PNG MP condemns police over stand-off with military

Papua New Guinea's minister for finance and education and the MP for Tari-Pori, James Marape, has strongly condemned Tari police for a stand-off against soldiers in the Hela Province town over the weekend.
The Post Courier newspaper reports tension between police and the military arising over an allegation that two Tari police officers were caught with alcohol in their vehicles and beaten up by soldiers attached to the LNG project.
Police in Tari retaliated by assaulting two other military officers resulting in a stand-off between the two forces.
Mr Marape has condemned the police officers for carrying alcohol if that turns out to be the case and is calling for an investigation into the issue.
The paper reports him asking both parties to respect each other and the law, in order to restore sanity to the situation.

People build Mt Kuta roads

Kopi people on the Kuta road with their spades and other tools.

By JOHNNY POIYA

ROADS in and around Mt Kuta outside Mt Hagen have been upgraded over the last three months, courtesy of spade wielding councillor Peter Raim and his Kopi people. Mr Raim, upon his declaration in this year’s LLG election, embarked on a road maintenance program that included seven feeder roads leading into villages and the main Kuta road which have been neglected for the last 15 years.

The upper part of the six kilometer road was cut off at Sigiraprap market by a landslip. A telecommunication repeater station, world renown Haus Poromon Lodge, a world acclaimed Orchid farm, the Kuta Primary School and a population of over 5000 people, which includesmembers from several tribes in the Nebilyer Valley have been cut off for 10 years. The landslide which cut off the road has increased and now is on the verge of destroying several houses and stores. Mr Raim said: “We’ve waited for too long for the government to come and fix our roads.

We can’t keep on waiting so we took things into our own hands and started maintenance work on all our smaller roads with spades and bush knives.” Over 500 men, women and children from the tribe armed with crowbars, spades and bush knives started work on the main Kuta road early Saturday morning and had the whole length of road fixed by late afternoon. “We did this for some time with all our roads.

We now hope that those in government can help us fix up the section of the road that was damaged by the landslip. Its big and we can’t fix it manually.”Mr Raim said. The Kuta road was established during the 1940s when first outsider Danny Leahy settled up in the hills overlooking Mt Hagen. There was a gold rush in the area when Leah discovered the precious metal. Members of the Leahy family, who are now part of the Kopi tribe, still live there.

Corruption crippling PNG, says Governor Wingti

Governor Wingti breaking the ground with a shovel to indicate the beginning of the Kerebug-Kala road sealing project.

By DAVID MURI

The resilient forces of corruption are projecting PNG to unprecedented levels, says Western Highlands Governor Paias Wingti. And the former three-time prime minister reckons the only way to cripple this evil is by electing visionary leaders who are honest and transparent in their dealings. Mr Wingti warned that PNG will fall apart like most African countries if corrupt people continue to manage the country’s affairs. He told a vocal crowd at Kala village outside Mt Hagen last Thursday that wisdom and vision are ingredients that craft a quality leader.

Governor Wingti stressed that the volume of corruption today supersedes honesty and good governance in all sectors of the country.He advised the people not to believe in cash handouts but good leadership that will transform their communities. “Don’t adore money. Money is a huge evil,” he said. He said the progress or regress of a society depended on the quality of leaders it chooses.He said corruption creeps in when people abuse their mandate to elect crooked leaders who litter them with money and goods.

“Don’t believe in corrupt leaders who dish out cash handouts. They will con you with money,” he said. Mr Wingti contended that leadership is a special gift from God but people honour money rather than leadership at all levels of society. He said Western Highlands was privileged to have good leaders representing them in the current national parliament. He named these quality leaders as Koi Trappe of Mul-Baiyer-Lumusa, Wesley Nukundi of Dei and Komun Joe Koim of Anglimp-South-Waghi. He said these are leaders who are credible and visionary who have their electorate at heart. Mr Wingti stressed that these leaders are uniting with him to change the province.

Mr Wingti said proper health facilities, good road network, improved water supply and electricity are basic services that would transform the communities.He said people should believe in leaders who deliver such projects. Governor Wingti was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the K4.6 million Kerebug-Kala road sealing. The contract was awarded to Lorma Constructions. The governor said around K130 million worth of infrastructure developments have been implemented in Western Highlands in the last 11 months.