This news just in! 67 new active Delta variant cases have just been confirmed from 6 different provinces throughout PNG. 23 Delta variant cases here in NCD, 35 in West Sepik, 4 in Central, 2 in Milne Bay and Morobe respectively and 1 in Hela province. 2 Delta variant related deaths have also been announced in Western Highlands over the last 24 hours. Keep practicing the new norm, listen in to the news on NAU FM, YUMI FM and LEGENDFM and follow our news website pnghausbung.com for more on this story.

The final leg of the Papua New Guinea Extractive Industries Transparency Commission Bill covering the Southern Region is underway in Port Moresby this week. Central Governor Robert Agarobe opened yesterday the workshop with the key message that honesty and transparency must be the cornerstone principle guiding the management of PNG’s resource to derive best value for development. Mr. Agarobe gave the backing of the Central Province on the proposed law to transition the PNGEITI National Secretariat into a statutory body to be known as the “PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Commission”. “The Central Provincial Government and its people recognize the need to have visibility of the various revenue streams and other benefits received from our extractive projects in the country, and particularly in our province,” Mr. Agarobe said. “Our government also recognizes the importance of supporting the work of the PNGEITI in transforming itself into a Statutory Commission to effectively administer and sustain EITI implementation in PNG. We also recognize the importance of having an efficient and an independent administrative body or a commission that would enable better management and governance of the extractive sector and the proposed EITI Commission law to transition the PNGEITI National Secretariat currently parked at the Department of Treasury is a step in the right direction going forward,” he said. PNGEITI Head of National Secretariat Mr. Lucas Alkan said: “The sustainability and effectiveness of implementing EITI in PNG is dependent on having it legally established”. Mr. Alkan said a NEC decision on which the PNGEITI operations rode held “no legal obligation to reporting entities to ensure compliance. “Furthermore, the NEC Decision that created PNGEITI holds limited powers in enforcing compliance therefore presenting risks susceptible to being made redundant and dissolved,” Mr Alkan explained. Voluntary compliance in EITI reporting is high, however, comprehensiveness in reporting is low. These incomprehensiveness results from the absence of EITI enabling legislation. To mitigate incomprehensiveness in the short term, the State Solicitors and MRA have prescribed EITI reporting and transparency undertakings in mining MOA agreements. So far EITI provisions are captured in the K92 and Woodlark Mining contractual agreement with all future mining MoAs to receive similar undertakings. Limited visibility in revenue reporting over the years have hindered informed decision making for effective governance in the extractive sector. The introduction of the EITI concept and the subsequent intervention of the PNGEITI National Policy now sets the framework for effective governance, not only in the mineral sector, but also in the non- mineral sector utilizing the EITI model for improved transparency and accountability. “Mr Alkan said.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Ministerial Task Force is now deploying Mobile Vaccine Units to business houses and government offices, commencing initially in Port Moresby, to be followed by Lae and rest of the other centres. Thirty (30) Air Niugini staff at seven mile in Port Moresby were amongst the first to have received vaccination yesterday, under this new initiative. PNG’s Pandemic Response, Controller David Manning who was present during the rollout highlighted the importance of increased vaccination and the benefits on the general economy. He said “The only way to keep the economy going, for businesses to survive and to create more jobs is to get vaccinated." “The vaccine stops people from getting really sick and dying, and it stops the spread of the virus.” The mobile vaccine unit initiative is being undertaken with Provincial Health Authorities, and partnership with St. John Ambulance and the private sector. Air Niugini Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bruce Alabaster commended the airline staff who turned up for vaccination yesterday. So far, up to 30 percent of Air Niugini staff have received the COVID vaccine. “This is all voluntary,  we are making these vaccines available on site for staff who wish to take them. Remember that being vaccinated helps, reduces the chance of catching or spreading the virus not only to your colleagues but also your families at home. ” Controller Manning has called on business houses throughout the country to call the National Call Centre no 1-800-200 to register your interest and arrange appointment for mobile vaccination. “ One of the biggest game changers for the fight against COVID-19 now is the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It is a respected name in Papua New Guinea having been in our court for decades. Johnson & Johnson is a single dose vaccine, so you just need one shot to be fully vaccinated.” Manning concluded.

Liamo Reef Resort in Kimbe, West New Britain Province, is now offering discount on accommodation to ncsl members under the Value Back Loyalty Program. Under the agreement signed between ncsl and the Resort, ncsl members will be offered 5 percent discount on standard rooms and get a 10 percent discount on Bungalows, Deluxe, Executive and Premium rooms upon presentation of their ncsl membership ID card. ncsl CEO Vari Lahui said it is pleasing to see that ncsl is extending the program to the provincial centers outside Lae and Port Moresby. The CEO further said the program will allow ncsl members in the provinces to access and enjoy discounts from service providers such as Liamo Reef Resort. “ncsl would like to see more business houses in the provinces to come forward because through this partnership service providers can easily attract our member base to grow their business,” CEO Lahui said. Sharing the CEO’s sentiment, Liamo Reef Resort Head of Operation, Sugu Muthukrisnan said the Resort is excited to partner with ncsl in offering its members a discount on accommodation. “This will benefit our Kimbe residents greatly and give an opportunity to those in other provinces to come visit our beautiful West New Britain,” Mr Sugu added. Liamo Reef Resort is among 100 service providers offering discounts ranging from 5 to 20 percent on products and services to ncsl’s 141,000 members. The discount is issued to a member upon presentation of the membership ID card at any participating service provider. The discounts come with terms and conditions and only applies to fully priced products or services. Members without a ncsl ID card can visit their nearest ncsl branch and get a card for a fee of K20.00.

Pacific Towing (PacTow) saved APEC Haus from likely and significant damage after it salvaged an abandoned vessel that had run aground within metres of the landmark building. The salvage of the ex New Zealand navy patrol boat ‘Hawea’ occurred last Thursday evening during strong winds and a rising tide.  The PacTow salvage team expertly manoeuvred the leaking vessel off the rocks it was lodged on, then towed it back to its dedicated tug base at Motukea. After receiving notification of the marine casualty from the National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) and PNG Ports Corporation, PacTow rapidly despatched its tug ‘Wato’ and lifeboat ‘Buru’. Twelve crew and five members of PacTow’s commercial dive team were directly involved in the salvage; with additional support provided by senior managers and operational personnel located at the company’s headquarters. Upon arrival at Ela Beach at 7.00pm it was evident to the PacTow team that given the high waves and shallow water, the vessel was in imminent risk of breaking up. The divers quickly assessed the integrity of the Hawea’s hull and bollards for towing.  The vessel was then towed by its stern to dislodge it from the rocks and then by its bow once it was in safer waters. The Wato and her crew proceeded to tow the vessel back to PacTow’s tug base at Motukea, where she was securely moored shortly before 10.00 pm. The following day, when daylight permitted a thorough inspection of the vessel by PacTow marine engineers, it was discovered that the aging vessel was in exceptionally poor condition with several leaks.  PacTow reports that the vessel’s intake of water is currently mitigated by around-the-clock mechanical pumping. It is understood that the National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) is in the process of trying to track down the vessel’s owners.  PacTow plans on disposing of the vessel if the owners can’t be located and the relevant authorities provide them with instruction to do so. PacTow has performed well over 50 salvages in the region and is Melanesia’s leading marine salvage and emergency response company.  General Manager Neil Papenfus described the most recent salvage as one of “patriotic duty given the significance of APEC Haus to our country.”

Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) has appointed a national female employee to head its Safety Department. Anna Ila is now the Manager Safety after her appointment on August 27th. Ms Ila brings to the Company a vast knowledge and experience in safety and occupational health having served as Superintendent in Safety Systems, Compliance and Statutory Training over the last seven years prior to her appointment, and with plans to continue the implementation and improvement of the Company’s safety performance. “At Ok Tedi, we ensure that applicants are appropriately qualified and experienced to be successful in their role. Ms Ila is well placed to lead the Team in the implementation of Ok Tedi’s plans to continue to improve our safety performance,” said OTML General Manager, People and Capability, Mark Stone. “Ok Tedi is an equal opportunity employer and in line with the Company’s 2025 Vision, diversity and inclusion is an important part of its strategy indicated by the aspiration to achieve 20% female representation in the Ok Tedi workforce as well as a 25% female representation in the leadership roles.” Ok Tedi now has four female national managers across the business, and it is currently developing other female employees for senior roles in the future. “I would like to thank the OTML management for the recognition and opportunity, and look forward to working with the team to deliver our plans to achieve OTML’s safety goal of zero harm,” Ms Ila said. Also, in line with the Company’s vision to nationalise all managerial positions by 2025, there have been other appointments recently of qualified nationals, including that of the Manager Mine Support Services in Mr Masket Siune. Mr Siune is no stranger to this role having started his career in the industry through Ok Tedi’s Graduate Development Scheme in 2005 and worked his way up the ladder and assuming superintendent roles in the Mining Business Unit’s Improvement, Training and Analysis sections of the Company. “Congratulations to these newly appointed managers and we look forward to their continuing input to the success of Ok Tedi going forward,” said Mr Stone.

The COVID-19 outbreak has left many in Papua New Guineans grappling with mental health issues, related to abuse and quest for correct information. According to a brief report from the 1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim Lain, the national helpline reported a 75 percent spike in demand during April 2020 to March 2021 compared to calls before COVID (2019 to March 2020). The 1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim Lain (Helpline) (715-08000) is a free, confidential phone counselling service providing information and support for anyone in PNG experiencing family violence or sexual violence issues and is supported by ChildFund PNG, Since 2017. 1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim Lain- ChildFund PNG Helpline Manager Kinime Daniel said they are expecting the rising demand for services to continue during the pandemic and and beyond, as many families and communities continue to be affected by the impacts of the pandemic including job loss, disruptions to basic services such as education and health especially for children, women and other vulnerable members of society. The status quo pre-COVID was that 2,089 calls were received per quarter on an average. This increased by 75% to 3,659 calls per quarter. This is in part due to an increase in callers wanting information about COVID 19, as well as increase in callers seeking information about the helpline services. This has in turn increased the number of return callers, especially those callers who received information in the first instance then contacted the helpline for further support. There was a huge increase in mental health and violence during the pandemic, with mental health calls increasing by 263%. Based on the evidence of calls, all three categories increased during the pandemic - Sexual Violence, family violence, safety issues and IPV increased significantly. This aligns with the global picture, where there has been an increase in mental health related issues and SGBV due to the primary and secondary effects of COVID-19. This also aligns with anecdotal data in PNG where mental health issues appear to be on the rise. Harmful traditional practices are also experienced to be on the rise. There has been a 60% increase in harmful traditional practice related calls (up from 29 calls on average per quarter pre-COVID, to 47 during COVID). This encompasses sorcery accusation related violence (SARV) among others. Sorcery accusations are mostly against women and girls. Escalations in violence can be triggered by stigma and misinformation around COVID19. The report also showed a 98% increase in calls from men (vs. 50% increase from women) This was due to an increase in men seeking information or as a witness to violence. Most survivors of violence were females. Pre-COVID, there were 1,089 calls per quarter from men, compared to 2,151 during the COVID period. This compares to only a 50% increase in women (975 per quarter vs. 1459 per quarter). The helpline also reported a 128% increase in calls from 11- to 15-year-olds, a 150% increase from 16- to 20-year-olds. This compares to an 89% increase amongst 26-40 year olds. This pattern holds across both male and female callers. In response to COVID-19 the Helpline expanded its services to meet the needs of children, by recruiting counsellors with experience in child focused support and increased promotions to this age group through partners and in schools. The helpline also expanded its operational hours and is now available 24 hours, seven days a week. This is the first GBV specialist service to operate 24 hours. If you know anyone experiencing violence or abuse, please call the 1-Tok Kaunselin Helpim lain on 7150 8000 for confidential support.

The National Pandemic Controller, Commissioner David Manning, by virtue of the National Pandemic Act 2020, issued new directives which will come to effect on 30th of September, 2021 for a month until 30th October, 2021. Under the new directives, wearing of face masks is now mandatory in any public domain and will be effective as of tomorrow 30th September, 2021. Other direction include: 1. REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR GATHERINGS OF MORE THAN 20 PERSONS  a) All organizations, whether private or public, shall request to host an event of more than 20 persons by writing in, copying the Deputy Controller and attention to the Niupela Pasin team; b) Request letters must indicate the following inform on; Type of event Date, time and venue of event Number of participants who will attend the event Focal person contact information for communication purposes Floor plans for the event c) Venue facilities ( hotels, clubs, Government buildings, etc) shall not host events unless approval from the National Control Centre is presented by the event requester/organizer d) All organizations, whether private or public, must liaise with the Niupela Pasin team to ensure due process of pre-event set up assessment and event assessment is adhered to 2. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES a) All organizations, whether private or public, shall formulate standard operating procedures for COVID-19 safety within their organizations and submit to the Niupela Pasin team at the National Control Centre b) Private organization and businesses shall liaise with the Business Council and the Niupela Team in formulating their respective standard operating procedures 3. MANDATORY MASK WEARING a) Mandatory mask wearing is now effective immediately in public places as of 30th September, 2021 b) Public places include; public transport system ( buses, taxis), individual personal transport systems, shops, schools, offices, restaurants, bars, hair salons, hotels, lodges, sporting facilities, markets, churches, etc. [embeddoc url="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Measure-3-Directives-Niupela-Pasin-28092021-1.pdf"]

National Pandemic Controller David Manning, by virtue of the National Pandemic Act 2020, has issued the following direction: 1. BANNING OF GATHERINGS OF MORE THAN 20 PERSONS FROM 30 SEPTEMBER - 30 OCTOBER, 2021 a) All gatherings of more than 20 persons are now ceased effective immediately commencing 30th September, 2021 to 30th October, 2021 b) Event/Gathering requests will not be approved from 30th September, 2021 till 30th October, 2021 c) Gatherings are inclusive of; social ( clubbing/bar activities, dances, dinners, parties, sporting competitions. etc) and religious activities ( church, fellowships, etc) d) All prior approvals granted for gatherings/events that will occur between 30th September, 2021 to 30th October, 2021 are now revoked e) Gathering/event requesters who have been granted prior approvals must liaise with the Niupela Pasin team at the National Control Centre. [embeddoc url="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Measure-3-Directives-Banning-of-Events-28092021.pdf"]

The Voluntary Customary Land Registration (VCLR) system was developed to encourage landowners to register their customary land and lease it for development, the PNG National Research Institute’s latest publication reveals. The report by Sustainable Land Development Program Research Fellow Logea Nao states that this is essential for customary land to join the formal market and for landowners to engage in formal and legal transactions over the use of their land. “However, in practice, customary land leases derived from the VCLR system have been found to be unbankable due to risks concerning ownership and administration of land,” she says. “If the intention is to make customary land leases bankable, the government should consider minimising disputes, cutting unnecessary costs and steps involved in land registration, and improving title registry and management.” Ms. Nao said this would give confidence to lenders to extend credit, allowing business and investment to grow, create jobs, increase government revenue, provide revenue streams for landowners and safeguard customary land. It is hoped that this research report, titled “Understanding how customary land leases can be made bankable in Papua New Guinea”, will contribute to the discussion around retaining ownership of customary land but releasing it for development.

With Papua New Guinea set to compete in the ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in the West Indies in January 2022, the nation’s best 18 young male cricket players have now been selected. National Talent Identification Manager, Rodney Maha, is very excited about the potential of the squad. “With our help over the next three months, teaching these raw talents about nutrition, strength and conditioning, and working on their cricket skills, I am confident our team will make PNG proud.” Maha added “Take note of these names, there are future stars in this team that will play for the Barras” All the squad have had their first Covid Vaccination and started the process for getting Passports, so that should they make the final 15-man travelling squad, they will be ready to represent Papua New Guinea on the world stage. NAME REGION MODE OF SKILL Malcolm Aporo Central RIGHT HAND BATTER/RIGHT ARM LEG SPINNER Katenalaki Singi Ahioma (Milne Bay) RIGHT HAND BATTER/RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE Christopher Kilapat POM RIGHT HAND BATTER Sigo Kelly Lae (Morobe) RIGHT HAND BATTER Boio Ray POM RIGHT HAND BATTER Junior Morea POM RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE John Kariko POM RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE Peter Karoho POM RIGHT HAND BATTER/WICKET KEEPER Patrick Nou POM RIGHT HAND BATTER/RIGHT ARM OFF SPINNER Rason Kevau POM RIGHT HAND BATTER/RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE Barnabas Maha POM RIGHT HAND BATTER Ryan Ani POM RIGHT HAND BATTER/RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE Gata Mika POM LEFT ARM MEDIUM PACE Aue Oru POM RIGHT ARM MEDIUM FAST Karoho Kevau POM RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE Api Ila Central RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE Vele Varuko Central RIGHT ARM MEDIUM PACE/RIGHT HAND BATTER Toua Boe POM LEFT ARM MEDIUM PACE

Reminiscing about his earlier days in cricket, Gaudi has come a long way. Joining club cricket, he kicked off his sport life as a young teen in the Poreporena club, moving on to Raukele and then Pari club. It was his dad, former PNG cricketer, Toka Gaudi that gave him that head start. Being the first in the family, it was only fitting that Gaudi followed in his dad’s footsteps and do something he enjoys – playing cricket. He fondly remembers his first away tour in Fiji representing the country in the PNG U17 side in 2012. He looks back on that day with a sense of elation, saying on the team’s return his community in Hanuabada village looked up to them with pride. And they even got great advice and tips from former PNG Barramundis players from the village. Apart from family, Gaudi gets inspiration from former Australian cricketer, Michael Hussey also known as ‘Mr Cricket’. He breaks it down, ‘Kriket em igat tripla fomet so Michael Hussey em bin pilai long olgeta displa fomet ia.’ [There are three formats in cricket, which Michael Hussey has played in all three.] Gaudi says in the last few weeks before departing PNG, he had been training very hard, recalibrating and he had gotten good feedback from his coaches and teammates as he aimed to emulate his role model, Mr Cricket. Being the typical mangi nambis [boy from the sea] he enjoys the sun, sand and sea. Being the avid fisherman he loves trolling catching tuna, playing volleyball and cooling off in the sea. He says volleyball and swimming follow right after cricket as his favourite sports. But the young Central man, humbly expresses his gratitude for the Cricket PNG team and the sport itself. He comments that the sport has truly changed his life, especially for him being a school dropout. ‘Sapos yu tingting long pilai kriket yu mas strongim na stap.’ [If you’re thinking of taking up cricket, be sure to give it your all.] Gaudi’s message to Papua New Guinea is to show your full support. He says the boys will appreciate support from all over the country, not just from Port Moresby and Central Province.