|
Sports |
Aust pursuing own
interests
I REFER to the letter “Aussies more transparent” (Aug 27) by
“Sad facts huh”. The writer seems to be protective of Australia
as though it is a sinless nation in the Pacific and telling
smaller island nations of what it wants them to do. Australia
cannot deny the fact that are in the forefront of some major
problems faced by the smaller Pacific island nations. Solomon
Islands and Timor Leste are classic examples, where Australia is
all out to safeguard its interests. It failed in Papua New
Guinea with ECP. Then it set up Sir Michael Somare in Brisbane,
followed by the Moti saga. Why are there so many Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation officers (ASIO) operating in
many of our establishments such as National Government
departments and statutory bodies like Finance, NRI, Telikom, NIO,
Police, Defence, etc? The article “Rudd as PM augurs well for
the Pacific” (Aug 22) by Dr Tim Anderson was a well researched
piece of what Australia is doing in the Pacific for its
self-interest. – Not satisfied, Port Moresby
Kick the buai habit
I REFER to the letter “Don’t take away my buai” (Sept 6) by
“Betelnut4life” Is the writer “4real”? The letter is not
sensible. We must make an effort to change some of our bad
habits. I tell my children that chewing buai is not good for the
following reasons: 1. It causes mouth cancer and makes us
vulnerable to other respiratory diseases; 2. It spoils our
personal image and appearance of our environment. Just walk
around Boroko and you can see what I mean; 3. It becomes a
financial drain. If, on average, you spend K2 a day on buai,
calculate and see how much you spend in a year. The writer
should kick his habit and show that he is a disciplined person.
You know, we human beings are very good at justifying our habits
especially if we cannot kick it. – Thomas H, Via email
Fix our road, Embel!
THE people of Nembi Plateau have suffered for a long time
because the road from Parite junction to Elol market is no
longer fit for a PMV to travel on. We desperately need a good
road and bridges. I hope the new MP Philemon Embel will repair
and upgrade this road soon. – Paita Pus, Ame Songo
Review NCDC projects
IT is very satisfying to read about NCD Governor Powes Parkop’s
decision to terminate the costly legal consultants (Sept 6) when
the city commission has its own legal branch to do legal work.
It’s very shameful for leaders to have engaged them. Money that
should have been used to pay for the delivery of good services
and infrastructure to city residents is being wasted. I call on
the governor to review all the projects and assess the impact of
existing NCDC programmes. Some good efforts or programmes like
the “Integrated Community Development Project”, which is now
jointly being implemented by Department for Community
Development (DFCD) and NCDC in partnership with JICA, should be
given more consideration. – Eileen Seloka, Sydney, Australia
End live-for-the-day
culture
IT is good to read about Papua New Guineans expressing their
concern or views in the media. I believe it is now time to talk
about other things rather than politics. We have voted the
leaders to represent us in the Haus Tambaran. Don’t whinge about
the decisions made by the elected leaders. Only a handful of
leaders we elected will speak for us. The bulk is there through
corrupt practices. So don’t expect too much from them. Accept
what we have and educate your community, tribes and clans to end
this “live for the day” mentality so that in 2012, we have the
desired leaders we want in Parliament. – Joseph Boine Jacob,
Woodlark Island
Refund school fees
THE Morobe provincial education board’s decision not to refund
the school fees is a slap in the face of many parents,
especially those with low income. While the rationale for
withholding the fees is provided, the bottom line is that Morobe
PEB is disregarding a National Government policy. The PEB
chairman should also be aware that school fees come from three
sources – (i) National Government through the subsidy, (ii)
parents and (iii) provincial government through the education
function grant. In this case, the National Government has made
its policy clear and that is to refund fees. Parents are paying
their fees, so the question is what is the Morobe provincial
government doing with its education function grant? – View
from abroad, Via email
 
|
