Good idea to relocate school to Lower Wage

Source: The National, Friday 19th October, 2012

I SUPPORT the idea of relocating Kandep High School to Lower Wage.
Kandep has been de­clared a fighting zone.
We urge the Enga pro­vincial education board to relocate the school or build us a new one.
Kandep has about 80,000 people, half of them from Upper and Lo­wer Wage LLG areas.
Crime in Kandep is serious and is expected to last for years.
Important government services such as schools and health centres should be located to places where there is peace and harmony.
It is an expensive exercise but worth doing for the sake of the people.
Lower Wage has many community leaders such as Jimson Sauk, Tum Akiala, Michael Marape and John Lakai who have high regard for such ser­vices.
The Kandep High School has been suffering from interruptions since 2002.
Without any cash crops to support our economy, we believe in our children’s education.
We are privileged to have Peter Ipatas as our governor, who cares about our children’s future.
He has done a lot for Enga and I am sure he will give us a good response as always.
Please listen to our cry and give us a school.

Tim Temo
Via email
 

Polye calls for shift in approach

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Source: The National, Friday 19th October, 2012

By JEFFREY ELAPA
TREASURER Don Polye has urged deve­lopment partners and international financial institutions to shift from a programatic approach to a more sustainable development-oriented approach of development assistance to the country.
Polye said that after meeting with newly appointed World Bank president Dr Kim Yong during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meeting in Tokyo, Japan, last week.
Polye said he met with senior leaders of the Asian Development Bank and advised them of the country’s deve­lopment needs and how they could come in to help in the development of the country.
He said his advice to the two financial institutions was that they should redirect their focus on helping Papua New Guinea in developing the human resource because the nation’s prosperity lay in the people.
Polye asked the World Bank to introduce a more programatic approach to aid delivery in PNG such as the Asian Development Bank’s Multi-tranche Financing Facility (ADB MFF) for infrastructure and utilities sectors.
He said under the ADB MFF a “pool” of funding was negotiated with the bank and funds were made available to the borrower through the tranches after project costs and other details were finalised.
“I asked them that instead of thinning the programmes, the development partners assist in major projects such as infrastructure and increasing small and medium businesses of locals,” Polye said.
He appealed to the financial institutions to fund four major infrastructure development projects in the country.
Polye said senior officials from the two institutions would be visiting the country at his request early next month and in January to discuss in detail what actions they recommended for developing countries such as Papua New Guinea

The Koroway Tribe of West Papua

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news

The Koroway in pictures: tribe living in remote Indonesian forest officially recognised as 'tree-dwellers'

A group of hunter gatherers living in a remote Indonesian forest are thought to have become the first tribe to be officially recognised as tree-dwellers. The Korowai, or Koroway, from Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua, live in tree houses, speak their own tribal language, and live off forest animals and plants

A member of the Koroway tribe stands on a ladder leading to his house

 Almost 3,000 members of the nomadic clan, whose people wear only banana leaves, were recorded for the first time in the country's census this year.

A stone axe gets re-wrapped in rattan. The Koroway say they don't know where the axe stones come from, but ethnologists assume they were quarried in the highlands and then traded down through generations of exchange relationships

Members of the tribe skilfully climb ladders to their wooden homes often as high as 164ft (50m) from the forest floor where they usually live in a family of up to eight. Homes are built at different heights depending on how well they get on with their fellow tribe members

Aerial view of an abandoned tree house. The photographer estimated it to be 50 metres tall

Picture: GEORGE STEINMETZ / CORBIS

 

The horticultural tribesmen excel at hunting and fishing

A Koroway man carries a juvenile cassowary killed after it was trapped in a snare

 

Koroway arrows, each having a different name, and used for different types of prey. The large barbed arrow in the centre is made from cassowary leg bone and used for killing people. The one to the left of that has a four-pointed tip for fish. The one with the wide blunt tip is used for lizards, and the one with the broad bamboo tip is for wild pigs

 

Until the late 1970s, when anthropologists embarked on a study of the tribe, the Korowai were unaware of the existence of any peoples other than themselves

A Koroway man carrying a stone axe crosses a flooded area of the forest that has been bridged with a network of rattan-tied poles

They have engaged in cannilbalism but anthropologists believe that exposure to the outside world has put an end to this practice in recent years. Korowai people mainly eat wild boar, deer, sago and bananas

A Koroway woman processes pulverised sago palm trunk into the starchy food that is the staple for almost every meal

Only a handful of Korowai are thought to be able to read and write. A total of 2,868 of them were interviewed by census workers through missionary translators using sign language. Suntono, the head of Indonesia's statistics agency for Papua, said: "It's as if they're still living in the Stone Age. They don't wear any clothes and they live in trees in the jungles....

The grubs are larvae of the Capricorn beetle, and move like someone trying to wiggle out of a sleeping bag. Sago trees are felled four to six weeks before a feast, and left to rot in the swampy forest where they become infested with larvae. When the grubs are at the right stage of development (4-6 weeks later), the trees are opened up and pulled apart with a stone axe or pointed stick. The grubs are a favourite food, and are eaten both raw and cooked. They taste fatty, with a vague nutty taste, like soggy overcooked walnuts. In the protein-deficient world of the Koroway, Sago grubs are one of the few sources of fat

"...Now that we know who they are, their numbers and characteristics, they won't be isolated anymore. We can ensure they get access to education and health care just like any other Indonesian."

A man climbs down an ironwood tree after knocking loose a nest of black ants that he uses for fish bait

The hosts of a sago grub feast stand in a circle in the foreground, and exchange mock attacks with their guests (not pictured) before entering the feast house

 

Preparation of a lizard for a meal in the forest where it was caught 

 

A group of dwellings belonging to a clan comprised of three brothers who live in the same clearing

 

A man works on the roof of a tree house

 

Houses belonging to the Koroway tribe stand in a forest near Merauke city in Indonesia's Papua province

Australia used to launder PNG's dirty money

By PNG correspondent Liam Fox

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-10

 

Australia has been singled out as the money-laundering destination of choice for corrupt Papua New Guinea politicians and officials.

The head of PNG's anti-corruption taskforce says stolen government funds are being washed clean in Australia, and authorities here are doing little to stop it.

Sam Koim, who leads PNG's Task Force Sweep, says his job gets all the more difficult when ill-gotten gains disappear south to Australia.

"There appears to be a lot of monies being transferred by people who have stolen money from the PNG coffers," he said.

"They have been moving money to Australia and we have evidence to show that they have been depositing those monies in Australian bank accounts, and also translating those monies into Australian real estate."

Mr Koim estimates half of the PNG government's annual budget is lost to fraud and corruption through a "mobocracy" of unscrupulous politicians, public servants, lawyers and business people.

He believes tens of millions of dollars of that loss has been sent to Australia, with Cairns the most popular spot to clean dirty money.

Mr Koim says six PNG politicians, who he cannot name because of ongoing investigations, have bought million-dollar properties in the city.

"I think it's common knowledge that Cairns is a hotspot that most of Papua New Guinean proceeds have been invested in. It's a convenient place - just one hour flight [away]," he said.

Last week Mr Koim delivered his message to a major reporters' meeting of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) in Sydney.

He says Australia must do more to prevent the laundering of funds that are supposed to be spent on schools, hospitals and roads in PNG.

"What Australia should be doing is helping us put more scrutiny on those kinds of transactions," he said.

"Ultimately we want to see is that [money] suspected to have been derived from proceeds of corruption must be repatriated back to PNG."

No commitment

Dr David Chaikin, an expert on money laundering at the University of Sydney's business school, says the issue "doesn't seem to be a matter of high priority."

He says AUSTRAC monitors international funds transfers and banks are required to report suspicious transactions.

But he says there appears to be little will to tackle the problem in Australia, unlike other developed countries.

"The main problem, I think, is enforcement and to what extent there is a prioritisation and the spending of resources to deal with the problem of foreign corrupt proceeds being in Australia," he said.

"For example, the United Kingdom has taken anti-money laundering action against senior government officials in countries such as Zambia and Nigeria.

"This includes criminal prosecutions for money laundering and millions and millions of pounds being frozen and ultimately confiscated and sent back to those countries in Africa."

The ABC put Mr Koim's concerns to Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, but she has been unavailable for comment

Relocate Kandep high school to Lower Wage

Source: The National, Wednesday 10th October, 2012

THE Kandep Provincial High School must be relocated from Kokas village to the Lower Wage.
It is the only high school in the district which students from other schools in Kandep go to continue their education.
But it is forced to close each time the country holds a gene­ral election or by-election.
The school becomes the main victim at every election without fail as supporters of candidates would damage the school trucks, classrooms and dormitories; chase students out of the school and assault teachers.
Each time this happen, the school board and administration have no choice but to suspend classes for five to six months in fear of more destruction.
The students are sent home and wait for the school to re-open.
When this happens, the students are denied their right to education, the lives of students and teachers are at risk while
the so-called leaders from Lai LLG and Mariand LLG in Kandep pretend as if nothing is happening.
Whenever this happens, the school’s investment in human resource is wasted.
I believe that since the tribal fight is still going on in the
Ma­riand LLG area and a possibility of the court of disputed returns declaring a by-election, classes will not resume anytime soon.
As such, I call on the Enga provincial education board, Go­vernor Peter Ipatas and other authorities to relocate the school to Lower Wage area as this area is the only reliable zone in the district where leaders such as former MP Jimson Sauk, pre­si­dent of Wage LLG Tum Akiala, Cr John Lakai, Kii Kaipas and former pre­sident Michael Marape are based.
This could be the only solution to solve the problems faced by our students as some of
them could become our future leaders.

Mangi Timrops
Kandep

Kewanu assures people of probe into accounts

Source: The National, Wednesday 10th October, 2012

WORKS and Implementation Vice-Minister De Kewanu has assured the people of Mendi open electorate that full investigations have been conducted into the district accounts over the past five years.
Mendi MP Kewanu said in a statement yesterday the people of Mendi would learn how funds earmarked for basic services and development in the district had been expanded in that time under the leadership of their former MP Pastor Isaac Joseph.
“I want you all to know if the monies have been put to good use for the benefit of everyone.”
He said that he had taken a court order to freeze both district office bank accounts.
Any outstanding cheques and those still in the hands of individuals or organisations would be looked at during a joint district and budgets committee meeting on whether these payments were for goods and services actually delivered, he said.
“If cheques were paid for services not actually provided then these cheques will be stopped and investigations will be carried out for all payments made during the elections period.
“If there is evidence of misuse and fraud then the full force of the law will apply on individuals and organisations and where possible, recovery action will be taken through the courts,” he said.
Kewanu said he had directed that any district assets still in the possession of individuals be returned immediately to the district office or they would face prosecution.

Mendi nursing school to join UPNG

Source: The National, Wednesday 10th October, 2012

THE Mendi School of Nursing in Southern Highlands is expected to be affiliated to the University of Papua New Guinea.
Professor Isi Kevau, the dean of medicine and science at UPNG, visited the School of Nursing in Mendi last Friday.
Kevau was there to see facilities, check curriculum documentations, staff, health authorities from the province and the students’ clinical areas.
Kevau was impressed with the management and the strong support from stakeholders.
It was his first visit to the province and was satisfied with the facilities and curriculum documents.
“Everything is fine and positive. I will take the report back to the university council,” he said.
He was impressed with the institution, the set-up of the hospital and the training link between the school, the hospital and rural health sector.
Mendi School of Nursing principal Sister Lucy Langer said it was the second visit by officials from UPNG.
Langer said the nursing college was closed in 2002 due to a tribal fight which claimed hundreds of lives and destruction of properties worth thousands of kina.
She said a Mendi School of Nursing restoration committee was formed in 2005.
“The college was finally re-opened on Jan 22 and Prof John Vince, deputy dean of the school of medicine and science was the first person from UPNG to visit the college,” she said.
She said although the college had been closed for a long time, they had all the necessary equipment and facilities needed by students.

Our lazy mentality is the cause of homelessness

Source: The National, Tuesday 09th October, 2012

 

There should not be any homeless people in PNG.
If there are, it would have been their own choice.
The soil in our villages is fertile and can yield an abundance
of crops.
The highlands is known for its sweet potatoes, broccoli and many different greens.
Along the coast, from the Sepik provinces to Milne Bay and across to Western, we have sago, yams, bananas, taros and fish.
On the islands, we have plenty of fish and countless nuts and fruits.
We have natural materials in the villages that cost nothing to build strong houses to live in.
Thus, I cannot understand how we can have homeless people.
We, Papua New Guineans, are plain lazy and have a hand-out mentality.
The many who sleep on the streets call themselves homeless to get free food from the Salvos or the Red Cross.
By day, they rob and harass mothers and daughters practically everywhere – from markets to bus stops, roadside, etc.
There are small boys who walk around aimlessly as if they do not have a mother, but it is wrong to call them homeless when they obviously did not come to the city on their own.
It is wrong to say “I live in poverty” when it is one’s decision to leave the village where there are good food gardens and come to the city and go hungry.
If we cannot work hard in our villages to grow food, then we must not expect to be fed for free when we come to the city.
This is not New York City, where the ground is covered in concrete that does not allow you to grow food or build a house.
This is not Africa, where there is fighting everyday and you have to live in care centres to be genuinely called homeless.
Wake up, PNG; stop being lazy and do something worthwhile with your life.

Tired of stupidity
Port Moresby

BSP Wabag system stalls

Source: Post Courier. October 10, 2012

By Peter Saa
The Bank South Pacific’s (BSP) customers in Wabag suffered for more than an hour yesterday after the branch’s banking system stalled. The bank opened normally and business started at 9am. However, at 10am, the electronic system suddenly rejected the bank’s management when it tried to serve its customers.
Customers had no option but to wait in long queues inside and outside of the bank until the system came back to normalcy more than an hour later.
Wabag BSP branch manager, Mr Jerry Marie, felt that the system was to be blamed and not the bank’s management.
Mr Marie said he felt sorry for the bank’s customers for the delay and added that bank staff also relied on the system.
Many customers had already started trips to Mt Hagen to do banking by the time the system was restored.
Mr Marie apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused and stressed his blame of the electronic banking system in place. The Wabag BSP branch is functioning effectively through the current bank manager according to one customer who was interviewed by the Post-Courier yesterday: “comparing with past services provided by the bank, management was very slow in serving its customers. But now, through Jerry Marie, the bank tellers are serving customers quickly.”
The named customer acknowledged the manager’s effort’s and appealed to the current management staff to continue with the same effort.
Meanwhile, BSP is extending its community services to Enga by providing assets and donating in areas like hospitals, schools, police stations, among others. Another customer said that the province needed one more bank, such as ANZ, Westpac or Microbank, to compete with BSP to make life easier for Engans, who often go to Mt Hagen to do transactions with such other banks.