The AFL National Championships will go ahead as planned despite the cost of sending teams from the regions to play is expected to be high this year. According to the Senior Football Manager for AFL PNG Mr. Rex Leka, they are adamant to hold the National Championships because of the International Cup 2024 (IC24) that’s coming up in Australia. The Championships will be where selections will be made for the national teams to participate in the IC24. “The cost of sending, say three teams to one location for the championships, can cost over K100, 000, which is high,” he said. Mr. Leka added that a team from one center will have two divisions, both men and women’s teams and that would cost a lot just to send them to the National Championships and back. Nevertheless, AFL PNG wants to see the championships take place since it has been a while since the last one was held following the COVID- 19 pandemic. The centers expected to put in teams for the National Championships are Lae, Hagen, Port Moresby, and East New Britain and West New Britain provinces. Meanwhile, the finalized schedule for the National Championships is expected to be put together by next week following the second AFL PNG Board Meeting.

It’s that time of year again, State of Origin time that’s what it is and this evening will be the first match of the representative football event when the New South Wales (NSW) Blues and the Queensland (QLD) Maroons meet on the field of play, and Papua New Guineans fans hold on to their seats. For the fans here in the country, it’s a time to put on the outfits, paint faces and fly those flags high, either on vehicles, homes and even on top of the trees. No matter where they are placed, they show your colour; Blues or Maroons. A look around the city of Port Moresby today saw vendors as well making use of this time of the year to make some bucks with the sale of flags, caps, T- shirts with some even setting up little booths or stalls or just finding a nice spot on the pavement to provide face painting service to the loyal fans. But perhaps the biggest winner to make money today would be the betting houses. PNG HAUBUNG also chatted with some fans going about their business today to hear out what they have to say about who they think is going to win the first match this evening. There were mixed responses. Therefore, the only way to find out how the match tonight will go and that is to watch the game or listen in on the radio for those who cannot find a television set to watch. The Ampol State of Origin Game 1 will kick off at 8:05pm at the Adelaide Oval.

The country’s consumer watchdog, the Independent Consumer and Competitions Commission (PMV) at this stage is unable to seriously deal with unnecessary increases in Public Motor Vehicle (PMV) fares unless the amendments to the Prices Regulation Act, is passed in parliament. The ICCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner, Mr. Paulus Ain said that one effective way to deal with PMV operators breaching the government approved bus fare rates, is to have a much tougher penalty imposed on perpetrators, like imposing higher fines and jail time. He said there is a legislation in place for penalty for those who are arrested to be fined only K600, which he said was ineffective because the enforcement aspect of that is not being carried out often; therefore, he said the K5, 000 proposed change to the penalty fee and jail time should deter operators from ripping- off the public with unnecessary increases in fares. “For our part, the ICCC has gone through all the process and completed the legislative amendments. It is now before the government to effect that amendment and pass it and give it to ICCC, its only then we will stop it,” he said. Commissioner Ain said the ICCC is toothless to really enforce this without the approved changes to the Prices Regulation Act. “So, I would like the government to quickly help us with this amendment to be passed in parliament.” Meanwhile, the parliament session is set to take place next month and it is hoped that the proposed amendment is pushed through to be considered and go through the process of being passed. This is because it has been two years now since the ICCC proposed for the bill be passed in parliament.

Aspiring maritime cadets can expect to continue to further their training and have access to employment opportunities, following the renewal of partnership between the Ok Tedi Development Foundation (OTDF) Education Division and P&O Maritime Logistics. The recent renewal of partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was to extend its joint Maritime Cadet Scholarship program. Through the MOU, maritime cadets who are recipients of the OTDF Maritime Scholarship are eligible to complete their 24-month sea-time experience on-board P&O Maritime Logistics vessels. The renewed agreement maps out the respective roles and responsibilities of OTDF and P&O Maritime Logistics for the implementation of the training that commenced recently. Speaking about the signing, John Connor, Head of Australia and PNG at P&O Maritime Logistics said, “At P&O Maritime Logistics we want to make a lasting impact on the communities we operate in. The cadet program is therefore very important for us and we are pleased to continue our relationship with OTDF.” “Together we aim to produce highly skilled seafarers and positively impact their lives by offering employment opportunities. We look forward to the sustained mutual benefits that this partnership will continue to bring.” The partnership has been instrumental in also promoting sustainable development and fostering positive change. Mr. Connor expressed his gratitude for the collaboration with OTDF via the cadet’s program and other community initiatives in the Western province. Equally pleased about the partnership was Havini Vira, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at OTDF. “This partnership is an investment in young people from Western province to make strong and positive contributions to their families, their community, the province and the country,” he said. Andrew Mari who the Manager Program Services & Sustainable Development at OTDF, thanked P&O for the partnership and looked forward to continue this good working relationship. Meanwhile, in 2019 about four successful candidates, two deck and two engineering cadets started their sea time training under the first agreement, and so far, 20 cadets have been trained since the inception of the program in 2013.

The country’s security needs will be something to be talked about in the June parliament session when the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) makes its appearance in the hope of being ratified by parliament, in the midst of public debate on its true purpose. The Secretary for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Elias Wohengu, said the security requirements of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is of priority just as any other matters of priority and should be improved going forward to address security challenges, both domestic and international. “We all can appreciate that there is a lot that can be done, over the years we’ve witnessed and seen emerging and new challenges,” said the secretary. Secretary Wohengu said PNG as a nation is unable to address these security challenges alone. “So, we have these relations that is provided for under the article 206 of our National Constitution; the 1975 Visiting Forces Act, and from which that denotes the construct for us to have defence cooperation relations with foreign military.” “The conclusion of this agreement will supersede the existing SOFA (Status of Force Agreement) we have with the United States (US). “It means SOFA will come to an end; it will cease to have a life of its own. The DCA will assume that life, it’s a new arrangement.” He said that in the foreign policy construct, the DCA does not prevent PNG or the US for both of them to enter into a third relation with another state’s military. “So, we do not in any way preclude enter into, in the future if the situation does arise, for us to have a defence cooperation agreement with China and others,” the secretary clarified. “It speaks and conforms to our foreign policy construct, which is Friends to All, Enemies to None.” There are a lot of countries that PNG has defence and security relations with which Secretary Wohengu said the country must actively engage with each of them for the purpose of PNG’s security needs. Meanwhile, there are seven more days left before the June session of parliament commences, where the DCA is expected to be debated during the session when it is presented on the floor.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Malaysian Governments need to do more to build government-to-government and people-to-people relations between the two countries to further boost trade and investment. The Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru stated this during his bilateral meeting with the Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, His Excellency Liew Chin Tong at the APEC Trade Ministers Meeting in Detroit, United States. “Malaysia is the second biggest investor in Papua New Guinea in the non-renewable sector with over US$10 million investment and over 200 companies. In terms of trade, the total trade between the two countries stands at over K22 billion in 2021 and is expected to increase over time. This trade and investment relations is purely built on the private sector,” said Minister Maru. “There is a great opportunity for both countries to further enhance their existing bilateral relations by encouraging greater cooperation in trade and investment, including a possible Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (IPPA), a trade agreement and other technical cooperation, including the areas of education and digital trade,” said Minister Maru. The two Ministers agreed for senior officials to meet in July this year to discuss steps forward on the scope of the possible exchange visits by the Prime Ministers of both countries hopefully by the end of this year. “We are encouraged by Malaysian investors like WR Carpenters who are already in PNG and invested in manufacturing and shipping services and we want to see more investment from Malaysia in downstream processing of raw materials such as logs and timber products,” said Minister Maru. Minister Maru also informed Deputy Minister Tong that PNG Government had made the decision to ban round log export by 2025 and he invited Malaysian investors, especially those that have experience in global forestry product market to come and invest in this sector. “The agriculture and manufacturing industries in PNG have grasped the interest of the Malaysian investors and further extended the invitation to Malaysian investors to invest in PNG’s proposed SEZ sites. On other issues of bilateral cooperation, Minister Maru noted that Malaysian High Commission in Port Moresby had secured a piece of land in Port Moresby to build its Chancery, but it is yet to build its Office. “Similarly, Department of Foreign Affairs should commence discussion with their Malaysian counterpart for a reciprocal arrangement for the Government of Malaysia to allocate a piece of land for PNG High Commission Chancery to be built in Kuala Lumpur. This is necessary to enhance the PNG-Malaysia bilateral relations,” said Minister Maru. This will be one of the issues that will be discussed in the suggested Senior Officials Meeting between the two countries later in the year. Meanwhile, Minister Maru will visit Malaysia straight after the APEC meetings to meet with his counterpart Minister and potential investors who are interested in investing in coconut, palm oil, cattle, and manufacturing sector in PNG. Plans have advanced to a point where Minister Maru will be in Malaysia to finalize discussions for two new coconut oil refineries to be built in Madang and Kokopo this year so PNG will for the first time since independence cease exporting crude coconut oil from the oil mills in Madang and in Rabaul. “This exciting development will signal the start of the Marape Government’s efforts to downstream produce all our agriculture raw materials to final products to meet our own local demand and export to markets in other countries,” said Minister Maru.  

Storms drains heavily flooded, traffic queues along some sections of the road, school student sent back home and vehicles broken down was the scene today in the city of Port Moresby following the continuous heavy downpour of rain from last night up until today. A look around the city in the morning saw the public, including schools students struggling to just get on a PMV to work or school. Bus stops were crowded with people under umbrellas and public transportation also struggling to get through the queues, the flooded roads and the massive pot- holes that were not fixed. However, the Hohola tunnel, notorious for its very bad flooding during heavy downpours in the city, was all clear today thanks to the new drainage work done recently by the National Capital District Commission. It is understood that the torrential rain will continue for some time in the city and this could lead to causing hindrance to the movement of the public and the normal flow of business in the city. Meanwhile, according the National Weather Service (NWS), this weather situation could continue and the team at the weather office is just keeping a close eye on how things will be in the coming days. The NWS said that the heavy rains forecasted over the last three days in the Southern Region continues at this time and there are possibilities of natural disaster occurring, like flash flooding and landslips. The weather office further advises that people living inland must take heed of the heavy rain and flood warning, and take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety is guaranteed during this time of very bad weather.  

The International Financial Corporation (IFC) is now the lead advisor in the design and implementation of the Public Service Housing Project follow the signing of the Financial Advisory Services Agreement (FASA) with the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The FASA will see IFC design and implement the housing project in a Whole of Government (WoG) approach, by the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (PM&NEC), and the Department of Personnel Management (DPM). This is the first of its kind for a Whole of Government approach for Public Servants Housing under a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The Public Service Housing Project will be built on Portion 1212 Granville-Bomana, outside Port Moresby. Chief Secretary, Ambassador Ivan Pomaleu said, the Agreement will see the implementation of a reform program on behalf of the Government of PNG to increase the availability of affordable housing, and desires to develop a green and climate resilient affordable housing project through the PPP Program. “Through this Whole of Government approach, PPP arrangement based on NEC decision No.129 of 2012 that directed DPM to prepare and deliver a revised Public Service Home Ownership Program (PSHOP), and further affirmed through the recent NEC decision No.233 of 2022,” said Pomaleu. He said the objective of the project is to deliver affordable housing at a large scale to both public and private sector, and to develop affordable housing through PPP home ownership model. The project is estimated that over One Thousand (1000) Allotments will be built, and will consist of two to three bedroom houses, and will cover both home ownership and institutional housing accommodations. “Through this Agreement, we hope for a best financial option or advisory based on the practices by IFC to assist the bulk of our Public Servants cross over the financial barrier to access funds to purchase a house,” said Amb. Pomaleu. DPM Secretary, Ms Taies Sansan elaborated on the agreement that FASA has a timeframe of 36 months from time of execution and covers two phases; the Feasibilities studies and tender process to identify a suitable developer for the development of houses. “This arrangement will make tangible contribution to mitigate the impact of non-delivery of housing, experienced by PNG Government in the past when the sole developer is the government,” said Ms Sansan. Secretary Sansan said, the objective of the agreement is to promote partnership, in line with the PPP Act, and FASA which will contribute to achieving the goals of the Government agenda on Housing. Meanwhile, IFC Asia Pacific Regional Manager, Mr Thomas Lubeck, said PNG is a member of this International Financial sector and IFC has been involved in developing PNG. Lubeck said IFC will conduct market research, prepare tender to find the best developer, and will work with the government to ensure all stakeholders, Lands & Physical Planning, Housing, Treasury, Finance, National Planning, Water PNG, PNG Power, NCDC, State Solicitor, PM&NEC, and DPM work together to deliver the housing project on a timely manner. IFC will then compile deliverable reports and transaction structure reports which will be presented to the government. The Whole of Government Public Service Housing Project saw the groundbreaking ceremony officiated by Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. John Rosso, on the 14th of September 2022.

The recently signed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with the United States (US) government is not in force yet until it gets past parliament in the June sitting. The Secretary for Foreign Affairs Elias Wohengu said that there is still time for debate on the DCA and that the public should allow the process to take place on whether to fully approve the signed agreement, or not. “What I would like to inform the nation is that signature does not for PNG, signal the entry into force of the agreement. The signature signals that it is an authentic text between the parties,” said Secretary Wohengu. “It (DCA) will now go before our national parliament and it is a parliament property, and after parliament has debated it and in the wisdom of parliament that it should be ratified, the agreement will enter into force formally, after the certificate of instrumental ratification has been issued. This is still a process of consultation going on.” On that note, Secretary Wohengu said it was concerning that some citizens have jumped quickly to the end process, claiming that the state has signed away the nation. “Some of the statements are not wise, fairly provocative, speaking to emotion, and that is something that we should be very careful with.” The DCA and the Ship Rider Agreement were signed by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defence Minister Win Daki on Monday 22nd May, during the Forum for India- Pacific Island Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Port Moresby. Meanwhile, the next parliament sitting will be take place next month where it will start on the 6th of June, meaning that the DCA has 13 more days before it goes before the national parliament for debate by members.

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) has welcomed the recently signed Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and the Ship Rider Agreement with the United States (US) Government and Military, because of the massive assistance the military will be receiving from these agreements. The Commander of Defence Force (CDF), Major General Mark Goina, said that his five lines of effort, aimed at improving the capacity of the defence force to Force 2030, will be greatly supported through these agreements, especially with the DCA. The five lines of effort are People (the welfare of soldiers), Organizational Reform, Operational Proficiency, Infrastructure, and Nation Building. He said the defence agreements should improve the resources and systems that govern the way the defence force conducts military business. “As I speak today, your defence force is a system and process that has broken down, we must fix this before we even think of bringing a ship in or bringing a helicopter in or bringing in high- end capability into the force, because if it comes in it will sit on a weak foundation that’s going to collapse. “This intent here is to address that before we start to look at bigger capabilities, high- end capabilities that can be able to support our government in the delivery of our core task,” said the CDF. Goina said this because the findings presented by the Defence Assessment Report showed a negative picture of the PNGDF level of capabilities. “When I took command, the PNGDF conducted a Defence Assessment on all its key capabilities in all the units, the aim was to determine PNGDF’s operational level of capability, today I want to inform you that the findings were not that good,” said Goina. “As I speak today, we sit around 30 to 40% operational level of capability and readiness, way below the 50% to do something very, very effective and efficient to deliver on our core tasks every year.” He explained that the acceptable level of capability is around 70% to 80%. “I would like to see our force level of capability to be at 80%,” said the CDF. This would mean better equipment, uniforms and resources available to ensure the PNGDF delivers on its task to the government and the people of Papua New Guinea, which is to provide security, respond to natural disasters and assist in nation building. Therefore, the CDF said the DCA should help the defence force in a very big way so that it can deliver on its mandated duties. Major General Giona also clarified that the DCA is no different to the ones PNG has with Indonesia and Australia, where the two militaries provide assistance whenever needed by the PNGDF. Support like training to infrastructure rehabilitation or even establishing new defence facilities, because the defence budget alone each year cannot cater for many of the defence force’s needs. The Major General said this while addressing various stakeholders, including the university representatives at the Public Information Seminar on the Defence Cooperation Agreement at the Murray Barracks in Port Moresby on Tuesday. Meanwhile, to get things rolling with the US assistance, over the weekend a US military Boeing C-17 Globemaster landed at the Jackson’s International Airport, where it delivered over 2, 000 military items like uniforms, military hardware like protective vests and night vision scopes for personnel to use.

The lack of proper dissemination of information and awareness on a matter of national importance has resulted in protests from the public and students from the universities in the country. That was the point put forward by the Chancellor of the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) Prof. Robert Igara when speaking this afternoon at the Public Information Seminar on the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) at the Murray Barracks in Port Moresby, which was hosted by the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). Prof. Igara made a genuine point by saying that students’ safety is important and that by going on protests on a matter that is not really clearly disclosed by the government, like the DCA, then they put themselves at risk of being arrested, attacked or even exploited by people with their own agendas. He said as the next educated elites and the next generation of the country’s leaders, they should be privy to information like everyone else on matters of national importance, so to fully understand them and contribute meaningfully to the discussions and dialogues on these matters. On that note, the Prof. made an appeal to the Commander of Defence Force (CDF) Major General Mark Goina and to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs Elias Wohengu, to have a dialogue with the university students this week. “We at the universities face a situation now to explain to the students. We are not taking sides; our interest is to protect them against injuries. “The agreement’s been signed; how do we explain it to the students?” he posed the question to the state delegation and defence force commanders. “Therefore, I am delighted that you have asked to speak to the university students on Thursday (25th May) to explain what it’s all about.” Meanwhile, Secretary Wohengu has confirmed that they will be speaking with students on the DCA, which he said is still in the process of being ratified by the parliament after its signing.

Prime Minister (PM) James Marape has said that the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the United States of America (USA) and Papua New Guinea (PNG) does not in any way encroach into the sovereignty of the country and assured people that all aspects of the Agreement will be made available to the public through a Parliamentary Statement that he will make. “I am working to release the agreement for public knowledge, and on Thursday this week, we will send the State Solicitor and Foreign Affairs and Defence Secretaries, to go through the DCA with students and interest groups to ensure they are informed correctly.”  PM Marape said this during the historic signing of the DCA by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Minister Win Daki at APEC Haus in Port Moresby on Monday, May 22nd. “This agreement in no way encroaches into our sovereignty,” PM Marape said. “We will, after this signing, inform all stakeholders and our citizens on all aspects of the agreement. “It will be transparent and shown to everyone who has an interest in it.  “It in no way affects other defence cooperation agreements, defence relationships and bilateral relationships we already have with other countries. “This is a straight two-way highway between the Pentagon and Murray Barracks, between Washington and Waigani, between USA and PNG. “I am satisfied that this agreement will add value to and strengthen our economy going into the future.” PM Marape said the DCA would also strengthen US-PNG relations going into the future.  “We have been important partners of the past,” PM Marape said. “Our shared bonds and experiences have kept our two nations together until 2023, when we elevate this, in as far as our defence cooperation is concerned. “We are elevating from what used to be a generic relationship under the 1989 Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) to a specific relationship with the United States people, government and defence force “Papua New Guinea has a Visiting Forces Act of 1975 which allows for these agreements to be entered into.” PM Marape said this law was born out of Section 206 of the Constitution and the DCA was done transparently and following proper processes. He said it was the result of many years of hard work by both countries.  “It is mutually beneficial, and in the PNG context, secures our national interest as we grow into a robust economy in this part of the world,” he said. “I am very happy that we have reached this milestone and thank Secretary Blinken for his patience, as well as our State Solicitor, Department of Defence and Department of Foreign Affairs for their leadership. “We have similar DCAs with countries like Indonesia and Australia and ask our citizens not to panic or fear unnecessarily, in the midst of much misinformation being circulated.”