People Briefs
People Briefs
Former Papua New Guinea National Gaming Board chairman Daniel Mapiri, who misused K3.188 million (US$944,923.20) in government money, has begged the PNG National Court for mercy when it decides his fate. The National Court found Mapiri guilty in June for misusing taxes that local gaming machine operators paid to the PNG Government between September 1998 and July 1999. Presiding Judge Panuel Mogish said this abuse was unprecedented in PNG legal history and adjourned the matter for lawyers to discuss an appropriate sentence. Mapiri asked for a suspended jail sentence and promised to pay back the money. -AR Tadao Waguk and Kun Asher, part of the Kosrae delegation to the recent Pacific Festival of Arts in Palau, demonstrated with old chants the method by which men moved and built the massive basalt compounds of the old kingdom, now a popular tourist site known as the Lelu Ruins. Waguk, known widely as the "last storyteller of Kosrae" and whose family hails from Menke, Utwe, and Asher, a self-described "jungle boy" from Tukunsra, Walung, are two of the greatest holders of traditional environmental knowledge on the island. -OW Five residents of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific have been awarded Pacific teacher scholarships from Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The recipients, who are all students in teacher preparation programs, will each receive $500 to help pay for tuition and expenses in the 2004-2005 academic year. The scholarships went to: Lorie Milne of the Marshall Islands, Justina Foster and Christina Santa Maria of Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Lui Paulo of American Samoa and Begonia Tewid of Palau. -GJ Robert "Skip" Nelson has been named as the new CEO of Palau Micronesia Air replacing Jim Bradford, who returned to Australia for personal reasons. Nelson has had extensive experience in aviation in the military and as a civilian as a pilot and in management. PMA president Alan Seid says "Skip is the perfect man to have in charge during the very critical phase of actually getting our airline in the sky." -NC Papua New Guineans should not give money to an organization that is supposedly seeking Japanese government compensation for war crimes committed in PNG during World War II, says PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare. He says he was aware that Redress PNG is collecting money from villagers with a promise to double their contribution when the Japanese government pays up, and warned people not to pay the K25 (US$7.40) fee as the organization's executives use the money. Sir Michael says organizations like Redress PNG promoted a cargo-cult mentality in PNG and should be rejected. -AR Quincy Detenamo, a Nauruan weightlifter, was arrested and charged with the July 17 murder of Australian prostitute Grace Ilardi, according to the French news agency AFP. Detenamo, one of the first three people to represent Nauru at the Olympics when he competed in the 1996 games in Atlanta, was arrested when he returned to Australia voluntarily from Nauru. In 1999, he set the South Pacific Games record for the clean and jerk, snatch and total weight lifted in the 77kg class. -GJ Francisco Q. Guerrero is the new board chairman of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC). Guerrero replaced Herman Sablan, who became the vice chairman, a position held by Guerrero during the past year. Alan Perez of Tinian is the new treasurer while Rufina Miles became the board secretary. CUC is in charge of water, sewer, and power for the Northern Marianas. -FR Fiji writer and playwright Larry Thomas has released his latest documentary, Bitter Sweet Hope, which looks at Fiji's sugar industry. Thomas told USP Beat that while the documentary was "not offering any solutions or making judgments," he hoped that people would gain a more in-depth knowledge of how the sugar industry affects everyone in Fiji. "I felt there was a need to document it as this is the oldest industry in Fiji and has been the mainstay of the Fiji economy for over 100 years," Thomas says. -SM Antonio V. Deleon Guerrero is the new president of the Northern Marianas College. Guerrero beat out six other applicants for the position which the Board of Regents announced at its meeting July 28. Guerrero received his bachelor's degree in tourism management and a master's degree in educational leadership. He has been acting president since the firing of former president Ken Wright earlier this year. Guerrero is from Saipan, and has been with the college for 16 years. -FR Fepuleai Rimoni Aiafi has been reappointed as chief executive officer of the Samoa Airport Authority. Aiafi began his schooling locally before obtaining a bachelor's and master's degrees overseas. He is taking up the post for a second three-year term. -FS Papua New Guinea's Mining Minister Sam Akoitai called the advisers of opposition politicians "briefcase carrying professionals" who just want to see the government changed so they can write contracts that benefit themselves. -GJ Pushp Chand, president of the Fiji Pharmaceutical Society told Fiji's Daily Post that international buyers are taking advantage of the cheaper prices of drugs in Fiji. Drugs are available in Fiji at much lower cost than they can be purchased from the United States, Australia and European nations, he says. -GJ Jimmy Rasta Lusibaea, the former leader of the rebel 'Malaita Eagle Force' in the Solomon Islands, was sentenced to five years in prison for robbery in early August. Lusibaea and former senior police officer Manasseh Maelanga were jointly charged. Maelanga also received a five-year prison term. Presiding Magistrate Jane Hamilton White said Maelanga will serve only three of the five years consecutively with his present eight-year jail term, meaning he will now serve eleven years in jail. Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. reported that Maelanga is still to be tried for other charges against him, including rape, while Lusibaea is still to be tried for murder and other charges. They were convicted of stealing vehicles worth US$81,000. -GJ The South Pacific Regional Environment Program's (SPREP) information resource manager Satui Bentin was on hand in July to accept the top prize in the environment category from Stockholm Challenge organizers in Sweden. "This is for all Pacific island people who we are proud to serve, and to those who have strived to make positive changes for the Pacific's environment," she said while accepting the award. Funded by the EU and based at SPREP headquarters, the award-winning Pacific Environmental Information Network is a ground breaking system that provides access in environment ministries to 20,000 volumes of on-line environmental information across 14 Pacific island countries. -GJ Contributors: Olivier Wortel, Alex Rheeney, Giff Johnson, Nancy Chism, Frank Rosario, Samantha Magick, Fili Sagapolutele and Mary Louise Callaghan. |
