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Eagles Claw Away at Tumbe in Minj

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Franchise Wamp Nga Mt Hagen Eagles are victors beating neighbors Waghi Tumbe yesterday in Round 8 of the 2022 Digicel Cup Season in Jiwaka.

Eagles put on a strong strong performance to defend a late come back by Tumbe with a final score line 22 – 14 at the Jonas Amban Oval in Minj.

It was costly for the home team as Eagles crossed first to open the score board with a try following consecutive penalties by Tumbe.

Handling errors by Waghi Tumbe gave Mt Hagen Eagles enough ball and field possession in their half.

Eagles went on with another attack gaining yard through the middle with a line brake resulting in a four pointer. Successful conversion saw the Eagles extend the lead to 10 with Tumbe yet to score.

But the home side did not back off. Carving through the Eagles defense, a penalty in their half saw them extend ground by finding the sideline. With momentum behind Tumbe, a cross kick saw Tumbe Outside Centre Alex Max scoring a superb try on the left side.

But the Mt Hagen Eagles held on the lead into half time with a 10 – 8 score line.

Tumbe began the second half with a promising start but failed to put points on the board. A counter attack by the Eagles on the right side of the Tumbe defense was hefty as Eagles bounce back to score under the post.

A successful conversion saw Eagles extend the score line to 16 – Tumbe 8. Strong runs by Tumbe was helpful as they push towards the opponent’s try line.

With 10 minutes left, a knock-on by Eagles gave the home side a chance to close the 8 point difference.

Tumbe capitalize with a set replay sending Alex Max for his second try. With the conversion successful, the score saw Eagles lead with 16- 14.

But the visitors proof to strong for the home side as they made huge yards down Tumbe’s territory.

A slick move by Eagles dummy half Danny Aron saw Eagle’s fourth try to seal the game 22 to Tumbe 14.

Eagles Coach Charles Kuri was delighted saying the team kept to the basics and executed their game plan. He said the team was disciplined resulting in tries during critical times of the game.

“We have to improve on a number of factors in preparation for Round 9 against the Gulf Isou. I think the backline was good today, we just need more enforcement with the forwards, said Kuri.

Coach Kuri said they will stick to their basic game plan come Round 9 of the 2022 Digicel Cup Season.

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Sport

New Town Chiefs Try Out Rugby Union

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Rugby Union may not be the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea, but it is the predecessor to rugby league, the most popular sport in PNG.

Over the years rugby league has grown in popularity while rugby union had been at an all-time low, but the recent resurgence of rugby union has bought with it a growing interest.

The New Town Chiefs are youths from the outskirts of Port Moresby from Edai Town, with a few boys within city limits.

The team has a strong hold of rugby league; established in 2021 the team has ventured into rugby union, a sport that the team has come to relish.

New Town Chiefs are taking part in the annual Niu Power Sports Tok sevens tournament, their Coach Mara Katam is pleased with the blend of players.

“The team was formed with a mixture of rugby league and rugby union players, some have 15s experience through the Brothers Rugby Union club, while the rest are rugby league players” Katam added.

The team went down to a strong University Piggies side in their Pool C opener on Saturday, a 26-10 loss to the established club, but the Chiefs managed to make a comeback statement with a 39-7 thumping of fellow debutants Niu Power Hiri West giving the Chiefs some much needed momentum heading to day two on Sunday.

“It was a slow start with the players familiarizing themselves with the rules of the game, but we managed a convincing win in our second match” Coach Katam added.

With the Sports Tok Sevens honing in on the growth of sevens in PNG, the tournament has grassroots teams like the Chiefs finding their place in the code of rugby union sevens.

“A big thank you to the Sports Tok sevens, we are giving these boys the opportunity to play sevens and hopefully they come to love the sport of rugby union as well” Katam concluded.

The Sports Tok Sevens tournament continues on Sunday and ends with the finals to be played on Monday.

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National Elections

Women Taking on the Challenge in 2022

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Women are making the change in Papua New Guinea with a surge of female candidates contesting the 2022 National General Elections, either as Independent candidates or endorsed by political parties.

Papua New Guinea goes to the polls in July to begin its constitutional process towards electing representatives for its 11th Parliament and among the hundreds of male candidates are 142 female candidates vying for the top office posts as well.

In the 2017 National General Election, a total candidacy of 3340, saw only five percent of women listed.

While more than a hundred women contested the 111 seats in 2017, none were elected to Parliament.

2022 has however, seen a surge of political parties endorsing more women candidates than in previous years.

Women candidates with UN Representatives at Parliament attending Mock Parliament Session
This is partly due to more awareness and support by organizations such as the United Nations that has been actively promoting gender equality and women in leadership roles.

Through the ‘Women Make The Change Project’, UNDP in Papua New Guinea is helping to build capacity and vision.

This year, 120 women leaders participated in a series of regional mentoring workshops and trainings delivered in partnership with stakeholders.

The women also were part of a mock Parliament Session in March in preparation for the Election.

On the political race, one party is endorsing all female candidates to contest the 4 seats in the Nation’s capital.

L-R: Sylvia Pascoe – NCD Regional, Tania Bale – Moresby North East, Michelle Hau’ofa – Moresby South and Anna Bais – Moresby North West.
The People’s Party under Enga Governor, Sir Peter Ipatas has endorsed Sylvia Pasco for the NCD Regional seat, Tania Bale – Moresby North East, Anna Kavana Bais – Moresby North West and Michelle Hau’ofa, Moresby South.

United Labor Party has also endorsed a female candidate, Dianne Unagi Koiam, contesting the Moresby North East seat.

Other parties include Peoples National Congress party endorsing Delilah Gore for Sohe Open in Northern Province and Rufina Peter for the Central Regional seat.

Other notable women are Jennifer Baing (People’s Movement for Change Party) , Jean Parkop (Independent), and Dulciana Somare Brash (Independent).

Baing is contesting the Morobe Regional seat, Parkop for Northern Province Regional and Somare-Brash for Angoram Open in East Sepik Province.

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Sport

Big Turnout for Sports Tok 7s

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The threat of rain in Port Moresby did little to hamper the start of the Niu Power Sports Tok 7s tournament, with the cloud cover and seemingly dark skies providing prolific playing conditions on the first day.

The code of rugby union sevens is built around fast pace with limited time; and the organizers of the tournament Quantum Media under their Sports Tok brand, have grown in strides over the past four years with the fifth edition of the tournament this year seeing the biggest gathering of teams for the tournament.

“Interest has grown immensely over the past four years; this year’s tournament is a gathering of more than 50 teams in three divisions.

“It’s much bigger, 24 mens’ teams was the limit, we could not accept more, with 16 teams confirmed for the juniors and 12 women’s teams confirmed, we have women from the Sepik region representing the Sepik Tenkiles, women from AROB and Rabaul also flew in.” said Sports Tok Tournament Manager Benson Upas.

The tournament host is a Small to Medium Enterprise a (SME) and has dug deep into their pockets the last four years including the fifth installment of the tournament, to ensure its continued success.

“We are glad to have a corporate sponsor with Niu Power coming on board, we were on the fence the last two years with COVID-19 having a big impact on our financing, but we managed to pull through those years with help from other sponsors as well,” Upas added.

The tournament has since gained recognition from Papua New Guinea Rugby (PNG Rugby) the country’s governing body of the sport and Upas says they are certain they will be part of the annual PNG Rugby Calendar.

“For the last four years Capital Rugby Union (CRU) has been our partner, this year we have gained recognition from PNG Rugby, we have been contributing players to the national team through our tournament and we are proud of that,” Upas said.

The Sports Tok 7s tournament is scheduled for three days; the final is set for Monday on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday.

(PHOTO FILE: Courtesy of Newtown Chiefs)

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Sport

No Prize Money for Junior Division

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The Sports Tok 7s tournament has always opted to not provide prize money for it’s under 20 junior division.

Tournament Director Paul Joseph one of PNG’s most revered players in the code of rugby sevens during his prime says they would like to encourage the talent from the junior level to look at developing their skill set in the code.

“If we want to do well at the top we have to start with our juniors they are the future, for our junior division we don’t have cash prizes for them, we just allowing them to come out and show what they have, showcase their talent in front of family and friends, to allow our national coaches to have a look into the future,” Joseph said.

The winners of the men’s and women’s open divisions in the tournament will each receive a new set of jerseys, designed by Tati Sports the merchandising arm of the tournament hosts, apart from the new set of uniforms the winning mens’ team will receive K10,000 cash while the women will receive K5,000.

The family atmosphere was a great welcome for the organizers and fans, with the last two years a challenge with COVID-19 imposed restrictions.

“It’s very pleasing to see the tournament grow, the quality is growing, and in front of a family atmosphere teams taking part in front of friends and family, you know! right after the COVID-19 restrictions, families just want to come out and watch some rugby.

“Organizers Benson Upas and Elsie Passingan continue to dig deep and finance this tournament, which is in its fifth installment, we are glad also to the sponsors that have partnered with the tournament,” Paul Joseph said

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Sport

New Town Chiefs Try Out Rugby Union

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Rugby Union may not be the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea, but it is the predecessor to rugby league, the most popular sport in PNG.

Over the years rugby league has grown in popularity while rugby union had been at an all-time low, but the recent resurgence of rugby union has bought with it a growing interest.

The New Town Chiefs are youths from the outskirts of Port Moresby from Edai Town, with a few boys within city limits.

The team has a strong hold of rugby league; established in 2021 the team has ventured into rugby union, a sport that the team has come to relish.

New Town Chiefs are taking part in the annual Niu Power Sports Tok sevens tournament, their Coach Mara Katam is pleased with the blend of players.

“The team was formed with a mixture of rugby league and rugby union players, some have 15s experience through the Brothers Rugby Union club, while the rest are rugby league players” Katam added.

The team went down to a strong University Piggies side in their Pool C opener on Saturday, a 26-10 loss to the established club, but the Chiefs managed to make a comeback statement with a 39-7 thumping of fellow debutants Niu Power Hiri West giving the Chiefs some much needed momentum heading to day two on Sunday.

“It was a slow start with the players familiarizing themselves with the rules of the game, but we managed a convincing win in our second match” Coach Katam added.

With the Sports Tok Sevens honing in on the growth of sevens in PNG, the tournament has grassroots teams like the Chiefs finding their place in the code of rugby union sevens.

“A big thank you to the Sports Tok sevens, we are giving these boys the opportunity to play sevens and hopefully they come to love the sport of rugby union as well” Katam concluded.

The Sports Tok Sevens tournament continues on Sunday and ends with the finals to be played on Monday.

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Politics

Member for Sumkar Passes On

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United Labour Party Leader and member for Rigo Open, Lekwa Gure has confirmed the passing of Chris Nangoi, member for Sumkar in Madang and a ULP MP.

Mr. Gure confirmed through ULP General Secretary, John Avira that Mr. Nangoi passed away at 7pm at the Modilon Hospital in Madang after experiencing breathing difficulties.

Mr. Gure couldn’t confirm the exact cause of death.

MP Gure says he is saddened by the news of Mr. Nangoi’s passing.

“It is yet, another great loss to ULP, Sumkar, Madang and Papua New Guinea”.

Mr. Nangoi’s passing is exactly one month after the passing of ULP leader Sam Basil.

He said the ULP General Secretary will ensure protocol and a state procession is accorded to Mr Nangoi as he has passed on while serving as a member of Parliament.

Gure added Chris Nangoi is a young, energetic leader who has gone too soon.

Mr. Nangoi is a communications engineer by profession and graduated from the University of Technology in Lae.

Before entering politics, his previous job was with Digicel foundation, working on setting up communication towers across Papua New Guinea.

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News

New Vanimo Airport Opens

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Vanimo has a new airport terminal.

Officially opened yesterday (6th of June) by National Airports Corporation (NAC) Chairman Rowland Abaijah and CEO Rex Kiponge – the new terminal and extended runway now stands ready to serve the travelling public in and out of Vanimo.

Construction began in April, 2019 with the extension of the airport runway. A sum of K41.3million was used to extend the runway from 1,660 meters to 1,960 meters. Following the extension, K28.8million was put into the construction of the state of the art airport terminal facility. The overall cost of the project was K70.1million.

The airport upgrade is part of the Civil Aviation Development Initiative Program (CADIP) of 2009 by the then Somare led Government. It is a partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) where a 12-year program was agreed. A total of K1.67billion has been invested in the CADIP program.

For Vanimo, the extended runway and new airport facility are steps towards achieving a bigger goal of transforming Vanimo into the gateway to Asia. NAC Managing Director and CEO Rex Kiponge spoke of this vision and highlighted the positive impacts it will have on Vanimo and West Sepik.

“West Sepik Province being PNG’s closest gateway into Asia and sharing a geographical land border with Indonesia, Vanimo Airport anticipates hosting international flights in the future. The airport has the potential to increase the volume of socio-economic activities in the province, the country and the Asia-Pacific Region,” Kiponge said.

Similar words were shared by NAC Chairman Rowland Abaijah.

“You have beautiful beaches and surfing spots here in West Sepik, you have trade activities happening at the border at Batas, you have vanilla farmers coming in from East Sepik via road to sell their vanilla to the Indonesians. This new modern airport that we have delivered here in Vanimo now supports you in taking those opportunities further,” he said.

The Vanimo Airport Upgrade Project includes the upgrade of the aircraft pavement to accommodate unrestricted operations of Fokker 100 or similar types of aircrafts. It can cater for two Fokker 100 aircrafts on the ground at any one time. The terminal is fitted with the state of the art screening machines and baggage conveyor belts for departure and arrival. The departure hall can cater to over 100 passengers and is fully air-conditioned with toilet facilities including disability access areas. The terminal also has a kiosk and an ATM with a VIP lounge.

“The improved airport facilities will enhance passenger comfort,” Kiponge added.

Vanimo is the 2nd Terminal and Runway upgrade under the tranche 3 series of projects implemented under CADIP. Momote in Manus was the 1st airport. Wewak and Madang will follow soon after.

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News

New Ireland Police Ready for NATEL Operations

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Police in New Ireland are ready to provide security for the 2022 National General Elections.

New Ireland Provincial Police Commander Felix Nebanat said police men and women including PNG Defense Force, Correctional Service and Mobile Squad are ready to be deployed to parts of the Province.

“I am ready to freely, fairly and securely execute security for the elections but that has to be done in partnership with the people. I appeal to all New Irelanders to be security conscious during the election period and restrain from provoking election related violence or offence, said PPC Nebanat.

The NIP PPC said voting is a democratic choice, because it determines the quality of life. PPC Nebanat urged people to vote wisely. “Our paramount responsibility is to make sure that you(voters) are safe and secure.

PPC Nebanat also warned the general public and candidates in New Ireland not to derail or rig elections and refrain from doing things that will disturb the 2022 National General Elections.

“We will have you arrested and charged according to the provisions of law. It could be electoral, criminal, summary offence or traffic law”, said PPC Nebanat.

The head of police in New Ireland also called on his men and women to maintain integrity during the elections. He said police must ensure serving the people with honesty and transparency and not to compromise with any.

Police in New Ireland were also presented to new vehicles to support logistical capacity. PPC Nebanat thanked Police Commissioner David Manning for his intervention to donate the police vehicles.

PPC Nebanat made these statement while launching the NATEL Operation in New Ireland including the Security Operation Centre. New Ireland Police also farewell three of their long serving staff.

A parade was also held by joint forces and witnessed by residents of Kavieng town, including Provincial Administration, Assistant Commissioner for CS, Director of Law and Order, Chamber of Commerce, businesses houses and other stakeholders.

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News

Ghate: Better Roads and Housing for Communities

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Incumbent Daulo MP Pogio Ghate said the whole purpose to contest for Office is to improve the living condition for rural communities.

He said in the past 2 years, the Daulo District Development Authority has prioritized roads and housing. Ghate said people must access electricity supply, be sheltered under a semi-permanent house and access other services through better connected roads.

“There are two milling machines moving around the District to help Communities in Daulo to build better houses. I want to see lives of Daulo people be changed. It’s the DDA’s plan to impact life of people for a better living”, said Ghate.

The sitting Daulo MP said Kofena, Ward 8 and 9 and Upper Asaro are priority areas. But he says Ward 1 in Upper Asaro including Hanega, Watabum and Kasena will soon receive theirs. He added that Lower Asaro will also receive one and will be based at Asaro school.

Ghate said this housing program will continue for people to build better houses. He said with campaign and polling soon, Community leaders must take lead and drive this housing project forward.

“It is my dream and vision for rural communities to live in a home like those in urban areas,” said Ghate.

Recently the incumbent Daulo MP also opened the upgraded Samatoka Road. He said the road was built by locals but was never upgraded by levels of Government. Ghate said this road is among other roads currently being built by Daulo Civil Works Limited.

“RTK, Kasena, Nurumbe, Asaro Kongi, Kofena road, Wando, Korepa, and other feeder roads are slowly opening up the District and linking people and services. Appreciate this roads being built in less than two years. Once these roads are completed, other services will be looked at down at the Community level, “said Ghate.

“I am at peace, and happy that I have done my best to deliver services to Daulo Communities, said Ghate.

Meanwhile the Pangu candidate welcome all candidates contesting for the Daulo Open seat in Eastern Highlands Province.

Ghate told those gathered at Koromeka Village that he is happy to defend his leadership but echoed to voters to screen all candidates during campaign and vote a leader who can deliver tangible services to people in Daulo.

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