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September 2023

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Hungarian President to Visit PNG

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Hungarian

Hungarian Head of Mission to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador, Zsolt Csenger-Zalan has arrived in Port Moresby.

The Ambassador met with Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae and presented his Letters of Credence at the Government House.

(Right) Hungarian Head of Mission to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador, Zsolt Csenger-Zalan. Seen here presenting his Letter of Credence to Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae. (Left).

PNG and Hungary established formal diplomatic relations in 1977. Through the European Union, both countries share in international agreements of United Nations such as Climate Change, Endangered Species and Antarctic Treaty.

In their brief discussion, Ambassador Csenger-Zalan, spoke of the upcoming State Visit of the Hungarian President Katalina Novak, to PNG in October.

“I am certain the State Visit of President Novak to Papua New Guinea, will be a form of advertisement for Papua New Guinea. To attract interests and visits from Hungarians to this part of the world,” Ambassador Csenger-Zalan said.

When President Katalina Novak visits Papua New Guinea next month, she will travel to Manus province. Her visit will pay tribute to the martyred Hungarian missionary – Maria Molnar, who served and lived among the people of Pitulu island prior to World War II.

The Governor General said PNG looks forward to receiving the Madam President on her State Visit to Papua New Guinea and Manus province.

“The President’s visit will no doubt strengthen and deepen the good relations between our two countries,” Governor General said.

Hungarian Ambassador

Recent: https://insidepng.com/talks-on-direct-flights-between-png-and-uae/

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Agriculture

Office for Cocoa Farmers

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Cocoa Farmers

Cocoa farmers in the Southern Region were gifted an office space on the third floor of Monian Tower in Port Moresby.

The small office set up consists of a reception area, where cocoa farmers can wait to be served. Workstations for two officers, the manager’s office and reasonable size board room for meetings and consultations purposes.

To signify this approach, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed, between Central Provincial Government and the Cocoa Board of Papua New Guinea (CBPNG).

The Central Governor, Rufina Peter, while commending the Cocoa Board added that cocoa farming in Central Province has a massive potential for generating income and needs a collaborative effort by relevant authorities.

“I am sure with collaborative efforts with the Cocoa Board we want to add to the statistics of production cocoa in the province,” said the Governor.

Cocoa Board CEO, Jesse Anjen, said the set-up of the Regional Office marks the first agreement between the Cocoa Board and a provincial government in the Southern Region.

“I am pleased this is what has happened. What we say and what we preach must happen. We are here to assist small holders in the Central Province. Particularly the Southern Region but we must do the work for it to become a reality,” said Anjen.

A K1 Million funding was put forward by the Central Provincial Government. This is to strengthen efforts of CBPNG in pushing for exports and downstream processing.

“The thing that excites me the most is, the opening of the Cocoa Board office for Southern Region and Central Province. I congratulate the board management of Cocoa Board for this decision. To finally consider Central Province as a potential cocoa producing province,” said Governor Peter.

Meanwhile, the Central Provincial Government has been conducting trainings and other programs. Along with the Department of Agriculture and Livestock with plans to develop the sector.

A recent workshop was also held at Kwikila Station in August this year.

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News

Clean Electrification Supply

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Clean Electricity

Students and locals in Kuriva in the Hiri Koiari electorate can now access clean electricity supply, following the set-up of a mini grid system.

The second mini-grid system, under the USAID-PNG Electrification Partnership (USAID_PEP), was switched on at St John Bosco Primary. A sub-health centre in Kuriva, expanding access to clean electricity.

This project demonstrates a sustainable electrification infrastructure model. Wherein health and education infrastructure is electrified, along with surrounding households.

USAID PNG Country Representative Nino Nadiradze joined the local member Keith Iduhu, amongst others, to inaugurate the mini-grid system. A partnership between Papua LNG and Total Energies.

Nadiradze said USAID is supporting PNG government efforts in extending clean electrification supply.

“This 42-kilowatt renewable energy system will help improve the delivery of health services, strengthen education for students, and support solar-powered housing for teachers. USAID will continue to partner with the government of PNG and the private sector so we can reach out to more communities.” said Nadiradze.

Private sector partnerships like this expand affordable energy to remote areas. However, households are expected to pay for electricity. This is to support the upkeep and sustainability of the system.

USAID-PEP is a five-year project. It is worth over $57 million and designed to improve on-grid and off-grid electrification outcomes. As well as support the regulatory environment, and bring private sector funding into PNG’s energy sector.

Clean Electricity
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News

Rai Coast Village Court Issues

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Village Court

Village court officers in Astrolabe Bay Local Level Government (LLG) of Rai Coast District say they do not have proper court facilities to hear court matters.

But one village court official said that does not stop them from performing their duties.

“There is no proper building for an office space, or courthouse to listen to court cases”, a court official said.
The primary function of a Village Court is to ensure peace and harmony in the area for which it is established by way of mediation.

Currently, Court Officials in Astrolabe Bay LLG are operating under the shade of mango trees and security is a concern for the court officials when listening to cases in open space.

Apart from performing their duties in the open, the court officials say they are not being paid on time.
These concerns were raised to local member, Kessy Sawang in a visit she made to the LLG.

Hearing the needs from the court officials, Ms Sawang assured them that she will follow up in her capacity as Minister for Labour.

Related: https://insidepng.com/support-for-chw-school/

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News

Menstrual Health

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Menstrual Health

A partnership promoting menstruation hygiene between CPL Group and Queenpads PNG Limited has reached the East Sepik province this month.

As part of the 48th Independence Anniversary celebrations the team embarked on a comprehensive outreach program and visited secondary schools in the Wewak Urban areas.

This outreach initiative’s intention is to break barriers surrounding the importance of feminine hygiene and health. To date, this outreach initiative has positively impacted over 1,500 participants, spanning across both genders.

Queenpads are reusable and have been sold at selected City Pharmacy outlets nationwide for more than five years now.

The awareness campaigns that aims to educate women and young girls on menstrual health cover critical topics, such as hygiene, health, and the efficient utilization of both reusable and disposable menstrual pads.

The partnership with Queenpads PNG Limited has seen CPL Foundation Inc serve an important role in sponsoring this awareness, which is reaching the broader community, including men, about the importance of open dialogue and proper practices in menstrual health hygiene.

The results have been remarkable, as the program has been successful in meeting the needs of women and girls concerning menstrual hygiene.

The program’s target demographic includes students, working individuals, and adult community members.

This initiative demonstrates CPL Foundation’s enduring commitment to the betterment of women’s and girls’ lives across Papua New Guinea.

Related: https://insidepng.com/pharmacists-to-attend-international-conference/

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News

Support for CHW School

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Community Health Worker School

The Rai Coast District has announced funding support towards Gaubin Community Health Worker (CHW) Training School on Karkar Island.

Rai Coast member, Kessy Sawang in an unannounced visit to the school allocated a K100,000 for a mess and an additional K500,000 for a 4-in-1 classroom.

As minister for Labour & Employment, Ms Sawang’s DDA is investing in the school because of the significant demand for Community Health Workers in the region.

The CHW Training school situated on state land is run by the Lutheran Church. There are currently 60 pioneer students, 15 of whom are female students.

The school currently has minimal infrastructure, including staff houses and mess facility made from bush materials.

During her visit, minister Sawang emphasized the need to replace the bush material structures with modern ones to meet the requirements of the National Department of Health (NDOH) for formal recognition.

It is anticipated that in the next five years, the Rai Coast District will have built a modern and fully certified Community Health Worker Training School overlooking Astrolabe Bay.

Related: https://insidepng.com/self-help-project/

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News

Self-Help Project

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Rai Coast

In a village located in Ward Ten of Astrolabe Bay in Rai Coast District, a group of youths are building a Resource Centre to help themselves.

The action by youths to build a resource centre is in response to recent violence that led to several lives lost and instability faced by youths at Bom village.

The group of young men have been working on constructing the Babo Youth Resource Centre and they are in the process of building a workshop. The almost complete resource center has been funded independently by the youths themselves, but they are now calling for assistance from the local member.

Member for Rai Coast, Kessy Sawang, who was invited to the project site, pledged support towards the self-help project under the District Development Authority.

Sawang said under her leadership, she will prioritize helping young people gain valuable life-sustaining training and development skills through resource centers and other similar initiatives.

“Specifically, they are seeking support in fully establishing the resource center and obtaining training in life-sustaining skills,’ said Sawang.

The youths aim to use these skills to make a positive impact on their community.

Sawang said her visit to Bom village highlights the importance of empowering young people to become self-reliant and productive members of their community. Especially in areas that have experienced conflict and instability.

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Education

Online Learning Management System

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Online Learning

A grade ten student at the Flexible Open and Distance Education (FODE) is amongst fifty students who received certificates for an Online Learning Management Class System.

A pilot project that FODE students from two centers have trialed on digitalized learning of science subjects for three months.

18-year-old Laya Kara from FODE-Central said through learning online, she is able to do problem solving, science equations and other basic grade 10 science units.

“It motivated me to want to continue learn using LMS because I can see things and understand better,” she said. The 18-year-old was interested to take up the class after noting that she needed to improve in science knowledge while scoring good grades in her assignments and exams.

Online Learning

The digitalized training is conducted in partnership with Reelae. A company specialized in digital training.
FODE Principal Anthony Rayappan said it was a good start for students who showed interest and completed the lessons.

“Let’s not think that we are failures anymore. We are same and equal to others in the school system. Be proud in our uniforms while attending the tutorials,” he said.

Rayappan said FODE is fortunate to have a digitalized system for learning. So students can use their devices to do exams, activities and tests.

Meanwhile the Education Department is also liaising with the Department of Higher Education. To consider FODE students grade 10 and 12 in the online selection.

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News

Lagaip Supplementary Election

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Lagaip Election

Nominations for the Lagaip Open Supplementary Elections will Close on Thursday, 28th September at 4pm.

The supplementary elections will go ahead now after the electorate had no representative in Parliament for over a year.

The Electoral Commission deferred the issuing of Writs for Lagaip Open in the 2022 National Elections. This was due to continuous tribal fights in the area.

After security authorities in Enga confirmed it was safe for the supplementary elections, the Writs were issued by Governor General, Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae last Thursday in Port Moresby.

Polling is expected to run for one week from 21st October to 28th October. This will be followed by counting with the return of Writs before the 17th November.

Away from Enga, the campaign for North Bougainville and Wewak By-elections are concluding. With polling expected to start in October.

Both late sitting members of North Bougainville (Late William Nakin) and Wewak Open (Late Kevin Isifu) died from illness in July 2022 and September 2022, respectively. Leaving the seats vacant.

Meanwhile with the recent passing of Dei MP, late Steven Pim (September 2023) and Maprik MP, late Gabriel Kapris (August 2023), the electoral commission will be looking at conducting by-elections for Dei and Maprik Open Electorates. This will be expected after the funeral and burial of both Members of Parliament.

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Bougainville

Infrastructure Agreement

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Bougainville Infrastructure

The signing of an Infrastructure Agreement by Bougainville President, Ishmael Toroama provides a framework to improve deteriorating infrastructures in the Autonomous Region.

The agreement signed during the Pacific Infrastructure Conference is worth an estimated value of USD$4.8 billion (PGK17.5 billion) and involves infrastructural works on government buildings, schools, hospitals, airport, sea ports, bridges, roads and telecommunications.

Toroama said the Infrastructure Agreement represents a momentous step for the ABG, towards building a prosperous future, through substantial advancements in critical infrastructure development.

“The first ABG was elected on 15 June 2005. In the 18 years since then there has been frustratingly slow progress in the delivery of critical Bougainville infrastructure,” Toroama said.

The Infrastructure Agreement is between the ABG and the following Companies:

  • Bougainville Public Private Partnership Limited (BPPPL) is appointed as the Program Manager responsible for fundraising and project delivery of Bougainville Infrastructure Development Plan.
  • Kramer Ausenco (PNG) Limited is appointed as the Project Manager responsible for project design documentation, project management and facilities management of infrastructures under Bougainville Infrastructure Development Plan.
  • Bougainville Islands Group Limited (BIGL) has agreed in principle to provide land to the BPPPL partnership as part of the infrastructure agreement.

President Toroama assured the founder of Kramer Ausenco (PNG) Limited, Frank Kramer, that his Government will collaborate closely under this new Infrastructure Agreement, with the shared goal of delivering urgently needed infrastructure for the people of Bougainville.

“ABG will be working together in partnership with Kramer Ausenco and BIGL to deliver transformative benefits for the people of Bougainville and agree to work closely together to achieve this,” Toroama said.

The Pacific Infrastructure Conference brings together political, business representatives from Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Japan, France, and various international partners, including the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and United Nations Development Programme, making it the most inclusive event of its kind in the Pacific’s history.

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