The constituents of the Moresby Northwest electorate in the National Capital District (NCD) should see a by election held in the coming months for the vacant seat following the death of the late member, Sir Mekere Morauta. That was the indication from the Acting Papua New Guinean (PNG) Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Simon Sinai, when giving a brief update on election matters in the country. “The Moresby Northwest Electorate by election dates would be set for February or March and announce soon after the mourning period fades in the next few weeks,” said the Acting Electoral Commissioner. However, the timing of this by election will be questioned by many as 2022 is just next year and the National Election will be around mid- 2022. But, to put the questions to rest, the PNG Electoral Commission said there is still time for a new Member to take the seat. According to the Electoral Commission, it is by law that after the 24th of July 2021, a by- election will not be on the cards because the date will by then mark 12 more months to go before the Writs are issued for the 2022 National General Election. This simply means that no by election will take place after that date because there will not be enough time available for a sitting member to do anything much for the constituents before the National Election.

Local company Lifu Holdings Limited (LHL), trading as Mobil PitStop service station, has given away the prizes to the final winners in Port Moresby for its Free Fuel Winners promotion for the month of December 2020. Today saw more than five lucky winners receiving prizes ranging from 12 months of free fuel supply to mobile phones, shopping vouchers and 65-inch flat screen TVs. LHL Managing Director, Margaret Lifu, said the promotion was to give back to their customers for their support, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period which has disrupted a lot of things, including business. "2020 was a particularly tough year for everyone." "This is our way of giving back to customers to say thank you in appreciation for choosing Mobil as your preferred service station." "Not everyone can be a winner in promotions but one good thing COVID-19 did was spur us to think more about how we can reciprocate in appreciation or at least to add value to the service." "So, it’s more than just a business transaction and 2021 will be an exciting year for us all.” The promotion started back in May 2020 and every month winners were drawn right up until December, of which the winners were drawn today at the Mobil PitStop service station at Hohola.

Students from elementary to secondary school level will soon learn about everything to do with finance in school now that the wheels have been set in motion to make financial literacy a part of the school curriculum in the country. This morning saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) and the Center for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI), and the Education Department to pave way for this aspect of financial education to be taught in schools. Education Secretary, Dr. Uke Kombra said this MoU will set forth a pilot project that will see 48 schools in the country trial out this new concept this year as approved by the Education Department. Dr Kombra, when highlighting the importance of teaching financial literacy in schools, said “When this proposal came through to my former minister from the Minister for Treasury for this project to be supported, I whole heartedly advised my minister that we must take this up as a critical subject within our school curriculum.” BPNG Governor, Mr. Loi Bakani, added that the aim is to get the young generation well vested in how to handle their finances in the future. The more they know about managing money now, the better they will be in the future. He further said this partnership with the Education Department is part of the CEFI strategic plan 2021 to 2025, which part of it is the implementation of financial education in schools. “It will be priority for us together with the department of education to roll it out quickly in terms of the pilots and then moving on to the next phase of implementation in the curriculum and teaching also,” said Mr. Bakani. Mr. Bakani further added that training of the teachers in financial literacy is an important part of the implementation of the initiative and as such, it will be given priority as well. Meanwhile, when explaining how this will work, Dr. Kombra said financial literacy will not be taught as a new and separate subject. Instead, resource books will be developed to give additional information to support what is already in the curriculum on financial education. For instance, students at the elementary level will be taught the very basics on financial literacy compared to the higher grades.   Nevertheless, the very aim of this MoU will be to pave way for financial education as a relevant need-based curriculum to be integrated into the existing Standard Based Curriculum (SBC) to create a savings culture at an early age by teaching students about managing money, savings, and investments. Secretary for Education Dr Uke Kombra

When COVID-19 hit back at the start of 2020, it exposed a lot of issues within the country’s health sector that will need some drastic work to fix. That is why the government is adamant to see through that the health sector is improved and ready for any major outbreaks in the future. Prime Minister (PM) James Marape, when giving his New Year’s message, touched on that when saying that the government’s provincial hospital program is geared towards this. “In the health sector we are starting specific provincial hospital program that will see firstly five of the sixteen provincial hospitals developed as we embark on a five year development program for our provincial hospital throughout our country.” The PM said this program will also include the construction a special major referral hospital for Bougainville in the Autonomous Region. “Our Port Moresby and Lae hospitals are now being developed to be specialists’ hospitals for heart, kidney, liver and cancer patients, and we are working also to fix and strengthen our medical schools and nursing collages to ensure we have enough trained medical personnel working in our country.”

PNG Electoral Commission is expected to make an announcement before Christmas on its arrangements for a by election for the Moresby North-West electorate following the passing of the late member Sir Mekere Morauta on the weekend.   According to the Commission, a mourning period of three months is given as respect for the family of a sitting member of parliament that has died. Only after that, the process of having a by election can take place. However, if the period is within 12months leading to a national general election date, a by election may be forfeited according to the law. Therefore, the PNGEC this week will have to decide on whether to have a by election or hold off until the 2022 national election. The Acting PNG Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Simon Sinai, is expected to make an announcement regarding the decision this week. Meanwhile, PM James Marape had assured the people of Moresby North-West this week that they will have a leader to bring them services and development into the electorate going into the 2022 National General Elections.  

The Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) 2021 focus will be on putting in efforts to improve its capacity to deliver support in nation building.  Commander Defense Force (CDF), Major General Gilbert Toropo, when giving his keynote address at the end of the year Commander’s Parade today in Port Moresby, said the focus of the PNGDF in 2021 is to deliver the establishment of a true nation building capacity and capability focused on civic action supply.  “We will look to contribute to the benefits and prosperity of the nation by engaging in a whole of nation approach and initiate programs to integrate the program by the government agencies, national, regional and local authorities, and key private sector stakeholders.”  “We will start in earnest to look to upgrade and where necessary, acquire the platforms, systems and equipment to undertake effect command, control, coordination and communication delivery to civil defense responses. Provide resources on humanitarian security delivery, and the starting of a national youth development program.”    Meanwhile, the commander also urged his men and women to continue to carry out their duties diligently in serving the government of the day and the country and its people during this time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hit the country and the world.   CDF Toropo also said when the virus hit the country early this year, it affected a lot of things, including the PNGDF. But the Force responded quickly and was able to work with the government and other organizations to handle the virus.  “We have come a long way in the last 12 months despite the constraints and restrictions placed upon us by COVID-19. We still have a long and exciting journey ahead of us and I am confident we have now set the conditions for the next step of our voyage,” said the CDF.   Nevertheless, the PNGDF as an organization is ready to take on the uncertainty that 2021 will bring, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on country, said Commander Toropo. 

The CPL Group of companies continue to make shopping convenient for its customers with the launching of its new Online Supermarket website this week in Port Moresby. CPL Managing Director, Sir Mahesh Patel, said the new online service will make shopping easy for customers who may not have time on their hands to do shopping in their various outlets around the city. The CPL Managing Director also admits that there are other e-commerce platforms around but believe that this one is unique as it offers health and beauty lines, and general merchandise lines apart from the main food lines. “We got a whole team of people who will be servicing the customers. Delivery will be done to your offices or to your homes or you could actually pay, what we call click and collect, so you can pay, and your order will be ready.” “You could order online, come here at a certain designated time and you just pick and go. We got a specialized team focusing on it to make sure the quality controls are checked, and the customer services are done. This is all purely online so if the products are not available or out of stock, it will drop off from our website,” he said. The CPL group is planning to go nationwide with this new online service. Right now, its only for customers in Port Moresby, but the service should go nationwide in January 2020. The new website went online as of yesterday and customers can just log into shop.cpl.com.pg to see the various items to choose from and order. [audio mp3="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CPL-next-phase.mp3"][/audio]

Despite the increase in energy supply to the Port Moresby power grid, power transmission is letting the people down with the current poor state of power infrastructures.  This has been the case lately with numerous power outages experienced by residents and business house in the nation’s capital city. The latest case was yesterday where a High Voltage Line (HVL) fell at Gerehu Stage two at 2:45pm, which caused the Waigani Feeder 4 to trip causing a blackout in the Gerehu suburb. Some parts were restored later in the afternoon while the rest restored in the evening at around 7pm.    Nevertheless, there is a major project coming up very soon that should address this issue. The project was mentioned quite recently by the PNG Power Ltd (PPL) Board Chairman Mr. Peter Nupiri, which would see the maintenance and improvement being done to address the power transmission problem in the city.  “We’re starting to do some work now and through ADB, there is a K60 million funding. Some study going on at the moment to try to understand what’s happening with the grid and how best we can be able to improve,” he said.   Meanwhile according to the state-owned power company, this feasibility study is expected to be completed soon before moving on to the actual project and contractor approval for the start of the project.    

The upcoming inaugural 2020 Sepik Culture and Agriculture Show, apart from it showcasing the Sepik cultures and traditions, will also be a catalyst for the promotion of domestic tourism.  Mr. Alois Mateos, who is the owner and operator of Sepik Adventure Tours and President of the Sepik Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said this event has the potential to pull in local tourists, and already his guest house in Wewak town has been fully booked by cultural groups for the event.   Mr. Mateos, who was at the official launching of the event in Port Moresby on 14th November said, “For domestic tourism, this is the way to go. But we need to really study the local market to see where we are at with this,” he said.   The COVID-19 pandemic really impacted the tourism industry, hurting the small-time operators like himself, and events like this where operators can benefit from domestic tourism, is appreciated.     Meanwhile, things are progressing with the preparation to stage this event with traditional groups already coming in to register said Mr. Mateos.   The event will also signify the passing of the torch from the old leaders of Sepik, including Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare and Sir Peter Lus, to the young leaders. Mr. Mateos said this will be the highlight of the Sepik Culture and Agriculture Show.  The three days event will be staged next week in Wewak town from the 11th to the 13th of December.  

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) restructuring exercise will see the office of the Commander and Chief of Staffs restructured and then down to the other branches. Commander Defence Force (CDF) Major General, Gilbert Toropo, announced yesterday that the Office of the Commander will have two deputy Chief of Staff under a new structure: Deputy Chief of Defence Operations and Deputy Chief of Defence Administrations. Toropo said this restructure will take place over the festive season break and will signify the shift from current standard of operation, to moving the defence force to a new level under the “Force 2030” plan. “The Force 2030 plan is a good plan to modernise the PNG Defence Force so that we are better structured and we build our capabilities to conduct our core tasks, that includes maritime security, land security, internal security as well as one of our important key activities that will also comprise of these changes, the nation building program activities, which also includes a reserve force that we want to incorporate the national youth development program with,” said the CDF. The plan is to create a professional military organisation that is capable of handling internal matters and engaging in overseas missions. But this will require funding and other support from the government and from partners, like Australia and New Zealand, said the Commander.  This is because the restructure will see the expansion of the force as well and that will require equipment and new military bases to cater for the manpower.  “Because we believe that with this restructuring, it will really help our people internally with nation building activities, so we need every government support where possible.” “Our partners have been made aware of it and are willing to come on board the journey we’ve started and they have been part of this planning process, so we are happy with the support they have given, especially Australia, New Zealand.” Meanwhile, CDF Toropo also said the United States is looking at partnering the PNGDF as well, which is a welcoming news especially at this time. 

The Papindo Trading Company is the first company the Independent Consumer Competition Commission (ICCC) is taking to court over its breach of price regulations under Order 8 on certain goods, during the COVID-19 State of Emergency (SoE) and lockdown periods this year. ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Paulus Ain, said the Company was found to have increased prices for rice and sugar in their Goroka retail outlets more than 5% without seeking approval from ICCC to do so. The Commission on the 18th of November, filed proceedings in the Waigani District Court against Papindo for failing to pay fines to ICCC pursuant to the SoE Order 8. Mr. Ain assured that Papindo is the first of many other prosecutions that the ICCC will be taking up in the next two months. The case is the outcome of the Price Surveillance exercise conducted by the ICCC during the COVID-19 SoE into businesses on the unjustified increase of prices for certain goods monitored by the ICCC. Those businesses that breach the order were fined K5, 000 for first time offenders and K10, 000 for repeated offenders. Although some have paid up for breaching the order, others have not, and it is these ones the ICCC is going after. About 246 businesses did not comply with the regulations and halve of that have not paid up their fines. “The ICCC is now taking steps to prosecute these businesses for failing to pay their fine. Failure to pay the fine amounts to a breach of the Emergency (General provisions) (COVID-19) Act 2020,” Mr. Ain said.

When COVID-19 hit the country earlier this year, everything slowed down, and new measures were put in place to ensure safety for everyone. This later affected a lot of things including sporting activities, which saw cancellations or postponements of sporting events and competitions. The AFL code was one of the victims, having to wait for a long while before getting the approval from the National Pandemic Response Controller to go ahead like the other sporting codes. Eventually it did and AFL Port Moresby was one competition that wasted no time to kick things off with a short season, which started in October and eventually ending this Saturday, 28th November with the grand finals. Port Moresby AFL President, Mr. Douglas Lai, has nothing but praises for the clubs for making this 2020 season a success despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. “Let me say thank you to all the clubs that participated in the short POM AFL season, thank you very much that we reached our grand final today.” Meanwhile, in the 2020 Moni Plus Senior Men’s grand final match between the defending premiers the West Eagles and the Kokofa-Cats, saw the Eagles defeated their opponents in a hard and fast footy match. The Eagles dominated the first, second and third quarters of the match. Although the Kokofa-Cats really put on a challenge in the final fourth quarter with two goals, it was not enough to score a victory. The final scores; West Eagles 44, Kokofa- Cats 33. Eagles captain, Jeffery Namati, thanked the boys and attributed the victory to good teamwork. “To the boys of West Eagles, club management, the team, thank you for everything for the short season.” “We put in a hundred percent into training, day in day out. So, thank you very much this one is for you guys.” Also, in the Senior Women’s match saw the Lamana Dockers defeated Mix Mates to grab the victory for 2020 Moni Plus Women’s Premiership. Like most sporting events, things would not have been possible without sponsors. Therefore, the President also thanked Moni Plus and local businessman and former PNG Mosquitoes, Mr. Walter Yongomina for the continuous and generous support this season. Meanwhile, the 2021 Season is expected to start early around February.