BIRTH CERTIFICATE MANDATORY FOR OBTAINING NEW PNG PASSPORT

Chief Migration Officer says the office of Immigration and Citizenship authority will not compromise the integrity of PNG passports.

Birth Certificate Mandatory when applying for PNG Passport (Image: Facebook)

He said this on his social media page today in response to a Drum piece in the Post Courier suggesting his office should relax its rigid stance that citizens should acquire national identification cards in order to apply for a passport.

PNG national identity cards

The Coca-Cola national schools rugby league tour to Queensland Australia was deferred because 75 per cent of the Under 18 boys and girls do not have the national identity cards to obtain a passport.

“The students are from around the country and the process is quite rigorous to get the NID certificate,” PNGRFL chief executive Reatau Rau said.

Kantha in response to the Drum piece said: “Let me place on record that a birth certificate is a mandatory requirement for a passport and ICA will not compromise the integrity of our PNG passports.

NID and birth certificates required for PNG Passports

‘The detection of false NID birth certificates will affect the integrity of our passport system and affects the position of countries granting visa on arrival for PNG passport holders,”he added.

The NID is a fundamental and primary requirement for a passport and once this is compromised our passports will be questioned at entry ports in other countries and we will not be able to get to a stage of introducing biometric or e-Passports,” he said.

“Our birth registry process and NID must step up and improve or we will not get anywhere. All support must be given to Mr (Noel) Mobiha who is doing his best under trying circumstances.”

Source: Facebook October 1

GOVT TO RELOOK TFF POLICY

The Marape-Steven Government will be re-looking the Tuition Fee free policy - a key policy of the former Government.

TFF policy/Facebook/NBC News

The policy introduced in 2012, enabling access to education for over one million of the country's young, has seen approximately four billion kina invested to date.

In Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister James Marape, while commending the former Government for the policy said it has both good and bad sides – and needs to be relooked.

He said the Government does not want to encourage lazy citizens, rather productive ones.

“There are also downsides to it, in as far as the quality interventions are concerned.

Many of our parents and citizens have pulled back, thinking that is 100 percent Government obligation.

We will look into that policy as well without putting burden on our parents and citizens. 

We are looking into a program where there is a shared responsibility. 

I am divorcing and distancing from an absolute free education in our lower level systems but we are working at a higher education – skills level, college level, certificate level.

And we are trying to share arrangement at the lower level, I have citizens from my electorate who are adults – they say Government is paying for free education and they are not responding or contributing to the economy but are instead lazying their way through life,” Mr. Marape said.

Meantime, Papua New Guineans attending tertiary institutions in the country can expect to get some assistance with their tuition fees by 2020.

This following the announcement by Prime Minister James Marape in Lae recently, of the setting up of an 'endowment fund' that will see students benefiting from interest-free loans.

Mr. Marape elaborated on this today in Parliament, saying the Government understands the current burden that families have to pay annually for fees - which lies in the K5-000 to K20-000 mark.

He said the catch is that - all students will now have to register through the National Identification project in order to benefit from this scheme.

Mr. Marape was responding to questions by North Fly MP James Donald regarding the Government's announcement of an endowment fund to assist students at the tertiary level.

Source: NBC News 9th October 2019