The National Disaster Centre (NDC) is in the process to send a National Assessment Standby Team into the East Sepik province to assess the damages caused by the massive earthquake that hit the province on Monday 3rd of April. NDC Director, Colonel Carl Wrakonei, said that the team will comprise of engineers and medical personnel from the Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF), officers from the Rabaul Volcano Observatory and other support staff. The team will be supported by the PNGDF helicopters to conduct the assessments on ground. However, the team is on standby awaiting a full report from the East Sepik Provincial Disaster Office on the damages on ground and the assistance needed, which is proving to be a difficulty now because the provincial team has not been sending a report or reports over to the disaster center updating them on what is happening. “We waited for them to send in a report, but they have not done so yet. It’s getting too long now, and we don’t have a full report of what’s going on there.” The director also said that the provincial office team has not been answering his calls since yesterday. If a full report doesn’t come in sooner, the Col. said they will go ahead with the deployment of the assessment team. He further added that the team will be standing by to move once the NDC gives the approval go ahead. The engineering team will check the main infrastructures like roads and bridges, while the medical team will be attending to the casualties. The Observatory team will be carrying out awareness in the affected communities on such disasters and to also calm the people down as there is still anxiety in the air following the massive earthquake. Col. Wrakonei said the NDC will make an announcement soon on the date in which the National Assessment Standby Team will be going to East Sepik, once the approval is given. Caption: Assessment team on standby to deploy to earthquake ravaged East Sepik

The development of the proposed new stadium for the Australian Football League (ALF) sporting code in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is still in the discussion stage. According to AFL PNG Senior Football Manager Mr. Rex Leka, a team from the PNG Sports Foundation along with the PNG AFL Commission and the Sports Minister Don Polye, recently visited AFL facilities in Australia to have a look at the designs and share ideas on how the proposed stadium should be like. “Right now everything is in the talking stage, there is nothing confirmed yet as to when the new stadium will be built.” The proposed new stadium is expected to be built at the site of the Colts Oval and should serve as the home of AFL in Port Moresby. The sports minister did announce as well that a funding of about K10million was allocated solely for this project. Once constructed, the new stadium will be an achievement for AFL PNG on its efforts to develop the sporting code in a mainly rugby league dominated country.  

The current review of the Disaster Management Act 1984 aims to enable the National Disaster Center (NDC) to respond quicker to assisting people impacted by natural disasters in the country. According to the Director of the NDC, Army Colonel Carl Wrakonei, the review started back in 2021 and has been progressing behind the scenes. He explained that the review is important because if approved in the near future, it will ensure that the Disaster Center is fully equipped to respond on notice to any natural disasters within the country and not having to send submissions to the government for funding and other support first, which usually takes time. “The review is to ensure that in the future, the National Disaster Center will have its own account and funds allocated to it to standby for disaster responses,” said the director. The current process involves the NDC putting together a plan form disaster reports and then making submissions to the government for assistance. However, the review would see the Disaster Center ready to go at any time. Col. Wrakonei further said that the NDC is responsible for quick responses to disasters and that should be the case, but the current process is not reflecting what the organization was mandated to do; therefore, a change to how things work should be the way forward. He is also hopeful that the review of the Act will be completed this year so that submissions can be sent to the government for the necessary changes to help the work of the National Disaster Center.

The massive earthquake that hit the East Sepik province on Monday 03rd April, also affected the local businesses that operated in the worst hit areas. One of those businesses affected by the earthquake was the Sepik Adventure Tours, although not very badly. The Owner and Operator of the tour business, Mr. Alois Mateos, confirmed that one of their lodges in Ambunti received some damages. “Our lodge had cracked floor tiles and the restrooms received a few damages along with some parts of the building. The cost of damages should range between K4, 000 to K6, 000,” he said. He also reported that their new hotel project at Wewak town also received few damages to it. The solid foundation posts had cracks on them, but he said it’s nothing they cannot fix. All in all, he said none of their staff or guests at the lodge at Ambunti were injured during the earthquake scare on Monday morning. Nevertheless, business continues for the tour operator despite the damages caused. Meanwhile, Mr. Mateos said that the tour company’s new three storey hotel building in Wewak is taking shape now that work has resumed, after construction work stopped during the COVID 19 pandemic period. Caption: ESP tour operator received few damages to property during earthquake  

The death toll from the 7.3magnitude earthquake that hit the East Sepik province on Monday 03rd April, is expected to climb with the reports coming in from the provincial disaster team on ground. The Director of the National Disaster Centre (NDC) Colonel Carl Wrakonei said that there have been seven deaths so far from the earthquake as per the partial reports coming from the province. “The provincial disaster team reported one death in Yangoru- Sausia district, two in Wosera Gaui district, three in Angoram and one in Wewak. The number of casualties is expected to increase,” said the director. The earthquake left a path of destruction with homes, businesses and public infrastructures damaged, and with many areas hit by the earthquake difficult to reach, it is also quite hard for the disaster teams to reach unless better logistical support is provided by the state and the provincial authority to do so. It is because of this reason that Col. Wrakonei said the disaster office in the province was unable to send in a full report at one time and whenever the teams do reach the areas affect in the coming days, the death toll and the damages is expected to increase. However, the Col. is hopeful that a full report can be sent in today so that the NDC can start the process of requesting for funding from the National Government to go towards the relief assistance for the affected communities.  

The concept of superannuation has not been fully embraced by the majority of the people as a good way of saving for the future due to a lack of proper awareness on the subject, but this is now starting change. That’s the word from the Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) Acting Governor Ms. Elizabeth Genia when speaking at the recent Pacific Islands Investment Forum (PIIF) that was held in Port Moresby city. She said majority of the people living in rural communities, engaged in any form of informal business don’t really embrace the savings culture. However, the Bank continues to make ways to change all that alongside its stakeholders to push for a wide coverage of financial inclusion programs, which includes the importance superannuation. “So, it’s no surprise that superannuation, as a way to build a financially secured future has not been embraced by people who may not be employed and therefore, not required to make superannuation contributions.” However, the Bank’s Acting Governor said this should change with the efforts already underway. “For more than a decade the Bank of Papua New Guinea has been involved in working towards financial awareness activities and the last ten years, as an integral part of Center for Excellence in Financial Inclusion (CEFI). “Financial inclusion, the desired outcome in which all members of our society must have access to basic financial services is now driven by the National Government Directive Financial Sector Development strategy.” Through the financial inclusion programs, the concept of superannuation is also driven so to ensure more people fully understand its concept and embrace it as a means of savings.

The Australian Football League (AFL) 2023 National Championships is coming up this year and will be where new and young players will be selected to form the Papua New Guinea (PNG) national teams for the International Cup (IC) next year, but there is a challenge in this to overcome first. According to AFL PNG Senior Football Manager Mr. Rex Leka, the last IC took place in 2017 and since then the most of the players in the national teams, especially in the PNG Mosquitoes side that took home the title, have moved on and left spots to fill. “It will be a big task on hand for us now to train the boys and groom them to become the best in the national side because most of our experienced ones have moved on.” The pressure is on now because come next year in the IC24, PNG will be once again defending its title on the international stage against teams from other nations. Therefore, a good crop of players to play on the international stage, must be trained and ready for it. Meanwhile, Mr. Leka also confirmed that the AFL PNG team will be meeting this afternoon to put together the plan to host the national championships in the country. A finalized schedule is expected by the end of the week.  

The disaster relief assistance from the state for the people directly impacted by the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that shook the East Sepik province early Monday morning, will take some time to reach the affected communities and not right away. The Director of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Disaster Centre (NDC) Colonel Carl Wrakonei confirmed that he and his team have received some reports from the provincial disaster team on ground doing assessments on some of the areas hit by the massive earthquake. They reported three deaths so far, one in Wewak district and two in Angoram district. Col. Wrakonei also clarified that there have been reports from other sources on ground but the NDC rather get the information from its provincial office team and that full report is expected by this afternoon. Once that report gets in, it will give the details of the damages to infrastructures, which areas were hit badly, the number of casualties and displaced people, and what assistance is needed. From that report, the Director explained that the planning process will commence as to how resources will be deployed to provide relief assistance to the affected communities. “We at NDC coordinate the response, from here we coordinate how the police, the defense force, the NGOs and the provincial disaster office, on assisting the impacted communities on ground,” he said. “Once we get the reports from the assessment team of the damages, deaths and the cost of assistance, we then send a submission to the government to send us the funding we need to commence the exercise.” Once funding is received, he said the funds will be used to purchase non- food items like materials for damages to buildings and infrastructures, and the food items for the affected communities. However, the Col. said that the relief assistance now will depend on the government approving the funding submission that would be sent and that may take some time. Therefore, he did not give a time frame or whether the assistance will be given sooner to the affected people. He said all these will now depend on the assessment report coming in and the response of the government on relief funding.

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) National Disaster Center (NDC) has confirmed that the assessment of the damages caused by the massive 7.3 magnitude earthquake in the East Sepik province early this morning, is now underway. It is understood that due to logistical issues, the provincial disaster team will have some difficulties reaching the communities at the epicenter of the quake this morning; however, it is hoped that most of the information on the impacts of the earthquake, including the affected communities and their casualties, will be made known tomorrow the earliest so that help can reach them. Meanwhile, the Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory reported that the earthquake occurred as a result of interaction between the South Bismarck micro Plate and the major Australian Plate, in the vicinity of Chambri Lakes, approximately 120km southwest of Wewak, East Sepik Province. The earthquake occurred at the deeper part of the leading edge of the Australian Plate, at an area of known seismic zone. The earthquake was felt in Wewak, Madang and other Highlands Provinces. In Goroka, the earthquake was felt with earthquake intensity of MM5 (Modified Mercalli earthquake Intensity scale).   Mathias Konga Junior

The heavy downpour over the weekend in the city of Port Moresby disrupted a lot if things, including sporting activities at the Bisini Sports Precinct. The 2023 Moni Plus Port Moresby Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season matches, among other sporting codes on the weekend, cancelled their season matches due to the heavy rains. The Port Moresby AFL Association President, Mr. Douglas Lai, said they had to cancel the pre-season matches because the condition of the field was poor to hold matches on because it became really soggy. Also the venue management of Bisini Sports Precinct had to make the call to close off all the sporting venues that were in a poor state to hold games on, including the Colts Oval. Nevertheless, Mr. Lai said they have moved the pre-season to this weekend, but this will clash with the planned Easter Cup challenge also set for this weekend and this has now left the association to decide on how the two events will be squeezed into this weekend. “We have two options, one is to just have the Easter Cup challenge on Saturday, while the other option is to have the pre- season matches squeezed in on Saturday and then have the Easter Cup challenge on Sunday,” said the president. This he said, will have to be discussed further tomorrow with the clubs and the association so to come up with a final decision on how things should go this weekend.

The Port Moresby Geophysical Observatory confirmed that an earthquake with as magnitude of 7.3 rocked the East Sepik province early this morning. According to the report from the observatory, the earthquake occurred inland about 64km from Yangoru and at a depth of about 74km, meaning that there is no threat of a tsunami; therefore, no tsunami warning was issued. However, at this stage there is still no word on ground as to the aftermath of the massive earthquake. There are no reports yet on any damages or casualties reported. The earthquake occurred at around 4:00am this morning while most of the people were still asleep in their beds. More details on the earthquake and the damages it has caused will be provide during the course of the day.

The country has seen a lot of school leavers and even graduates coming out of the education system each year, seeking some form of employment with most of them having to not secure any and this has placed a huge burden on the government over the years, but the government is not turning a blind eye to this. One of the solutions put forth by the current government and even the past governments, was the creation of the downstream processing and the Special Economic Zones (SEZ), which in turn would generate jobs for thousands of Papua New Guineans, something that the Minister for International Trade and Investment Mr. Richard Maru, is adamant to see take place in the very near future. In his speech at the recent Pacific Islands Investment Forum (PIIF) in Port Moresby, the minister said the country cannot over rely on the resource sector for job creation. Whilst it is great for cash flow, it is not good for a lot of employment creation. “Unemployment is the most serious, most important challenge for governments,” said Minister Maru. “The government led by our prime minister is very keen for us transitioning as an economy from the resource sector to the non- resource sector. We can’t live with the mistakes of the past.” Maru explained that by focusing on non- resource sector, investments can flow into the sector which then would lead to opportunities for job creation, but in order for that to take place the money made from the resource sector must be used to create investment in the non- resource sector; therefore, the minister said it is important that the new resource projects come online soon. “When I talk about non- resource sector, I’m talking about fisheries, I’m talking about forestry, tourism, I’m talking about the services sector, manufacturing, downstream processing.These are areas we must focus on.” He said Papua New Guinea (PNG) must learn from countries like New Zealand, where agriculture and livestock continue to be the focus which has created employment and brought in a lot of income for the country. Other countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia also transitioned to becoming big economies in the world through downstream processing and into manufacturing. He said by investing in the development of the non- resource sector and the establishments of the SEZs, will result in more employment opportunities created for the people and solve the problem of the high rate of unemployment. “Our biggest national challenge is unemployment and we see economic zones as a vehicle that will help us create the jobs that we need to create and stimulate sustainable economic growth for a very, very long time,” said the minister.