LIFESTYLE

Middlemen cheat gold seller

By MULAI ROBBY
THIS is the true story of a man from Milne Bay who traveled to Port Moresby via Alotau, in search of a gold testing facility and a buyer.
He had some small gold nuggets which he had found while fanning alluvium at the bed of a small creek on his island.
Alotau, being a small center as it is, does not have a single facility to test and determine the real value of the yellow gem. The man travelled to Port Moresby with a middleman as an escort.
A policeman and two security persons were linked to assist him. The man sold his gold and paid off his helpers, who together received two thirds of the total cash value of the gold.
It turned out the escort from Alotau was a scoundrel; the policeman and the two security persons were rogue. In fact, they were all working together but the gold seller suspected nothing. He was ripped off.
Senior statesman, Sir Charles Lepani, described this tale as sad indeed.
He says however, this can be corrected. Government functions are there in the provinces which can facilitate services for the people. These service facilities together with managers need to be adequately sustained.
He explains that if officers are taken care of, they would not ask what is in a project for them.
Sir Charles laments that there are people, gold sellers, fishermen, farmers, carvers, weavers, artists, all going around town looking for help to sell their and produce but they often get ripped off of the earnings by middlemen.
“He says many of these people come asking me to buy their gold but sadly I told them I was not a gold buyer however, I advised them to get their gold tested first and sell them to a buyer,” he explained.
Sir Charles said the experience of the gold sellers presents a very important administrative matter that the economy of Milne Bay people will depend on.
“Alluvial gold miners need test facilities located near them so they can deal with directly. Likewise are the fishermen, the farmer, the weaver, the caver and the artist to sell their produce to markets and depots setup for their use to avoid the middleman,” he said.
He recalled before independence in the times of Local Government Councils, Cooperative Societies were set up and in the early times of Provincial Governments, market depots were established in the districts for people to sell their produce and products which the depots supply bigger buyers outside.
He admitted that some provinces progressed while others didn’t because they lacked proper management skills.
Milne Bay had fish coolers placed in strategic locations in the districts enabling people to directly sell their catches and received fair prices. The catches were sent to the main depot in Alotau which in turn supply bigger buyers around the country and Australia.
Sir Charles also lamented that this fish project was privatised forcing the people to seek markets elsewhere and often ended up being cheated by middleman. All because their root business had been taken away from them.

Debate over passage continues

Candidates weigh in on concerns and potential of Milne Bay’s Jomard Channel

By MULAI ROBBY
ON a late June Saturday afternoon, I was standing on a high ridge on Kitava Island, located east of the main Trobriand Islands in the Solomon Sea.
Looking out to sea and in a brief moment, I observed five huge ships plus a couple of coastal vessels sailing past the island. Three of the big vessels and a small craft were bound south while two of the big ships and the other small vessel were going north. Four of the vessels used the eastern side of the island I was on while two sailed on the west side. I also noted there were also fishing canoes in site on the route of the vessels.
They vessels were bulk carriers, oil tankers and container ships. The big ships coming from north will sail on to the Coral Sea and onward while those coming from south are going to destinations up north.
This is the daily shipping activity on this important shipping lane or passage known as the Jomard Passage.
A candidate for Kiriwina-Goodenough Peter Bwayawa Togs recalled while waiting for a boat to take him from East Shore of the main Trobriand Islands across to Kitava. He had observed 15 of those big ships, mostly bulk carriers and container vessels, sailing to and from past the island.
He commented that Jomard Passage discussions are certainly real up here. Some of the vessels sail too close the shoreline.
Just a few days back I asked two rival heavyweight candidates contesting the Milne Bay governor’s seat about the current debate on the Jomard Channel, the international shipping lane situation in the Louisiade Achipelago.
The Jomard Channel, also known as the Jomard Entrance or Jomard Passage, is a navigable strait located between the Jomard Islands and Duperré Islets/Bramble Haven and connects the Solomon Sea with the Coral Sea. Big ocean-going ships pass through to ports south and return the same route to go to destinations up north.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel and fellow candidate, former senior public servant and diplomat Sir Charles Lepani, both agreed Jomard Passage was important to all stakeholders and its protection paramount.
Both have reservations, however, with the direct approach taken by the former governor, Titus Philemon, who is also contesting for the Milne Bay governor seat.
Philemon had Jomard Passage listed as an issue he would continue to pursue if elected. He had been vocal about it while he was in office last. He said in his campaign that he wanted to complete projects initiated when he was last in office, Jomard Passage being one of them.

Abel said he started the ball rolling on Jomard Passage when his was the Minister for Tourism, and had left it for the Milne Bay Provincial Government and relevant national agencies to handle the issue. He said he had insight from the Barrier Reef and the Torres Strait of Australia and had seen that the Jomard Passage was an issue to raise as well.
He said Jomard Passage has the potential to generate benefits to all stakeholders including the local people. There are marine issues as well as environment protection issues and they need to be managed well.
“It is not some kind of money rain scheme others may think. Proper research and assessments are required on how best to institute control measures to realise the benefits.
“Issues of safety to locals, protection of environment including marine life which the people depend on plus allowing a free flow of traffic for ships through the passage were important considerations,” Abel had said.
Sir Charles Lepani, shares similar views as his rival.
He is aware of the importance of the passage, not only the potential benefits it would generate but also other issues which would have huge impact on the livelihood of people. He said that is also important and he is also concerned.
Sir Charles said though in Papua New Guinea waters, Jomard Passage is recognised as an international shipping lane which international vessels use. He says the passage needs to be properly researched and its administration planned well. He says the same must be done at the north.
Both candidates warned that another route can always be used if Jomard Passage is not handled well and all will be lost.
Back to the observed case international ships make entry into the Solomon Sea from the passage between New Ireland Province and Autonomous Region of Bougainville and, the Bismark Sea through the Vitiaz Strait.
Some of the big ships call in to Rabaul, Madang and Lae ports before sailing past the Trobriand and Woodlark islands to pass through the Jomard Passage into Coral sea and return the same route to destinations up north.
Some of those ships travel so close to the coastline of the inhabited islands, endangering safety of locals out fishing in their canoes, especially at night.
Locals report 10 to 15 ships travel past Kitava Island daily and on busy days up 20vessels sail past. That is not counting those that sail by at night.
Light houses are on the northern point of the main Trobriand Island and Kitava island but none on the smaller islands in the Solomon Sea between Kitava and the Woodlark islands.
A most recent mishap involving a fuel tanker happened in 2012. The vessel ran aground on Kwewata island, between Kitava island and Woodlark, spilling oil along the coastline of the island. Philemon, the Milne Bay Governor then, visited the site of the incident together with National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) officials.
Philemon had said that disturbing the normal life style of local people and coping with problems presented by navigational mishaps are important issues for considerations in the Jomard Passage discussions.
PNG Loop reported early this year the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure had requested the NMSA to plot out the actual entry and exit points of Jomard Passage so that meaningful consultation process can be conducted with stakeholders including local people.
This was in response to concerns raised by local Louisiade People’s Foundation for lack of meaningful consultation of Jomard Passage.

Background notes.

1. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) permitted the Designation of Traffic Separation, a two-way route in Jomard Passage, effective in June 2015.
2. Papua New Guinea obtained Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) Designation in October 2016 from the International Maritime Organization (lMO) at its Maritime Environment Protection Committee (MEPC)’s 70th Meeting, for the region surrounding the Jomard Entrance.
3. PNG Government working towards nominating the Jomard Passage for inscription on World Heritage List.
4. This could be raised in is week’s UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

• Mulai Robby is a former news director with the National Broadcasting Corporation