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KPHL SUPPORTS SEZ SUMMIT

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Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (KPHL) has fulfilled its commitment to be the Gold sponsor of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) summit which will be hosted in the country.

KPHL Managing Director Wapu Sonk recently presented a cheque of K100 000 to International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru to show their support.

The inaugural SEZ summit in PNG is a platform to discuss policy gaps, opportunities for investors, the types of economic zones and the services or infrastructures needed in those economic zones.

The Managing Director said KPHL is committed to assist the government in its establishment of SEZs, through power generation solutions.

“Kumul Petroleum will play a role in providing energy. It will be a mix of energy sources, it can be hydro, solar, gas fired power stations or bio fuel, depending on where the economic zones are.

“It’s not only Kumul Petroleum investing in energy, but we will bring in partners to work with us in the different energy opportunities that exist, to support these economic zones.” The Managing Director said.

International Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru thanked the KPHL Board for this support, saying it is a timely boost, and it is a statement to consolidate this partnership going forward.

Minister Maru said the easiest economic zones are those that have roads, wharves, state land and other infrastructures in place, however the biggest issue is energy source.

“The government cannot continue to burn Diesel fuel which is expensive and also pollutes the environment, so we are looking to KPHL to provide a green solution, and it must be cheaper,” the minister said.

He said the cheaper cost of power can be passed onto users and consumers in the private sector, who will also produce goods and compete in the global market.

KPHL being the Gold sponsor of the summit, will be given a slot to speak on their plans and vision to provide clean and cheap energy to all special economic zones, including an information booth during the summit.

The Special Economic Zone Summit will be hosted in Port Moresby, from May 8 – 9, 2023.

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CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS COMMISSIONED TWO MULTI-MILLION KINA COMPLEX

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Performers, Support Staff, and Officers of the National Performing Art Troupe (NPAT) and National Film Institute (NFI) recently witnessed the commissioning of two multi-million-kina building; a Duplex Office building for NPAT and a staff accommodation building for NFI staff.

The new NPAT Double story office complex and NFI Staff accommodation building was officially commissioned by the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Hon. Isi Henry Leonard earlier this month.

There to witness was National Planning and Monitoring Secretary Konney Samuel, National Cultural Commission (NCC) Executive Director Steven Kilanda and other dignitaries.

When commission the buildings, Tourism, Art and Culture Minister Isi Henry Leonard said, culture is our greatest treasure, and it is our responsibility to preserve, protect, develop, promote and safeguard our indigenous cultures.

“We must continue to support these cultural institutions, as they play a vital role to help preserve, protect, develop, safeguard and promote our cultures by working with people at the community and grassroots level,” The minister said.

National Cultural Commission executive director Steven Kilanda, acknowledge and thanked all stake holders for their continuous support in ensuring these important infrastructures are completed.

“We are also inviting the Eastern Highlands Provincial Government and its administration to partner with the Cultural Institutions to help develop and deliver cultural services to the people,” Kilanda said.

NPAT or Formally known as the Raunraun Theatre has been operating out of Eastern Highlands Province for many years.

Director Michael Doa said for forty years, they were operating out of a container office.

“I am now happy that the staff and management of National Performing Art Troupe will be housed in a brand-new double story office complex,” Doa said.

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 EDEVU HYDROPOWER DAM OPENS

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The Edevu Hydropower project in the Hiri Koiari District of Central Province was officially launched by Prime Minister James Marape Last Friday.

The Edevu Hydro Power project is located at the head waters of Brown River, and apart from Rauna in Sogeri, this is the second hydro power project in central province, and both in the same district.

There with the Prime Minister was Central Governor Rufina Peter, Hiri Koiari MP Keith Iduhu, including State Ministers, Landowners and stake holders.

The commissioning of the reservoir impoundment signifies an important milestone for the project.

This means, the dams will now be filled with water, for power generation and distribution.

Initial negotiations on the project began in 2009, and it has taken over 14 years to get to this stage.

The hydro power project is expected to produce over 54 megawatts of power, which will cater for NCD and Central province, including parts of Gulf and Milne Bay provinces.

It is a private investment between the Koiari Land Owners and Chinese Investor, PNG Hydro Development Limited, built at a cost of over K650 million kina.

According to Prime Minister James Marape, the PNG government is supporting the project, by way of K120 million for transmission lines from Edevu to Port Moresby which is already under construction.

“We are a nation in pursuit of development in the power sector, we want 70 percent of our country – by 2030 – to have accessibility to cheap, reliable and green energy to our country” PM Marape said.

Speaking on the occasion Central Province Governor Rufina Peter, welcomed the project and raised concerns on equal land owner participation.

She said over the years land owners of Sirinumu dam in Sogeri, have not been compensated well, and land owners of Edevu must be better captured and considered in benefit sharing agreements.

“We must not ignore the land owners and the provincial government in participating in critical activities, including benefit sharing,” the governor said.

State Enterprise Minister William Duma further assured the people that the government has given directions for better benefit sharing packages for land owners at Sirinumu.

He said the government will continue to work together with investors and land owners to ensure there are opportunities for all to participate.

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TISA Community Finance Supports SME Breakfast

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TISA Community Finance has been announced as the Naming Rights Sponsor for the PNG SME Breakfast, which will be held later this year.

TISA Community Finance CEO Sunil Pokharel last Thursday, presented a cheque of K300,000 to the organizers of SME Breakfast, to be the naming rights sponsor.

The CEO said TISA Community Finance is committed to working with the government and all partners to grow SMEs in the country, and they are excited to support this program.

“The good thing is we are going to have a digital learning platform and that is going to be a game changer.

“We strongly believe TCF which will be TISA bank in the future, that the technology we are investing in is a competent digital platform, especially targeting the SME sector.” The TCF CEO said.

There to receive the dummy cheque was the Chairman of SME Corporation, John Pora and Strategic Communications Ltd Managing Director Andrew Runawery.

Mr Runawery said the SME Business Breakfast which started in 2019, is now into its 5th year.

“It commenced in 2019, on 27th of June which was marked Internationally as the day to observe and recognize micro small to medium enterprises, and how they contribute to the economy,” Runawery said.

The SME Business Breakfast is an informative event, where critical issues affecting SME’s are discussed.

It also includes workshops and exhibitions where SME’s showcase their products and services.

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SAMARAI MURUA SONG AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

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Samarai Murua District in Milne Bay province will be hosting a Music, Song and Dance Festival later this month.

The Festival was officially launched by Samarai Murua MP Isi Henry Leonard in Port Moresby last week.

The Music, Song and Dance festival is aimed at promoting culture and tourism in the District.

The Samarai Murua MP, who is also the Minister for Tourism Arts and Culture, said preparations are underway, at the District headquarters on Misima Island.

“It is a way forward to promoting our tourism programs, and at the same time give recognition to our culture, ourselves and our identity,” the local MP said.

The MP further added that Samarai Murua is a culturally diverse District, and this is an opportunity for the people to unite, showcase and express their identity through music, song and dance.

National Cultural Commission Executive Director Steven Kilanda who was there at the Launching presented K10 000 to support this festival.

He said festivals are an important tool, to preserve culture.

“We appeal to Provincial governments and district development authorities to partner with us, so that we host festivals to keep our culture alive” Kilanda said.

The Samarai Murua Music, Song and Dance Festival will see various singsing groups, string band groups, choir groups and dance groups from the district all gathered to showcase their culture and expose their talents.

They are also inviting experience groups from outside to participate in the festival.

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NEW PORGERA AGREEMENT

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The Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Barrick Niugini Limited and New Porgera Limited has signed an agreement to progress with the operations of the mine.

The New Porgera Progress Agreement signed on Friday confirms that all parties are committed to reopening the mine at the earliest opportunity.

The signing ceremony at the government house was witnessed by Prime Minister James Marape, Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso, Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow, ministers of the state, and other stake holders.

After the signing Ceremony, Prime Minister James Marape addressed the media, saying this is a huge step closer to the reopening of the Porgera mine.

The Prime Minster further shared his appreciation to the State Negotiation Team and all stake holders for their patience, and hard work behind the scene, which allowed them to go through the due processes.

Marape said there has been a lot of delay in the processes, however these are all steps to ensure the new porgera is a fruitful venture.

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow further explained that the next steps are to transfer the exploration license from old Porgera to new Porgera, and make the application for the special Mining license, and that will open the doors to starting up the mine.

“We have a number of people to employ between now and the startup. We have started, and we will continue to employ people.” Bristow said.

He said they are committed to start producing gold within this year.

The CEO also appealed to the people of Porgera to end all violence and work together for a better place in Enga province.

Under the New Porgera agreement, economic benefits will be shared 53% by the PNG stakeholders and 47% by Barrick Niugini Limited.

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More Focus on GBV and SARV

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GBV/SARV Workshop

by Harlyne Joku – Freelance Journalist

Hot spot areas of Gender Based Violence and Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence (GBV and SARV) especially in the highlands and other remote areas need more focus according to the Secretary for Community Development and Religion, Jerry Ubase .

Participants and speakers at GBV/SARV Workshop hosted at Gateway hotel, Port Moresby.
GBV/SARV Workshop hosted at Gateway hotel

Secretary Ubase made the remarks this morning (Wednesday 29th March) at the opening of the two-day GBV/SARV workshop held at the Gateway Hotel.

Mr Ubase welcomed participants of the workshop comprising of 13 Civil Society Organizations who are recipients of grants that help them carry crisis response and recovery services for the victims of GBV/SARV and urged them to do more.

“We need to do more; we need to extend the support further. We need to cover the wider areas of PNG especially the hot spot areas in the highlands.

“The government system has gone down to the provinces so we should not be pointing fingers to each other who is responsible to carry out tasks, we are all paid to serve our people,” Secretary Ubase said.

UNDP Gender Team Leader, Chelsea Magini speaking at the GBV/SARV Workshop in Port Moresby
UNDP Gender Team Leader, Chelsea Magini

UNDP Gender Team Leader, Chelsea Magini supported Secretary’s remarks saying she is happy to hear of the work or the CSOs done so far in the community level where the national and provincial governments cannot reach.

In 2022 the National Government allocated PGK7.93 million to address GBV, the biggest budget allocated to address GBV and SARV in PNG’s history.

On the 9th December 2022, the Department for Community Development and Religion (DFCDR) awarded 13 grants to civil society organizations.

The grants were jointly funded through the DFCDR and UNDP through the European Union Spotlight initiative on Eliminating Violence Against Women and Children.

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Hunters lose to Tigers in first home game of 2023 season

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The SP PNG Hunters were handed their first loss of the 2023 Hotplus Cup season in front of their home crowd at the Santos National Football Stadium on Saturday.

Hunters took an early lead 20 minutes into the match but were playing catchup towards the back-end of the game.

In a similar fashion to last weekend’s clash against the Souths Logan Magpies, the Hunters fell short in their try conversions.

Despite having scored seven tries on the day, they managed only four out of seven kick conversions.

Their opponents, the Brisbane Tigers, managed six tries and converted five out of six while an additional two penalty conversions helped them to a 38-36 victory against the Hunters.

It was a valiant effort at best.

Despite the high scoring match, Hunters started with 12 men in the opening 12 minutes after a sin bin to Sherwin Tanabi; and towards the end of the first half, Sakias Komati was given 10 minutes in the sin bin.

Both men penalized for a professional foul.

The Hunters scored first in the 5th minute through Solo Wane, but a missed conversion by Sakias Komati held the hunters at 4-0.

The Brisbane Tigers replied through a four pointer from Brayden Torpy, a successful kick conversion got the tigers in front 6-4.

The Hunters snatched back the lead in the 18th minute through fullback Morea Morea his conversion from the kick stretched their lead to 10-6.

Two more tries to Brandon Nima and Julius Yakopa and a failed conversion by Morea Morea left the scores at 18-6 in favor of the Hunters.

Tigers Max Lehmann scored in the 34th minute, a successful conversion bought the score to 18-12 Tigers,.

Tristan Hope’s converted try in the 37th minute tied the score at 18-18 before a Tigers penalty conversion took the lead from the Hunters 20-18 in to the half time break.

Both teams took charge in the second half exchanging tries at each end of the field. George Jennings opened the scoring in the second half for the Tigers with an unconverted try for a 24-18 lead.

Morea Morea scored his second try in the 51st minute this time a successful conversion by Morea leveling the scores at 24 all.

Max Lehmann scored his second converted try and the Tigers again took the lead 30-24 in the 64th minute.

A converted try by Captain Ila Alu in the 68th minute once again levelled the scores 30-30.

Max Lehmann with his hat trick converted try in the 71st minute snatched back the lead for the Tigers 36-30, a penalty conversation by Tristan Hope in the 76th minute extended the teams lead to 38-30.

With just over a minute to go before full time Morea Morea unleashed another individual brilliant effort, breaking through unscathed for the hunters final try; his hat trick met with a standing ovation but despite his kick conversion the team fell short by two points ending the match 38-36.

The Hunters going down 38-36 to the Brisbane Tigers.

In his post match interview, Hunters Coach Stanley Tepend, described the match as high scoring however, admitting that the hunters had a problem one the defense and conversions.

“It was a high scoring match but the Hunters managed to play right through to the end, but we still have a lot of work to do we still need to tighten up in defense and discipline as well.

“We played with 12 men in the first half and towards the second half; we have a bye next week and we can regroup, but I will bring the loss down to discipline, we are playing well, we were looking sharp but we need to tidy up our discipline,” Tepend said.

Depite an early awareness by supporters on the shorfalls in goal kicking, Tepend says his goal kickers need more practice.

“Goal kicking and errors, we need to spend more time on it in training, we have been scoring tries enough for a win but we need to work on our discipline,” Tepend said.

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TKATCHENKO KEEN ON SOUTH EAST ASIA TIES

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Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Events Hon. Justin Tkatchenko MP
departed the country today in a bid to encourage stronger diplomatic
relationships for Papua New Guinea between three South East Asian countries
of Indonesia, Malaysia and China.

Picture Courtesy of the Office of The Minister for Foreign Affairs & National Events

Minister Tkatchenko who led a delegation of five officials will travel to Jakarta
where he will meet his Indonesian Counterpart Hon. Retno Marsudi over a
period of 3 days to focus on key bilateral issues affecting both countries.
“In the last couple of weeks, we have passed the Basic Border Agreement
(BBA) in Parliament which opens the way now for a full review for all parties
to come on board and review the BBA.”
“This agreement enables us to talk about our boundaries, trade, traditions and
culture and our people “and review a long outstanding border agreement that
would now be reviewed.”
“This includes those members that are on the borders, including the defence and
police to enable a common understanding with our border of West Papua,
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea,”
Minister Tkatchenko said this was long overdue.
“As we have stated very clearly, Indonesia is a sovereign country and we
respect this nation.”

Picture Courtesy of the Office of The Minister for Foreign Affairs & National Events

“If there are any issues that Indonesia wants us to be involved especially with
West Papua, we are more than happy to support and assist.”
“We look forward to that open dialogue on West Papua with the Foreign
Minister Marsudi.”
“We have officially passed the reciprocal visa arrangements between Papua
New Guinea and Indonesia, those with a diplomatic passport or official passport
will get visa on arrival here in PNG and also in Indonesia.”
Minister Tkatchenko said another very important matter is the Defence
Cooperation Agreement between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
This has been approved by the National Executive Council that allows both the
Papua New Guinea Defence Force and Indonesian Defence Force to strengthen
their ties and their cooperation in areas of mutual security concerns.
The three-day visit to Indonesia will also capture initial coordination plans of
the official visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo in June this year.
“Straight after Indonesia I travel to Malaysia to meet the new Foreign Minister
and their new government as well.”
“We will strengthen our ties with Malaysia as they are big economic and trading
partner to PNG.” Minister Tkatchenko said.

Picture Courtesy of the Office of The Minister for Foreign Affairs & National Events
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HON. TKATCHENKO ON
OFFICIAL TRIP TO CHINA

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Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Events Hon. Justin Tkatchenko MP
will make an Official Visit to China upon the invitation of the Government of
The People’s Republic of China.

Addressing the media today before his departure, Minister Tkatchenko said he
will be meeting with recently appointed Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang
and will also attend the 2023 Annual Conference of The Boao Forum for Asia.
Minister Tkatchenko said his Chinese counterpart was previously the chief of
protocol for the President of China and had already visited Papua New Guinea
on more than one occasion.
“He is now the foreign minister and I look forward in working with him for our
relationship between China and Papua New Guinea.”
“We will be discussing our bilateral relationship, working relationship going
forward.”
“We will be discussing our economic importance between Papua New Guinea
and China.”
“China being one of our biggest trading partners to Papua New Guinea and also
people to people arrangements, infrastructure, education, health and
development, we will be holding discussions in these areas too.”

“I only go on these tours when I know there’s going to be good outcomes for
the people of Papua New Guinea and for our country.”
“When it comes to deference, security, health, education, investment and trade,
these things must come forward for the benefit of our people.”
This official trip will also cover a visit to Shenzhen City which currently has a
sister city arrangement with Port Moresby and the National Capital District.
“We will be renewing our sister-city relationship with our capital city and with
Shenzhen.”
“We will also be going to Guangdong, looking at their facilities there in
education, environment and their zoo and doing some conservation work with
them.
“A very productive six day trip to China covering many aspects but also to see
and introduce ourselves to Mr. Qin, the new Foreign Minister who has already
been to Papua New Guinea.”

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