In a solemn procession to end the Funeral Program, Late Sir Rabbie Namaliu was laid to rest this afternoon at Independence Hill, joining both former statesmen, Late Sir Mekere Morauta and William Skate. Making the final remarks before the lowering of the Casket, Prime Minister James Marape asked the nation to reflect on the life of Sir Rabbie and his devotion in servitude, to learn and to commit oneself in total service to the nation. “Let us reflect on his life and take one or two lessons with us. To give ourselves in the manner that he gave himself, in total service to our country.” PMJM mentioned that the older generation is passing on, their work and inspiration will remind the nation to find the drive to work towards a better nation. “For those of us who are in all strata of office in our country, may we find commitment like he had commitment, may we find patience like he had patience, and may we find zeal like he had zeal.” A moment of silence was observed before a gun salute by members of the PNGDF as the Casket of the former statesman was lowered to his final resting place.

Starting off a bit late this morning, hundreds have flocked to the APEC House to to pay their final respects to Late Sir Rabbie Namaliu. The funeral service, attended by members of parliament, departmental heads and the general public. As the program comes to a close, soon those close to Sir Rabbie will move over to Independence Hill to lay sir Rabbie to his final resting place.

The recent rainy weather in the capital city has given a huge wake up call to citizens and commuters moving around doing their daily routines, with the issue of potholes becoming a recurring subject in many households. The aftermath of the wet weather has left a sour taste in the mouths of some residents. “The roads should be fixed, not just the highways, the authorities should be coming into streets to seeing the communities that have bad road work,” said Tauedea, a resident from 6mile. Another concerned capital resident stated that apart from the pothole issue, work must be done to rectify drainage in the capital, adding that this contributes to the increase in the number of portholes in the city. “They [NCDC] should try to work on the drainage system in the city." "Whenever there is rain, the city is always flooded and this contributes to the increase in portholes,” said Thompson another concerned citizen. Furthermore, many citizens would like to see proper work done on the city roads, outlining that as the capital of the country, the roads and infrastructure must reflect this.

A suspect in East New Britain (ENB) Province is currently in police custody after an attack on a PMV along the road leading to the Gelegele Settlement leaving a number of passengers injured. Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Chief Inspector (CIP) Janarius Vosivai said police are now working on trying to find out the motive of such behavior. At the moment, Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers are still gathering information on the incident. “There was an attack on a PMV heading to the settlement along the road to Gelegele. We are not sure as to how many were involved in this attack yesterday, but right now we are working to establish the facts surrounding the incident.” Vosivai said this morning that relatives of victims attacked gathered around the surrounding areas to retaliate, but if it were not for the police intervention, everything would have gone sideways. The disgruntled relatives also tried to attack the laborers in the nearby plantation. According to the PPC, all victims were taken to the hospital where they are currently under observation. The PPC said this is the first time an attack of this sort has occurred, stating that not only were the passengers robbed, but brutally attacked. He has urged the disgruntled family members to return to their communities and stay home and let police do their job in ascertaining the facts surrounding this attack.

The Commander of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF), Major General Mark Goina at the recent National Security Seminar, voiced his intention to increase the Country’s National Security Capability and shed light on the current status of the Force after the Defense Assessment of 2021. He stated that the Defense Assessment 2021 observed that over the years, the PNGDF has suffered very serious capability decline. He said that they have recognized this and are looking towards immediate intervention. “This has been addressed as the 2023 Defense White Paper suggests. The work the PNGDF is currently doing is to stabilize our situation, and set the conditions for a future agile, competent and relevant defense force to uphold and defend PNG’s National Defense Interest.” The General said the last White Paper in 2013 was a critical document that outlined a broad strategic policy for planning parameters and the engagement of the PNGDF towards the country and bilateral partners in defending the country’s borders. To achieve his intent for increasing DF Defense capabilities, Goina said he will be looking to stabilize Defense Force numbers through a targeted growth in order to provide a baseline on which to set a solid foundation. “This is in line to the recommendations in the Defense White paper 2023. The Baseline is very important and everything needs to sit on a strong foundation. When an aircraft is brought in, there must be a foundation where it sits on, where adequate training, pay and maintenance must be available.” That’s the direction the Force is looking forward to go through to set a strong foundation to transition into Force 2023. The CDF reiterated that the Defense White Paper will clearly articulate this through government endorsement and they hope they will deliver on their promises.

The Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF), after undergoing the Review of the Defense White Paper has pledged to stand ready to support the government in their aspirations for nation building. Commander of Defense Force, Major General Mark Goina, stated that after a successful review, the PNGDF would like to assist and improve services in remote areas. He explained that as part of the PNGDF’s core mandates in protecting the sovereignty of the country from external and domestic threats and supporting the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC), the review was timely and is in line with their aspirations for nation building. “We amended it under our constitution to undertake this task and other task in assisting civilian authorities in the development of Papua New Guinea. This includes civil emergency and humanitarian assistance in disaster relief and in times of crisis.” In order to achieve this task, Maj. Gen. Goina stated that it is critical that the PNGDF is well structured and resourced as he believes the changing dialect in the country’s security environment require it so. He said security is one of the government’s highest priorities, adding that having a peaceful and secure country consistent with Vision 2050 is not achievable without a strong national defense and security framework. Furthermore, according to the Defense Assessment of 2021, observed that the force is in very serious disrepair. Therefore, he would like to see more funding and assistance being given to lift the standard of the defense force to what it was almost half a century ago.

The emerging threat in the country right now that needs the attention of law enforcement authorities and the state, is the trade of illicit substance and money laundering. This was stated by the Acting Deputy Commissioner Special Operations Donald Yamasombi during the second day of the National Security Seminar held at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Research Institute (NRI) in Port Moresby. Yamasombi stated that this is not only the case in the country but also across the region, following the recent series of drug busts that have occurred over the past 3-4 months, indicating a paradigm shift from plant based Narcotics to Synthetic drugs and this is worrying for the country. “What we are getting through our networking with international bodies as well as within the region, we are finding that there is a paradigm shift now and we are finding that more people are going into synthetic drugs.” Yamasombi emphasized during his presentation that this is a very serious concern and has raised alarm on how the country will be able to contain this situation for the generations that will carry the country forward. With regard to money laundering, just recently two foreign nationals were apprehended by police trying to enter the country with K11, 000 worth of demonetized currency. How it’s entering the country, the DCP said is a mystery. He added that there are some instances that people who have been deported have tried to return to the country under new names and new passports. Meanwhile, Yamasombi also mentioned a rise in Cybercrimes, such as hacking and Cyber bullying.

Speaking at the second day of the National Security Seminar, Acting Deputy Commissioner Donald Yamasombi said corruption is what gives rise to transnational crimes in other countries. Speaking on factors that make it conducive for these crimes to occur, the DCP said there are certain conditions that allow it to happen. “Here I’ve got about 4 conditions or factors that encourages transnational crimes to happen.” These 4 factors include; Poor Governance, Corruption, Poverty and Geographical Positions. DCP Yamasombi largely stressed on both Corruption and poor governance as both factors themselves are almost inherent attributes that contribute to the rise in Transnational Crimes. “Poor Governance deals with the enabling legislations we have in our country and I think that’s an area that we have seen in the police in trying our best in what we do. A classic example would be the Controlled substances act.” The DCP said this only came about after a huge bust by the RPNGC, prompting the National leaders to take action and introduce this Act. In regards to corruption, He said the common denominator for corruption to give rise is money. “If people need money and someone comes with a bucket of money and says, I want this done, its easy. Poverty is another one. And the Geographical positions of states, like Papua New Guinea. I keep saying the media and others say that they have intelligence saying that PNG is manufacturing a certain synthetic drugs.” He adds that there is no intelligence of this anywhere and that the Country is only a transit hub.

The conclusion by Chair of the National Energy Authority Board, Mr. Joseph Gabut on addressing the need for clean renewable energy, stated that the need for smart energy solutions is a key aspect in Energy Security and Diversification. “We need smart technology solutions for the remotest areas of PNG (Papua New Guinea) to bring power.” This is in line with their aspiration and goal to have over 70% of the country with electricity by 2030 under the National Rural Electrification Roll-Out Plan. He added that smart technological advancements are key to bring power for the remotest areas of PNG. Gabut added that they need to find new innovative ways to work around the issue of inaccessibility to make sure they get things right. Solar home systems, standalone systems, mini-grids are some solutions that have been put forward to tackle the issue. “We can use PNG Power standards to conduct electrification of the remote areas.” He further stated that with the struggles that people go through on a day to day basis, sometimes they have a hard time trying to afford power. He stated that they have to be smart to find ways in which they can bring Electricity services to the people.  

The Correctional Services (CS) Commissioner, Stephen Pokanis with regard to concerns raised on National Security has called for the establishment of the Joint Forces College. Basing his statements on the National Security Plan and the Plan of Action, the Commissioner stated that one of the recommendations was to revitalize the intelligence agencies along with the establishment of the Joint Forces College, but since the Act was passed in 2018, nothing has been done since then. “The Joint Forces College by law has the same status as the Universities of this country. From 2018 and up till now nothing has been done.” For the sake of National Security, Pokanis believes it is a must that the college is set up, so that officers can be trained in areas of importance to the country. He believes there is no tertiary institution that trains leaders and specialists. “I’m not necessarily speaking on traditional security aspect like military or police or even the CS. No, I am talking about all other security areas.” This was mentioned in his presentation on the Topic: CS – is it a Disciplinary Force or Prison Agency, to which he answered, that according to the Constitution in sections 207 and 208, the CS being a state service is also a disciplinary force. He also added that ministers should not try to take the places of the Departmental Heads, but to concentrate on formulating laws that will enhance and safeguard the people. He voiced his beliefs that national leaders should stick to doing their Jobs as legislators and continue funding the implementation of policies. “When we look at policy and when we look at political interest, they seem to be working in two different directions. I strongly believe that if we put more money into implementing policies and we allow our leaders to continue their work as legislators, we will see more change in this country.” Meanwhile, the National Security Seminar continues today at the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Research Institute (NRI).

Unemployment still remains a major issue in as far as National Security is concerned, but sadly there are no statistics to pinpoint accurately how this rate has grown. The National Research Institute Council Chair, Wilson Thompson in his opening remarks at the National Security Seminar this week, said about 30, 000 to 40, 000 school leavers come out of the education system and that’s just from secondary schools these figures represent. “That’s from Grade 10 and 12. What about the university’s that are graduating, where are these people going?” Thompson reiterated that this is a serious problem that needs to be seriously dealt with. He said the country must be able to create employment opportunities through job creation because this is an area that needs to be addressed in terms of national security. Furthermore Thompson stated that there is so many issues between the space of National Security and this is just one highlighted. “When we developed the National Security Policy, we did not for-see that information would come in different shapes and forms.” He added that this is a learning curve for the country.

Easter around the country was relatively quiet this time round with a few exceptions in places such as Daru. Acting Police Commissioner Dr. Philip Mitna has thanked the public throughout the country for a peaceful Easter weekend. Most of the police commands have been quiet with a few isolated incidents, but these were at manageable levels. There was only one suspicious death of a 20-year-old male on Saturday night which led to looting and damaging of public properties by angry relatives and opportunities in the township of Daru, in the Western Province. Thanks to the swift response by local police have contained the situation. Police are on high alert in Daru with investigations into the death currently underway. Dr. Mitna said that from preliminary reports, the deceased, identified as David Kowani Miki aged 20 years from Tureture Village, while accompanying a few PNG Defence Force soldiers out at sea was reported to have lost his life. The ACP said Police will conduct a thorough investigation. . “So far, the Easter long weekend major incident briefs (MIB) from the provinces show a lower number of major incidents than in previous years. He is now urging people to continue being law abiding citizens.