Stop desecrating our Parliament

Stop desecrating our Parliament

By Patrick Matbob

It does not matter whether the decision to remove the traditional objects was taken unilaterally by the Speaker or that he was implementing a committee’s decision. The committee’s decision is wrong. Priest, author and teacher, the late Fr Frank Mihalic had this definition for the word committee – it is a group of the unqualified, put together by the unwilling, to do the unnecessary.

We, Papua New Guineans, have to constantly remind ourselves that our country is not a naturally forged nation. PNG is not made up of a single race of people, nor culture, language, religion or any common experiences. We do not even have a shared experience such as a war that would have brought us together. PNG is the nation of numerous tribal groups, languages, cultures brought together by colonial powers for their own interests. We are in reality an artificial nation and our biggest challenge today is to stay together as a country. This is the reality for the founders of our country when they created PNG. They wanted PNG to be a nation that would be united within its diversity.  In order to ensure the diversity existed, symbols and representations of our differences were deliberately sought and encouraged to be used to emphasise the rich diversity that was being united. The Parliament is a great icon of this reality as it encompasses PNG’s diversity as much as possible in the cultural symbols in an effort to unite us.

We are told that the cultural objects in Parliament are being removed because they are evil and unchristian and somehow responsible for the poor behaviour of our leaders. Religious arguments are complex because they depend on religious teachings and interpretations that vary. Yet the act of removing cultural objects based on Christian beliefs is a vain exercise. It is like trying to create heaven on earth, in this case, a heaven in Parliament devoid of all earthly beliefs and influences so that the Parliament is clean and pure. It is impossible. What about the hearts of our leaders which is really where the roots of all good and evil lie. It is us humans who decide in our hearts to commit the good or the evil – and we do so using our bodies and the laws and many other cultural objects that we have created – money, valuables, alcohol, drugs, weapons, art, music, etc. Did not Jesus rebuke the leaders in his time calling them hypocrites because their hearts were impure? “… You are like white-washed tombs beautiful in appearance, but inside there are only dead bones and uncleanness (Matt: 23: 27).” The cultural symbols in Parliament are evidence that our ancestors’ were spiritual people and were in a quest to discover God long before the arrival of Christian missionaries.  When the first missionaries arrived, they realised that the people had strong traditional spiritual beliefs. Early missionaries banned many evil practices such as cannibalism, sorcery and witchcraft and introduced Christianity. They also realised there were many valuable cultural practices essential to maintaining the well-being of a society and allowed people to continue practicing their cultures. For instance a quote from the early Divine Word Missionaries in Momase region – the missionaries were trained never to tear down a culture but to study and appreciate it, use its good points and whenever possible to baptise the rest of it. Thanks to early missionaries like them we still have bride price payments, initiation rites that train villagers how to live together, and the knowledge of art and crafts essential to daily living such as making canoes, houses, gardens, songs and dances, etc.  

We need our cultural symbols for they are of value to us to stay together as a nation. There have been actions by missionaries in the past to exterminate the cultures of people they encountered in the belief that they were making them fully Christians. Instead they only succeeded in dressing them up in white clothes to look like Europeans! The result has been a complete disaster and certain societies such as the Australian aborigines and former slave colonies are still trying to establish their identities today.

 So far people supporting the removal of cultural artefacts have not said how these objects are influencing the leaders and responsible for the problems happening in Parliament. They are putting forward arguments without any evidence and accusing and condemning others of idol worship and quoting scriptures that are taken out of context. Where is the evidence that idol worship is happening in Parliament? Are there cult groups or activities within Parliament where the objects are worshiped? How is this happening? We are aware of and have evidence of cult activities in our schools in PNG but there is no evidence whatsoever from the Parliament house.

Most of the objects within the Parliament were carved in Port Moresby at the National Arts School by artists brought from different parts of PNG. I am not aware of any cultural ceremonies held to dedicate these objects to spirits they were supposed to represent. The only ceremony we are aware of was the official opening of the Parliament in August 7, 1984 by Prince Charles representing the Queen as head of the Commonwealth.

The act of blaming cultural objects for our problems in Parliament unfortunately reflects the reluctance of our people to admit and accept that our leaders are human and weak and can do wicked things as well as the good they are expected to do. Are we not looking for scape goats for the sins of our leaders? We must also realise and accept that our Parliament system is new, and is going through changes which can have some upheavals like the recent political impasse. That does not necessarily mean our leaders are under some evil influence. It means we are looking for ways to make our Parliamentary democracy system work in harmony with the changes that are continuously happening in PNG today.

The cultural objects at the Parliament represent our cultural heritage which embodies our identity. Our identity is important as we develop in the modern world because it helps us to know our place in society and how we have come to be where we are. Without this knowledge we are open to being exploited and abused by powerful organisations that we come into contact with today. Our identity is also our history, which is important as we move forward that we do not repeat the mistakes of our ancestors.

The action of the Speaker and his committee also demonstrates a lack of respect and contempt for our past leaders and elders in Parliament. This ‘holier than thou’ attitude of casting stones at others is not healthy for us and is not the teachings of Christ. One of the homes of dying used by Mother Therese of Calcutta was an old Hindu Temple where Hindu gods were worshipped. This was of absolute no concern to her as she knew God’s love transcends races, religions, cults, beliefs, etc. Majority of those she cared for were not Christians any way. Jesus gave few key commandments: to love God and neighbour, and made it clear that on judgement day there were will be particular questions asked: When I was hungry,  when I was thirsty, … when I was sick and in prison … etc. So instead of defacing the Parliament, what are we doing for our people, women and children who hunger and thirst not only for food but for love and justice, who die of curable diseases, or imprisoned for committing crimes to survive?  

It is for these reasons that we should be careful with what has been happening at the Parliament. When we remove the cultural objects, what are we really doing? Are we really cleaning up the Parliament and the actions of our leaders? I think not.  We are removing the objects and symbols that help to bring us together as a nation. If we are not careful we could be dismantling PNG.

School on global link

Talidig first in the world to establish link

 

By Patrick Matbob

A primary school in Madang has become the first school in the world to go on the Global Education Partnership program.

Fairweather and Sir Arnold establishing the link

Talidig Primary school which is situated about 45 kilometres north of Madang was chosen to participate in the Global Partnership program that is being run by British volunteer organization Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO). The program is aimed at linking schools in Britain and the world.

To participate in the program, the school also became one of the first few local primary schools in the country to be given computers and an internet link with the outside world.

The event was launched two weeks during the school’s graduation day and was witnessed by the Madang province governor, the local Parliament member, government officers and hundreds of parents, teachers and members of the local community.

 School head teacher Peter Igubi was the proudest person on the day.

“I am very, very proud. I’ve never come across such a project in my 34 years of teaching”, he said visibly moved by the development at his school.

VSO volunteer heading the project Roger Colborne said under the program Talidig primary will link with Ludworth primary school in County Durham in England.

Preliminary contact has already begun between the two schools and with the internet installed regular contact will began in the new school year.

Major funding for the establishment of the project came from the electoral development funds of the member for Sumkar Ken Fairweather in whose electorate Talidig primary is situated. Mr Fairweather gave K123, 000 to establish the facilities at Talidig and Tabel primary schools on Karkar island which will become the second school involved in the project.

Eight computers were donated by Rotary Club in Madang for the program while the British High Commission funded a laptop projector, printer and other consumables.

Madang Governor Sir Arnold Amet told the parents that his government has made a commitment to provide computers to all the primary schools in Madang. He said this was part of his plan to ensure that all children in the province were able to attend school and to have access to the best learning facilities.

He said at the moment his government’s biggest challenge is to ensure that all school-age children in the province are able to attend school, and that there is enough schools, teachers and resources in the province.

Headmaster Mr Igubi said the establishment of the computer facilities was a good opportunity for teachers and students to learn computing for basic education.

He said all the children in the school will have the opportunity to ‘touch and use’ the computers and will establish e-mail contact with Ludworth children in UK.

ends.

Rempi Church rehabilitation

Rempi Church rehabilitation

 

By Patrick Matbob

St Boniface church Rempi.

IF you drive 35 kilometres north along the north coast road in Madang, you will pass St Boniface Catholic Church at Rempi.

The aging 80-year-old church building and the primary school are situated on the left on top of a hill overlooking the village by the seaside. Unknown to many people is the history of this mission and the contribution it has made towards the spread of the Catholic faith as far as the highlands of PNG.

Back in 1927, St Boniface was a small bush material church when a young American SVD priest was appointed there.  Fr William Ross who later became famous as a pioneer missionary to the highlands of PNG had his humble beginning at St Boniface. It was his first parish posting after arriving from US to join the largely German and European Divine Word Missionaries at the nearby Alexishafen Catholic mission headquarters.

Fr Ross welcomed the move to Rempi where for the first time he lived on his own away from the community life at Alexishafen.

Discarding his white tropical suit for khaki shorts and shirt, he even took to smoking brus the local tobacco so he could enjoy his conversations with the village men.

The Rempi people were once fierce cannibals who were feared by surrounding tribes but the establishment of the German colony had eliminated the practice and brought peace into the area.

One of the first things he did was to build a school and taught the children with the help of a catechist. In fact, he got on so well with the children that they taught him the Rempi language which was a difficult language for outsiders to master. Fr Ross remembered it as a tonal language with one word pronounced different ways could have different meanings. But he tried hard and soon spoke the language fluently, in fact more fluent than he would ever speak the Hagen language.

After some months at Rempi and with the increase in the number of baptized Catholics, Fr Ross decided to build a permanent church building to replace the bush church. He raised funds for the building in US and the church was built by Br Hyginus. Made of cement, arched wooden timbers and stained glass windows, the church with its mini dome and spire became the centre of faith for the local people.

In 1927 an Australian Government patrol officer Jock McKay was planning to carry out a patrol into the mountains behind Rempi and Fr Ross obtained permission to accompany him. In the mountains at Saruga, they were attacked by a tribe firing arrows at them. McKay retaliated by firing over their heads with his rifle and was able to make contact with them. Fr Ross saw that the people’s health was in a pitiful state and planned to return with a doctor, Br Gerhoch, who was an expert on tropical medicines.

Soon Fr Ross was making regular patrols into the mountains behind Rempi. The going was not easy climbing the Edelbert ranges which rises as high as 2000 metres above sea level. However, with the help of carriers from Rempi and the new found mountain friends, he was able to successfully carry out his mission work there. He built a permanent church in the mountains at Sigu and after four years of climbing up and down the mountains, baptized nearly 1000 new Catholics – an increase from 120 when he first arrived.

The trips into the mountains were actually preparing him for his biggest mission yet which was to trek into the highlands and establish a mission in Mount Hagen. The special relationship that Fr Ross had developed with the local people would also help him because he was able to recruit carriers, teachers and catechists for his Mount Hagen mission.

 In early 1930s the Leahy brothers made contact for the first time with tribes of about a million people living in the fertile valleys in the present day Western Highlands province. When the exciting news of the discovery of people reached Alexishafen, Bishop Wolf appointed Fr Ross in 1933 to go into the Highlands and set up a mission there. It was not until a year later on February 15 when the expedition was able to set out. The group left Alexishafen for Bogadjim on the Rai Coast by boat then trekked over the Finnisterre Ranges into the Ramu valley then up to Bundi and over the Bismarck ranges into the Wahgi valley and on to the present day Mount Hagen. Assisting him were his trusted followers whom he had lived amongst and baptized at the Rempi mission.

As Fr Ross and his followers moved on into the highlands and into the nation’s history, the mission he had established and left behind at Rempi continued to flourish. A number of church leaders, catechists and mission teachers began their education at the Rempi mission school and later became involved in mission work of propagating the faith in other parts of Madang.

In his book Readings in PNG Mission History, Fr Frank Mihalic lists two of the unsung catechist heroes and teachers from Rempi. They are Anselm Suasu and Willie Anut. Suasu was a papal medalist, who was born in 1907 at Kawe, Rempi and was trained as a Catechist. He was assigned to areas beyond Rempi where Fr Ross had worked and spent 48 years in church work before retiring to Alexishafen. Another famous Rempi catechist and church leader was Willie Anut who was born in 1925 and baptized by Fr Ross in 1928. He began his catechist work in 1941 when the war came to the country. He was drafted by the Japanese as a war carrier in the Sepik and after the war; the Australians wanted to court martial him for helping the enemy. However, he was able to win his case and return to Rempi where he continued his work. He was a teacher, a musician and a catechist for his people and was actively involved in church work up until his death in 1995.  

The church that Fr Ross had established was the centre of life for the Rempi people. However, more than 40 years later tragedy struck. Madang was hit by a large earthquake measuring more that 7.1 points on the Richter at about 3:55am on November 1, 1970 which damaged buildings, roads and the infrastructure throughout the province. St Boniface church which was only kilometers from the epicenter in the Bismarck Sea also suffered major damage. The whole concrete back wall of the church collapsed exposing the large crucifix hanging behind the altar. The church was restored but in the process lost its unique architecture of wooden arches, concrete dome and stained glass windows.

The population of the faithful has however, never stopped growing from the seeds that Fr Ross had sown. Today the small aging church is overflowing as ever with the faithful for Sunday mass and other religious activities. Concerned with the growing population, the local church leaders have decided to rehabilitate and expand the existing church. A committee has been formed to raise funds through various activities. Villagers have started by making donations in ‘Thanksgiving envelopes’ of which about 800 have been circulated.

Locals have also been contributing 50 coconuts from each individual to sell to raise funds. Other planned activities include a walkathon, a video show and sales of ice block.

Chairman of the Church Project Development fundraising, Adolph Mugau, said the committee has set the target to raise K30, 000. He said so far the villagers have been cooperating well with the fundraising.

A passbook account has been opened with BSP Madang and the account number is 1001379158 where donations can be deposited. Mugau said his committee hopes to raise the K30, 000 before seeking help from possible donors.

Rehabilitation of St Boniface church would not only help the Rempi community but would also help to restore and preserve the legacy of Fr Ross and the church workers from the Rempi mission who had a hand in shaping a part of PNG’s history.

King Tide disaster affects 70,000 in PNG

King Tide disaster affects 70,000 in PNG

 

By Patrick Matbob

One of the villages affected

An estimated 70,000 people in PNG are reeling from the effects of climate change as abnormal high tides devastated parts of the northern coastline and the islands provinces last month.

The powerful tidal surge battered and destroyed parts of one town and numerous villages and infrastructures in a vast sea area that covered more than half of the country.

So far two children have been reported killed by the disaster that has destroyed parts of the town of Wewak and numerous villages in the provinces of Madang, East and West Sepik, Morobe, Manus, New Ireland, Bougainville and Milne Bay.

The PNG government has put aside K50m of which K20m has been released for immediate relief effort to the affected areas. The Australian and New Zealand governments have also offered assistance to support NGOs involved in relief effort. Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith and Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon announced the immediate release of $1 million (K1.4m) and a RAAF C-130 transport plane has been transporting relief supplies to the affected areas. New Zealand is understood to have given NZ$300, 000 (K450, 000) worth of aid which will be delivered through NZAID to assist humanitarian groups like the Red Cross.

 A six-person United Nations Disaster Assessment and Co-ordination (UNDAC) team is in the country to assist the government to:

·         conduct an impact assessment of disaster response and relief operations in the provinces,

·         support the National Disaster Centre conduct a substantive multi-sectoral assessment of all provinces;

·         assist the Centre develop a draft recovery plan.

Also assisting the government with relief efforts are charity and NGO organizations such as the Red Cross, UNICEF, Save the Children, Oxfam, Salvation Army, Caritas and others in the provinces.

The people estimated to be affected by the disaster are 9,000 in East Sepik, 15,000 on Manus Island, 30,000 on New Ireland, 6,000 on Bougainville, 5,000 in Morobe and 1000 in Madang.

The town of Wewak in East Sepik province along PNG‘s northern coast was the hardest hit with major damage to infrastructure. Strong waves destroyed parts of the Boram General hospital, telecommunication infrastructure, Post-Office, the main wharf, two major hotels, the Moem military barracks and the road network near the waterfront.

Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare who is from East Sepik has also visited his village of Karau on the Murik Lakes on the coast which was inundated by the high seas. Sir Michael said he was saddened by the destruction of his village and assured his people of government assistance.

In New Ireland, the tides hit both the main island as well as the smaller outlying islands including the mining centres of Lihir and Simberi. Tench island had 118 people evacuated by a PNG Navy patrol boat to the neighbouring Emirau island after the tides destroyed part of the island. New Ireland provincial authorities have set up six care centres to accommodate the displaced people. The Australian army aircraft has airlifted basic supplies of tarpaulins, mosquito nets, blankets, and 20-litre water containers to the affected people.

Health teams have been sent to affected areas to carry out awareness on health risks facing the people mainly with contaminated water supplies. People who escaped from the seas are still residing in crowded camps in the bush.

In the Manus province, the government is planning to relocate people whose islands were submerged by the tides. Four islands were totally submerged and authorities fear that the same would happen again in future. Administrator Wep Kanawi said the islands had been slowly sinking and the relocation exercise was in the provincial government’s long term plan.

One village north of Madang was totally destroyed while others were partially affected by the high seas. Provincial Disaster director in Madang Otto Avorosi estimated that 1000 people in the province were affected by the disaster. He said the village of Bodbod was completely washed out and Red Cross is distributing tarpaulin, water containers and water purification tablets.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Centre has warned people to remain on high grounds and not to return to the devastated areas until further notice. Director Martin Mose said while the sea swells were subsiding, people should wait until the authorities have given the all clear for them to return.

Chairman of the National Disaster Centre Manasupe Zurenuoc said that the recovery program would start soon.

ends.

 

 

Fliming in PNG

Filming in Papua New Guinea

 

By Patrick Matbob

Film in Madang

Rempi villagers who live 20km north of Madang still talk about the time when ‘Robinson Crusoe’ came to live amongst them.

It was in 1993 when the villagers were privileged to witness and be involved in the production of a world class movie starring Pierce Brosnan as Crusoe. Such was the isolation of the people from the world of movie stars that they had no idea who Pierce Brosnan was before he arrived. But some did remember the classical hero Robinson Crusoe from Daniel Defoe’s book and for them Brosnan was Crusoe.

During the days when parts of the movie were shot at Rempi, the whole village came to a stand still. Some villagers got jobs on the set as assistants during the shooting while the rest abandoned all daily activities – even the sacred Sunday worship - to witness this new activity.

On location at Banara, Madang

Robinson Crusoe was probably the biggest movie ever produced in PNG starring a world renowned movie star. Co-starring as Crusoe’s companion, Friday, was PNG’s own actor and playwright William Takaku who received positive reviews for his role.

While there is no established movie industry in PNG, filming in the country has had a long history. The first film produced in Papua New Guinea is believed to be Frank Hurley’s Pearl and Savage in 1926 about life along the Papuan coast. Such ethnographic documentaries about the life and culture of the people were the types of educational films produced in PNG for the interest of western audience.

In the 1930s the Leahy brothers who were exploring for gold in the interior of PNG stumbled onto a million people with no previous contact with outsiders living in the fertile valleys of the highlands. The brothers took many pictures, both still photographs and film, of their first contact with the highland tribes. The footage taken by the Leahys became famous in the 1983 feature length documentary First Contact by Bob Conolly and Robin Anderson. The movie which told the story of the Leahy brothers’ historic contact with the highlanders was the first of The Highlands Trilogy that also featured the films Joe Leahy’s Neighbours and Black Harvest. Joe Leahy’s Neighbours is a contemporary story of the legacy of the Leahy’s presence in the Highlands. The movie features Joe Leahy, the mixed-race son of Michael Leahy who is a successful businessman operating a coffee plantation in the Highlands. He and the Ganiga tribe have a very delicate business relationship in a joint venture coffee plantation at Kaugum which promised substantial returns. However, many factions within the tribal community are suspicious of Joe and his long-term business plan. The third sequel Black Harvest continues the story of the joint venture with Kaugum plantation which become confronted by a senseless tribal warfare, and a drop in world coffee price. The situation turns critical forcing Joe Leahy’s family to abandon their home and flee for safety. The joint venture and dreams of prosperity for Joe and the Ganiga lies in ruin. The films won many international awards including the Grand Prix at the Festival Cinema du Reel in Paris and the AFI Award for Best Documentary.

The first Oscar for a film shot in PNG was won by Kokoda Front Line! in 1943. The award was given for the best documentary based on footage taken by Australian film hero Damien Parer. Parer shot the footage of the battle of Kokoda which raged for seven months between the Japanese and the Australian armies on some of the most rugged and inhospitable terrain in the world.

Parer, described as an uncompromising chronicler of armed conflict, was a film maker with the 2^nd Australian Infantry Force and served in the Middle East then in PNG. His film brought the war home to Australia who saw for the first time the awful conditions that their soldiers were fighting in New Guinea. Parer was killed while filming for the Paramount Studios the US Marines landing at Peleliu Island in Palau.

Then in 1957 Australian movie star Chips Rafferty produced another popular movie in Papua New Guinea titled Walk into Paradise (alternatively known as Walk Into Hell).

The movie stars Senior Patrol Officer Steve McAllister (Chips Rafferty) who leads a patrol in the interior of PNG. It portrays the Australian colonial romanticism in which Rafferty bears the white man’s burden of bringing civilization to the primitive people of PNG. The film was shot on location in PNG on the Sepik River and in the Highlands and showed some remarkable footage of the Sepik and the Highlands singsing. A noted feature of the film was that it was co-produced in English and French and the French version which was released in Paris was titled L’Odyssee du Capitaine Steve.

A number of documentaries were produced since the 70s in PNG which included Wokabaut bilong Tonten by Film Australia which was about the adventures of Tonten, a Karkar Islander who travels through the country to Port Moresby and experiences the different cultures including the sophisticated western life in Port Moresby. Then there were two movies capturing PNG’s independence and first national election by Dennis O’Rourke, the highly acclaimed Yumi Yet (1976) celebrating PNG’s independence and Ileksen (1979) marking the country’s first national election. Chris Owen and Les Maclaren have also produced a number of documentaries in PNG and the list includes Cowboy and Maria in Town, Gogodala: A Cultural Revival? Kama Wosi: Music in the Trobriand Islands, Malagan Labadama, Man Without Pigs, Namekas: Music in Lake Chambri and The Red Bowmen.

The establishment of the art and cultural institutions at Independence in PNG included the National Arts School, the National Theatre Company and the Skul Bilong Wokim Piksa (Film School) which enabled Papua New Guineans to become involved in film production. The pioneers were Albert Toro, Kumain Kolain, Martin Maden, Maggie Wilson, Leonie Kanawi and Pengau Nengo who became involved in films like Urban Drift, Fourth Child, Warriors in Transit, Marabe, Stap Isi, and Tukana: Asua bilong Husat. Their films dealt with the clash between the western and the local cultures and raised contemporary social, economic and political issues that affected Papua New Guineans. Marabe addressed the issue of land and urban drift and tells the story of a village councilor, Marabe, whose sons Hawai and Kerebe leave for a ‘better life’ to the urban centres of Goroka and Port Moresby. Kerebe is eventually killed in a land dispute and Hawai who ends up in Port Moresby gets tangled up in all the social ills of urban living, eventually heading back to the village to resettle on land given by a relative. The movie’s sound track featured music written and performed by music students of the National Arts School and a favorite track was the Marabe farewell featuring Aaron Murray on the flute and Tony Subam on classical guitar.

Albert Toro who wrote the script for Tukana also starred in the lead role together with actress Francisca Semoso who is now a politician on Bougainville.

The first genuine homegrown PNG production is Tinpis Run (1990). The movie directed by Pengau Nengo is about the adventures of Papa who owns a PMV which he uses as a taxi. Other main characters are his driver Naaki and his fiercely independent daughter Johanna. The adventures take him from the highlands to the coast of Lae and Madang where they get involved in politics. Later when Papa gets word of a brewing tribal fight, he returns home and dons his battle gear to lead his warriors into war.

Since Tinpis Run, no other major films have been produced by Papua New Guinean producers and this is attributed to the high costs of film making in the country. Lack of copyright laws has also been seen as a major hurdle in assisting the growth of a film industry.

Chris Owen, an Australian residing permanently in PNG, is also one of PNG’s leading filmmakers, who amongst a number of films produced the award winning Bride wealth for a Goddess (1999). The film is about highlands ‘Big Man’ Ru Kundil who tells his own story in film. Kundil has a dream about a beautiful young woman – the Spirit Goddess Amb Kor and involves his family and supporters in a cult in which the men seek to make a ‘marriage’ with the Goddess. Through elaborate rituals, the Goddess grants the men purification and protection from the menstrual powers of their human wives, the procreation of many sons, and the blessing of fertility to crops and pigs.

There has been no shortage of international film makers coming to PNG to film the cultural and geographical attractions. News documentaries have also been produced regularly and recent topics have included HIV/AIDS and environmental issues. The establishment and growth of a local movie industry has remained elusive however, because of lack of money and support.

Copra trade flourishes

Copra trade flourishes

The Copra Trader in Madang

By Patrick Matbob

 Copra trade is flourishing again in the coastal islands around Madang and the neighboring provinces of Papua New Guinea.

The revival of the copra trade has been made possible by the introduction of two copra barges by the coconut oil exporter Coconut Oil Production Madang Limited (COPM).

The vessels, MV Coconut Trader and MV Copra Trader are plying the coastal areas and the outer islands of Madang and neighboring provinces to buy copra for the mill.

A busy deck

COPM Logistic Manager Daniel Katie said the company is paying up to K3.5m (US$1.3m) a month to copra producers within the province.

He said in the beginning they had to encourage the villagers who had virtually abandoned making copra to start again by supplying them with drums for the drier.

Copra was once the biggest export revenue earner in PNG that supported business empires such Burns Philp and Steamships and built the fortunes for many entrepreneurs. Villagers also relied on copra for income and vessels used to visit the islands and the coastlines buying copra and supplying trade goods to the remote areas.

Today the COPM barges are doing the same. While visiting the remote areas to buy copra, they also carry basic goods like rice, tea, soap and salt which is traded with the local people.

Mr Katie said the people appreciate the services that are being provided to their homes.

He said on places like Long Island which is situated more than 100 kilometers southeast from Madang, there has been no regular boating services for many years. Islanders have had to hire banana boats and risk the high seas to bring their copra to sell in town. However the costs have been prohibitive for the simple villagers.

Mr Katie said when their vessels arrived on the island for the first time to buy copra and sell goods; many people wept with joy. He said on Long island alone, they had to call into six areas around the island to pick up copra.

He said the service has enabled families to become involved in the trade and they are buying copra not only from men, but from women and children as well.

As the Logistics Manager, Katie coordinates the purchase of copra throughout the provinces and islands where the barges visit. He works through agents in some areas however, on the remote locations the crews buy directly from the villagers.

The vessels carry a tractor to help in transporting copra to the vessel from locations further inland where there are no roads.

Katie said that the vessels are playing an important role in facilitating trade amongst the people in the remote areas. For example, he said when villagers get cash for their copra, they buy goods again from the vessels. The cash that the crews get back from the villagers enables the vessel to buy more copra from other villagers nearby.

The barges are currently operating far south as Milne Bay, and up north to Manus provinces and east to the autonomous region of Bougainville.

The copra trade has been helped by high copra prices on the world market. Currently, the prices are for Hot Air – K1, 400 per tone, FMS – K1, 300, and smoked – K1, 300.

COPM is owned by MRPS Services, a New Zealand firm which bought the Madang Mill from Elan Trading Corporation of Australia in 2006. The mill is currently exporting coconut oil to European markets and copra meal to Australia. Only 5 per cent of the meal is sold locally.

Destination Cape Town

Destination Cape Town

By Patrick Matbob

 The surging mounds of waves crashed angrily against the giant rocks, sizzling out in white froth dotted with lengths of uprooted giant sea weeds. The chilly gust at 13 degrees Celsius howled incessantly as a reminder of how unfriendly this coastline could be. This was Table Bay in Cape Town at the bottom end of Africa. About 50 km southeast along the peninsula was the Cape of Good Hope, a familiar name from my high school world history class. Yes, the Cape was so named because it gave hope to European sailors (mainly Portuguese) who ventured out in search of the new world.

Part of the table mountain towers of Cape Town

Cape Town is a beautiful city in any weather condition, sprawled around the Table Bay with the spectacular Table Mountain peaks towering overhead like granite sentinels. The city looks like any in England or Europe with the streets lined with shops and high-rises, pubs along the sidewalks, a public transport system and populations of blacks, Asians and whites. It is only when you venture into the townships and see the shanties that stretch out for kilometers that you realize you are in Africa.

I was in Cape Town to participate in the World Association of Christian Communicators Congress which attracted 300 journalists and communicators from 70 countries. It was an opportunity to get a glimpse of this part of the world that had been at the centre of the quest by European powers to build their empires since the late 1400s.

Mandela's bed in Robben prison

South Africa is looking forward to hosting the World Cup Soccer in 2010 and Cape Town, which will be one of the main venues, is experiencing a hive of activity in infrastructure development. The construction work greets you right at the airport as you step off the plane. A new international terminal is being built so passengers have to disembark and board planes on the tarmac and wait for their flight under a gigantic canvas tent. Travel through the city takes you longer as all major streets are being expanded. A massive soccer stadium is also rising, its structures and the towering cranes visible from almost every point in the city. The economic development is providing employment for the country’s vast population of blacks as well as attracting migrant workers from other parts of Africa, especially the neighboring Zimbabwe.

Unemployed youths at Gugulethu township. 

The hopes of many, including the taxi driver who was delivering me to the airport, depend on such booming economic activity. Of Asian origin, he had been working up until the early hours of the morning and had only four hours of sleep. When business was good, he dared not rest.

“I could be out of a job tomorrow, you know,” he said. It was hard to understand that this person driving a luxurious cab could be unemployed tomorrow.

Such indications of insecurity and poverty are visible elsewhere, a seeming paradox in this city of glittering wealth. Out at the edge of the city is Guguletu, a township built during the dark days of apartheid. At first sight, the township looks like a middle class suburb of any developing city. Homes made of brick lined the paved streets and vehicles are parked in some of the yards. However, the scene can be misleading. Pastor Mzukisi Faleni of the Presbyterian Church of Africa tells us that poverty, unemployment, crime and the HIV/AIDS epidemic are prevalent amongst the residents. Standing in the township’s church building ominously fortified with barbed wire, Faleni talks about his people’s suffering, first from apartheid, then from poverty.

 

“Apartheid was a terrible crime, left people with deep scars. Poverty is worse than that. Apartheid had to do with rights and privileges, poverty is attacking the human being, it is attacking the dignity of the human being, it is humiliating and dehumanizing.”

As a preacher, Faleni is constantly challenged in ministering to the people.

“How can we preach to someone who is unemployed, who went to bed last night without food,” he explained. He said HIV/AIDS epidemic has become uncontrollable because of the poverty in the township.

“People are getting anti-retroviral and they are told by doctors, please take something in your stomach before you take these tablets because they are dangerous … and they (the people) do not have food!”

Near Gugulethu, shanties line the freeway for about a kilometer and they look more like the settlements of PNG. Those who live here are migrants from other parts of Africa and the Cape Town city government is assisting them. Next to the shanties, blocks of brand new apartments of several stories high are being erected by the city authorities and the migrants are moving into them. The plan looks good for Cape Town especially for 2010 World Cup as it gets rid of the shanties that are an eye-sore for visitors. However, getting rid of poverty for the majority of the city’s black population would be a much bigger challenge.

Visit to Cape Town is incomplete without a trip to Robben Island prison where Nelson Mandela was kept for 26 years. The small low lying island is only 12 kilometers from the mainland and was the first settlement for the European sailors before Cape Town was established. Later the island became home to the unwanted people in the society. Native black Africans who went against the colonial powers found themselves exiled to Robben island together with criminals, mentally handicapped and lepers. Although the island is at the entrance to the Table Bay, it is surrounded by inhospitable waters that effectively isolate it. Early sailing ships that had the misfortune of running aground on the rocks around Robben island were pounded to pieces in no time and many sailors drowned. It was here that Nelson Mandela was locked up in 1964 in the maximum security prison until he was freed in 1990.

 The luxurious double-hulled catamaran Sikhululekile brought us over the choppy seas to Robben with its sparse vegetation where we were greeted by the local populations of rabbits and penguins. Today the island is a museum and a UN World Heritage site. From the wharf the old maximum security prison looms like a fortress of cement and steel. At the gate of the prison, we were greeted by a former inmate Modise Phekouyane. Modise was a political prisoner there in 1977 when he was only 14. He recounted the horrifying experiences within the cold grey walls of being tortured and made to sleep on the cold floor by his apartheid masters.

 Eventually, Modise led us to the block where Nelson Mandela was kept. The famous cell block was no more than 6 square feet but had walls that were two feet thick.  There was a bed of mat and blankets on the floor, a small wooden bench and a bucket that was used as a toilet. Mandela who was more than 6 feet tall had to bend his long legs when lying down because the space was too small. Outside the cell block was a yard where Mandela and the other prisoners exercised and brought their buckets out to wash and clean. At one end of the yard, Modise indicated where Mandela had cultivated a small garden of tomatoes and other vegetables. The garden was actually a cover for the site where he buried the scripts of his now famous novel Long Walk To Freedom which he began writing in 1971. Later we boarded a bus and toured part of the island including the limestone quarry where the prisoners had dug up rocks which were used to pave the roads and extend the prison.

Modise said Mandela never condemned his captors nor was he bitter towards them. He said at first he was angry with Mandela thinking he had sold out to the apartheid masters. However, Mandela recognized that apartheid system not only enslaved the blacks, but also the whites who had designed it and they, like the blacks, had to be freed from it.

“I used to consider him a traitor and a sellout. But just his message and his persistence that we always didn’t have to regard even prison warders – these were our captors – we didn’t have to regard them as our enemies, but that we were all victims of apartheid… and to know that tomorrow we will need to hold hands, walk and work together to build a better South Africa for all of us.”

While in prison, Mandela who is a lawyer by profession assisted prison officers with advice for their problems. Since then Modise has had the greatest respect for his South African leader.

Before leaving Cape Town, I decided to take a ride on the ‘mini bus’ to the city centre. The mini buses are like our PMVs and cost only 5 Rand (K1.60).  However, I was soon to find out that just like our PMVs, some mini buses can be notorious for abusing traffic laws. We bullied our way through the traffic, overtaking vehicles illegally and stopping almost anywhere including the traffic lights to pick up passengers. The South African police seemed to tolerate the mini-buses, I thought, just like PNG police.

Long Street at the city centre was a hub of business where the wealth and poverty of Cape Town was displayed. Amongst the glass shops and offices, the Flea Market was bustling with activity as black Africans displayed and flogged their exotic jewelry and artifacts at exorbitant prices. The vendors are persuasive although one can bargain.

As I picked my way through the flea market, a heated political demonstration was taking place in another part of the city. A power struggle had erupted that week within the ruling African National Congress (ANC). It was a reminder of the fluid political situation in many of the African states. Just over a decade ago, South Africa had been freed from the clutches of apartheid and a new democratically elected government headed by Mandela was established. The tensions and scars of the past political struggles are still there and like the ever-changing weather of Cape Town, conflicts flare up as this great nation forges a new future for its citizens.

ends.

Travel Air takes to the skies

Travel Air takes to the skies

By Patrick Matbob

23aug2011

Most Papua New Guineans have never heard of Eremas Wartoto. That was until he decided to start an airline. Today the big Tolai business man has become the talk of the nation, admired by some, and despised by others. The new PNG government is taking him to court after arresting and charging him last month. He is out on a K5,000 bail.

Wartoto welcoming Air Travel crew.

His ‘sin’ it seems was to get a K10m ‘subsidy’ from the PNG government to help him start his airline Travel Air. The subsidy issue sparked protests and accusations in political and business circles which eventually contributed to the change of government. Critics have accused him of getting favorable treatment from the last government.

Despite the controversy, Wartoto and his business partners have successfully delivered their first aircraft last month to Madang with six more to follow. They plan to begin domestic operations soon.

Wet welcome for new airline

Their achievements have been impressive so far with the arrival of the Fokker 50 from Netherlands. The plane was welcomed by the airline’s growing staff of more than 40 that included pilots, air crews, engineers and administrative officers.

Wartoto and his team of international executives were at pains to explain to journalists that theirs was not a ‘ghost’ operation and that everyone could see the result of their investments.

“I applied for the subsidy which I was given”, he said.

He explained that the fund was no different to the subsidies given by Asian Development Bank for coastal vessel subsidies to people starting shipping operations. He said he believed the attacks were politically motivated and that it was time politicians started respecting business houses and their ability to deliver services to the people.

 He HHH

He said he welcomed the investigation but urged the government to look at the process how the funding was given.

“Don’t blame me for the process. Don’t look at me. We delivered the intention for the subsidy”.

“Whatever money we got from the government is well spent,” he said. He said the F50 was a new type of aircraft in the country and money was also spent on overseas training for the Papua New Guinean staff.

“Our people can get a job in Netherlands or Australia”, he said as a result of the training.

He urged the government to publish the terms of reference saying the public were entitled to know where the investigation would lead to.

Meanwhile his company has plans to spend K150m over the next five years to build up the airline. The investment would include the delivery of another six aircrafts which would include F50s, a small Twin Otter and a large RJ85 jet that has 112 seats. Travel Air plans to build a new hangar in Madang which will include an engineering training centre.

The F50 is a familiar aircraft to many older Papua New Guinean travelers because it is modeled on the F27 which used to be operated by Trans Australian Airways and Ansett in PNG before independence. The new F50 has a more powerful turbo prop engine and carries 62 passengers.

Wartoto has invited investors including the Madang Provincial Government to invest in the venture.

“Any investor can look at the books and invest in the venture and I invite the provincial government to take up shareholding”.

The public in Madang and the Momase and Islands region have welcomed the new airline. Travel Air replaces another third level airline Airlink that use to operate out of Madang for many years but was closed down several years ago after a fatal air crash revealed serious safety issues.

The increase in competition which includes PNG Airlines which now operates an aircraft out of Madang, has caused a significant reduction in cost of air travel and given more options for travellers. When Airlink closed down, travelers in the northern and islands region were hit with increased airfares from the sole operator Air Niugini. There were no direct links between many of the provincial ports in the highlands, northern and islands regions and travelers were forced to travel to Port Moresby to get connections.

Ends..

Political impasse grapples PNG

Dark hour of PNG politics

By Patrick Matbob

14/12/2011

 

PNG celebrated an uneasy Christmas after the events of 2011 that has shaken the democratic foundations of the country like never before.

Somare ousted.

Turbulent times are predicted ahead as the country’s three independent organs of state sort out the extent and limits of their powers and influence in governing the country. Despite Peter O’Neal declaring that he is the prime minister and taking legislative and administrative steps to enforce his government’s legitimacy to rule, a big question mark hangs over his head. In his shadow are Sir Michael and his depleted followers. A five-judge Supreme Court ruled (3-2) declaring that O’Neal’s election on August 2 was illegal as there was no vacancy in the prime minister’s seat and restored Sir Michael as the legitimate prime minister. His defiance in ignoring the Supreme Court’s decision and carrying on governing by declaring the supremacy of the Parliament has left many people throughout the country baffled and concerned.

Such has not happened before. PNG politicians have always accepted and respected court decisions although; this did not stop them from looking for loopholes in the law and mounting numerous court challenges in trying to get favorable decisions. But they have never openly defied the courts which has been the bastion of democracy in PNG.

Majority of Papua New Guineans are actually confused and are not able to understand what has happened. Equally there seems to be a general consensus that it is time for Sir Michael to bow out of politics and that the Speaker of Parliament Jeffery Nape must be held responsible for causing and allowing the current situation to happen.

The signs of the weakness in the Parliament as an independent law making body with functions that are separate from the executive and the judiciary became apparent after the 2007 national elections when Jeffrey Nape was elected as Parliament Speaker. While in the PNG system of democracy the Speaker always comes from the government, there are rules and regulations to govern the function of the Parliament which guides the Speaker. Yet Nape’s conduct and the way Parliament was operating convinced political commentators to say the Parliament was being used as a ‘rubber stamp’. Opposition MPs were already complaining about the manner in which the Speaker was conducting the affairs of Parliament.

Early last year outspoken Opposition MP and member for Bulolo Sam Basil complained that Nape’s decisions and actions so far on the floor of Parliament have clearly shown that he was irresponsible and his conducts were not in accordance with the Constitutional Laws, the Act of Parliament and the Standing Orders of the Parliament. “Simply there is no more democratic process in the proceedings of Parliament”, he said. However, today Basil and Nape are on the same side.

Two major amendment bills by the former Somare regime signaled the executive government’s domination of the Parliament when one of the amendments favoring the government was bulldozed through without debate.

The proposed amendments to the laws that establish and guide the functions of the Ombudsman Commission in relation to the leadership code signaled the intention of the Parliament as dictated by the executive government.

The Ombudsman Commission was established at Independence to guard against abuse of power by those in the public sector, assist those exercising public power to do their jobs efficiently and fairly and impose accountability on those who are exercising public power. Although it is a government department, it is independent of government as guaranteed under the Constitution. However, the Parliament had come up with a bill introduced by MP Moses Maladina to amend the national Constitution and the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibility of Leaders. The amendment would also limit the power of the Ombudsman Commission. While on the face of it the amendments looked reasonable, they also appeared at the time when Prime Minister Somare and government MPs including son Arthur Somare were being scrutinized by the Ombudsman Commission about the disbursement of their District Services Improvement Program funds. The proposed amendments raised the question whether the members of Parliament who are affected by the law should be the ones to change the law. The MPs had a conflict of interest.

If it were not for the intervention of civil society organizations, Transparency International PNG, churches, tertiary institution students and other non political organizations, the Parliament would have gone ahead to amend the laws without wide consultation. The move by the executive government also raised questions about the independence of the Parliament. The executive government was dictating events in Parliament and there was no control by the Speaker and the weak Opposition.

The other major issue that exposed the lack of independence within the Parliamentary system was the amendments to the environment laws in relation to the Deep Sea Tailings Placement system being sought by the mining industry in PNG. This issue involved the Chinese Ramu Nickel Mine plan to use DSTP system to dump its mine waste into the Basamuk Bay in Madang. When landowners at Basamuk successfully sought a court injunction to prevent Ramu Nickel from going ahead with the dumping of wastes, the Somare-Temu government turned to the Parliament to amend the environment laws to stop the people. The landowners had been seeking a Supreme Court reference on the amendments claiming that the amendments gave absolute powers to a single officer, in this case the director of Environment and Conservation, which was dangerous as it was subject to abuse. They also said that the Act took away the rights of the landowners to challenge the developers in court and to seek compensation. The amendments also allowed the state and developer to escape liability if they were negligent and the landowners cannot seek review or challenge the government in a court of law. This essential stripped the common law rights of the people to seek protection of the law or compensation for harm done. The Supreme Court has since ruled in favor of DSTP.

To many, the events of August 2 came as no surprise when Peter O’Neal and Belden Namah orchestrated a successful political coup to gain power in the absence of Somare who was ill and seeking medical treatment overseas.

Speaker Nape was a key figure in facilitating the move. Siding this time with the majority breakaway faction of the former Somare regime who had linked up with the Opposition, he declared that the prime minister’s seat was vacant and got the Parliament to elect Peter O’Neal as Prime Minister. Since then the new regime has gone ahead to pass laws and tried to prevent the former Somare regime to challenge the legitimacy of their government. This included trying to suspend the East Sepik Provincial government which was the body challenging the election of Peter O’Neal’s government, and to remove Sir Michael Somare as Member for East Sepik.

It is interesting to note comments by a member of O’Neal’s regime Ano Pala, a former Parliament clerk saying in Parliament that for the first the Parliament has stopped being a ‘rubber stamp’ and has regained its true role in making laws. Yet he was a key member of the former Somare regime that was responsible for denigrating the Parliament into a ‘rubber stamp’ and making it lose its credibility as a legitimate organ of state.

Civil Society organizations, the churches and the people have spoken out urging the two factions to sit down together and resolve the issue. The bishops of the Catholic Church, which is PNG’s largest Christian church, have called on Sir Michael Somare to resign and for Speaker Jeffrey Nape to be removed.

For the majority of people in PNG, the political crisis in PNG will have little effect on their lives. Up to 85 per cent of the people live in rural areas of the country and have little interest in the matter except to harbor a curiosity to know what happened. The reality is that the country’s political affairs have little impact on the daily lives of the people. Throughout PNG and even in Port Moresby, majority of the people are too busy trying to make a living daily to be concerned about what has happened in Parliament. Unlike other countries, there is no popular support for any particular leader, even for Somare, to create major unrests to destabilize the country. Of course, there are the opportunist elements in PNG always ready to thrive on any situation to create chaos so that they can benefit. Such actions have happened during the Sandline crisis and more recently with the anti-Asian and Lae riots. However, police have been able to control the situation well.

The political impasse also has little impact on major projects and businesses and the situation remains normal so far. The trade unions have not carried out their earlier threats to call stop work action in protest of the crisis. As long as the public and private sector operate normally, people will go about their daily business with little concern about the political crisis. It will be up to the political leaders to agree to work together to resolve the impasse and restore the integrity of the Constitution and the rule of law in PNG.

ends