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NEWS CUTTINGS

General - current (1/1/02 to 28/2/02):

 

K20M ANNUAL MEDICAL BILL IS A TRAGEDY By Lucy Kapi (The National 27/2/02)

A HEALTH Department executive has described the Government's annual medical supplies bill of K25 million as a real tragedy. Deputy Secretary Leonard Loh told a workshop on Friday that the K25 million for five million people worked out to about K5 per person. "In a country where many of us are poor, live in sub-standard conditions and are not well for up to three months in a year, expenditure level such as this are a joke," Mr Loh said."Unfortunately, the joke is on us." He said that when the K25 million was broken up into various cost components such as procurement, bank interest rates, wharfage and freight rates, it might end up being one kina per person in real terms. "And I think that is more than a joke. I think that is a real tragedy," Mr Loh said. He said the department should initiate a program to address the problem. "We shall make ourselves more efficient so that where there is wastage in terms of expenditure, we shall improve on it so that the few kina we get achieves more in the end," Mr Loh said. He said areas of concern such as medical supplies, finance and administration, human resource, disease control and family health would be appraised, restructured and aligned to the current National Health Plan. The Health Department has welcomed a new project called Pharmaceutical Upgrading Project (PUP). PUP is a joint project of the Australian and PNG governments. It is aimed at strengthening and improving the provision of pharmaceutical and medical services, in particular the procurement, supply, distribution and use of medicines and medical supplies.

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CRUISE LINER ABORTS VISIT TO PNG PORTS (The National 25/2/02)

ONE of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world, the Silver Shadow, has cancelled a two-port call to Papua New Guinea just days before the cruise following a supposedly “Travelers’ Alert” issued by the “Foreign and Commonwealth Office for Port Moresby.” The nature of the alert could not be determined but the cancellation of the visit of Silver Shadow, operated by Silver Sea Cruises in the USA, has angered one of the PNG organisers, Melanesian Tourist Service chairman Sir Peter Barter. The luxury liner was to visit Samarai on Wednesday and Port Moresby on Thursday this week. This is the second time the Silver Shadow has aborted a visit to PNG ports. Sir Peter, who was the former acting chairman of the PNG Tourism Promotion Authority, said in a statement on Friday that disappointed organisers were attempting to obtain more details on the source of the travelers alert “as we are unclear with the information sent to us by Silver Sea Cruises”. “I am frankly annoyed that such a decision was made without firstly consulting with ourselves or authorities in PNG.” Sir Peter said that he was sorry for the people in Milne Bay and Samarai because a visit to Samarai was always popular and it afforded the opportunity to many people to sell handicraft and receive payment for other services provided. “It is unfair to have cancelled the visit at the last minute and is embarrassing for us to convey this news to the people. Similarly, a lot of work has been involved to organise buses, train guides, prepare information and organise singsings for the visit to Port Moresby which now all have to be cancelled. “Again, this causes a loss of revenue for many people who would have participated in such a visit but worse still, it could send a signal to other cruise ship operators to avoid PNG. “We have sent a strongly worded message to the ship operators stating the disappointment in the late cancellations and have requested more specific information on the source of the Travelers’ Alert that prompted such a cancellation.” Sir Peter said this is the second time in the past year that Silver Sea Cruises had cancelled a visit to PNG. It is believed that the PNGTPA was directed by the previous board to establish a damage control committee.

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PASTOR KILLED OUTSIDE GEREHU SCHOOL By Theresa Ame (The National 14/2/02)

POLICE are on the hunt for at least three suspects who shot dead a Lutheran Church pastor in the Port Moresby suburb of Gerehu yesterday morning. The shooting happened outside the Gerehu High School gates between 7.30am-8am as students and parents were rushing to school and work. Gerehu police have arrested and charged one person with murder in connection with the shooting. He is expected to appear in court today. Port Moresby Metropolitan police chief Superintendent Emmanuel Hela confirmed the shooting but did not release further details. But he appealed to the community to help police identify the attackers. However, the PNG Trade Union Congress released a statement late yesterday saying that the victim was Pastor Meggen Zarigga. PNGTUC general secretary John Paska said the death of Pastor Zarigga was a tragic loss not only to his family but to the spiritual community as well as to the academic fraternity in PNG. Apart from his pastoral duties, Pastor Zarigga also taught as a teaching fellow at the University of PNG Waigani campus. According to eyewitness accounts, the man was dropping off his daughter at the high school when he was confronted by a group of men who demanded the key to his vehicle. Several eyewitnesses said that soon after, the man was shot in the head at point-blank range. An eyewitness said the man was rushed to hospital in a private vehicle but died a few hours later. Gerehu High School closed early because of the shooting. A woman who was at the scene told The National that, "It came as a shock to everyone, the whole incident happened so fast and students who were in the vicinity of the gate when the shooting occured scrambled for cover. Fortunately there were not many vehicles along the road at the time, it could have been worse." Deputy principal Ula Pokana said that a PNC meeting will be called this Saturday to discuss security measures in the light of the killing.

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LOST MAIL FOUND (Post-Courier 13/2/02)

Lost mail found ALL Post PNG employees now have to sign documents to make them responsible for the safe processing of items posted through their offices. This was disclosed yesterday by Post PNG interim liquidator Simon Fraser of accounting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers. He said this after 50 surface mailbags dated June 2000, destined for the Boroko Post Office, were found abandoned in a warehouse at the Port Moresby main wharf. Mr Fraser said the employee-signed declarations were meant to contain mail theft and tampering in post offices. He said he was not informed that 112 surface mailbags had accumulated in a warehouse operated by the PNG Harbours Board at the Port Moresby main wharf. “Over the last six months, the interim liquidator has been collecting and delivering bags to and from this place (warehouse). We have not been informed of this backlog by the warehouse operator,” Mr Fraser said. He said the Harbours Board was contacted last August about storage fees the postal service provider had to pay. He said the Harbours Board did not respond to the letters. Attempts to speak to the Harbours Board general manager Luke Niap were unsuccessful. Mr Fraser said some of the 112 surface mailbags dated back to 1998. He described the mailbag-accumulation as “typical of the problems caused by prolonged periods of mis-management and general disinterest” by past Post PNG employees and contractors. Mr Fraser said since his appointment, all postal services had been restored. He said one of the tasks of Post PNG employees was to track any mail which was “bogged” down due to the organisation’s financial position. People would notice receiving “old” mail over the last six months because of the action to correct the situation. The country’s only postal service provider has been plagued by chronic problems of mail theft and tampering, as well as mismanagement in the last few years. The National Court declared the organisation insolvent in 1999.

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HAGEN SECURITY FIRM ROBBED AGAIN (Post-Courier 12/2/02)

AN undisclosed amount of money was stolen from the Securimax strongrooms, when criminals hit in yet another daring robbery in Mount Hagen early yesterday. No one was injured in the robbery but it is believed a large amount of money was stolen. The money is the weekend takings from various companies which Securimax keeps. Trevor Black, the group general manager of Securimax confirmed the robbery but said they were still trying to figure out how much had been stolen. Mr Black said that some time between 10pm and midnight, some men armed with M16s and SLRs got into the Securimax premises. According to some sources, this was done by cutting the fence at the back of the yard. Once inside, a reliable source said, they entered the building using a key. How that key managed to get into the hands of criminals is still unknown. Mr Black said then they used an oxy acetylene burner to work on the vaults which held cash boxes. This took some time. And then, after helping themselves to the money, they escaped through the back. It is believed that just before they left at about 3am yesterday, the police arrived at the scene. But they could not do much as the criminals were heavily armed and fired off several rounds to warn the police and then escaped. Police have impounded a car from Bishop Brothers which was parked near the Securimax premises. It is believed that the criminals who held up a worker from Bishop Brothers at Ketiga, just outside Mt Hagen, the previous afternoon may be the ones who pulled the Securimax robbery. The driver of the car told the Post-Courier that he and his family were travelling home when this incident happened. He said after being held up, they were driven further somewhere into the Nebilyer area where they were dropped. This family managed to get back to Mt Hagen at midnight and report the matter to the police. “We could have been killed but I know that God kept us from being harmed,” the victim said. It is also believed that the robbery may be an “inside’’ job. The Post-Courier could not get any comments from the police yesterday. The robbery is the third Securimax has suffered in five years.

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MILLIONS LOST IN MORAN CLOSURE by Colin Taimbari (The National 12/2/02)

OPERATORS of major oil plants in the Southern Highlands province lost an estimated US$3.5 million when the Moran oil fields and the Agogo main processing plant were shut down by angry landowners for seven days. A high-level Government delegation comprising Petroleum and Energy Minister Roy Yaki, Petroleum Secretary Joseph Gabut, Mineral Resources Development Corporation managing director Dan Kakaraya, dismissed Southern Highlands governor Anderson Agiru and landowner leaders John Kapi and Mark Sakae had to intervene before the plants were re-opened on Saturday. Industry sources confirmed to The National last night that Chevron Texaco, Orogen Minerals, MRDC and Oil Search would have collectively been losing an estimated US$500,000 a day since some 1000 Fasu landowners shut down the project in protest over resource entitlements on Feb 4. The Agogo processing plant is a key facility because it handles thousands of litres of crude oil from the Moran and Kutubu oil fields. Sources said the operator and joint venture partners in the project including the National Government had played down the dispute because of the adverse effect it would have had on the companies' stocks, especially on the Australian Stock Exchange, if reported in the media earlier. Attempts to obtain comments from the operator and the joint venture partners, including Government officials, last night were unsuccessful. The landowners from Sisibia No. 1, 2 and 3 villages and Kaipu No. 1 and 2 villages had shut down the projects, including construction work on the Moran PDL5 infield road, after learning that the State had paid K1.8 million to the Kutubu Development Authority (KDA). Chairman of Aporo Uri Landowners Association, Paul Yawe, said yesterday that his people were unhappy because as far as they were concerned, KDA was defunct. Mr Yawe said the landowners were also angry over entitlements and commitments that the project developers had failed to deliver. Following some 15 hours of negotiations beginning on Friday when the delegation from Port Moresby arrived, the situation was brought under control when Mr Agiru and the delegation went to meet the villagers at Sisibia. "The Moran project would have been shut down completely if Anderson Agiru did not come. He is the only person we can trust," said Mr Yawe. Mr Agiru has confirmed the incident, saying the situation at Moran has returned to normal while State authorities and developers were addressing the issues. He said also that there were three minor confrontations between the company employees and the heavily armed villagers. Mr Agiru said the closure cost the National Government several millions of kina in lost revenue and it should be mindful and cautious when dealing with such sensitive issues in future.

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NIGHT OF TERROR, MAN SHOT DEAD AND WOMAN PACK-RAPED (Post-Courier 7/2/02)

TWO families in Port Moresby are reeling from the tragic consequences of an armed gang attack in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Police said a gang surrounded three houses in the city’s Ensisi Valley at around 1am on Tuesday. The gang broke into one of the three homes, belonging to a family from Bougainville, ransacked all personal belongings and pack-raped a woman, a police officer said. The family and the woman’s screams for help alerted a young man who lived in a neighbouring house. He ran to the front gate of the Bougainvillean family’s home and was shot point blank in the face. The city’s metropolitan police commander Superintendent Emmanuel Hela yesterday confirmed the shooting murder of the man. He said the man was from Paramana village in the Kupiano district of Central Province. Supt Hela said the man was trying to help his neighbours and was shot as he went to their rescue. Supt Hela appealed to city residents, especially those living in and around Ensisi Valley to come forward with information that could lead to the arrests of the culprits. Port Moresby General Hospital authorities confirmed receiving the body of the shooting victim.

 

MINING Minister and Gulf Regional MP Chris Haiveta came under heavy gunfire from criminal elements on Monday afternoon as he was returning to Port Moresby from the Gulf Province. Mr Haiveta and members of his family who were with him in the car escaped injury. A policeman who was assigned to provide security to the leader was shot in the head but managed to get to the hospital to have the gun pellets removed. Mr Haiveta was also a victim of crime late last year when he was held up outside the Pacific View apartment block early morning and his car taken of him. Supt Hela said police had a report of the shooting. He said the incident occurred at Brown River between 5-5.30pm on Monday, when Mr Haiveta was returning to the city from his home village in the Gulf Province. Supt Hela said Mr Haiveta was returning to the city with his sick father when a gang waiting on the side of the road attacked the sedan they were travelling in. He said the policeman was the only passenger to be injured when the armed gang opened fire on the vehicle. The policeman was treated for the gunshot wound and released on the same night. The vehicle’s rear-quarter glass on the right side was damaged by the gunfire. He said the motive for the shooting was not known. Police investigations into the incident were continuing.

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CRIMINALS SHOOT AT CLERICS IN CITY (Post-Courier 6/2/02)

TWO churchmen survived a blast of gunfire from criminals in a Port Moresby city street early yesterday. A barrage of shots peppered the side of their vehicle, but the two clerics escaped unharmed. The Catholic Church’s Auxiliary Bishop for Bereina, Bishop John Ribat (pictured showing the pellet holes on the vehicle), and a parish priest, Father Casinuiro Duffey, kept driving and escaped the two gunmen. Fr Duffey, a French national, did not know of the incident until told later by Bishop Ribat. Fr Duffey has poor hearing and did not hear the shots. It is the latest in a string of violent attacks on the men and women of the clergy in PNG, especially the Catholic Church. Two expatriate priests were shot dead in separate attacks last year and nuns have been through a series of assaults and robberies in rural Madang Province in recent months. In April last year Fr Fabian Thom was shot dead in his bed at a church retreat about 25km from the nation’s capital, Port Moresby. In June last year, Fr Hubert Hoffman was shot dead in Lae City, apparently in a display of anger by robbers who were upset he had only K45 to offer them. Early yesterday, Bishop Ribat and Fr Duffey were travelling back from the Jackson’s International Airport after dropping off other church officials on an early morning flight when two armed men descended from the nearby hill. Bishop Ribat, who was driving, said just as he was turning into Kanage St from the Erima Bridge, he saw two men standing about 4m away and pointing a gun at him. “The one with the gun pointed it at me and started to walk towards the car. When he was about a metre away, he fired the gun,” he said. The first bullet entered the car just above the right front wheel and came through the mudguard. There were what appeared to be seven bullet holes in the car.

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SHIPMASTER REPLACED OVER RACIAL COMMENTS by Peter Miva (The National 29/1/02)

AN EXPATRIATE shipmaster was immediately replaced by his Sydney employer in light of allegations of discriminatory comments made against his mostly Papua New Guinean crewmen, shipping agents and terminal despatch officers over the weekend. The comments were contained in a fax allegedly sent by the captain, named, to his employer Dilmun Navigation PNG Ltd head office in Sydney. The fax was apparently picked up by a crewman, of which copies were obtained by the PNG Maritime Workers Industrial Union, The National, the PNG Maritime College and the Foreign Affairs Department. The contents of the fax included these paragraphs:

“One is almost daily surrounded by idiots of all types. The PNG crews up here are nowhere near what I would call seamen, as compared to Fiji. “Unreliable, useless, lazy and stupid agents are the rule, not the exception. Of the PNG officers, there appears to me to be only 1 second mate, of whom I am confident in. The rest have to be watched. “No amount of training will change this - you cannot put in what God has left out. The PNG officers Certificate of Competency, to me, at least, appears to come out of a Corn Flake packet. “We have TDO’s (terminal dispatch officers, mostly Mobil employees) a position of great responsibility ashore, filled by people who have little idea of what they should be doing, or how to achieve it. “One becomes very frustrated at times, and wearies of dealing with idiots. “Social life is practically non-existent ashore. PNG has an international reputation for rape, robbery, and murder. “You have to be either very brave, or very stupid, to set foot ashore anywhere in this country at nite. Even daytime in Port Moresby is not considered safe-the international diplomatic community has cited several attacks on staff, in daylight, in the past 12 months. Lae is getting worse -2 crew members of this vessel have been attacked and robbed ashore whilst going home. There are still no taxis in Lae. “A female tourist was killed recently on a Morobe Tours mini-bus that was held up coming from the airport to a Lae Hotel. Apart from shopping for the ship in Lae, I will not set foot ashore anywhere in this country. I have no wish for my grave headstone to read I was killed in the last place God made. “Competent medical facilities ashore are nearly non-existent. A PNG medical degree is not accepted in Aus/NZ. 20 years ago, it was. “Mobile phones are almost non-existent, public telephones are vandalised. Communications are even more difficult, as the phone towers are pulled down by villagers who haven’t been getting the rent for the land used. You quite often can’t get through. “The Fiji officers are financially reluctant to come up here, as they have to pay nearly 20% more tax, than in Fiji. “They cannot claim anything like the tax deductions for spouses, children, that they can in Fiji. Technical help from ashore is almost non-existent. Pacrovers main radar was r/s for nearly 8 months and when I was on Petnav, we had to pack a radar up, complete, for repair in Aust. “All of it adds up leaving one very depressed, and a dedicated calendar-watcher (how soon until I get-out-of-here syndrome). “Please do not consider the above as a diatribe of complaints. I do so in a genuine attempt to describe conditions. If someone wishes to throw rocks - I have twice volunteered to do tours up here, and will continue to do so. “I firmly believe in taking my turn in this third world toilet of a country. ”The captain’s comments drew the ire of the PNG Maritime Workers Industrial Union, Mobil Oil, the PNG Maritime College, and Steamships Trading, the Lae agent for Dilmun Navigation (PNG) Ltd who were attempting deportation procedures against him until Dilmun defused the situation by immediately replacing him with a Fijian captain at the weekend. The replaced captain had been in the country for only nine weeks.

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COPS ACCUSED OF TERRORISING DARU by Clifford Faik (The National 29/1/02)

A YOUTH is dead and a policeman is fighting for his life at the Daru hospital, Western province, after a clash between police and the townsfolk last Friday. The incident was sparked off by alleged continuous police brutality and harassment of civilians in the town since Christmas. Numerous complaints about police behaviour had been made to the media prior to this incident. The complaints were directed at members of a riot squad which arrived in Daru before the Christmas and New Year period. A community leader, who did not want his identity made known, told The National from Daru that the controversial riot squad shot dead a youth from the Bamu area last Friday and injured five people who were now in a critical condition at the hospital. "There is general fear gripping everyone. Gunfire is always going on," the town resident said. "We just do not know what to do or what will happen next. Ever since they (the policemen) came here we have seen an unprofessional approach in the way they perform their duties. "They enter homes without proper search warrants and beat up people just for looking suspicious. "There is no respect for the young or old, single or married people. "Recently they ordered a married man to run around the town naked. "Daru hospital authorities have confirmed treating victims of police brutality regularly. South Fly provincial police commander Superintendent Norman Kambo said the dead youth was suspected of various break and enter offences. "This unfortunate incident prompted the people to demand an explanation from the police," he said. "However, things got rowdy resulting in a police personnel receiving severe injuries. Currently the situation is quiet but tense. "Southern region commander Assistant Commissioner Jim Andrews said the riot squad was sent to Daru to help local police maintain law and order. "Daru is renowned for its lawlessness. This frontier town lies in a very strategic position," he said. "It shares borders with Australia and Indonesia and is notorious in the trafficking of illegal drugs and high powered guns. "Recently community leaders tipped off police intelligence that a 19-foot dinghy left Kikori in the Gulf province en-route to the Torres Strait in Australia via Daru with 14 kilograms of dried marijuana and cash to exchange for high-powered guns, he said. Asst. Commissioner Andrews said police were working around the clock to intercept this dinghy.

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MICAH TO GET K640,000 IN 'GOLDEN HANDSHAKE' by Daniel Korimbao (The National 22/1/02)

PRIVATISATION Commission Executive Chairman Ben Micah will receive more than K640,000 in a golden handshake when he leaves the Privatisation Commission. Mr Micah appointment was revoked by the National Executive Council during its meeting last Thursday. He is expected to leave the commission on February 28, 2002. Mr Micah's public profile and integrity was brought into question when the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation, the State-owned bank which Mr Micah succeeded in selling off under the government's privatisation program, sought insolvency proceedings against him for a pervious outstanding loan arrangement he had with the bank. Mr Micah claimed that the publicity of this proceeding has hurt his standing in the community, and wrote to the Prime Minister to be relieved from his duty. His appointment was for a period of five years, commencing on October 25, 1999 and ending on October 24, 2004. He actually signed his employment contract on November 8, 2000. When he leaves, he would have effectively served only 15 months as executive chairman of the commission, leaving a balance of 32 months remaining on his contract. But the NEC has decided to remove him and pay him approximately K648,244 before tax the equivalent of 18 months remuneration of his remaining portion of his contract of employment, and any other entitlements due to him. When he leaves the Privatisation Commission, Mr Micah is expected to assume a leadership role in the Pan Melanesia Congress Party, the new party, which he helped founded only last year. While he has made no public statement, Mr Micah is expected to contest the Kavieng Open seat in New Ireland province, the seat he lost in the 1997 general elections. In the submission to the NEC to authorise Mr Micah's termination and payout, Privatisation Minister Vincent Auali said he was a driving force behind the Government's privatisation program. Minister Auali said under Mr Micah's stewardship, substantial progress was made towards achieving the privatisation program. He said during the anti-privatisation protests by various interest groups, Mr Micah stood firm behind the program. But the minister admitted that the publication of the insolvency proceeding has done "irreparable harm to his name and reputation", and Mr Micah needed to be relieved of his duties to fight the case. The Government will appoint a new chairman to replace Mr Micah soon.

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HIGHWAY TERRORISTS REFORM by Zachery Per (The National 3/1/02)

THE names Barola Valley and Kompri are synonymous to armed hold-ups and robberies. Travellers using the Highlands Highway are fearful when passing through this part of the highway near Kainantu in the Eastern Highlands province. That, hopefully, is all about to change. Members of a notorious gang from the area have told police that they have had enough and want to assist in policing that part of the highway. They have formed a group called the “Barola Millenium Youth” and told Eastern Highlands provincial police commander Superintendent Winnie Hennao that they would assist police to fight crime in the area. Supt. Hennao’s men have in the last four months been working closely with these former gang members, and he is satisfied with the progress. Supt Hennao is so confident he has decided to declare the valley safe again to travellers and motorists. He thanked the youth, community and church leaders in the area who worked together to form the youth group.

Uncle Peter: ... but passing motorists will still be stopped and asked to contribute to the Barola Millenium Youth group movement so that "they can assist the police to fight crime in the area". Oh Peter! stop being so cynical.

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IRIAN JAYA TO BE RENAMED PAPUA (AFR 2/1/02)

... and in passing, Australian Financial Review, Tim Dodd - 2/1/02 "A remarkable transition occurred yesterday in Indonesia's westernmost province, formerly known by its Indonesian name of Irian Jaya. The Jakarta Government officially recognised local aspirations by formally naming the province Papua and, in an autonomy deal which operates from January 1, has undertaken to return to the local government a majority of tax and royalty revenue from new resource projects. On paper, it is a very generous offer and is set to make Papua among the richest of all Indonesia's regions within a decade or so, when BP's giant Tangguh liquified natural gas project is scheduled to be fully up and running. Not only will poverty - stricken Papuans eventually gain access to hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue each year - through a democratically elected provincial government - but also the new autonomy deal will give them the right to their own flag and anthem to let them express their identity within Indonesia ..."

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