NEW DAWN ON BOUGAINVILLE

New Dawn invited to prestigious conference

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

Bougainville’s community radio station, New Dawn FM 95.3, has been invited to attend an important international conference.

The Asia Pacific Board of Directors of the Association of World Community Radio is holding its regional conference in Bangalore, India from 20-23 February.

I will attend the meeting and also a pre-conference workshop on Community Media Capacity to be held from 17 -19 February.

The main goal of the conference is to provide a collective and creative platform for policy discussion and advocacy.

It aims to further strengthen community broadcasters so they can address the challenges they face.

Participants will also define plans of action and issue the Bangalore Declaration.

Election '10: People should forget differences

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

A local chief, John Munei, is appealing to the people of Bougainville to make a good choice in this year’s General Election.

Mr Munei said that the second ABG parliament needs good leaders to prepare the foundation for a referendum on independence.

He said the people must forget about voting for clansman and think seriously about the development and future of Bougainville.

He said people must forget their differences and work for Bougainville.

Doctors tour to improve people’s lifestyle

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

Doctors from Australia have been in Bougainville building awareness of lifestyle diseases.

The doctors, led by Dr Joe Vilosi from Buka General Hospital, toured all of Buka Island and Central Bougainville.

Dr Vilosi told New Dawn FM that diabetes was on the rise and people need to cut down on taking sugar.

He told New Dawn FM that there were four fast -selling items in Buka that people need to cut down on: beer, sugar, coke and freezer goods including ice cream.

He said diabetes was becoming a concern in Bougainville as it has become the 3rd biggest killer.

Dr Vilosi said that diabetes was a preventable disease and can be controlled.

Bougainville Alliance wants Semoso sacked

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

The Bougainville branch of the ruling National Alliance Party wants the regional member for Bougainville, Hon Fidelis Semoso, removed from the party.

A petition from branch executives said Mr Semoso was creating uncertainty, instability and confusion amongst party members and supporters.

They alleged he had unconstitutionally directed his officers to call an illegal meeting to dissolve the existing Bougainville provincial executive in order to form a new political party.

The executives also said Mr Semoso did not show support of the local party and had failed to attend five consecutive Provincial Executive meetings.

They also claimed he lacked transparency and accountability and questioned his leadership.

Meanwhile Mr Semoso told a news conference in Buka that, following his election as the New Guinea Island’s National Alliance deputy leader, he could be given the National Planning Ministry left vacant by Paul Tiensten.

Local member wants to see south on the move

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

The member for South Bougainville, Stephen Pirika, wants his region to move forward and become economically powerful.

He said there is no reason the suth should remain stagnant whilst the rest of Bougainville moves forward.

Mr Pirika made these comments after visiting projects and proposed project sites in South Bougainville with South Korean investors.

They included the border post location at Kangu, the proposed South Bougainville Sports Stadium at Buin, Buin Vocational School, Buin Secondary School, Katukuh Health Centre, feeder roads and proposed short cut roads.

Mr Pirika also met with landowners of the proposed university centre at Haisi in the Siwai area.

He said he wants to see the four districts of Torokina, Buin, Bana and Siwai show some tangible development.

Buin high school gets off to a bad start in 2010

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

Buin Secondary School is copping the consequences of bad decisions by politicians.

The school was upgraded just before the last general election but without additional building facilities.

New principal, Tony Malamo, told New Dawn FM that the school should not have been upgraded in this way.

Meanwhile, the school got off to a bad start this year with less than half its staff appointed.

Out of the 27 established staff positions, only 12 were present.

An emotional Mr Malamo told a visiting delegation led by the Member for South Bougainville, Stephen Pirika, to immediately see education officials in Buka to quickly recruit teachers.

Mr Pirika promised to take up the matter with education authorities.

Educational television will promote development

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

A company from South Korea has won a contract to provide facilities for educational television broadcasts, E-Education.

The regional member for Bougainville, Hon Fidelis Semoso, told a news conference in Buka that the project will cost K5 million and will be funded by the PNG national government through its four Bougainville members.

E-Education in Bougainville will be similar to the JICA project on EMTV, however a full time teacher will be engaged and programs will be repeated according to student requests.

Welcoming the South Korean project team, Mr Semoso said that Bougainville was fortunate to work with the Koreans on this important education project.

He said that an educated society is needed for Bougainville to move forward and more emphasis should be given to the education sector on Bougainville.

He said Bougainville had led in education but the twenty year conflict has reversed the trend by thirty years.

Council of Elders chairman will run for election

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

As the ABG General election draws near, more aspiring candidates are resigning from their jobs to contest the election.

Most recently the chairman of Tsitalato Council of Elders, Joseph Gatana , announced his intention to step down from office.

He will contest the Tsitalato seat currently left vacant by Hillary Laris who was sentenced by the Buka District court last year.

Mr Gatana said he was resigning was to help support the work of the Council of Elders, which he claimed was the most forgotten system of government by the ABG.

He said he hopes to change this trend if elected.

Students stranded as travel tickets fail to arrive

BY ANTHONY KAYBING AND TAPO TOVILU

Tertiary students on Bougainville have not left for their respective schools because they are still waiting for their tickets from the Office of Higher Education (OHE).

The students who are all under HECAS scholarships are frustrated with the new system used by the OHE to issue tickets to continuing students through post offices around the nation.

A fourth year female student at the University of Goroka said that the new system is causing inconvenience for the students.

“If OHE had sent the tickets directly to Air Niugini the process of getting our tickets would not be so slow,” she said.

She said the new system was time consuming and that their schools were expecting them for registration this week.

“I hope the OHE sees the inconvenience this new arrangement is causing and will try to do something better for the students next year,” she said.

The same sentiment was shared amongst senior students of the University of Technology, who said living in Buka was very expensive.

“Some of us live away from Buka town and cannot afford to travel to and from the town just to check our tickets. With hefty school fees already in place it is just another burden to our parents,” they said.

“We just hope we receive our tickets early so we can travel to our schools in time,” they said.

The Office of Higher Education said that they have already given the students tickets to Travel Express, which is the travel agent being used to issue students tickets throughout the nation.

Travel Express said tickets were at hand but they were waiting for available seats on Air Niugini’s student concession fair.

They said, due to the closer of the Madang highway, all students who normally travel by road were now traveling by air, making the work of acquiring seats on the plane very difficult.

They reassured the students that they were doing all can to rectify the situation.

Bougainville remains top priority for UN

BY ALOYSIUS LAUKAI

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville is a top priority for the United Nations, according to the organisation’s resident coordinator in PNG, David Mac.

Mr Mac told a reconciliation ceremony in Arawa on Wednesday that UNDP and the broader UN system have been actively engaged in Bougainville for more than ten years.

The UN works closely with the ABG and the national government in supporting sustainable development, small arms reduction, trauma counseling and the creation of sustainable livelihood economic developments in the region.

The UN is increasing its presence in Bougainville, it has been engaged in the region for a long time and new partners are coming on board.