Improving tax compliance in Pacific Island nations is one of the measures Tax and Customs administrations in the region are taking, to improve revenue collections which have been hugely impacted by the slow economic activities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Our members are at various stages of economic recovery, however, revenue collection from Tax and Customs administrations is still critical to fund the various arms of government machineries,” Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) Head of Secretariat Richard Brennan said. “If we are not effective in our collection, the government is affected and there is a trickle on effect- we all suffer.” Pacific Island Tax Administrators Association (PITAA) Head of Secretariat, Koni Ravono emphasized the need for the region to work together to resolve common challenges. “We all have a common problem caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but our challenge is that Tax and Customs administrations do not have the same capacity to resolve some of these problems,” she said. “That is why it is critical for us to work together, to help each other because the Pacific demands us of that.” In recent weeks, OCO and PITAA supported by the PFTAC trained 77 officers from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu this month, on strengthening the working relationship between compliance teams with particular focus on Value Added Tax (VAT), Customs valuation methodology, post clearance audit and compliance processes. “We know that improving compliance will improve revenue collection. However, to improve compliance we need to first improve our internal processes and how we work with each other,” Mr Brennan said. Officers were trained on improving information sharing to help in data collection as well as in the detection of tax avoidance. Most island nations have had huge declines in their revenue collection, some like Fiji are recording almost 50 percent less than pre-COVID-19 levels.

Papua New Guinea’s leading superannuation provider, National Superannuation Fund (Nasfund), and the country’s premier island resort, Loloata Island Resort, have partnered to provide more value for Nasfund contributors. Through the Fund’s Membership Discount Program (MDP), Nasfund members can now enjoy the following discounts; -10% discount on accommodation, -15% discount on dive bookings, and -20% discount on day trip entry fee. Loloata Island Resort General Manager Uday Kumar said this partnership seeks to provide outstanding value for Nasfund contributors. “Since the start of operations at the new-look Loloata Island Resort in 2019, the resort has been the leader in providing world-class tourism & hospitality services. Coupled with our internationally recognized dive program, Loloata Island Resort provides the ultimate getaway for Nasfund members, especially in Port Moresby, who are looking for a location to relax and unwind, away from the hustle and bustle of Port Moresby. Through this partnership, the resort is pleased to provide these discounts to active Nasfund members. To take advantage of these discounts, Nasfund members will have to show their Nasfund membership ID card. These discounts are available from Sunday to Thursdays, and are subject to terms and conditions. This offer to Nasfund members will be in place for the next 12 months.” In welcoming Loloata Island Resort to the Fund’s MDP partners, Nasfund CEO Ian Tarutia, encouraged Nasfund members to take advantage of this offering. “We thank Loloata Island Resort for coming on board the Fund’s MDP to provide discounts to our contributors. This offer certainly provides more value for our members, especially during these challenging times. We encourage our members to take advantage of this partnership, to save more while you work today

The Northern Provincial Government will now receive K40 million dividend from the Oil Palm shares. Northern Governor Gary Juffa announced this in Numba, Afore Local Level Government yesterday. Juffa said the National Executive Council had endorsed the shares which will be paid for Northern and Milne Bay Province. “As part of the Oil producing province, Northern was supposed to receive a dividend shares of about K3 million every year. “The money was being paid to Kumul Consolidated Holdings, the business arm of the government.” Juffa said in the last 35 years the government owed the people of Oro about K150m. He said Oro provincial government will now be receiving K40m. Juffa added that Milne Bay picked up K51m shares because they have bigger land for Oil Palm and more shares. “We fought for Oro and Milne Bay. That money will come to the province now to be used for the feeder roads. “It will be used by our development vehicle, Northern Province Resources limited, business arm of the province,” he said. Meanwhile, Juffa announced three major projects that have been secured with the development partners. He said projects include the two highways, Afore and Kokoda and the rehabilitation of the Oro Bay wharf. “For five years, the Australian government will be maintaining the highways under the Transport Support Sector Programme.” Juffa said the Oro Bay wharf will be rehabilitated under the wharfs rehabilitation programme at a cost of K200m. “When we build Managalas and Kokoda into the agriculture hubs of this programme where your cocoa, coffee and vanilla will be processed at the wharf and exported direct. “It takes time to build a burnt house, it does happen overnight. “Its’s working, we are moving forward, it’s not happening quickly my people, be patient, as a country we are only 47 years old,” Juffa said.

Northern will start generating about K25 million per annum following the development of major infrastructure in the province, Governor Gary Juffa says. Juffa, who is on the south coast leg of his campaign trial in the Afore Local Level Government, said Northern is growing and experiencing more developments than before. He said from an annual revenue of K900,000 a year in 2012, the province will now be able to generate K25m. “Revenue for Oro was K900,000 when I took office today its K7m and with the Divune hydro power project  will increase to about K25m.” Juffa said the provincial government will now be able to generate K10m to K15m through the K70m Divune Hydro power project. “If you think about 2012, Popondetta was called Cowboy town and Northern was known for law and order issues. “That is now a thing of the past and it’s about leadership, we took ownership of our province,” he said. Juffa said from 2007 to 2012, after Cyclone Guba hit Northern, the Australian government pledged funding to help rebuild the province but no one did anything. “When we took office I spent six months going through the processes and we were able to attend to all the issues that prevented the development from taking place in Northern. “Finally, we completed our task, cleared the way and the bridges were built and the airport was built,” he said. Juffa said the Divune Hydro project was dormant for 35 years until 2014 when an agreement was signed between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), PNG Power Limited, the National and the provincial government. “Two months ago, Prime Minister James Marape travelled the Kokoda Highway to launch the Divune Hydro power project. That hydro will generate between K10m to K15m in revenue for Oro province. We are building a house and it’s taking time but slowly and surely we will get there." “The hydro will be given to us and when the new provincial government takes over, hopefully they will look after these things and put to good use this money,” Juffa said. Story from Peoples Movement for Change

Ok Tedi Mining Limited (OTML) joined the global community to recognize ‘International Day of Women in Mining’ with a special Breakfast hosted by the Ok Tedi Women’s Network (OWN). The event was attended by members of the management team and women employees of OTML and business partners . Keynote speakers at the event included Manager Process Asset Renewal (PAR) Interface, Lyndah Brown, who has 30 years of experience in the industry, as well as Administration Officer Crane Services, Anna Aisa, who has served the Company for 15 years. Both women shared inspiring testimonies and challenges of working in the mining industry. OWN President and OTML Manager Finance, Beverly Pasen, said the event was a celebration of the resilient spirit of women in mining. “Regardless of whether you are an OTML employee or business partner, today we are women in mining united to celebrate our talents and continue the work towards equalizing gender representation in the industry,” Ms Pasen said. She said women working in the mining industry face many challenges, however, are just as eager to overcome these barriers and assume roles that were predominantly held by men. “Our call to action today in support of women in mining is to develop and adopt diversity policies to improve the gender imbalance in employment, offer more gender-sensitive facilities, improve parental leave policies, and also develop flexible work arrangements by reviewing fixed hours and fixed work locations,” Ms Pasen said. Ok Tedi is an equal opportunity employer and in line with the Company’s 2025 Vision, diversity and inclusion are an important part of its strategy in which OTML aims to increase the number of women in the organization, and in leadership roles by 20% and 25% respectively.

The PNG National Research Institute (PNG NRI) is inviting freelancers to write and submit your election observation experience during the 2022 National General Elections (NGE). The wish of the PNG NRI is to see that the 2022 NGE is carried out fair and all protocols in place for the election are followed. People should be able to cast their votes without fear or favor. Please submit EOI including 2 page profile on your qualifications, work experience and if you have writing experience. Those selected would be given a template to work on the issues or generally about candidates, campaign issues, policies, political parties, general conduct of elections and the outcomes. Freelancers can submit their papers to PNG NRI for consideration which will be considered for inclusion as a Monograph for the 2022 NGE. The documentation of the National General Election will give more depth for future referencing. For submissions for PNG NRI to consider for publication, please send in your papers by 12 August 2022, that is two weeks after the return of writs (on 29 July 2022) to: pngnri_communications@pngnri.org

Kina Bank and SNS Tech have partnered to deliver market leading results for SMEs in Papua New Guinea looking to turn digital. SNS Tech is a Papua New Guinean owned tech firm who develop best in class digital solutions for their clients so they can thrive in the digital economy. As a business, Kina Bank have long been committed to directing the digital future of PNG and identified e-commerce as a crucial aspect to the long-term success of the country. With a joint vision in bettering digital experiences in PNG, Kina Bank and SNS Tech have joined forces to set local catering company Tapioca Delight up for digital success. Using Kina Bank’s Internet Payment Gateway (IPG), Tapioca Delight can continue to build out their thriving online business. The partnership saw SNS Tech assist in integrating Kina’s IPG on behalf of Tapioca Delight. This meant that Tapioca Delight’s owner, Ginia Sialis, could concentrate on looking after her business whilst SNS Tech took care of the set-up phase. Kina Bank’s Chief Transformation Officer, Ivan Vidovich said, “As the leading digital bank in PNG, we’re always looking for the right partners to work with to ensure we’re supporting local SMEs and helping them become digitally focused. We’ve seen great results already partnering with SNS Tech, Tapioca Delight is just one example of many.” Kina Bank’s IPG platform is the first in PNG to accept local bank cards from, BSP, MiBank and ANZ, meaning customers have the freedom to browse and order what they want all whilst using a standard local bank issued card of their choice. “We feel a sense of accomplishment here at Kina Bank, having taken our Internet Payment Gateway out to commercial customers and having it adopted by PNG born companies like Tapioca Delight. We take tremendous pride in supporting online businesses and we’re confident that providing a secure digital payments platform will help drive PNG’s digital innovation”, said Ivan Vidovich. Tapioca Delight has seen a flurry of new orders come through their website, the first one coming from a customer in New Zealand ordering a cake for her best friend in Port Moresby. Ginia Sialis said, “I couldn’t be happier with the set up and integration to Kina Bank’s IPG. Both SNS Tech and Kina have been great partners and have really helped us in the growth phase of our business. Being a SME in PNG, it is important that I can rely partners like SNS Tech and Kina Bank.” Kina Bank’s Internet Payment Gateway is a tool available to all SMEs looking to turn digital.

This just in! Long-time businessman and former Madang Governor Sir Peter Barter is confirmed to have passed away this morning at the Cairns Hospital in Australia. The Barter family announced the passing of Sir Peter Barter this morning via advise from son Andrew Barter. Sir Peter first came to Papua New Guinea as a pilot in 1967 with the Divine Word Aviation. He has travelled the length and breadth of the Sepik and Madang Province. He later became a prominent businessman and a citizen of the newly independent Papua New Guinea. He was a pioneer in the development of tourism in PNG. Through his business Melanesian Tourist Services, he supported many small communities where his ships the Melanesian Explorer, Melanesian Discover docked. He was a member of parliament for three terms as the Madang Governor. Sir Peter is survived by his wife Lady Janet Barter, son Andrew and grandchildren Jordan and Amaiya. Andrew added the Barter family are overwhelmingly grateful for the condolences messages received near and far and funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

New Ireland Police is ready to secure election materials including ballot boxes and ballot papers that arrived in Kavieng yesterday (Tuesday 21st of June). A total 52 ballot boxes, 3 electoral roll boxes plus other accessories for the National General Election 2022 were dispatched by C130 of the Australian Defence Force. New Ireland PPC, Chief Inspector Felix Nebanat confirmed that security details for the materials begun with the escort from the Kavieng Airport and will continue at the station now that the materials are stored at the Kavieng Police Station. We have already organized our men into teams with personals who will be manning the location starting right away," Nebanat said. He highlighted that additional manpower from Tomaringa are on the ground to compliment the local police with the securing of the container until polling time when the seals are opened to access the election materials. New Ireland Election Manager, Mr. Benjamin Kliawi revealed that the materials are kept under police protection until before polling begins, where they will be distributed to the polling teams to go into their respective polling areas. Mr. Kliawi also revealed that a training for the gazette Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) will be conducted on Thursday and Friday in preparation for polling on the 4th of July. He also made a call to the Provincial Administrator and the District Administrators to give him ten public servants to conduct scrutiny for the 10 polling stations for the Regional Seat. The counting scrutineers for the Kavieng and Namatanai Open electorates are already confirmed," said Mr. Kliawi.

Coral Sea Hotels & Hospitality is in growth mode, part of this includes changes to the Coral Sea Hotels. Papua New Guineans are familiar with the Coral Sea Hotel offering of ENZO’s Pizza. ENZO’s has traditionally been a feature offering of Coral Sea Hotels, however as the business grows there are changes taking place to accommodate this growth. “The wait is over for the people of Goroka, to get a taste of our renowned pizzas, pies, muffins, soft serve ice cream and great coffees” said recently appointed Country Manager Sudeep Geethanandan for ENZO’s Pizza. “So here we are, welcoming you all to the newly opened Enzo’s Express Takeaway at Bird of Paradise Hotel, in the middle of the Goroka city on Corner of Elizabeth & McWilliam Road, operating Monday to Saturday from 9AM to 5PM. Please visit www.coralseahotels.com or Facebook page “Birds of Paradise Hotel” where you can get details on our latest offering.” added Mr. Geethanandan. “We at ENZO’s are driven by a passion to bring our customers faster, fresher quality pizzas and other food items, which is enabled by our highly engaged and motivated staff who are always ready to WOW our customers.” added Sudeep Geethanandan ENZO’s PIZZA is Papua New Guinea’s pizza of choice with 7 locations across our nation with a lot more in the pipeline.  

Medal tally (Progressive Update inserted below) as of Tuesday June 21st with Team PNG finishing off strongly in the lead.  Another day of competitions today on the track for our Athletics athletes whilst Tennis and Golf continue their competitions. Weightlifting has finished their competitions for the games, and Vaá will be taking the day off to recover before their marathon event on Thursday. Source: Team PNG FB Page

THE District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) is an overarching financial input for service delivery for the Anglimp South Waghi (ASW) district in Jiwaka province, says District Administrator Joseph Mangro. Mr. Mangro said the SIP program is a strategic rural intervention program aimed at address lacking of development and basic government services targeting rural marginalized communities and villages. “The district strongly believes that the SIP program, if soundly managed and implement, will inevitably address development needs of the rural communities and progressively bring about unprecedented rural economic growth and improve the living standards of its people,” he said. Mangro highlighted this sentiments while presenting their 2018-2021 DSIP acquittal reports to the Department of Implementation & Rural Development (DIRD) in Port Moresby last week. Mr. Mangro said Anglimp South Waghi (ASW) district opted to furnish the outstanding DSIP financial report of more than K40.0 million as part of its compliance stipulated under the Public Finance Management (Act) to report to the national government before the country goes to the national general elections. “We have to clear our books, all financial transactions and reports must be submitted to responsible agencies so we can go to the polls with clean hands and no complaints from our stakeholders,” he said. Mangro said much of these development grants were expedited on impact projects such as infrastructures basically sealing of roads, construction of bridges, health centres, aid posts, construction of double classrooms for primary to secondary schools, rural electrification program to connect every households with the electricity which is in line with the district’s ambition to connect 75% of the people with electricity by 2022, rural water supply, purchased ambulances for health centres, vehicles for education and health sectors. As reflected in the acquittal reports, the district manage to support churches, as 10% of district’s DSIP grants were allocated to different denominations. “Since we live in multi religious society, churches plays a significant role to restore peace and harmony in the community, which they are also public servants in the surrounding community, where we supported them,” he said. Incumbent and local MP Joe Kuli stressed that under his leadership he had made a policy decision to support farming cooperative societies to encourage farmers in the district to venture into farming businesses or commercial agriculture to earn income and improve their social and economic well beings that will create employment opportunities and promote economic growth. Kuli said he will continue to develop many good economic policies and deliver impact projects that his 200,000 plus population will greatly benefit if he is elected for the second term in this 11th National Parliament. “The landmass and huge population supplemented by greed, nepotism, tribalism, lack of vision and a voter-based traditional systems in service delivery at the political helm over the years had prevented the electorate from seeing any tangible developments. Regardless, all bad things has to end now, I have to establish mutual relationships with our people and display a modern leadership styles to ensure basic services are diversified for each of the LLGs where people receive fair distribution of tangible services which they have never seen before,” he said. One of the impact project the district delivered was the K8.0 million bailey bridge constructed across the Waghi river, connecting Mugmamp to Kindeng to the outside World which they have been cut off for a decades. Some notable projects like K7 million electrification that greatly benefited entire population including 500 block holders from different parts of Papua New Guinea residing in ASW. The power projects delivered were Kindeng Rogump (7km), Lupa-Tari market (2.5km), Sanap-Anda (3km), Sanap- Kendu (2km), Kurki-Altai (2km), Aviamp- Aviamp 1(1km), Kami-Kupa (2.5km), Avi (2km), Wurup- 5mile (1.5km), Wurup-Lel(.5km) and Wara Wau-Waghi (1.5km). The district also subsidized school fees for students attending various tertiary institutions around the country and other major sporting programs to curb lawlessness. DIRD who monitors and administer SIP program around the country had reported ASW