Budget Reply by Bulolo MP Sam Basil on Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010

Bulolo MP Hon. Sam Basil

Mr Speaker, it is my please to present to you my reply for the 2011 Budget as the Member for Bulolo and also the Opposition.

 Let me from the outset put the record straight that the Opposition is quite skeptical of this budget ever achieving much of what it sets out to achieve.

This government has since its inception had a very poor record of never properly and effectively implementing its money plans.

Mr Speaker, year in year out, Papua New Guineans have been crying out for delivery of basic services in health, education, roads, bridges, wharves, airstrips and more but, their wishes have always been that.

There isn’t much that this government can show for the large sums of money it has purported to have spent over the years since it took office.

All our public infrastructure and services have fallen into disarray.

Our hospitals, health centers and clinics continue to struggle for the basic of drugs while people, especially the mothers, young and old, continue to die of curable illnesses whilst this Government watches.

 Building of a K500 million health facility in Bautama City can also be one of the examples of a confused government whereby the Prime Minister looses touch with his Cabinet ministers and the grassroots people.

Most of Papua New Guinea’s schools, universities and colleges have fallen into disrepair despite the allocation of large sums of money over the years, including the RESI funds which largely benefited the government members of parliament.

A very good example can be drawn from the Aiyura National High School where a relative of a very senior legislator in this parliament won the contract and misused most of the funds and the matter is now in court.

Most of the RESI funds have been expanded from trust accounts and have been misused or corruptly applied.

Our roads are all in a sorry state including our biggest investment, the Highlands Highway, which feeds all the highlands provinces which are home to some major resource projects including the PNG LNG project - we say thank you for the national highway funding.

Can the Government assure the people that the highway funding will not end up with the wantoks of ministers in the form of relatives and political cronies?

Just recently we learnt from the media that the Works Minister has allowed his wantok a contract so what is the guarantee there that the people will get real benefits from those highway funds? 

Mr Speaker, our coastal and maritime provinces continue to be neglected in terms of proper wharves, jetties and the like. 

Those that are usable are almost collapsing preventing our rural people from bringing their produce safely to the markets.

Mr Speaker, given the harsh topography and ruggedness of our beautiful country, a large part of our rural communities depend on air services to access Government services and bring their produce to the market. 

We have, on many occasions, heard the cries of our rural people for the government to allocate funds and follow through with implementation and rehabilitation and continued maintenance of our rural airstrips.

 A lot of these pleas have fallen on deaf ears for reasons only known to this Government.

The Transport Minister is already planning to spend K1.4 billion to upgrade the Jackson International Airport while this budget reflects very little to even upgrade the rural population’s very-important infrastructures such as the jetties and the airstrips.

Mr Speaker, there are so many other deficiencies in the performance of this Government to effectively manage and implement a lot of its money plans which I can continue to talk about but I do believe you all are familiar with.

We therefore strongly believe that this Government has failed miserably to implement its past budgets and we believe the 2011 money plan will be no different.

 It is our strongest conviction that this government lacks the capacity, the willpower and know-how to successfully implement the 2011 money plan.

Mr Speaker, our biggest fear is that a lot of the money that is intended for projects in the 2011 budget will be squandered as was always the case in the past.

It is therefore important that all sectors within the Government’s public service machinery be overhauled and this Government quickly put in place proper management strategies for this budget to ensure that the people of Papua New Guinea really benefit from this money plan.

Assumptions

Mr Speaker, this budget is prepared using many tested and untested assumptions that stand to be put through rigorous volatilities in the market.

The global financial crisis and its impacts may have subsided to an extent, but the global market is still quite volatile with rumblings still in Europe (Ireland and Greece) and other parts of the world.

 The weakening of the US dollar in recent times has had a positive impact on resource prices especially gold and oil but would this be sustainable?

 The Opposition will monitor this budget assumption with interest to measure its performance against set revenue targets.

Note that all may be rosy now but history has it that things may quickly turn for the worse so the onus is on the Government to monitor its assumptions on the parameters used in the budget to ensure that it achieves and implement it budget effectively.

Revenue

A big part of the budgets direct revenue is funded through incomes from resource projects either directly or indirectly apart from other tax revenues.

It will also be funded through the increases in project grants owing largely to the depreciation of the Kina against the Australian dollar and the increased funding from AUSAID.

Mr Speaker, it is also important for the government to note that this may be good but, it must also seek to encourage growth in the other revenue sectors to cushion the effects of volatility and uncertainties that surround the global commodity prices and diversify its future revenue source.

Expenditure

Mr. Speaker, the opposition notes several deficiencies in the 2011 budget and among them are some glaring issues that we will now address.

• Insufficient funds have been set aside for disaster and emergencies (disaster risk management – K 5.7m and K1.9m disaster management) despite numerous advice and warnings from experts citing a pending El Nino weather pattern that may have massive implications on the lives of a large part of the population which depends on the land for survival. It is imperative that the government plans and budgets for, not only the El Nino weather pattern but, for natural disasters which PNG is not immune to;
•  Mr  Speaker, the 2011 Budget has allocated minimal or no funding directly for upgrading of rural airstrips which serve a large part of the population of PNG that lack any other means of transport.   This is total neglect on the part of the Government to provide a vital service to the rural people of PNG.
• Mr. Speaker, the Westminster system of Government and democracies all over the world consist of and depend on a vibrant opposition to strike a balance and ensure that healthy debate on matters affecting the nation are tested and agreed to through healthy debates, government policies are properly implemented and the three arms of government are operating efficiently. The Opposition is appalled at the government’s deliberate attempt to weaken the rules that govern any democracies by its dismal budgetary allocation to the opposition. This government has again used this budget to suppress the work of the Opposition to ensure that the Government of the days is answerable to the people of Papua New Guinea through its management of this country.

Trust accounts

Mr Speaker, the Opposition believes that apart from the Sovereign Fund, all monies included in this massive budget that the government has put forward for 2011 should never be placed in trust account.

This government has had a very poor record of managing, auditing and reporting of funds held in trust accounts.

 Many a time Papua New Guineans have demanded for the Government to make public its records on the use of public funds held in trust account but to date this Government has failed miserably to make these records public.

It is common knowledge that a lot of these funds have been abused without a trace thus putting a lot of our project in jeopardy.

It is therefore imperative that this budget be managed outside of trust accounts and by the normal government accounting system as specified under the Finance Management Act so that funds are put to good use for the projects they are intended for are subjected to proper procurement and scrutiny processes to bring accountable and tangible benefits to the people of Papua New Guinea.

Inflation factor

Mr Speaker, this budget is framed so much around the LNG project but not everyone in the Papua New Guinea will benefit directly from the LNG windfalls.

It will only be the landowners around or within the project areas, the pipeline and the processing facility.

All Papua New Guineans will however feel the negative impact of this project on their lives through high cost of goods and services brought about by the LNG project. 

With high revenue comes an increase in money supply thus putting an upward pressure on inflation.

The people of Papua New Guinea are already expressing their concerns about the increased prices of basic store goods.

The sad story is that it will get worse.

For majority of Papua New Guineans, life will get harder.

For businesses, the cost of doing business will escalate which will greatly affect profitability unless these costs are passed onto the consumer.

The Papua New Guinean agriculture sector stands to suffer the most as not only will its costs increase but, increased money supply will appreciate the Kina thereby rendering our agricultural exports expensive and non-competitive on the global market.

It is therefore very important that the Government prepares to put in place a well-planned monetary and fiscal policy to manage the negative impacts on the economy brought about by inflation.

It must also plan to assist the agriculture sector, be in through increased subsidies or other assistance to ensure it survives as it is the livelihood of most Papua New Guineans.

Dutch disease

Like all major oil and gas projects all over the world, increased revenue from the LNG project and other resource sectors will increase inflows of revenue, thus causing currency appreciation making Papua new Guinea’s other exports, especially in the agriculture sector,  become more expensive,  thus reducing its competitiveness on the global economy. 

Mr Speaker, a large part of Papua New Guinea’s population depends entirely on the agriculture sector for their survival.

This situation will therefore have a devastating effect on the livelihoods of a greater part of the population of this country.

It is therefore critical that the government immediately put in place policies within the monetary and fiscal management frameworks, including subsidies to ensure that it mitigates the effects of this resource curse on the livelihoods of the rural people of this country and the population at large.

Mr Speaker, as you are aware, dependence on one particular sector of investment for any country is a dangerous trend as it exposes the country to adverse market conditions which come with a very high level of risk.

We believe in diversity of investment in all available sectors to cushion the risks that something bad may happen to the one investment or sector thereby destroying our economy.

Capacity

Mr Speaker, it is encouraging to see that the government has awoken to the fact that Papua New Guinea does not have the capacity to supply labor to the economy through the education system that Papua New Guinea inherited after independence.

It has taken the PNG LNG project for reality to sink in and remind the Government that all is not well.

In its current form, the Papua New Guinea labor market is competently unable to supply all the labor requirements not only for the PNG LNG project but, also to fill in the vacuum created by movement of people into the resource sector and new jobs created as a result of the resource boom.

Mr Speaker, the Opposition strongly believes that the initiatives current undertaken by the Government to address this labor shortage is a little too late as a lot of jobs have been lost to foreign labor and the PNG LNG construction phase has truly taken off leaving Papua New Guinea way behind.

It is sad to note that the people of Papua New Guinea have again lost out on job opportunities because the Government has failed to realise in time and plan to educate Papua New Guineans in time to capture these once-in-a-lifetime job opportunities.

 Do we always have to play catch up while our people suffer?

The Government doesn’t care Mr Speaker; maybe we all should buy houses in Cairns, catch an early flight into Port Moresby for Parliament Session and afternoon flight back into Cairns.

Yumi giamanim ol pipol istap.

Mr., Speaker, there will be a huge demand that will now be place squarely on the shoulders of this government to, not only manage this massive budget but, the large revenue windfall that will reach our shores as a result of the PNG LNG project. 

For this country to truly benefit from the developments and growth that will come with this massive revenue, Papua New Guinea will need to be able to greatly lift its implementation capacity to truly realise economic growth.

The biggest worry that most Papua New Guineans share is the capability of this government and its machinery to adequately manage this massive windfall revenue.

This Government must quickly address these capacity issues to ensure that Papua New Guinea does not fall into the resource curse that has happen in many resource rich countries.

This country must avoid at all cost from following these trends where it become a poor nation after the life of such project simple because it has failed to improve its management capacity.

Finally Mr Speaker, it has been alleged that over K5 billion of public funds has been stashed away into trust accounts which have yet to be audited.

This government owes it to its people that a thorough audit must be done quickly and made public so that the people can see how their money has been managed.

The under funding of the Ombudsman Commission, Public Prosecutor, Attorney General, Auditor General and the Police has reflected badly on the overall status of this country at the international level.

PNG has been listed as one of the corrupted countries in the world, unsafe to take a holiday and Member of Parliament are almost immune to prosecution.

Mr Speaker, the K20m allocated for the upgrading of this parliament house must be managed by the Finance Department as I have a copy of the 2010’s first quarter audit and believe me, all financial procedures has been breached.

Parliament’s operating account has been operating on a K2 million negative; therefore, nobody in this house must be trusted anymore to independently operate such funds anymore.

Mr Speaker, the Finance Minister must be mindful the performance of this 2011 budget will reflect his first budget ever as the minister responsible, therefore,  his future reputation depends on the strict management of this budged and urge him to so and commend him of his efforts so far.

Somare plots to silence critics: Namah

Leader of PNG Party Belden Namah has expressed grave concern over a directive from Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare for his arrest for being critical of the government’s handling of high-profile scandals and controversies involving some very senior parliamentarians.

Namah, who was informed at the weekend of the highly-confidential directive for his arrest, said Sir Michael should not use State institutions, including the police force to silence leaders and citizens who openly criticised him and his government over important national issues and events affecting Papua New Guinea and its citizens.

“It is becoming evidently clear why the Prime Minister has decided to tribalise the three disciplined forces by appointing three men from his own East Sepik province to head the PNG Corrective Institution, PNG Defence Force and the Royal PNG Constabulary,” Namah said.

 “The Somare plot is now being executed to silence leaders and citizens who are critical of Sir Michael and his cohorts using state law enforcing agencies.

“It is a very dangerous and frightening new strategy devised by the Prime Minister, never done by any Prime Minister since independence, to silence people thereby denying the democratic and constitutional rights of PNG leaders and citizens who speak out against the Government on issues affecting the nation.

“Leader of the Opposition Sir Mekere Morauta was not wrong when he described the tribalising of the three disciplined forces, a clearly dictatorial and desperate act heading towards ‘Mugabe land’.

“I’m aware of the Prime Minister’s plot to have me arrested.

It is not because I have broken any laws or the Constitution of PNG.

And also, it is not because I am indifferent with the law. It is merely because I have been most vocal and critical on corruption and some very controversial decisions that are rampant in the current Government.

“It is common knowledge that corruption in PNG has reached an unprecedented level, but this Prime Minister has failed to address it head on, starting from his own backyard.

“I’ve never tried to seek relief from the courts to prevent the Ombudsman Commission and the Public Prosecutor from performing their constitutional mandated duties like Sir Michael over his referral for allegedly not declaring his annual returns.

“There is also a very serious allegation before police of from NGO activist Noel Anjo of his alleged kidnapping ordered by Sir Michael.

“Anjo also alleged that Sir Michael punched him three times and even wringed him neck.

“Mr Anjo was lucky to have been rescued by two named duty policemen.

“Mr Anjo also alleged that he was subject to both verbal and physical harassment from Lady Veronica Somare and other relatives at Mirigini State House.

 “Why have the police not acted on this very serious allegation of kinapping of Mr Anjo and taken Sir Michael and Lady Veronica for questioning?”

Namah called for an independent commission of inquiry into this allegation.

Namah was also critical of Sir Michael’s perceived personal interest to have him arrested.

“What offence have I committed that warrants a directive from the Prime Minister or the National Executive Council for my arrest?” he said.

Namah said he was reliably informed by highly placed sources within the cabinet and police force of such a directive.

As well, the former PNG Defence Force officer said he would not be silenced by the executive directive for his arrest and would continue to criticise the government and its leadership for its actions and suggest alternative policies in addressing national issues and problems affecting the country.

 

Sir Mekere: Somare running scared

Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta said today that the Somare Government is very scared of losing power. 

“It is clearly doing everything it can to make sure that the Opposition’s planned motion of no-confidence is killed,” he said.

“A band of royal visits to Cairns using the aerial PMV (Falcon Jet)which cost the public K130 million to buy – Somare is yet to disclose the operational costs of his PMV – has been going on over the last two weeks to court the Speaker.

“The visits were led by Father Somare and concluded by Son Somare.”

The Opposition Leader said that he was sure the Speaker was fully aware of his duty and obligation under the Constitution to process the motion and let the people’s representatives decide by voting, democratically, as provided for in PNG’s laws.

“I urge the Speaker to withstand the onslaught of rogues who are asking him to disobey the Constitution.”

Sir Mekere has called on Members of Parliament in the current Government ranks and the public to speak out and urge the Speaker to allow the motion to be tabled.

“The Opposition intends to re-submit the motion on Tuesday and expects the Speaker to table it and to adjourn Parliament for a week,” he said.

“PNG Party will lead the march to oust this evil arrogant Government.”

Authorised for Release by:

Mekere Morauta KCMG MP                              

Leader of the Opposition and                                           

Member for Moresby North-West                         

Somare now behaving like a dictator

Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta said today that Michael Somare is turning Papua New Guinea into “Mugabeland”.

“Somare has all the ingredients and recipes in place,” he said.

“The two most-important disciplinary forces, the Defence Force and the Police have been tribalised and converted into instruments at his disposal and for his use.  “Papua New Guineans should be extremely worried about these developments and must not allow these tribal roots to take hold.

“These moves are fraught with danger and set sickening precedents for others to follow in the future. 

 “Michael Somare has to be blamed squarely for these atrocious, self-serving acts.”

“This is why this Government has to be changed – to save our country and our future.

“The alleged capture by Somare’s bodyguards and alleged bashing of NGO activist Noel Anjo by the Prime Minister and his wife, demonstrate Somare’s preparedness to silence any critic, by any means, including violence and use of the institutions of state.

“I remind Papua New Guineans of the Prime Minister walking across the floor of Parliament to the Opposition front bench, in spitting distance, saying to the Member for Bulolo Sam Basil ‘I will kill you’.

“This again demonstrates Somare’s willingness to stop at nothing to silence any sign of criticism or threat, in ways most inappropriate for a leader. 

“Shameful. 

“Why do we put up with this?”

Sir Mekere concluded:  “This Government has so much to protect that it will stop at nothing to stay in power, even if it destroys the Constitution and people’s freedom. 

“Wake up Papua New Guineans.”

Mekere Morauta KCMG MP                              

Leader of the Opposition and                                           

Member for Moresby North-West                         

Beekeeping attracts more interest in Bulolo

Eastern Highlands provincial beekeeping coordinator Tella Loie has done a follow-up programme for Bulolo, Morobe province.

 This time he has brought two extra bee hives for new bee keepers and 30 queen bees to re-queen failing hives and replace aging queen bees.

 The programme will take at least one week and will cover most areas that have bee production.

Tella Loie (left) with Bulolo MP Sam Basil at the back of the delivery Toyota Landcruiser from Goroka

 “The general conditions of the hives will be checked and Loie will also check for honey flows,” said Bulolo MP Sam Basil.

 “Most importantly, he will meet with existing farmers and discuss problems encountered during their farming trials.

 “New equipment ordered by the Bulolo women's honey group will also be delivered, including wax foundations and material needed to produce queen bees and protective equipment.”

 Basil said Bulolo district joint district planning and budget priorities committee (JDPBPC) approved the follow-up funding during its last meeting two months ago and would continue to fund the bee production programme in 2011.

 Basil thanked Eastern Highlands Department of Agriculture and Livestock for making available resource people like Loie to extend the beekeeping movement in other parts of the country like Bulolo.

Bulolo - my strategy to drive the district forward to bring prosperity to my people

Hon Sam Basil MP

Member for Bulolo

Paper presented to the Lowy Institute for International Policy on Tackling Poverty in Papua New Guinea, Sydney, 14th May 2009

Distinguished Guests, Friends of Papua New Guinea, Ladies and Gentlemen. I am very grateful to the Lowy Institute; Care Australia and the Australian National University for inviting me to present my view in Sydney today on how to tackle poverty in Papua New Guinea and especially the practical steps I am taking in my electorate of Bulolo.

Let me start off by giving you a bit of background into Bulolo. My people are simple subsistence farmers and like the majority of Papua New Guineans in rural areas they live on the poverty borderline. This is despite the fact that Bulolo sits on some of the richest mineral deposits in the world and the electorate has over the last six years experienced a massive increase of foreign investment into the District. This may be good news for the mining companies and it means more tax revenue goes to the Government coffers. However, I am very disappointed that the mineral sector has contributed very little to the social and economic development of Bulolo even though extensive exploration and mining has taken place there for decades. In the 1920’s, Bulolo District was the most advanced and prosperous region in all of PNG. The district had good access to road networks; very good airline service; top quality health service; electricity and telephone services. Today, Bulolo still carries the ugly scars of the huge environmental damage left behind by the early mining pioneers. 

They cared very little for the welfare and well being of our people. They had no long-term developmental plans for the townships of Wau and Bulolo but were more interested in making huge profits and transferring them to their bank accounts in Australia.

I am a realist and know that nothing will change overnight unless I take the leadership to articulate and develop long-term strategic plans to address the social and economic hardship facing my people and electorate. I can say that Bulolo does have a high rate of child malnutrition, maternal mortality, child mortality, tuberculosis and an increasing number of HIV/AIDS cases. Our health centers; clinics; schools in Bulolo, Wau and sub-districts are crumbling under the weight of our people demanding better services. 

Furthermore, there are shortages of doctors, health workers and teachers. Our people are desperate for help and they are drowning in a sea of despair and are gasping for air. Our aging road system that connects the rural populace to Wau, Bulolo, Mumeng and Lae City are in critical need of repair and maintenance as it is the only lifeline for bringing social and economic development to my people. I can stand here until the sun sets and criticize my Government and our former colonial master, Australia, for their past misdeeds, but what good would that do for my people? 

Since I got elected into Parliament, I have made it a priority for the district to invest 80 percent of our development budget each year in basic infrastructure. Once our Joint District Budget Planning Committee had set out its priorities, we then established the Bulolo District Road Maintenance Program (BDRMP).  It is designed to link into and complement the joint district and national works road maintenance programs. This program is self-funded by the district with its own equipment and road construction crew. We funded for and purchased 3 bulldozers; 1 backhoe; 4 dump trucks; a roller; an excavator; a grader and 4 tractors which will be used to clear up our rural roads that have been neglected for years and roads in the townships of Wau and Bulolo. The district pays for and employs a fulltime road crew; mechanic and manager. The purpose of the BDRMP is not a political stunt but an initiative that will open opportunities for our smallholder and subsistence farmers to have access to markets.  

It is my intention to ensure that mothers with a sick child will not have to walk more than 4 hours to reach the nearest road to get to a health clinic or hospital. 

Many schools and health centers in the district have been deprived of educational materials and medical supplies because the roads are in a bad state due to incompetence and neglect by successive Government authorities over the years. 

Already we can see that the BDRMP is making a difference to the lives of the Bulolo people and reducing poverty at the district level. The BDRMP is increasing the disposal income of our rural people and raising their level of confidence to participate and contribute to the social and economic development of their community. For instance, PMV’s are now traveling into some of the most remote villages and transporting down to Lae garden vegetables and coffee for farmers to sell whereas a couple of years ago their crop will go to waste as they had no access because their road had been washed away by floods or been left to the elements because of lack of maintenance. Many woman farmers have expressed their happiness to me that now they can sell their vegetables and save enough for their children’s education as well small scale alluvial miners having their buyers at their doorsteps.

In this paper I will also highlight some of the other programs currently under implementation and initiated by my Joint District Priority & Budget Planning Committee (JDP&BPC) of which I am chairman:

                        A. Bulolo District Road Maintenance Program (BDRMP)

Responsibilities; Road building, culverting and general maintenances. The program has a contracted manager with all operators and drivers on an annual budget funding.

                        B. Bulolo District Water Supply Program (BDWSP)

Responsibilities; Delivering & Installation of new water projects and maintenances to existing systems.

                        C. Bulolo District Rural Electrification Program (BDREP)

Responsibilities; Working in Partnership with PNG Power Limited in HV Transmission Lines plus installations of MSK units to rural houses. 

                        D. Bulolo District Building & Maintenance Program (BDBMP)

Responsibilities; This program has a set of 3 x Units of carpenters consisting carpenters, brick layers and plumbers with provision of engaging villagers for its building programs. This program helps build new classrooms, health centers and other community building requirements as the costs of all workers are being budgeted and paid including equipments and machineries.

                        E. Bulolo District Foot Bridge Program (BDBFP)

Responsibilities; Building foot bridges under the supervision of a program manager equipped with all equipments and machineries.

                        F. Bulolo District Mobile Health Program (BDMHP)

Responsibilities; Delivering of health extension services by treating villagers by road due to non existence of drug supplies in the rural aid posts. A budget of K10,000.00 per month is made available for drug purchases plus the contract costs of the HEO, Driver and logistical support of this mobile program.

 

                        G. Bulolo District Rural Communication Program (BDRCP)

Responsibilities; This particular program helps Telikom with extra funding to run telephone aerial cables kilometers apart from the main installations. 

These programs are basically designed as a Parallel System of Delivery due to the non existence of the normal government service delivery mechanisms. For example why build an aid post when there are no drugs to be delivered by the national government? As an elected Member of Parliament I cannot sit, wait and hear my constituents complain about lack of services all the time.

A key feature and a very important component of one of our programs are targeted specifically at woman. Our District has recently invested K80,000.00 into honey bee backyard farming. We have successfully rolled out 50% of the program with the other half to commence next month. I anticipate that when this program is completed there will be 60 woman bee hive farmers. We

estimate that these farmers will make approximately K18,000.00 per annum in revenue. The current market of honey is at K10.00 per kilogram so it opens up another opportunity for our woman to generate their own income to support their family.  

The district will evaluate and monitor this program and will provide regular funding every year to ensure its sustainability.

Furthermore, our district has provided K10,000.00 in a seed distribution program to assist woman to grow commercial crops. In this program, the district provides seeds at no cost to woman in the villages so that they can grow a range of quality fruit and vegetables. Once the produce are ready, I have made an arrangement where the woman farmers will sell their fresh fruit and  vegetables directly to Nationwide Catering Services which is contracted to do the catering for the Hidden Valley Gold Mine and Wafi Mine, both operations located in my electorate. This initiative is a joint collaboration between NCS and my JDP & BPC. This program is designed in a way to bring the market directly to the doorstep of our woman folk. We will support and sustain this program by providing K10,000.00 every six month for seed purchases and distribution.

Woman of Bulolo are the backbone and driving force behind the economic and social development of the district and I will ensure that they will get 120 percent support (not 100 percent!) in our development budget every year.

Also during the NARI expo last week my district has also paid K300,000.00 to the Department of Agriculture & Livestock in Erap to make available 180 cows, 180 goats, 8 buffalo, 6000 ducklings and drinkers for 667 farmers and 20,000 fingerlings of super tilapia with additional K7000.00 to the Morobe Fisheries inland farming program for training workshop which will commence next week.

A further K30,000.00 will be made available NARI for 300 farmers to attend classes and sharpen their skills in agriculture with introduction of rabbits included in their programs. There are a number of other development type programs that my district planners are working on. Once we are able to set our priorities, we will roll them out in 2010.

The Government has neglected the people of Bulolo for more than 20 years. Since the beginning of the 1900’s, foreign investors have

ripped the heart and soul out of my people’s land in mining for gold and yet Bulolo still is and remain one of the least developed electorates in Papua New Guinea. 

There is a wide gap between the haves in Port Moresby and the have-not’s in the rural areas. Despite being independent for more than 35 years, our people still do not have access to basic services such as roads, clean water, proper sanitation, communication and electricity. Our leaders have an obligation to invest in meaningfully social and economic programs that will help alleviate poverty

Investment into appropriate technologies to process cash crops currently available such as producing ground coffee to replace instant coffee, village level production of raw sugar to replace refined sugar, goat/cow milking techniques and know how to replace condensed/dry milk, rice production and processing to replace imported rice from the trade store shelves, cultivating and curing tobacco products to replace cigarettes, introducing the craftsmanship of jewellary to convert alluvial gold to jewels, coffee pulping machines, introduction of walkabout sawmill to produce timber locally to replace hardware timbers are some examples of job creation that will also protect the micro economy to sustain itself and grow.

In conclusion, I have a message for our donor friends. I believe now is the time particularly for policy makers in Australia and Papua New Guinea to undertake a major overhaul and review of development aid program in Papua New Guinea. I am hearing the message from my people very loud and clear. They are frustrated and showing contempt in the Government system because they can see that their lives in the village are not improving but they can see that they are slipping further and further into poverty. The people of Papua New Guinea need fresh air to breathe after decades of neglect and deprivation. This is not political grand standing, but a reality for my people. It is my hope that the Government, businesses, foreign investors and donors can reach out to these marginalized communities and work in a collaborative manner so that together we can bring improvement and hope to their lives and aspirations for this current generation and our children’s future.

Thank you

Harmony Gold credit rating drops

There is more bad news for Hidden Valley gold miner, Harmony Gold, on the back of its pollution of the Watut River in Papua New Guinea, Ramu Nickel Mine Watch reports.

Fitch Ratings Ltd has announced that it has lowered Harmony Gold’s credit ratings over concern its shrinking cash levels and higher costs will prompt it to increase debt or sell shares.

Vegetation die-back along the Watut river caused by pollution from the Hidden Valley mine could cost Harmony dearly

“High operating cost inflation” may extend until 2015 says Fitch.
“The company will need to raise additional equity or debt to finance its future expansionary investment.”

Fitch lowered the long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to BB- from BB with a negative outlook. The national long-term rating was cut to BB- from BBB-, also with a negative outlook, and the short-term to B from F3.

Harmony is facing the prospect of a major compensation claim from landowners affected by the sedimentation and poisoning of the Watut river by the Hidden Valley mine, which it jointly owns with Australian company Newscrest. 

Harmony is also closing some South African shafts as costs rise, ore becomes depleted and the rand’s gain counters the benefit of record dollar prices for gold.

Bloomberg news says Harmony spokeswomen Marian van der Walt said of the credit rating drop  “It’s disappointing but they apply their own variables. We’ve positioned the company to deliver on what we’ve promised.”

Harmony’s cash and cash equivalents fell to 770 million rand ($111 million) by the June 30 end of the fiscal year, from 1.95 billion rand a year earlier

Hidden Valley landowners complain of rashes and stomach problems

Landowners say these skin rashes were caused by washing in the polluted Watut River

Landowners living along the Watut River are complaining of skin rashes and stomach complaints due to contamination of the water by the Hidden Valley mine, Ramu Nickel Mine Watch reports.
While the mine owners, Australian Newcrest and South African Harmony Gold, have admitted higher levels of sedimentation in the river have been caused by mine operations they have not explained why the fish in the river have died, the landowners are experiencing medical problems and vegetation along the river is dying back.

Newcrest and Harmony Gold have not offered any explanation for skin diseases and stomach problems

Government insiders say the problems are caused by acidification of the river caused by the iron pyrites in the overspill from the mine that has escaped into the river.

The mine companies recently started handing-out small compensation payments to affected families for the loss of gardens caused by flooding and changes to the river’s path, but if the allegations of acidification and widespread poisoning are born out by toxicology tests they could be facing massive lawsuits.

Arrows of Eldorado – how the Wau-Bulolo gold rush all began

By MALUM NALU

It’s a sense of déjà vu to be in the historic mining towns of Wau and Bulolo in the Morobe province right now.

Merri Creek near junction with Edie Creek,1928

With the Hidden Valley gold mine project having been officially commissioned in September this year, exploration work at Wafi going ahead as scheduled, and PNG Forest Products continuing to supply its products to major projects around Papua New Guinea, things are certainly looking very good.

This is despite the dark cloud of the ethnic conflict between the local people and Sepik settlers hovering over,

History is indeed being rewritten in this Eldorado of PNG, which laid the foundation for today’s modern economy – and that of neighbouring Australia as well.

Harry Darby (seated) with pans of gold,1928

 Wau and Bulolo made miners from all over the world very rich men.

PNG Forest Products evolved from Bulolo Gold Dredging Limited that commenced operations in large-scale alluvial mining in the late 1920’s.

The Bulolo region was at the time one of the largest gold fields in the world.

A total of seven dredges scoured the valley floor, dredging thousands of tonnes of high grade gold-bearing ore.

How the Wau-Bulolo gold rush all began is a classic in itself and to go into every detail would fill many pages.

In the early part of last century, it was almost as if bowmen were guarding the gold that lay on the edge of their country more richly than anywhere else in the whole Pacific.

Fierce fighters lived along the Markham, the big river flowing into the Huon Gulf.

The Markham’s big tributary we call the Watut – and that was the river that led to the new gold, the new Eldorado.

The story is that Watut gold was discovered by an Austrian prospector, Wilhelm Dammkohler, and that he was killed by the Kukukukus on Sept 12, 1909, while prospecting with a companion Rudolph Oldorp

Canadian prospector Arthur Darling, in 1910, apparently did go up the Watut and into its tributary, the Bulolo.

There he found gold, rich gold

However, Darling and his team of Orokaiva boys were attacked by the local tribemen and had to exit.

“Precisely how far Darling traveled is unknown, though many old Papuan miners believed that he discovered gold,” according to the newly-released book Not A  Poor Man’s Field.

“Later events suggest he reached Koranga Creek, a tributary of the upper Bulolo River, itself a tributary of the Watut, and close to Kukukuku territory.”

Jensen’s bridge across the Bulolo, Guinea Gold workings,1928

When Darling recovered he went across to the new Lakekamu goldfield to try to win enough gold to outfit himself again.

On the Lakekamu field Darling spent a lot of time talking and mapping and planning with William Park, who was called ‘Sharkeye’.

Darling was at Samarai preparing to go up the Waria, when he collapsed, and soon afterwards died.

He had left Sharkeye Park knowing enough.

Somewhere right up the Watut was the source of gold that coloured the sands of the lower Markham, and the way to reach it was not to go right around by the rivers but to cut in overland from the coast!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     However, it was a foreign country, and although the Governor, Hahl, the best of the German administrators, did (about 1910) actually encourage Australian prospectors to come in and apply for permits to prospect, a man still needed more gold than Sharkeye had, to outfit himself for a months-long trip.

Before he had enough gold the war with Germany came.

It was a war that ended German rule in north-east New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago in six weeks, with little shooting.

When the military administration ended and the Australian Mandate started, in May 1921, Sharkeye Park was already going in and out of Morobe on the New Guinea side.

Now he headed up the Francisco River, looking for a way, through a mountain range that peaks up to nearly 10,000 feet, to the rivers that flowed on the other side.

He came back sick, broke, and not knowing what to do next time…

William Park was called ‘Sharkeye’ because he had a twist or a squint in one eye.

Park was born in Dorset, England, in 1871 and had been a gold miner in the Klondyke and in Western Australian before arriving in Papua around 1905.

“He was hard-faced and in his 50s, could ‘work like a tiger’, was jungle-wise and native-wise, hated to owe a penny, had more bouts of fever that he could count, suffered from piles, had his last tooth removed by Jack Nettleton, drank anything, and although it is untrue to say that he never wore boots, he often worked without them (he died, a very rich man, in Vancouver in 1940),” writes author Colin Simpson in Plumes and Arrows.

“In 1922 he needed a partner for two good reasons: he was broke and he had lost his permit to employ native labour when he flung a whiskey bottle out of his tent and it struck a native on the head and killed him.

“He was staying with Jack Nettleton, who had a trade store on the coast and was good to Park, and who had some money and a permit to work natives.

“Park told Nettleton what he knew.

“Nettleton, an English-born rover who had been everything from a salmon-fisher in Canada to a freight-clerk in New York, by way of jobs in Seattle, in Portland (Oregon) and Idaho, had stayed on in New Guinea after being a warrant-officer in the army during the war.

“In August 1922 Park and Nettleton struck inland and crossed the heavily jungled rivers of the Kuper Range beyond which lay the Bulolo River, forking off the Watut, and more gold, fantastically more gold, than anywhere else in Papua or New Guinea,

“They found it where Koranga Creek and Edie Creek come into Bulolo – gold that was to give them each a fortune; and when they had taken all they wanted, there was enough left for the six-million-dollar company, Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd, to win, in the 30 years following, 56 tonnes of gold, then worth 28 million pounds.”

This was October 1922 and according to new issue Australian mining ordinances no claims could be worked until April 1, 1923.

April came and soon the richest parts of the Bulolo River were locked up in leases granted to the first-comers, including Morobe district officer Cecil J. Levien.

April 1923 came, and soon the richest parts of the Bulolo River were locked up in leases granted to the first-comers, including Levien.

Late arrivals had to look elsewhere.

“This is what Bill (W.G.) Royal and Dick (R.M.) Glasson were doing in 1926, trying to find the source of the Bulolo’s gold, when they came into Edie Creek and decided to go to the head of it,” Simpson writes.

“What showed in the dishes they panned in these streams was gold in unbelievable concentration – if it was gold.

“At first glance – according to Bill Money, who was in partnership with Royal, Glasson, F. Chisholm and Joe Sloane – it looked too dark.

“The Edie gold, alloyed with silver, was heavily stained with manganese but rubbed shiny and was the real stuff of Eldorado.

“Joe Sloane said to his mate who was running his sluice box at 11.30am: ‘Y’d better clean up Bill. The bloody gold’s running outa the box’.

“That day they got 272 ounces.

“Where the Bulolo was rich big-scale dredging, this was incredibly smaller-scale sluicing.

“About six million pounds worth of gold was won from the top of Edie Creek.

“The Edie ‘Big Six’ – Bill Money, Bill Royal, Dick Glasson, Frank Chisholm, Joe Sloane and Albert Royal – all became rich men.”

More and more white miners came and, again, the late-comers had to look elsewhere.

There was gold in the Watut as well as in the Bulolo.

Where was the source of the Watut’s gold?

Men who dreamed of finding another Edie Creek began to look for it.

They began to look for it on the other side of the Watut.