Although still a start-up organization, the Independent Commission against Corruption [ICAC] Commissioner, Andrew Forbes is confident and optimistic that the organization will be partly operational before the end of the year and fully operational by the start of 2024. Commissioner Forbes told PNG HAUSBUNG that although they may be optimistic, their ability to progress to a fully operational organization will largely depend on funding received from the government. “Whilst our national budget submission for a fully operational ICAC has been submitted to Treasury, we are hopeful that it will be considered to ensure fully operational ICAC by 2024.” He stated that the government of the day has made a commitment to appoint 3 commissioners and while they are committed to fulfilling the plans of ICAC, they are hoping to be fully resourced and equipped to carry out their functions. “We are happy to advise that through a lot of hard work by our small number of staff, we are quietly confident about fulfilling our plans.” In terms of recruitment for ICAC, he mentioned that this is also entirely dependent on funding from the government through the government budgetary process. Despite this they have been able to carry out the recruitment of key senior staff, whom they hope will commence with the Organization at the end of this year or early 2024. “Furthermore, the commission has decided and approved an organizational structure ideal for PNG ICAC.” The Commissioner stated that while this has facilitated the progress of the recruitment, they are anticipating a fully funded ICAC through the budgetary process that will enable the recruitment of staff for key positions.

“We can do so much more with our human resource.” These were the sentiments of Deputy NCD/Central Commander, John Midi. The Deputy Commander stated that with the right mindset and a forward-thinking attitude, the command would be much better and more capable of achieving their objectives. Speaking to PNG HAUSBUNG, he stated that there are many challenges that they face but managing human resources is vital to ensuring that the command functions effectively. “I see a lot of downfalls in these areas in terms of training and these are some things that I would like to assist in looking at to support mechanisms down the line.” He added that there are people in the force who dedicate themselves to the profession, who make big sacrifices and it is their job to help them out so they can become better. He further said that the culture within the Police force is a good culture but for quite some time many have strayed from it, and it is time now to return. Referring to the Special Services Division and how they have managed to maintain cohesiveness, D/Commander Midi said a way forward is to learn from each other. “Maintaining a cohesive effort in working in unison and getting people to be happy with what they do is what makes us more effective.”

A man has been detained here in the capital on Tuesday following an attempt to transport 300 5.56mm live bullets (used in M16 assault rifles) to Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands. According to Police Commissioner David Manning, the person arrested was formerly employed as a private security guard. “At around 11am on Tuesday a male passenger checked in at the Port Moresby Domestic Terminal intending to travel to Mt. Hagen on PX184, which was scheduled to depart at 11:40am.” The Commissioner said investigations into the suspect’s actions are underway with the suspect expected to be charged with multiple offences. Manning stated that as violence in the highlands region slowly dies down, police personnel are coming down hard on those that try to transport weapons and ammunition into the fighting areas. He further said that it was very concerning that the suspect was able to bypass initial screening points with the rounds undetected. “ The man appears to have been able to pass the bag screening at the departure terminal before the contents were discovered prior to loading on the plane.” He added that this could not be the work of only one person and that investigations are underway to figure out how he managed to get the rounds into the terminal before being caught out and will be looking to Identify who his accomplices may have been. “The overall security screening process is under review in consultation with airport authorities and police presence at the airport will be increased.”

Police investigations are underway following the killing of two armed robbers in Abau who were caught in a failed robbery attempt by villagers from Egalauna along the Aroma Coast recently. Central Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Laimo Asi confirmed two armed criminals met their fate at the hands of the villagers on Sunday while trying to rob a shop owned by a foreign national which operates in the village. “At around 9.30 am five armed suspects, all armed with homemade guns made their way into the store and were about to rob the store when the villagers’ received information of the robbery went to the store, killing two and also injuring the others.” “This escalated into a full-on confrontation between villages from Egalauna and another village within the same area as it is widely speculated that a few of the suspects may have come from another village.” This further resulted in looting of the shop and the Chinese national sustaining injuries during this incident. PPC Asi further added that the fighting the two villages that were involved in the incident were neighbouring villages that live near the Chinese shop. In wake of the incident, police confirmed that several homes were torched and thanks to the help of a few villagers, the shop owner and another were taken to safety. The PPC has now warned the people in the village to refrain from fighting. “The people in the village had been warned not to take the law into their own hands and cause further destruction.” “I want people of these villages to respect police investigation.” “I expect to meet with the leaders of Egala'auna, Maopa and Gaivakala on Wednesday to discuss restoration of peace normalcy as way forward.” PPC Asi said there had been reports of people issuing threats and intimidation against people of the Egala'auna taking advantage of the situation and police are monitoring the situation.

Police in the Gulf of Papua have advised that following the arrest of four suspects in relation to the transportation of illicit substances, the Gulf Command is still riddled with reports of incidents, direct or indirectly influenced by illicit substance abuse. Provincial Police Commander for Gulf, Chief Inspector Jeffery Lemb believes that much more awareness needs to be done for people in the province to refrain from pedalling drugs as a means of sustaining their livelihoods. “Four suspects were arrested recently transporting drugs and were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.” “This should have been seen as a deterrent to move people away from this sort of illegal activity.” PPC Lemb told PNG HAUSBUNG that more awareness needs to be done for people on the New Controlled Substances Act and this should be done in communities to address these growing concerns. He has also called on the media to assist in this undertaking. It is understood that there are challenges that people face in their day to day lives and people tend to resort to illegal activities as means of survival, but people need a rundown on the consequences of these actions. Meanwhile the PPC stated that for now, police have made headway in their investigation on a syndicate that supply’s illegal drugs in the Southern Region and has issued a warning to all in the province to cease conducting this illegal business.

With Independence around the corner, Police in Gulf province have advised that they will be keeping an eye out for commuters along the Hiritano Highway just to ensure that the road safety rules are being observed and to monitor suspicious movement of vehicles transporting illicit substances. Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Chief Inspector Jeffery Lemb said that they had devised their plans for a special independence operations but are still waiting on funding to be granted by the Provincial Government to commence operations. “For the moment, we are still waiting on the Provincial Government to provide funding, but our men will be on the road to monitor suspicious activity, especially disturbances on the highways.” He said they currently have 13 police personnel from Kikori moved down to Malalaua station and will be assisting their police for the moment, while awaiting funding. The PPC mentioned that issues relating to illicit substance abuse and lawlessness along the Hiritano is the main reason for police conducting road inspections. The pre-independence operations were supposed to start in August and lead into September for 3 weeks, but due to the delay in funding, they will continue to observe the highway.

"Get back to basics." This was the message echoed to members of the Central Provincial Police Command following the official handover ceremony between outgoing NCD/Central Deputy Commander Laimo Asi and Outgoing Central Provincial Police Commander, John Midi. The incoming Central PPC Asi stated that there is nothing much to change within the Command, but urged members to get back to working in unison with communities and refrain from other activities that may tarnish the name of the command. “Bring your mind back and take ownership of your command and continue to do what the outgoing PPC has set.” He said that discipline is priority and has warned that he will be not take discipline lightly if police personnel step out of line, adding that having the mandate to lead Central province he will be carrying on from where Outgoing PPC Midi had left off. Negative reports about ill-discipline and lack of professionalism in the command is what the new PPC has planned to address, adding that this is out of context and not in line with what the command stands for. “What I want is for you to do what you can do & do your best so we can achieve together.” He said the community policing approach has always been downplayed by members of the police force and his priority is to ensure that police can once again regain the confidence of the public and also ensure law and order is well kept and maintained. PPC Asi assumes his role today as the commander of Central Provincial Police.

Four-time Vanuatu prime minister Sato Kilman has been elected to the top job for a record fifth time on Monday in Port Vila, ousting Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau's nine-month reign as the leader of government. Kilman received a total of 27 votes, while Kalsakau got 23 votes. Kilman, 65, was the deputy PM in Kalsakau's government before being removed in May. At the time Kalsakau had stated that Kilman's dismissal was for "stability of the coalition government". "Mr speaker first and foremost I want to say a big thank you to the members of parliament and the political parties that supported the change in government. Thank you," he said. "But thank you even more for standing your ground and for ensuring that democracy prevails in Vanuatu." Earlier on Monday, Vanuatu's highest court - the Court of Appeal - dismissed an appeal against the removal Kalsakau. Last month the opposition grouping, led by former PM Bob Loughman, brought a motion of no-confidence in Kalsakau. They garnered 26 of the 49 votes cast but the parliamentary speaker ruled they had not reached what he considered the minimum 27 required for a successful motion in the 52 member House. Loughman's group appealed to the courts, which last week ruled in their favour, but the speaker appealed that decision. That appeal was dismissed today bringing an end to Kalsakau's tenure and triggering the election of the new prime minister. Sato Kilman was sworn in as prime minister immediately after the vote on Monday evening. He is expected to announce the composition of the cabinet of his new coalition government later this week. Source:RNZ.Com

Despite the challenges that they may face in shortfalls of Manpower or funding, Police in Milne Bay province have pledged that they will be vigilant in observing crime as the clock ticks down to Independence this month. Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Ben Kua has stated that for this independence they police will be on their toes to make sure safety and security of the people is secured. At this point in time, PPC Kua stated that they have not planned any special operations for the festive period, but has assured that police will be working on over drive to make sure the celebrations are smooth. “We are on standby to assist any situations before and during the independence celebrations.” He said police will be on full alert and monitoring celebrations closely given that although Independence may be a time of festivities and celebration, there are still people out there that are looking to cause trouble. He said at this time the police are still waiting on the events team to confirm dates for the festivities so they can plan security profile for all celebrations. Logistics continue to be an ongoing issue for the men in blue in the most archipelagic province of the country and the PPC also highlighted that the challenge lies in preparation ahead of the festive period. “We face very big problems with regards to logistics to oversee on the outer islands.”

Selections for the Correctional Services (CS) recruitment drive for this year’s intake have now been finalized and screening for the successful candidates will commence as soon as the CS have identified a suitable human resource firm to assist with the vetting. This was the advice from the CS Commissioner, Stephen Pokanis when asked by PNG Hausbung on the progress of the recruitment that was initiated this year. “Selections for CS recruits are done. I am requesting suitable private human resource firms, firms which the CS can pay to complete selections of suitable candidates. The Commissioner stated that they are expecting to complete this exercise this month, with next month and November scheduled for training to commence. So far, 400 candidates were selected from 5, 000 applications. However, the CS will only be recruiting 100 candidates. This is to cut cost and for the CS to manage funds for recruitment training. For this recruitment alone, K2 million kina has been allocated for training, uniforms and training material, allowances, movement after training to institutions and for 12 months probationary period (On-Workplace Assessments). CS recruits will be undergoing 5 months full training and 12 month probation before certification as warders. During this time, recruits will undergo assessments for extension of probation or termination.  

West New Britain Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent Peter Barkie has called on the People of Cape Gloucester to refrain from any retaliation as they work to ascertain the facts behind the deaths of 3 youth in the area that were alleged to have been killed by police. PPC Barkie said his heartfelt condolences to the families of the young men for the loss of the 3 lives and has stated that police investigations are underway to determine what went wrong that faithful day. Speaking to PNG HAUSBUNG, he explained that it is unfortunate that this type of incident has occurred. “It is a very unfortunate situation. Sometimes things like this can happen. It is very unfortunate, they were brought in because they were suspected of something, in between, something went wrong, and they lost their lives.” It was reported that the 3 lives lost on the 20th of this month were youth that were suspected to have been part of notorious a gang that were responsible for causing terror in the area and were being transported to Cape Gloucester Police Station when along the way, it is stated that they attempted to escape and lost their lives as a result. Superintendent Barkie said he will be doing his part as PPC and will have the matter investigated by the coroner, who is a neutral entity that will be working to establish the cause of death. On the same note, he expressed his sadness and lamented that losing a life is not an easy thing. “My message to my people of Cape Gloucester, firstly I would like to say sorry for the loss of the 3 lives.” “A loss of life cannot be replaced by anything.” “My apologies and sincere condolences to my people.” PPC WNB further urged that the people of WNB to refrain from harbouring criminals and assist police in apprehending suspects.

Police in Enga Province have advised that there have been several killings that have occurred in the province and are calling on the commuters and others to steer clear of any major fighting areas. Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent George Kakas said Police are doing their best to make sure fighting does not affect school and other public institutions especial within the Wapenamanda area where intense gun battles are reported to be seen from just across the valley. He while speaking with PNG HAUSBUNG, PPC Kakas said now it is hard to determine who is who as minor skirmishes between tribes seem to be occurring randomly. “At the moment, people are fighting, men are intersecting and setting up ambushes, so we are just trying to make sure that it does not spill onto the highway.” “There have been several killings in the past few days, it’s gone viral on social media.” The most viral picture of the gruesome killings that were reported, was that of a group of men that were killed and thrown into a ditch along the highway following a botched ambush attempt on a neighbouring tribe. Following police investigations, the men clearly seen to have been hacked to death had crept up a hill to get to their enemies but were attacked and killed. “They tied their hands and feet to the back of an open back land cruiser and tried to pull them across the road.” “Fortunately, I was there and stopped them from further mutilating the bodies of the deceased.” Another incident this week saw 3 men from a different tribe killed and tossed on the roadside in an act of frustration by the Ambugin tribe after they had learned of a premeditated attack plan against them. Kakas said he on many instances have tried to get the tribes to come to a consensus and to cease fighting in the region, but this has been to no avail. “I’ve tried several approaches; I’ve gone into the tribal zones myself about 3 times on both sides and I told them to stop the fighting. I warned them. But my warnings and advice has not been heeded.” Meanwhile, PPC further added that a few tribes have grown tired of the fighting and have now approached the office of the PPC to broker peace and return to normalcy.