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PNG Sports Media Ready To Assist Solomon Islands in 2023

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Papua New Guinea Sports Media Association (PNGSMA) is prepared to assist the Solomon Islands with its Media & Communications Plan for the 2023 Pacific Games. 

PNG SMA President Peter Sevara Jr said the onus is on PNG to ensure the “Happy Isles” obtain the best from their aspirations.

“Both countries continue to benefit from Government to Government relations over the years and it is no different this time around.”

“While Team PNG will also come to compete, the onus is on PNG to ensure their experiences of hosting big games will come in handy to assist the Solomon Islands to achieve a successful outcome,” Sevara said.

The President and PNGSMA Secretary Isaac Liri are both attending the Pacific Sports Media Dialogue in Honiara in conjunction with the 6th Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Media Summit from the 26th to the 30th of this month.

The Pacific Sports Media dialogue hosted by the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) has been assisting PNG and four other Pacific Islands to set up its Sports Journalist Association over the past five years.

“Collaboration throughout the Pacific region is what we need and I believe we have enough capacity to reach out to our brothers and sisters to offer them a hand in building their preparedness.”

“We are only as good as those around us so in true Pacific fashion let’s support each other because we understand each other more,” Sevara added.

Sevara said the current Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup hosted in Vanuatu is an example of the region coming together to build awareness of our capacity and foster mutual relationships.

The meet was graced by Koroi Hawkins, a part Solomon Islander and Fijian who was employed by Radio New Zealand International straight out of Solomon Islands.

Hawkins shared that news from our region has always been negative but said sports reporters in the pacific can change that.

He added that the opportunity to use their sport writing skills to change negative perceptions of our region lies on their shoulders because, in world news, pacific sports news travels faster and further throughout the world than any other news genre.

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News

Safety and Heights Training

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The Training Department at Ramu NiCo Management Limited’s, Basamuk Refinery has continued its training schedules for employees with a focus on new employees who have no experience in working at certain heights and its safety measures.

Health Safety and Environment Trainer Maria Poha said the training conducted was to introduce these safety measures to the new employees.

“The training is focused on three-point contact when climbing, once on elevated platforms, they must remember to hook on when using the safety harness as well as how to use the elevated work platform’s equipment,” Poha said.

The training began with a theory component and finished with the practical component.

Trainee Dagau Sokar said the training will enable them to work safely at different heights in their respective departments and it also shows what is expected of them when they are out on the field.

Another training like the Permit to Work System and Work and Job Safety Analysis was also conducted.

These will enable the workers to analyze any work-related hazards and come up with better safety measures.

This training is compulsory under the Mining Act, including the Safety and Regulatory Operations of the mine.

Employees at the Basamuk Refinery after the Safety Training. Picture by Ramu NiCo Media
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MSG PM’s Cup Vital For a United Melanesia

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Sport is a vital tool for development and when it is driven strategically encompassing as many values as possible the impact it has on a region or globally can be quite profound.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup presently hosted in Vanuatu aims to enhance bilateral agreements and partnerships for the Melanesian people.

PNG Sports Foundation Executive Director Albert Veratau is adamant that Sport can act as a tool for change by uniting our people.

Veratau is in Vanuatu after facilitating PNG participation in the revived competition through collaborative efforts from various Government partners.

“Melanesian people alone make up over 50% of the population in the Pacific region. These are the people from the five countries in PNG, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia including the regions in West Papua, the Torres Strait Islanders and the Australian Aboriginals.”

“Together we will have an impact on the global stage but we need strategic and necessary decisions to unite our sub-region,” Veratau said.

Melanesian countries are already making an impact in sports like Rugby Union, Beach Volleyball, Soccer, Rugby League and Futsal with its people among the stars of high-level competitions like NRL in Australia, Super League in England, and Super Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere.

PNG alone with over 8 million population has taken the necessary steps to initiate talks for the revival of the Melanesian Cup through the MSG Sports Secretariat through former chairman John Susuve, a senior officer of the PNG Sports Foundation.

Now a FIFA-sanctioned event that will in future include a women’s edition, plans are mooted to bring other sports into the fold.

“This is the best in Melanesia and the Pacific coming together to enhance their skills and showcasing some amazing talents.”

“The more we come together to celebrate our skills there lies the more opportunities for strengthening ties and developing collaborative programs for improved outcomes.”

“Conversations on development goals must be had sooner rather than later to define our role in the Pacific and Oceania region,” said Susuve.

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News

PINA Summit Underway in Honiara

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The 6th Pacific Media Summit of 2022 commenced yesterday with pre-summit workshops in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

InsidePNG is amongst media persons and delegates within the Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand who have convened in the Solomon Islands for the biennial event.

With the fast evolution of technological advances in the world, the Pacific region is no exception. Archiving Pacific stories and its rich cultural heritage is in a more vulnerable state than ever before and the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) Summit is focused on the theme: Digital Revolution: Transforming threats into opportunities for the Pacific Media.

The weeklong series of workshops will be facilitated by UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), PINA, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and its Media Development Initiative, Pacific Media Assistance Scheme, and Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC).

Pre-Summit topics which started yesterday (26th Sept) included Media Role in Investigating the Management of Public Resources and ‘Sports Media Dialogue.

Today, (27th Sept) the summit is covering Digitising Archives and Preserving Pacific stories, Reporting on Sports integrity & corruption in the Pacific and Digital Communications safety and Security. The plenary sessions are presented via the partnership of PACJM, PINA, and UNODC.

Throughout the week the group will look at topics such as ‘the media and political leadership in a digital age, shrinking spaces for media freedom, and digitising archives and preserving Pacific stories’.

The Summit also hopes to ensure participants have a better understanding of the role of the media in investigating the management of public resources; how to increase reporting on UNCAC and anti-corruption by Pacific Island journalists, and transfer knowledge of corruption awareness to other media in-country as trainers and through partnerships; and specifically, the participants will have clarity and understanding on how to access more information and resources on the management of public resources.

“While we don’t have the capacity as developing countries to fully digitise our content, monetary-wise, It is extremely important to start the process of digitising our content in whatever means and ways we can, especially Pacific Island content as it captures the rich history of our island countries,” said Kora Nou, the President of PINA.

The Summit will conclude on Friday, 30th September 2022 with a PINA retreat and General Conference.

Journalists and Media Persons from the Pacific in the opening workshop in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Picture by Hare Haro
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Court

Lawyer on Media Misinformation

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The Lawyer representing the wife of the late Sam Basil in a case has called on the media to be properly informed before reporting on court matters.

Felix Waingi of the Albright Lawyers in Lae made this statement following a newspaper article published on the 20th of September regarding the arrest of Shalatee Dong Basil, wife of the late MP, Sam Basil.

On the 9th of September, the accused appeared before the Lae District Court for mention of alleged offences of breaking in and stealing. Waingi who is Mrs Basil’s lawyer said the article had the wrong name of the magistrate that presided over the case on the 9th.

Waingi said the article mentioned Magistrate Lorna Sani when it was Senior Provincial Magistrate Pius Tapil who presided over the case. He added, the reporter based the report on a police-hand-up brief, which he says was not yet ready before the court.

Mr Waingi further added the public depends on the media for accurate and appropriate information to report on issues happening in the country.

“We can’t have the media reporting biased and misinformation because the public consumes the information as their gospel truth,” Waingi said.

He said for a country like PNG, the public views allegations reported by the mainstream media as facts, whereas social media is used to make defamatory conclusions against the accused.

“I urged the mainstream media to be independent and report responsibly with the appropriate and right information so everyone is well informed,” Waingi said.

Meanwhile, Mrs Basil will appear for her committal hearing on the 4th of November. She is currently out on a K5000 bail with conditions.

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Education

School Fee Program Working in Samarai-Murua

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On his recent trip to Sidudu, Sariba Island in Milne Bay, Samarai-Murua MP and Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Isi Henry Leonard had the opportunity to meet a teacher who had been sponsored through the Samarai-Murua Tertiary Students School Fee Assistance Program.

This program is part of his district’s initiative in assisting and addressing the education sector in Samarai-Murua.

After the independence program which had coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Sidudu Primary School, in which Minister Leonard had delivered the keynote message, a Grade 4 Teacher at the Primary school approached him and his team to introduce herself.

To his pleasant surprise, Minister Leonard was informed that Miss Hazel Gwa is a product of the tertiary students’ school fee assistance program in the last term of parliament.

Miss Gwa, a 26-year-old from Panaeati island, west of Misima Island, had completed her studies at the Dauli Teachers College in Dauli Valley, Hela Province.

She spent two years from 2016 to 2018 before graduating with a diploma in primary school teaching.

In her first posting after graduating, Miss Gwa was sent to East Cape Primary School on the eastern tip of mainland Milne Bay in 2019.

In 2020 she was posted to Patnai Primary School, southwest of Misima Island, Samarai-Murua District.

From 2021 last year to this year 2022, she has been at the Sidudu Primary school on Sariba island. Her tenure expires next year in 2023.

Miss Gwa completed her grades nine to ten from 2012 to 2013 at Misima High School before attending Wesley Secondary School on Fergusson Island in Esa’ala District to do her grades 11 and 12 from 2014 to 2015.

She expressed her gratitude to Mr Leonard and his team for giving her an opportunity to complete her studies and become a teacher.

Like Miss Gwa, there are many graduate students across the district who had successfully completed their respective programs and are now helping the people of Samarai-Murua.

This is something Minister Leonard envisioned when he became a member of parliament in 2017 and is determined to continue to assist many more students through the program in this term of parliament.

The Minister encouraged her to continue to strive and serve the people of Samarai-Murua.

He was impressed with the number of success stories of students who had come out of the school fee assistance program and highlighted the need for continuous support in this sector, especially at the tertiary education level.

Minister Leonard pointed out the importance of education for all children in his district and many youths who had missed out on further education, as he was determined to create opportunities for them.

This he said would generally build social intelligence across the district to create a smarter, more informed, creative, skilled, and reliable community to meet the demands of change.

Adding that the school fee assistance program helped ease the burden on many parents who struggled with school fee issues.

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Tribal Violence Not the Way Says PM

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Prime Minister James Marape says tribal violence is not the way to resolve issues, as Papua New Guinea celebrates 47 years of Independence.

He said this after the massive destruction in Goroka following the murder of PNG Ports Managing Director, Fego Kiniafa.

The PM condemned the murder, however, added the ensuing violence and destruction in Goroka should never have happened.

“Our nation has just celebrated 47 years of Independence and we cannot forever resort to tribalism to sort out our problems and disputes,” said Marape.

“A murder has been committed, someone has been aggrieved, and normal processes of police and court must take precedence. Our people must not continue to resort to tribalism to resolve disputes – as this will only create more problems,” said Marape

The PM called on the people of Eastern Highlands to allow police to carry out investigations and arrest the perpetrators.

“Let the police and court systems sort this out. Our people in Papua New Guinea must learn to refrain from resorting to violence to solve law-and-order issues,” he said.

Moreover, Marape admitted there was a major problem of police manpower shortage in the country which the Government would attend to as a matter of urgency. He highlighted a major restructure of the entire RPNGC is underway.

“There will be a complete overhaul of the police system to be spearheaded by Internal Security Minister Hon. Peter Tsiamalili Jr,” said Marape.

A brief of the overhaul has already been presented to Minister Tsiamalili by Police Commissioner, David Manning.

“The restructure will be consistent with our strategies. We want to align with the Government aspirations of delivering a better and safe Papua New Guinea by the time we celebrate 50 years of independence,” said Commissioner Manning.

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Crime

Govt Must Intervene Says ACP Wagambie

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The increasing rural to urban drift has caused a population boom in settlements throughout Port Moresby.

Among many problems that come with an increased population are law and order.

Commander NCD-Central Assistant Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Jnr said ethnic fights at settlements in the nation’s capital are now becoming very common.

He said the disputes within the settlements are caused by urban drift, population growth, misunderstanding of cultural barriers, high rate of illiteracy, unemployment and so forth.

He said these ills of society, can only be addressed through a concerted effort by the government and all other stakeholders.

“For now the Constabulary is dealing with the law and order issues created by all these contributing factors,” Wagambie said.

“I am pleased with the way my men and women are responding to these issues within the settlements but we need the support of the community, our elected leaders and the relevant state agencies.”

The NCD and Central police boss said police effort is commendable but there is a need to address the core issues.

“We need a concerted effort and intervention by the community, the government and all other stakeholders.

“As a nation, we must address, unemployment and housing and we must encourage the communities to put in place workable peace-keeping initiatives inside the communities.

Wagambie describes the current law and order situation as “covering the wound with a big plaster”, adding, “there is a need for proper medication and treatment from the clinic”.

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Crime

Two Dead in Nation’s Capital as Ethnic Violence Increases

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Commander NCD and Central, Assistant Commissioner Anthony Wagambie Jnr said ethnic fights resulting from trivial disputes are becoming common, especially among the settlement communities in the Nation’s Capital, Port Moresby.

The long Independence weekend was no exception with fighting at Tete settlement and Morata.

Police were commended for quickly stepping in at both sites and effectively containing the situation.

There were two deaths reported over the long weekend.

The death of a PMV bus driver and a man from Western Province.

The death of the PMV bus driver caused public transport issues when all PMV operators refused to carry passengers.

“Police and ambulance workers recovered the corpse of a PMV crew who was reportedly chased and killed near the Kone Tigers oval on Independence Day, ” Wagambi said in a statement.

He said the lifeless body of a Western Province man was also found near Vabukori village on the outskirts of Port Moresby city on September 17th.

Both deaths are from separate incidents.

Wagambi said detectives are now investigating these two deaths.

The Police Chief said armed robberies and motor vehicle thefts rarely occur because of the effective policing strategies put in place by the NCD/Central Command.

Therefore the primary focus and attention now are the intermittent fights especially within the settlement communities because of the city’s rapid growth and expansion of new settlements.

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17 Rescued at Sea in Madang

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17 people including women and children were rescued out at sea in the Rai Coast area after their dinghy encountered motor problems.

The dinghy drifted for over two hours out into open seas when they were rescued by a shipping vessel of the Ramu NiCo Mine.  

According to the skipper, they encountered a motor problem between Tabali and Madang Town. The Skipper said, if they were not spotted, they could have drifted out into open seas where it will be difficult for any travelling vessels or boats to spot them.

Captain of the Ramu NiCo Vessel – ‘Angel’, Joseph Suad said the dinghy was overloaded and that it could have been the cause of its motor problem.

Moreover, the 17 were taken onboard ‘MV Angel’ and were given food and water rations before they were taken to Madang town.

Meanwhile, the National Maritime Safety Authority continues to relay its messages of safety when travelling by sea, especially for small crafts or dinghies.

Boat skippers are reminded to check their boats before travelling and avoid overloading passengers at all times.

Passengers of the faulty dinghy onboard MV Angel after their rescue. Picture by Ramu NiCo
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