Gulf Province

For Pukari, a remote community in Gulf Province, human resource is an issue.

The blame may fall back to Pukari Primary School, but there are many other external contributing factors.

Shedding light and expressing concern was the current headmaster Erevai Toere.

The school has 297 students from grades 3 to 8. There are 80 students in each class, and only 6 teachers to cater for them.

On average, less than 10 students pass on to do Grade 9, either at the Kerema Coronation Secondary School or Malalaua High School.

But for the first time, Pukari in Gulf Province were able to speak up for their rights.

These needs include the right to access clean drinking water, primary health care, education for all and road link access, among others.

Road link is top on their agenda.

Even though Gulf Province is connected to Port Moresby by land, the feeder roads into the communities have deteriorated and are inaccessible.

This has in turn impacted other services like health and education.

Communities in Gulf are now taking ownership to establish a pathway for development.

And this is through the traditional structure system, which with modern influence, has since been broken down.

Assisting with this is Jungle Intelligence to oversee villages building back traditional landowner structures based on their customary landownership.

This structure follows options to partner with government and other agencies to build the needed services.

Changing the name from Papuan LNG to Gulf LNG Project and approving the Gulf LNG under the revised PNG Oil and Gas Act are amongst the list of agendas the people are pushing for the provincial and national governments and developers to resolve.

The people from Ihu, Baimuru and Kikori say they will not give away their petroleum and LNG resources cheaply without voicing their objections.

They are demanding for the government and developers to accommodate their views and clearly spell out their equity benefits before the project proceeds.

The landowners say they maintain a ‘No Pipeline Policy’ but claim the silence from the provincial government is proving otherwise.

For the last 10 years, Gulf Province has maintained a No Pipeline Policy. However, the landowners are suspecting the silence of the provincial government may mean they are supporting the project developer for gas pipeline out to Central Province.

The landowners say if this is the motive of the Gulf Provincial Government then it is contradicting the wishes of the people of Gulf Province.

The first arrest was carried out on 2 February in NCD, which saw Luke Damu from Wowobo village, Kikori District, get charged with:

• One count of official corruption
• One count of false pretence
• Four counts of making documents without authority
• Two counts of conspiracy to defraud
• One count of offering bribery and
• One count of misappropriation of K274,250.28 belonging to Gopera Investment Ltd

This promise was delivered by Governor Chris Haiveta at the closing of the 2017 HMF on Saturday.

The festival is hosted yearly by the Motu-Koita Assembly to celebrate the famous Hiri Trade.

As Haiveta said, the trade built long-lasting friendships and marriages between the people of these two provinces – Gulf and Motu-Koitabu.

“The trade has an intrinsic and cultural value of our people which must never be forgotten and allowed to change with time and progress,” he said.

Speaking at the official swearing in of the Gulf Provincial Assembly, Governor Haiveta said they will deliver a Supplementary Budget on the 12th of September to prioritise their focus.

The governor encouraged his team of elected and appointed members of the Gulf Provincial Assembly to be vigilant and smart enough to come up with realistic and practical recovery and delivery plans.

The plans should be governed by tight fiscal management strategies.

Haiveta said a review of all the province’s debts and outstanding provincial deficit budget issues is also a priority.

Gulf Regional - after elimination 47

Counting for Gulf Regional seat started at 3pm today.

Returning Officer Ronney Havenggau said count 1 will be for the 3 boxes from Kerema Urban.

Counting for Kerema and Kikori Open electorates will start tomorrow.

Meanwhile, counting for the regional and open electorates are all conducted in Kerema Town.

(File picture)