indices,
a glossary, a set of maps and a gazetteer. The folktales have been extensively
indexed by author, village, original language (or culture group), province,
flora and fauna, and folklore motif.
The book is available directly from the publisher at -- http://THSlone.tripod.com/masalaipress.html
And from Amazon.com -- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=abibliogrofmelan&keyword=slone+papua&mode=books
barnesandnoble.com -- http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=slone+papua
and bamm.com -- http://www.booksamillion.com/ncom/books?type=keyword&find=slone+papua&x=6&y=6
Further information about the book and a couple of sample stories can
be found at -- http://THSlone.tripod.com/1001PNGnights.html
A different sample story, this time from Milne Bay, reprinted with
permission of the author, can also be found at -- http://michie.net/pnginfo/1001.html
Thomas H. Slone is a staff scientist at the University of California
at Berkeley.
Cabinet Reshuffle
A reshuffle of the cabinet led by Sir Michael Somare has been tipped
for either late January or early February. It has also been tipped that
the current Opposition Leader, Peter O'Neill will be given a post in
the cabinet. Vocal Morobe Governor, Luther Wenge, has said that Mr O'Neill
must resign as he has compromised the position of Opposition Leader
by courting the Prime Minister Mr Somare.
Police Recruitment
The Chief Instructor at the Bomana Police College just outside Port
Moresby has announced that the college will recruit 100 people to start
training in June and another 100 in October. A further thirty recruits
will commence as officer cadets in June.
Police Roadblocks
The NCD and Central Province Police Commander has reiterated that motorists
are not required to pay fines to police at roadblocks. The correct procedure
is that the police should issue a Traffic Infringement Notice that can
be paid at the Boroko traffic office where an official receipt will
be issued for the fine. It is also the right of the motorist to be allowed
to dispute the fine in court.
Goroka Hospital
Goroka Base Hospital has had to send patients to private pharmacies
to buy medicine needed for their treatment by the hospital. The hospital
has only about a quarter of the medical supplies deemed to be necessary
for the running of the hospital. There are even reports of family members
having to buy the special dye that shows up in an x-ray so a sick family
member could be diagnosed. This type of chemical is very expensive even
for a family that has someone working but many people, especially in
the rural area, rely on subsistence farming for a living.
PNG Coffee
As a result of hurricanes destroying coffee crops in Central America
exporters of PNG coffee have sold all their green coffee beans to overseas
buyers and they are looking for more to buy and sell. The price of local
coffee has increased as the world begins to feel the pinch of the shortage
of supply.
Coming Events
Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry -- Breakfast Meeting
-- Tue 30th January, 2006
Boroko Amateur Swimming Club -- first scheduled carnival for 2006 --
Sat 28th Jan
Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games -- March 2006.
8th of April to the 16th of April 2006-- National Game Fishing Titles
PNG 31st Independence Anniversary - 16th September 2006
PNG Media
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