The Hela Provincial Education Division have confirmed the receipt of their share of the first quarter Government Tuition Fee Subsidiary. Chair of the PED, Mr. Ronnie Angu advised that with the receipt, they will be put forward to the schools as the resumption of the classes for 2023 has commenced. “We have received our GTFS and our schools are ready to start. Last week, most of the schools were busy with enrolment and we expect a full swing this week.” The funds, he said will also be broken up for school maintenance in the early part of the year as teaching and learning continues and other school operational needs. An excited Angu also expressed great delight in highlighting that 40 students, through their Flexible Open & Distance Education Program [FODE] have made it through to the Dauli College of Higher Education. The Hela PED and the DCHE in 2020 signed a MoU, in which students from all walks of life would have a chance to further their education at tertiary level. “With DCHE we’ve sent an extra 40 students through our FODE system. They were picked first in their selections and that adds to our overall number of students attending DCHE.” Angu made mention that with the additional 40, that has seen the number of Hela students attending the college rise from 60 to 100 students. He said he is proud of what these 40 students have achieved and is looking forward to seeing more from the program enter tertiary institutions.

Outgoing Milne Bay Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent Peter Barkie has expressed serious concerns over the increased frequency of armed robberies in the province recently. Barkie said so far they have received 3 reports of major armed robberies and has met with his men today to find ways on how to address these incidents. “This week we’ve had some issues and today I called a meeting to counter these issues.” A week before, armed men stormed the Gadaisu/Sagarai area outside of province capital and held up everyone, taking a few belongings and possibly money. Then just yesterday police once again received word of another amredrobbery occurrence in the same area. The last one was also reported this week, with the same motive, a home was robbed and the owner beaten up. So far, due to logistical restraints and the remoteness of the areas affected, police are now working out ways to tackle this issue. “Those places are quite a distance from Alotau town. For us to get to there, it would take some time to reach those places.” Police attempted to send a unit in to assess the situation, but the assailants blocked the roads leading to the areas to buy time for their escape. Barkie said there are now closely monitoring the situation.

For the National Capital District Boxing Trials that will be hosted this weekend, the Gereka Sports Club have put their hand up to provide the venue and incentives for those taking part in the for the Trials. Team NCD Boxing head coach, Junior Raka Kauka said he is thankful for the support shown by the Sports club and is hoping for a favourable turnout this weekend. “I just want to say big thanks to the Gereka Sports Club and this is the first time that the NCD Trials will be hosted outside the city so I appeal to the clubs in the city to come out and support the development of boxing in NCD,” Kauka said. He added that as preparation for the PNG Games are set to commence after the trials, they are lucky to have the Gereka Sports Club’s support. Proud Owner of the Gereka Sports Club and sponsor for the Team NCD Boxing Trials, Dickson Samai said his input in the sponsorship for the trials is to not only give back to the community but to also promote the sport and in the long run attract sponsorship for team NCD as they get prepared to take part in the PNG Games. “Boxing is a sport that is very demanding and brutal and is a global sport and a very big industry and PNG we got the potential,” Samai said. He adds the sport is well suited to the average Papua New Guinean as we are physically more suited to contact sports, especially martial arts. Unfortunately, the industry has been dormant for a few years now and the sports club is now looking to revive the interest in Boxing. The Trials will be on the 11th and 12th which is this weekend with 12 clubs already signed up to take part.

An officer attached to the Gordons Police Precinct in Port Moresby is fighting for his life after allegedly being attacked yesterday by members of the 5mile Youth Association. Constable Neyman Oiye was brutally attacked after suffering an epileptic seizure and accidently driving in to the rail guard and almost injuring the vendors of the informal market, as confirmed by his immediate superior Gordons Police Station Commander, Senior Inspector Gabriel Kini. “It is believed that he encountered an epileptic attack, that’s something that we are aware of and has been diagnosed with medication administered.” The attack was alleged to have occurred around 1pm in the afternoon, while Oiye was driving past Desh Besh Supermarket. SIP Kini stated that as Oiye was driving past the area when he suffered a fit therefore losing control of the vehicle and driving into the rail guard. It was at that point he was allegedly attacked by 5 members of the 5mile Youth Association. “It’s alleged that members of the Five Mile Youth Association [about 4 or 5] in safety vests attacked the officer even though they saw the uniform and know him.” Oiye was saved by members of Fox 100 who were on patrol in that area, dispersed the crowd at the same time reinforcements arrived to assist the unit through which about 30-35 suspects were apprehended and detained in the precinct. Oiye was taken to the Port Moresby Intensive Care Unit [ICU] where he is now receiving treatment.

Following the signing of the Policing Agreement between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justin Tkatchenko and Foreign Minister for the Solomon Islands Jeremiah Manele, Police Commissioner David Manning  commented that this agreement is vital because it will ensure the strengthening of our bilateral ties with our Melanesian brothers. “It’s all about showing support to our Melanesian brothers and is also a sign of solidarity between us as a people of the same background in as far as stability, strength and security is concerned.” Manning said that the agreement will also see increased interaction between the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) and Royal Solomon Islands Police Force [RSIPF] in different facets and he is looking forward to further collaboration with the Solomon Islands. The Commissioner advised that the RPNGC will be providing operational and capacity building support to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, as per the Policing Agreement between both governments. “With this it will allow us to assist in all facets of policing.” Manning advised that this will be done upon request by the RSIPF and the Solomon Islands Government. The RPNGC will be ready to provide assistance, which includes direct operational support and capacity building in terms of training, mentoring and providing instructors to assist with Prosecution Courses for the RSIPF. Mr. Manning also hoped the RPNGC, in the future will have the capability to house and train officers from the RSIPF here in the country. “At some point in the near future, our officer cadet program will be open in a great number of candidates from the RSIPF to come across and undergo Officer Cadet training where they then after 3 years graduate as inspectors.” He added that even though there may be some issues that they are encountered in the force, the RPNGC is willing to commit to assisting the RSIPF.

The Waiori Primary School is seeking financial assistance in order to refurbish two teacher’s houses that collapsed last year during the Christmas period due to strong easterly winds. A teacher’s wife and her 8 year old son almost lost their lives during the collapse. Deputy Head Teacher, Max Stibong said that for a month now the families of both teachers have been living without a home and so the school have come together with the village leaders to seek assistance for the refurbishment from the Abau District Development Authority because they have already been notified by the villagers. “The Abau DDA said they would have a meeting at Kalapa to discuss the matter but that has been postponed to a later date. The report has yet to reach the higher authorities.” He added that the matter has yet to reach the Provincial Education Division and the Abau District Disaster office. Meanwhile, Stibong has also confirmed that they have received their share of the Government Tuition Fee Subsidy. He says that they are now in the process of trying to access these funds to cater for school operations. The school and parents through a Parent-teacher conference thought of using the subsidy to refurbish the homes that were destroyed but later came to a consensus to leave the subsidy for school operations and focus on outsourcing funds for the refurbishment.

Thanks to Theodist Business Superstore, the Life PNG Care Inc received K25, 000 in donation to be put forward to the Strongim Pikinini Education Program, which aims to assist students from Elementary to Tertiary in the form of school fee assistance, stationary and other necessities. Theodist Business Development Manager, Ryan Pini said the contribution put forward today marks the 6th year of partnership with Life PNG Care and expressed that Life PNG Care has made a positive mark in communities around the country. “It’s an organization that we have been contributing to and donating to for the last 6 years. We find that it’s such a valuable contribution to the community as well as providing education as well as shelter and food for some of the children as well, which is really important,” Pini said. He added that education is such a big key to the community and the country needs more of it, stating that what Life PNG Care is doing and really value their contributions. Life PNG Care Director, Colin Pake thanked Theodist for the contribution and 6 years of an amazing partnership, saying that the donation today is very significant event for the organization but plays a major part in their vision. “Life PNG Care is a small organization but our vision is to impact our children through education. As Ryan has said education is a key tool in our country,” Pake mentioned. Pake estimates that over a million school aged children are out of school and says the onus is up to us as a nation to take on this responsibility to educate the young ones. “It is a long journey and I know that even though education is something that some children might not have the opportunity to have, I know that those that go through our process are beneficiaries of program,” he added. So far, 600 children around the country are part of the program this year with 12 making it through to tertiary institutions and 1 to graduate from the University of Papua New Guinea this year.

The country’s governing body for Rugby League, the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League have opened up opportunities for interested associations around the country to express interest in affiliating themselves with the body. PNGRFL Game Development & Participation Coordinator, Nigel Hukula said the body released an advertisement last week, with the intention of garnering interest from potential leagues in the country. For the past 2 years, the Body have not been able to He added that with the expression of interest they would like to see existing affiliates, who have been with the PNGRFL for a number of years and new potential affiliates that may be coming in. “The whole purpose of the EOI is to start getting the momentum of rugby league going back in the community. There’s been a lot of focus in many areas but community rugby league is an area that this is the foothold or the base of a lot of our other programs,” Hukula said. Hukula expressed that this juncture is the precursor to what the body would like to envisage in the games development. He reiterated that so far the EOI has gone out on social media as well as mainstream media, to which he reiterate the purpose of the PNGRFL develop the interest. Due to past experiences with local leagues paying affiliation fees and just moving forward without proper guidance from the PNGRFL, Competitions and Pathways Coordinator Saku Ank said the governing body over the years has been advocating to get guidelines and processes in administering the sport moving forward. Ank said that they have set up their affiliation processes, based upon the New Ireland model that was piloted a few years ago. He added that this will be a big help to local leagues in terms of governance of football and grow talent to perform at their peak at professional level.

A mother here in the nation’s capital Port Moresby is seeking justice following an alleged attempted murder incident that occurred in the early hours of Friday morning. Ms. Derolyn Bobola, a woman of mixed parentage of Madang and Simbu, was brutally beaten up by her own partner, tossed on the road side and left to die. Her partner, Mr. Louie Baure, is an aide to Member for Popondetta Open Richard Masere. Ms. Bobola, an independent women who runs her own Land Consultancy Company, explained that on Thursday the 2nd of February, she had completed a few contract work with a couple of clients and as a token of appreciation was treated to lunch by them, further into the evening went to a nightclub to cool off, to which they were joined by Mr. Baure a little while later. “I was with my chairman and him, the 3 of us. The chairman put some money and we had drinks.” During that time, an argument ensued between the both of them. As the night moved on, they had to leave as the club was closing and the pair left for home. She went to say that another argument ensued, which led to Baure beating her in the vehicle. He then stopped the vehicle around the Kennedy Estate road where he beat her to a pulp and tossed her in a drain nearby, leaving her for dead. Thanks to a lone taxi driver, she was rescued and taken to the hospital where she received treatment and was taken home afterward. Ms. Bobola, along with members of her family after placing a formal police report, fronted the Baure residence yesterday afternoon and demanded to see Mr. Baure and the return of her belongings worth almost K16, 000. Meanwhile, the family of Mr. Baure have condemned his actions and have pledged to assist Ms. Bobola and her family locate him because he  is apparently on run.

In a united front, the Alliance of Solwara Warriors in collaboration with the Caritas PNG, have made a call to the government to come clean on the re-issuing of the Nautilus Mineral Assets and license to a new company on the re-opening of the Solwara-1 Seabed Mining Project. Jonathan Mesulam, the Director of the West Coast Development Foundation and member of the Solwara Warriors, stated that they have already presented an objection to the renewal of the Exploration Licence 1274 that was renewed on the 5th of May 2020. “Companies have been in the country and meeting with the government since May last year. Since we filed the objection, they have been calling on the government for talks on the matter.” Some of the brief points they raised in which they presented in their objection, include no national policy on seabed mining. The second point made known is that at the moment the country has no regulative framework, both at the provincial and national level, to monitor the impact or regulate the seabed mining operation in our waters. He added that the main point they have been trying their best to bring across was that Seabed mining has never been done anywhere in the world and there is no sufficient scientific knowledge of the impacts on the mining environment. “The benefits are known but the risks are unknown.” Nautilus was delisted in 2019, but a new company has since then acquired there assets. This is the Deep Sea Finance & Mining Solutions. In 2018 the Government through Prime Minister James Marape made a statement in Tuvalu declaring and supporting a moratorium on Seabed Mining, but since then has not made clear the government’s stance in the country. Mesulam said that this is something they are pushing for to have the government come clear on this matter.

The interim chairman of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Thomas Eluh upon having been presented the Corruptions Perceptions Index (CPI) yesterday, declared that the statistics unraveled at the presentation yesterday was the worst in the country’s history and embarrassing. In his address the chair expressed that this is not a tag that the country as a whole would want to carry. He further added that as is such, it is now an obligation of every Papua New Guinean to rise up and seriously take a stand against corruption. “There are some positive steps being taken to address corruption in the country, however there is still a lot in the road ahead in our endeavor to combat corruption.” Despite the distressing score of the CPI, Eluh commended the role that the successive governments have played in their efforts to address corruption in the country, most particularly that of the current Marape-Rosso Government. Meanwhile, apart from the passing of the organic law in 2020, the government also passed the Whistle Blower Protection Act and further amended the Proceeds of Crime Act by inserting the Unexplained Wealth Provision.

As the manhunt for the suspects that robbed the Leon Hardware shop in Kokopo on Monday continues, East New Britain (ENB) Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Janarius Vosivai is now calling for the communities surrounding town to assist in the apprehension of the 22 suspects involved in the robbery. Vosivai made this call, urging the general public to stand together in solidarity against these criminals and let justice prevail in the Province. He said this is the third armed robbery that has occurred in town and by the same group. “We are appealing to the communities to assist with the whereabouts of these people now. That’s all that we ask from the community.” Vosivai also confirmed that 4 escapees from the Kerevat Correctional Institution in Kokopo who escaped from the prison facility last year, are part of the 22 bandits that robbed the Leon Hard shop on Monday. “Four of the armed robbers are escapees. They escaped from Kerevat two weeks ago and have been on the run since then.” He added that they have identified all suspects involved in the incident and units have been dispatched around town in search of them. The men, all believed to be local youths, stormed the hardware store and in what appears to be a record time of 2 minutes, grabbing personal items from the staff of the shop and also making their getaway with all cash registers in the shop. The incident occurred between 1:00pm and 2:00pm on Monday. Armed robberies have somewhat been non-existent in the province, this can be attributed to the peaceful nature of the people of ENB. But since the breakout at Kerevat, the Province has seen a steady rise in such incidents.