A shocking start to the working week for the Waigani District Court House this morning as 9 remand detainees from the Boroko Police station that were taken to the court house for hearings today escaped under the very nose of the Court. At the Moment it is uncertain as to how they managed to get away from the Guards at the court house but facts ascertained from credible sources say that the locks on the gates at the Court house were not locked and also unmanned. Waigani Police Station Commander, Inspector Bill Werake has advised that 4 from the 9 detainees have been apprehended by police but the other 5 remain at large. “I overheard on the police radio that 9 had escaped from the Court house and immediately dispatched units to the scene. We currently have 4 of the 9 back in custody but the others remain at large and we are hoping to catch them as soon as possible." He added that a few of them managed to run into crowds in the surrounding areas and blend in, making it a challenge for the men in blue. Right now the manhunt for the remaining 5 is underway.

The recent fighting in Wewak, the provincial capital of East Sepik Province, has taken its toll on the people because lives have been lost, properties destroyed, families displaced and livelihoods greatly affected, but this is about to change. Members of the Greater Sepik community [East & West] in diaspora here in the nation’s capital Port Moresby, have joined hands in a united front to take action against the violence and the usage of the dreaded “Wire Catapult”. The Sepik Social Youth Movement is a group that is looking to help assist in reaching out to communities and youths in the Wewak to end all forms of violence and to completely discourage the creation and use of Wire Catapults within the Province. The group's President Mr. Xavier Wablasu, is hoping that all ethnic Sepiks in the country can join hands in helping to restore safety and security to the province, because the movement is basically for self-help and to address the underlying issues that resulted in the widespread violence in the provincial capital. “We’ve had issues in Wewak in the recent months, just this year alone we have had so many big fights, most prominent was the Mengar and the Murik. Just recently we had the Nuigo-Chimbain fight and there’s been a lot of others within the span of this year,” he said. Wablasu said there have been so many deaths and injuries caused by the fighting, especially due to the usage of Wire catapults. He added that East Sepik Governor Mr. Allan Bird recently spoke in parliament about the undeniably illicit usage of the weapon,  which has caused issue in the area and stating that the Sepik community must work together to address it. "So, for us after that speech it’s a call to action for us. It’s about us getting together, being one voice and one mind trying to eradicate this madness,” Wablasu said. Mr. Wablasu further commented that this weapon is just the outward manifestation of the other socio-economic issues being faced by the youths. “We have a few plans, short term and long term. Christmas is coming up and we don’t want that violence to spill over into the festive period. So, we are looking at creating awareness by engaging youths in Wewak and engaging assets in Wewak (Churches, the state, community leaders),” he stated. On Sunday (30/10/22) the group held their first fundraising event to raise funds for the registration and establishment of the Port Moresby Chapter, and all proceeds will then go to assisting the programs they are planning to implement.

The Police Mobile Squad officer that went missing over a week ago in Hela province, was found yesterday dead and in a river. Tari police confirmed that the body of the late Mobile Squad member was found between 12pm and 1pm on Sunday afternoon by a young boy who went swimming in the river. Police reported that the boy then rushed back home, and the discovery was then reported to police. Security personnel then moved in and prepared to move the body back to Tari. Following the discovery of the body of late Senior Constable Nelson Kalimda, a grief-stricken Police Commissioner David Manning came out to expressed great sadness over the discovery of the body of the Special Services Division member. Commissioner Manning stated that it was with a very heavy heart that he had to be the bearer of bad news regarding the death of late Kalimda. “On retrieving the body, it was then transferred to Tari Hospital, from there the identification process commenced where he was then identified by the late Senior Constable’s immediate commander,” Manning said. The discovery of the body of late Kalimda seemed to have had a massive impact on those within the police hierarchy with the commissioner overwhelmed by the fact that he had to personally inform the family of late Kalimda of his untimely demise. Manning has now made a call out to the public to respect police officers and to work in unison with them as they are mandated to keep watch over communities in the country. In saying this, the commissioner added that it still does not take away the fact that there are some people that would wish to harm the men in blue. He added that this is an ongoing challenge to get the people on board, working together with the police force to ensure safety and peace.

The clear plan set out by the Marape-Rosso Government for on-going budget repair means that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank now consider Papua New Guinea’s debt levels to be sustainable. "They are very clear that the only reason for the “sustainable” rating is because of the plans for further budget repair and using good, cheap concessional financing rather than expensive commercial loans” stated the Treasurer, Ian Ling-Stuckey. “In contrast, the reason for PNG’s high debt risk rating is because of the reckless policies of the O’Neill/PNC administration. They are the ones that undertook an expensive Sovereign Bond raising of $US500 million at effective interest costs of over 8 per cent, all of which has to be repaid entirely in 2028. The Treasurer said this caused a breach in the WB/IMF “Debt service-to-revenue ratio” that led to the high risk of external debt rating. "What a foolish decision to go down that path. Loved by overseas investors but bad news for our people," said  Ling-Stuckey. He added that the O’Neill/PNC administration left PNG’s debt to GDP ratio at 41.3% in 2019 according to the IMF Due Diligence work. That is in breach of the 35% ratio of public debt to GDP used in the World Bank/IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis. "This started the high risk rating for public debt. Of course, they also left a budget deficit of 5.8 per cent of GDP according to the IMF. Even with major budget repair in reducing the budget deficit year after year, these budget deficits automatically increase debt."

Following the recent ethnic clashes that ravaged Wewak Town a week ago at the Nuigo Settlement. Now a group of displaced settlers that have found refuge on the Sepik plains in the Angoram District adjacent to the Timbunke Village. Now the community leaders of the displaced people are calling on the provincial government to assist them with necessities to alleviate the struggles that the people are going through. One of the Community leaders, Mr. Patrick Gambia stated that they are in dire need of services but trying to reach out to the East Sepik provincial government, but to no avail as there is no means of communication with them or the Wewak District Authority as well as the Angoram District Authority. “We have not received any assistance from the Provincial Government or even the Wewak or Angoram DDA (District Development Authority). The only assistance we have had since we first arrived was from a businessman in the area who provided tarpaulins for us to construct make-shift shelters for ourselves,” Gambia said. Apart from the help of the business man, the settlers have also been receiving assistance from nearby villages in the form of food and clothing. He added that communities surrounding the Timbunke Health Center are also calling out to the National Department of Health and as medical supplies in at the nearest Health Center in Timbunke is said to have run out of medical supplies. Mr. Gambia added that since they arrived at the area a week ago, they have depended on the Health Center for medical treatment as many of their young men suffered wounds from the fighting that ensued at the Nuigo Settlement and many are suffering from illnesses. “Our people are suffering from severe colds, fever, some are even showing signs of COVID, but we do not want to speculate on that, we just want to appeal to the NDoH and the Provincial Government to help us out,” Gambia stated. Gambia said they were thinking of heading back to Wewak to receive treatment, but fear for their lives as tensions between the settlers and town residents still remain high.

Papua New Guinea looks to be on the right track to eliminating debt by 2032 and curbing the unemployment rate, through the idea of providing incentives that will attract investors to look into the utilizing Special Economic Zones [SEZs]. Special Economic Zones [SEZs], are geographically designated areas of a country set aside for specifically targeted economic activities, supported through special arrangements and systems that are often different from those that apply in the rest of the country. Right now, leading experts from the Japanese Development Investment company [JDI] touched down here in the capital, Port Moresby upon request of the Marape-Rosso government and will be moving around the country to conduct studies of the proposed 20 locations that are currently listed as potential SEZs. Minister for International Trade and Investments, Richard Maru expressing great excitement, stated that all 20 locations will be going through feasibility studies to determine the feasible ones and which of these locations will be suitable for SEZ recommendation. “They will travel the country and undertake the individual feasibility study of each individual on the list that we will provide based on interest and what the ministry believes to be potential SEZs,” the minister said. After the studies are done, the minister will then be able to inform the Government of the outcome of the study to determine the next step they will be taking. Dr. Shoichi Kabayashi, the leading expert in SEZ implementation and over 45 years of experience in the sector explained that should this undertaking show promising results, the country will reap many benefits. Dr. Kabayashi added that government input is critical in the establishment of the SEZs as they will be pivotal in the process. “In order for the SEZs to be successful, all parties involved in the negotiations must work together. This includes the Government, the private sector and all other parties involved,” Kabayashi said. Should the potential SEZs become successful, this will create almost a million jobs thus solving the employment issue on hand.

“This is not the end of the road,” the words of encouragement from the Minister of Education, Jimmy Uguro to the graduating G.12 students from the Gordons Secondary School. The Minister was one among a special guest list of notable speakers, including Chief Justice Gibbs Salika, who was present to witness the graduation of his grand-daughter. Addressing the students, Uguro challenged them to go out and contribute positively to the society. He congratulated the students for committing themselves to their studies during the Covid-19 period. “Now the question to you students, where are you going to be tomorrow after this graduation? Have you prepared for the next destination? Don’t waste time. Time is running and you cannot rewind the clock,” he said. He added that the government through his ministry remains committed to providing free education for the people with government subsidized funding to all schools nationwide especially F.O.D.E programs that are run around the country, should students need to upgrade their marks. The minister has also urge the students and general public to take care of their school facilities as they are the foundation upon which the educators use to disseminate information to the next generation.

In light of recent incidents in and around the Badili Police Operation Area in Port Moresby, Police station commander Inspector Jerry Obert has come to advice youths residing within the vicinity of the Police station to refrain from engaging in illegal activities. Obert stated that the stabbing of the bus attendant at the Manu Auto-port bus stop last week was orchestrated by a group of youths believed to be from Goilala. He added that over the month they have been receiving reports of a group of youths going around causing trouble within the area. This group tends to terrorize commuters at bus stops and are a cause of many petty crimes. Meanwhile, Obert added that due to the shortage of manpower, many a times they find it challenging to tend to reports made at the police station. He added that while they have men on the ground to provide peace and order, police visibility for the public is vital in maintaining the safety and security of the people. “Police visibility is very important to the public, in the sense that we show the people that we are on ground and that they are safe to commute as they please, making the people place their trust in the policemen,” Obert said. He added that it sometimes gets tough when he stations men to a certain part of an operation area and a situation arises at another area, it becomes a challenge to move men around.

Chairman and co-owner of Sixth Estate Limited, Paul Paguk has spoken out about the recent backlash on social media about the ownership of the land portion at Morata in NCD by his company and many other things. Mr. Paguk stated that the accusations on the social media are outrageous and that the keyboard warriors must be careful not to spread false accusations. Speaking of the stay order that was served to the company to cease the eviction exercise, Paguk believes that they have no grounds to stop the evictions. “I don’t understand the issue that the NCDC is trying to bring across. The court has already decided that the eviction has to take place and that has already been done,” he said. He claimed that case has already been dismissed and the decisions that were passed are now being enforced. Paguk further added that three decisions were passed in 2020 determining the ownership and two other court directives relating to the eviction. One was the decision of ownership, which was established by the court that the state owns the land and secondly the eviction itself. “Three senior supreme court judges made a decision on the 26th of February 2020 in my favour, granted that we give them time till March 2022 to vacate the land,” Paguk claimed. He further stating that any ruling form the courts below that of the Supreme Court should be null and void. Meanwhile, there have been conflicting statements coming from the opposite end of the spectrum, with Chairman of the Morata 1 community, Romney Tengere stating that the land was acquired through illegal means, hence their persistence in pursuing the matter in court. Tengere claimed that he had documents from the court proceedings that outlined the fraudulent deals that were made to acquire the land from the Land Titles Commission. He also spoke of how the settlers came to settle on portion 2773, through transactions with the Kaivaga Clan of Baruni and he maintains that they had been granted user rights to settle on the land.

According to the National Education Association of the United States, Children who receive a high quality education before the age of five, enjoy significant medium to long term benefits including less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to have special needs, more likely to graduate from high school and be higher wage earners. These were some of the issues highlighted at the meeting between the Kavieng District Development Authority (KDDA) and New Ireland Provincial Education Division in Kavieng last month with Kavieng MP Ian Ling-Stuckey, also present. "Our KDDA education policy to continue infrastructure spending fully supports and is consistent with, the UN sustainable development goal number 4 (SDG4) to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all," said Ling-Stuckey. He stated that infrastructure funding for elementary classrooms were typically K25,000 but those with a larger catchment area receive up to K50,000. Mr. Ling-Stuckey stated that with record infrastructure spending on classrooms in the district, to major problems they have been identified and assessed is the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation and a review of the implementation of classroom construction, should Board of Management continue to build classrooms or should qualified service providers be considered as well" he said.

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) has made a call out to both the Correctional Services (CS) and the Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) to assist with the special operations that will be taking place here in the nation’s capital in light of the recent ethnic clashes that almost crippled the city a few days ago. Police Commissioner, David Manning, in his response to the call out by the Prime Minister, stated that due to recent events that have occurred in the city, they have devised a solution to curb the recent spike of crime in the city. “We will be requesting from the PNGDF and the CS Commissioner to provide support with additional support in order for us to address the challenges that we are facing,” he said. He added that what this means for residents in the city is that there will be a greater presence of servicemen and women from all 3 disciplinary forces, further stating that it’s not just a matter of numbers, but there are specific targets that they will be looking out for. Meanwhile, the commissioner also explained that the cause of the recent ethnic clash between the groups from Hela and Eastern Highland, was because of a drug deal going wrong. “Somewhere along the transaction of drugs and payment for the drugs, it caused tensions and that quickly escalated to violence that erupted,” Commissioner Manning said. According to police findings at the Gordons Police Station, the transaction is said to have occurred at Kerema Town in Gulf Province leading to the death of a Hela man. Manning also elaborated that the city is facing many challenges and they are not only ethnic based. As a result of a discussion held between all the officers concerned, the police force will be embarking on a more deliberate intervention to deal with the challenges in the city.

Police in Hela have confirmed that an elderly man was accidentally shot dead in Koroba after an attempt to capture a man in possession of a weapon went sideways. Acting Provincial Police Commander, Senior Inspector Robin Bore stated that in the heat of an exchange with an unidentified man a village elder was shot in the leg and mortally wounded, dying moments after taking the bullet. “Our security forces were chasing a man wielding a weapon when an exchange occurred between a PNGDF personnel and the assailant and during that exchange, a village elder was caught in the crossfire and shot between the legs. We attempted first aid but unfortunately, he lost his life,” Bore said. Police and security partners, the PNG Defense force are now conducting an investigation into the incident with police trying to establish if the incident could have been avoided. Meanwhile, Bore has advised that peace talks between two factions in Magarima that have been fighting since July during the National General Elections have been shaky with heated negotiations almost turning into full on battles. “We have issued a court order from the district court and notified both factions to stop fighting but a few people are still causing problems. This Tuesday is the next date for negotiations between both sides,” SIP Bore stated. Both Parties engaged in the fighting are supporters of current seating member Manasseh Makiba and Dr. Ginson Wakinda.