Prime Minister James Marape has made a call to the criminals responsible for holding hostage Australian Professor Bryce Barker, alongside fellow members of his research team in the Southern Highlands province, to surrender to police immediately before the law catches up with them. He said what had happened was serious and now the second phase of this operation will be to have those criminals arrested and charged accordingly. Marape said the first phase of the operation was completed with the release of the three hostages, including the Professor Bryce Barker. Prior to their release, the criminals had released the first hostage, a female, earlier during the week. “Criminal enterprise has no reward to it. Police operation will move into second phase, so you come out now or police will come into where you are,” stressed PM Marape. He said this area in Southern Highlands is of national interest because of its biodiversity, as such a security team comprising of police and defense force personnel will still be based up at the location in Mt Bosavi and ready to respond should there be a call to go into the now marked hot spot area and apprehend the criminals. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PM-Marape-on-criminals.mp4"][/video]

Home at last, the last remaining hostages taken by criminals in the Southern Highlands have been released unharmed by their captors and are now back safe in Port Moresby with their families.  Prime Minister (PM) James Marape was at hand to receive them this afternoon at the APEC Terminal.  Marape said the work to have them released was a joint effort by police, the defense force and the provincial governments of Southern Highlands, Western and Hela provinces.  “I want to thank the police commissioner, his men and women, the defense force commander and all his men, governor Undialu and all Hela leaders and a host of people, missionaries and community leaders who assisted in this operation.”   “It has been a stressful week for all involved and to finally have the hostages back safely in the custody of our security personnel is very important to us as a country, and as a people. We apologize to the families of those taken as hostage for ransom. It took us a while, but the last three hostages are now secured and will join their families shortly,” the PM said.   Marape also said an amount of cash was given to secure their release, but it was not the full amount of K3.5million that was initially demanded by the criminals as ransom money.  Meanwhile, the PM made a call to the criminals to surrender to police before the law gets to them. He said what happened was serious and now the second phase of this operation will be to have those criminals arrested and charged.   Marape said the first phase of the operation was completed with the release of the three, including the New Zealand Professor, Bryce Barker.   Initially, the criminals released the first hostage earlier this week.    A security team comprising of police and defense force personnel is still based up at the location and ready to respond should there be a call to go into the area and apprehend the criminals.   Nevertheless, for the freed hostages, it was a relief to be finally free and back in the safety of their families, who were also there at the airport this afternoon to see them come home.   

Home at last, the last remaining hostages including Professor Bryce Barker taken by criminals in the Southern Highlands have be released unharmed by the criminals and are now back in Port Moresby with their families. PM James Marape  was at hand to receive them this afternoon at the APEC Terminal. Marape said the work to have them released was a joint effort by police, the defense force and the provincial governments of Southern Highlands, Western and Hela provincial governments. Marape also said a sum of cash was given to secure their release, but it was not the full amount of K3.5million that was initially demanded by the criminals.

The proposed media policy, although the government said its to help improve media reporting in the country, contains some provisions that have raised concerns from the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Media Council, the mainstream media and think tank organizations such as the PNG Institute of National Affairs (PNG INA).  The Executive Director of PNG INA Mr. Paul Barker said that there are some parts of it that are relatively harmless, but he certainly believes that there are issues that are related to media control, which is problematic.    Mr. Barker pointed out that one topic mentioned in the policy that he is questioning is defamation, which he said does not need to be further extended than it is already as a law.   He said that it’s difficult to see the justification for it because there are various pieces of legislations in the country that are related to defamation to cyber security laws; therefore, he is questioning why a need for further legislations in the policy that could put constraints on the media, when it is obvious that the media is there for a reason.    “The media is there for a purpose and it’s there to keep people informed, it plays that important function. People call it sometimes the fourth arm of the state in that it's there performing the function of keeping the state accountable by raising awareness and empowering citizens to be aware and then ensure that the state performs in accountable manner, using the taxpayer’s money,” said Mr. Barker.   Barker stressed that it’s hard to see why additional legislation is required in excess of the defamation and cyber security legislation when these laws are already strong in the country.   “If the media defames individuals and the strengthen, there are powers and capacity within the courts to address it and those powers are pretty strong, and it’s a little hard to see why there needs to be additional laws under a media legislation.”    He understood that this is the government’s way to reinforce the media accountability mechanism and strengthen the media to perform its role, but he pointed out that the media council is already there, which pretty much does that role.    “The media council exists, it’s a voluntary mechanism for effectively setting standards and self- policing and it would be helpful for it to be a bit better resourced to be able to perform that function.”   “But, to actually give it the powers under the legislation and to impose burdens on it as well, does seem to shift it from being a media voluntary body to becoming a state regulatory authority and that seems to be an excessive responsibility for the media council,” said Mr. Barker.    Mr. Barker concluded by saying that there are provisions in the policy that could be useful to the media, but certainly the restrictive and controlling ones are what the media fraternity must be very cautious of.    

Thousands of city residents in Port Moresby will continue to endure the water rationing and power load shedding for an indefinite period. According to PNG Power Limited, the system operations team reported that power load shedding will continue in the city until the blockage at the Rauna power station, caused by the recent heavy rains, is fully cleared. That work is ongoing with no confirmation yet as to when it will be completed because the blockage is quite big. The power company stated that the blockage was caused by huge boulders and debris that were washed down from the PNG Power owned Sirinumu Dam further up in the mountains, during the recent flooding caused by the heavy rains. The debris clustered at the filters of the massive intake tanks that hold the water that is channeled at highspeed to turns the turbines, which then generates electricity. Therefore, the operation to clear those areas will need equipment to do so and it will need time, especially when rain continues to fall up in the mountains of Sogeri in the Central province. PNG Power stated that the concern now is that if those boulders managed to get into the turbines, then it could cause massive damages to it, resulting in a possible total disruption to power supply from Rauna. Therefore, this cleanup is vital. Meanwhile, the water supply to the city is also affected because Water PNG Limited depends on the PNG Power water supply connection that feeds the turbines and when there is a blockage, the water supply is stopped to allow the cleaning to take place, and when this happens Water PNG has no choice but to wait.

The rate of life insurance coverage in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is very low and it’s a concern because workers should at least have some form of insurance to cover them and their families should there be any emergency cases, or in the event of a death. This was the message from BSP Life PNG Country Manager Mr. Nilson Singh, who revealed that less than 3% of the country’s population have some form of life insurance coverage. He said that life insurance is important and people who are employed must at least have one. “Life insurance is all about protecting what you care about most, it's about your family, your children continuing tertiary education, your spouse living the life you both planned today, or your business partner being able to continue the business without you being there,” said Mr. Singh. He added that the benefits of life insurance include enabling one to make better plans for the future. “It also enables you to plan forward for future needs and enjoying the proceeds from your life insurance policy, if you survive to the policy maturity.” Mr. Singh pointed out as well that the reasons for the low life insurance coverage are a lack of proper awareness by financial institutions of the importance of life insurance products and insurance companies having to exit the market abruptly. However, despite this, there is optimism that life insurance coverage will improve in the near future. “We are optimistic that with continued education and awareness in the market, we will surely see a lot more people taking up life insurance; thus, protecting their loved ones, as well as using insurance to save for the future.” BSP Life PNG itself is a subsidiary of BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) and provides life insurance products that are aimed at selected market segments to provide insurance cover that meet corporate and individual needs. BSP Life PNG has three products: Loan Protection Insurance, Wantok Delite and Wantok Group Term Life. The BSP subsidiary is also a strong advocator for life insurance coverage in Papua New Guinea.

The cluster of debris at the PNG Power Limited Rauna one and Rauna three upstream gate at the Hydro power station has resulted in water shortage experienced this morning in the city of Port Moresby. This has been confirmed by PNG Power Limited this morning. This situation is usually experienced after heavy rains during a period of time, causing the dam to overflow and forcing PPL to release the access water, which then lead to debris in the water. Thousands of city residents this morning woke up to no water in many parts of the city. It is still not sure when the debris will be cleared to allow for the normal resumption of water supply to the city. You can follow us on the PNGHAUSBUNG Website and Facebook page for more news on restoration of this service and listen in to the news on LEGEND FM News, YUMI FM News and NAU FM News at 12pm today.  

The government had remained silent over the fuel shortage issue until the final hours of today that the Acting Prime Minister John Rosso assured the nation of the governments intentions to restore the much-needed fuel supply by this evening. Before the assurance came from the government, PNG Power Ltd warned people living in the outside centers of the country that they had no choice but to brace for the worst, should the fuel crisis continued to remain unsolved. That was the word from the PNG Power Limited (PPL) Chief Executive Officer (OIC) Mr. Obed Batia, who said that the power company like all others who are dependent on fuel, have no choice but to wait for this matter to be fixed. He said for the main centers like Port Moresby, Lae and Madang, there is no need for concern as those centers are supplied by hydro power, and gas to power plants. It’s just those centers outside like Manus, Wewak, Aitape, Vanimo and Daru to name to name a few that are at the mercy of the authorities who are looking into this matter. Nevertheless, the power company is taking measures like power load shedding to ensure fuel is preserved until such time the fuel crisis is over. However, this will not be necessary anymore because the Acting Prime Minister John Rosso gave the assurance that the fuel crisis will be resolved by this evening. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PPL-on-fuel-crisis.mp4"][/video]

The fuel crisis continues, and it’s bound to affect power supply and flights, both international and domestic. Some of the main organizations to be affected by this issue are PNG Power Limited and the national flag carrier, Air Niugini. Both organizations are expected to make a response on this today as we await updates from outer centres on the fuel situation at hand. For more information on the fuel situation, listen to Legend FM PNG, NAUFM and 93FM Yumi FM news or read more on pnghausbung .

VERY LONG QEUES AND EXTRA FUEL CONTAINERS The mad rush for fuel in the nations capital, Port Moresby, is reaching new heights with motor vehicle owners especially public transport qeueing up with extra drums and containers at service stations. Taxis and PMV buses were seen filling up their fuel tanks as well as two or more containers to avoid the risk of running out of fuel to continue providing transportation services to the people of NCD. A local bus crew that runs the Gordon's to 9 mile route confirmed that his bus refilled two extra 20 litre containers of fuel to keep his bus going until or whenever the fuel crisis returns is restored. As of this morning, an update on NCD Fuel Stations: OPEN: Total Boroko, Total Badili,Puma Kone CLOSED: Mobil Lahara,Puma Badili, Puma Hohola ESSENTIAL SERVICES AT RISK The fuel crisis continues, and it’s bound to affect power supply and flights, both international and domestic. Some of the main organizations to be affected by this issue are PNG Power Limited and the national flag carrier, Air Niugini. Both organizations are expected to make a response on this today as we await updates from outer centres on the fuel situation at hand. For more information on the fuel situation, listen to Legend FM PNG, NAUFM and 93FM Yumi FM news or read more on pnghausbung . PETROLEUM COMPANIES WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT TO FIND SOLUTION TO FUEL CRISIS The Government is now in serious discussions with Kumul Petroleum Limited (KPL) and three multi-national petroleum companies to find solutions for the fuel shortage in the country, with a major announcement expected soon, Prime Minister James Marape has said. The Prime Minister said the Government has been holding talks with ExxonMobil, Total Energies and Santos, together with Mineral Resources Development Authority and State-owned company KPL, to look into the immediate import of fuel and a long-term solution in the construction of a locally-based refinery for downstream processing to secure the domestic market. Prime Minister Marape said today (19.02.23) Papua New Guinea, under his government, was heading in the direction of downstream processing of its resources but Puma Energy's actions of recent months have forced the Government to act now rather than later in this area. "Our fuel insecurity due to reliance on one or two suppliers is forcing the Government to urgently call on its State-own Enterprises and major oil companies operating in the country to finding solutions," said PM Marape. “The Government is now collaborating with Kumul Petroleum, MRDC, ExxonMobil, Total Energies and Santos to explore solutions that can ensure the country's fuel security, including aviation fuel and general fuel. "We are leaving no stone unturned. What has happened under Puma must not be repeated. For far too long, this country has been victimised when, in fact, Papua New Guinea continues to export petroleum and gas to the world year after year. The irony is staggering. "I am, therefore, pleased to note the progress the Government is making with our national development partners - ExxonMobil, Total Energies and Santos. "I am also looking forward to the moment when we can make the announcement on the immediate solutions we have worked out to resolve this relatively long-standing issue." Papua New Guinea was plunged into an acute shortage of fuel at the end of last year 2022 when Puma Energy PNG Ltd announced it could no longer source crude oil and finished products because of unresolved foreign currency issues. This affected its supply of fuel to PNG, especially to the aviation industry where Air Niugini was forced to ground its flights and left the travelling public stranded for days as a result. The matter raised huge concerns on supply monopoly and the country's fuel security both for short and long term. FUEL CRISIS HITS THE COUNTRY  Fuel crisis hits PNG as the nation's capital Port Moresby starts to see service stations closing and some overwhelmed by a long queu motorists desperately trying to fuel up their vehicles. Some service stations belonging to Mobil, Total and Puma have had to send away vehicles because fuel is down. Some had only diesel and no petrol. However, the diesel could run out by Monday or Tuesday. Motorists are finding it tough now and many want to government to do something about this fuel crisis immediately to address it. [video width="640" height="640" mp4="https://pnghausbung.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/331231741_5966722576720711_7625677072010796605_n.mp4"][/video]

The planned meeting today between the police and its stakeholders with the public transport service providers in Port Moresby city did not eventuate as expected due to the poor turnout of the transport owners and operators.    The National Capital District (NCD) Metropolitan Superintendent, Mr. Silva Sika said it was unfortunate because he wanted the taxi and Public Motor Vehicle (PMV) operators to know what the police and its stakeholders have in store to ensure the safety of the pedestrians, commuters and transport operators.   “My priority is to make sure safety is number one, we want to make sure safety and security is guaranteed for our city,” he said.   He said the reason for the strategies in place is simply due to the fact that most of the PMVs and taxis break traffic rules on a daily basis and in the process, putting the safety of the public in danger.   “We cannot allow this to go on like no one is caring about this behaviour and attitude.”   Mr. Sika said they have already carried out some of the plans, like the monitoring of school crossings by the enforcement compliance unit from the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) at the start of the school year, which is just part of other strategies police and its stakeholders have planned to carryout.   “The meeting we are trying to hold here is about telling them about what mechanism or strategies we are going to use to control the behaviour of the taxi drivers and PMVs because they are the main offenders.”   “We have laws here, time and time again we deal with people when they are committing offences, but they never change, they continue to do that every day. It’s a daily routine violation of traffic laws in NCD and we can’t allow this to happen.”   Nevertheless, Mr. Sika still wants to hold this meeting with the public transport owners and operators; therefore, he told those few that were present at the Unagi Park this afternoon that this meeting is now moved to next week Sunday 26th February, at the same place.   He also urged them to pass the word along to their colleagues so that most of them can be present next week Sunday for this important meeting with them.   Meanwhile, the stakeholders that are also assisting police enforcing the traffic laws are the Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL), Road Traffic Authority (RTA), Central Province Transport Authority, Pacific Corporate Security (PCS) Limited which provides the Bus Stop Wardens service, and the PMV Association.    Most of their representatives were also present at the planned meeting this afternoon.   

The Government is now in serious discussions with Kumul Petroleum Limited (KPL) and three multi-national petroleum companies to find solutions for the fuel shortage in the country, with a major announcement expected soon, Prime Minister James Marape has said. The Prime Minister said the Government has been holding talks with ExxonMobil, Total Energies and Santos, together with Mineral Resources Development Authority and State-owned company KPL, to look into the immediate import of fuel and a long-term solution in the construction of a locally-based refinery for downstream processing to secure the domestic market. Prime Minister Marape said today (19.02.23) Papua New Guinea, under his government, was heading in the direction of downstream processing of its resources but Puma Energy's actions of recent months have forced the Government to act now rather than later in this area. "Our fuel insecurity due to reliance on one or two suppliers is forcing the Government to urgently call on its State-own Enterprises and major oil companies operating in the country to finding solutions," said PM Marape. “The Government is now collaborating with Kumul Petroleum, MRDC, ExxonMobil, Total Energies and Santos to explore solutions that can ensure the country's fuel security, including aviation fuel and general fuel. "We are leaving no stone unturned. What has happened under Puma must not be repeated. For far too long, this country has been victimised when, in fact, Papua New Guinea continues to export petroleum and gas to the world year after year. The irony is staggering. "I am, therefore, pleased to note the progress the Government is making with our national development partners - ExxonMobil, Total Energies and Santos. "I am also looking forward to the moment when we can make the announcement on the immediate solutions we have worked out to resolve this relatively long-standing issue." Papua New Guinea was plunged into an acute shortage of fuel at the end of last year 2022 when Puma Energy PNG Ltd announced it could no longer source crude oil and finished products because of unresolved foreign currency issues. This affected its supply of fuel to PNG, especially to the aviation industry where Air Niugini was forced to ground its flights and left the travelling public stranded for days as a result. The matter raised huge concerns on supply monopoly and the country's fuel security both for short and long term.