PNG Gossip Newsletter - 26 Mar 2005

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Neo Melanesian

"Pidgin English"

Tok Pisin English
bun bone
bun i bruk fracture / broken bone
bun nating thin
han arm / hand
han (bilong pik) foreleg (of pig)
han antap arm / upper
han bilong diwai branch of tree
han bilong pisin wing
han bilong siot sleeve
han kais / lep han / lephan left hand
han tambolo / han daunbilo forearm/lower arm
lek leg
lek (bilong pik) hind leg (of Pig)
lek antap leg / upper
lek bilong pik ham
lek daunbilo / lek tamblo leg / lower
lek / fut foot
mak bilong fut footprint
 
Interested in having your own Web Site? Worried about the cost? It may be cheaper than you think. Take a look at pricing at the PNG Web Hosting site. Sites with space for 15,000 MB of data, 300 GB transfer per month and 24 / 7 ticket / phone support for less than US$3.00 per month. -- DOT COM Domains from US$9.00 per year.
 

Remember that this mailing list is meant (mainly) 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 in this newsletter, is currently worth around 30 - 30.5 United States cents but varies on a daily basis.

If you are really keen on finding out what the Kina is worth a currency converter for most world currencies can be located at -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/moni.html -- The PNG Business and Tourism Directory also has daily rates based from a PNG perspective

Welcome to the
Papua New Guinea Gossip Newsletter

A very special welcome is extended to any new readers. If you have comments or suggestions to make then please click here and use the submission form.

Articles for this newsletter

To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter -- please click here and use the submission form to make initial contact.

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.

PNG Web Hosting
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Want to find out more about Papua New Guinea? Try searching at -- http://www.michie.net/pnginfo -- and -- http://www.michie.net/png_faqs. -- The PNG Business and Tourism Directory located at -- http://www.pngbd.com -- is also an excellent place to look for PNG information.

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

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


 

 


Links

Education Related Links



Note : Korobosea Boroko East has a new web site launched only recently -- http://www.koroboro.ac.pg

Ela Murray International School -- http://www.elamurray.ac.pg
Institute of Banking and Business Management -- http://www.ibbm.com.pg/main.html
Institute of Business Studies -- http://www.ibs.com.pg/
International Business Institute -- http://www.ibs.com.pg
International Education Agency -- http://www.iea.ac.pg
Korobosea and Boroko East School -- http://www.koroboro.ac.pg
Pacific Training Academy -- http://www.pta.com.pg
PNG Basic Education Development Program (BEDP) -- http://www.bedp.sagric.com/
PNG Curriculum Reform Implementation Project -- http://www.pngcurriculumreform.ac.pg
PNG International Training Institute -- http://www.iti.com.pg
PNG Maritime College -- http://www.pngmc.ac.pg
PNG University of Technology (Lae) -- http://www.unitech.ac.pg
POM Institute of Matriculation Studies -- http://www.pims.ac.pg/
Tabubil International Education Agency School -- http://www.tis.ac.pg
The International School of Lae -- http://www.tisol.ac.pg/
University of Goroka, Eastern Highlands -- http://www.uog.ac.pg
University of PNG -- http://www.upng.ac.pg
Workers Mutual Computer Training -- http://www.workersmutual.com.pg



Living and Working in PNG



Here is a good and up-to-date article about living and working in PNG -- http://www.sagric.com.au/jobs/asf/More-about-PNG.pdf



Miscellaneous Web Sites



PNG Incentive Fund -- http://www.incentivefund.com.pg
PNG Advisory Support Facility -- http://www.asf.sagric.com/
UNDP Papua New Guinea -- http://www.undp.org.pg/



Manus Island Web Site



http://www.manusisland.com -- Manus Island / Manus Province web site. The intent of this web-site is to provide "starting points" for people looking for sources of information about the Province of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea [PNG].

Here is another site that displays a few photos of Manus taken in 1972 -- http://www.ussarnoldjisbell.com/ussarnoldjisbell/71westpac7/manus.htm



Manus Basin Mining



This item is from the PNGBD Web Site -- Miner Placer Dome has engaged an American based company for a survey to establish mineral deposits in the Manus Basin. Work has begun in the area to look for high grade gold and other mineral deposits.

The survey carried out in the area was Placer Dome’s initial involvement in sub sea minerals program which followed recent agreement with Nautilus Minerals Limited of Australia. Williamson and Associates announced that previous expeditions to the Manus Basin uncovered surprisingly rich deposits on the seafloor for which preliminary analyses averaged close to 13g per tonne of gold, 167g per tonne silver, 5 per cent copper, and 22 per cent zinc from four holes drilled in to the top 5m of the deposit. Please visit -- http://www.pngbd.com -- for further news items.



News Items

Bougainville Copra



Reports indicate that Bougainville is exporting copra directly to Europe. A Bankline vessel will be making monthly trips between Europe and Bougainville. It has been reported that a vessel arrived at Kieta, (Arawa) and loaded copra making this the first time since the Bougainville Crisis that copra has been exported from the island.



Bougainville Common Roll



Recently a group of people removed boxes of updates to the common roll and burnt them whilst on route to Buin. The present Governor, John Momis has said that such action might jeopardise the coming elections for autonomous rule of the province.



Bougainville Polls



The leaders of Bougainville have decided to allow 10 international observers to monitor the May elections. The United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the European Union and Australia, Japan and New Zealand have all expressed and interest to provide observers at the elections.



Francis Ona



Francis Ona has made a surprise appearance on the island of Bougainville. Mr Ona was a key figure in the rebellion that lasted over ten-years on the island and threw the PNG economy into chaos due to its reliance on the copper mine located on the island of Bougainville. The self-declared "King" stepped out into the public light for the first time in 16-years. He has reiterated that Bougainville was independent, that there was no need for autonomy and elections and that Australia was not welcome on Bougainville. He also visited the United Nations Observer Mission on Bougainville (UNOMB) where he addressed the UNOMB representative and declared Bougainville independent.



HIV /AIDS



Despite a five year K24 million HIV/AIDS program coming to an end the Australian Government will continue to support the PNG Government's fight against HIV / AIDS in PNG.



AIDS Deaths



Dear editor,

I enjoy reading your PNG gossip, but have a query about the item on AIDS in the latest edition. The report that 14 people die of AIDS every day at PMGH surely must be an error - that would be over 5000 per year, a figure certainly not consistent with 9000 confirmed cases for the whole nation. Should it read "per week" or "per month"?

Arthur Charles


umm, the logic used does sound like it would be per month rather than per day. Does any reader have accurate figures? I know it is a gossip newsletter but if it was 14 per day there would be no one left in the country to read the newsletter.



Cattle Exports



The export of live cattle to the Philippines has the potential to earn the country K7 million in export revenue. Over half of that amount is expected to go back to the local farmers mostly from the Sialum area of Morobe province. A total of 1200 head of cattle were loaded onto the MV Molunat for the nine-day voyage to the Philippines. Due to the increased fear of bacteria developing in frozen meat there is an increased demand by consumers to have freshly slaughtered, unfrozen meat.



Internet Gateway Upgrade



Pacific Mobile have advertised that they plan to increase the Internet bandwidth into PNG by 2 Mbps making a total of 10 Mbps. The extra 2 Mbps will be a direct satellite link to the USA. Presently all internet traffic leaves PNG and goes via Australia whereas most of the web sites being visited by surfers in PNG are in USA.



GSM Mobile Network



Pacific Mobile have also advertised that they will soon begin to upgrade the existing GSM network to allow for an extra 100,000 users. Currently the GSM network is restricted to a total of 50,000 users and the only way a new user can come on line is by waiting for an existing user to cancel their account.



Air Line Fuel Woes



The airport has been quieter than normal with a suspected drop in the quality of fuel seeing Shell PNG having to cease the supply of fuel until tests can be carried out on the fuel. The fuel quality issue only relates to the present supply of fuel and not previous fuel supplies. Air Niugini had to halt nearly all domestic flights and was only able to fly internationally where the aircraft could tanker enough fuel from overseas for the next overseas destination. In an unrelated story passengers on the Narita flight had a longer than expected stay in Port Moresby when the B767 had to turn back an hour out of Port Moresby on its way to Japan due to instruments indicating a vibration in one of the engines. Passengers waiting in Brisbane had to be ferried to Port Moresby using a Fokker F100. Most of the passengers from Brisbane managed to get on the first flight but some unfortunate ones had to wait until 9:30pm for the F100 to return to take them back for an 12:30am arrival into Moresby.



Shell PNG



Shell PNG released a press statement and here are the key points -- Shell rejected a shipment of jet fuel, which was uplifted from InterOil's Napa Napa refinery to the Shell Idubada Terminal in early March, as Shell's testing shows it does not meet the international aviation fuel specification standards for freeze point. During Shell routine quality control testing, the fuel failed the freeze point test. This test defines the cold temperature behaviour of the fuel and is a critical factor in assuring flight safety. This testing suggested a level of contamination of the fuel and additional testing was conducted in two separate Shell laboratories which confirmed these irregularities. Test results from two independent laboratories were inconclusive and therefore failed to alleviate Shell's concerns. More detailed analytical testing by Shell and production data supplied from the refinery has identified a level of contamination of the fuel which Shell believes is consistent with the observed failure of the freeze point test. Shell PNG General Manager Peter Walsh said, "We understand the significant inconvenience this situation has caused airlines and the travelling public however the safety of our customers and their passengers is our top priority." "We have taken these steps to ensure we are confident that the fuel we supply meets international aviation standards, Shell's strict fuel quality requirements and is fit for purpose," Mr Walsh said. InterOil is co-operating with Shell to return the off-specification fuel to the refinery. Shell is also working on a comprehensive supply plan to refuel regional airfields which are at critically low stock levels. This includes investigating overseas and local supply options.



Goroka University



The graduation for the University of Goroka has had to be moved to the 13th of May because officials, guests and graduating students have been unable to get to Goroka for the graduation due to the fuel problems being faced by airline operators. The graduation ceremony was supposed to have taken place on the 23rd of March. A total of 650 students will graduate with diplomas and degrees in teaching compared to the 381 who graduated in 2004. Unfortunately many graduating students had already traveled to Goroka for the ceremony and it is understood that they will not be able to return for the official ceremony in May.



Goroka University Library



The K13 million Library at the University of Goroka will be officially opened by the Governor General, Sir Paulias Matane. It was supposed to be officially opened on the 23rd of March but this has been put off until the postponed graduation ceremony on the 13th of May. The three-storey library complex was funded and built by annual funding from the PNG Government. It was designed by a retired library professor and modified by a local firm and then built by Downer PNG over a two-year period.



Girls Friendly Society



What is the Girls Friendly Society? GFS or the Girls Friendly Society is a large worldwide organisation within the Anglican church which works mainly with young women, teaching them life skills, empowering them for leadership roles both within the church and community and encouraging them in their faith in Christ.



Anglican Family Resource Centre



Members of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Popondota, community leaders, Rotarians from Australia and members of GFS Australia will gather in Popondetta on Saturday the 2nd of April to celebrate the opening of GFS Horukari Bande, Anglican Family Resource Centre.

The Centre will be blessed and opened by The Rt Revd Rynhold Sanana. The National Chairman of GFS Australia (Mrs Lesley Briggs) and the Adult Ministry Coordinator of GFS Australia (Mrs Val Gribble) will be present and will conduct a series of workshops in the Centre, following the opening. Mr Hein Otten, a Rotarian from Melbourne and who led the first team of builders will attend together with his wife and family.

Members of GFS around the world have contributed to a three-year project to complete the Resource centre and to fund training visits from members of GFS Australia. Two teams of Rotarians from Australia have erected the building together with men and women from the Anglican Church community of Popondota diocese. The centre has a self contained flat and a training area. It has been fully furnished and a library is being funded by a member of GFS Australia.



Urban Drift



Peter Yama, the MP for Usino-Bundi, wants to reduce the rural to urban drift. He has said that he believes that the people should return home to participate in the development process and "spin off" activities. He has initiated a pilot repatriation project to help slow the drift. The exercise will initially target about 700 people mainly living in the National Capital District's settlements. If the project is successful he plans to introduce it into other major centres such as Lae.



East Sepik Province



East Sepik finally has a new Governor. Peter Wararu, the Member of Parliament for Yangororu Saussia, was elected unopposed by 26 council presidents and five National MP's. It was the first time in the history of the Governorship that an MP has been able to secure an overwhelming majority.



Squash Club



The Port Moresby Squash Club has announced a new committee following the recent Annual General Meeting. The committee members are --

President: Paul Speedy
VP Bar: Jim Jenkins
VP Squash: David Whitehead
VP Social: Merlyn Alarcos
Treasurer: Derek Hunter
Secretary: To be confirmed
General Committee: Madako Suari, Ken Kaiah, Damien Tam, Mark Slade



Dawn Levy



I am sad to have to report that Dawn Levy has passed away age 77 on the 14th of March 2005. Some of the readers of this newsletter may have known her as she worked in Goroka, Mount Hagen and Port from 1950 until just before Independence in 1974. She was considered a pioneer of the Western Highlands having participated in numerous community organisations such as with the Red Cross, the Hagen Show, Farmers and Settlers Association, Parents and Citizens, Hagen Players, Golf Club, Pioneer Club and the Pony Club.



University of PNG



After a recent dispute over pay two senior lecturers at the Medical Faculty of the University of PNG have been asked to resign. The lecturers are believed to have played an active part in a recent demand by the National Academic Staff Association for a pay increase and a once off payment of K650. One of the lecturers has been named as Professor Mathias Sapuri - the Executive Dean of the Medical School.



Coming Events



Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The RSPCA of PNG will be holding its annual general meeting on,2nd of April 2005 at the St Martin's Anglican Church Hall in Boroko.


Mining Conference

PNG's premier mining conference will be held between the 23rd and 25th of May 2005 at the Lae International Hotel. This will be the seventh Geology, Exploration, and Mining Conference. For further information please contact the PNG Chamber of mines -- conf[@]pngchamberminpet.com.pg -- Telephone +675 321 2988 and Facsimile +675 321 7107.


East New Britain Cultural Festival

+ Warwagira July 4th to 12th 2005 (mostly singing/choir, string bands groups both Ancient & Modern) followed by
" Mask Festival July 13th to 16th, 2005 (Traditional Masks and ancient culture ONLY)



Telecommunications



Mike Manning has released the following PNG figures in the Post Courier newspaper.

  • Internet Users - 30,000
  • Internet Penetration - 0.6 percent
  • Internet Hosts - 439
  • International Bandwidth - 8 M bit
  • Mobile Telephones - 37,000



Telikom Outage



Telikom PNG suffered an outage of telecommunications for over 12 hours recently when yet another power failure occurred at the old Boroko Telephone Exchange. It would seem that the telecom consumers are being held to ransom by a phone system that was one superior to many of the systems in the region including part of the telecom system in Australia. It is believed that there is only one power supply in PNG keeping the overseas cable running from PNG to Australia. Telikom PNG does not have spares. It is little consolation that the cable can be powered from the Australian end but that is a long way for power to be provided on such a key cable. Admittedly PNG does have satellite access to the rest of the world but the capacity of that service could not cater for the whole country. Both mobile and landline service were affected for the domestic and international services.



Daltron



The sale of Daltron, established by Bruce Dahlenburg many years ago, to rival Datec was knocked back last year by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission because of fears that the combined group would have an unfair advantage in the IT industry within the country. The Malaysian conglomerate, MBf Holdings has announced a bid for the company through its 97.59 percent share in Carpenter (PNG) Ltd on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange but there has been no formal announcement in PNG as yet.






PNG Media


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-- THE END --

In Tok Pisin - em tasol

For other ways of saying the end please pay a visit to -- ../emtasol

Some of the ways of saying "that's all" are courtesy of Liz and her friends at the University of Technology in Lae. -- http://www.unitech.ac.pg

If you can add to this list then please click here and use the submission form.

 



Created 26 Mar 2005
Updated 26 Mar 2005


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