A five-men Supreme Court bench will hand its decision today at 1:30pm on the Attorney-General’s objection to competency application to the Opposition’s Vote of No Confidence (VONC) court application which has yet to be substantively heard. The five-men bench comprising of Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika, Justice Les Gavera Nanu, Justice David Canning, Justice Panuel Mogish and Justice Derek Hartshorn will deliberate on the arguments and urgently inform the lawyers from both parties due to the importance of the matter. Last week, lawyers representing the Speaker and Attorney General objected to the competency of the substantive application. They raised numerous…
Author: Joshua ARLO
Amid the violence in East Sepik Province, and ongoing police investigations into the mass killings in Angoram district, the police command post has been changed again. This morning, Monday, August 5th, the acting Provincial Police Commander Senior Inspector James Baugen officially handed over the PPC Responsibility for East Sepik Command to Superintendent Christopher Tamari at the provincial police command headquarters in Wewak. This follows a directive from the Commander of Boarder Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Perou N’Dranou to recall Supt. Tamari to immediately resume duties as head of police operations in the province. In a statement, ACP N’Dranou…
Finschaffen MP Rainbo Paita, the Opposition’s nominee for Alternate Prime Minister, has praised Isi Henry Leonard for his leadership in Samarai-Murua District. Paita commended Leonard for his dedication and decision to leave his ministerial role in Tourism, Art, and Culture for the benefit of the country. “Your member has made a very patriotic national call, not a call for his own benefit,” Paita stated. Paita’s visit to Misima Island and the broader district in 2016 was to support Leonard during the by-election. Paita acknowledging the unique challenges faced by maritime districts, including higher costs of living and transport issues, stated,…
Acting Provincial Police Commander for East Sepik Province, Inspector James Baugen confirmed with PNG Haus Bung on Sunday, August 4th that police have arrested five more suspects in the mass killings that took place in the province. PPC Baugen said the five suspects from Angumara surrendered to police on Saturday, August 3rd, at 10am. He said they willingly surrendered and commended the local councilor for coordinating their surrender for police to apprehend. This brings the number of suspects arrested to 10. East Sepik Governor Allan Bird and the East Sepik leaders said the Angoram District Development Authority and the provincial…
A forensic specialist from the PNG-APP is leading a critical three-week Scenes of Crime Course for the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) in Port Moresby. Working closely with Detective Superintendent Jacob Ivaroa, the officer is delivering specialized training to enhance the skills of Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCOs) across the country. The course, hosted at Tuhava Town Resort, gathers participants from various regions, including Port Moresby, Kokopo, Madang, Mount Hagen, Wewak, and Popendetta. The official opening of the training session will take place at 10 AM on Monday, August 5th. This initiative aims to bolster forensic capabilities within the…
The Papua New Guinea National Weather Service has issued strong and gale force wind warnings for various coastal areas, effective from Sunday, August 4, 2024. These warnings come as the country braces for winds ranging from 25 to 47 knots over the next 24 hours, leading to rough and very rough seas. Strong Wind Warning: Strong winds of 25 to 33 knots are forecasted for the coastal waters stretching from the southern PNG/Indonesia border to Daru, Port Moresby, Milne Bay Province, and along the coastlines of West New Britain, Siassi, Finschhafen, Long Island, Karkar Island, Manam Island, and East Sepik.…
Defending premiers Penrith have closed to within two points of the Storm at the top of the table after a tense 22-14 win in a Super Sunday football match against the Knights at BlueBet Stadium, with fine weather, and good ground conditions an exciting game. The Knights struck first with a try from Daniel Saifiti in the 6th minute, converted by Kalyn Ponga. The Panthers quickly responded, with Casey McLean scoring a try in the 9th minute, followed by a conversion by Nathan Cleary. The Panthers pulled ahead with another try by Izack Tago in the 25th minute, and Cleary’s…
Prime Minister James Marape said the National Government is supposed to pay K100 million per year for Infrastructure Development Grants (IDG) and Business Development Grants (BDG) to Wafi-Golpu landowners and the Morobe Provincial Government. However, he said that now all this money has been disbursed. He said K34 million was released in 2021, K18 million in 2022, and K80 million in 2023. Prime Minister Marape revealed this on Friday, August 2nd, when presenting a K50 million dummy cheque to Morobe Governor, Luther Wenge. Governor Wenge said K25 million will go to the six landowner groups, and the other K25 million…
Wafi-Golpu landowners and the Morobe Provincial Government received a K50 million Infrastructure Development Grant (IDG) cheque presentation on Friday, August 2nd from the National Government’s K1.2 billion commitment to IDGs and Business Development Grants (BDGs) for Wafi-Golpu landowners. Prime Minister James Marape who presented the K50 million IDG said this is not ‘free money’, as the funds are intended for infrastructure projects in the six impacted areas and the province and urged Morobe Governor Luther Wenge to divide the money fairly between landowner groups and the provincial government. Monies will only be released once identified infrastructure projects are agreed on,…
Prime Minister James Marape has confirmed that the State Negotiating Team (SNT) is in advanced talks with Wafi-Golpu mine developers, Newmont and Harmony, to finalize the Mine Development Contract (MDC). This step is crucial for the timely issuance of the Special Mining Lease (SML), enabling the mine’s development to proceed. Marape made this announcement during a meeting in Lae with key stakeholders, including Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, Deputy Prime Minister and Lae MP, John Rosso, SNT Chairman Dairi Vele, Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) Managing Director Jerry Garry, KMHL CEO Sarimu Kanu, and other officials. They provided updates on the Wafi-Golpu…