The Department for Community Development and Religion today hosted three significant Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signings at the APEC Haus, in Port Moresby. These signing agreements are vital for the Department as it continues to strengthen partnerships and collaborative efforts towards achieving its development priorities. The first MoA was signed with Mama Bank to provide the platform to ensure women, the marginalised and the vulnerable population have access to banking and financial services.They will have a much relaxed and flexible banking requirements to ensure easy access. The bank was also recently announced by the government as the country's third SME Bank.According to the Banks CEO, Mr. Gunandhi Das, since the announcement, the bank has already given out close to 1,500 Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) Loans, starting in February this year and continuing.Mr. Das thanked the Department and said this agreement is also very important to them in terms of reaching out to the rural districts with their banking services and products, riding on the back of the department’s provincial and district branches.  The second agreement was signed with the Centre of Excellence and Financial Inclusion (CEFI), giving them the capacity to continue its partnership with the Department, The agreement paves way for CEFI's continuation of the financial literacy training programs to empower the communities with financial literacy skills and giving the people the opportunity to venture into SME, through Mama Bank's banking services.CEFI's Acting Executive Director, Mr. Peter Samuel thanked the Secretary of DfCDR, Jerry Ubase for his leadership in ensuring the continuation of CEFI's partnership in providing their financial inclusion services. Especially their close collaboration with the Informal Economy Section under the Department in rolling out Financial Literacy trainings, which has impacted the lives of many low-income earners or even Informal market vendors over the period of their partnership. Department Secretary, Mr. Ubase said the key functions of the department is to ensure the marginalised and vulnerable population in the country receive services through community Protection and Empowerment programs, enabling them to participate in the development and growth of the country.He said through these key partnerships, it provides the necessary platform where the department can be able to reach the targeted population and also giving them the necessary skills and tools to build their financial capacity and earn income to sustain their livelihoods. The final MoA was signed between DfCDR and Dicos PNG Limited, a contractor assigned to build the Kikori District Community Development Centre.The initial agreement for the DCDC project for the Kikori Electorate in the Gulf province was already signed between the Department and Kikori District Development Authority. The contractor will begin phase 1 of the construction of Kikori District Community Development Centre following today's agreement signing, where both the Department and Kikori DDA have put forward K750,000 each, totaling to a sum of K1.5million.The Community Development Centre groundbreaking ceremony will take place tomorrow, Friday 03rd July at the Ihu Local Level Government (LLG) in the Kikori Electorate, Gulf Province.

“Food Safety must be a shared responsibility and must remain in everyone’s business.”This was the key message reiterated by various speakers representing different stakeholders when presenting to over fifty Moresby North-East food business owners at the 2026 National Capital District Commission (NCDC) Food Safety Workshop, which commenced on Monday, June 29th, 2026, at the Lamana Hotel in Port Moresby.Safeguarding food safety from a regulatory perspective has been an ongoing priority for NCDC over the years, particularly in maintaining consumer safety and minimizing public health risks.The idea of putting together this workshop and bringing together key partners and stakeholders with food business owners, was a necessary step in addressing the issue of food safety in Port Moresby.The National Department of Health (NDoH) plays a critical role in ensuring that the food businesses operate in a manner that protects the health and wellbeing of communities.The Food Sanitation Council and Secretariat is housed under the department and plays an oversight role to food safety, security, and also administering food legislation, while taking into consideration the consumers' health aspects in the country.During his presentation, Mr. Paschalis Kinakava, Environmental Health Branch Manager for NDoH, told participants that fostering partnerships through workshops like this is highly important for food safety in the city, and also vital for the country’s growth into the future, especially where public health is concerned.Mr. Kinakava emphasized the importance of shared responsibilities and the need for businesses to remain well-informed about operational standards and safety measures.This awareness enables stakeholders to effectively carry out their mandated responsibilities, ensuring both compliance and preparedness in safeguarding food safety. Meanwhile, Technical Officer for Environmental Health and Communicable Diseases from World Health Organization (WHO) Ms. Nola Eluh Ndrewei, spoke on what WHO is doing in protecting health through safer foods.She highlighted that WHO is deeply involved in Foodborne Diseases Surveillance and the One Health Approach method.Ms. Ndrewei revealed that while foodborne diseases are common in Papua New Guinea, they remain underreported.These illnesses are frequently linked to poor hygiene, contaminated water, improper handling, and environmental factors that negatively affect public health, local economies, and businesses.She explained that food safety risks typically arise from biological hazards such as bacteria and parasites, or chemical contaminants like pesticides and heavy metals. She also listed some of the complex challenges concerning One Health and food safety in the country which is due to limited cold chain, informal food sector (street vendors, markets), water and sanitation issues, increasing imports and urbanization, and a fragmented and outdated legislation (Systematic Issues).To effectively apply the One Health strategy to food safety, joint actions and a multisectoral collaborative effort are required. “Effective food safety requires coordination across our health sector, agriculture and livestock, fisheries, environment and water authorities, local governments such as markets and sanitation programs, and more importantly our food business owners and the communities,” said Ms. Ndrewei.Moreover, food business owners were reminded that food safety is not the responsibility of government only, but it is a shared responsibility.The speaker reiterated that food business owners must practice safe handling, ensure their staff are trained properly, and be responsible in reporting outbreaks.Furthermore, the general public and customers must also play their role in ensuring hygiene, preparing safe food, and reporting illnesses that arise from food consumption.

Food Business Operators in Port Moresby today convened at Lamana Hotel for the 2026 NCDC Food Safety Workshop, hosted by the national Capital District Commission (NCDC) Environmental Health Branch. NCD City Manager, Mr. Ravu Frank was present this morning to officially open the Workshop and provide the insights on the intentions of NCDC as the City Regulator, to achieve in this Workshop. When welcoming the participants (Food Business Operators/Owners), Mr. Frank said it is important to open dialogues between NCDC as regulator and Food business owners, who are important partners when it comes to food safety and security in the city."The aim of this workshop is the to Strengthen Regulatory Compliance, Reduce Food Safety Risks in NCD, Build Stronger partnerships between NCDC and its Stakeholders and to maintain NCDC's legacy of capacity building in the food industry," said Mr. Frank. He also highlighted that food business owners are critical partners that contribute to nation building and it is important to establish a system of shared responsibilities The three day's workshop will feature presentations from various partners and Stakeholders that play an active role in Food Safety Standards and the safeguarding of food safety for NCD food businesses. Participants in today's session are food Business owners in the Moresby North-East Electorate. Tomorrow will be for the Moresby North-West food Business owners and Thursday will be for the Moresby South and Motu-Koita Food Business Owners. The Theme for this workshop is "Strengthening Food Safety through Partnerships".

While our Cricket National teams, both Men and Women teams are doing so well with outstanding performances, milestones and achievements on the regional and international levels, they are still not getting enough attention and support, especially from the Papua New Guinea Government.This was a concern raised by Cricket PNG Board Member, Mr. Rarua Dikana.In an exclusive interview with PNG Haus Bung, Mr. Dikana said that, apart from Rugby League, Cricket and any other sporting codes in the country should be given support and attention from the national government.Regardless, the sport’s main body, Cricket PNG has been the main support system and corner stone, in terms of the roles and duties they perform in maintaining, and progressing the growth and development of cricket in the country.When comparing Cricket to Rugby League, starting from its development programs to community engagement programs, domestic and National Competitions and the general progress of the sports, cricket is not far behind rugby league.The only difference is, rugby league has the support of key major corporate bodies in the country and the full backing of the PNG Government, while for Cricket, their main support comes from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the world cricket body.Mr. Dikana said that, just like cricket getting their support from the International body, other sporting codes are in the same situation, getting support from their International federations or bodies.“For Cricket in particular, the global body is very serious about growing the game outside of the more dominant countries. So, when ICC derives or generates income from TV rights or whatever funds they get out of global activities they run, the money is then spread across to the developing countries as grants. So, for cricket png, we are lucky that we have a world body who are responsible for the development of the game,” said Mr. Dikana.He adds that the funding they receive from the world body is used to develop cricket in the country. That’s where the Board oversees the whole governance side of things, by making sure it goes to High Performance, Game Development and a small part of it for Administration. Apart from ICC funding, they also receive support through sponsorships from few corporate organizations.However, for the past 12 to 18 months, sponsorships from corporate organizations have been hard to come by due to the tough economic situation faced by PNG at the moment. The tough economic times in the country has gone to the extreme of Cricket PNG losing a few of its corporate clients and sponsorships.Dikana highlighted the programs that they have, especially the junior development programs, community engagements, player development, and high performance. Yet all of these is supported through the ICC grants. That includes allowances of the current players in the National Teams, U19’s and the Seniors.“Cricket in PNG is taking more of a professional approach. You have the players coming into play, train and get paid, as motivation to improve the game. And that’s how the game has evolved. And that’s how the administration is trying to make sure this is maintained. And that’s where more support should come from corporate organizations and the government,” Dikana said.The players that are receiving the privilege of been paid are from their Flagship programs, which are the National Teams in Garamuts, Lewas and Barramundis, including the support expatriate staffs. Those privileges come from Cricket PNG and their key valued corporate clients, in terms of sponsorships.Dikana said that in order for the Teams to be successful, they need to have a strong domestic structure. And that’s were the national government needs to come in with their support to fill in those loop holes for the growth and development of the game in the country.“At the moment, most of our talents and crop of players that we get are from our affiliated associations from the coastal villages in Port Moresby, Central, Milne Bay and Popondetta. These are our main hubs where we scout our players from. But we also have other regions like the non-traditional cricket areas that cricket is operating in, especially in places like, Goroka, Mendi, Jiwaka, Hagen, Madang and West New Britain. Apart from that we would like to see our operations and influence on the game spread across the entire country,” said Dikana.The growth and development of cricket need to move away from the more traditional coastal areas into all four regions, Islands, Highlands, Momase and Southern. In order for that, Cricket PNG has to have strong development programs, ranging from the junior pathways to the seniors as well as a strong domestic structure. And that has been the foundation of Cricket PNG.Sadly, the national government’s assistance does not seem to be in that picture. Dikana reiterated that if only the government comes onboard and starts giving them the attention that cricket deserves, only then, we can see the growth of the game, whereas, we can also focus on building the skills and capacity of the current group of elite players we have in country, by having them take part in regional and overseas domestic and national competitions.“There are lots of opportunities out there in the sporting code of cricket. On that note, cricket have existed in the country for well over 5o years and we have done so much not only on the cricket field but off the field as well. Our development programs have made a huge impact to communities involve in the sport, not to mention, the positive impact it’s had on our young children, our youths and our women and girls.”“We’ve being participating in regional and global events. We’ve won numerous awards, individually and as a national team. We’ve carried our national flag with pride for many years now, and while the regional and global communities recognize us, we are hoping our government recognizes also what we are doing or what we have achieved over the years,” stressed Dikana.Mr. Dikana has made these bold comments directed towards the PNG Government, as our National Men and Women’s teams are stepping up in their preparations to book their spot in the T20 World Cup event. For the other format of the game, PNG has lost our ODI (One-Day-International) Status a few years back, losing a big chunk of funding from the Global body, ICC.It is now up to Cricket PNG to ensure that the development programs are ongoing and the standards of the Flagship teams (Barramundis, Lewas, Garamuts) are maintained at the international standards, to continue to receive funding from International Cricket Council (ICC). The funding that comes from ICC is through a performance rewarding system. If a country loses its rankings in a particular format of the sport or is not doing well, they lose their status and funding is cut.Now is the time where the National Government’s intervention and support is very critical for Cricket PNG. As cricket in the country is growing and moving rapidly on the regional and international stage, it is their concern that cricket and every other sporting codes and sporting bodies are receiving their fair share of support to the greater good of the sport.

Mr. Jackson Kiakari was sworn in today as the newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors for Niusky Pacific Limited, at the Head Quarters in Port Moresby.NSPL’s Executive Manager – Business Support, Nr. Paul Dopsie welcomed the incoming Chairman Mr. Kiakari, Deputy Chairman Mr. Kaime Kipi and the Ex-officio Directors of the new Board, Mr. Nelson Huekwahin and Ms. Jacinta Waine.In congratulating and welcoming the new board members on their appointment, Mr. Dopsie reminded them that today is a celebration of a legacy, a legacy of excellence, resilience, modernization and unwavering commitment to the safety of Papua New Guinea’s skies and the government we serve.He emphasized that, with their appointment, they must stand ready to inherit a company with solid foundations, a clear strategy, and a commitment team ready to support their leadership to carry their work forward.While acknowledging the achievements of the former Chairman and the Board, he also announced the resignation of the outgoing Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Graham Edward Blythe, who tendered his resignation, a week ago.It was through the efforts of the outgoing Chairman, Mr. Robin Kawat and the former Board and their steady leadership, that has helped Niusky Pacific Limited navigate one of the most demanding periods in its history and has emerged stronger.“As we welcome the new Board, it is fitting that we pause not to mark an ending, but to celebrate a legacy, a legacy of excellence, resilience, modernization and unwavering commitment to the safety of Papua New Guinea’s skies and the government we serve,” said Mr. Dopsie.Mr. Dopsie proudly revealed that Niusky Pacific Limited is not simply a National Institute, but also, a regionally respected Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), and is also regarded topday as one of the finest ANSP’s in the Asia Pacific region.“That recognition has not come easily, and not by accident. It has been earned through years of strategic investments, rigorous safety standards, technological innovations, and the tireless dedication of all our staff. We stand tall alongside our regional counter parts, and we do so with confidence and pride,” said Mr. Dopsie.While on air safety, he highlighted Safety as their first and non-negotiable priority. It was revealed that the loss of separation events fell from eight in 2024 to a single event across the whole of 2025, lifting safety risk rating to its best level in years.Financially, the outgoing CEO and the senior management team secured AUD 22.5 million in development funding under the Transport Sector Support Program, opening a new phase of infrastructure renewal and for the first time secured Government funding through PIP program, with K8 million in 2025 budget and K6 million in 2026 budget appropriations, which K2 million has already been given by the Government to date.Minister for Aviation – Wake Goi was also present to witness the swearing in ceremony, together with representatives from ADB (Asian-Development-Bank), other Development Partners and stakeholders.Speaking at the occasion, Minister Goi challenged the staff and Management of Niusky Pacific Limited to give their un-dividing support to the newly appointed chairman and the board members for the common purpose of their mandated responsibilities as an Air Navigation Service Provider for Papua New Guinea.While he also expressed his disappointment and frustration on the exit of the outgoing CEO, Mr. Blythe and the alleged circumstances surrounding his resignation. Minister Goi urged the Senior Management Team and the staff of NSPL to stop creating disharmony in the organization and focus on working together as a team, because they still have a lot of work to be done and major projects to be completed.Goi said, with the appointment and swearing in of the new Board, he will ensure that a new acting MD/CEO is appointed by next week, so that, they can continue with infrastructure renewal phase for airports and airstrips around the country in alignment with the governments connect PNG program, to connect to the unconnected through partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders and development partners.In his Maiden speech as the new Board Chairman, Mr. Kiakari made a challenging statement by asking the management and staff of NSPL, “We need to be asking this question. Why are we here, and why are we doing this?”Mr. Kiakari vowed to do his best in his tenure as the board chairman and urged everyone from NSPL for their support.He said, he will be looking closely into the management and administration side of things to see where we are so they can build on it.However, Kiakari’s focus, first and foremost, is to ensure the right and correct practices are carried out to ensure the non-negotiable priority of Airspace Safety is paramount and maintained.

Vabukori villagers have become the first Motu-Koita people in the Local Level Government (LLG) in the National Capital Ditrict (NCD) to use the Biometric Voter Enrollment System.Today, Team NCD from the Electoral Commission (EC) led by the NCD Election Manager Mr. Roney Hawengao and his Electoral officers, carried out the Testing of the Biometric Voter Enrollment at three Stations set up within the Vabukori village.When welcoming the villagers, Deputy NCD Election Manager, Mr. Alfred Laho expressed gratitude to the village leaders and elders for allowing their team to carry out this exercise. He said this marks a significant occasion for the EC as Vabukori will be the first in NCD and the first in the country to participate in the Biometric Voter Enrollment System.Laho also announced to the Vabukori people that this photo roll update and Biometric registration process will be added as the first roll update for the new Motu-Koita Electorate.However, he emphasized that the Biometric registration will not be used in the upcoming 2027 NGE, but it will be an ongoing exercise to prepare them for 2032 NGE.Laho also made a call to the youths in Vabukori to come and participate in the Voter Enrollment exercise as they are the most important voters as the future of this country.The exercise which starts today will be carried out over the course of three days, ending on Friday.

The much-anticipated series of project launchings for the Kikori Electorate schedule for last Friday 19th June, was postponed due to the untimely passing of a Ward Member from West Ihu Local Level Government (LLG).Prime Minister James Marape was expected to accompany Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government Affairs and Member for Kikori Electorate, Soroi Eoe, to officiate at the launching event. Unfortunately, the untimely passing of Mr. Joshua Kovah, the vice chairman of the events organizing committee for the launch and ward member in the Ihu LLG, put a halt to all preparations and proceedings of the launching program last week.According to an officer from the Office of the Member for Kikori and Minister for DPLGA, they were instructed by Minister Soroi to postpone the event in respect of Late Mr. Kovah.Late Mr. Kovah was a respected leader amongst his colleague Ward Members in the West and East Ihu LLG’s and was said to have played a lead role in organizing the event for the program launchings.The Vice President of West Ihu LLG said that it is rightly so that Minister Soroi had to defer the launch program to a later date as a sign of respect for the Late Mr. Kovah and his family. And also, it is the right thing to do customarily, just to avoid unnecessary pressure from his people, especially his immediate family and loyal supporters.The postponed Launching events will be rescheduled to a later date, as advised accordingly by the Minister's Office.

PNG Olympian and renown athlete, trainer, coach, mentor and the Founder of N.E.S.T (Never-Ever-Stop-Trying) Mr. Nelson Stone, continues to be the beacon of light and advocator of changes through his NEST Program in communities in the Nation’s Capital city, Port Moresby.Last week, Stone secured the partnership and services of HN Plant Hire Services to carry out road maintenance and upgrading for Nikints Street in Morata 3.Recognising the need for safer and more accessible roads within the community, Nelson Stone approached HN Plant Hire Services to provide the necessary equipment and execute the road maintenance and upgrade works.Beyond his achievements on the track, Nelson continues to demonstrate his commitment to community development by taking practical steps to improve the lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.The scope of this project includes road grading and reshaping, drainage clearing and improvement, pothole repair and maintenance, vegetation clearing where required, general road upgrading works to improve accessibility and road safety.This project clearly exemplifies volunteering community leadership and local stakeholders working in collaboration to improve access, enhance road safety, and creating better living conditions for residents of Morata 3 and its surrounding communities.The N.E.S.T Program extends its gratitude to the community leaders of Morata 3 and the residents, while also expressed its appreciation to the landowners and other local stakeholders that have supported this initiative.

The materials for the Kit Home project for Orokolo Bay Health Centre in Ihu District of Kikori Electorate in the Gulf province were delivered on Thursday 18th June by MV IBK.The villagers of Kavava where the Health Centre is located came with 9 outboard motors and transported the materials to the shore. From the beach they then carried the materials further, 50 meters inland to the Health Centre.According to the Press Officer for Kikori MP and Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government, Soroi Eoe, they are delivering the remaining materials for the 2 kit homes for Orokolo Bay Health Centre.A total of K600, 000 was used to purchase 5 Kit homes. 2 are beingdelivered at Orokolo Bay Sub-Health Centre. While materials for the other three kit homes will be delivered later to Vailala #1, Popo and Harona, which will be used to serve as Aid Posts.The Orokolo Bay Health Centre attends to a population of 19,000 people in the West Ihu Local Level Government (LLG). The LLG itself is a new LLG introduced during the last LLG Elections.The Health Centre is a church run institution that has 9 staffs. Two are senior experienced Extension Officers. The whole seven are local volunteers who were trained to assist with the general outpatient work at the centre.

The MV IBK (Ihu-Baimuru-Kikori) ship departed Port Moresby at approximately 9PM on Tuesday June 16th, loaded with kit home building materials destined for Ihu Local Level Government (LLG) within the Kikori electorate of Gulf province.These materials will be delivered to the people of OroKolo Bay for the Orokolo Bay Health Centre.This delivery marks the beginning of a series of development projects set to be officially delivered and launched over the coming days by the Minister for Provincial and Local Level Government, and Member for Kikori, Honorable Soroi Eoe.MV IBK is expected to dock at Orokolo Bay today, Wednesday June 17th, to offload the Health Centre Kit Homes materials.Following this delivery, the ship will travel up Vailala River to Ihu Station tomorrow, where a brand-new Tractor will be deliverd to Ihu LLG.On the Friday, Minister Soroi will be joined by the Prime Minister James Marape, where major District Projects for Kikori will be launched.The key developments include the rural districts' electrification for Kikori, multiple key road infrastructure projects, a new bridge project, and the launch of the new Ihu Market.According to a senior staff from the Kikori District Office, these a part of the vital development projects for the electorate and the people of Kikori electorate.

Kerema Coronation Secondary School in Gulf Province celebrated a significant milestone on Tuesday, June 09th, with the arrival of Starlink internet, now creating opportunities for digital innovation and education growth for the student.This was made possible through a collaborative effort by the Papua New Guinea Gulf Association of Queensland (PNG GAQ) and private donor, Mr. Samson Narokobi and his family, who purchased and donated the starlink hardware.With the support of Ms. Diane Karukuru, a super volunteer with PNG GAQ, and Mr. William Avai, a teacher at the school and a fellow volunteer.According to the PNG Gulf Association of Queensland, the discussion of bringing starlink to the schools started four years ago.The concept was brought forward by Mr. Avai, a teacher and Mr. Narakobi while he was based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while pending approval of the license to operate in PNG.The Starlink unit was officially presented to the students and the teachers as Mr. Avei coordinated the installation of the unit.By Tuesday evening, the unit was fully installed, configured, and operational in the teachers’ staff room, clocking impressive download speeds of approximately 100 Mbps.The school will be responsible for the ongoing subscription of the unit, ensuring the service remains sustainable over the coming years.Furthermore, students and teachers of Kerema Coronation Secondary School gained instant access to high-speed internet, creating opportunities for online learning, research, teacher development, communication opportunities, teleconferencing, and other digital educational resources.This project signifies the importance of community partnerships between donor partners, volunteers, and non-governmental organizations in enhancing community engagement initiatives.

One of the struggling Local Level Government (LLG) in Western Province- Wipim LLG, is currently seeing a new road construction project taking place.A new vehicle has been delivered to Wipim District Headquarters yesterday, and has already gone to work, making its first trip to inspect the road construction on the mainland of South Fly District.A team of officers drove from Wipim to Tapila today to check progress on the Wipim to Tapila Road Project, funded under the Ok Tedi Mining Limited (Ok Tedi) Tax Credit Scheme.Western Provincial Administrator, Robert Alphonse Kaiyun said the trip proves the road is now passable and usable as it connects Wipim directly to Tapila for the first time.The vehicle is expected to support more field visits and service delivery patrols into the mainland of South Fly Electorate and its surrounding LLG’s and District areas.