Morobe province

Magistrate Isaac Tjipet heard yesterday that 34-year-old Sandra James of Kamak village in Enga Province, who reportedly had a relationship with the complainant’s husband, went to her residence at Four-Mile on March 7^th and damaged her properties.

James, whose K300 bail has been extended, allegedly went to Regina Robert’s house when she was attending a court case at the Lae District Court.

“The defendant came with four other policemen, all dressed in police uniform,” said police prosecutor, Maureen Pohei.

“They travelled in a white 10-seater.”

Lae MP and Deputy Prime Minister, John Rosso, made this statement to commemorate the first anniversary of the passing of the former Bulolo MP, Sam Basil.

The late MP and his close protection officer died in a car crash along the Bulolo Highway on the night of May 11^th.

In his tribute, Rosso said: “On behalf of my family and the people of Lae, and as the Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, I pay my respects and tribute to the late Samuel Basil, the former Member for Bulolo and Wau, and former Deputy Prime Minister.

A final year student studying applied physics, a third year science in agriculture student and a second year mechanical engineering student were apprehended with their beer bottles at 5:01am at the Unitech bus stop on Tuesday, May 2^nd.

Two of them also received an additional charge of resisting arrest.

When appearing before Magistrate Isaac Tjipet on Friday, May 5^th, the trio pleaded guilty and asked the court to have mercy on them as they are students and first time offenders.

He said this is because Lae is a shipping hub, it hosts major manufacturing companies and the Okuk Highway connects Lae to the Highlands region.

Byrne attributed positive developments in recent years in infrastructure, which supports business growth, to good political leadership.

“They used to call Lae the ‘Pothole City’ but it is not anymore. We have some roads that aren’t being fixed piece by piece by great leadership and money being spent where it should be spent, including in the community as well as the businesses,” Byrne said.

Thus, the ever increasing sprouting of Small-Medium Enterprises (SME) and vendor markets, illustrate the pursuit of money-making opportunities to make ends meet.

“Hamamas Wear” is a small but thriving SME owned by Manus woman Marolyne Hahu. It is a Lae-based SME. Merolyn, who lives on 7^th Street, found passion in sewing after leaving formal employment.

Today, they have to paddle several kilometres out into the open sea in their dugouts – even at night – to catch just enough to feed their families.

The Integrated Mangrove Rehabilitation & Fish Mariculture Project has been initiated by Rural Development Officer, Joyce Anne Zamunu, to address food security, malnutrition, climate change and local economic growth concerns in the Morobe Rural LLG.

Zamunu said the proposed mariculture project seeks to integrate cage fish farming with mangrove rehabilitation in Zigori Village.

“Our communities are being marginalised due to the rampant corruption that has taken hold of our public service, which in turn pushes our people to the fringes of development,” he stated.

“This causes frustration and tension to build up in our communities until it eventually explodes in the form of conflict and violence.”

The event was co-hosted by the Lae Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

The April 24^th meeting was attended by 46 community-based organisations and industry representatives, including the PNG Council of Churches, Trade Union Congress and the media, and 18 members of the LCCI representing the business sector.

In his opening remarks at the CCAC 1st National Meeting, co-chair, Neville Choi, spoke about the CCAC, saying at its core, the CCAC is a model for national unity against corruption.

Student Representative Senate (SRS) president, Kenzie Walipi, described the late Raymond as a bright and promising student who was enrolled at UoT since 2020.

“Raymond hailed from a mixed parentage of Manus and Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and attended Sogeri National High School in 2019 before being selected to take mechanical engineering here at UoT.

“He was an active member of the Manus students, the Mech Pistons, the Ex-SONATHS family, and the Adventist family.

“His loss has deeply impacted the UoT community.

In a statement, PNG Power advised its customers and the general public in Lae and surrounding areas outside of the city that the issue started midday yesterday.

“The fault has been identified to be between Munum IPP Power Station and Taraka Substation and Power Station,” said PPL.

“The fault is affecting the supply of electricity into Lae city from the Munum Power Station and the Ramu Grid.

“Line patrol conducted on Saturday afternoon until the fall of dark has been called off and will continue again at first sunlight.