Recount of votes for South B’ville awaits court ruling                                          By ISAAC NICHOLAS
ELECTORAL commissioner Andrew Trawen will set a date for the recount of the ballot papers for South Bougainville after receiving the official court decision.
The National Court in Buka last week nullified the election of Michael Laimo as MP for Bougainville South and ordered a recount.
“We have not officially received the court ruling and we are not in a position to announce dates for recount,” electoral commission spokesman Mark Karambi said yesterday.
“As soon as Mr Trawen received that court ruling, he would then advice of the date of counting,” he added.
Mr Karambi said the electoral commissioner was also advised of another problem facing the commission because all the ballot boxes were kept in Buin.
He said the electoral office in Buka had informed that there was conflict and tension between the former Bougainville resistance fighters and Mekemui after the death of a resistance leader.
He said the electoral commission would have difficulty in bringing the ballot boxes to Buka for a recount.
“When we receive the court papers, the time will be announced and officers would be sent to Buka,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has taken over the role as Education minister until the recount of South Bougainville, according to his office.

Call to probe illegal use of anti-venom                                                                   
The Health Minister has been called upon to institute a proper investigation into the theft of anti-venom from the base medical store.
The medical board and medical society chairman and president Prof Mathias Sapuri said the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) highlighted it in its documentary last week.
The real issue, according to Prof Sapuri, was the illegal use of anti -venom, the stealing of anti- venom and the type of anti-venom imported.
Prof Sapuri said at the moment only “finger -pointing” is done with lack of evidence.
He said the snake anti -venom should be appropriate for the venomous snakes in the country such as Papua Black, Dead Adder, King Brown and Taipan.
However, there is sufficient evidence that wrong type of anti-venom was brought into the country, he said.
He said the issue had been made public and that a thorough investigation should be done.
Mr Zibe was documented in the anti-venom scam and it is hoped that further investigation be initiated.
Meanwhile, Prof Sapuri called on the Health Department to improve hospital services and primary health services using the K170 million allocation under the 2008 budget.
He said hospitals and health centres should have the capacity to provide the required services to patients and those who need them.
The facilities should have drugs, equipment and health workers to provide health care services, he said.

Censor board looks into ENB porn scam                                                       
By VERONICA MANUK
THE censorship board will continue the investigation into the pornography scam in East New Britain (ENB).
Chief censor Steven Mala said this when he received the ENB provincial administration investigation report last Thursday. Present was acting Kokopo police station commander Insp David Yapu.
Mr Mala said the board would identify and interview those involved in allegedly producing pornographic material and hopefully charge them soon.
The investigation report revealed that there were school girls, local people and public servants involved.
Provincial administrator Aquila Tubal said unfortunately, he was unable to name the people or say how many public servants were involved.
He said the investigation team’s task is to verify allegations and assess the extent of damage the pornography industry has caused to the people of ENB and ascertain as to whether this activity is based in the province and who the real perpetrators are.
Mr Tubal said K15,000 was spent on the investigation and covered Lae and Port Moresby. He said it took almost five months to complete.
The team discovered that the last pornographic material was produced some four to five years ago, and there were no new ones.
He said it would be safe to assume that the expatriate perpetrator had left the province in 2005.
Mr Tubal said the investigation took so long because of the election and the formation of Government, lack of sufficient proof and a shift in focusing on students to public servants.
Mr Tubal said the administration was prepared to take strong disciplinary measures against those found guilty.
For the time being the censorship board would have to carry out further assessments and verification of the materials being tendered to them.

Indon deported for over staying
By GABRIEL FITO
The Indonesian consulate in Vanimo has deported a 67-year-old man from Malili, South Sulawesi after he was found guilty by the Vanimo District Court for illegally residing in Papua New Guinea.
The court handed down the guilty verdict last Friday and ordered the man to pay K1,000 in default two months in prison.
Provincial police commander Snr Insp Sakawar Kasieng told The National that Johannes Paulus had visited Vanimo on a seven-day tourist visa, which expired last Jan 29.
Kasieng said the man had been illegally living in Vanimo for the last three weeks until last Tuesday, when he personally sighted him at Wutung village near the PNG Indonesian border.
He said Johannes was walking in an unusual manner and was trying to hijack a PMV to Vanimo when he stopped in front of him and offered assistance.
The PPC personally conducted search and discovered that his passport had expired last year.
He said the man entered the country last Jan 22 and should have left on or before Jan 29.
Kasieng said the man was brought to the police station, where he was formally arrested and charged for violating the immigration laws of the country.
Johannes appeared before the court last Friday, where he pleaded guilty and paid K1,000 as court fine before he was taken away by the Indonesian consulate staff to Batas where he was farewelled.

Tribal leaders inciting violence will be arrested: PPC
By ZACHERY PER
TRIBAL leaders in Simbu province allegedly inciting violence will be arrested and charged, Simbu provincial Police Commander Supt Joseph Tondop has said.
He reportedly issued this warning to two warring tribes in Gumine Simbu province, last week during a peace ceremony.
He put tribal leaders of the Yuri-Kopan and Kawaleku tribes of Boromil area on notice that he would not convene another peace ceremony if they re-start the tribal fight, but will arrest leaders who encouraged the fights.
Supt Tondop led a police unit and Simbu provincial peace and good order committee to Boromil last Wednesday and succeeded in brokering peace for the Yuri-Kopan and Kawaleku tribes last Thursday.
He was satisfied that the health centre and schools were re-opened to allow patients to get medical treatment and children returning to the classrooms.
However, the destructions of homes, properties, domesticated animals, crops and coffee trees amounted to some K60,000.
Four people had been shot dead in the fight, two from each tribe.
The fight erupted last Feb1, following an armed robbery, where armed men from the Kawaleku tribe held up a man from Yuri-Kopan and stole K260 he was bringing to Boromil High School to pay for his child’s school fees.

Clinton rep on a 2-day mission to forge partnership
PAPUA New Guinea’s leadership role on climate change issues was given another boost this week with the arrival of a senior representative of the Clinton Foundation.
Ira Magaziner, chairman of the Clinton Foundation policy board, arrived yesterday morning for a two-day visit.
During this time, he is also expected to call on Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
It is understood that Mr Magaziner has been instructed by former US president Bill Clinton to meet with Sir Michael to discuss further possible assistance from the Clinton Global Initiative on HIV/AIDS and climate change issues.
Mr Magaziner is also the chairman of the Clinton Climate Initiative and chairman of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative.
The visit by Mr Magaziner is a follow-up to the 2006 visit to PNG by Mr Clinton for the launching of the HIV/AIDS-related assistance and Prime Minister Somare’s attendance, on the Clinton Global Initiative invitation last year, to the United Nations General Assembly 62nd session in New York.
In a meeting with PNG Government representatives in Washington DC towards the end of January this year, Mr Magaziner had explained that under its new climate change initiative, the foundation’s first project was a partnership with 40 large international cities to assist them in implementing projects that reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
He told PNG ambassador Evan Paki in Washington DC, they were beginning a new project in which they will partner a number of national governments in Asia and Africa to undertake projects that would help address energy and climate issues.
“One area in which we are very interested in is forestry and land use. We know that Prime Minister Somare has taken a leadership role in this area on the world stage.” he said.

ENBPEAC queries trainee teacher qualifications
By VERONICA MANUK
THE East New Britain provincial education appointment committee is concerned about the poor academic results of trainee teachers.
In the applications, some trainee teachers were graduating with “fails” on their transcripts.
Committee chairman Pius Gawi said many of the students graduating from the colleges, including the three teacher’s college in the province, had been allowed to graduate with poor results on their transcripts.
For instance, he said, some had been graduating with two “fails” which does not qualify them to teach.
He said because of this, less than 40 trainees teachers were given positions to teach, out of about 100 applications the committee received.
“I’m worried about the criteria that these colleges are using to allow their students to graduate,” Mr Gawi, who questioned college councillors why they were allowing students to graduate with poor results, said.
He said this had also contributed to poor academic performance of the students they taught.

French couple shaken after run-in with thugs
By NIDRA KEWERE MAPI
A FRENCH diplomat and his wife are very shaken after almost being attacked by rascals at the front gate of their compound last Friday night.
The incident happened at 10pm when four armed men in a white car pulled up behind them and tried to commandeer their car.
However ,they were unsuccessful as the compound security guards intervened and chase them away.
The French diplomat George Charlemagne and his wife Marie-Therese had gone out for dinner at the Royal Papuan Yacht Club and on their way back to their home at Paga Hill, they were held up by the four thugs.
Mr Charlemagne said the four men came out of their car pointing their guns at them while they were waiting for the electric gate to open.
However, he said the security guards at the compound raised the alarm and managed to chase the rascals away.
“My wife and I are very shaken by this incident,” Mr Charlemagne said.
He said that the place was always safe and they usually had dinner at the yacht club but since that incident, they considered it not safe anymore.

Tavuvur forces 15 schools to close down temporarily
By VERONICA MANUK
FIFTEEN schools in Kokopo district, East New Britain province suspended classes since yesterday morning due to heavy ashfall from Mt Tavuvur.
The schools comprise three high schools, one secondary school, four primary schools, one vocational and six elementary schools.
Provincial acting Education adviser Pius Gawi said authorities considered the health of the children more important and advised the schools to temporary suspended classes until the situation returns to normal.
Since mid-Sunday morning till yesterday, Mt Tavuvur had been releasing moderate ashfall affecting Kokopo town and surrounding villages.
Rabaul Volcano Observatory said a big explosion occurred at 09:05 yesterday morning.
The explosion showered the flanks of the volcano with lava fragments, some landing in the sea.
Seismic activity continued at high levels dominated by low frequency volcanic earthquakes. A total of 900 events were recorded on Feb 21 and 22.
Air Niugini flights into Tokua has also being suspended as a result of the ashfall.

‘Public servants must learn to accept criticisms’
PUBLIC servants must learn to cope with criticisms and strategically place themselves to work better for the service of the people.
This was the comment from Member for Okapa, Bonny Oveyara and the Okapa district administrator Michael Mogia in Goroka last Friday.
The remarks by the two leaders followed a delay by the district to submit its budget and 2007 acquittal reports to the Rural Development Office for the release of K10 million for the district services improvement programme.
In a meeting held at the EH provincial assembly building Muriso House, the leaders expressed disappointment over the action of a district treasury officer who did not submit the 2007 acquittals on time so that a delegation would travel to Port Moresby to present the documents for the funding to be released.
During the meeting the officer (named) apologised to the member and the administrator saying that certain people had accused him falsely of misusing funds. Because of this, he had intentionally delayed submitting the 2007 acquittal report.
The officer said everything has been sorted out and the budget and the acquittals would be taken to Port Moresby and that funds would be released.
Mr Oveyara said the public will continue to criticise us.
“However, as trained public servants we should take the criticisms and strategically position ourselves to work better to serve the people,” Mr Oveyara said.

700 Moitaka primary students relocated
ABOUT 700 school children in Moitaka primary school in National Capital District (NCD) were relocated to other schools in the city by the NCD education division.
The school faced problems early this year and was forced to shut down.
Classes were interrupted during the first few weeks of school when the landowner demanded a compensation of K1million to 2 million from the Government.
Frustrated parents complained that about 800 students in the 8 and 9 Mile settlements were deprived of their education because the landowner welded the school gates and classroom doors shut to prevent the holding of classes.
Director for NCD Education Divison, Tau Henao Naonao said the school was closed because of this problem and the divison has already started work on relocating the students.
“So far, we have allocated close to 90% of the students to other school in the city and should complete the process soon,” he told The National last Friday.
The matter of the so-called landowner has been put aside and at the moment the education office is doing its best to relocate Moitaka Primary Students.

14 birds under protection
FOURTEEN of Papua New Guinea’s most exotic birds have become the latest protected species under the Fauna (Protection and Control) Act apart from all the “Birds of Paradise”. The bird species have been featured in a collection of postage stamps recently. Among the featured species are the Blyth’s Hornbill or Papua Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus), Osprey (Pandion cristatus), New Guinea Harpy-Eagle (Harpyopsis novae-guinea), Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), the Victoria Crowned Pigeon (Goura victoria) and the Great Egret or Great White Egret (Egretta alba). Such birds are protected from threats of extinction by legislations administered by the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Wheelie bins delivered
MURRAY barracks residents in Port Moresby took delivery of 200 wheelie bins worth K22,000 from National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop last Friday. The delivery of these bins is part of Mr Parkop’s clean-up campaign. Delivering the bins to PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) acting commander captain (navy) Alois Tom Ur, Mr Parkop said this delivery was a reward for the PNGDF efforts in keeping up to date with their land rates. Mr Ur, in acknowledging Mr Parkop called on him to help renovate the sporting facilities like the swimming pools in Murray and Taurama barracks.

50% subsidy for students
STUDENTS from Obura-Wonenara district attending secondary schools and tertiary institutions will enjoy a 50% subsidy on their school fees this year. Obura-Wonenara MP John Boito undertook to pay half of the students fees with K1 million for education under the K10 million the national Government allocated to the district. He urged parents to pay at least half of the set fees and present to him receipts as evidence so he could complete the other half. He said this would fulfil his vision to make human resource development in the district a priority.

Govt to empower people
THE Government needs to empower its six million people, majority of whom are sitting idle. Anglimp/South Waghi MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham said this at the graduation of the introductory business course conducted by the Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre recently. “We can build roads, hospitals and other infrastructure, but if we do not fix the people first, we will keep going around in a vicious circle,” he said. He has allocated K300,000 for a personal viability course to be conducted in his electorate.