Malabag: Malaria is everyone’s business

Caption:   Minister Malabag (center) between Central Governor Kila Haoda (L) and Rigo MP Ano Pala (R)

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 27, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

THAT was the message from Minister for Health and HIV and AIDS, Michael Malabag, at the launch of the National Malaria Control Strategic Plan to coincide with World Malaria Day on Friday, at the Rigo district village of Kemabolo, in the Central Province.

Guests at the launch included the Governor for Central Kila Haoda, Minister for Transport and Rigo MP Ano Pala, WHO Representatives, donor partners, and officers from the Department of Health.

In his address, the Minister for Health Michael said that malaria was everybody’s business, pointing out that the disease was one of the leading causes for hospital admissions.

Something the minister referred to as being the main reason why the national government wanted to combat head on through investing in plans like the National Malaria Control Strategic Plan.

“No one is immune to malaria, each and every one of us in PNG will have been affected by it at any point in our lives,” the minister said.

“It kills our people, affects the economic productivity of our population, and also affects the education of our children.”

“The Malaria Control Strategic plan provides us with the guidance to implementing and sourcing recourses for the next five years to reduce sicknesses and deaths caused by malaria.”

He said that it would take a collective approach by everyone from the government organisation, right down to the individual to effectively combat the disease.

“It takes a government that remains engaged in the fight, donor to pledge funding, and to fulfil this it takes NGO’s, community based organisations, faith based organisation to the individuals to reduce the burden of malaria.”

“Malaria kills 7,000 people each year in PNG, making 1.9 million sick every year, with 90% of our 7 plus people at risk everywhere in the country.”

World Health Organisation Representative Dr Pieter Van Maaren pointed out on a global scale of how the disease affects 207 million people and taking the lives of 627,000 people every year worldwide.

He, however, emphasised that it was important that the government and its partners maintain the successes they have had to keep the numbers at bay.

“A well organised system of professions and donor partners goes a long way in the fight against malaria,” Maaren said.

The village of Kemabolo was flooded with vital awareness information, medicines, and treated mosquito nets, with a special guest appearance from the 2015 South Pacific Games mascot Tura the Kokomo on hand to take part in the commemorations.

Pacific MMI maintains support for Pepes

Caption: (L) Julienne Leka-Maliaki receiving a netball from the MD for Pacific MMI Insurance, Wayne Dorgan

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 27, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

PACIFIC MMI Insurance has maintained its strong support for the national netball team with a total of K95,000 toward the Pacific MMI Pepes, as part of their 3 year support commitment worth K285,000.

The support, in its second years, is an incremental increase from last year’s support of K90,000, it follows the recent success of the teams high performance program, which has impressed both the naming rights sponsor and the netball hierarchy.

Managing Director for Pacific MMI Insurance, Wayne Dorgan said that as a responsible corporate citizen, they were pleased to support the sport which promotes healthy lifestyles giving opportunities to aspire reaching the pinnacle of their sporting careers.

He pointed out that he saw a huge change in attitude as a result of the high performance program, adding that the signs were very promising from the players.

“Attitude change has been massive- the psychology in sport is something that has let us down,” Dorgan said.

“No disrespect to past players but it is the way the game has developed and we need to keep up with that change.”

Dorgan also added that the corporatisation of sports was the way forward in terms of bringing up the levels of codes in the country through the support of companies for a win-win situation, making reference to the path taken by Cricket PNG, which has seen the national cricket teams excel at the highest levels.

PNG Netball Federation President, Julienne Leka-Maliaki, thanked Pacific MMI for their continued support in the sport over the last ten years.

Adding that the support would assist them in the programs to prepared the national team for tournaments to be held in 2014.

“We have seen a huge shift in the minds of the girls and the energy levels that have come out have been amazing,” Leka said.

“Key areas to focus on were the strength and conditioning of our players, we also needed to look at the psychological aspect and the motivational aspect of our players, which is the mental capacity of our players at a high competition level.”

“It is something that will transform the team.”

The president thanked Pacific MMI for its continued commitment to netball and urged potential sponsors to consider supporting the largest women participative sport in the country.

“We have other programs that we need support in such as our game development programs, and we believe that there are good corporate friends out there to deliver these programs not only to promote healthy lifestyles through sport, but also to have a positive impact on the social development of women in the country.”

The announcement of the support also saw the presentation of 50 netballs for the teams in its preparations and for the federation’s development programs.

   

Sohe district sports receive K30,000

Caption:   (L) Delilah Gore receiving the cheque from Minister for Sports Justin Tkatchenko

By MATTHEW VARI

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 (Midweek Chronicle, PNG)

THE use of sports as a social development tool in the District of Sohe, in the Oro Province, was further boosted when the Minister for Sports and Pacific Games, Justin Tkatchenko, handed over a cheque of K30,000 to Member for Sohe Delilah Gore yesterday.

With the funding, the district will now go ahead with its plans to hold sporting tournaments throughout the district to bring together the people of Sohe.

Presenting the cheque, Minister Tkatchenko highlighted the focus of the National Government in funding sports throughout the whole country through various Sports Enhancement Programs.  

“We are helping through the department to sponsor the sporting activities that the member is doing in Sohe,” Tkatchenko said.

“She doing a lot of good work in Sohe District in Oro Province and has always been a keen advocate for sport.”

“It all about the getting the funding right down to the districts and provinces, the competitions, the individuals, and the sporting codes in Papua New Guinea that would not have the opportunity in the past to seek government funding to help them enhance their sporting abilities, sporting code, and sporting infrastructure throughout the country.”

He added that under the program- last year the government rolled out K20 million throughout the country, and have a further K10 million for 2014 set aside.

On behalf of her people the Sohe MP thanked the minister, adding that the funding would go a long way in changing the focus of youths in the district to a path of focus and discipline that sports gives.

“The district is one that I would like to see a lot of sports activities taking place, and we really need to develop sports in this country,” Gore said.

“We want to get the youth involved in sports so that they can stay together and not wonder off the wrong path.”

“We are planning to hold annual tournaments for the people through nine sporting codes, which at the district level we have put up K100,000, to go with the K30,000 given to us today.”

She thanked the national government for their focus to the rural districts, and was optimistic of the good things that sport could bring in terms of social development.

“I’m thankful that national government can recognize the struggles in the districts in terms of organizing sporting competitions to get young men and women involved.”

“We want to enhance our electorate through sports so that our men and women can represent the country at the national stage,” she said.

Kingston raises roof at Cosmo

Caption 1, 2 ,3: Sean Kingston performing at the Cosmopolitan nightclub in Port Moresby.

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 27, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

SEAN Kingston kicked off his back to life tour in PNG with a huge bang on Friday as fans danced to the tunes of the Jamaican-American superstar’s greatest hits, in true Pom fashion.

Being the first of two shows courtesy of the Cosmopolitan for party goers and die-hard fans alike in the nation’s capital, the star did not disappoint- with huge turnout on the night.

For some fans that swept up tickets as soon as they became available- it was well worth the wait.

Despite having to wait till the stroke of midnight for the man himself to appear on stage- in true Sean Kingston style, the rapper gave fans their money’s worth with a top of the line performance.

The Cosmopolitan turned into a chorus hall as fans sang along to every word and verse for some of Sean’s biggest hits like ‘Beat it’, ‘Beautiful Girls’, ‘Take you there’, ‘Me love’ and ‘Dutty Love’ and ‘911’.

With yet another big name international high profile artist checked off the list, who knows what other big names will pop up on the Cosmopolitan radar.

Further boosting Port Moresby’s profile as a preferred stop for international artist in the music world as a must tour destination.

    

Police receive K50,000 for games

Caption: (L) Sohe MP, Delilah Gore, Justin Tkatchenko, Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga, and Chief Supt Joanne Clarkson pose with the dummy cheque.




By MATTHEW VARI

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 (Midweek Chronicle, PNG)





THE Papua New Guinea Royal Constabulary (RPNGC) team, currently participating in the Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games in Melbourne, Australia, were the proud recipient of K50,000 from the National Government through the Ministry of Sports, yesterday.

Presenting the cheque to Commissioner for Police Tom Kulunga and team organizer, Chief Superintendent Joanne Clarkson- Minister for Sports and Pacific Games, Justin Tkatchenko said that his ministry was pleased to assist the constabulary through the Sports Enhancement Program.

“It’s all about getting funding down to the districts and the provinces, the competition, the individuals, and the sporting codes to help them enhance their sporting abilities,” he said.

“When the police came to us for assistance, they ticked all the boxes because their participation will enhance relationships between themselves and their counterparts from the region.”

“This is a great initiative through sport in getting our police together.”

With the team 21 female officers and one male- team organizer Chief Supt Clarkson said she was optimistic of their performance as competitions kicked of as of Monday, adding that PNG’s participation along with Vanuatu as the only South Pacific countries apart from New Zealand and the host country.

She pointed out that the last participation of the RPNGC in the games were in 2008- something she along with her colleagues south to change in 2014.

“RPNGC in the past had participated a lot in the games, and we stopped participating since 2008,” she said.

“When we heard about it being held this year, a group of policewomen decided to participate and so we got together and started train for our target sports, which are netball and basketball and we went out to look for support.”

“That led me to write to the minister for sports and the pacific game to ask for support.”

The Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games is a bi-annual, week long event with 40 sports, with participants from New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

The week-long event has competitions with participants from the police, fire, ambulance and other services, in more than 40 sports.

Youth take creative path in the fight against corruption

Caption:   Participants of the Inspire Creative Change Workshop, displaying their certificates.

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 20, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

WHILE students all over the country were enjoying their first term holidays, a group of 15 students from schools in Port Moresby underwent a three day workshop on creative techniques to employ in the fight against corruption.

Hosted by YACA (Youth Against Corruption Association), the workshop was aimed at YACA members in anti-corruption awareness through creative and smart techniques.

As members of the youth organisation, run under Transparency International PNG (TIPNG), they covered an array of techniques like documentary making, public speaking, role-play, and literary arts.

Executive Director for TIPNG, Emily George Taule, thanked the students for their commitment to the cause by giving up their holiday to be a part of the movement.

Participants presented items for the guests that attended, from passionate spoken word poems on corruption, to role play acts that showed corruption in various levels of society.

Chairman of TIPNG Lawrence Stephens hailed the students for their efforts telling them that giving up their holidays was a generous thing they could do for the fight against corruption.

“Watching and listening to what you have been telling us- you know better than anybody what corruption is,” Lawrence said.

“You have the personal capacity to make the difference that we have been talking about.”

“When you don’t follow the rules and when you can accept a gift from people who are trying to influence you, you’ll start the country on that downhill slide.”

“It starts with a few kina, and they are the thing you people can see through what you have shown us today.”

“The creativity was great, the poetry was great, and your effort is great.”

Participants were from Salvation Army High School, Sogeri National High, Kopkop College, Gordon Secondary, Port Moresby National High, Jubilee Secondary, Gerehu Secondary, and representatives from the Urban Youth Employment program, who all received certificates upon completion of the workshop.

Pom set for big acts this weekend

Caption: Sean Kingston

Caption: Xzibit




By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 20, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)





THIS weekend is set to be big for party goers in the nation’s capital, as two big acts are set to hit the stage at both the Cosmopolitan Night Club (Cosmo) and the Lamana Gold Club (GC), as Sean Kingston at the Cosmo and Xzibit at GC are set to bounce their way through Port Moresby’s night life.

At the Cosmopolitan, for the first in PNG, one of the biggest names in Sean Kingston will give his fans not only a one time opportunity, but for two nights the singer, rapper, and songwriter is set belt out his worldwide hits on Friday April 25 (Friday) and 26 (Saturday).

The Jamaican-American rapper is set to belt out some of his biggest hits like ‘Beat it’, ‘Beautiful Girls’, ‘Take you there’, and ‘Dutty Love’.

Tickets for the concert have been sold out for Saturdays show, however, tickets for Fridays show are still available and are going at K150 for General Admittance, K300 for the Crystal Lounge, and K500 for Meet and Greets with Sean Kingston, all available at the ticketing booth at the Cosmopolitan.

At the party capital at Lamana, Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit, is an American rapper, actor, and television host.

He is known as the host of the MTV show Pimp My Ride, which brought him mainstream success.

Before hosting the show, he achieved fame in the West Coast hip-hop scene as a rapper, debuting with his acclaimed ‘At the Speed of Life’ and gathering chart success with his follow-up albums ‘Restless’, ‘Man vs. Machine’, and ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, working with high-profile artists such as Eminem, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Knoc-turn'al, Timbaland, Limp Bizkit, Alice Cooper, Game, 50 Cent and Within Temptation.

Famous hits by the rapper include, ‘I’m a alcoholic’, ‘Hurt Locker’, ‘Get Your Walk On’, and ‘Phenom’.

Xzibit will perform for the first time in Port Moresby on April 25, and the show includes supporting acts Demrick and DJ Invisible.

Presold tickets are going for K50 Arena dance floor, K75 Black stage, K100 Balcony, which can be purchase from the Lamana Hotel's reception.

Port Moresby is bracing for international live music of the highest caliber this weekend placing the city as the premier international party capital in the South Pacific.

Supa V stoa concept touches down in Saroa

Caption 1 & 2: Customer swarming the newly opened Supa V Stoa at Saroa

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 20, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

THE Supa V Stoa concept has touched down in yet another Central Province village, with the latest of the Super Values Stores (SVS) partnered concept opened in the Rigo District village of Saroa, last week.

With total number of stores opened under the arrangement now at 15- the shop in Saroa is the third opened in the province so far, the others at Tubuserea and Tauruba.

Also thanks to the opening of the store, villagers now have easy access to banking services provided by Bank South Pacific through purchasing goods via bank cards, making deposits, and withdrawing funds.

With major partners in Trukai, Colgate Palmolive, Coca Cola, Hugo Canning and Digicel on show at the opening- villagers were treated to giveaway promotions which included the opportunity to get free mobile credits and the setting up of accounts offered by BSP.

Speaking to the villagers of Saroa, Supa V Stoa Project Manager Patricia Kassman, said that with the rollout of the project around the country, it seemed fair that Rigo got a store, as one of the districts that helps to feed the city of Port Moresby with fresh garden produce.

“You people from Rigo are the ones that help to feed Port Moresby with the fresh produce you ferry down to the city,” Kassman said.

She added that the store was there to service the community, and encourage them to shop there as the prices are affordable.

“It is important for the people of Saroa to know that this shop is for you, and whatever you spend still comes back to benefit you through assistance in various community activities.”

Proud operators Gina and Julie Vari, were excited and thankful of the whole concept, which they said had given them the opportunity to go into business in the packaged arrangement.

“This is an opportunity for us to not only help ourselves, but also our community as well and as a backup for our families as well,” Gina said.

He, however, said that compare to the support received by the operators in Port Moresby through NCD Governor Powes Parkop with start-up capital- it was unfortunate that similar assistance was not given by the Governor of Central and the local MP for Rigo.

“Unlike the Motu-Koitas being assisted by NCDC (National Capital District Commission), we had to put up our own start-up capital through getting a loan,” he said.

“Are they going to empower the people to get into business ventures, because these are the same business concepts that will give back to the communities where they are set up.”

Mr Vari called on both the Governor of Central Kila Haoda, and Rigo MP Ano Pala to get on board with SVS and create opportunities for the people of Central and Rigo District.

Other villages in the district to opens Supa V Stoas soon include Babaka Village and Kalo, as part of a nationwide rollout aimed at establishing 3000 Supa Stoas across the country.

Measles cases still on the rise

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 20, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

THE measles outbreak that begun in the nation’s capital, has now slowly affecting other provincial centres.

Figures in Port Moresby now stand at 221 confirmed; however, despite this figure health authorities in the city remain optimistic in the decline of the virus’s intensity in the weeks ahead.

Director for Public Health in the National Capital District, Dr Niko Wuatai said that with the number of vaccinated individuals in the city, which now stands at 260,000, it is likely that the number will drop.

“With the number of vaccinations that have already taken place, we expect that the number of daily cases will drop in the coming weeks,” Dr Wuatai said.

“We currently have three teams dispatched to the three electorates here in the National Capital District to continue the vaccination exercise.”

In other centres in the country, Enga has so far had only one confirmed case, but despite this health authorities have continued immunisation in the surrounding areas where the confirmed case was from.

East New Britain has so far recorded 10 confirmed cases and increasing samples have been sent to Port Moresby for further testing.

Southern Highlands has confirmed 30 cases and rising, with no confirmed cases coming from Hela Province as yet.

According to Disease Surveillance Officer of the Department of Health Barry Ropa, said that a confirmed case has also been discovered from samples sent to Australia from the Lihir Gold Mine area in the New Ireland Province.

“We have yet to confirm if the case is in Australia or still in New Ireland province.”

He added that in terms of the cases in the Central Province, it was difficult to determine how many exactly there are.

Because of the easy access to Port Moresby, he added that those affected could have been confirmed in health facilities in the city, thus could be added to the city’s tally.

The mining township of Tabubil in the Western Province has a confirmed case also, apart from East Sepik, Madang, Bougainville, who have all have suspected that have not been tested and confirmed.

“All the affected areas have undertaken vaccination exercises that are ongoing and the widespread occurrence of the virus can be attributed as a result of the travelling that occurs between Port Moresby to the rest of the country,” Ropa said.  

Eda Ranu gets high tech with new software

Caption:  Eda Ranu CEO Henry Mokono turning on the new software system

By MATTHEW VARI

Sunday, April 20, 2014 (Sunday Chronicle, PNG)

FINANCE management and accountability at Port Moresby’s only water supplier have been brought up to date with the official commissioning of a new financial accounting system tailored for the State Owned Entity’s (SOE’s) operations, last week.

At the cost of K1.5 million, Australian based software company, TechnologyOne, developed a ‘OneWater’ solution programme that is designed to support the operational challenges of water catchment, treatment, storage, and supply across asset and customer management, revenue collection and reporting.

Present to turn on the system, Eda Ranu CEO Henry Mokono, said that the system was a relief for his staff who deal with the finances of the company- adding that the manual based systems used for years was time consuming.

“This new system will improve our accounting on how we order goods and supplies from our suppliers,” Mokono said.

“For the last 16 to 17 years, we have been using a manual system, and we have been fortunate to be one of the few SOE’s to now have this system.”

“It is a vital investment tool, and is worth it considering that they will provide training for our staff, and its used will greatly affect our efficiency, which in turn improves the service we provide to our customers.” 

Eda Ranu General Manager for Finance Vali-KiniVali, said that implementation of the system took seven months since September 2013, and thanked his staff and TechnologyOne for their product and ongoing assistance.

“For long we have been using a manual based system, and this is the first time we have inherited an integrated finance system.”

“It is a historical moment for Eda Ranu pulling all our systems into one integrated system.”

In a statement, Executive Chairman of TechnologyOne Adrian Di Marco attested to the reliability of the system, emphasising the strong relationship the software development company has with the country.

“OneWater is a proven solution specifically developed for the water utilities sector, which helps demonstrate our leading enterprise software solutions,” Di Marco said.

“TechnologyOne is the only software development organisation to have invested in and established a permanent office in Port Moresby, making us the leading software provider in the region.”

“We place great importance on PNG and the South Pacific as it is crucial to our future growth plans, and we look forward to continuing our work with Eda Ranu.”

Systems developed by TechnologyOne in use in the country have been for organisations like PNG Ports Corporation, Lands Department, Finance Department, TISA (Teachers Savings and Loans Society), Bank South Pacific, and Airlines PNG.