The Acting Papua New Guinea (PNG) Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Simon Sinai, made it clear this week that there is enough time available to hold by elections this year, like a by election for the Moresby Northwest seat left vacant following the death of the late Sir Mekere Morauta. However, Mr. Sinai clarified that it is only after July this year that no more by elections will be held before the next National Election in 2022. “The law forbids me not to go beyond 24th July 2021, which is exactly one year before the next issue of Writs. So, we have…
Author: Emmanuel MAIPE
The return of the Writ for the Bougainville Regional Seat to the Governor General on Tuesday marked the end of the by election; however, the same cannot be said about the payment of the services provided to achieve a successful by election. According to the Acting Papua New Guinea Electoral (PNGEC) Commissioner Mr. Simon Sinai, this was due to the insufficient budget allocated for the by election. He said the PNGEC requested for K15million to cover for the three electorates. The K15million divided into the three electorates will see about K5million spent for each electorate conducting the by election. …
The state of Papua New Guinea this week signed documents that will see Total, the developer of the Papua LNG project, move forward with its planning and design phase of the country’s second LNG project in Gulf and Central. Petroleum Minister, Kerenga Kua, said this is significant as it guarantees the protection of the fiscal arrangement. “The documents we have signed guarantees the protection of the fiscal arrangement. The cost of construction, the tax regime and all those things are stabilized, so it gives certainty to project planning and project execution. So that was a very important milestone process that…
The AFL Junior Development Program is taking a new approach to deliver its schools and community AFL programs this year, one that is focused on quality over quantity. The Junior Development Program Manager, Mr. David Topeni, explained that the new term approach will see plans developed and executed for each school term. This will enable the Junior Development teams to effectively deliver the programs, including the Niukick program. “Term plan is not like every year, yearly targets. It will be a short-term plan easy to achieve within each term,” said Mr. Topeni. He further explained that the previous approach…
Local company Lifu Holdings Limited (LHL), trading as Mobil Pit Stop 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. This week 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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…