The PNG Health Support Workers Association Inc. (PNGHSWA) is the first association that is being offered the Wantok Delite Endowment Insurance Product. This after the PNGHSWA entered into an agreement with BSP Life PNG for its 2000 plus members. BSP Life PNG Country Manager Nilson Singh described this agreement as historic for the associations 2000+ members to be insured for the death benefit, as well as save for the future. “It’s a huge milestone because PNGHSWA is the first association who has taken this step to sign up with BSP Life for an endowment insurance product.” “All the engagements we have had so far have been with groups, where it's for the risk-based product where we have only provided the protection benefit.” “You should be proud of this achievement for your members. Your members will come back and thank you when they start receiving the cash survival benefit after 3 years, you are not only enabling your members to be protected, but you are also enabling your members to save with life insurance.” “Life Insurance is very important; you only realize it when the breadwinner of the family passes away and there’s no safety net for the family to rely on. In Papua New Guinea, less than 3 percent of the population have some form of insurance. The low uptake is mainly due to lack of awareness on the benefits of life insurance.” Speaking on behalf of the PNGHSWA members nationwide was the President Mr. Michael Laru, who gave thanks to BSP for assisting members get insured and save. BSP Life is the only life insurer in PNG that offers a Life Insurance product where you can save for the future and at the same time have life insurance protection. Mr. Singh highlighted that many of the country’s working class do not have a savings culture and their Delite Insurance enables customers to practice a disciplined approach to savings, which is beneficial in the long run. Life Insurance is a key component of financial inclusion and equally it is a long-term investment that will provide a lot of future capacity to the economy of PNG. BSP Life offers the Group Term Life insurance product to the corporate market mainly targeting employer-based groups and associations. “In January 2020, BSP Life launched its Wantok Delite insurance product for individuals which is a long-term savings and protection insurance product where one can choose a policy term of 15, 18, 21 or 24 years. BSP Life offers regular cash payouts every 3 years called ‘Survival Benefit’ and bonuses on maturity. The bonuses are declared every year based on investments performance and added to the sum insured on a compounding basis. “In the instance, the policyholder passes away before the policy maturity, the full sum insured is paid out to the beneficiary” added Mr. Singh.

Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Commissioner David Manning was given a token of appreciation by the White House, for the exceptional delivery of a safe and successful third Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation that was held at the APEC Haus over the past week in Port Moresby. This was gifted on behalf of the White House by the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Anthony Blinken when he flew into Port Moresby briefly. Commissioner Manning, when receiving the gift, said it was collective effort and commended members of the security forces for the job well done. He gave credit to everyone involved, including officers from line government agencies and departments, the people of the country and especially the residents of Port Moresby city. FIPIC was attended by leaders of 15 countries including New Zealand, Fiji as well as the Prime Minster of India and the US Secretary of State.

Eailema Cultural Village in the Mutuyuwa Ward in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, has been relaunched, after it was shut down following the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic almost two years ago. Acting Manager of the Alotau Tourism Bureau, Mr. Modakula Kunuyobu explained that the Cultural Village concept, is a tourism product that aims to preserve the Tawala Culture and Heritage. “With urbanization & western influences, the Tawala Culture & Heritage faces the risk of dying out.” He said the Cultural Village concept counters this threat by exhibiting activities that ensure the continuity of cultural practices, while also generating a small form of income for the locals. “We always encourage authenticity in the cultural performances and attires, their lifestyle programs as well, like feasts.” Mr. Kunuyobu was pleased to announce that, along with the relaunching of the cultural village, a local businessman, that has his establishment set up on traditional land, has provided two brand new vehicles to the Eailema Cultural Village. He explained that this is an example of how local businesses are supporting and maintain local tourism SMEs. “Transportation remains a challenge for the Cultural Village, so these vehicles are a big help at this time.” The local businessman has also promised to provide an additional two vehicles, bringing the total support to four vehicles. Mr. Kunuyobu said post-pandemic, tourism in Alotau has really picked up and cruise ships have returned to the shores of the Milne Bay Province. “Because of the awareness that we do, the locals have started to see the socio-economic benefits of Tourism.” He added the Alotau Tourism Bureau has also started working closely with the youths in Alotau, to organize dance troupes to perform when cruise ships come to port. “We also organize trips to local sites and these are run by the youths in the local communities.” Mr. Kunuyobu said Tourism has had a positive impact on the community and seen a change in lifestyle as well as an ever-increasing registration of interest from the locals with the Alotau Tourism Bureau. “We have released our Cultural Events Calendar for this year and I can confirm that 16 events are set to take place this year, kicking off with the Milne Bay OutLoud Music Festival set for the coming weekend and this is going to be an exciting one.”

Papua New Guinea (PNG) beekeepers, including government and industry representatives will attend a first of its kind, Pacific Islands Beekeeping Congress meet in Fiji that will be delivered in partnership with the Fiji Beekeepers Association and the Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network (PIFON). Pacific Islands Beekeeping Congress brings more than 200 beekeepers from 10 different Pacific Island countries together to learn network, and strengthen beekeeping industry skills, knowledge and partnerships in the region. The Congress includes PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Cook Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. The initiative has stemmed from an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) -funded research project led by Southern Cross University (SCU) aiming to improve the productivity and profitability of smallholder beekeeping. The project leader and SCU Lecturer Dr Cooper Schouten said the Congress is an opportunity for Pacific beekeepers to share lessons learnt, network and gain practical skills and knowledge that they can take home and implement in their industries. “The project team have been working together to conduct research and training to increase the productivity of smallholder bee businesses through queen bee breeding, value added product development and capacity building for improved control of pest and diseases to improve regional honeybee biosecurity.” ACIAR Research Program Manager, Livestock Systems, Dr Anna Okello said the congress is important in advancing efforts to manage regional beekeeping issues, especially biosecurity threats like Varroa and Tropilaelaps mites. “The ACIAR Livestock Bee Team has placed significant emphasis on enhancing regional honey bee research and development capacities, devising strategies to tackle bee pests and diseases, and advancing beekeeping practices to foster the growth of smallholder beekeeping family businesses in the Pacific region.” Dr Okello elaborated that improving community-based control of diseases in the Pacific that constrain production and trade of bees, honey and other bee products is important that will have direct benefits to Australia. “We’ve seen firsthand in Australia how devastating bee diseases can be, and anything we can do to improve the region’s biosecurity capacity is invaluable to food security and rural livelihoods.” “The congress is bringing together beekeepers throughout the Pacific, combining discussions and roundtables on the most pressing and challenging issues.” “The congress will also feature practical and relevant hands-on workshops.” PIFON Project co-ordinator and congress organising committee member Ian Kennedy added the event would be monumental for beekeeping in the region. “Despite having low numbers of beehives and low production in comparison to world standards, beekeeping in the Pacific region has been shown to have a higher return on time investment than any other crop or livestock production systems.” “Additionally, beekeeping has a major contribution to income smoothing given the non-perishable nature of bee products.” The 4-year project is led by Southern Cross University, working in collaboration with the PNG National Department of Agriculture and Livestock, PNG Coffee Industry Corporation, Fiji Ministry of Agriculture, Fiji Beekeepers Association and Biosecurity Authority of Fiji.

Police Commissioner David Manning has pointed out that professional standards and capability in the nation’s disciplined forces are evolving at a fast pace. He made this remark, when commending Papua New Guinea’s disciplined forces for the completion of successful security operations over the past week attending the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) and the US-PNG and Pacific Islands Summit. “While we still have a mountain of work to do to reform the RPNGC and other disciplined forces, the high-level protection operation of the past week has demonstrated that we are moving in the right direction.” He said the focus and attention of the world was on Papua New Guinea over recent days, with the security expectations of partner governments placed on PNG’s shoulders, and the rank and file delivered a safe and secure environment for our guests and the public. "I commend members of the Royal PNG Constabulary, the PNG Defence Force and Correctional Services, as well as relevant line and involved government agencies and departments for your commitment and dedication in making these summits a success. "Working with partners, our security forces have demonstrated an enhanced capacity in implementing our operational plans to keep leaders, delegates and our citizen’s safe.” Mr. Manning also commended the public for being generally well behaved, despite various sectors of the community raising concerns on a number of policy issues including the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between PNG and the United States. “Our security forces have ensured calm in the capital despite rising tensions on several issues, by working directly with groups intending to protest, and preventing violence. “This is a democratic nation, with the Constitution stating the fundamental right to the freedom of conscience, of expression, of information and of assembly and association, so long as this does not prejudice the rights and freedoms of others or the legitimate public interest. “Over the past week we found the right balance, with protesters exercising their rights without placing the public at risk.” Commissioner Manning added that heavy and effective police presence was maintained in the Capital, including security forces personnel at stations within the downtown area, APEFC Haus, Ela Beach, Jackson’s International Airport, road routes within the city and hotels where delegates were residing. “Roadblocks were also positioned to allow for the convenience of delegates with the intention of minimal inconvenience to the residence of the city, and this proved effective. “On behalf of our joint security forces operation, I thank the Prime Minister, the Honorable James Marape, and the Minister for Internal Security, the Honorable Peter Tsiamalili Jr, for their trust and confidence in our men and women in uniform. “I further wish to thank and acknowledge key partners and stakeholders for their contribution to the success of this operation.” “I commend everyone for pulling together in this joint forces operation that ensured the reputation of Papua New Guinea was the winner overall.”

Air Niugini is advising their valued customers on their flights to Tokua Airport in Rabaul, East New Britain, that it has downgraded their Dash 8 operations due to poor runway conditions. The National Airports Corporation (NAC) issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to cease jet operations from Tuesday 23rd May, while they address the runway issue. The airline will advise when jet operations will resume once they get feedback from NAC on the runway works. Air Niugini regrets the inconveniences caused but says the situation is beyond their control. They maintain that safety is of paramount importance to Air Niugini’s operations.

Police in Lae have reported that the Papua New Guinea (PNG) University of Technology (UoT) remains calm for now, following the student protest on Monday regarding the signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between PNG and the United States (US). Lae Metropolitan Superintendent Christ Kunyanban said the students protest went off quite peacefully with the students handing over a petition to the Morobe Governor, Luther Wenge. “There were some opportunists at the entrance and along the main road leading up to UoT, who gathered and proceeded to stone passing vehicles.” “We managed to control and contain that situation with much help from the students of the UoT.” Police were able to remove debris from the road and people and vehicle traffic were allowed to flow as normal. The Met. Supt. also said that police heard rumors of a protest to be staged today and personnel were stationed at the entrance at the UoT as early as 4am on Tuesady morning, but nothing has occurred so far. “We will continue to monitor the situation at the UoT and other parts of the city as well.” Apart from the protest at the UoT, Kunyanban revealed also that there are a number of vehicles bearing placards in protest over the DCA doing rounds in the city. The Lae City Police Boss is now appealing to the residents at this time, to be considerate of each other, when and if they are planning any protests. “If anything turns nasty, the consequences will be ours. If you start spoiling public properties and services, it will affect the whole community. So, my advice is, whatever comes up, let’s take it onboard and make sure it is legalized, do it properly and be considerate of private and public properties for our benefit.”

Trukai Industries has gone into a partnership with the Pacific Adventist University (PAU) to continue the company’s rice cultivation training under its Smart Farmers Program. This after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the Trukai Office in Lae recently. This agreement comes after the Trukai successfully certified more 100+ local rice farmers in irrigated rice farming under the partnership with the PNG University of Technology’s Agriculture Department recently. This new five-year partnership with PAU is aimed at utilizing academic and professional facilities to enhance the knowledge of local rice farmers in PNG and provide farmers with an accredited certificate from a recognized tertiary institution in Papua New Guinea. The partnership will also allow local rice farmers have access to the University’s learning facilities as well as farming areas, student training and extension activities. This will enable them to acquire a certificate from a recognized tertiary institution, while also building capacity in local rice farming to transition from subsistence to commercial rice farming in the long run. T.I Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alan Preston, when welcoming the partnership, said the program demonstrated the company’s commitment to Papua New Guinea and its people. “Trukai has always stayed true to its commitment to building capacity in our people and we are proud to have one of the most extensive ESG programs, which covers areas in sports, health, education, sustainability, and agriculture.” “We continue to reaffirm our commitment to the people by investing millions of Kina throughout the years to help raise the wellbeing of our people,” said Preston. PAU’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Teatulohi Matainaho, said that he was pleased to join a partnership with Trukai due to the program’s community-orientated aspect. “The most important function for any educational institution is the transferring of knowledge to the people.” “I welcome this partnership with Trukai as the rice cultivation training delivers knowledge to the people from our communities,” said Professor Matainaho. Trukai Industries’ Rice Development Manager, Aina Davies, echoed Prof. Matainaho’s sentiments, adding that the training is intended for the local people. “The Smart Farmer program is designed for PNG rice farmers who are interested to grow rice at a commercial level, but do not have the knowledge and skills to transition from their subsistent farming systems.” “The program in partnership with the universities ensures that our local rice farmers receive quality and updated knowledge from our prominent education institutions,” said Davis.

Despite an extraordinary comeback, the SP PNG Hunters went down to the Wynnum Manly Seagulls over the weekend in a 28-24 loss in Round 10 of the QRL Hostplus Cup. The Hunters form was a complete contract to their performance in Round 9, the team running with intent and generating some ruck speed in yardage. Completing their sets smartly, halves Jamie Mavoko and Sakias Komati kicked to the corners and were well supported with a strong kick chase. Backing up their efforts with the ball, the Hunters line speed was strong in defence to force an early error from the home side. The Seagulls held firm on this occasion but struggled to work out of their own end due to the Hunters aggression without the ball. They relied on yardage penalties to get downfield as the Hunters muscled up in defence to win the ruck. For all their dominance in key effort areas though, the Hunters quickly ended up on the wrong side of the possession and penalty count. Gifted cheap field position, the Seagulls leant on their first-grade talent to take an early lead. Wynnum Manly right centre Delouise Hoeter showed why he already has 14 NRL appearances to his name with a tackle busting, offloading effort in yardage that ended with Hoeter himself scoring in the corner. The home side scored the next three tries as they enjoyed a mountain of possession and attacking territory. Starved of the ball, the Hunters could do little to stop Wynnum Manly’s momentum as Kyle Foxwell, Matthew Milson and Tyson Smoothy capitalised on their momentum to take a 22-point lead into the break. The half time score wasn’t a fair representation of PNG’s competitiveness in yardage, and as the possession stat evened out in the second half, the Hunters comeback began. It started with a huge defensive play from Hunters prop Junior Rop. Flying off his own line to apply kick pressure deep inside PNG territory, Rop got a foot to the Seagulls grubber kick and chased down the loose ball to win possession for his team. Not finished there, Rop then got busy in yardage to carry the Hunters into position for an attacking kick themselves. Sakias Komati produced the goods on this occasion, rolling a clever grubber into the in-goal despite some considerable defensive pressure for Matthew Jesse to score on the left edge. The Hunters took plenty of confidence from troubling the scoreboard and quickly went straight back on the attack. Rop was again at the forefront of it all, punching through the line to find his front and generate some momentum for his teammates to play on the back of. In this instance, Rop’s hit-up skittled the defence and created half an opportunity for his prop partner Tommy Moide on the following tackle. Moide attracted four defenders towards the ball as he threatened to score beneath the posts, stripping the Seagulls defence for numbers on the next play. From there, Judah Rimbu passed Rop into a one-on-one situation beside the ruck and Rop produced the offload assist for Sanny Wabo to score. Wabo was in for his second try just a few sets later, relishing his bench impact role. Wabo’s speed and pass option gave the Hunters a point of difference through the middle of the field as PNG moved the ball efficiently from coast to coast. Running it on the last, the ball went through Wabo’s hands to Komati on the edge where his signature show-and-go made a mockery of the Seagulls defence. Wabo backed his fiveeighth up on the inside to reduce Wynnum Manly’s lead to 12 points. The impact of Wabo and Rop around the ruck continued to pay dividends for the Hunters as fatigue levels rose. The Seagulls had no answer for the ruck speed and second-phase play Rop and Wabo were able to generate in yardage, folding through the middle and conceding cheap metres all the way down the field. Finally enjoying their share of possession, again PNG poured through the middle before shifting to the edges. Having had some luck running it late in the count, the Hunters this time shifted it down the right tram line on tackle five for Rodrick Tai to finish a beautiful team try in the corner. The Hunters had a chance to bring Wynnum Manly to within two points when Julius Igila broke through down the left touch line in the kick-off set, but the home side scrambled desperately to stop PNG scoring their fifth consecutive try… for the time being. With the clock running down and time on their side, the Seagulls tried desperately to defend their shrinking lead through to fulltime. They had no answer for Julius Yakopa though, who shrugged off multiple attempted tackles on his own 10m line to send Wabo 80+ metres downfield. Wabo was dragged down just short of the in-goal, but the Hunters summed things up smartly on the following tackle. All key spine players – Wesser Tenza, Mavoko and Komati – knew what was needed in the moment and combined effectively to shift the ball to Tai, who popped up on the left edge this time to score in the corner. With just four points separating the two sides and PNG with all the momentum, the only thing that denied the Hunters comeback was the game clock. Wynnum-Manly limped their way to a 28-24 win but it was the Hunters who finished with the moral victory. They completely dominated their opposition after the break to win the second half 24-6, displaying all their attacking talent and strength in yardage. Despite the Seagulls boasting a wealth of NRL talent and experience, it was PNG who looked most comfortable under pressure to score five unanswered tries in the second half. It’s a lesson for the Hunters as they look ahead to a four-game stretch at Santos National Football Stadium, starting next Saturday 27th May with the Northern Pride in Round 11. If PNG can limit their errors and penalties early on, they know they have the blueprint to beat far more experienced opposition in this competition. SP PNG Hunters Head Coach Stanley Tepend was disappointed with the team’s start but commended his players for responding in the second half. “It was a game of two halves,” said Tepend. “We went set for set to begin the game but those yardage penalties just allowed them (Seagulls) into good-ball too often and they capitalised well.” “It was good to see some improvement after halftime. We finished strongly and that’s a second half we can build off.” Tepend is now looking forward to a run of four home games starting this weekend with the Northern Pride. “Hopefully we can come back to PNG, get a good week of training in and then get back to NFS with a win this weekend,” Tepend said. “The boys will take a lot of confidence out of how they finished the game.” Result Wynnum-Manly Seagulls 28 def. SP PNG Hunters 24

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) University of Technology (UOT) has been locked down as students set a peaceful protest on Monday morning regarding the controversial Defence Cooperation. The protest commenced as early as 6am this morning with the aim of convincing the Marape - Rosso government to delay the signing of Defence Cooperation deal between United States. University of Technology Students Representative Senator (SRS) Kenzie Walipi said the aim of the protest was to get government's attention to delay the signing of the deal between the two countries because the majority of citizens of this country were not aware of the content of the agreement and it's main intentions, including the consequences it would have. "The signing of the agreement between Papua New Guinea and US was not made known to the citizens of this country," "Prime Minister James Marape should have made it known through one of the parliament's sitting and continuous awareness should have been done through government agencies and main stream media," he said. "People are confusing on what this agreement is all about and UOT students governing body in consultation with Papua New Guinea Universities Students Union, has collaborated and preplanned the peaceful protest two days earlier before actually staging it," He said that the protest is likely to go further if the students' governing body doesn't get the feedback it intended to receive through this protest. "UoT is strongly calling on the prime minister to review his decision to refrain from signing the agreement and conduct a close consultation with other Parliamentarians and state agencies before signing the agreement," Walipi said. All UoT access to enter and exit the campus were strictly manned by the aggressive students. No students, staff or outsiders were allowed to go in or come out of the campus. Place cards and banners were placed at the main entrance stating the UoT's closure for 24 hours. UoT administration is aware of the case and has issued directives to the SRS to ensure they observe the SRS laws to run the protest.

Matters of trade and investment to tourism and climate change will be put forward by both Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji as matters of importance during meetings with India and the United States (US) during the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) tomorrow, Monday 22nd May. Both countries have consolidated their stand to unite and speak on behalf of the smaller island countries of the Pacific during the meetings. The issues to take center-stage during these discussions will be investment and trade in the region, climate change mitigation solutions, environment and conservation, and labour mobility and employment. Prime Minister, James Marape affirmed this position with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at a bilateral meeting in Port Moresby on Friday morning. Prime Minister Marape said when the FIPIC sits on Monday, PNG and Fiji would be united in one voice, advocating for the Small Island Countries of the Pacific on pressing issues common in the Pacific. A similar position will be made to US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who is now stepping in for President Joe Biden. According to PM Marape, he stated that as the elder leader of the Pacific, they will invite Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to make a bold statement at the meeting with India on Monday, and to the US Secretary of State after that. “PNG, Fiji and all our smaller Pacific countries will be going in with one mind to meet the leaders of these two nations. India is an emerging global powerhouse, coming out from a similar colonial past, with a big carbon footprint and a big global responsibility. It also has a big market.” “For us, the Pacific takes up a huge part of the world in terms of space. One cannot go to India without going through the Pacific; one cannot go to America without passing through the Pacific – whether on sea or by air. We might be small in landmass, but in terms of space, we occupy a substantial part of the world.” PM Marape further stated that within this, the pacific have custodial rights. Fish and marine resources need to be protected from exploitation and properly developed; the land is subjected to the effects of climate change therefore victimizing the people. These he said are the issues that they will put straight on the table without fear. Meanwhile, PM Marape said his own conversation with the US would be similar as in the past, where the US would be asked once more to seriously consider the downstream processing of Pacific tuna and other marine resources in the Pacific to return greater benefits to Pacific people, including PNG. He once more reiterated PNG’s foreign policy stance, which he said continues to be “Friend to all: Enemy to none.”

H.E. Grand Chief Sir Bob Bofeng Dadae, GCL, GCMG, KStJ, Governor General of Papua New Guinea, received the Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka at Government House on Thursday afternoon. Prime Minister Rabuka arrived in the country that afternoon and paid a Courtesy Call on the Governor General. By way of introduction, the Prime Minister and his delegation performed a traditional Fijian reconciliation ceremony complete with the presentation of a whale tooth, a significant Fijian traditional gift, to the Governor General. The traditional ceremony that Prime Minister Rabuka performed sought forgiveness and reconciliation on behalf of the people of Fiji for the closure of the Fijian High Commission in PNG in 2020. Grand Chief Sir Bob informed the Fijian Prime Minister that he welcomed the gesture on behalf of the Government and people of Papua New Guinea, and further welcomed the Fijian Government’s intention to re-open the Fijian High Commission in PNG. “Papua New Guinea is happy to welcome you back and we look forward to seeing you re-establish your office here.” “Since the establishment of our diplomatic relations in 1975, we have maintained a strong relationship based on our close traditional ties and in as far as working together and providing leadership to our neighbouring Pacific island family.” In response, Prime Minister Rabuka said, “PNG is now playing a major role in the Pacific in aligning itself with leading nations of the world and urged that PNG pursue the interests of the Pacific in these alliances.” “It is important now more than ever that the Papua New Guinea and Fiji relationship is consolidated so that we can provide that leadership in the Pacific.” “Papua New Guinea is now playing a big role in aligning itself with those (nations) that are interested in PNG’s strategic location and influence in the region.” “May these interests be in the pursuit of peace and serenity and addressing issues affecting our environment and region,” Prime Minister Rabuka said. Prime Minister Rabuka also presented an official invitation from the President of Fiji to the Governor General to visit Fiji. The Governor General has accepted the invitation. Prime Minister Rabuka traveled to Port Moresby to attend the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit that will be held on Monday next week. Heads of government of other Pacific Island countries are also arriving in Port Moresby to attend the Summit which will be hosted by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.