Women lead the way to improve sexual health

Posted by James Cook University

JCU researchers have found that providing basic sexual health education for women is a simple yet profound way to improve sexual health and address gender equality in Papua New Guinea.

Currently, there is a shortage of sexual health education services in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Senior Research Fellow, Dr Michelle Redman-MacLaren and College of Medicine and Dentistry PhD Candidate, Rachael Tommbe, have been researching the best way to respond to requests for information about sexual health they receive from PNG women. According to Michelle, education is an important tool to break down cultural and religious stigmas surrounding sexual health.

“In PNG education is everything, it provides the power of choice. What we are doing is challenging the gender norms in a way that empowers women by giving them information to safely communicate with their spouses and the community about sexual health and wellbeing.”

In 2018, the female partners of university students studying at the Pacific Adventist University (PAU) in PNG asked the researchers to provide some basic education about sexual health and wellbeing. The women want to use the information to support other women in their families and communities.

“Even if you don't have an education yourself, but you are closely connected to someone with an education you have more esteem in the community,” Michelle said. “The female spouses are seen as esteemed women in the community, and they were being asked for advice about sexual health issues which they felt ill-prepared for.”

In partnership with PAU researchers, Michelle and Rachael tailored an educational training package for the women’s unique social and cultural context. Within the package, the researchers had to carefully address sensitive cultural and religious topics.

“There are very clear, culturally prescribed gender roles in PNG and there is the overlay of the Christianisation process over traditional culture,” Michelle said. “Those two things impact how sex and sexuality are spoken about.

“Accurate sexual health education is important because most of the current support is provided through Church mechanisms and informal social conversations - there are not a lot of services.”

“We are working on the Meri Lida project, which means ‘women leaders,’ because the women told us that they needed support to be leaders in their communities. The big picture of the research is to create a highly relevant training package for those women in PNG.”

Rachael and a group of PAU researchers presented the two-day training workshop to 13 women from across the Pacific Islands and PNG.

“We used Tok Pisin, our national language, and English concurrently," she said. “We covered a lot of topics in the two-day program including the roles of a women leader, gender roles, the problem-solving framework for the Meri Lida project, basic communication skills, and a basic sexual health and well-being overview.”

Traditionally, sexual health and wellbeing are culturally and religiously sacred topics that are not openly spoken about in PNG. The workshops allowed the women to communicate about their own sexual health and wellbeing experiences.

“We learnt that a lot do not discuss sex,” Rachael said. “Sex is not normally talked about between a married couple. Some of the women said this was the first time that they could openly talk about sex.”

“We learnt that the women didn't know much about the basics of sexual health. We had to teach them about the female anatomy and the role of sexual reproductive organs. They said that they can teach their daughters. These women had the power to communicate about what they learnt which was very positive.”

The JCU researchers aim to tailor training packages to women and men in PNG. Rachael emphasised that, the educational workshops have the power to create social and cultural change in the Pacific nation.

“In PNG, violence is a large part of a woman's sexual experience,” she said. “When it comes to sexual health, we need to be working with both women and men. We have plans for the women, and we know that there is a great need and interest in sexual health education when it comes to the men as well.”

In the future, Michelle and Rachael are looking to support the roll out of the Meri Lida workshops across the country.

“We are in the process of improving the package,” Michelle said.  “We are looking at how we can deliver and systemize the package through existing Church and health systems so that this work can reach more women.”

Michelle and Rachael are presenting their research at the Health and Gender in PNG seminar will run from 4:00-5:00 pm on Thursday, 27 June as part of JCU’s Sustainable Development Goals seminar series. Registration for the event is free.

If you are interested in pursuing a career to improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities, consider JCU Health Studies or JCU Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Go to this link for more: https://www.jcu.edu.au/brighter/articles/women-lead-the-way-to-improve-sexual-health#.XRK9moyfkiY.twitter

PNG after the elections: reimagining the future by reflecting on the past

By Fiona Hukula - DevPloicy Blog

I would like to share some thoughts on PNG after the elections. My reflections are based on nearly twenty years’ experience as a researcher. It has been a little over a week since PNG’s 10th National Parliament convened. The last three months has been a busy time for election officials, media and security personnel. In some places elections have been relatively peaceful. People voted and life carried on, but in other parts of the country, violence and the unnecessary and unfortunate loss of lives has marred these elections. My observation of media reports and preliminary findings from research into women and elections in Morobe by my colleagues Mary Fairio and Sarah Kaut-Nasengom reveals that flawed electoral rolls have led to great disappointment for many people who have not been able to cast their vote.

On the international agenda, APEC 2018 is a key event that will help shape Papua New Guinea’s future. At the national level, the Bougainville referendum will be an important event for PNG as the outcome of the referendum will not only dictate the political future of Bougainville and PNG but it will also set a precedent for those provinces advocating autonomy.

Women leaders

Unfortunately for the next five years, we shall not be seeing any women on the floor of parliament. In her inaugural address, the United States Ambassador Ms Catherine Ebert-Grey stated that the fact that we have no women in parliament should be of grave concern. While this is a depressing outcome of the elections it also clearly indicates the need to reassess and re-strategise how we think about this issue.

I think we need to look at the bigger picture. In analysing the performance of some of the women who came in the top three places for certain seats, we can see that women are receiving votes. For example, Delilah Gore led in the first preference votes and the second preference votes. She lost by just over 200 votes in the final count.

In terms of reflecting on how to get women into parliament, the experiences of female candidates are crucial, as are the experiences of former female parliamentarians. While we may not have women in parliament now, we do know from experience that women can be voted into parliament – this has happened on more than one occasion. For example, Mrs Nahau Rooney, Dame Josephine Abaijah and Dame Carol Kidu were all elected into parliament more than once, so we know from the past that we can elect women into parliament; it is getting women into parliament at every election that is the challenge.

We also know that women are leaders in their communities. In my experience of researching both in urban and rural communities, everywhere I have worked, women leaders always turn up when research meetings are organised and they articulate their concerns clearly. The leadership capabilities of women at the local level is evident as we know from the last local level government elections where forty-five women were voted into local government, with a couple as Town Mayors.

As Papua New Guineans, we need to ask ourselves the hard questions such as, should we be talking about getting women into parliament in terms of gender equality and participation or should we be talking about what makes a good leader? Also, when we talk about getting women into parliament, are we using the right language when addressing different audiences?

Getting women into parliament is not only about discussing these issues in forums such as the PNG Update, but in my view it is also about trying our best to understand the ways in which our people think about gender. I make this comment because often this issue is viewed as a western agenda, maybe because we use words and definitions that are not familiar to the majority of our people. But if we look back to the Constitutional Planning Committee (CPC) report of 1974 we see that this was something that our leaders clearly thought about. If we take off the western gender lens that we often use to have these discussions and start to unpack gender relations in a way that allows us to see the worldview of our people, we will start to map a way forward that is inclusive of everyone.

Development

A lot of the debate around having women in parliament is hinged on the idea of gender equality and equal participation in the development of this country. We use this word ‘development’ but what does it mean to different communities? For some it means access to good roads so they can sell their cocoa and coffee and access health care. For others, it may mean access to clean water and sanitation, for some it may mean four-lane highways and a mall. This one word can trigger discussions about all kinds of things and the ways that we imagine development and our future.

As a nation, we have created some great plans and launched many policies and programs in different sectors with the future in mind and with development in mind. Many of our plans and strategies are anchored in the National Goals and Directive Principles. But how many of us know the National Goals and Directive Principles? I must admit that I am not that well versed with the National Goals and Directive Principles but sometimes when I read things about how we treat each other as Papua New Guineans or how different people imagine their future and especially when I see the growing inequalities between our people I go back and try to acquaint myself better with the National Goals and Directive Principles.

I also like to – every now and then – read bits and pieces of the CPC report just to remind myself of what the members of the CPC imagined our future to be. As a researcher whose work is now mostly in the urban sphere, there are two statements from the CPC that I often read. I will only read the first part here of paragraph 116:

We see the darkness of neon lights, we see the despair and loneliness in urban cities. We see the alienation from man that is the result of the present machine oriented economy. We see true social security and man’s happiness being diminished in the name of economic progress.

When I read this, I can see that the future was predicted accurately, but then two paragraphs later the CPC report states:

Our ways emphasise community. We exercise our rights in the context of our obligations to our community.

This sentence alone gives me some sense of hope because yes in the urban context we are now seeing increased poverty in our cities but also in my experience of growing up in this city, of living in an urban settlement as part of my PhD, and of my more recent research with urban village courts, I can see that we still hold firm many of these traits which we call our Papua New Guinean ways.

In the urban setting, we exercise these ideals by doing kinship through our street, church, sporting and work communities and it is through this sense of belonging that we need to start to address the many social issues that we face as a nation, including our high rates of violence, gender based violence (not just domestic violence but sorcery related accusation violence which many of our people suffer from) and child abuse. For when we start to harness the positive things about who we are – as people from different provinces and regions – we will build a better future for our children and their children.

Finally, my call today to you as my fellow academics, policy makers and students is to start to decolonise the way we think about development, let’s strive to understand our people better instead of resorting to calling ourselves uncivilised and uneducated when our people fail to understand concepts and words that are not in their vernacular. Instead let’s build on our strengths and work towards localising global concepts such as the SDGs, so that we can meet our international commitments, but also so that we can see the change that we want to see in our country.

Dr Fiona Hukula is Program Leader of the Building Safer Communities at the PNG National Research Institute. She also oversees the Gender in PNG research program at NRI with her colleague Dr Elizabeth Kopel. This post is adapted from her keynote presentation at the 2017 PNG Update.

Go to this link for more: http://www.devpolicy.org/png-elections-reimagining-future-reflecting-past-20170818/

Papua New Guinea's controversial custom APEC Maseratis still not sold

By Natalie Whiting - ABC News

Almost seven months after Papua New Guinea staged the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference, the majority of the controversial Maseratis it bought to ferry around VIPs are still sitting in Port Moresby.

The minister who was responsible for APEC, Justin Tkatchenko, said the process to sell them had been "mishandled".

Mr Tkatchenko said only one Maserati and one Bentley have been sold, according to reports he has received from the finance department.

"The tenders were issued wrongly. That's the problem," he said.

"There was no reserve price.

"So, then the whole objective of recouping the funds that we have stated from day one, was not achieved. So, we have to go through that process again."

Forty Maseratis, which retail for around $140,000, and three Bentleys, one of which has since been gifted to the Governor General, were bought for the event.

The purchase of the luxury vehicles became a lightning rod for concerns about the cost of staging APEC, with critics accusing the Government of spending money on expensive cars, while failing to deliver basic services for its people.

The Government and APEC Authority maintained the cars would be easily sold on afterwards and were a necessary purchase for the event.

PHOTO: The minister who was responsible for APEC, Justin Tkatchenko, says the sale of the cars has been mishandled by the finance department. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

In February, then-finance minister James Marape, who is now the Prime Minister, announced a tender process for the vehicles had opened.

Despite initial claims the cars would "sell like hotcakes", Mr Tkatchenko said interest in the cars could be waning.

"We had huge expressions of interest in the beginning and then because of this long, drawn out process, people have lost interest," Mr Tkatchenko said.

"So, it's unfortunate, we have to go back to the drawing board and retender due to the fact they have to get it done properly."

Mr Tkatchenko said the sale of the vehicles was being handled by the finance department.

He could not say how many formal expressions of interest were received in the tender process, estimating it to be in the mid-forties.

"Well we received all the expressions of interest that covers the cars, but the price that they expressed were just too low and unreasonable."

When asked how much he expected to lose on the cars, he said "wouldn't have a clue".

When the purchase of the vehicles was revealed in October last year, Mr Tkatchenko, insisted there would be "no cost to the state whatsoever at the end of the day".

PHOTO: PNG's Government was widely criticised for importing Maserati sedans for the summit. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

While addressing the media, he criticised the sale process and said it would need to be redone, but did not mention that two vehicles had been sold.

A press statement issued after the event said, "from finance departments reports, one Bentley and one Maserati were sold".

A subsequent question of what those two vehicles had been sold for has been referred to the finance department.

Another tender process may be held to sell the rest of the vehicles, or they may be given to a car dealer to sell.

Almost $12 million in APEC bills still outstanding

The final cost of staging the event will be included in an APEC report which will be tabled in parliament, but it is still not clear when that will happen.

Mr Tkatchenko said almost 30 million kina, ($12 million), in bills to APEC vendors and contractors still had not been paid.

He blamed the finance department for the unpaid accounts and said that had been holding up the report, which he said will now be submitted with the outstanding costs listed.

"We can't keep on going like this forever, and even though these suppliers are still not being paid, we need to move on," he said.

Mr Tkatchenko said financial reports from the Department of Finance and the Prime Minister's Department were also required.

PHOTO: A new Maserati costs about $140,000. (AirBridgeCargo Airlines)

He said he is frustrated by how long the process is taking, but said the APEC Authority was close to completing the report.

"I want it concluded, so that everyone can see the facts and the truth about how everything was run and operated. There's nothing to hide."

The country's newly appointed police minister, Bryan Kramer, also wants to see the final APEC report.

He was in opposition during the event and was a vocal critic of the costs associated with it.

"I need the report to understand how public funds were spent on those vehicles," he told local newspaper, The National.

"When I fully understand the report and the issues, the appropriate action, if any, can be taken."

He said at the moment he did not have any evidence "to suggest that there was any wrongdoing".

Mr Tkatchenko said he was disappointed by the comments.

"I don't report to the police minister; I report to the Prime Minister of this country," he said.

He said everything had been done through the proper processes.

"I was disappointed, I must say I was disappointed, but he's a new minister, I'm sure he'll learn the ropes as he goes along. To talk to ministers in their portfolios — look I'm open, if anyone wants information." 

Go to this link for more: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-23/papua-new-guinea-apec-maseratis-still-not-sold/11239446

Commission warns PMV operators on illegal bus fares

Posted on The National

THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) is the only agency responsible for setting PMV fares in the country.
The commission, in an email to The National, said any fares imposed by PMV associations or charged by PMVs that were not approved and gazetted by them were illegal and PMV operators could be charged and prosecuted under the Prices Regulation Act for charging illegal fares.
ICCC’s comments came after PMVs that serviced route 13E along back road in Lae charged an additional K1 fee for their passengers on top of the previous K1.
Bus owners agreed to start collecting K2 on Saturday without any notice to the travelling public and then followed that action up with a protest on Monday to alert authorities on their intention to increase bus fares.
Despite being advised by police and traffic registry that the price increase was illegal, buses continued to collect K2.
ICCC said they were currently conducting a review of PMV and taxi fares for approved routes throughout PNG for the regulatory period 2020-2024.
This project would be completed at the end of the year with a new price order and new fares to commence on Jan 1, 2020.
ICCC also called on the general public to report PMV buses that were over charging.
“When being over charged by PMV buses, the following details about the PMV bus involved should be provided to the ICCC: general description, the route number, the plate number, fares charged and key details of conversation held with the driver/crew or comments made by them,” the commission said in statement.
The public in Lae can reach ICCC through their Momase office in Lae on phone: 472 2859 or email: momase@iccc.gov.pg
The public using the route was forced to walk on Tuesday.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/commission-warns-pmv-operators-on-illegal-bus-fares/

Department of Pacific Affairs PhD graduate Philip Mitna promoted to Chief Superintendent

Posted by Australia National University DPA

The Department of Pacific Affairs would like to congratulate Philip Mitna for being conferred the rank of Chief Superintendent by the new Papua New Guinea Police Minister Bryan Kramer. Philip Mitna recently completed his thesis with DPA on Factors influencing Papua New Guinea’s foreign policy in the twenty-first century.

Although Philip is yet to formally receive his PhD, examiners were unanimous in their assessment of his PhD thesis which was awarded without corrections and recommended for an award.

Mitna is currently the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary’s Director for Research and Planning.

Go to this link for more: http://dpa.bellschool.anu.edu.au/news-events/stories/6963/dpa-phd-graduate-philip-mitna-promoted-chief-superintendent

PNG wants local firms not Paladin for Manus contract

By Angus Grigg & Lisa Murray - Financial Review

The new government in Papua New Guinea wants more local involvement in the lucrative contract to run refugee centres on Manus Island, setting up a fresh showdown with Australia.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton indicated on Sunday the $423 million contract awarded to Australian security firm Paladin, which expires on June 30, would be extended.

This is despite the Paladin contract being the subject of two separate investigations and a topic for heated discussion during Senate Estimates.

A source in the Prime Minister's office in PNG has told The Australian Financial Review the new government of James Marape wants the Paladin contract to finish on June 30 and for an open tender process to be run allowing greater involvement for local firms.

"PNG companies now have the capacity and expertise to do the job and should be given the opportunity to participate," said the person.

With the contract finishing in just two weeks there appears insufficient time to run an open-tender process, which can take as long as 12 months,  and so the most-likely outcome is for Paladin's contract to be extended in the short term.

This would then allow the government to invite other parties to tender and meet the new requirements for local participation coming out of Port Moresby.

When asked about Paladin on Sunday, Mr Dutton told the ABC "the likely arrangement is that there will be a continuation".

The Paladin contract is being investigated by both the Commonwealth Auditor-General and by internal auditors within Home Affairs.

Mr Dutton's comments come after the department recently extended a similar services contract for running the detention centre on Nauru.

In that case, Brisbane firm Canstruct International was paid an extra $120 million to extend the contract until July 31, taking its total value to $711 million.

This move suggests the department may also opt for a short-term extension to the Paladin contract, buying the government more time to address the many concerns raised.

Paladin's contract became an issue for the government after the Financial Review revealed in February the little known security firm was given a contract worth $20.9 million a month without a competitive tender.

The Financial Review also revealed Paladin had limited experience with large contracts and one of its local directors, Kisokau Powaseu, was arrested in January on charges of fraud and money laundering.

Paladin was given a $109 million extension in January. It later emerged, four months prior to the extension, Paladin's managing director Craig Thrupp had been removed from his duties in relation to the contract after the firm failed to comply with a direction from the Home Affairs department.

The government faced further scrutiny in Senate Estimates given it is paying over $1600 a day to house each refugee on Manus, not including food and welfare services, more than double the price of a suite at the Shangri-La hotel in Sydney.

Paladin is estimated to be making a monthly profit of about $17 million from the contract.

Mr Dutton has previously sought to distance himself from contract and did so again on Sunday saying it was "an issue for the department".

"They've obviously got people on the panel, they've obviously got contracting arrangements and they'll look at the history of those people who are applying, they'll look at the suitability for them to provide services, and they will make judgements based on that," he said.

"I don't want to spend money on Manus and Nauru, I don't want people there. I want them off as quickly as possible."

Mr Dutton said his department would work with PNG authorities about ongoing security arrangements. "We've got to make sure that we're getting value for money," he said.

Go to this link for more: https://www.afr.com/news/policy/foreign-affairs/png-wants-local-firms-not-paladin-for-manus-contract-20190617-p51ydz

Hundreds evacuated in PNG after volcano erupts

Posted by Radio New Zealand

Mt Ulawun, which straddles the boundary of East and West New Britain provinces started erupting at about 8 in the morning, local time, said Steve Saunders, from the nearby Rabaul Volcano Observatory.

Mr Saunders said the volcano had been showing signs of increased activity for the past few weeks, but the eruption started in earnest on Wednesday, when the 2,334 metre volcano started spewing ash as high as 13km into the air.

"There's been some force behind it," Mr Saunders said, adding that the volcano was still erupting steadily on Wednesday evening.

Thousands of people live around the base of Mt Ulawun, which lies a five-hour drive away from the West New Britain capital, Kimbe. Authorities told RNZ that officials had been dispatched to help with the evacuations, although many villages had already started evacuating their homes themselves.

Residents in a local Facebook forum described the sky turning black, as well as what they said was a lava flow near Noau village and Eana Valley.

Christopher Lagisa, a resident, said in a message that people had been working all day to shepherd people to a local church.

"Around 3,000 plus were gathered at the Church hall and all vehicles from Ulamona, a six ton truck, a long wheel bases Isuzu and Mama truck, Fathers Land Cruizer Ute and my 5 Door LC have been working flatout moving people to Kabaya Community," he wrote. The numbers have not been confirmed by officials.

"The immediate need now would be food, water and medicine as we were just recovering from the long wet season."

Flights to New Britain had been cancelled, according to local media reports, and Australia's Bureau of Meteorology had issued a "red" warning to airlines.

At Ulawun, Mr Saunders said his teams were nervously watching. The volcano was steadily rumbling away, he said, belching ash and gases, but could either settle down or intensify in the coming hours.

"It's still early days [as] to what it's going to do," he said.

Go to this link for more: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/392997/hundreds-evacuated-in-png-after-volcano-erupts

Apec report will be tabled in Parliament: Tkatchenko

Posted by The National

HOUSING and Urbanisation Minister Justin Tkatchenko, pictured, says the Apec report will be tabled in Parliament.
Tkatchenko said the report was being approved and vetted by the auditor-general as part of the process.
“All finances and expenditure can be vetted correctly and properly as per the proper procurement process as audited by the Department of Finance,” he said.
“We look forward to that audit report coming to me so I can present it on the floor of Parliament.
“When it comes to the vehicles, those that were tendered out unfortunately under the expression of interest, which didn’t allow for the cost of the vehicle to be covered and recouped,” Tkatchenko said.
He said the Department of Finance was in charge of all the vehicles and assets and would dispose of them through proper process which was required and retendered, or go through a dealer.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/apec-report-will-be-tabled-in-parliament-tkatchenko/

LLG elections to go ahead

Posted by The National

THE Minister for Inter-Government Relations Pila Niningi says the Local Level Government Elections will go ahead as scheduled from tomorrow.
The minister told Parliament that the Government had released some funds for the elections and they were ready to deliver them as scheduled.
He said elections would be for 6,385 ward councillors from 331 local level governments of the 80 districts, besides the National Capital District and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato had announced the dates after acting Minister for Inter-Government Relations Richard Maru approved them.
Gamato said the elections would be held over four weeks from tomorrow to July 26.
The dates are:

• June 27: nominations open;
• July 4: nominations close;
• July 20: voting and counting start;
• July 25: voting and counting end; and,
• July 26: return of writs

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/llg-elections-to-go-ahead/

Government committed with budget, says Abel

Posted by The National

PAST and present governments remain committed to every single element of the budget, Finance Minister Charles Abel, pictured, says.
Abel was responding to East Sepik Governor Allan Bird’s questions on non-payment of functional grants.
He told Parliament that he had fulfilled that commitment with 100 per cent funding for functional grants last year.
“That commitment remains, however it is up to the incoming Treasurer and the government to review the budget as to where we are,” Abel said.
“I remain confident that the budget can be fulfilled in totality, subject to everybody putting their heads together now and getting down to the hard work of making sure that those revenues do come in.
“Every element of the expenditure side can be fulfilled and that includes the functional grants of district and provincial services improvement programmes.
“There is an incoming government and a new front bench and new treasurer who will take the opportunity tomorrow to give some of the background on how the 2019 budget is performing.
“If everyone gets together and gets on with the business of the government and get that revenue in, we will be able fulfil all those expenditure commitments in the budget for the remaining six or seven months of the year.”
Abel also talked about some of the aspects of the revenue side of the budget that were lagging behind.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/government-committed-with-budget-says-abel/

Marape wants security contract cancelled

Posted by The National

PRIME Minister James Marape, pictured, has told Parliament that the controversial security contract awarded to a security company (not named) must be cancelled.
Marape, in response to questions from Northern Governor Gary Juffa, who wanted to know the position of the Government on the issuance of the controversial contract for A$423 million (K971mil) to the company, which was now a major controversy in Australia.
Juffa said the contract awarded to the security company under strange circumstances was subject to an inquiry in Australia.
He said the awarding of the contract did not even have an input from the PNG Government or the authorities responsible like the Immigrations Department and the ministry.
Juffa said: “It is about to be renewed, so what is the PNG Government’s position on the contract.
“Are we going to sit and allow foreign countries to come and dictate to us what their companies will do in this country?
“How are we going to handle this now that we have declared the phrase of taking back PNG, how are we going to deal with this and how are we going to manage this particular situation, especially when it is now being revealed in the Australian media that the awarding of the contract had some very strange circumstances whereby a foreign affairs employee, who was said to have influenced the awarding of the contract, is now working for the company?”
Juffa also asked why the PNG Immigration Department was not responsible for such a contract.
Prime Minister James Marape said that although Juffa did not name the company, it is a well known company in the public domain.
He said he had directed the Australian High Commission in the country to furnish a report to the Government at the earliest. “We don’t intend for foreign contractors who operate here in businesses like security, these are businesses that local companies can operate and engage in,” Marape said.
“I now ask the Australian government to stop this contract forthwith. I asked my Immigration minister and the Foreign Affairs minister to convey this to Canberra that we will not tolerate foreign companies engaged in business like security that national companies can be engaged in.
“And this arrangement to be reviewed in its fullest and wherever this contract is heading to is terminated in far as PNG Government is concern.”

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/marape-wants-security-contract-cancelled/

Govt not changing outcome-based education system: Minister

Posted by The National

THE Government will not deviate from the current education policy to reintroduce the standard-based education system in the country.
Minister for Education Joseph Yopyyopy told Parliament yesterday that while so much had been spent on outcome-based education, particularly the elementary sector, the Government’s decision remained, that all schools in the country should fully implement the policy by end of next year.
Markham MP Koni Iguan wanted the Government to reconsider its decision to bring back the elementary school system as many MPs and parents had spent a lot of money into building elementary schools throughout the country.
He also said the elementary schools were established closer to the villages while the elementary school teachers had spent a lot of money to get themselves trained.
However, he said with the phasing out of the elementary schools, the hard work of the parents, and the resources spent on training elementary teachers, would be a waste with the reintroduction of standard-based education.
Chimbu Governor Michael Dua said elementary schools were well established and rooted in the education system and reverting to the old system was not good and the Government should not try to change things around. Yopyyopy said the standard of education in the country had dropped drastically.
He said children who had come through the outcome-based education system could not even speak or write in good English language.
He said because of the drop in the standard, the O’Neill-government had phased out the outcome-based education system and reintroduced the standard-based education system which was a universal learning process for all schools in the country.
He said many of the educated population like the members of Parliament have come out through the old system and they want the standard based education to be reintroduced in the country.
The minister said he would present a ministerial statement in this session of parliament.

Go to this link for more: https://www.thenational.com.pg/govt-not-changing-outcome-based-education-system-minister/

Rebels missing

Posted by The National

PARLIAMENT, devoid of rebellious voices interjecting as in recent sessions, got off to a quiet, smooth start yesterday.
It started at about 2.15pm when Deputy Speaker Jeffery Komal walked into the chamber and got straight to business.
Unlike in the past when the session was suspended until the second ringing of the bell, MPs although late by five to 10 minutes were in the chamber well within time.
The first to arrive were Government MPs at 2.05pm and got straight into the sorting of sitting arrangements. The Opposition, comprising about 12 MPs, arrived just as Komal was walking in.
It was a different without the ever vocal Opposition MPs in Bryan Kramer (Madang), now Police Minister, and Kerenga Kua (Sinasina-Yongomugl), now Petroleum Minister.
Compared with the previous sitting, Kramer, known for his countless point of orders, tried to get Komal’s attention to be given the chance to ask questions but on a more subdued manner. Equally docile was Kua.
Former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill sat at the back bench.
Hagen MP William Duma also sat on the Government back benches.
The rest of the Opposition MPs remained on their side.
Rainbo Paita, who was appointed Leader of Government Business, took control of the order of business for the day.
Marape told Parliament a controversial contract awarded to a security company (not named) must be cancelled. He asked the Immigration minister and the Foreign Affairs minister to convey this to Canberra that PNG would not tolerate foreign companies engaged in business like security that national companies could be engaged in.
Parliament continues today at 10am.

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What the World Bank says about PNG’s economy

Posted by The National

THE February 2018 earthquake had a devastating impact on the economy and the population of PNG.
The 7.5 magnitude earthquake led to a temporary disruption in the production of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and other mining activities concentrated in the highlands area, leading to a contraction in the extractive sector which almost fully offset the expansion of the non-extractive economy.
Preliminary estimates suggest that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth slowed from 2.8% in 2017 to 0.3% in 2018. This latest estimate stands in contrast with a pre-earthquake growth projection of 2.5% for 2018.
The earthquake also had far-reaching effects on many communities in the highlands area. The disaster is estimated to have claimed more than 100 lives, affected more than 500,000 people, and caused extensive damage to basic infrastructure.

Macroeconomic Policy
RECOGNISING the economy’s dependence on the resource sector, the government has refocused its development vision on broad-based growth. The PNG economy has become increasingly concentrated in petroleum and gas-related activities since 2014, raising its vulnerability to external shocks including commodity-price shocks and natural disasters.
In recent months, the authorities have taken decisive action to promote greater diversification of the economy. First, in October 2018 the government adopted its new fiveyear MediumTerm Development Plan for 2018–22 (MTDP III), focusing on inclusive and sustainable growth. Second, in November 2018 the government announced the 2019 National Budget with a focus on supporting the implementation of MTDP III and building a broader-based economy.
Following the MTDP III plans, government spending in the 2019 National Budget will increase and will represent a deviation from the earlier-adopted fiscal consolidation path. Nevertheless, the 2020–23 indicative budget remains consistent with the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy for 2018–22 which targets a substantial reduction of the fiscal deficit.
The government successfully tapped the international bond market to address the shortage of foreign exchange and finance its new development vision under the MTDP III. Following a roadshow to promote its debut sovereign bond, PNG raised a 10-year US$500 million sovereign bond (which was oversubscribed by seven times) in September 2018. Due to high demand, the bond interest rate was set at 8.375%, closer to the lower bound of a targeted range.
Ongoing reforms to strengthen the monetary and exchange rate policy and framework are expected to improve business confidence and increase private investment and growth in the non-resource economy. Measures include addressing the shortage of foreign exchange (FX), managing the liquidity effects of the use of FX to clear the FX orders backlog, working on greater exchange rate flexibility, considering options for strengthening the interest-rate transmission mechanism, and enhancing modeling capacity in the central bank.

Ilimo ice-cream and Enga strawberries served at the Integrated Agro Industry summit booth.

Economic Outlook
PNG’s medium-term economic outlook is optimistic, underpinned by further large-scale resource projects.
Real GDP growth is forecast to rebound to about 5% in 2019, primarily driven by a return to full annual production in the extractives sector.
In the years after, growth is estimated to ease to three to four percent a year, until planned investments in LNG and mining projects kick in. Future large-scale investment in the resource sector appears likely, with plans to double LNG production and develop new gold, copper, and silver reserves.
With increased FX inflows into the economy, the current pressure on the exchange rate may reverse, adversely affecting the competitiveness of the non-resource economy.
To facilitate broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable development, the government will need to focus more on investing in human capital and strengthening the business environment to spur private sector development, as elaborated in the World Bank’s Systematic Country Diagnostic.

Special Focus: Catalysing the Private Sector for Inclusive Development
BOOSTING the development of the private sector will be essential to meeting the employment needs of the growing working-age population and ensuring more inclusive economic growth.
Dominated by foreign firms, the resource sector—which comprises the bulk of the country’s exports and has attracted crucial foreign direct investment—has been a strong performer since independence.
However, owing to the high capital intensity of these activities, their prospects for significant job creation are limited.
In contrast, performance in the non-resource economy – where the majority of businesses operate and where most people earn their living – has been less impressive. These enterprises tend to be small in size, informal, and inward-looking.
Setting the non-resource economy on a more robust growth trajectory will be essential to creating enough good jobs to absorb the large number of young job-seekers entering the labour force in the coming decades.
Coordinated, cross-sectoral solutions that improve access to infrastructure, foreign exchange, finance, land, and skilled labour are required to ease constraints on private sector development.
Such actions could have substantial payoffs in terms of inclusive growth, economic diversification and job creation – especially in the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors, which that are also highly inclusive of women and young people.
Attention should focus on alleviating key constraints to higher productivity and investment, including through regulatory reforms that remove real impediments to business activity.
Care also needs to be taken to avoid reforms that inadvertently raise policy uncertainty and risks for investors.
Close collaboration with local and foreign firms (as well as potential new entrants) will be crucial in helping authorities identify the most significant constraints and opportunities, and thus where reform efforts should be targeted to achieve the greatest impact.

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