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The National, Friday 7th June 2013
MONDAY is a public holiday because it is the Queen’s birthday. Do you know what this day is all about?
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THE Queen’s Official Birthday (King’s Official Birthday in the reign of a male monarch) is the selected day on which the birthday of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, currently Queen Elizabeth II is officially celebrated in those countries. The date varies as adopted by each Commonwealth country, but is generally scheduled between the end of May and the beginning of June to coincide with a high probability of fine weather in the northern hemisphere for outdoor ceremonies.
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THE sovereign’s birthday was first officially marked in the United Kingdom in 1748. Since then, the date of the king or queen’s birthday has been determined throughout the British Empire and later the Commonwealth according to either the different royal proclamations issued by the sovereign or governor or by statute laws passed by the local parliament.
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THE exact date of the celebration today varies from country to country and except by coincidence does not fall on the day of the monarch’s actual birthday (that of the present monarch being April 21). In some cases, it is an official public holiday, sometimes coinciding with the celebration of other events. Most Commonwealth realms release a Birthday Honours List at this time, PNG included.
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THE Eda Ranu panel on talkback radio yesterday was put on the spot as they searched for answers to several issues raised. Despite being first-timers on the show, they should know about the service they provide like the palm of their hand.
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MAYBE all the managers who went on air should publish their mobile numbers and e-mail contacts so the public can get in touch with them directly instead of going through the normal hotline numbers given.
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A CALLER from Gerehu raised the concern about a sewerage leak that has gone unattended for months despite numerous reports to Eda Ranu. The response he got from someone on the panel was, had he known about the issue, he would have attended to it himself. Sir, has Eda Ranu run so short of workers that you have to attend to the problem yourself?
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WATER consumers in Port Moresby already using Eda Ranu’s new easipei system are hoping the water supplier puts up kiosks at shopping centres so customers can top-up when they want instead of visiting Aopi Centre only during office hours. It would be good to have a similar setup like PNG Power’s easipei.
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