Celebrating 2015 Christmas

Celebration Christmas with lots of singing and music at Greg and Oli's residence. For more pics click here

Corals Springs wins title

The 2015 Under 14s title was taken by Corals Springs Soccer Club. In a very tightly contested match against LSC in a scoreless 40 minutes, the games official had to give 5 minutes extra time to eventually see Coral Springs shooting home the match winning goal. President of the club Greg Tokwabilula and his wife Olive Losane came up with the idea of forming the club to feed young raw talents from Milne Bay to participate in the Eastern Papua Carnival (EPC) to showcase their skills. The club is anticipating to have two major sponsors in 2016. click here for more pictures

IDEA WORKSHOP

By Dr Alphonse Gelu
The Registry of Political Parties in partnership with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) would be running a workshop from November 9th to 13th on the “State of Democracy (SOD) Assessment Framework Workshop”. The workshop is to consider the question of “How democratic is Papua New Guinea”. IDEA is an intergovernmental body that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Its objective is to strengthen democratic institutions and processes. Internal IDEA acts as a catalyst for democracy building by providing knowledge resources, expertise and a platform for debate on democracy issues. It works together with policy makers, donor governments, UN organisations and agencies, regional organisations and others engaged on the field of democracy building. IDEA’s notable areas of expertise are; Constitution-building processes, Electoral processes, Political Parties, Democracy and gender and Democracy assessments. IDEA works worldwide. It is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has offices in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Recently an office was established in Canberra that is in charge for the Asia-Pacific regions. In April 2015, the Registry submitted a draft NEC submission requesting Papua New Guinea to be a member of IDEA. The Registry has not heard anything as yet from the Department of Prime Minister & NEC on this proposal. Becoming a member of IDEA would place Papua New Guinea the same as other member countries that have joined IDEA and also to cement Papua New Guinea’s leadership in the region that is committed to up-holding democracy and its principles. Papua New Guinea recently celebrated its 40th year of independence on 16 September 2015. Since its independence in 1975, PNG has maintained a relatively good record of democratic rule. However a comprehensive assessment, demonstrating how democratic PNG is and identifying what have been some of the gains of democracy for the country and its people, is missing and considered useful. One reason is that despite its transition to democracy, the country is facing challenges for instance related to corruption, weak governance, and/or the conduct of elections. It is in this context that the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission (IPPCC) wish to make use of the IDEA’s State of Democracy framework to undertake a democracy assessment that will enable them to self-reflect on PNG’s democracy. The assessment in particular hopes to assess the role of political parties within the country’s political environment; how political parties contribute to strengthening democratic processes and/or how shortfalls or weaknesses could be addressed. Ultimately, the goal of IPPCC is to undertake an assessment to help strengthen democracy in Papua New Guinea through identified reform agendas. IPPCC as the lead organisation invited International IDEA to present a step by step approach on how to undertake a State of Democracy (SoD) assessment. The workshop purpose is, in general, to provide IPPCC and its partners with key knowledge on how to conduct a SoD assessment in PNG, with a thematic focus on the role of political parties in strengthening the country’s democracy. One of the leading questions that IDEA is expected to provide expertise and experiences on is: “What does a SoD assessment involves from conception to the finalisation of assessment report?”, and “How to use the findings to support democratic developments in PNG?” In light of these questions the workshop format will follow a ‘hands-on’ approach with the IPPCC facilitating and IDEA presenting the main features of the International IDEA’s SoD assessment framework “Assessing the Quality of Democracy: A Practical Guide”. The purpose as defined by the IPPCC, of the assessment is to “determine the level of democracy in PNG. The assessment will use the specific questions under the four SoD pillars. Emphasis would be given to the role of political parties because that is what the IPPCC is mostly interested in. However the assessment can take on board 1 or 2 questions in the other pillars that would be of interest to IPPCC and the stakeholders. It will be from the assessment that IPPCC can accurately and confidently talk about the status of political parties and their contributions to democracy, and also what can be done to address any shortfalls”. Political party executives were informed of this activity during the third Learning and Development Workshop in September this year. The expected outcome of the assessment is “to provide the real situation of democracy in the country. Based on the findings of the assessment, IPPCC and its stakeholders can work in collaboration with other actors to improve the level of democracy in the country”. Some key topics covered by the workshop include: • Rationale, goal and reform purpose of SoD in PNG • The quality of democracy in PNG • The role of Political Parties in strengthening democracy in PNG • Other SoD experiences in Asia/around the world • The SoD assessment framework – the five main assessment steps • Key features of SoD design, data collection, partnerships and implementation approach • SoD thematic focus areas and start adjusting relevant SoD questions to PNG context • Agree on key (group) decisions and next steps • A State of Democracy (SoD) assessment exercise ideally should involve a cross of various sectors (academia, government, CSOs among others). The assessment team itself are representatives of key organisations committed to this undertaking. The SoD assessment also includes a Reference Group who are experts, decision-makers, or whose opinions may influence reform agendas. These two groups work closely from the onset of the assessment exercise. A SoD assessment exercise is a home grown effort, taking stock of a country’s democratic institutions and processes and thus the role of ‘outsiders’ are limited to support and facilitation such as technical trainings to transfer skills/knowledge of the methodology, and learning from experiences of other countries. International IDEA will bring in resource persons from the Philippines and Indonesia who have had led and experienced conducting SoD/SoLD assessments. IPPCC is the lead organisation of this initiative, and invited the following workshop participants: 1. Political Science Strand – University of Papua New Guinea 2. National Research Institute 3. Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission 4. Department of Prime Minister & NEC 5. Papua New Guinea Trade Union Congress 6. National Council of Women 7. Caritas Papua New Guinea 8. Transparency International – PNG Chapter An open invitation to CSO’s was placed in the two dailies however the response has been disappointing. This however will not affect the progress of this activity. The Registry urges those partners mentioned to confirm their participation with the Registry as soon as possible.

EPC 2015 - Coral Springs Soccer Pics

EPC (Eastern Papua Cup) finally got underway on the 7th November 2015. Featured here is the Coral Springs photos. Click here to see more

Learning and Development follows new format

The Learning and Development workshop that was held in Alotau, Milne Bay Province on the 23rd—25th June 2015 followed a new format. Political parties were split into two groups which comprised of parties with members in Parliament and parties without members in Parliament. Now in its third year, the objective of this approach is to make it more relevant and interesting to meet the needs of political parties. Parties were also reminded of their roles and how they contribute to democracy as a whole. The three day workshop saw various stakeholders both internationally and domestically taking part. Australian Labor International (ALP) were present and did two presentations in Campaign Management and Campaigning Collectively. The presentation gave parties an insight on how they can effectively manage their campaign using minimal resource in a more effective way. Trainers from Papua New Guinea Institute of Public Administration (PNGIPA) also presented the fundamentals of Basic Book Keeping. Here they were taught the importance of book keeping including why it is necessary for any organisation and individuals to maintain records. The Registrar continued to stress the importance of membership drives, structure and party constitutions. Mr Bishop went through with the parties on how to correctly fill in Annual Returns. The workshop saw parties engaged in activities and presentations which ended successfully .

7 Parties Reinstated

The Chairman of the Commission Sir Andrew Trawen presented at a conference meeting for de-registering several political parties, however these 7 political parties were given a second chance by the Commission to continue and operate as a recognised Registered Political Parties. The Chairman gave a stern warning to these political parties that if they continue to do what they have been doing, the Commission will not hesitate but to de-register them. Sir Trawen also emphasised that the main focus of the Commission and the Registry is to strengthen Political Parties in the country and that they must comply with what the Registry wants them to do. This includes; - Submitting their annual financial returns well before 31st March each year (All parts this form must be completed, and must not be hand written but typed) - Having a good structure in place - Having full time party executives and not a one man party - Must review their party policies and constitutions (many party policies and constitutions are either outdated or not relevant); and - Must recruit members into their party. The Chairman warned the seven (7) political parties that the Commission and the Registry will not be backed down on threats by the parties, it is the parties themselves who have placed their parties in this situation and the Commission and the Registry will continue to do its job without fear or favour.

Fact finding mission for SI

Port Moresby, the host city of the fifteen Pacific Games became the focal point of international attention for this occasion; quietly at the background a four man delegation from the Solomon Islands led by Calvin Ziru the Registrar of Political Parties flew into the country. The delegation included Sir Paul Tovua, Charles Ashley, Rev Philemon Riti and the Registrar of Solomon Islands Party Registry Office. The Solomon Islanders where here on a fact finding mission to see how the Papua New Guinea Registry of Political Parties run their affairs and learn from their counterparts. The party also got a first hand insight on how political parties operate with visits to party offices as well as speaking to executives of political parties. They also met with the Chairman of the Board, Sir Andrew Trawen and his board members. The team also toured the National Parliament and had the rare privilege of meeting the father of the nation, grand chief Sir Michael Somare in his National Alliance office. They also paid a courtesy call to the University of Papua New Guinea to meet and speak with the Solomon Island students there. The team had a final day with an outing at Loloata Island where gifts where exchanged. The Registrar of Political Parties, Papua New Guinea, Dr Alphonse Gelu pledged the support of his office to his counterpart and looked forward to continue this close working relations.

Solomons delegation visits PNG

The Solomon Island delegation where here in Papua New Guinea on a fact finding mission to see how the Organic Law on Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) has been used to bring stability in the economy as well as the politics in the country. The team comprises of the Chairman of the Commission as well as the Registrar of the Office of Political Parties in Solomons, the one week trip has been an eye opener and a learning experience for the delegation.

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Waigani Seminar 2015

Some of the prominent Papua New Guinean's with the Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare at the Waigani Seminar for Law. The Law faculty celebrated its fourty years and featured guest speakers such as Grand Chief Sir Michael, Sir Arnold Amet, Prof Wolfers, Sir John Kaputin and many more.

Tourist Ship in Alotau

As quiet as she came in, the huge tourist ship Dawn Princess berthed at the Alotau wharf on Sunday 28th June 2015 for tourist to take a tour around the town. The enourmous floating metal was a sight that caught alot of town residents espcially those that were not aware of its stop over. The spin off benefits comes in the form of local artifacts, logistics, tour guides and porters as well as fees for the government through its agent, the PNG Ports.

Concern about the lack of interest in strengthening political parties in Papua New Guinea

The Registrar of Political Parties Dr Alphonse Gelu is concern about the lack of commitment and seriousness in developing and strengthening political parties in the country. Since taking office in September 2012 he has noted that there is clearly a lack of commitment from party officials and MPs to strengthen political parties in the country.
Despite the fact that political parties emerged before independence and was part of the rise to statehood, there is no positive sign that would show that parties are part and parcel of the development of democracy in the country. Parties instead of being institutionalised into the mainstream of politics in the country have been totally negated by the leaders. They are only used during the elections and formation of governments and then are left out cold before the next election. This practice has been counterproductive to the growth of parties and as a result as led to problems such as political instability in the country and most importantly has contributed to nurturing a style of leadership that has no vision and commitment to improving the overall well-being of its citizens. There were some positive signs from people like Sir Michael Somare who publically mentioned the importance of parties in the country and what it can contribute to the development of the country. Other leaders have not made their stand known on how they see parties in the country and what they can contribute.
Do political parties matter in PNG? Definitely parties do matter in PNG. PNG is a highly heterogeneous society which means that there are many differences that we can identify in the country. Differences based on culture and custom, ethnicity, religion, etc., may be factors that gives rise to the emergence of parties that can represent the social cleavages in the country. At the same time having political parties serves that aspiration of forming a government based on groupings rather than on any other basis. These groupings thus enable the people to know who would lead them and which policies and ideas would be pursued by these groupings. In this case it makes more sense to allow parties which clear policies to govern rather than some groups that the people just don’t know what they are up to. This is an advantage of having parties in a polity therefore making parties to be more relevant to our current political settings.
Leaders must start aligning themselves to their parties and must also make contributions to the strengthening of the political parties. With the current trend in PNG politics, political parties can only be strengthened if the MPs and the Parliamentary Leaders are committed to the affairs of the parties. There is no other ways to strengthen parties in the country. Membership can also be another means to strengthening parties but at this stage, parties have not been able to clearly define their membership base so it is still a long way away for parties to rely on their membership. Dr Gelu is therefore making a strong call to the MPs and the Parliamentary Leaders to take time and attend to the affairs of their parties.
As a result of this attitude, the Registry has instituted various measures to try and strengthen political parties in the country starting with the revision of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates. The roll out of the Learning and Development Plan for party officials is another important initiative. In this program, parties are taught to develop their party structures, develop their membership base as well as develop relevant policies that would attract votes. These changes would take time for parties to absorb but the Registry has been on the toes of party officials reminding them that it is important for them to take on board new ideas and practices that would make them to become effective political organisations. The Registry is doing what it can but it also requires support from the MPs to really strengthen the parties in the country.

Splits in Political Parties in Papua New Guinea

By Dr Alphonse Gelu
Looking at the development of political parties in Papua New Guinea since the late 1960s, splits or division within a party has been the major cause of party decline in the country. One party that was greatly affected by this experience has been Pangu Pati, one of the oldest political parties apart from the United Party. The Peoples Progress Party (PPP) and the Kantri Party have also faced this situation in the past. Pangu first experienced a division within its ranks after the 1982 national elections which led to the formation of the League for National Advancement (LNA). Later in the 1980s, another split occurred which led to the formation of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM). The final split to Pangu occurred in the 1990s, when the National Alliance (NA) was established and headed by the former founder of Pangu Pati, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. The split from Pangu by Sir Michael contributed to the massive decline of Pangu Pati thus affecting greatly its dominance in the elections since 2002. Since 2002, Pangu has not been able to get itself off the ground which saw its dismal performance in both the 2007 and 2012 national elections. The 2012 election result was the lowest in the history of Pangu Pati when it won only one seat Angoram Open. To make matters worse for the party, it lost the seat when its only elected MP passed away while in Office.
The Registry since its establishment back in 2001 has been following the situation faced by Pangu Pati with interest mainly due to its prominence as a party back in pre-independence era and after independence. But despite the loss of a MP by Pangu Pati back in 2013, there was light at the end of the tunnel for the party through the efforts of its General Secretary Morris Toveabe. Morris did not allow the situations faced by Pangu to affect its standing as a registered political party. He was and is one of the outstanding party executive who is always around during the Learning and Development Workshops since 2013. He is one of the few executives who had attended all the workshops and his contributions to the workshops have always been well appreciated by the Registrar and Registry as a whole. Morris is an example of a party official who never gives up despite the dilemmas faced by the party.
Morris through his commitment and performance as a party official is an example of someone who holds the interest of his party at heart and would not stop at anything to pursue the interest of his party. His exemplary commitment led to his party getting a MP in mid-2014 through Hon Sam Basil MP for Bulolo who has joined the party and has taken over the leadership of the party. Since joining Pangu and heading the party, Hon Sam Basil and Morris has worked well as a team. The Registry was impressed with the media campaign that Pangu has embarked on and especially the membership drive that Pangu has rolled out starting in the Morobe Province.
This short article is to show how a party who was once dominant in the politics of this country has suffered due to splits and divisions but is now trying to work its way back into the mainstream of politics in Papua New Guinea. Currently a number of parties have also faced some splits in its membership in Parliament but the Registry’s advice to the parties especially its party officials is not to give up but to follow the experiences of Pangu Pati and the commitment showed by its General Secretary Morris Toveabe to keep working to move the party forward.

Kumul Flyover

The flyover recently completed was opened on the 31st of May 2015. Originally known as Kukubara Fly over as named after the street it overlaps, it was renamed to Kumul Flyover to reflect a national project. The 2km stretch of road runs from the national parliament and national court turnoff along the John Guise drive in Waigani to Jacksons International Airport. The project cost K160 million plus.

Engagement in Vanuatu’s Political Reform

By Dr Alphonse Gelu
The Registrar Dr Alphonse Gelu was part of a team put together by the Commonwealth Secretariat based in London to facilitate a political dialogue for Vanuatu. The dialogue took place from February 24th to 26th 2015. The government of Vanuatu under the Prime Ministership of Hon Joe Natuman requested the Commonwealth Secretariat to assist in this process. The request to the Commonwealth was made by the Prime Minister to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat Kamalesh Sharma in September 2014. The two day dialogue which took place in the Parliament chambers ended with a plan to further pursue political reforms in Vanuatu. A total of 48 Members of Parliament from both the government and the opposition attended the two days dialogue and were given enough time to ask questions and make comments on the issues raised. It was obvious that there is a strong desire amongst the political leaders to address political instability in Vanuatu. Since 1991, political instability has impacted Vanuatu’s economic growth and national development. The process of political reform, therefore, aims to deepen Vanuatu’s democracy and developing a better process for the Government to pursue development and to improve the lives of the people of Vanuatu. The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker of Parliament in their addresses at the opening session all expressed their support for the dialogue process to assist with finding a solution to political instability through political reform. The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader even sat togather during the 2 days session an indication of cooperation between the leaders in Vanuatu. The Commonwealth Secretariat consisted of Albert Mariner – Head of Political Affairs within the Secretariat and responsible for the Pacific and Caribbean, Steven Malby – Head of the Rule of Law Division, Ms Tiffany Chan – Political Affairs Division, Brian Lange – Commonwealth Secretariat based in Honiara Solomon Islands and two resource advisors, Professor Don Patterson from the Emalus Law Campus, University of South Pacific , Vanuatu Campus and Dr Alphonse Gelu – Registrar, Registry of Political Parties, Papua New Guinea. The Registrar opened the two day dialogue by presenting a detailed picture of how the political reforms were undertaken in Papua New Guinea and the reasons behind the reforms. The presentation by the Registrar set the benchmark to eventually lead to the final agreement by the Members of Parliament on the way forward for the country. A number of agreements that was part of the way forward for Vanuatu were adopted from the presentation by Dr Gelu and they included; 1. Party winning the majority of seats after an election will be invited by the President to form the government 2. Independent candidates to join political parties within 2 weeks after their declaration 3. Political parties to be registered 4. Grace period to be introduced to allow a government to deliver 5. Political parties and winning candidates to furnish election returns and annual financial returns by political parties 6. Political parties to be funded by the State Dr Gelu was pleased that the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) influenced the thinking of the Leaders in Vanuatu resulting in the adoption of the above points. An extreme action taken by the leaders in Vanuatu is the idea that MPs who jump parties will automatically lose their seats in parliament. Dr Gelu explained that this was an idea that was floated in Papua New Guinea but then was abandoned due to strong opposition from the politicians. The idea to change the voting system was also discussed with the majority of the MPs supporting the proportional representation voting system. The Limited Preferential Voting system used in Papua New Guinea was also presented by Dr Gelu. Dr Gelu also mentioned that the Registry recently engaged researchers from the National Research Institute (NRI) to look into a voting system that supports political parties. This is part of the overall strategy that the Registry is taking in strengthening political parties rather than candidates. The study which is sponsored by the Registry should be completed at the end of March 2015. For Vanuatu, some of the proposed changes may proceed without any major changes to the Constitution, while others may require amendments to the Constitution and the rest will be included in a referendum. Dr Gelu believe that the use of a referendum is also a mechanism that Papua New Guinea should seriously look at because it is a process that allows the majority of the people to have a direct say into certain issues that would have greater impact on the lives of the people. The Registrar was happy to be part of the team which once again propelled the image and reputation of the Registry as a government agency that also shapes political reforms not only in the country but also in the region including the Solomon Islands and now Vanuatu.

Passing of Late Ray Anere

It is with sadness that we hear of the passing of the Late Ray Anere. He has contributed a lot to the development of this country in his capacity as an academic at UPNG. Many of his former students are now holding senior positions both in government and the private sector. He was a senior researcher at NRI and a commentator on improving Governance-PNG Electioneering. He was also part of a team who reviewed the Organic Law on Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates. Dr R.Anere hails from the Milne Bay Province.

2015 Crusade ends on a high note at Saivara, ATS

The Easter crusade at Saivara, ATS was a success for 2015. The three day event began on Friday and ended on a very high note on Sunday. The interdenominational event saw different churches of which Saivara United Church took the lead in organising this outreach. The final day saw many young and old either recommitting or committing their lives to Christ. Rev Philip Jeremiah stressed that this is just the start and would like to see many more outreach by Saivara United Church in the coming months.

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Parties undergo Training from Parties Registry

The first Learning and Development workshop which was hosted by the Registry of Political Parties was a success. The three day event which was geared towards building up and strengthening political parties in the country saw almost 31 parties attending. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) International was invited by the Registry to also share their experiance in how they manage and conduct their party business running up to the eve of election as well as after the election. On the final day, the Chairman of the Commission, Andrew Trawen warned parties of due the date in which they had to submit their Annual Financial Returns and the consequences of not adhering to this notice.The annual event sees four workshops conducted quarterly each year. The next workshop will be in June. Click here for more

Rain cause havoc in Port Moresby

The recent downpour in Port Moresby has created havoc not only for city residents but also business houses and government organisations. Many workers who braved the rain where seen struggling to get into work on time. Others where caught by the weather as most city roads where flooded. The National Weather Service said that there was no need for panic as this was normal at this time of the year. Pic here is a little creek at ATS which broke its bank making it hard for workers to get to work