MVIL Launches Much Need Road Safety Campaign

The Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL) has embarked on a campaign to reduce the carnage on our national roadways.

The campaign, called the ‘Road Safety, It’s Not A Game” enlists the support of professional Australian Rugby League Players like Wendel Sailor, Paul Aiton, Neville Costigan and others who will appear in posters, billboards, various forms of signage’s on PMVs, newspaper, radio and television advertisements right across the country delivering messages aimed at addressing the five major causes of road safety breaches in PNG.

These messages will focus on Speeding, Drink driving, Overloaded PMV’s, Pedestrian Safety and Saying No if feeling unsafe on a PMV (or any other transport for that matter). According to MVIL statistics, every year 200 people die in road accidents in PNG with another 600+ injured. The estimated cost of road incidents is around K500 million a year.
It seems a significant of deaths involve overloaded PMV’s.

Other causes of road accidents, fatalities and injuries involve poor road conditions, alcohol, vehicle overloading, passengers/driver s not wearing seat belts, lack of understanding of road rules, speeding, pedestrian crossings and poor vehicle conditions. We are unaware of how long will the campaign will go for and if there will be an audit.

*** It is imperative that more road safety campaigns need to be done all over the country. Due to the poor road conditions, accidents double in almost every year and therefore, those who are directly involved in the safety of our motorists need to do more of these kinds of campaigns to reduce road accidents.

Nevertheless, Papua New Guinea has some of the worst road conditions and therefore drivers must take extra precaution when driving on PNG's roads.

Men, Alcohol, 200 Road Fatalities and Widows at Home

By Jaive Smare

Its always been the common agreed upon assumption in PNG, that men drink drive and men die in car accidents caused not by the alcohol in us but because of our sense of immortality that is heightened with every beer we drink before we sit behind that wheel.

According to statistics from MVIL, 85 percent of drivers involved in accidents were found to have consumed alcohol prior to the accident. Also, 18 out of 20 pedestrians who died on our roads were intoxicated with alcohol.

In a road survey, MVIL officers found that on week nights, many drivers had an alcohol consumption reading of 0.08 percent. In most countries, blood alcohol readings of 0.5 percent will get you fined, in jail and your license suspended.

MVIL has also stated that 200+ people die every year in road fatalities in PNG.

The last and most significant of MVILs statistics is that 80 percent of deaths in road accidents involve males.

If you forget about all the other statistics and just focused on this last one, you can easily realize that the one group in PNG that needs to change its attitude to road safety and drink driving has to be the men.

Blokes have to say no to drink driving, they have to stop the urge to do stunt men like driving on our roads, they have to budget their money and fix any problems with their car, for themselves and for their families.

If MVILs statistics are correct, that 80 percent of all road fatalities involve male, then every year more than 150 families lose a male.

Wives lose their husbands, kids lose their fathers, parents lose their sons, siblings lose their brothers.

Legislation can reduce some of the road toll, but for real significant change, male attitudes need to change.


*** I applaud the provinces who are preparing to ban liquor during the Christmas and the festive season. This will probably reduce the number of accidents occur frequently as a direct result of consuming excessive amount of alcohol beyond the normal limit.

I urge all men to spend quality time with your family, friends, and neighbors during this time of Christmas and New Year. Merry Christmas, PNG!

Papua New Guinea Immigration Office has a new website

At last, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade under the Papua New Guinea government has a new website. It was launched by the Hon. Sam Abel, MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on the 15th of December, 2009. The launching of the website is timely as Papua New Guinea stands to gain from the multimillion dollar LNG project.

The website will provide vital information needed for business partners and skilled foreign workers to get the up-to-date information on the immigration process and entry requirements to Papua New Guinea.

Almost invariably, businesses/companies/individuals loaded with the burden of increasing workloads and the pressures of being lean and mean, fall back upon the Internet for most of their administrative tasks. This work includes, among others downloading application forms and emails.

The advent of the website will also substantially contribute to bringing down the costs of communication and marketing within the department. In a nutshell, the website could reduce the overall cost of business operations with the person(s)and/or governments involved.

According to the new website, the Papua New Guinea immigration Services (PNGICS) meets its administrative obligations by:

• Interpreting and applying national legislation & policies;

• Managing and regulating the entry, stay and departure of non-citizens in PNG;

• Working in partnership with the Department of Labour and Industrial Relations for the issuance of visas to approved work permit applicants;

• Managing the issuance of PNG passports and other travel documents to PNG citizens;

• Managing the process for the grant of PNG citizenship;

• Managing the issuance of the PNG APEC Business Travel Card;

• Working in partnership with other border agencies to securely facilitate passengers through PNG's border checkpoints;

• Contributing to PNG's border integrity through effective visa and compliance operations; and
• Managing the detention and removal of unlawful non-citizens.

The PNGICS office says, it is responsible for delivering essential and critical government services to Papua New Guinea citizens and foreigners that ensure the effective and secure management of our borders in accordance with the Papua New Guinea Migration, Passport and Citizenship Acts.

Thanks to Hon. Sam Abel, MP and his staff, and others for the foresight and ingenuity in launching the new website which will help immensely in processing everyday immigration needs of Papua New Guineans as well as foreigners and speed up business activities easily.

For all your immigration inquiries about Papua New Guinea, you can click here to go to the PNGICS website.

You are cordially invited to A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

You are cordially invited to

A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!

Guest of Honor: Jesus Christ

Date: Every day. Traditionally, December 25
but He's always around, so the date is flexible...
Time

Whenever you're ready. (Please don't be late, though, or you'll miss out on all the fun!)

Venue

In your heart.... He'll meet you there. (You'll hear Him knock.)

Attire

Come as you are... grubbies are okay. He'll be washing our clothes anyway. He said something about new white robes and crowns for everyone who stays till the last.

Tickets

Admission is free. He's already paid for everyone. He says you wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway...it cost Him everything He had. But
you do need to accept the ticket!!

Refreshments

New wine, bread, and a far-out drink He calls "Living Water," followed by a supper that promises to be out of this world!

Gift Suggestions

Your life. He's one of those people who already has everything else.
(He's very generous in return though. Just wait until you see what He has for you!)

Entertainment

Joy, Peace, Truth, Light, Life, Love, Real Happiness,

Communion with God, Forgiveness, Miracles, Healing, Power, Eternity in Paradise, Contentment, and much more! (All "G" rated, so bring your family and friends.)

R.S.V.P. Very Important!

He must know ahead so He can reserve a spot for you at the table. Also, He's keeping a list of His friends for future reference. He calls it the "Lamb's Book of Life."

Party being given by His Kids (that's us!)

Hope to see you there! For those of you whom I will see at the party, share this with someone today!

Study opportunities for potential PNG students - ADB Scholarships

Here is some vital information on scholarship opportunities offered by Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The following is a quote from ADB's website (http://www.adb.org)

"The Asian Development Bank (ADB) - Japan Scholarship Program (JSP) aims to provide an opportunity for well-qualified citizens of ADB's developing member countries to pursue postgraduate studies in economics, management, science and technology, and other development-related fields at participating academic institutions in the Asian and Pacific Region.

Upon completion of their study programs, scholars are expected to contribute to the economic and social development of their home countries. The ADB-JSP enrolls about 300 students annually in 20 academic institutions located in 10 countries within the Region. The ADB-JSP provides full scholarships for one to two years."

Here are the links to the scholarship homepage

http://www.adb.org/JSP/default.

http://www.adb.org/JSP/institutions.

Please circulate this information among relevant persons/institutes and encourage them to apply. For example, Japanese universities listed here accept applications in January and some in March, since the school starts in April.