After 36 hours of unrest, fear and anxiety, Port Moresby city woke up yesterday morning to a quiet start under the watchful eyes of the police and military personnel as tensions slowly faded.

Kicking off to a slow start, shops and business houses opened their doors to the public while a few buses and taxis took to the roads as workers, students and city dwellers gradually resumed their daily routines.

National Capital District (NCD) police issued a safety notice on social media urging city residents to report any suspicious activities to the Police Operations Centre hotline number.

City Manager Ravu Frank gave reassurances that efforts to restore normalcy in the city would continue as City Hall remained open for public business.

“The incident on Sunday was an isolated one and it is not affecting the city in any way,” he said.

“Police acted swiftly and the disciplined forces patrolled the city to give confidence to the people.

“From here on, we will look at ways of preventing them from reoccurring.

“NCDC also deployed our Reserve Police to monitor and provide additional security. I am hoping that the city’s business houses will be fully functional from tomorrow onwards.”

Parkop calls for peace
NCD Governor Powes Parkop also appealed for peace while noting that the people of the city could count on City Hall for leadership during tough times.

Yesterday, there were reports of commotions in very few places across the city, including at Gordon where many shops as well as the market remained closed.

While life returned to normal, public transport was also a main concern and according to NCD Public Motor Vehicles Association president Jack Waso, security must be provided for buses as well.

“Buses are out on the roads but the main concern for us is security if police can assist. Our safety too is also very important,” he said.

By yesterday afternoon fuel stations, which were closed earlier in the day, re-opened for business. Major malls and centres also opened their doors and more people were on the streets.

Claudia Tally is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Tulagi in the Central Islands province of Solomon islands is the first provincial capital to ban the sale of betel nut — for an indefinite period — as a measure to help control any potential spread of covid-19.

Premier Stanley Manetiva told SBM Online that the measure became effective yesterday as news reports indicated fears of a community spread of the virus in parts of the capital Honiara.

A 60 hour lockdown was declared in the city and was due to be lifted today.

He said that this was to avoid people chewing and spitting which potentially would spread the virus and from sharing lime as well.

He said that this was to avoid people chewing betel nut and spitting which potentially would spread the virus — and from sharing lime as well.

Manetiva said the ban stopped people from bringing in their betel nut to the Tulagi market and from selling it in the town.

The ban is only for betel nut while other local produce is still sold at the market.

Tulagi starts curfew
Meanwhile, the premier also confirmed that Tulagi had started its own curfew — banning or limiting all movements by people in the town after 10pm.

He said it was an understanding among the residents in Tulagi that there should be no movement after that time.

The old capital has also monitored ships entering its shores and now has only two designated places for canoes to land on the island town at Taporo and the market.

Besides Guadalcanal, the Central Islands province, is the closest to Honiara, which is experiencing community transmission of covid-19.

RNZ Pacific reports Solomon Islands had reported 48 new cases of covid-19 on Thursday.

It took to 81 the number of cases in the country, which until this week had had just a handful of people with the virus.

Robert Iroga is editor of SBM Online. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

It takes up to 6 km for women from Milampipi and Kaisia villages in the mountainous hinterlands of Papua New Guinea’s Nabak local government in Nawaeb district, Morobe province, to reach the nearest roads by foot.

For more than 40 years they have had to do this before they could catch a vehicle to sell their garden produce in the markets in Lae city 21km away.

For the women — especially mothers — the struggle is real. They have walked for six to seven hours, climbing steep rugged mountains, crossing dangerous fast flowing rivers with heavy loads of vegetables, bananas, taro and sweet potatoes to reach Situm or Hobu to get on a PMV (public motor vehicle).

November 7, 2021, is a day the villagers will never forget –– on that day, the first PMV truck nicknamed “Dignity” drove into the village for the first time to bring the mothers and their produce to markets.

That was made possible after the national government, through the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, with Nawaeb and Finschhafen districts allocating funds, initiated the construction of the Nawaeb-Finschhafen Highway this year.

The road will link rural villages in the two districts to the provincial capital, also enabling some of the best organic coffee to reach market.

One mother, Wangeng Akundi, was emotional and shedding tears of joy when she put her bilums (string bags) packed with garden foods and sako (vegetable) on the truck for the first time.

Walking for years with heavy loads
She says that for years, they had walked long distances with their heavy loads.

“Sometimes we also carry our babies on top of the loads to seek medical services in Situm or Lae,” she adds.

“We are thankful to Anutu (God) for the road access that has reached us and now we will just get on a PMV and travel to Lae for our marketing.”

John Kamsi, a person living with a disability, says it takes him longer to reach the main roads to seek medical services.

“I am very happy with the new road,” he said.

A mother of one, Sandra Yaling, says: “We’re very happy with the new road, because some of us put our lives and the lives of our children at risk many times just to get to the nearest road.

“The main things that we need are cooking oil, soap and salt.”

Real struggles for food
PMV owner Eric Piving, whose vehicle was the first to bring the women and children with their produce to Bumayong and Igam markets, says many times he felt sorry for the mothers.

They had to walk long distances with their foodstuffs to sell and meet their basic household needs.

“We’ve dreamed for a road into the villages and now it has happened,” he says.

He said many times people see them selling their produce at the markets, without knowing the real struggles they have to go through to bring those food items to the market.

“Since first the Lutheran missionaries came to Finschhafen and took the same route towards Nawaeb, then to parts of Morobe — the new highway should be named Miti Highway’, which means ‘God’s Word highway’),” Piving says.

“We thank the government and our local MPs for their support.”

Nawaeb MP Kennedy Wenge told the PNG Post-Courier that the District Development Authority allocated K100,000 (NZ$43,000) each year to support the new stretch of road from Hobu to Momolili.

K280 million allocated for road
“The Department of National Planning and Monitoring allocated K280 million (NZ$120 million) in 2020 and has continued funding the road that will connect Lae-Nawaeb and Finschhafen,” he says.

“I want our people to appreciate what the districts and the national government have committed and support the work. The Nawaeb to Kabwum road will also take shape once K100 million (NZ$43 million) funding is made available.”

Wenge says the villages also produce high tonnes of coffee and the road will assist them greatly in terms of accessing markets.

More than 2000 people from villages in Nawaeb will benefit from the road. Apart from road Wenge, says he is also ensuring maintenance on rural airstrips so people can transport their coffee and garden produce to the markets in Lae.

That is to support villagers gaining some income.

Republished with permission from the PNG Post-Courier.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Gulf Province is only six hours away from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s capital city, and is one of the most least developed provinces in the country.

Its main town, Kerema, is in a sad state. The market has closed, forcing locals to sell their fresh fish and garden food in an open sports field. The BSP Bank closed after a robbery, forcing locals to withdraw cash from Chinese shops in town.

I haven’t been to the hospital or the police station yet, but the town is littered with outsiders who have come to town to buy betelnut.

I think its time the town authority sat down and really looked into mapping out the town area and rehabilitating existing infrastructures. There must be laws also governing the influx of betelnut buyers to protect the locals’ interest.

The provincial government should also help find and establish markets for fish with buyers outside of the province, because Gulf definitely has a lot to offer in the fisheries sector. A market for cocoa should also be set up.

Despite having various projects like logging in the province for years, Gulf has little to show in terms of development.

People still walk for kilometres out in the villages to access basic services. There is no sea ambulance, many times pregnant mothers give birth at home – some die, and for them it is an everyday experiance.

No local jail
In terms of law and order, Gulf, despite been a province of its own, doesn’t have a jail. Detainees and remands are transported back to Port Moresby’s Bomana Jail. An expensive exercise.

People take advantage of this, knowing that only the serious cases will be prosecuted.

There are a lot of educated Gulf men and women in the country, yet, we are tolerant. We see, we complain but we do nothing.

Most choose to turn a blind eye to the state of their province and live in luxury in Port Moresby.

I say this, with a lot of shame, because I am honest enough to admit that I have never been home, never written about my province, and today I have come.

And I want to write.

It’s time to tell Gulf stories.

Rebecca Kuku is from Uaripi Village in Papua New Guinea’s Gulf Province. She is an occasional contributor to Asia Pacific Report, a content contributor to The Guardian (Australia) and to the PNG Post-Courier. This article was first published on Scott Waide’s My Land, My Country blog and is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz