Lae may be declared a fighting zone: Cops
By FRANK RAI
LAE City will be declared a fighting zone if nothing is done to address the continuing ethnic clashes in the city.
Assistant Police Commissioner, Northern and Coastal Command Giossi Labi yesterday called on the Government and political leaders to take the lead in containing the clashes.
Fortunately, no lives have been lost in the two major fights but more than 10 bush material houses had been set afire at Malahang.
The situation was tense yesterday with heavily armed police patrols maintaining surveillance.
“If this situation continues, then Lae City would be declared a fighting zone,” Mr Labi said.
Mr Labi said both the national and provincial governments and their political leaders should by now work together with the police to resolve the conflicts because police were doing their best to contain the violence.
He said Lae and Morobe police were logistically handicapped by lack of resources and manpower.

Three new heads appointed
THE Government yesterday announced the appointments of three departmental heads to take charge of Mining, Works, and Inter-Government Relations.
Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Lands and Mining Dr Puka Temu said cabinet had appointed Ms Nellie James as Secretary for Department of Mineral Policy and Geohazard Management.
Dr Temu also announced NEC’s appointment of Joel Luma as the Secretary for the Department of Works.
Dr Temu said Mr Luma had been acting Secretary since last August.
The Acting Prime Minister also announced cabinet’s appointment of Manasupe Zurenuoc as the new Secretary for the Department of Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs.
Mr Zurenuoc, 48, from Finschhafen in the Morobe province replaces the late Gei Ilagi, who passed away late last year.

Blind read Bible scriptures in braille
By ALISON ANIS
VISION-impaired children along with more than 100 adult clients of St John’s Association of the Blind in Taurama are now able to read scriptures daily using the newly donated braille Bible.
PNG Bible Society field ministry co-ordinator Raera Sebea yesterday donated 10 boxes, each containing volumes of scriptures in Braille for the vision-impaired members of the association in the presence of commissioner Ruth Sangkol.
Mrs Sebea said a total of 100 boxes containing braille scriptures were sent in by the United Bible Society in Australia.
“We will be distributing similar Bible scriptures to other centres in the country this month in preparation for the international day for disabled which falls on March 28,” she said.
Mrs Sangkol thanked the society for the donation and said this would help a lot in meeting the needs of the members of the association.

K1mil for upgrading Sandaun highway
VANIMO Green MP and Forest Minister Belden Namah has presented K1 million to the Sandaun provincial administration for the upgrading of the East West coastal highway linking Wewak, Vanimo and Jayapura in Indonesia.
The cheque was received by Telefomin MP and acting Governor Peter Iwei at the Sandaun provincial headquarters in Vanimo.
Mr Namah also presented K250,000 to Don Bosco Secondary School and K300,000 to Vanimo Provincial High School.

Team to fight AIDS
By ALISON ANIS
LOCALS in Rigo district, Central province, have mobilised to establish a community-based response team to tackle HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The team will do awareness campaign on preventive measures and to discouraging stigma, discrimination and encourage care at community level towards those affected with HIV.
The organisation will make Rigo the first district in the Central province to have a HIV-response teams called Rigo district AIDS committee.
The committee formation is scheduled to take place at the end of this month at Kwikila station.
The occasion will be witnessed by key people from National AIDS council secretariat (NACS), United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), Faith-based organisations (FBO) and non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in the fight against HIV.

Yapsie still need relief supplies
MORE relief supplies are needed over the next six months for the Yapsie people affected by the flood as food gardens have been destroyed, according to provincial disaster coordinator Bryan Pecyuma.
Mr Pecyuma said food supplies to the area should continue because the people’s gardens along the river have all been destroyed.
“There is a high risk of food shortages,” he said.
Mr Pecyuma said not all supplies have been airlifted into Yapsie from Vanimo, while some are still in Vanimo waiting to be airlifted.
He said water containers have been purchased and dispatched to the area for distribution to the people.
There is a need to buy about 300 to 400 more water containers.
Mr Pecyuma said medical teams are on patrol in the area attending to the outbreak of whooping cough – linked to consumption of contaminated water.
He clarified that there are three organisations involved in the exercise – National disaster centre, Caritas PNG and Sandaun provincial administration.

SHP govt halves parents’ burden
By ZARA KANU
THE Southern Highlands provincial government has subsidised tertiary education fees by 50% for more than 400 Southern Highlanders studying at the University of Papua New Guinea.
This comes as one of the provincial government’s initiatives to develop human resource and to ease the burden on parents struggling to make ends meet.
Tari-Pori MP James Marape said they were embarking on a 50% subsidy policy which is to be a shared responsibility between the provincial government and parents.
“We are talking about our human resources which will bring this province forward when all our oil and gas resources have been depleted, therefore, this is seen as investing in quality education for the future”, he said.
Those students who will directly benefit from the programme are those that hail from the province.
The provincial government is also entering into a memorandum of agreement with students who are honest and committed and who maintain high academic standards.
“Nothing is free and you as future leaders have to prove that you are capable of taking on and conquering the challenges,” Mr Marabe said.
“This should build and empower you to move ahead and receive quality education for the benefit of yourself, your family, province and the nation,” he said.

9-Mile cemetery full
CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
THE Nine-Mile public cemetery outside Port Moresby would soon close its gates to the city’s dead.
National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop said yesterday that the
cemetery is full and there is an acute shortage of available land.
“We will now have to look for another land for the cemetery,” he said.
“I’m now calling on to the city’s residences to take responsibility of their deceased and sent them to their respective villages and provinces for burial.”