Kerebi DAVID

PNG Power’s much needed technical equipment to complete installation works for its new Edevu Hydro Power Station and the Moitaka Sub Station have finally arrived in Port Moresby, directly from Shenzhen, China last night (Sunday 20th August 2023). A Boeing 767 cargo freighter loaded with close to 100 tons of PNG Power cargoes, mostly Switching Gears and Control Panels, landed safely on a four (4) hour direct flight, it is said to be the first of its kind. State Enterprise Minister William Duma, China’s Ambassador to PNG Mr Zeng Fanhua, KCH Board and Management team, Air Niugini and NAC as well as members from Allan Guo Investments, PNG Power’s CEO and PNG Power Chairman Mr McRonald Nale were there to receive the freighter airplane. Mr Nale acknowledged the State Enterprise Minister William Duma, the current government under the leadership of Prime Minister Mr James Marape, as well as Kumul Consolidated Holdings Limited, for there continuous support to ensure PNG Power can improve in the delivery of cheap, affordable, reliable, and clean power supply to its customers. Mr Nale also made acknowledgements to PNG Power’s Development Partner, Allan Guo Investments, for its ongoing support and investment foresight within the power industry. “I would like to acknowledge Allan Guo for bringing solutions for PNG Power. This Edevu hydro will bring into the Port Moresby Grid, 54 megawatts of power, which will lead into more least cost generation, something Allan has gone out of his way without any PNG Power or State guarantee, to resolve within PNG Power and its Port Moresby Grid as well as the Ramu Grid.” Mr Nale further thanked Mr Allan Guo for his urgency in organizing this Chartered flight directly from China, to bring all the necessary equipment to complete the construction of Edevu Hydro and the Moitaka Sub Station. “Work would have been delayed by two months, If AG Investments and PNG Power decided to ship in all the materials and equipment.” Futhermore Mr Nale gave assurance to the Government, its shareholder KCH and partners who were present for the occasion, that PNG Power has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, however there are changes taking place to ensure PNG Power solves all its power generation and transmission issues. “Tonight (Sunday 20th August 2023) is a testimony that PNG Power is actually changing for the right reasons, and we look forward to commission Edevu Hydro in October to improve power reliability as well as cheaper power, within the Port Moresby Grid.”

Chimbu, Hela and Southern Highlands Province continue to remain under Drought Watch and these provinces will be on a three months’ timescale watch. The National Weather Service reveals that Southern Highlands is at Drought Watch with severe vulnerability and exposure levels. At this stage, El Nino Alert also continues, and the Climate Models suggest that a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event is likely to develop by early September and the impacts tend to be more extreme when El Nino events are compounded with a positive IOD event. Right now, the National Weather Office has pointed out that drought critical areas have emerged in parts of Western Province and the drought watch conditions persist for Chimbu, Hela and Southern Highlands province at a 3 months’ time scale. At the 12-month rainfall timescale, deficiencies linger for Bougainville, East New Britain, New Ireland and Manus as well as some areas in the Highlands and Momase Provinces. The long-term deficiencies will have different impacts to short term rain fall deficiencies thus this will result in low ground water, brackish wells and reduced stream flow may be some impacts observed at this time scale. So Chimbu, Hela and Southern Highlands Province all have a majority drought watch status with severe exposure and vulnerability levels. National Weather Service stated in the summary of the relevant climate drivers affecting PNG over the coming months that their ACCESS-S- outlook for September to November forecasts are average to slightly above average rainfall which will be experienced in Northern Province (Oro), Madang and East Sepik, and the rest of the country is forecasted to receive from average to below average rainfall. At this stage, El Nino Alert Status is still current according to Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is currently neutral, whereby the Climate models suggest that a positive IOD event is likely to develop by early September. During El Nino events, rain is usually reduced in most of PNG and the Highlands region sees a greater risk of frost due to colder nights caused by less clouds cover.

Ocean clean-up crews have fished out the most trash ever taken from one of the largest garbage patches in the world. The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental engineering organization, saw its largest extraction earlier this month by removing about 25,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the organisation, told ABC News. The vessels are currently on the way back to port in Victoria, British Columbia, after having collected about 50 tons of garbage in four weeks, Tobin said. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an enormous pile of floating trash carried by ocean currents and winds to the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California, is the largest of the world's five ocean garbage patches. It is difficult to determine an exact size, as the trash is constantly moving, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Ocean Cleanup has estimated the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to have grown to twice the size of the state of Texas, Tobin said. The patch in the Pacific has grown so much that a new coastal ecosystem is thriving on it, a study published by Nature Ecology & Evolution in April found. Garbage patches pose dangers to the local ecosystem by entangling marine life in fishing nets, animals eating plastic and other debris and by transporting non-native species from foreign habitats, according to NOAA. It is unclear how garbage patches affect human health, but humans may be exposed to microplastics from a number of sources from the ocean, such as seafood and sea salt, according to NOAA. It may not be possible to entirely rid the ocean's garbage patches of trash, especially since some of the material will take a long time to break down in the environment, according to NOAA. Plastics may never fully break down. The Ocean Cleanup's aim is to remove 90 percent of floating plastic from the oceans by 2040, which they believe is achievable, Tobin said. [caption id="attachment_43992" align="aligncenter" width="1058"] The Ocean Cleanup's "System 03" will be nearly three times as long as the previous system, enabling much more trash pickup. Photo: The Ocean Cleanup[/caption] The nonprofit has a two-pronged approach of removing "legacy plastics" and debris before the UV rays break the material down into microplastics, which are nearly impossible to collect. One of the most remarkable items they have pulled is a Vietnam War-era canteen. Other common materials are rigid plastics that float into the ocean and fishing nets, Tobin said. The system involves two vessels that have a device that skims the water to collect all of the debris. The environmental group is also working to clear the rivers that feed into the oceans of trash as well to ensure they are able to clean as much as possible. "Our goal is to kind of put ourselves out of business," Tobin said. "We don't want to be doing this forever and ever." By the end of the month, The Ocean Cleanup will launch System 03, a larger version of its current system of floating barriers. Its predecessor, System 02, which was utilized in the most recent mission, is about 875 yards long. The new replacement measures at about 2,400 yards long, which will lead to much bigger and more successful catches, Tobin said. System 03 is capable of clearing the size of a football field every five seconds, about twice the speed of the current system, Tobin said. The nonprofit has also been using artificial intelligence computational modeling to locate where the most plastic is in the ocean -- a method they named "plastic hotspot modeling." "It's sad that there's so much out there, but we're very happy that we now have developed a system that is tackling this more and more effectively," Tobin said. During the week-long journey from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch back to port, the trash gets sorted on the ship, and the nonprofit recycles as much material as possible. The nonprofit then works with partners worldwide to ensure that the products made with the recycled plastic are not ones that will end up back in oceans or rivers, Tobin said, adding that one of those partnerships is with a Korean car manufacturer that uses the plastics in the construction of electric vehicles. "We just want to make sure it doesn't end up back where we found it," Tobin said. Source: rnz.com

PNG Power Limited is advising its valued customers and the public in Port Moresby that they will be undertaking an important maintenance work under the Rouna 1 Rehabilitation Project this weekend. This project is part of the Port Moresby Grid Development Project and work will begin from 12.00 am (midnight) Saturday, August 19, 2023, to 12.00 am (midnight), Monday, August 21, 2023, and will affect the water supply in NCD. However, PPL anticipates that it will not affect the power supply in NCD. This critical work will involve cutting and blanking off the current shared pipeline between PNG Power Ltd and Water PNG after the Rouna 1 and 3 head-ponds. Once the pipeline is cut and separated, Water PNG will have a dedicated pipeline to supply water to its water treatment facility at Mt. Eriama uninterrupted. PPL wants to assure its valued customers that in the future therefore any planned maintenance works by PPL at Rouna 1 and 3 will not affect the water supply to Water PNG and Port Moresby city residents. PPL is now working closely with Water PNG to ensure this planned work is undertaken and completed on time. PPL also advises city residents to store enough water for use during the work as Water PNG will have a limited supply from their intakes at Rouna 4 and Bomana. PPL want to sincerely apologise to the Port Moresby city residents for any inconvenience that they may cause because of this upgrade works, they will undertake at Rouna 1.

Nawaeb District is one of the first districts in the country to present its acquittal reports for District Support Grants 2022 to the Department of Implementation and Rural Development (DRID). Nawaeb MP Hon Theo Pelgen and CEO Mr Buds Botikie made the presentation in Port Moresby recently after the Parliament Session to DRID Secretary Mr Ahi Vaki and officers of DRID. The report was compiled by the Nawaeb District Administration team under the careful guidance of CEO Botikie. MP Pelgen said although the DSG 2022 funds were utilized by the former MP, through his leadership he believes in transparency and accountability of all government allocations to the district. “This process of reporting back to the government, I believe provides the relevant authorities to see where the actual money is being utilized on projects and programs back in the district.” MP Pelgen added K500, 000 was channelled to Nawaeb District back in 2022 and the report of the usage of these monies was to be expected. “DSIP acquittal report for 2021-2022 is being compiled by the District Officers and will soon be presented as well to the same office.” The funding acquittal is a process that needs to be undertaken for the transparency and accountability of funds and sets the course for new funding approval from the National Government to our district. “As long as our reports are done accurately, we will not face much difficulty in accessing new funds to continue projects in the district for the benefit of our people.” MP Pelgen said Nawaeb District now is ready to receive its grants for 2023 financial year to support Nawaeb District programmed activities for service delivery for the people.

PNG Power is undertaking major maintenance work to improve power generation, transmission, distribution, and reliability within the Port Moresby Grid. PPL’s Port Moresby Power Grid Development Project is to maintain power reliability, quantity, and affordable electricity supply to its customers in Port Moresby and parts of Central province. Maintaining quality and reliable power supply security is one of the core focus areas of PNG Power and Port Moresby’s Central Business District is one of the main target areas. Two new 11kilo Vaults Express Feeder lines will be constructed, which will take power from the new Kilakila substation, relieving the current supply from the Konedobu substation and work will be completed by the end of 2023. Four additional feeders from the Kilakila substation will connect to the existing grid to relieve loads from the Konedobu and Boroko substations. There will also be a dedicated feeder to supply Port Moresby General Hospital from the new Kilakila substation. The construction work has already started on the 1st of August, and poles have been constructed from Butuka to the Sabama junction and will continue into the CBD via Ela Beach. The Town area is a major load centre in Port Moresby, with increasing energy demand from building developments in the CBD, Paga Hill and Pom Port Redevelopment so this grid reinforcement and upgrade work is expected to significantly reduce outage time and improve power reliability in the central business hub. The Port Moresby Power Grid Development Project includes five other grid improvement projects.

PNG Power staff and police in Popondetta in a combined operation recently have made an arrest on an unlicensed electrician. The suspect Gabriel Afuma, 42 from Mabututu village in the Sohe District of Oro Province, is in police custody and has been charged under the PNG Electricity Industry Act, for tampering with electricity lines, preventing a meter from properly registering the quantity of electricity supplied. This offence has a fine not exceeding K1000, or an imprisonment term of not more than 3 years and the suspect has appeared before the Popondetta District Court on Wednesday, 16th August, 2023. PNG Power thanks all its customers along the Kokoda Road and Popondetta Township, after they raised numerous complaints regarding Gabriel Afuma, who was bypassing Easipay meters for customers and making power connections to houses without the knowledge of PNG Power inspectors in Popondetta. A PPL spokesman mentioned that this is deemed an unlawful act and poses great risk and threat to the safety and lives of PPL customers, who have been receiving assistance from this Mr Afuma, an unlicensed supposed electrician. “Mr Afuma’s actions are very dangerous in nature, and it is a threat to all power consumers in Popondetta because he is not licensed and not recognised by PNG Power to practise as an electrician.” During interrogations done by police, Mr Afuma admitted having by-passed numerous Easipay meters, and made direct connections to various new houses along the Kokoda road. “Under Section 49 of the Electricity Act anyone who illegally removes, tampers with or destroys State property will be charged accordingly under the appropriate criminal laws.”

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) commends the Enga Show Committee for successfully staging last weekend’s cultural show which was held from the 11th -12th of August. CCEP Commercial and Sales Director Tim Solly echoed the sentiments as a Diamond sponsor of the cultural show. Despite Major Law and Order issues and major tribal fights in the province over the previous months, the Enga Show attracted more than 10 thousand people into Wabag town, a turnout that was not expected. “We have received nothing but praise from the positive impact the show has had over the two days, and this of course is due to the unwavering commitment from the Show Committee under the leadership of Chairlady Margaret Potane, her hardworking committee and the Enga Provincial Government.” Mr Solly said, despite many challenges faced by the province, Coca-Cola understands that since 1994, this cultural event continues to take place to remind, showcase and pass down cultural practices amongst the Engan people. “The resilience of the people of Enga, who have worked tirelessly over the years to establish the Enga Cultural Show to what it is today, is outstanding and we are proud to associate our brand with this event.” Coca-Cola and its Bottler CCEP PNG, anticipates the Enga Show to continue to be a drawcard for many international and local visitors and looks forward to partnering with the organisers into the future.

Two PNG Kickboxers Thomas Kagili and Nelson Samson Wailo put up an extra ordinary challenge against their opponents over the weekend in North Miami State Town Hall, in Florida USA in the International Kickboxing Championship. Fighter Thomas Kagili nickname as the Spiderman was the first PNG male fighter who took on a 6 foot opponent, Mr Seyi Banjoko from UK. PNG Kick boxing President and Head Coach Stanley Nandex, The Head-hunter stated that Thomas took the fight with so much power punishing the opponent. “Thomas outclassed his opponent in the first round but the UK fighter came very strong in the 2nd and 3rd round, but Thomas maintained his defensive and combination of boxing and kickboxing techniques.” “Congratulations to Kagili who won the lightweight 63kg division with the height and ridge advantage that made him win in a score card or 30/27,” said Nandex. Nandex further stated that the main event of the event was between PNG Kick boxer Nelson Samson Wailo and a national hero in Miamim USA, Mr Ulises Fernandez in the 2 minutes by 4 rounds. “Nelson fought in the 73kg and in the first and second round, Nelson dominated the fight and became the crowds’ favourite”. “However, his opponent came back very strong with massive punches and combinations of kicking that stopped Nelson in the third round.” Nandex added that though Nelson lost the fight, he was the most electrifying fighter of the night with few Promoters having shown interest to put him on the next drawcard. “Am so impressed and proud of the fighters, particularly Thomas Kaligi and our only female fighter who both won fights in such a prestigious international kickboxing championship in the US”. Nandex said, seeing the PNG flags raised reminds him of his time representing the country as one person but he has a team of fighters continuing his legacy and flying the PNG. “A big thank you to special people particular who made this journey to fight in the US possible, the Governor of NCD Hon. Powes Parkop LLB and his Executive Officer Dr. Newton Albert, Minister for Sports and Higher education science and technology, Hon. Don Polye MP and his Chief executive Officer Mr. Albert Veretau, MRDC Augustine Mano, David Arterwal, all the business houses who attended the corporate dinner fundraiser.” “Special mention also to my hard-working team from the Female Kickboxing League president MS Lyn Pokam and the team, PNGKBF executives, senior fighters and members of the PNG Kickboxing Federation for the support given, as well as the PNG media.” Nandex added that all efforts and support given was not wasted because his fighters flew the PNG flag high in the United States winning two fights both in the women’s and men’s international championships.

Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality, Ms Stephanie Copus Campbell joined a gender equality roundtable chaired by PNG’s Department of Community Development and Religion Acting Deputy Secretary, Ms Karen Haive at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby on today, 15th August 2023. The dialogue brought together representatives from PNG government, the development sector, and civil society for dialogue on gender equality in PNG. Following the release of the PNG Government's gender equality plans and targets for the next five years under the Medium-Term Development Plan IV, 2023 to 2027 (MTDP), the roundtable enabled gender equality representatives in PNG to meet and engage in meaningful discussions about plans to advance gender equality in the country. Acting Deputy Secretary for Department for Community Development and Religion, Ms Karen Haive stated that Gender equality and women’s advancement remain PNG Government’s priority although there has been a slow progress made in the implementation and achievement of the gender equality objective. “The Department for Community Development & Religion is committed to improving gender equality and women’s advancement through review of the National Women’s and Gender Equality Policy 2011-2015.” “The revised Policy will provide new priorities and strategies for all Development Partners and stakeholders to address and advance gender equality agenda in PNG.” During the roundtable dialogue, participants had the opportunity to share their experiences, learn from each other, and reflect on the work and progress achieved so far towards gender equality in PNG. Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality, Ms Campbell, highlighted at the dialogue that Australia is committed to gender equality and will continue to work in partnership with PNG to ensure women and girls in all diversity throughout the country are safe and have equal share in resources, opportunities, and decision-making with men and boys. “Ensuring gender equality is a shared priority for both Australia and PNG, because it is crucial to the economic growth, development, and stability of both countries and for our Pacific region.”

“Since the introduction of female kickboxing in the early 2000 in Papua New Guinea, our female kick boxers have proven to be the best in this martial art sports”. That’s from PNG Kick boxing President and Head Coach Stanley Nandex, The Headhunter. This is the third time now to see PNG Female kick boxer win an international fight. “Congratulations to our female fighter Miss Manella Lambar who showed so much skill and won the Super Welter Weight Division 70kg,” said Nandex. Nandex told PNG HAUSBUNG that Ms. Kambar boxed with her opponent from Argentina in 2 minutes by 3 rounds match at North Miami State Town Hall over the weekend where she forced down her opponent to win the Super Welter Weight Division, 70kg. Nandex added that Kambar win is now officially the third international kickboxing win for female kickboxing in the country. “The first female kick boxer who won the bronze medal was Ms.Kepi Kena from Morobe during the WKA World championships in Rome,Italy in 2002.” “Ms. Jessy Gonopa Kaima was the second female fighter, who won the WKF international title belt  in 2018 in Port Moresby.” “And now Ms Kambar is the third PNG female kick boxer.”

FinCorp, the trusted Financial Services provider, proudly introduces the appointment of two distinguished professionals to its Board. The new Directors are Mr. Douveri Henao and Mr. Chris Hansor, they both bring a wealth of expertise and proven track record in strategy and governance to further enhance the lending institution’s vision and operations. As FinCorp continue their transformation journey, Mr. Henao's joins bringing with him impressive career trajectory that includes a decade-long tenure as the Executive Director of the PNG Business Council and over two decades of experience in critical positions on various boards and chairmanships of prominent PNG corporations, state entities, government regulatory bodies, and charitable organizations. His remarkable achievements are further underpinned by his academic qualifications, including a Bachelor of Laws Degree from UPNG Law School and a prestigious Diploma in Trade Negotiations from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat. Currently serving as the CEO of Legacy Group Limited, Mr. Henao is poised to infuse his strategic insight into FinCorp's transformation and growth trajectory. Board Chairman of FinCorp, Mr Goiye Gileng, commented that, "Mr Henao, comes to the board with significant wealth of experience in both private and public sector which placed him in a unique position to add substantial value to FinCorp and its clients in the next phase of FinCorp's growth.” “Adding additional skills to the Board is Mr. Chris Hansor, an accounting and audit professional with an impressive career spanning over 27 years.” Gileng added that Mr Hansor’s extensive experience across diverse markets including PNG, Australia, and the United Kingdom, garnered during his tenure at the global accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was most recently a Partner of the PNG business, positions him as a true asset to FinCorp. Mr. Hansor currently provides advisory services to several boards and is a Member of the Audit & Risk Committee of Steamships Trading Company Limited and Non-Executive Director of Trinity Anglican School Limited in Queensland, Australia. “His significant experience and understanding of the PNG economic and regulatory landscape has been derived from his time as an Assurance Partner working with many of PNG’s largest businesses, which reaffirms his ability to ensure the highest standards of governance.” Gilend further stated that Hansor brings to the Board substantial professional experience acquired across various jurisdictions in the accounting and financial space, undertaking audits of large multinational corporations and none-audit areas including mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, control frameworks, risk management and finance function transformation. “The current board and management look forward to working with the new Directors” added Chairman Gileng. Their tenure on the Board promises to support the continued period of transformative growth and innovation, solidifying FinCorp's position as a leading force in the financial services landscape.