The deadline for the Return of Writs is 4:06pm today and for NCD Regional, counting is still at the preliminary stages. NCD Election Manager and Regional Returning Officer, Mr Kila Ralai said that they haven’t started counting yet today as they are still waiting on counting officials. “I don’t think we will be able to complete counting by deadline.” “There are 175 boxes for Moresby North West yet to be counted out of the total 499 boxes.” Howvere, Mr Ralai added that it was still too early at this stage for him to say whether Moresby Regional will be delared as failed.

The Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC) have today unveiled Jacks of PNG as the Team PNG Merchandise supplier and Corporate Partner of the PNGOC for 2022 and 2023. One of the leading clothing retailers in Papua New Guinea, Jacks of PNG today sealed a two-year merchandise partnership which saw the PNGOC award the supplier the licensing rights to its Team PNG brand to manufacture, advertise and distribute Team PNG merchandise apparel for the two-year period. The merchandising agreement allows the PNGOC to provide its Team PNG trademark to Jacks of PNG to create an agreed range of Team PNG supporter apparel for the general public to purchase from all Jacks of PNG retail outlets. In addition to the licensing agreement, Jacks of PNG has also pledged sponsorship in kind to the PNGOC to the value of K100,000 over the two-year period (2022-2023). The value in kind sponsorship covers the walkout uniforms and accessories for Team PNG to the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and 2023 Solomon Islands Pacific Games in addition to Board and Staff uniforms for the organisation. Welcoming the partnership, PNGOC Secretary General Auvita Rapilla said “Jacks PNG came on board last year sponsoring Team PNG’s walk out uniform for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and we are pleased to see this partnership extend to include Team PNG Merchandise”. Rapilla acknowledged and thanked the Jacks of PNG Board for having the confidence in the Team PNG brand and for taking up this new challenge to market and promote the Team PNG merchandise to the general public despite the ongoing pandemic environment which had made securing sponsorship within the business landscape in PNG difficult. “Jacks of PNG have identified with our Team PNG brand and values. This partnership will allow the general public to share in the pride of the Nation by donning the colours of Team PNG branded apparel in support of the multi-sporting events that we travel and attend each year. Now you too can support Team PNG by visiting your nearest Jacks of PNG shop and purchasing your own official Team PNG supporter merchandise”, Rapilla said. During a combined media conference to announce this sponsorship, City Pharmacy Limited Group’s Chief Executive Officer Navin Raju said it was a great honour for its Jacks of PNG brand to partner with the PNGOC and looks forward for further creative collaborations to create value and build on the existing signature Team PNG brand that will connect and resonate with all Papua New Guineans and Team PNG supporters. Raju added that: “Having this sponsorship will greatly assist the PNGOC as 2023 will be a big year because of the Pacific Games, which will be held in Honiara, Solomon Islands where Team PNG will be sending a big contingent”.

The Queensland Rugby League has informed the PNG Hunters that their Hostplus Cup game against the Townsville Blackhawks in Port Moresby on August 13 will unfortunately not proceed as scheduled. With the potential for further socio-political unrest in Papua New Guinea, the QRL sought expert advice ahead of the proposed Hunters’ homecoming match. QRL chief executive officer Rohan Sawyer said that advice suggested the risk of travelling to PNG was high as a direct result of the recent elections. “We’ve carefully considered all aspects of the situation and in the interests of the health and safety of the respective teams, we’ve made the decision to move the Round 18 match from Port Moresby to the Gold Coast,” Sawyer said. “It’s important to note that this decision is for this game only, and we’re really hopeful the games that are scheduled to be played at the National Football Stadium in PNG later this month can proceed.” Sawyer acknowledged the sacrifices made by the Hunters in recent years. “The Hunters board and management have worked tirelessly throughout a two-and-a-half year relocation period to bring the team back to PNG for the first time since 2019,” Sawyer said. “We feel for the players, management and staff, as well as the fans in PNG who were so eagerly awaiting the return of the Hunters and live Hostplus Cup rugby league next weekend. “We’ll continue to monitor the situation and do everything possible to ensure the Hunters have the opportunity to get back home and play the game they love in front of their valued fans and sponsors.”

Team Papua New Guinea’s Tammi Agari narrowly missed out on a win in her second match against Fiji’s Touea Titana in the Women’s Singles table tennis event at the National Exhibition Centre on Wednesday. The sixteen-year-old from Tubusereia in the Central Province, managed to shake off the nerves after the loss of her first match to push her Fijian opponent all the way into the seventh game only to be edged out 4-3 (18 – 16, 10 – 12, 9 – 11, 12 –10, 11 – 4, 6 – 11, 11 – 9). In the Men’s Singles, Geoffrey Loi put up spirited performances in his 4-0 losses to Barbados’ Tyrese Knight and to Malaysia’s Qi Shen Wong. Amongst the Team PNG supporters in the crowd was Chef de Mission Michael Henao who commended the two youngsters on their improved performances saying: “We are proud of your efforts thus far. You are young and have a long way to go and will only get better. Learn, reset and do your best in the Doubles.” Loi and Agari are students at the Butuka Academy in Port Moresby and do long commuting every day from Tubusereia to school, then after to training and then back home to Tubusereia. “A lot of sacrifice, has been put in by our athletes and officials to prepare for this competition and we encourage support from our fellow Papua New Guineans back in Papua New Guinea and around the world,” said Henao. “Unless we have walked, run and played in their shoes, we will truly appreciate their hard work and sacrifices – the sweat, the tears and the hardship that came with it.”  

The Pharmaceutical Society of Papua New Guinea has appointed business and philanthropic leader Sir Mahesh Patel to be the patron of the professional society. "We are looking forward to his leadership and foresight as the newly appointed patron. He has almost 40 years of experience in developing the industry and contributing to communities and families in Papua New Guinea and we are pleased to make this announcement," said Ms Anita Ireng- Interim President of PSPNG. The professional society provides a platform to bring together pharmacists, hospitals and clinics, business houses and also other health sector professionals and NGOs to share in advancements in the therapy, treatment and science of medicines. Sir Mahesh Patel is the founder of PNG’s largest retailer, CPL Group. He was, recently, knighted by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, through the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his services and contribution to PNG commerce and communities. He had recently participated in the induction ceremony at the Buckingham Palace. "I accept this appointment with great humility and respect for our professionals who are on the frontline of this industry, pushing for better quality of medicines and care for our people. We have a strong team that leads the Society, and I am here to provide and assist with strategic direction," said Sir Mahesh - newly appointed Patron of the PSPNG and founder of PNG’s largest retailer, CPL Group.

Investors in the Forestry sector have been told to do more in downstream processing and planting through reforestation and afforestation. Minister for Forests Hon. Solan Mirisim stressed this when addressing staff of the Papua New Guinea Forest Authority (PNGFA) in Port Moresby on August 1st, 2022 when he was welcomed after being declared the Member for Telefomin in West Sepik province. Present also at the occasion were some investors in the forestry sector and Hon. Mirisim used the opportunity to thank them and also inform them of what he expects of them if he returns as the Minister for Forests in the new government. “When the government is formed, (for the forestry sector), first and foremost will be Downstream Processing to create opportunities for ordinary Papua New Guineans, the landowners. “By 2025, it will be 100per cent downstream processing. Most times, you give excuses and continue to get our logs. Most of you investors have numerous projects in different provinces. Out of these, only one is into downstream processing while the rest are logging. That will have to stop. “The second priority is reforestation and afforestation which investors need to promote also. “You are here to contribute. Don’t just log and run away to another place. Let me appeal to the investors. Please do reforestation (replanting on logged over areas) and afforestation (planting on grassland or areas not yet planted with trees). “The third priority is Management. Many of the (PNGFA) infrastructure throughout the country are rundown. We have to improve them. We have a very strong Managing Director (of the National Forest Service in Mr. John Mosoro), and with some good people we will be working with, we will ensure to build PNGFA, because we (forestry sector) make a lot of money for the government. “I will also look at decreasing the (log) export tax. When it comes to supplementary budget, I will talk to them to reduce the tax so that our investors are happy. “It’s about partnership. We are here to help you and vice versa, to deliver for the government of the day. Let’s all work together for the common good of our landowners and the government,” Minister Mirisim said. He was accompanied by two Members Elect for Hela Province in Hon. Daniel Tindipu for the newly established Komo-Hulia Electorate and Member for Koroba/Kopiago Hon. William Bando who was a former member of the National Forest Board and former Hela Provincial Administrator. “I am here as Minister for Forests until the writs are returned. And it is the prerogative of the Prime Minister whether to re-appoint me back to Forestry or elsewhere, or not be given a ministry. “I scored almost 15,700 to win. It’s actually history for Telefomin because I am back for the third term and no one has achieved this, only second term. My people have spoken through the ballot boxes to give me a third term to deliver some unfinished projects for the electorate. In his welcome, Mr. Mosoro said PNGFA worked well with Hon. Mirisim and hope he returns to the Ministry: “We congratulate you and the people of Telefomin for electing you back as their member. We hope that when the government is formed, you will return as the Forest Minister. “The Directors and senior officers have truly seen your leadership in motivating staff to work hard and get the job done. “A lot of policies that the current government has already done, you took on and implemented. These include downstream processing which you supported us throughout with, plantation development, reforestation, State Marketing Authority and increase in royalties for landowners etc,” Mr. Mosoro said.

BSP Group CEO Robin Fleming said the changes in the bank’s lending rates is a result of the change in monetary policy stance signaled by the Bank of PNG (BPNG) which increased the Kina Facility Rate (KFR) in July 2022 by 0.25 percent to 3.25 percent to counter high domestic inflation. “The intent of these monetary policy changes is to slow down economic activity which should lead to a lower rate of inflation and as a consequence ease cost of living pressures for Papua New Guineans. This is achieved by a combination of higher interest rates, which can act as a brake for businesses making investment decisions, and also by reducing the level of domestic liquidity which is available by commercial banks for lending.” He further added: “To assist with the implementation of these monetary policy objectives, BSP will increase its Indicator Lending Rate by 0.25% on its variable rate lending products effective on the 1st of September 2022.” Mr Fleming explained the changes would only apply to the bank’s variable rate lending products while fixed rate lending products like the First Home-Owner Loan, Standard Home Loan, Property Investment Loan, Personal Loan, Small Business Loan and Credit Enhancement Scheme Loan would remain unchanged. The Indicator Lending Rate would increase from 10.10 percent to 10.35 percent while the Business Asset Loan Rate would increase from 11.50 percent to 11.75 percent – an increase of 0.25 percent. BSP would also increase the interest rates on their key savings products as a means of encouraging savings and to reduce the gap between lending and savings products. New Deposit Rates: · Plus Saver increase in rate by 0.75% across all tiers. · Kids Savings increase in rate by 1.00% across all tiers. · Kundu Standard increase in rate by 0.60% across all tiers. · Business Cheque Account with Interest increase in rate by 0.20% for balances over K250,000; · Term Deposit increase in rate by 0.50% for new and rollover TDs. The Russian-Ukraine war continues to drive inflation resulting in the increasing price of goods and services in PNG. The Consumer Price Index was at 6.9 percent for the quarter ending March 2022 which is the highest level since 2010 when it peaked at 7.2 percent. Mr Fleming said the Kina Facility Rate (KFR) had increased by 0.25 percent to 3.25 percent last month (July 2022). The KFR serves as the interest rate at which funds can be lent or borrowed. It is a monthly rate and any changes to it should translate to market interest rates. On 11th July 2022, the Bank of PNG also increased the Cash Reserve Requirement (this is the non-interest bearing cash deposited with the Central Bank) for all banks by 1% to 8%. The effect of this increase is to remove approximately K280 million of domestic liquidity out of the banking system to Bank of PNG.

PNG International Rugby Player, Watson Boas recently presented Jerseys to the PNG Flag bearers to show his support to them as a fellow Papua New Guinean living in England. “The presentation was to show them how proud and happy I am to see them travel all the way here to represent their families and Papua New Guinea as a whole.” Boas said that he wished team PNG all the very best when they compete in their respective events. He said on a personal note, his current aim is to work on his fitness and play good footy after coming back from an ACL injury and knee reconstruction surgery. “I still have a lot to work on and get back to the way I used to play before.” “I don’t think about next year or the year after, just letting the future worry about itself.” Boas added that for young ones who dream about playing rugby overseas, they must not only concentrate on playing rugby but balance it with school as well. "It's important to get a good education while excelling in the sport of Rugby League." "For myself, I struggled with his English when I first moved overseas to play professional Football so I don’t want anyone to do the same." Meanwhile Boas added for the SP PNG Hunters, from seeing highlights, his opinion was that individual players need to work on themselves and be consistent with their games. Boas further added congratulations to former coach, Michael Marum for becoming the new Governor of East New Britain in the 2022 National General Elections.

A newly refurbished Tubusereia Health Centre will now provide an improved and friendlier environment for the lone health worker Sr. Nancy to treat patients in and around Tubusereia village. The refurbished Health Centre was part of BSP Treasury Strategic Business Unit’s annual community project, which saw the BSP Treasury team handing over a newly painted building with tiled interior and exterior along with 10 new chairs for patients and building repairs. Sr. Nancy, who has worked at the Health Centre alone for five years, applauded BSP for the overhaul on the Health Centre saying that will motivate her to perform her role better in assisting patients. “The new tiles gives this place a more refreshing look for the patients, unlike in the past where we have patients seated outside on the concrete floor awaiting treatment,” said Sr. Nancy. BSP Group CEO Robin Fleming accompanied by BSP Treasury General Manager Rohan George upon handing over the project said, “Doing the right thing for our employees, customers, and local communities is what we aspire for and our community projects like this helps us achieve that, not only in PNG but also in the other Pacific countries that we operate in.” “Our active engagement with local communities strengthens, energize, and supports our community values to help our local communities prosper and thrive. Mr George reaffirmed this saying, “We believe that we’re all a part of a community. A healthy community and family will contribute meaningfully to the community and country at large.” “This is our first health project as we have been doing projects for schools and sports since, and we believe with this improved facelift on this health centre, it will improve working environments, motivate clinic staff to serve better, while the patients are more comfortable and relaxed when they visit the clinic,” added George. BSP has delivered 529 community projects since 2009, worth over K13.39 million. This year under the theme ‘Health and Education’, BSP handed over nine community projects from the 49 projects proposed by each of our Branches and Business Units

The PNG-Australia Partnership is supporting the law and justice sector to better measure incidences of gender-based violence (GBV) and use this data to help inform policies and services to help combat sexual assault, workplace sexual harassment and GBV. Among the twenty officers who attended the week-long workshop was RPNGC Family and Sexual Violence Coordinator, Superintendent Delilah Sandeka, who said the training would help improve the way her organisation collected and presented data on gender-based violence. “I now know what support to provide to researchers and what information to give them,” Superintendent Sandeka said. This information will help guide the allocation of resources and the provision of services across the 46 Family and Sexual Violence Units (FSVU) nationwide, which are part of the frontline support services for survivors of family and sexual violence. Another to attend the training was Amelia Raka, Senior Gender Equity, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) Officer at the Department of Personnel Management (DPM). Ms Raka said the training equipped her with the skills to measure the prevalence of gender-based violence. She said the five-day training had given her the knowledge and confidence to undertake a national baseline survey, sanctioned by the DPM, to measure how many public servants experience gender-based violence in the workplace. “I see the potential for us to carry out a baseline survey on the rate of violence that happens within the public service such as sexual harassment, workplace bullying and the use of power and authority to disadvantage certain officers within the organisation,” she said. Constitutional and Law Reform Commission GEDSI Officer, Vincent Gigmai, said the training helped broaden his understanding and ability to undertake GEDSI-related research. Mr Gigmai said the training in data analysis and the presentation of findings was particularly useful. “We have enough data, but the problem is we do not know how to present it in a way that will influence policy makers, legislators and parliamentarians and this course really fills the gap and brings forth everything we need to know,” Mr Gigmai says.

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing an initial $100,000 (352,500 Kina)  in immediate humanitarian assistance to respond to displacement in Papua New Guinea resulting from election- and tribal-related violence which began in May and continues. According to the UN, 25,700 students are unable to attend school and more than 550,000 people have no or limited access to basic health services due to damaged facilities, lack of staff who have fled the violence, disrupted supply chains, and other impacts from the violence.  There are also continued reports of violence, including violence against women and girls. Estimates from organizations and government officials in the affected districts and provinces indicate that tens of thousands of people are displaced from the conflict-affected areas.  Through CARE International, this initial $100,000 (352,500 Kina) will provide immediate food, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to 3,000 of the most affected people in Porgera-Paiam District. The funding will also support shelter and livelihood recovery for affected populations. USAID humanitarian experts in the region are working in close coordination with partners to identify and meet the needs of the most vulnerable. Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Joseph E. Zadrozny, reiterated his earlier statement condemning the recent violence. He said, “I again call for an end to the violence and a peaceful and free democratic process. The United States stands by and supports Papua New Guinea during this difficult time, and we will continue to work together to effectively address these issues.” This emergency funding is in addition to long-standing USAID investments in disaster risk reduction programs in Papua New Guinea and across the Pacific that are active year-round. In Papua New Guinea, USAID has invested $5.4 million (19 million Kina) in preparedness programming that support communities and first responders to improve their resilience to disasters.  For example, USAID implementing partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is training national, provincial, and local disaster management authorities in Papua New Guinea on disaster response coordination, shelter needs assessment, and emergency shelter management. As a part of this program, IOM prepositioned emergency shelter supplies in high-risk and hard-to-reach areas in case of disasters. These items will be distributed to displaced individuals affected by the ongoing violence in the Highlands Region.  In addition, USAID has provided CARE with $1.2 million (4.2 million Kina) to strengthen the resilience of communities in the Highlands to the impacts of climate change and disasters through inclusive community disaster risk management, climate-smart agriculture, and gender-based violence risk mitigation.

A remorseful Pat Carrigan insisted he didn’t intend to injure Jackson Hastings after receiving a four match suspension for a hip drop that left the Wests Tigers lock with a broken ankle and syndesmosis injury in last Sunday’s match. Carrigan pleaded guilty to dangerous contact after being referred to the judiciary on an ungraded charge but the Broncos forward was not called to give evidence during the 85-minute hearing. Before deliberating for 25 minutes, the panel of former Dallas Johnson and Henry Perenara heard detailed comparisons with a hip drop tackle by Dragons forward Josh McGuire last season on then Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr. McGuire received a five-match suspension and Carrigan's legal counsel Nick Ghabar argued that his tackle was "at least reckless", whereas the involvement of Broncos team-mates Keenan Palasia and Corey Paix had been a significant factor. Ghabar submitted a report from a doctor, Dr Tim McMeniman, who outlined how Palasia and Paix had contributed to the injuries sustained by Hastings. NRL prosecutor Patrick Knowles sought a five-to-six match suspension, Ghabar said the tackle was worthy of a two-match ban. While disappointed with the outcome, Carrigan said afterwards that he accepted Hastings would be sidelined for three-to-five months due to the injuries sustained in a tackle NRL head of football Graham Annesley had warned clubs of in a 2020 memorandum. “I just wanted to say that I am very grateful to Nick and the NRL for a fair hearing tonight,” Carrigan said. “I am little bit disappointed with the result. I certainly didn’t have any intent or malice in what happened, but I am also very aware that Jackson is going to miss a bit of footy. I just want to wish him all the best with his recovery. “My focus now is to be as supportive as I can for the Broncos and for the next four weeks help them out. Hopefully I can get back in the team for that Dragons game and go from there." He will return in the final round of the season after the panel decided on a four match ban. Source: NRL.com