Links
Misc Links
http://www.duncalfes.com/pngscn.htm
-- Duncalfes online photographs of PNG.
http://www.toowrite.com/comp6/0861.shtml
-- Too Write essay based around the Tambul Nebilyer electorate of PNG.
http://ukarumpa.org/ukarumpa_times/Default.htm
-- Ukarumpa Times
http://www.birdlife.net/worldwide/national/papua_new_guinea/index.html
-- Search this site for species of birds threatened in PNG.
http://www.vso.org.uk/png/culture.pdf
-- PNG Culture
http://www.wampnga.com.pg -- Wamp
Nga Holdings Limited
http://www.exkiap.com -- a good source
of info particularly for finding kiap mates. This link has come via Arthur
Williams. (Kiap - government official).
Stationery Suppliers
Theodist -- http://www.theodist.com.pg
-- Theodist also sell Magellan GPS Systems.
Scanning
Professional Scanning Services - ProScan Ltd -- http://www.proscan.com.pg
Napatana Lodge
Napatana Lodge is the first eco-tourism lodge in Alotau. It is a traditionally
built pole house that has been made from tropical timbers. The lodge reflects
Milne Bay architecture, demonstrating traditional building skills by local
craftsman -- http://www.napatanalodge.com
PNG Weather
Here are a few sites that will give you an idea of what the weather is like
in PNG.
Port Moresby -- http://my.iwon.com/weather/obs.jsp?id=PPXX0004
Kerema -- http://my.iwon.com/weather/obs.jsp?id=PPXX0001
Kikori -- http://my.iwon.com/weather/obs.jsp?id=PPXX0002
Morobe -- http://my.iwon.com/weather/obs.jsp?id=PPXX0003
Samari -- http://my.iwon.com/weather/obs.jsp?id=PPXX0005
News Items
Wantok Newspaper
The offices used by the Wantok Newspaper have burnt down in suspicious circumstances.
15 men overpowered a security guard at the Word Publishing premises recently
and set fire to the Wantok offices. It is understood that the Wantok newspaper,
a Tok Pisin weekly paper, has been printed by The National newspaper for some
time so it should appear on the streets with little or no interruption. The
National has offered office space to the Wantok staff and the Post Courier
has also offered assistance to the only truly fully nationally owned newspaper.
The Wantok Newspaper will now operate from a new office along Waigani drive
starting next week. Word Publishing recently canceled a sister publication
to the Wantok - The Independent.
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 on a daily basis from Monday to Friday.
Seized Boat
A fishing trawler from Taiwan that was seized recently for fishing illegally
in PNG waters is up for sale by Tender by the National Fisheries Authority.
The trawler was caught in the Dog Leg area of the Western Province by the
PNG patrol boat HMPNGS Tarangau.
Government House
The acting Governor General, Bill Skate has advised that Government House,
the official home of the Governor General, is bare of furniture and fittings.
It is not known where the goods have gone but it has been reported that the
outgoing Governor General has said that he thought it was only natural for
everything to be replaced at the end of the six-year term of a Governor General.
East New Britain
The people of Pomio and Baining in East New Britain now will be able to listen
to the services of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) thanks to a
new transmitter handed over to the NBC by the Gazelle Restoration Authority.
The transmitter is located outside Rabaul at Kurakakul and was funded by the
World Bank at a cost of almost K750,000. The short wave service of Radio East
New Britain has been off the air for sometime due to outstanding, unpaid electricity
bills.
Western Highlands
The Western Highlands province has a new Christian radio station operating
on FM 98. The station mainly airs gospel songs, Bible lessons and Bible quizzes.
Grocery Prices
It has been a long time since the PNG Gossip Newsletter has published typical
prices for consumer goods in Port Moresby but here goes for 2004.
- Paradise Nambawan Biscuits -- 75 toea a pack
- 85g Maggi Two Minute Noodles -- 75 toea a pack
- 100g Mortein fly spray -- K3.55
- 185g Diana Tuna in oil -- K1.39
- 210g Kellogg's Nutri Grain -- K8.29
- 40g Milo soft pack -- K1.19
- 100g Sunshine Powdered Milk -- K2.89
- 1 litre Coca Cola -- K2.50
- 750ml Golden Crush Cordial -- K2.99
Many of the shops have made up their own mind to dispense with one and two
toea coins. Some shops are rounding everything up to the next five toea and
others are rounding down or rounding up depending on the final total at the
cash register. The Bank of PNG has not withdrawn one and two toea coins so
many people are complaining about being ripped off, yet again, at the cash
register.
Cruise Ship
The German cruise ship, MV C.Colombus, recently visited Port Moresby carrying
156 tourists from various European countries such as Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. This is the third visit to PNG for the ship and this time it
arrived early in the morning and left late the same evening.
Melanesian Discover
The Melanesian Discover operated by Melanesian Tourist Services (MTS) offers
cruises to residents and non-residents. Some of the places visited by the
Melanesian Discover are the Sepik, the Trobriands, Milne Bay Islands and of
course Madang where MTS is based. Residents of PNG are offered special standby
rates (with conditions attached). I recommend visiting the MTS website at
-- http://www.mtspng.com -- if you are
interested in a PNG cruise. The Discover fleet of boats have been cruising
the waters of PNG for many years.
Taklam Guest House
For anyone visiting East New Britain and recommend staying at Taklam Guesthouse.
They have recently added seven executive beach bungalows in the heart of Kokopo
town. Sliding doors open directly onto a verandah, which face the sea and
a scenic view of the volcanoes at Rabaul. -- http://www.taklam.com.pg
Koki Market
Thanks to the help of the Japanese Government a new look Koki Market has
opened. The market featuring in many tourist brochures has been completely
rebuilt from the ground up. The National Capital District Commission (NCDC)
also contributed towards the renovations. The new Koki market was funded jointly
by the Japanese government at a cost of K1.2 million and K400,000 from the
NCDC. The project took 15 months to complete.
Lae Morgue
The morgue at the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae, Morobe Province, is full
and cannot accept any more bodies. This is because 32 bodies have been left
unclaimed since November. The morgue has been designed to cater for 18 bodies
and any more than that causes a strain on the air-conditioning and cooling
system with devastating effects.
Coffee Festival
The fourth PNG coffee festival will be staged in Goroka, the capital of the
Eastern Highlands Province on the 14th and 15th of May, 2004. The festival,
officially titled the PNG Coffee Festival and Trade Fair, is the most unique
social and economic development event in the Highlands region and provides
a direct link between the expatriate and local business communities.
Kila Kila - Horse Camp
The Horse Camp at Kila Kila recently placed itself under a voluntary curfew
in a bid to curb lawlessness. Leaders of the settlement, next to the Motuan
village of Kila Kila, decided to impose the curfew after a meeting with authorities
including police. More recently the have had a tidy up of rubbish in the camp
and now proudly boast that Horse Camp is a safe place to visit even in the
night. The tidy up received help from various business houses in Port Moresby.
Horse Camp will also change its name to Joyce Bay Community.
School Enrollment
It has been estimated that over one million students have enrolled in over
8,000 institutions around PNG this year. Over 35,000 teachers will teach the
million. In 1992 it was estimated that only 500,000 students were enrolled
at 3,000 institutions being taught by less than 20,000 teachers.
Dauli Teachers College
The Dauli Teachers College has recently graduated 91 young teachers. This
was the biggest graduation for the school. The 91 graduands remained on campus
during the festive season to complete their training program in order to graduate
before the current academic year started.
Radar
Police in Moresby have dusted off the radar guns issued in the 1980's and
have managed to get five of them working. A general warning has been issued
to all motorists in Moresby to slow down tot he legal 60 km/h. Does this mean
that you will no longer be able to do 120 past police headquarters at Konedobu
or does it mean it is time to move to Lae or simply that time of life where
one should slow down anyway? Police are also considering introducing breathalyser.
I remember many years ago when breathalysers were on trial and the results
published in the newspapers that a few people were having a competition to
see who would get the highest score against their name ion the Post Courier.
Lost Mail
People expecting mail in Morobe Province have been told that due to confusion
of the payment of services mail has been left stranded in the Lae Post Office.
Some of the mail, ranging from bank statements, applications and personal
letters, has been there for up to two years. A large area of the province
does not have access to any other form of communications other than the mail
service. Post PNG is now in the process of having the mail returned to the
senders.
More Court Thefts
A few weeks after the theft of computers from the National Court registry
at Waigani six computers have been stolen from the Supreme Court Registry
Office at Waigani, Port Moresby. Like many organisations in PNG it would appear
that the Court did not have back up copies of the data on the computers so
now the court will have to depend on manual records for the next set of court
sittings.
Biggest Pothole
Once people in the city of Lae could lay claim to some of the biggest potholes
in the country but now the residents of Moresby are hunting around for the
biggest pothole. Some people say it can be found on the way to the main Port
Moresby wharf not more than 100 metres from the main city centre. It has been
rumoured that a couple of container trucks have been lost in there for a couple
of weeks. Other areas of the National Capital are also disappearing into one
big pothole. Individual holes have joined forces to trap unwary motorists
especially after a tropical downpour.
Goroka Rice
A dry land rice variety growing at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands has the
Chinese rice experts amazed. The rice normally only returns about two to three
tonne per hectare but the Goroka rice has returned eight tonne per hectare.
The figure was so high that an expert traveled from China to verify the results.
Kwikila Market
People at Kwikila in Central province now have a rejuvenated market thanks
to funding of K100,000 by the Member of Parliament for Rigo. The market was
shut down three months ago due to health related issues.
First Chief Justice
PNG's first Chief Justice has died in Australia. Sir William Prentice has
been described as a fearless defender of the PNG Constitution.
Steamships Trading Company
It is rumoured that Steamships Trading has sold off its interests in Nebiri
Quarries and Monier PNG for an estimated K8 million leaving 250 workers without
a job. It has also been runmoured that Hebou Constructions has taken over
the businesses.
Pre Paid Web Access
For visitors coming to PNG and wishing to have an Internet Connection Daltron
have pre-paid web access available starting from K66 for 10 hours up to K154
for 40 hours. The customer is not charged a connection fee or any other monthly
fees. Users are, however, charged a fee by the telephone company for access
as well. For more information please contact -- sales@daltron.com.pg
or visit the relevant web site page at -- http://www.daltron.com.pg/internet/webtaim.htm
Internet Service Providers
Tsunami
A fifteen-minute videotape has been produced by the National Museum and Art
Gallery in collaboration with Caritas PNG about the 1998 Aitape tsunami disaster.
The Aitape disaster will be used to help people to learn lessons and gain
experience about minimising the effects of such an event in the future.
Kela Smith
The allegation that the Governor of Goroka, Mal "Kela" Smith is
not a citizen of PNG and therefore not eligible to hold government office
has received a setback. Kela received his citizenship certificate recently.
The candidate Kela unseated in the 2002 National Elections has made the allegation.
Prior to receiving his citizenship certificate he was in custody of a letter
stating that his application for citizenship had been approved on the 19th
of April 1996. The question before the courts would appear to be what actually
grants a person citizenship of PNG - The certificate or the letter? The consensus
of non-legal people tends to agree that the letter is all that he needs.
Air Niugini
After Air Niugini workers recently discovered six stolen rifles destined
for the Highlands in amongst cargo declared as second hand clothes workers
at the National Airline have received death threats associated with the discovery.
All cargo and security staff have been targeted although other staff are wondering
how a criminal would be able to tell the difference between a cargo worker
and any other worker. Security at the airline's head office has also been
increased recently.
PX Executive Club
It has been rumoured that Air Niugini will soon be providing Internet access
in the main Paradise / Executive Club lounges in Port Moresby and possibly
at Nadzab - if they can find two tin cans and a piece of string long enough
to stretch from Lae City to Nadzab. Several dealers are also rumoured to be
interested in sponsoring the deal to get captive coverage.
Stolen Gun
An auxiliary policeman in Port Moresby has been placed in police cells for
attempting to sell a high power gun. It is alleged that the policeman had
attempted to sell the gun to several people before being apprehended. The
Commissioner of Police has said that the Government must enact tougher laws
to use against people who steal weapons owned by the State.
Aussie Police
The Central Agencies Coordinating Committee (CACC) headed by the Chief Secretary,
Joshua Kalinoe, has begun to prepare the necessary legislation to protect
the Australian police personnel deployed to PNG.
PNG Media
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