Dede Sophie

(Wellington, New Zealand) 29 November 2022 – Pacific Parliamentarians including PNG’s Koni K. Iguan and Gov. Gary Juffa, PNG Chief Ombudsman Richard Pagen, Pacific Ombudsmen and integrity agencies are working together this week at the Parliament of New Zealand to boost oversight of Constituency Development Funds (CDFs), with technical assistance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC). The attendance of the PNG parliamentary delegation was funded by the European Union under the Project on Preventing and Countering Corruption in Papua New Guinea, and supported by implementation partner the United Nations Development Programme in PNG. The conference, held in the Legislative Council Chamber of the NZ Parliament, will result in a new Pacific-focused toolkit on CDFs to strengthen accountability and transparency, in line with UNODC mandate as the custodian of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNC...

Papua New Guinea  Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru has thrown his support behind moves by the Government to classify border posts as Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Prime Minister James Marape made the Government’s intentions known on the floor of parliament last week. Minister Maru told  local FM 100/ news that border posts are mini SEZs and will be identified as economic hubs that will be put into the SEZ reports. He said the government needs to build infrastructures like buildings, roads and bridges to house customs, police and Defence officers at the border posts. Meanwhile,  the Prime Minister said the boarder districts and provinces will be developed into trade and commerce hubs for economic purposes. He says the Department of Foreign Affairs together with the Department of Trade and International Relations and the Department of Defense will be engaged to layout the infrastructure of the border posts. Fm 100 / PNG Today Also read PNG Electoral Commissi...

The surreal Spiti valley in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India is home to some of the world’s highest villages. Each of these villages come with their very own tag line. Hikkim boasts of the world’s highest post office. Tashigang is home to the world’s highest polling booth. Langza is the high altitude fossil village.  Dhankar village enjoys one of the highest river confluence views. And Komic at 4,587 meters is one of the world’s highest villages with a motorable road. In this article, we are going to be talking about the remote high altitude village of Komic. This village whose name literally means ‘eye of a snow cock’ is home to a simple monastery, an absolutely serene atmosphere and surreal mountain views. But, it is the journey from Kaza to Komic that is even more amazing. This journey through some of the world’s highest villages located in rarefied atmosphere and surrounded by a 360 degree mountain panorama makes for a heady experience. It doesn’t matter whether you are on ...