In recent times there have been a lot of vehicle road accidents that we have seen either on the news, on social media or witnessed firsthand, an unfortunate thing that has now become a major concern bringing into question why road safety is at stake here. The PNG HAUSBUNG team took this into consideration and set out to enquire as to why efforts to ensure road safety is not effective enough to reduce or prevent further vehicle road accidents particularly in Port Moresby city and its outskirts, which are the areas in the Central province bordering the nation’s capital city. One thing that came into attention was the lack of regular road check- points especially on the weekends when people tend to take on leisure activities going clubbing or attending functions or events; a time when the likelihood of drinking and driving is very high. Another thing that came into attention was the lack of police and the Road Transport Authority (RTA) impounding vehicles that are un-roadworthy, unregistered and with no safety stickers. Although some efforts were made to remove these sorts of vehicles from the roads, it was not maintained. Still, in the city there are Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs) and taxies along with private vehicles currently running without proper documents and some of them are visibly un-roadworthy, which is a breach to road safety and the traffic laws of this country. According to the Asian Transport Observatory (ATO) on Papua New Guinea (PNG) Road Safety Profile 2025, road safety remains a significant challenge in PNG. “While progress has been made in reducing fatalities, the country still faces a high burden of road traffic injuries and deaths,” stated the ATO on PNG’s Country Summery.The ATO road safety profiles offer insights into the road safety in 37 Asia-Pacific countries by utilizing road safety related data from various sources and policy information extracted from a range of documents. So, the question posed here is what has been done or is being done to address this matter going forward? One way to address this matter is by conducting regular vehicle road checks. According to general information sourced from the police, all police stations and police units including the traffic police are issued directives from the police high command to carry out routine stop checks, either at police check- points or while on the move. They are to stop and check all drivers of vehicles who are breaching traffic laws, be it driving under the influence of alcohol or of other substances, driving unregistered vehicles, un-roadworthy vehicles, drivers driving beyond speed limits or suspected stolen vehicles. This is being done no doubt; however, it is not done on a consistent basis, hence, most of the time drivers tend to get away with breaches, and when this is happening at a regular pace, it leads to danger on the roads were people become victims of road accidents. PNG HAUSBUNG did reach out to the National Capital District (NCD) police high command numerous times but was unable to get a definite answer on the statistics of road accidents in 2025 and the start of 2026, plus what further actions the police has taken, or is taking, or will be taking to enforce road safety for everyone. The other State body taking care of this is matter is the Road Traffic Authority (RTA) which was established by the National Parliament to administer the regulation, safety and use of land transport throughout Papua New Guinea. PNG HAUSBUNG also reached out to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the RTA but to no avail. Nevertheless, according to the Road Traffic Authority Corporate Plan 2025- 2027 that was launched in July 2025, the RTA plan focusses on, • Safety and Sustainability: Reducing Road deaths and injuries. • Digital Transformation: Introducing new digital services for licensing and registration. • Regulatory Enforcement: Strengthen compliance. The plan also includes enhancing road safety compliance improving access and turnaround times for licensing and vehicle registration, introducing new digital services and expanding regional service delivery. All these looks good on paper, but the actual implementation will count.Meanwhile, one person who is eager to see improvements made to how road safety is being implemented, is the President of the National Capital District (NCD) PMV Association, Mr. Jack Waso. Mr. Waso is a prominent advocator for issues affecting PMVs, who usually calls for improvements to be made to public transport infrastructures like proper bus stops, the issue of police harassment of PMV drivers and of course, road safety. Speaking to PNG HAUSBUNG, he said the safety of the people on the roads is at stake as a lot of things are not being implemented to ensure safety, and he said carrying out road safety awareness is one approach that must be stepped up. “There are a lot of things that are not going well,” said the NCD PMV Association President, Mr. Waso. “Police are not doing their job, NCDC (National Capital District Commission) is not doing its job, and the Road Traffic Authority is not doing its job.” He claimed that the lack of action by these State bodies is resulting in injuries and deaths each year caused by road accidents. Mr. Waso also added that with the Connect PNG Programme linking the Southern Highlands province, the Morobe province and the Southern Region to NCD with the new roads being constructed, it could result in more cases of road accidents if there is a lack of commitment to enforcing road safety by the authorities. His call now is simple, the people responsible for everyone’s safety on the roads must do their jobs sincerely. So, road safety is not a joke. When it comes to safety, one must be comforted by the thought that the authorities are out there doing their jobs to keep all of us safe; however, if they are not committed to it and neglecting their duties, who is to say our safety on the roads will be guaranteed.

Another vehicle accident this morning in the city of Port Moresby that occurred along the independence boulevard at Waigani right in front of the National Parliament, is yet another statistic in the rise in road accidents in the capital city.The accident involved two vehicles, a white sedan and a black sports utility vehicle (SUV). Fortunately, none of the occupants of the two vehicles received serious injuries. Only the driver of the white sedan had St John Ambulance officers attend to him. He had a cut on his forehead that was later treated and bandaged. He was up and walking after that.What is even concerning was that the accident took place where the traffic lights are, but unfortunately those traffic lights have not been working for some time to control the movement of vehicles along the road. Police were already at the scene when PNG HAUSBUNG arrived on site. Traffic officers were taking notes and statements from the occupants, and it was discovered that alcohol was involved as a parcel containing beer cans was taken out of one of the vehicles by police and place on it. Once again, the consumption of alcohol and driving is the case here and it is quite concerning too because if drink- driving is going unchecked by road safety authorities including the police, it creates a scary situation on the roads in the city where drunk drivers roam freely posing threat to other motorists on the road especially on the weekends. The way forward now to address this serious matter, is for the police and the Road Traffic Authority to conduct regular road checks to ensure drivers are not intoxicated, or whether a vehicle is registered and road worthy to be running on the roads and highways.

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) says it is unable to set the right fares for alternate routes used by public transportation compared to the ones already approved by the authority. This was revealed by the ICCC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner Mr. Roy Daggy when addressing complaints from the public regarding Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs) taking shortcuts or alternate routes from the approved ones and charging extra fares. He explained that in cities like Port Moresby, which is expending at a faster rate, new roads are built and PMV operators sometimes utilize these new routes, or they take an existing alternate route for the sake of efficiency, a quicker route enabling good turnaround time for the PMV buses is an idle option to operators. This he said has created an additional problem for authorities to monitor the routes and fares charged to passengers. However, this issue is not unsolvable. “The ICCC also noted that there were some new routes being utilized out of necessity given the growth in population and expansion of geographic boundaries,” said the Commissioner. Upon explaining this, he said that there is nothing the ICCC can do to address this matter because they are not responsible for allocating fares for these routes. “The ICCC will only set fares for routes that were designated by the Road Traffic Authority (RTA) and its predecessors. Until such time that those new routes are approved by the RTA, then the ICCC will come in to set fares.” In saying this, Commission Daggy said it is up to the partners of ICCC- RTA and the traffic police, to crack down on PMV buses that are doing it so that authorized routes are used and proper monitoring is conducted.

The new increased rate for both the Public Motor Vehicle (PMV) and taxi fares is now in effect, but the challenge now is the enforcement of these new rates to ensure operators do not put additional costs on top of the gazetted rates.The new Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Commissioner, Mr. Roy Daggy said the Commission will be working alongside the Road Traffic Authority (RTA), the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) other concerned authorities to ensure enforcement is in place. The new fare increases are now active after it was officially gazetted on the 9th of January 2026- National Gazette No. 21, which gave the go ahead for an increase of just 20toea for PMV fares and 16toea increase for taxi fares. The breakdown of the increases in the 2026- 2030 regulation period, is as follows for the first three years, For PMVs structure: Fare will increase by 20% in 2026, 2027 and 2028 respectivelyFor taxi fare structure: Fares will increase by 16% in 2026, 14% in 2027 and 10% in 2028 In terms of the annual adjustments, Commissioner Daggy explained that these phased increases will be supplemented by annual adjustments to capture changes in fuel prices (diesel and petrol) and the underlying Consumer Price Index (CPI). Therefore, for the remaining two years, the rates will change depending on the outcome of the review of fuel prices and the CPI. Now that this has been established, the enforcement part of this is now important. Commissioner Daggy said the ICCC will collaborate with RTA, traffic police and Provincial Land and Transport authorities to take a tough stance on non- compliance behavior. “The penalty has been increased to K10, 000 if prosecuted summery (summery offence) and K30, 000 if prosecuted for indictment,” explained Commissioner Daggy. “Therefore, suppliers of regulated services, including PMV and taxi service providers must comply with the requirements of the law.” The gazetted fares are maximum fares which the ICCC encourages PMV and taxi operators to apply at or below these maximum fares. If any PMV or taxis are charging above the approved fares, it will be considered illegal and in breach of the Prices Regulation Act.

When one thinks of Daru in the Western province of Papua New Guinea (PNG), it's usually a small town which sometimes lack the basic essential services that is needed for progress and development, but this little island town has potential that’s worth looking at it closer with a magnifying glass. This was revealed recently by the Governor for Western province Taboi Awi Yoto at the launching of a new National Fisheries Authority (NFA) state of the art Surveillance Center in Daru town on the 6th of January. He said the province shares two international borders, one with Indonesia and one with Australia. This also places Daru as a strategic location in the province and the country. Being that the good governor wants the province to be one of the provinces that draws investments in all sectors. “When Daru is good, we can be the gateway to Asia and gateway to Australia, and we can provide the gateway for people to travel, exchange our culture, trade and business so we can attract foreign direct investment into Daru, and it can have a ripple effect in the nation,” said Governor Awi Yoto. But, for that to be, Governor Awi Yoto says there needs to be improvements to the services in Daru. He said there is still lots of issues that needs addressing and fixing. One being the power supply issues and the lack of a proper sewage system. Roads and vital economic infrastructure are some of the things need fixing. Meanwhile, Prime Minister James Marape, when it was his time to speak at the event, assured the governor that the town’s development is part of the National Government agenda for 2026 and it shall be done going forward. Daru, historically served as an administrative and trading post for the colonial government. It was a gateway to the vast wilderness of the Western Province and offers access to the Fly River, a major waterway and tourist attraction. These days the town faces challenges related to infrastructure and economic development, but it remains a vital hub for the region.

Prime Minister James Marape is adamant in getting rid of illegal guns that are being used by criminal elements especially in the Highlands region to harm innocent people and create chaos in communities.The prime minister said his government means business and announced yesterday (Wednesday 14th January) that by further addressing this matter, a national gun amnesty and a buyback scheme will be introduced by his Cabinet. He said by working with the new Police Minister, Sir John Pundari, the government will ensure security forces including Kumul 23, closely pursue those who possess all types of illegal firearms, and those who supply and smuggle them into communities. “First things first, extract guns. Under his (Police Minister) watch, we will be calling for an amnesty period,” said the prime minister. “These guns, most of them were paid for by others outside these tribal conflicts, passed them onto young men holding these guns.” Marape said the young men in affected communities have the potential to do much more in bringing peace and participate in development in their areas. But, holding onto these guns and waging tribal war and committing crime, is taking them away from the good things in life. Having said that, Marape said its time to move and put an end to the issue of illegal guns in communities. He also warned that should anyone still holding onto illegal arms after the amnesty period, Kumul 23 will be coming after them. Meanwhile, the prime minister confirmed that the recent Wapenamenda operation in the Enga province, represented only part of the planned security response. “What you saw in Wapenamenda was not the full deployment of Kumul 23. This operation will continue and expand into all hotspots across the country.”He said Government was determined to end the gun culture that has taken hold in parts of Enga, Hela, Southern Highlands and Western Highlands, as well as other areas.“Only the State must carry guns — not criminals,” Prime Minister Marape said.

Sir John Pundari has been given perhaps the biggest task of dealing with the issues of illegal firearms, tribal conflict and crime when he was appointed as the new Police and National Security Minister in Prime Minister (PM) James Marape’s recent cabinet reshuffle and new ministerial portfolio appointments.PM James Marape announced this morning that the Member for Kombiam- Ambun in the Enga province, has been tasked to take decisive acting to deal with the pressing issues right now in the Highlands region with the movement of illegal guns, criminal elements and hired gunmen being engaged in tribal conflicts. The new minister has experience in such issues in his own electorate which the PM says puts him in a good position to deal with this matter. Marape said Sir Pundari is the longest serving Member of Parliament (MP), having first election into office in 1992 and continuing to be re- elected to office since then, marking now 33 years in politics. “He has enough retrospective experience,” said the PM. “Also, coming from a province that is rife with guns, rife with tribal fights, rife with lots of criminal activities, we felt that let me him take this problem that is happening up in the highlands.” Also, the PM announced Tewai-Siassi MP Dr Kobby Bomareo as the new Housing Minister and Menyamya MP Solen Loifa as the new Mining Minister. All three MPs were sworn in yesterday as ministers by the Governor General at Government House in Port Moresby city. Meanwhile, Peter Tsiamalili Jnr, the former Police Minister, is now the new Works and Highways Minister, taking up the role following the recent passing of the former Minister, Solan Mirisim.

The public will soon see an increase the fares for public transportation for both taxis and Public Motor Vehicles (PMVs) across Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2026.According to Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC), the PMV fares will see an increase of 20%, which is a 20toea increase on the current rate, while taxis will see a 16% increase this year, which is a 16toea increase. These rates come under a total of 60% and 40% increases for PMVs and Taxis respectively, spread across the 2026 to 2030 regulation period. The ICCC explained that within the first three years of the regulation period, from 2026 to 2028, the PMV fares will increase by 20% each year leading to a total of 60%, while for taxis, the changes will be 16% increase in 2026, 14% increase in 2027 and 10% increase in 2028. This is a total of 40%. The next phase of rates for the remaining two years before the end of 2030, will be established by the ICCC after a review following the first three years of the five-year regulation period of 2026 to 2030. The ICCC Acting Chief Executive Officer and Associate Commissioner (Resident), Mr. Jack Timi, in an earlier statement released by the Commission, stated that in addition to this upfront increase, fares will be subject to annual adjustments linked to changes in fuel prices and the Underlying Consumer Price Index (CPI). “The ICCC has proposed that a 60% weighting in the adjustment formulae will be allocated to fuel reflecting its dominant share in operator costs, particularly PMVs, while the CPI component will represent 40% of the adjusted fares, capturing broader cost drivers.” Meanwhile, the new rates are not effective as yet. According to the ICCC, the new increases will come into effect once it is gazetted by the National Government, and it is hoped that this will take place by the end this week.

As Papua New Guinea (PNG) welcomes the New Year, the residents of Port Moresby city have been urged to reflect on 2025 and embrace 2026 going forward to ensure prosperity in their community and the city.NCD Governor Powes Parkop, who gave his keynote address at the New Year’s Eve Fireworks show at the Ela Beach, told the people gathered there that 2026 is a time to reset, rethink and re- strategize. He said 2025 marked a significant time for PNG with the 50th Independence Anniversary but now, PNG is at a transition point this New Year because 2026 marks the start of the next 50 years of PNG, where it is at this stage that people dig deep, reflect and progress in terms working together to continue the developments in the nation’s capital city. “We can lookback, look at how we have come, look at our successes, look at our failures too, look at our under achievements or the lack of achievements. Look at all of the lessons, how we could have done better and all that we have come through in the last 50 years,” said Governor Parkop. “The decision that we make, the actions that we take will define the next 50 years, whether it gets better or will it be the same as the last 50 years?” The good Governor then thanked his team at the National Capital District Commission, the government and the communities in the city that have worked in collaboration with his office last year and urged them continued this good work in 2026. Meanwhile, the event at Ela Beach was the highlight of the night, topping off a relatively quiet night leading up to the New Year. A look around the city saw less number of vehicles on the main roads and also no police check points at the usual spots, indicating that there was no need for police roadblocks as the people were in their best behavior.

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Correctional Services (CS) has confirmed that there was no breakout whatsoever at the Bomana CS facility outside Port Moresby city this morning.The CS Deputy Commissioner Operations, David Suagu confirmed this to clear the air following some reports circulating on social media today stating that a prison breakout occurred this morning. Apparently, due to the water shortage issue faced in Port Moresby city and parts of Central province, the inmates became frustrated because there was no water running on the taps in the prison facility for them to use in the showers and restrooms. The CS officers had to let the inmates out to the recreational area in the prison facility when they started showing their frustration on the water shortage that things became a bit rowdy in the courtyard. This then led to the CS officers sounding off the main siren at the prison facility as a means to regain order. Order was later restored. Meanwhile, the CS is concerned regarding the misleading information that has gone out and circulated on social media and urge the public to confirm facts first before putting out sensitive contents on social media that could stir up panic or violence in the community.

The surveillance of the waters and marine resources of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been elevated close to the level of both Australia and New Zealand with the introduction of new vessels equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance technologies including drone capabilities.The Managing Director of the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) Mr. Justin Ilakini said the introduction of these facilities have lifted the capability of the NFA to provide an effective work in protecting PNG waters and the marine resources from illegal fishing and unregulated fishing.The NFA just last week welcomed two new vessels with two more on the way of which one will be handed over the Autonomous Bougainville Government. These vessels Mr. Ilakini says will do an enormous job in improving surveillance of PNG's Exclusive Economic Zone which is quite large. “We just going to grow from strength to strength from here knowing that without protection, the future will be uncertain. So, we will start building our resources, start building our assets to work with our bilateral, multilateral, even our partners in the national level, to secure our future, to secure our resources for our people for the future,” said the NFA Managing Director. PNG’s Exclusive Economic Zone in one of the biggest in the region, almost 3 million square kilometers. This poses a challenge to surveillance, but Mr. Ilakini says otherwise with the new equipment and facilities NFA now has. “With these assets, I am glad to announce that we’ll be able to cover at least fifty percent (50%) to sixty percent (60%) coverage of our entire Exclusive Economic Zone.” The NFA would achieve this by using its surveillance facilities to work alongside the police, defence force and security partners to address not only illegal and unregulated fishing, but counter transnational crimes within PNG’s jurisdiction.

The recent flight disruptions and the frustrations caused by them should be a thing of the past going forward now that the national airline- Air Niugini, is rapidly re-fleeting its aging fleet of aircrafts.Today saw the third new Airbus A220- 300 touch down in Port Moresby city much to the excitement and relief of Air Niugini and its major shareholder- the government. Minister for State Enterprises William Duma laid it out straight in his keynote address, stating that there is much work to do in lifting the service provided to passengers and with the latest arrival, there should be no excuse but to deliver to the people with airline services. He said the new A 220- 300 came into service at a time where there is a big need for more aircrafts to be able to continue to cater for the ever-growing demands from the people of Papua New Guinea (PNG). “We’ve all seen the challenges faced by our airline in the last two days. When several aircrafts became unserviceable all at the same time, it just simply caused serious disruptions,” said the good minister. Duma said this leads to passenger frustrations, which then leads to Air Niugini staff also being frustrated. However, this re- fleeting is addressing this matter, and it is fully expected that 2026 onwards, the Air Niugini fleet should be in a very good position to once again deliver the best airline service to passengers. Meanwhile, Air Niugini will commence commercial flights using its brand-new Airbus A220-300 aircraft to Tokua Airport, Rabaul tomorrow, Friday 19 December. This milestone service marks another important step in the airline’s fleet modernization program and demonstrates Air Niugini’s commitment to improving connectivity and travel experience for Papua New Guineans, particularly during the busy Christmas travel period. The operation of the Airbus A220-300 to Tokua follows approval and operational clearance by the National Airports Corporation (NAC), allowing Air Niugini to deploy the aircraft to assist with peak seasonal demand, passenger backlogs and increased travel across the domestic network. Air Niugini also acknowledges NAC’s support and collaboration in facilitating this important service at a time when many families are travelling to reunite with loved ones for Christmas.