THE Governor for Central Province, Rufina Peter recently witnessed the swearing-in of the newly appointed board members of the Central Provincial Land Board.
The swearing in of the board members marks a significant milestone in the administration, development and governance of Land in Central Province.
The Central Provincial Land Board is headed by Paul Sai as the Deputy Chairman, with Members, Ruben Kaiulo, Anna Bais, Elliot Mark and John Orea. They were sworn in by Central Provincial Senior Magistrate Alex Kalandi.
The five (5) newly appointed Board members will deliberate and make decisions on state leases application, including other responsibilities pertaining to land in Central Province.
Lands Minister, John Rosso speaking to Central Governor, Rufina Peter in the presence of the newly sworn in Central Provincial Land Board.
In congratulating the newly appointed board members, the Governor said Central Province has a lot of land issues that must be addressed.
“The issues that my province faced within the land functions include the common illegal land grabbing, and provincial boundaries between Central province and NCD, and more recently between Gulf and Central province,” the Governor said.
She also challenged the board members to uphold the principles of transparency, impartiality and accountability.
“Your role as members is to ensure land resources are allocated in a fair and equitable manner, protecting the rights of our people, and promoting sustainable land use and practices,” she said.
Also there to witness the swearing in was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning John Rosso, the executive management team from the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, and members of the Central Provincial Executive Council.
Deputy Prime Minister Rosso said: “A land board that can better manage and administer the affairs of land in Central Province is critical to the development of the province.”
Minister Rosso added that a highly technical Lands division in the province is also critical to ensure better framework are in place for the board members to deliberate and make their decisions.
Deputy Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning, Customary Lands, Mr. Lazarus Malesa in his remarks, gave his assurance that the department stands ready to work with the board to address land issues in Central province.
Deputy Secretary Malesa said: “Land Grabbing and other land related issues in central province, is a result of a lack of effective communication between the Department of Lands and Physical Planning, and the Central Provincial Government.
“Going forward, we must work hand in hand to manage customary land and other state land in central province.” Malesa said.
TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during a nighttime training flight after possibly colliding with each other, the country’s defense minister said Sunday. One crew member who had been recovered from the waters was later pronounced dead, while rescuers searched for seven others who were still missing.
The two SH-60K choppers from the Maritime Self-Defense Force were carrying four crew each and lost contact late Saturday near Torishima island about 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Tokyo, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but officials believe the two helicopters “highly likely” collided with each other before crashing into the water, Kihara said.
He added his ministry will suspend training flights for all SH-60s for now.
The navy chief of staff, Adm. Ryo Sakai, said the trainings will be suspended until the accident’s cause is determined and preventive measures are adopted.
Rescuers have recovered a flight data recorder, a blade from each helicopter, and fragments believed to be from both choppers in the same area, signs that the two SH-60Ks were flying close to each other, Kihara said. Officials will analyze the flight data to try to determine what led to the crash.
Search and rescue efforts for the missing crew were expanded Sunday, with the MSDF and Air Self-Defense Force together deploying 12 warships and seven aircraft. Japan Coast Guard patrol boats and aircraft also joined the operation.
The helicopters, twin-engine, multi-mission aircraft developed by Sikorsky and known as Seahawks, were modified and produced in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They were on nighttime anti-submarine training in the waters, Kihara said. One lost contact at 10:38 p.m. (1338 GMT) and sent an automatic emergency signal a minute later. They lost contact about 270 kilometers (150 nautical miles) east of Torishima island.
Only one distress call was heard — another sign the two helicopters were near the same place, because their signals use the same frequency and could not be differentiated, Kihara said.
One helicopter belonged to an air base in Nagasaki, and the other to a base in Tokushima prefecture.
The SH-60K aircraft is usually deployed on destroyers for anti-submarine warfare, but is also used for search and rescue and other missions. Japan has about 70 of the modified helicopters.
Saturday’s training only involved the Japanese navy and was not part of a multinational exercise, defense officials said. They said no foreign aircraft or warships were spotted in the area.
Japan, under its 2022 security strategy, has been accelerating its military buildup and fortifying deterrence in the southwestern Japanese islands in the Pacific and East China Sea to counter threats from China’s increasingly assertive military activities. Japan in recent years has conducted its own extensive naval exercises as well as joint drills with its ally the United States and other partners.
The navy chief of staff said Saturday’s training was part of routine anti-submarine warfare drills involving MSDF warships, submarines and Seahawks.
The crash comes a year after a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60 Blackhawk crashed off the southwestern Japanese island of Miyako, due to an engine output problem known as “rollback,” leaving all 10 crew members dead, which shocked the nation. In 2017, a Japanese navy SH-60J, an earlier generation Seahawk, crashed during a nighttime flight training off Aomori due to human error.
Saturday’s crash and possible collision also recalled a July 2021 nighttime training off the southern island of Amamioshima, where two SH-60s had a minor collision, both suffering blade damage, but causing no injuries.
Following that collision, the MSDF introduced a set of preventive measures. Sakai said Saturday’s crash could have been prevented if all those measures were adequately followed.
In the U.S., a fatal crash of a MH-60S Seahawk during training off California in 2021 was attributed to mechanical failure from unsuspected damage during maintenance, according to the Navy.
Japan’s NHK public television said no weather advisories were issued in the area at the time of Saturday’s crash.
HONG KONG (AP) — Apple said it had removed Meta’s WhatsApp messaging app and its Threads social media app from the App Store in China to comply with orders from Chinese authorities.
The apps were removed from the store on Friday after Chinese officials cited unspecified national security concerns.
Their removal comes amid elevated tensions between the U.S. and China over trade, technology and national security.
The U.S. has threatened to ban TikTok over national security concerns. But while TikTok, owned by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, is used by millions in the U.S., apps like WhatsApp and Threads are not commonly used in China.
Instead, the messaging app WeChat, owned by Chinese company Tencent, reigns supreme.
Other Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger remained available for download, although use of such foreign apps is blocked in China due to its “Great Firewall” network of filters that restrict use of foreign websites such as Google and Facebook.
“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” Apple said in a statement.
“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple said. A spokesman for Meta referred to “Apple for comment.”
Apple, previously the world’s top smartphone maker, recently lost the top spot to Korean rival Samsung Electronics. The U.S. firm has run into headwinds in China, one of its top three markets, with sales slumping after Chinese government agencies and employees of state-owned companies were ordered not to bring Apple devices to work.
Apple has been diversifying its manufacturing bases outside China.
Its CEO Tim Cook has been visiting Southeast Asia this week, traveling to Hanoi and Jakarta before wrapping up his travels in Singapore. On Friday he met with Singapore’s deputy prime minister, Lawrence Wong, where they “discussed the partnership between Singapore and Apple, and Apple’s continued commitment to doing business in Singapore.”
Apple pledged to invest over $250 million to expand its campus in the city-state.
Earlier this week, Cook met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, pledging to increase spending on Vietnamese suppliers.
He also met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Cook later told reporters that they talked about Widodo’s desire to promote manufacturing in Indonesia, and said that this was something that Apple would “look at”.
THE International Organization for Migration or IOM has delivered rainwater catchment installation materials to the Kumbal Community in Jiwaka province.
These materials were generously funded by the United States Agency for International Development Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID-BHA), and was welcomed by the Kumbal community, located at the border of Simbu and Jiwaka provinces, and home to approximately 10,000 people from six council wards.
With the population in the area, the accessibility of water has been an issue, especially for women, children, and the elderly, which has resulted in the collection of drinking water from the muddy Waghi river and nearby creeks.
IOM’s interventions will alleviate water scarcity, and provide quality water, which is very much needed by these communities.
Jiwaka Provincial Disaster Coordinator, John Kupul, acknowledged USAID’s funding assistance, and thanked IOM for being an active partner working closely with his Jiwaka Provincial Administration to improve the resilience of local communities.
“All thanks to the people of America through USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance for this critical assistance to improve community access to safe drinking water. This has been a need for the people of Kumbal,” said Kambiye Tolak, the Councillor for Kumbal Ward 2.
MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities closed an airport and residents left homes near an erupting volcano Thursday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami.
Mount Ruang on the northern side of Sulawesi Island had at least five large eruptions Wednesday, causing the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation to issue its highest-level alert, indicating an active eruption.
The crater emitted white-gray smoke continuously during the day Thursday, reaching more than 500 meters (1,600 feet) above the peak.
People have been ordered to stay at least 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the 725-meter (2,378 foot) mountain. More than 11,000 people live in the affected area and were told to leave. At least 800 have done so.
An international airport in Manado city was temporarily closed Thursday as volcanic ash was spewed into the air.
“We have to close flight operations at Sam Ratulangi Airport due to the spread of volcanic ash, which could endanger flight safety,” said Ambar Suryoko, head of the regional airport authority.
Eruptions Wednesday evening spewed volcanic ash approximately 70,000 feet into the atmosphere, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. The bureau said in a statement Thursday it was tracking and forecasting the ash dispersion.
Indonesia’s volcanology center noted the risks from the volcanic eruption include the possibility that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami. In December 2018, Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano island erupted and collapsed, losing around 3/4 its volume and triggering a powerful tsunami that killed more than 400 people. An 1871 eruption at Mount Ruang also triggered a tsunami.
Tagulandang Island, east of the Ruang volcano, could be at risk if a collapse occurred. Its residents were among those being told to evacuate.
“People who live in the Tagulandang Island area and are within a 6-kilometer radius must be immediately evacuated to a safe place outside the 6-kilometer radius,” Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said Thursday.
“And especially those who live near the coast should be aware of the potential for incandescent rocks to erupt, hot clouds and tsunami waves that could be triggered by the collapse of a volcanic body into the sea.”
The agency said residents will be relocated to Manado, the nearest city, on Sulawesi island — a six-hour journey by boat.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.
By GRACEY WAKARY and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press & AP writer Rod McGuirk contributed from Sydney.
The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands has recently gone on a home-building spree, constructing eight valuable new houses in and around the capital city of Honiara.
KEY POINTS:
Despite earning a modest salary, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has in recent years rapidly expanded his real estate holdings, building at least eight new houses on three sites in and around Honiara.
Real estate experts said the houses would have cost at least $1.7 million to build, and perhaps as much as $3.2 million.
Financial experts said the value of the houses appears out of proportion with Sogavare’s known income. Some of the construction appears to have been funded by three separate mortgages granted on a single day in 2018, worth a total of over 7 million Solomon Islands dollars (over $900,000). Financial experts said Sogavare’s known income at the time was too low to typically be granted such loans — raising questions about how he obtained them.
By Aubrey Belford (OCCRP), Dan McGarry (OCCRP), Ofani Eremae (In-Depth Solomons), Charley Piringi (In-Depth Solomons), Gina Maka’a (In-Depth Solomons), and Ronald Toito’ona (In-Depth Solomons)
Manasseh Sogavare, the four-time prime minister of Solomon Islands, speaks proudly of his humble origins as a school dropout who once earned a living cleaning toilets and making tea for British colonial officials.
The 69-year-old premier is modestly paid by the standard of world leaders, even after he received a 39-percent pay bump this month that raised his annual salary to 428,560 Solomon Islands dollars, or SBD (around US$50,000).
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry/OCCRP]]
That relatively low paycheck, however, hasn’t stopped Sogavare and his wife, Emmy, from securing large loans and massively increasing their real estate wealth over the past several years, an investigation by OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons has found.
The couple have builtat least eight new houses on land they already owned in and around the capital, Honiara, reporters found. The construction costs are estimated to run as high as several million U.S. dollars.
One of the houses, a large, multi-story home in the hillside suburb of Tasahe, serves as the couple’s current residence. Other holdings include what are, by local standards, high-end rental properties in the neighborhoods of Lungga and Henderson, located near the Honiara airport.
[[Credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Altogether, the houses are believed to have cost the Sogavares between SBD 14 million and SBD 26 million ($1.7 million and $3.2 million) to build, according to local property appraisers who reviewed land and mortgage records, satellite images, and drone photos provided by reporters. The estimates do not include additional costs, such as interior furnishings or landscaping.
The value of the properties appears out of proportion with Sogavare’s known earnings. The size and scale of the houses themselves also stand in stark contrast to the living conditions of most Honiara residents, who pay sky-high prices to live in often ramshackle and overcrowded housing.
With Sogavare seeking to secure a fifth prime ministerial term in key elections on April 17, anti-corruption experts say his fast-growing real estate portfolio — as well as the large loans he obtained to finance it — deserves closer scrutiny.
“He needs to explain to the people: Where did he get all this money from?” said Ruth Liloqula, who heads the Solomon Islands chapter of Transparency International.
Sogavare did not respond to questions from OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons.
“On a PM’s Salary? Definitely Not”
Located at the end of a secluded road overlooking the Ironbottom Sound, the Sogavares’ Tasahe home is still not widely known to the public.
The Tasahe property. [[Photo credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
The house is situated on over 1,200 square meters of state land leased by the prime minister and his wife in 2007 but left empty for about a decade. While it’s not clear precisely when construction began, satellite imagery shows that the land went from being completely vacant in early 2017 to containing a completed structure by May 2019.
While the state-owned land it stands on cost relatively little, property valuers estimate the house itself cost between SBD 6 million and 10 million ($720,000 and $1.2 million) to build.
According to neighbors and real estate agents, the home was initially rented out to tenants. Financial records obtained by reporters show that by 2020, the Sogavares were receiving SBD 35,000 ($4,130) a month in rent.
The couple eventually moved into the home themselves after their existing residence — a plot of land in Lungga containing two houses — was damaged after it was targeted in 2021 by rioters opposed to Sogavare’s government. One house was ransacked in the incident; the other was burned to the ground.
When the Sogavares moved to Tasahe, construction crews descended on the Lungga site, demolishing the remaining structures and rapidly building three large new homes in their place.
The three newly constructed homes on the Lungga site. [[Photo Credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
The Sogavares have also built homes at their Henderson property, which contained just one small house when they purchased the land in 2015.
Satellite images and drone photos show the plot being developed in stages, with two large houses erected sometime between early 2017 and early 2019. By April 2020, a third house had appeared, and a fourth smaller structure was added sometime in 2023. All four houses appear to be rental properties.
The Henderson property. [[Photo credit: Aubrey Belford/OCCRP]]
Accustomed to the usually sleepy pace of work in Solomon Islands, neighbors told reporters that they were stunned at the speed with which the new houses were built.
“Those of us living around here were so surprised to see three buildings completed in just less than a year, something a Solomon Islander normally couldn’t do,” said Rose Kairi, who watched the Lungga construction work from her home nearby.
Kairi said she saw trucks driven by what appeared to be Chinese workers drop construction materials at the site. Those carrying out the construction were mostly locals, she said.
Rick Houenipwela, himself a former prime minister who served directly before Sogavare’s most recent term, also lives close to the three new houses in Lungga.
Houenipwela’s own home is a sprawling structure cobbled together from typical local construction materials like gyprock, wood, and concrete blocks. He told reporters his own renovations had taken place at a pace typical of Solomon Islands: in fits and starts.
The Sogavares, he said, appeared to suffer from neither delays nor a shortage of money.
“The machines actually were just stationed there… Sometimes they would have work at night,” Houenipwela said.
“It was really quick by our standards,” he added. “And the standard definitely is high, good work. The material, of course, is of quality standard.”
While prime minister, Houenipwela drew on official income and benefits similar to Sogavare’s. He told reporters he had struggled to pay for his own home improvements, and did not understand how his successor could afford his own far more ambitious construction projects.
“On a PM’s salary? Definitely not.”
A History of Real Estate Controversies
This is not the first time the Sogavares’ real estate dealings have come into question.
In 2007, during Manasseh Sogavare’s second prime ministerial term, the couple raised eyebrows with the original purchase of the Lungga property.
The sale was made with the help of a SBD 2.5 million (about $350,000) mortgage from Australia’s ANZ bank — supported by a letter from the Embassy of Taiwan, in which the country’s government guaranteed that it would rent the property. Sogavare was a staunch ally of Taiwan at the time.
The loan and the Lungga purchase drew criticism from lawmakers, who accused him of exploiting his relationship with a foreign government for personal gain.
Sogavare defended himself, saying: “I do not see any law in this country that says once you become a prime minister you are not allowed to go to the bank and get a loan.”
“Taiwan came and said it is going to have a long term tenancy agreement with us,” he added. “Taiwan wanted to rent those two houses. What is wrong with that?”
Members of parliament, including those within his own governing majority, saw it differently. Sogavare was removed in a vote of no confidence later that year, in part due to the uproar over the land deal.
Another controversy swirled with the purchase of the Henderson land in 2015, after Sogavare had returned to serve a third term as prime minister. He and his wife bought the land, which satellite images at the time showed to contain a small dwelling, for SBD 1.5 million (about $190,000).
Questioned in parliament, Sogavare said he had obtained another loan to purchase the Henderson plot. “I wish I had 1.5 million,” Sogavare said at the time.
Land registry documents typically list all mortgages taken out against a property. However, reporters were unable to find any record there showing that Sogavare took out such a loan for Henderson at the time.
An Expensive Building Boom
While the land-purchase deals drew concerns, it has been the past six years that have seen the most dramatic expansion in the Sogavares’ real estate wealth.
In 2018, Sogavare’s lending relationship with Australia’s ANZ Bank — which had provided the mortgage for the Lungga purchase, as well as other smaller loans — ended for unclear reasons. He moved his business across to the French-owned BRED Bank, which on a single day in 2018 granted the politician and his wife three separate, and much larger mortgages worth SBD 7,161,590 ($916,688).
The loans were secured against the properties the couple had acquired in 2007 and 2015, as well as an older, more modest family home in the neighborhood of Vura.
The Vura property. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry/OCCRP]]
There was just one problem, according to financial experts: The couple likely would not have been able to afford the loans at the time.
Manasseh Sogavare, despite his political longevity, has never served consecutive posts as prime minister in the rough-and-tumble world of Solomon Island politics. At the time BRED agreed to grant him the loans, he was serving as deputy prime minister, earning an annual government salary of just SBD 169,230 (around US$21,000), as well as a housing allowance of up to SBD 240,000 a year (roughly $30,000).
Nor did the couple have any other substantial sources of income. Company registry documents show the Sogavares had no declared business interests at the time.
That would have left the couple far short of the roughly SBD 824,000 (about $104,000) in mortgage repayments they would have owed each year (if calculated according to the central bank’s lending rate at the time, 10.7 percent, and paid out over BRED Solomon’s maximum available term of 25 years.)
Financial experts interviewed by OCCRP and In-Depth Solomons said such a shortfall would normally prompt a bank to turn the Sogavares away.
“Based on Sogavare’s income as deputy PM, it doesn’t look like that he’d be able to service that original loan just on his income alone,” said Matt Fehon, a Sydney-based forensic accountant. “There would have to be other sources.”
By 2019, Manasseh Sogavare had returned to the prime ministerial post for his current fourth term, providing a small boost to his salary. Emmy Sogavare soon launched a cafe business that made a modest income. Financial records show the couple also began renting out their former home in Vura for SBD 11,000 ($1,340) a month.
But even with those gains, the Sogavares’ earnings would still have been swallowed by mortgage payments.
[[Photo credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Fehon said BRED Bank may have given the Sogavares a reduced interest rate or allowed them to defer repayments while they built their rental properties. The Sogavares may have also had a third party guaranteeing their loan, he said.
But such special treatment would be risky, and most international banks would have avoided issuing the loans altogether, Fehon said.
“The fact that the individuals are politically exposed persons, you’d want to do additional due diligence,” he said.
“The bank would need to look at the source of those funds, any additional funds, and make sufficient inquiries to satisfy themselves that they’re not illegal payments,” he said.
Such questions are more urgent given Sogavare’s past admission that he received a loan guarantee from Taiwan. While he was previously a staunch advocate of the self-governing island’s interests, he dramatically reversed course in his latest term by switching Solomon Islands’ diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China and signing a secretive security deal with Beijing.
The move has rattled the West and spurred an uptick in Chinese investment in Solomon Islands. China’s government also makes controversial payments known as “constituency development funds” to both Sogavare and his allies in parliament. The 2021 riots that damaged the couple’s Lungga property was driven in part by public anger over Sogavare’s switch in allegiance from Taiwan to China.
Graffiti on a building being reconstructed following the 2021 Honiara riots. [[Photo credit: Dan McGarry]]
Anti-corruption experts say that both Sogavare and BRED Bank should be transparent about how the loans were secured.
“Based on what you’ve outlined by way of the valuations, and his earning capacity, it appears he’s got a large loan and undertaken an expensive construction project that’s beyond his means,” forensic accountant Fehon said.
BRED Bank declined to comment.
“We are not allowed to comment on confidential information regarding our clients,” bank spokeswoman Leila Salimi said.
Making Up the Difference
While questions remain about the Sogavares’ ability to repay the mortgages, property valuers say the loans would not even have been enough to cover the ambitious construction spree the couple would soon embark on.
If estimates from local land valuers on the cost of construction are correct, the roughly SBD 7 million from BRED would cover only half, or even less, of the total construction costs.
[[Photo credit: Edin Pašović/OCCRP]]
Reporters were unable to find any indication on public land documents showing fresh loans to help cover the construction of the three recently constructed Lungga homes, which according to valuers’ estimates, likely cost a total of SBD 4 million to SBD 8 million (about $470,000 to $940,000) to build.
However, part of the cost appears to have been covered by an insurance payout of SBD 2 million (around $235,000), according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.
And even though the Sogavares may have lacked the initial funds to pay for their construction and loans, that would no longer be the case. With the homes complete, they can now bring in a handsome rental income that far outstrips the prime minister’s official salary.
Neighbors and real estate agents told reporters that at least some of the couple’s new homes in Lungga and Henderson are currently being rented out. Reporters were unable to learn how much these tenants are paying, but financial records from the previous rentals of two houses owned by the Sogavares, as well as estimates from local real estate agents, suggest that the couple could be earning well over SBD 100,000 ($11,800) a month in rent.
The Divine Word University or DWU Rabaul Campus officially opened a two-story administration building at the Kabaleo Teachers College in Kokopo District on Friday (5 April) 2024.
The building is named after the late Archbishop Karl Hesse, and replaces the old building that was burnt down in 2010.
Speaking at the occasion, DWU Rabaul Campus Vice President, Professor Francis Hombhanje said the national government financed the building at a cost of K2.2 million and had been constructed by Kanda Construction Limited.
“St Mary’s Vunapope School of Nursing is now a department of nursing under the faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and is no longer school of nursing.
“OLSH Kabaleo Teachers college is now a department of Primary Teachers Education under the faculty of Education and is no longer Kabaleo Teachers college,” said Prof Hombhanje.
The DWU Rabaul Campus consists of two faculties; the faculty of Education and the faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences and has been developing new infrastructures slowly but steadily.
Delivering the speech for the Minister of Department of Higher Education, Research, Science, Technology & Sports (DHESRSTS) Don Polye, was Principal Data Analyst Franklyn Kulukal who said that true power emanates from one’s ability to learn from their mistakes and emerge stronger and wiser.
“I extend a challenge to this great institution to expand our offerings to encompass Early Childhood Education and Secondary Education. Also extending into the highest echelons of academia like Masters and PhDs. I also call on the DWU nursing program to diversify our programs into specialized branches such as pediatric nursing, critical care nursing, mental health nursing, community health nursing, obstetric & gynecological nursing and geriatric nursing,” said Ms. Kulukal.
The expansion will cater for evolving needs in health care and ensure that nurses are fully equipped and specialized with the necessary skills they need.
She further commended the leadership of Prof Hombhanje for the transformation from ashes into a magnificent building, adding that the structure stands as a testament of his exemplary leadership.
Deputy Provincial Member Boniface Gerep said that the DWU Rabaul campus has shown it’s potential by extending it’s infrastructures as it advances it’s status to be one of the leading institutions in the province and country.
“The ENB Provincial Government is embarking on improving all our existing secondary schools to meet the standards,” said Mr. Gerep.
ENB Education Planner Wilson Kairat said that the provincial administration will continue to support the institution to make sure students are given the best so they can go out and serve the people.
An estimated 18 new HIV infections per day (approximately 6500 in 2022) is PNG’s current statistics. This represents a 131 percent increase since 2010.
Around 800 new HIV infections occur annually among infants born to HIV positive mothers, equivalent to 2 infections per day in 2022.
The total number of people living with the virus stands at 72,000 in 2022 translating to 1% percent prevalence nationally among adults aged 15 – 49. This level is the highest in the past 12 years. UNAids reports that all 22 provinces recorded HIV infections with most showing an upward trend.
Most new infections result from sexual transmission due to multiple unprotected sexual encounters.
On the occasion of World TB Day, Sunday 24th March 2024, Civil Society Organizations also called for action in consultation with the government and media to prevent the spread of the virus.
CSO representatives taking questions from the media.
Speaking at media networking event on Wednesday 27th March, organized by Media Development Initiative, a PNG-Australia partnership, UNAids Country Director Maoela Manova said there is a critical need for immediate action to address the HIV epidemic in the country.
UNAIDS Country Director Maoela Manova
While Tuberculosis is preventable, it is closely related to HIV infections thus in PNG, TB remains a major health issue causing nearly a thousand deaths among people living with HIV.
An estimated 44,000 people fell ill with TB in PNG alone in 2022.
In her statement, Mrs Manova said while there is a decline globally in HIV infections, PNG is seeing the opposite. Globally the number of new infections has dropped by 59 percent from 2.1 million in 2010 to just 1.3 million in 2022, this progress in a testament to decades of knowledge and evidence-based prevention strategies worldwide.
Jonathan Wala – KPAC Rep
Other key partners in the fight against HIV/Aids are amplifying the messages of awareness on testing and stigma and discrimination and treatment through Antiretroviral Therapy.
Two such groups are Catholic Church Health Services {CCHS} and Key Population Advocacy Consortium PNG [KPAC]. CCHS has over 200 Health Facilities and 1,600 staff spread across 21 provinces. Meanwhile KPAC advocates for human rights of key populations to reduce stigma and discrimination and also advocates for legal and policy reforms as part of its mission.
Graham Apian – CCHS Director Projects
These CSOs agree that PNG’s HIV status can be contained through awareness and the treatment of ARV drugs. A major part of collaborative work by Civil Society Organizations is getting people to know their status through testing. Antiretroviral Treatment is also free and available in most health centers.
Steady progress have been made during the Easter period to free-up the mega landslip that covered the length of 100 meters of Sikola section of Gumine road in Simbu province.
Gumine deputy district administrator John Gull said he was happy for the united stand taken by leaders and community to have the Sikola section cleared.
“We have a coordinated effort here with our political leaders, the provincial and district administrations, civil organisations, the Australia and PNG Defence Force joint operation, and the communities,” Gull said.
Supervisors on site, said clearance was made to the epi-center, about 50 meters, where debris as high as 20 meters covered three houses and buried 10 people including a pregnant mother on 12th March.
Earthmoving machines at work, two excavators, a dump truck with a grader is currently deployed to remove the debris at Sikola landslip.
“Once the clearance is made, the 30 kilometers road restoration program will begin at Sikola,” Gull said
Simbu Governor, Noah Kool rallied together K3.3 million and the provincial administration had taken charge of the disaster relief and restoration efforts in the province since March 13.
Gumine MP and Minister for Education Lucas Dawa Dekena, also provided K5 million in support of the restoration program in the district.
He said the relatives of the 10 people buried in the landslide allowed work to progress on the landslip area, and the workmen are working hard to clear up the debris..
Gumine is one of several areas worst affected with the main roadlink cut off to an estimated 50,000 population with another 50,000 people in Salt-Nomane sub-district of Karamui, and Mt Au in Jiwaka province.
Gull said for Gumine the priority is to make the road that is battered, butchered, and pasted with debris along 50 different sections of Gumine road cleared.
Meanwhile, the Civil Engineer to Gumine Works Unit, Ali Junior Kee said work is progressing well to remove the debris from the road.
“We are mobilising equipment from other places to beef our fleet of earthmoving machines to clear up the road starting from Sikola – Wara Sua, to Olegain, and from Gaima ringroad to Onule.
“Hopefully by this week, we will start work into Gumine,” said Junior Kee.
Mr. Ali Junior Kee (third from left) and Mr. John Gull (green shirt, center) surrounded by community leaders at Sikola where the landslip debris removal work is in progress. These men are on site to supervise the work since March 20th when work started.
A disturbing video has emerged on social media, and going viral depicting the brutal torture and eventual death of a West Papuan man at the hands of his captors. The victim, whose crime remains unknown, was brutally beaten while bound and confined within a 44-gallon drum, leaving him with no chance of escape from his tragic fate.
Frank Makanuey, a Papua New Guinean citizen of West Papuan descent, has voiced his outrage and concern over the treatment of indigenous people by Indonesian soldiers.
He highlights that this atrocity and incident is in violation of the New York Agreement, an agreement signed over 69 years ago in secrecy between the US, the Netherlands, and Indonesia, paving the way for the occupation of West Papua in 1963. Makanuey said the original intent and purpose of the New York Agreement is not to exact human rights abuses.
Frank Makanuey
Mr. Makanuey condemns this barbaric act as a crime against humanity, yet laments the world’s indifference towards the atrocities faced by the indigenous population of West Papua in their struggle for freedom.
The footage, showing Indonesian soldiers inhumanely assaulting an unarmed man trapped in a drum, serves as a damning indictment of the ongoing crimes against humanity in the region.
Blurred video shows the barbaric torture of the man by Indonesian soldiers.
Since the implementation of the New York Agreement and Indonesia’s prolonged dominion and occupation over West Papua, countless such atrocities have unfolded, claiming the lives of thousands of indigenous Melanesian individuals.
Mr. Makanuey said further that crimes against humanity have long been outlawed by the United Nations, following the atrocities of World War II.
He calls for an immediate cessation of aggression against the indigenous people of West Papua, asserting that their right to self-determination supersedes Indonesia’s domestic affairs and warrants intervention by the United Nations.
As a respected West Papuan community leader, Mr. Makanuey urges the United Nations General Assembly to take decisive action and grant independence to the Melanesian people of West Papua, in accordance with its Human Rights Charter that was ratified in 1948.
![Graffiti on a building being reconstructed following the 2021 Honiara riots.[[Photo credit: Dan McGarry]]](https://i0.wp.com/insidepng.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Graffiti-on-a-building-in-Honiara.png?resize=770%2C508&ssl=1)
