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Provinces to the rescue
While the general consensus for 2020 is that parents will struggle to pay for school fees and this will see a large number of children unable to go to school all is not lost. Some provincial governments have already started planning to help fund students in their provinces. The Southern Highlands provincial government has announced that it will pay the parents’ component of the tuition fee free programme. That means while the national government provides 50 per cent, the SHP government will pay the rest for all its students from elementary/primary to high/secondary schools and vocational schools as well. New Ireland is doing something similar and we dare say other provinces will follow suit.
Celebrate responsibly
With Christmas day smack bang in the middle of the week, on Wednesday, there is no doubt going to be celebrating and revelry by some (throughout the country) starting early and perhaps continuing into the weekend. Hopefully they are responsible and don’t get too carried away. Remember Christmas should be about family and celebrating (for Christians) the birth of Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas folks.
Migration mayhem
Can things at the Migration office get any weirder? Barely a week after the Chief Migration officer is sidelined on technical grounds, the man acting in the position is arrested and charged with official corruption. What is going on at the Migration office? It doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Perhaps the Migration office should appear before the Public Accounts Committee and we can get to the bottom of this. Something is definitely rotten in Denmark.
Coping a fine
An expatriate colleague of ours had an unfortunate experience at a police road block recently. Returning home one night after another solid day on the editorial floor, he was stopped and the officer advised him that his registration was almost due. He was unsure of the process and in a hurry to get home and the officer demanded a K100 fine to allow him through. We are sure this type of thing will happen over the course the festive season but can NCD Met Supt Perou N’Dranou please explain what the procedure is for officers at road blocks? Are they supposed to collect money?