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NEWS CUTTINGS

General - current (1/6/02 to 31/8/02):

PORGERA PRODUCTION HALTED AS PNG UNREST CONTINUES (MiningNews.net 28/8/02)

Open pit mining has temporarily ceased and the workforce been reduced at the giant Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea's Southern Highlands as vandalism and political unrest continue in the aftermath of the recent elections. Placer Dome, which owns 50% of the 600,000-ounce-plus a year operation, said that since July 16 a number of power poles have been cut down, causing ongoing power outages at the mine and impeding production. "While power was restored on August 20 and the plant recommissioned, another pylon was vandalised on August 23, and currently three towers are down," Placer said. Under present circumstances, it did not expect power to be restored for about three weeks. The ongoing interruptions will reduce Porgera's gold output in 2002 by about 10%, or 60,000 ounces, to 616,000oz. The Canadian miner said the joint venture - comprising Placer, 50%; Aurion Gold, 25%; Oil Search, 20%; and the Enga provincial government and landowners, 5% - was in talks with the communities and briefings to the PNG government aimed at helping the government to address the present problems. "A ministerial group is at present preparing recommendations to the PNG cabinet for immediate implementation aimed at restoring law and order and essential services in the area," Placer said. The police presence in Tari has already been increased as a first measure, it said. At the end of December, the Porgera deposit contained 6.6 million ounces of gold - 5.3Moz proven and 1.3Moz probable.

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NO ARREST YET IN IALIBU OFFICE FIRE by Kevin Pamba (The National 26/8/02)

Several Ialibu residents at the location of what used to be the colonial-era Ialibu District offices last week. The building was burnt down last month allegedly by arsonists.

 

POLICE have yet to make any arrests in relation to the burning down of the Ialibu district office complex in the Southern Highlands province last month. The Ialibu police are still looking for leads while the local community has backed off from its claim to cooperate to bring the culprits to justice. The complex, built in 1971 by the Australian administration, was gutted by fire in the morning of Friday, July 6. It was alleged that individuals associated with a candidate who was trailing in the counting of votes for the Ialibu-Pangia seat during the elections were responsible for the fire. Reports from Ialibu indicate that the community is keeping silent over the crime in fear of tribal reprisals from those involved. The arson has displaced most of the government agencies who used the building, including Ialibu-Pangia district administrator, Francis Ipuke and regional education officer for the eastern end of SHP, Warea Paita.

 

In related developments, telephone lines to Ialibu police station and other areas in Ialibu station have been vandalised, cutting communication to parts of the district. Power poles to Kagua from the Yonki-Paunda hydropower grid have also been destroyed, cutting off the power supply for the district. Sources said the timber power poles were either chopped up as firewood or sawn into timbers at various parts of the Ialibu-Kagua, beginning at Yarena village in Ialibu. The power lines have been cut and sold them by the locals. Police in Ialibu and Kagua could not do much to protect the facilities in the districts.

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EASTERN HIGHLANDS GOVERNOR STARTS SACKING, EVICTING WORKERS (Post-Courier 21/9/02)

MOST senior public servants in the Department of Eastern Highlands are expected to lose jobs as Governor Malcom Smith Kela starts to lay down tougher laws and guidelines. Mr Smith Kela, a resident and prominent businessman in Goroka, last week instructed the provincial administration to immediately get the public services machinery in order and have a workable working force. He executed his action plans immediately after walking into the office of the provincial government’s business arm—Nokondi Investment — and terminated all the employees, including the general manager on Friday. Mr Smith Kela then ordered that the board of directors of Nokondi be revoked and an interim board put in place. Early on Saturday morning, the Governor issued eviction notices to senior public servants and others occupying houses belonging to Nokondi Investment to vacate the premises by early as 9am on Monday this week for not paying rentals.

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TARI UNDER 'ARMY' SIEGE (Post-Courier 21/8/02)

TARI in Southern Highlands Province is under siege by a self-styled “army” calling themselves the “Hela Force”. The “army” is in control of Tari township and locals are fearful of them. Mathew Mapiria, the peace and good order committee chairman for Komo/Magarima, Tari/ Pori and Koroba/ Kopiago said members of this self-styled force dress themselves in military fatigues and roam the streets of Mendi fully armed. “We don’t know who they are, who sent them or who they support,” Mr Mapiria said and added that they were a threat to the community. Southern Highlands provincial police commander said he was not aware of this self-styled army in Tari. But he said there was still police presence in Tari and that there were reports of violence in the area. Ray Paul, another man from Tari, said the members of this self-styled force cover their faces with masks and drive around Tari station. “When an aeroplane comes in to land, they go the airport to see who comes,” Mr Paul said. “This self-styled army have said that since there is no police presence in Tari, their job is to keep peace. But they have been a threat to the community.” The two men said they walked from Tari up to Magarima before they caught a PMV to travel to Mt Hagen. The fare for this trip was K80. They said the situation in Tari had worsened since the end of polling. They said the College of Distant Education centre and the education building in Tari have already been burnt down. Between Tari and Magarima, the two said, five bridges were damaged and cars cannot travel on them. They said a fight was still raging between supporters of of one candidate and Tari/Pori MP Tom Tomiape. In addition, following damage to the two major shopping centres in Tari, food items brought in via Porgera were being sold for inflated prices. Mr Paul said items such as 1kg packet of rice costs K7, cooking oil K15, tinned fish K7 and noodles K2. Mr Mapiria said that before supplementary elections are held the government has to restore normalcy on the ground first. He said in Tari especially, the Government must restore services, remove guns from the people, increase the number of security deployment.

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PNG LOSES ANOTHER K80M (Post-Courier 21/8/02)

THE nation’s coffers have been further blown out by more than K80 million following the last 34 days of chaotic election-related violence that cut off power at the Porgera mine. Mine operator Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) warned it will be forced to shutdown should vandalism continue unabated. The K80 million production revenue loss adds to PNG’s ongoing economic woes, including a current budget deficit of K127.7 million, whose indicators point to a K200 million budget deficit for 2002. Despite a dim focus on Porgera earnings, a relieved PJV yesterday announced it had finally restored power supply between the mine and the Hides gas power plant. Both the mining and petroleum sectors fetch 80 per cent in total export earnings for the country annually, with mining contributing 49.4 per cent in export earnings in 2001. This translates to about K3 billion in total from the two industries on an annual basis. During the election period, about 14 power pylons supplying electricity from Hides in Southern Highlands to the mine were tampered with or badly damaged. Diesel generators have not been able to provide the full power capacity required, due also to the atrocious conditions of the Highlands Highway, which has prevented timely deliveries of fuel. The constant destruction of power line pylons had resulted in the inevitable shutdown of the mine’s gold processing operations. Placer Niugini’s managing director Evert van den Brand said damages and vandalism to the pylons caused heavy losses to all parties involved. Landowners especially lose out in profitability from lost equity dividends and royalty payments. All related business sectors lose same. “Although we appreciate that there are many issues in the Southern Highlands communities, they are not issues that involve the PJV,” Mr van den Brand said. “We have no influence on them and only limited capabilities to help resolve those issues. Resorting to vandalism on the power lines causes heavy losses to all parties involved, including the very communities where the power line damage is done.” Mr van den Brand said continued vandalism would force PJV to reconsider the future operations of the project “which would be detrimental to all of PNG and restrict even further the capacity of the national government to deliver services.”

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EX-TOP COP SHOT DEAD BY ROBBERS (Post-Courier 19/8/02)

FORMER senior police officer and security company chief Titus Pamben was shot dead in Mount Hagen when he confronted thieves early on Friday. General manager of WR Carpenters in Mt Hagen Mike Jackson confirmed the shooting at the Aviamp Tea Estate. Mr Jackson said armed criminals had stormed the offices of the plantation group with the intention of stealing the salaries of the estate’s labourers. He said they did not get what they intended to take because the money was not there. But they still broke open a safe and stole about K6000. Mr Jackson said, on their way out, Mr Pamben arrived at the scene and tried to intervene and was shot in the head. His body was transported to Kundiawa on Friday. Mr Jackson expressed shock and regret at the shooting. He said the brutal shooting of Mr Pamben showed once again the lack of respect criminals had for businesses and the community at large. Highlands divisional commander Alfred Reu also expressed regret. Mr Reu said Mr Pamben had been a well respected police officer and had served with distinction in the police force for many years. He said police would ensure that the criminals responsible were rounded up and put behind bars.

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'GHOSTS' ON PS PAYROLL (Post-Courier 19/8/02)

GHOST names and double entries on the public service payroll are contributing to the inflated K1 billion annual bills on the cost of the service. And “right-sizing” — rather than mere reactive “downsizing” due to costs — of the public service manpower of 77,000 is how new Public Service Minister Dr Puka Temu intends to deal with the Government’s largest expenditure item to ensure its technical capability is not diluted. Dr Temu intends to spread out the cost-cutting that the public service must undergo over the next three years rather than making an abrupt cut in the supplementary budget in the next six months and in the 2003 Budget. He officially took over the ministry from Philemon Embel at a small ceremony in the Department of Personnel Management at Morauta House, Port Moresby. The hand over marked a first in ministry hand-overs, with both ministers signing papers affirming what the ministry office had achieved, what was yet to be done, as well as an asset inventory registry. Dr Temu was later taken on a tour of the Public Services Commission (PSC) escorted by PSC chairman Jerry Tetaga and the PNG Institute of Public Administration, guided by director Gei Ilage, the same afternoon. Dr Temu said there was a need to properly assess the 77,000-strong manpower size of the public sector thatcurrently costs K1 billion a year. He described it as a ready-made delivery machine that needs to be harnessed and fuelled to deliver services nationwide which was its primary task. “At the same time, when you look at the K1 billion wages bill, we know that on the payroll there are also a significant number of double entries and ghost names which we are going to clean up with this new HRM (Human Resources Management) payroll system,” he said. “And if we look at the total picture we are not only talking about down-sizing, we are talking about efficiency in the processes we now have in place,” he said. He cited examples like suspensions, retrenchments, and other processes that incur costs as well as utilities-related costs like use of telephones, vehicles and the purchase of vehicle including types of vehicles. “So, we have to take a holistic approach and then present to the nation a leaner, efficient, accountable public service,” Dr Temu said. He intends to make a statement on the public reform program in Parliament next week, stating the directions that the new Government would take to bring “in efficiency, accountability, and stability in the public service”. He said that the public service needs to be “leaner in terms of right sizing it so that we don’t . . . lose the technical ability of the public service to bring in reliable, sound advice to the Government of the day.” Dr Temu revealed Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had already looked at possible cuts in salaries for political leaders and departmental heads right down to a level yet to be determined. He said that this would ensure that “leaders take a bigger burden rather than those at a lower level”. “That includes non-awarding of CPI increases next year if the decision has to be made. This institution has been around for a long time. We would want to make decisions and develop efficiencies, build processes, streamline it so in three years’ time we’ll say this is the product. That is the target that I’m setting,” Dr Temu said.

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COP KILLED IN AMBUSH (Post-Courier 13/8/02)

A policeman was shot dead during an ambush along the Nipa-Magarima Highway in Southern Highlands on Friday evening. Senior police officers in Port Moresby confirmed that a group of policemen from the Mobile Squad 10 of Tari had travelled to Mendi to look for food. The senior officers said the policemen were returning to Tari after buying rations when they were ambushed. Officers said the attackers started firing shots at the police vehicle near Sugura village along the highway. The slain constable has been identified as Constable Martin Tera from Pangia District, in the Southern Highlands Province. Yesterday, Highlands Divisional police commander, Alfred Reu described the shooting of the policeman as “senseless”. He said Constable Tera and other members of the mobile squad were travelling back to Tari after picking up rations in Mendi. He said since the closure of the two major shopping centres — Best Buy and Menduli — after being ransacked by looters, police have always travelled to Mendi for rations. Mr Reu said as the car came to Sangura and Ones village, the ambushers fired upon the car. “Senior Constable Tera was wounded in the shooting but died as a result of loss of blood on the way to Tari,” Mr Reu said. At the time of shooting, the police car had some students from Tari High School who had also travelled with police to pick up rations for their school. Mr Reu condemned this senseless and brutal shooting of the constable and appealed to the people of Sangura village to deliver the suspects to police. The body of the slain policeman was flown to Mt Hagen on Sunday afternoon but will be flown back to Mendi for burial. Constable Tera is survived by a wife and one child.

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POLL PROBLEMS COST PORGERA K100M LOSS by Denys Iorere (The National 9/8/02)

OPERATORS of the giant Porgera Gold Mine, Placer Niugini Limited, have already lost US$23 million in production in the past two months due to election-related problems and the cutting of power supplies to the mine. Placer Niugini’s managing director managing director Evert Van den Brand has said. Mr Van den Brand said problems had worsened following the destruction of the Laiagam bridge, which has disrupted supply of fuel to Porgera. “So far we have lost US$23 million (K100 million) in production for the period this year due to the felled power pylons,” said Mr Van den Brand. He also said negotiations are currently underway with government officials to find alternatives for ongoing problems at the Porgera mine site. The Porgera mine, which is 50 per cent owned by Placer Niugini, is an important contributor to PNG’s beleaguered economy with annual production of more than 600,000 ounces of gold. Major disruptions to the mine would be among a number of factors that is likely to force the country’s economy to contract further this year. This would make it the third successive year of shrinking average per capita incomes. He said community affairs personnel at the Porgera mine site were holding discussions with landowners in an attempt to stop further destruction of the power pylons. Mr Van dan Brand said since early June landowners had felled almost 20 different power pylons and that it has been an expensive exercise to erect new ones. At the present time four pylons are still down and workmen are having difficulty in erecting them due to wet weather conditions. Power generated from the Hides Gas fields is transmitted to the Porgera mine while electricity supply to the site has been cut since early July. He said the company is using standby generators but stocks of fuel are running low. He added that milling operations have also been affected because power generators were unable to produce adequate electricity supplies. Mr Van den Brand also said that engineers from Porgera have been sent to Laiagam to repair the bridge. He was optimistic that the supplies of fuel and cargo to the site would commence soon.

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SISTERS RAPED (Post-Courier 5/8/02)

Three young women were packed raped and their mother’s nose slashed in an election related incident in the Western Highlands Province last week. The younger of the women (two sisters and a cousin), a 12-year old girl is in critical condition at the Mt Hagen General Hospital. The incident happened in Kindeng outside Mt Hagen by supporters of a losing Independent candidate for the Anglimb South Wahgi electorate. The mother of the two sisters had her nose slashed off with a bush knife when she attempted to prevent her daughters from being raped by the angry supporters. The cousin of the two sisters who was also raped is a Grade 10 high school student. An eye witness said prior to the attack, high-powered gun shots were fired into the air during the night.

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PNG CLOSE TO COLLAPSE SAYS LUPARI (Post-Courier 1/8/02)

PAPUA New Guinea is on the verge of collapse. That was the bleak picture former Finance Secretary Issac Lupari gave the National Alliance and its coalition partners in Kokopo yesterday. Mr Lupari said the country had K7.56 billion outstanding in debts which represented 76 per cent of total GDP. “As of last year, public debt was close to about K8 billion. That represents 76 per cent of the total GDP. “In many countries if they reach 30 per cent, they panic. They start looking at ways to reduce that as it means that they are on the verge of bankruptcy. But we are at 76 per cent. That is like a time bomb that is ticking away,” Mr Lupari said. “Soon all our creditors will call on our nation to be declared bankrupt like many African nations. The new Government must treat this seriously.” Mr Lupari said the first quarter to March this year already shows a budget deficit of K127.7 million and a yet-to-be publicised International Monetary Fund report indicates that at this rate the 2002 budget deficit could reach up to K600 million. Mr Lupari, backed by one of the architects of the Medium Term Development Strategy Kairuku-Hiri MP Sir Moi Avei, Lae MP Bart Philemon and outgoing Wapenamanda MP Masket Iangalio, told the gathering all economic indicators point to a worsening economy since 1990. They told the meeting that budget deficit and public debt had been increasing, the kina was diving, interest rates and inflation were fluctuating wildly and remained still on the high side. Mr Lupari said foreign reserves were built up artificially as they was based on loans the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and Friends of PNG had given to be repaid with interest. “Just looking and hearing this, I am scared for this nation,” said new Ambunti-Dreikikir MP Tony Aimos, “How can we save this nation?” he asked echoing the sentiments of the meeting. Mr Lupari said there must be fiscal discipline to spend “only what you have with limited borrowing’’. “This country — this government in waiting I am addressing — will have to change the public expenditure as well,” he said. Earlier, dire health statistics showed up to 15,000 infant deaths a year and a high rate of maternal mortality of 1500 deaths a year, which set the stage for a sombre briefing. Former Health Secretary and new Abau MP Dr Puka Temu, told the briefing: “How would MPs feel if 1000 children’s corpses were brought to Parliament each month?”

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IALIBU DISTRICT OFFICE GOES UP IN FLAMES by Kevin Pamba (The National 29/7/02)

THE colonial-era district office of Ialibu in the Southern Highlands was burnt to ashes in the early hours of Friday allegedly by tribesmen of a candidate trailing in the count for the Ialibu-Pangia Open electorate. The complex, built in 1971 by the Australian administration, lost everything including government documents and records, computers, printers, telephones and fax machines. The building housed the Ialibu-Pangia district administrator and deputy administrator, the district treasury, the schools inspector, business development officer, community development officer and the regional education officer for the eastern part of the Southern Highlands. Ialibu police could not be reached for comment but a businessman and councillor for Kendagl No3, Peter Pilimbo Kondowa, said some of the suspects are known and the community is working together to organise their surrender to police. Mr Kondowa said the Ialibu community was disgusted by this criminal act, and has vowed to work together to bring the culprits to justice. He said concerned community leaders and people from villages surrounding Ialibu are expected to convene a public forum at the government station to request for the surrender of the suspects. They also intend to use the forum to remind people that destruction of public property must not be repeated and what happened on Friday has to be the first and last time. Mr Kondowa said people openly wept and expressed disgust on Friday upon seeing the charred remains of a building that often reminded them of the good old days of the kiaps. "We deplore this type of behaviour. "This building was not put up by any Member (of Parliament) after independence to deserve this. "It was put up by the Australian kiaps, which we have respected over the years," Mr Kondowa said. He said the people were worried how this building, which gave some respectability to the otherwise neglected government station, could be replaced.

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POWER POLES DESTROYED, MINE AFFECTED (Post-Courier 24/7/02)

TEN power pylons have been blown up on separate occasions between the Hides Gas project and the Porgera mine area last week, Southern Highlands police commander Nema Mondia said on Monday. Mr Mondia said he believed the attack on the pylons to be election related. He said the pylons were not destroyed at the same time. The Porgera Gold Mine relies on power supply from Hides Gas and may have been severely affected by this act of sabotage. Last week, mine manager Pete Nielans expressed concerns about the operations of the mine being affected by shortage of fuel due to election-related violence. But Mr Mondia said since his office received information of the attack, he had dispatched a part of a platoon stationed in Tari with police into the affected areas. “They will provide security for the staff from Porgera to do maintenance work on the power pylons,” Mr Mondia said. As of yesterday, the Post-Courier was unable to ascertain from Porgera, the progress of the maintenance work and the severity of the damage in terms of operational expenses. In February this year, when some people cut a 22.1kw power pylon, the mine lost about K1 million kina in operational costs. Mr Nielans said when the mine did not operate for a day, it lost around K400,000-K500,000 in revenue.

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ELECTION FIGHT LEAVES FAMILIES HOMELESS (Post-Courier 22/7/02)

AN election related tribal fight claimed two lives and many families have been left homeless in the Tambul-Nebilyer area of the Western Highlands. Fighting between two tribes of the Upper Nebilyer electorate and two tribes of the Lower Kagul area was reported to have been sparked off by political differences. A tribesman from one of the warring clans said two men from the Lower Kagul area were killed last week and many houses set on fire during the fight which involved heavy firearms. Meanwhile, Mount Hagen city was in total confusion as thousands of people ran riot and tried to loot shops in town last Friday. It was unclear what triggered the mob stampede. Quick intervention by policemen and soldiers prevented what could have been a major destruction of Mount Hagen by thousands of people. Policemen and soldiers dispersed the crowd with tear gas and heavy gunfire but shops and other businesses remained closed for the day.

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ARMED LOOTERS RAID TARI SHOP (Post-Courier 15/7/02)

THE Menduli Shopping Centre in Tari was ransacked by armed looters at the weekend. And Air Niugini flights into the remote Southern Highlands township have also been suspended indefinitely. The first incident was the only one reported in what has been a quiet weekend, Southern Highlands Police Commander Nema Mondia said. Mr Mondia attributed the ransacking to people who may have gone without food from shops for a long time. It was closed for some time because of election-related violence in the area. Tari cannot be reached by road from the capital Mendi because the three bridges along the way are inaccessible. Police in Tari could not prevent the looting of the shop because they were outnumbered, and also due to the fact that many of the looters were heavily armed. Meanwhile Air Niugini has suspended all flights into Tari for an indefinite period. This follows reports that its agent had fled after being attacked. Reports from Tari state that the ticketing office had been damaged by armed men on Saturday. Third-level operator Missionary Aviation Fellowship has also pulled out of the area.

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AUSTRALIA PRESSURED TO SUPPORT SIR MEKERE'S GOVT by Jim Baynes (AAP POM 25/6/02)

Australia pressured international lender the World Bank to play down Papua New Guinea's acute problems in a bid to keep Sir Mekere Morauta's government in power, a former bank employee claimed last night. Former World Bank representative to PNG Dan Weise told the ABC's Four Corners program Australia wanted the World Bank to support Morauta's privatisation schemes regardless of the reservations of its own investigators. "We were told on a number of occasions that the officials had clear briefs that the news from PNG was only to be good news that politically in Australia there was no interest in hearing bad news from PNG," Weise said. Weise said that even after consultation with the Australian High Commissioner to PNG he had the impression that the Australian government's view was "that the Mekere Government should be supported". Internal emails by a World Bank senior economist said the Bank felt the "Australians are breathing down our necks" and the "PNG government has put pressure on the Bank to lower the bar. This pressure has come from various quarters including the Australians". The PNG government eventually withdrew Weise's visa when he started questioning if the country was meeting the conditions required for a $200 million World Bank loan. He later resigned from the World Bank. Weise said he had evidence that Morauta's wife had tried to get him kicked out of the country. "Australia had intercepted a call from Papua New Guinea from the Prime Minister's wife to an official ... which indicated to us that they were seeking to ban me from the country," he said. "The information provided to me was that she thought that she had in fact instructed the official to ban me from the country ... the indications to me, for the rationale behind it was that the government had the feeling that I was somehow involved with the Opposition, which I was not."

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KINA LOSING VALUE (Post-Courier 21/6/02)

Kina losing value THE kina continued to lose ground against the US dollar and other major currencies as election fever combined with lack of support from the central bank hit the local currency. The kina has declined by 55 basis points since Monday, closing at US26.15 yesterday from Monday’s opening of US26.70 cents. Westpac bank sent out a special market report to its clients on Wednesday afternoon in light of what it said was the kina’s “50 points free fall from its open this week of US26.70 cents’’, “(The) kina is under extreme pressure (and) is set to fall below US26 cents this week if no large export flows enter the market soon,’’ Westpac said on Wednesday. The local currency looked like it was headed for that direction as it lost another five points yesterday, with the central bank, which had been propping the kina recently stayed out of the market. Market sources said last night that the continued absence of the central bank could easily add further uncertainty to the kina, compounded by unfavourable election results. The sources said while the kina’s official closing rate was US26.15 cents, they were confidant that some deals may have been struck below US26 cents during normal trading at the commercial banks. “The last time it (the kina) was down below US26 cents was in late December 2001,’’ Westpac said on Wednesday. “The other main source of support, the central bank, has so far chosen to look the other way. “This has caused nervousness and uncertainty in the market. The disruption surrounding the election/polling is also not helping. “The market is extremely short on dollars (long on kina) and if the authorities continue to show lack of concern, we will see US25 cents in no time.’’ ANZ bank said in its market report last Friday that because of the polling in the country, this week would have been a cautious one for the kina, with the market and most of the business community focusing and concentrating on the kina. “This could be an opportunity for the central bank to push the kina up towards the US27 cents level, with the market expected to be quiet for the earlier part of the week,’’ ANZ said. However, the central bank is yet to come to the kina’s rescue. The kina officially closed five points lower against the US dollar and 26 points lower against the Australian dollar at $A46.06 cents.

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LAW AND ORDER MUST BE ADDRESSED (Post-Courier 3/6/02)

A SOUTHERN Highlands candidate has called on other aspirants to set aside differences and work together to address the increasing law and order problem already wearing down the province. Larry Andagali, a staunch supporter of dismissed governor Anderson Agiru and a principal landowner of Hides Gas Field, said candidates contesting the Open and Regional seats should put aside their political party affiliations, tribal, ethnical and personal differences, and work together to promote peace, harmony and economic prosperity in the province. He is contesting the Tari Pori Open seat currently held by Tom Tomiape. “In the Hela region, we do not have a hospital because the Tari hospital does not have doctors, qualified medical staff and adequate medical supplies. Schools are not functioning because there are no teachers and school supplies are not reaching the school because of poor road conditions and constant hold-ups along the Mendi-Tari road. “Public servants are not on duty or do not come to work, because there are no banking and postal services after our two banks and postal services closed down four years ago. PMV trucks are not operational because of poor road conditions and constant hold-ups within Hela and along the Mendi-Tari road as well,” Mr Andagali said. He said businesses have also suffered severely. He said landowner company of Hides Gas Field Mountain Oil Limited, which he served as chief executive officer had had six by 20,000litre fuel tankers worth K500,000 each making about K3.25 million per annum while employing more than 50 people. Today, all the six tankers were sold, diesel and naphtha produced at Hides have turned to smoke, the fuel depot was closed, and all employees were without jobs.

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