The Mt Hagen Kamauga Airport's main runway is now undertaking remedial works to fix defects identified by the National Airports Corporation along certain portions of the runway. National Airports Corporation Acting Managing Director/CEO Joseph Tupiri said the reworks on the runway started early October last year, but work was put on hold to cater for the busy period. He said the defects cover certain portions along the 800m stretch of the main runway. “Reworks on a total of 300 meters of the total length of the runway was completed in December 2022.” Tupiri said work resumed on the remaining 500m in January this year and is progressing as planned and next week, works are scheduled to be carried out on the critical portion of the runway. Due to this operation, only smaller aircrafts such as the Fokker 70’s to Dash 8’s have been allowed to use the runway. The Overall work is set to be completed by 30th of April this year. But even though the repair works do not incur any cost to the government or the NAC as it is being attended to under the Defects Liability Period. “It must be noted that the contractor is still owed significant amounts of money by the Government of PNG component of its invoices for completed works as well. NAC is working closely with all the aviation stakeholders to ensure works are completed on time and in accordance with the NAC’s quality standards.” He added that whilst NAC regrets that the rework affects the air traffic in and out of Mt Hagen Airport due to reduced capacity, the importance of maintaining the airport’s infrastructure to ensure safety and security of the travelling public and the airline operators in accordance with the PNG Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s Civil Aviation Rules and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practice.

BREAKING! This just in from Kimbe, West New Britain, 3 men, two suspects and a civilian have been killed in an attempted carjacking gone wrong today. As per the report from New West New Britain Provincial Police Commander, Peter Barkie, the two suspects were part of an armed group that attempted to hold up a vehicle presumably belonging to Able Computing Limited. While trying to make their getaway, police were able to make it in time to disrupt their plan, afterwhich they were shot and killed while the rest fled. “They are still pursuing the bad guys. The two that were shot and killed were part of the group that held up the vehicle.” “At this point, we have yet to ascertain the number of suspects involved.” Barkie said right now the men in blue are in pursuit of the rest of the armed perpetrators, who have fled into the nearby bush surrounding the crime scene. The civilian killed in the vehicle is deemed to be the driver. Barkie added that the civilian was robbed and killed. As of now, the bodies of the 3 men have been taken to the morgue, as a manhunt is underway in Kimbe township. We will keep you posted as more updates of this developing story come in.

Minister for Petroleum & Energy, Kerenga Kua has knocked back claims of misappropriation, backing up the Secretary of the Department, David Manau and the Expenditure Implementation Committee [EIC], stating that as minister, he has not found anything dodgy with respect to the Secretary’s decisions. “At the moment its what people are saying that it’s misappropriation. For me as minister, I don’t see any misappropriation.” The Minister said that there are several departments involved in the decision making of the EIC, this includes other departments such as the National Planning Department and Treasury and Finance. Manau, as per Kua holds the deputy chair of the EIC and decisions concerning movement of funds and others are made collectively and in collaboration within the EIC. “Errors of Judgement do not imply Criminality.” Kua added that he is aware of what has been said concerning the secretary, maintaining that it remains an allegation until proven. He also pointed out that Manau in his capacity as Deputy Chair of the EIC should not be the subject of the investigation. “The secretary alone doesn't make the decision. In fact he should not even be the subject of this complaint at all. The Chairman, which is the Secretary for National Planning should be the main subject of the police investigation. He leads, He signs off.” Kua reiterates that the department does not receive any money, as it all goes through to the Treasury Department, saying it is hard to accept that there is any criminality involved in the conduct of the Department secretary.

A workshop will be held on Thursday this week, on the 2nd of March in the coming days to discuss version 2.0 of the proposed Draft National Media Development Policy. This will be hosted by the Department of Information and Communications Technology. This workshop, according to the department will provide stakeholders an opportunity to share their thoughts on the update of the policy which was released on Monday. Secretary for DICT, Steven Matainaho has also clarified the government stance on the policy. "We have made efforts to provide clarity in version 2.0 of the Draft Media Development Policy that Government has no intent in controlling the media through this policy intervention." “The government, through DICT, is aiming to promote the development of the media industry in the country with a vision to make sure it’s self-sustainable, professional, and independent.” He added, “The Department believes this latest version of the policy was released after a good number of feedback from various stakeholders.” “For the upcoming workshop, stakeholders will be given the opportunity to share their feedback and comments on the Draft National Media Development Policy.” “This will help to refine the policy further and ensure that it meets the needs of all stakeholders.” The event will be held at the Stanley Hotel, and stakeholders from various sectors of the media industry, including media practitioners, civil society representatives, and government officials are expected to attend. Secretary Matainaho further stated that the workshop is a step towards achieving this goal, and the DICT looks forward to receiving valuable feedback from stakeholders to help improve the Media Development Policy. “An invite is available to all interested to access the Draft version 2.0 on the official website.” Click on the link to access the draft v2.0: http://bit.ly/3xXdkLS

The Minister for Internal Security, Peter Tsiamalili has come out to clarify the events that occurred to secure the safe release of the hostages in the Southern Highlands. Tsiamalili stated that neither himself nor the Prime Minister were engaged directly with the Terrorists, as to the terms of the release or the ransom amount that was requested. “Negotiations were deliberately undertaken by third parties, through an agreed operational strategy, as to not compromise the State position on law enforcement”, Tsiamalili said. The Minister added that families of the hostages and other parties were involved in the negotiations and a total sum of K100, 000 was rounded up to assist with intelligence gathering and support for negotiators who worked towards the safe release of the hostages. “This is by far, as far as the country is concerned, an act of full-on terrorism.” The Minister has reassured that they had the intention to negotiate to secure a positive outcome even though the National Security Forces had the capability and capacity to intervene but acted upon the decision by the Commissioner for Police was to pursue a negotiated outcome, to which he fully supported. He went on to add that clear, concise, and effective communication with both the captors and hostages was critical, however, language barriers impeded this process. “Given this, a decision based on Operational Requirements were made to engage a third party to deliver messages and confirm requirements for the safe delivery of the captives.” “Throughout the ordeal, consultation with stakeholders occurred to determine how best to approach negotiations based on the intelligence at hand to navigate and secure the release of the hostages with minimum harm.”

Despite not much had being done yesterday to commemorate the 2nd year since the passing of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, the people still hold a very special place in their hearts for the man who led the country to self-government then to independence. Many agree that it is only proper that we have this public holiday in honor of the late grand chief. From all walks of life, from the highlands to the islands resonate with today, and hope we continue to observe and pay homage to the man that brought more than 800 tribes, tongues and people together. “If he had not pushed for independence, I can’t imagine what it would be like being dependent on another country,” an elderly lady mentioned. Far across the capital, many reserved time to sit back and contemplate everything that had transpired up till now and are grateful for the services he rendered for the country. [video width="2560" height="1408" mp4="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/lv_0_20230224181743.mp4"][/video]

“Work never stops.” A personification of the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare as portrayed by Prime Minister James Marape in his speech at the NCD Vigil that commemorated the life of the iconic founding father of the country. In honor of the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, a walk around the Paga Hill ring road was held by many attendees from communities in and around the city. The Vigil was organized by the NCD Governor Powes Parkop and was hosted at the Hubert Murray stadium to reflect on the life of a man that gave his all for God and for Country. Welcoming all attending the event, the NCD Governor highlighted the dream of a man who believed that despite all other tribal or social affiliations, different groups of people could live as one in unity. “Grand Chief had a great dream for this nation of a thousand tribes and hundreds of languages, cultures and traditions.He believed that we could rise above our tribal and other differences to be a great nation a world that was and is still divided political ideologies, ethnic, religious and other differences.” As the tributes poured in, one could not help but feel the intense heart and love of the people to the man they called the Father of the Nation. Two years on since his passing, many have yet to come to terms with the idea of losing him as observed this evening in the outpouring of the people in the stadium. Meanwhile, keynote speaker and Minister for Petroleum & Energy Kerenga Kua expanded on this in his speech, noting the influence and love for the people maintained that the man of discipline touched so many. “The Grand Chief is one of the greatest individuals that have ever walked on the surface of the land in this country.” He added that the purpose of the gathering this evening was of many meanings, but on a personal level he mentioned that it was to reflect on the great deeds that he had done as an individual and as a leader that built the country to where it is today and to remember and uphold his legacy and the dream of a united PNG.

Western Highlands Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent John Sagom is urging police officers in the province to be disciplined and committed to their mandated duties at all times. Mr Sagom mentioned a decline in the conduct of officers in performing their mandated duties are concerned. He further stated that discipline in punctuality to work has dropped, affecting daily policing in the province. “Policemen and women are still chewing betel nuts whilst in police uniform and even attending complaints at the duty counter as well. This is very disgusting and immediate supervisors must take actions against those officers,” Mr Sagom said. "According to Section 197 of the constitution, police officers have a greater task ahead of them and must not shy away from their constitutional roles and functions." "In order to meet the standard required for policing in the third city of the country the level of policing must be stepped up." Thanks to PPC Sagom, the police will be working in partnership with the Mt. Hagen City Council to declare a war on illicit substances, betelnut, armed conflict. Police Foot Patrols will also become a norm in the city. “I want to see all police units remain within the city until the public leaves to their respective homes." "Our Provincial Government, City Commission, and business communities are eager to support us and we must prove to them how best we can deliver policing services in the city." “There must be a radical change in the way we conduct police business. I will not be sitting in the office or resting but will be working together until our city is safe for everyone." He added, "We must always have this question in our minds that are we doing enough for the province and the country we are serving in terms of law and order." PPC Sagom said there was no time to sleep and be complacent and is calling for a radical change in the way police operate and portray themselves.

A no show by both the Police and Electoral Commissioners respectively on the final day of the Public Hearing facilitated by the Special Parliamentary Committee Review of the 2022 National General elections is concerning. This was a reflection made by a former PNG Electoral Commissioner Reuben Kaiulo who made calls for a restructure of the Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission. It’s sad to mention that while many discrepancies were found during the hearing and many great ideas shared on how the elections can be made better, the heads of the two vital constitutional bodies that are involved in the NGE were missing in action. In an intense exchange with members of the Special parliamentary committee this morning, former Electoral Commissioner, Kaiulo put forward strong recommendations for the restructure of the PNG Electoral Commission. Kaiulo, who oversaw 3 successful National General Elections mentioned to the chair of the committee that for a long time nothing has been done to review the structure to ascertain potential flaws which have for a long time been leading to people taking advantage of the system. “The concept that I have in mind for the future of the Electoral Commission the new board of commissioners is one of basically policy advising.” Kaiulo mentioned that so many reports have been made about the code of ethics of the EC, which have been around for 3 elections and called on the law makers to review for these proposed changes as necessary

A strong call has been put forward for a restructure of the PNG Electoral Commission. In an intense exchange with members of the Special Parliamentary Committee Review of the 2022 National General Elections today, former Electoral Commissioner, Reuben Kaiulo put forward strong recommendations. Kaiulo, who oversaw 3 successful National General Elections said to the chair of the committee Governor Allan Bird that for a long time nothing has been done to review the structure to ascertain potential flaws thus leading to people taking advantage of the system. Stay with us for more on this story on the LEGEND FM News, YUMI FM News and NAU FM News at 6pm this afternoon and you can catch the live video interview at 7pm tonight on our PNG HAUSBUNG website and Facebook page.

A Special Parliamentary Committee that was set up after the formation of government last year specifically to look into the 2022 National General Elections following many discrepancies identified by political commentators and observers have begun their review of the PNG elections. The Chair of the Committee & East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird said this is the first time that the country has had a committee to look into the elections as the people have grown more concerned about the deterioration of the conduct of the elections over the past years. “Many commentators agree that 2022 was quite bad and I think 2017 was also similar.” The elections, according to the chair and many others are getting worse. Making reference to the comments reports made by the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Commissioner and the Commander of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force, the elections have progressively been getting worse. “There is a build-up of firearms in certain parts of the country and we’re beginning to see them being used in the elections and there’s an expectation that they’ll be a lot of them being used in 2027 that the conduct of the elections more serious challenges.” This boils down to the attitude of the people. He stressed that the review is timely as they will now be taking an in-depth look at how the elections can be better orchestrated later on in the future. The Committee has received serious concerns as to the way the Electoral Commission has conducted the elections, even the previous one as well.

A man is fighting for his life at the Gerehu General Hospital after receiving a stab wound in the chest following an argument with drunkards at the main entrance of the Kennedy Estate outside Port Moresby. The 34 year old victim from Eastern Highlands Province while on his way to work was stabbed after a vulgar exchange with a group of men believed to be from the Hela. This led to a retaliation by the victim's relatives, who took up arms and a clash ensued. Thus far there have been no other reported casualties. Kennedy Estate, 15 minutes out of the city is home to hundreds of city residents; and is now calm with some order restored. PNG HAUSBUNG have spoken with the Gordons police who said reports of the clash have reached them and they are now in talks to arrange a mediation between both groups involved in this clash in an attempt to maintain peace. We will keep you posted with more updates on this story on the LEGEND FM News, YUMI FM News and NAU FM News at 12pm today.