MELTDOWN

Three Councillors and the district treasurer make a trip to Port Moresby, spending the best part of a week getting our 2013 budget approved although it still is not accessible here in Madang a week later. The cost of their trip must be at least 8,000 kina which at least makes my overnight stay in the HongKong airport hotel look like peanuts.

Happily a new agreement with PNG Power bosses in the Capital seems to have been made so we have electricity back in the office for the time being.  The Town Manager has yet again be re-confirmed in his post although the post is forecast as being advertised again and the would-be Manager wanting to make a comeback is toiling away with his solicitors.

The Councillors are running around like rabbits as they try to get money from the new MPs to spend on whatever they think will get them re-elected in the June elections. The most imaginative project comes from the Rastafarian mayor who plans to take a large collection of ladies and girls on a holiday (sorry, marketing educational research trip) to the Indonesian part of Papua. Other beautification projects tend to involve staff tome to design, price and oversee at a time when the Town Manager is not wanting to say boo to a goose.  Never mind, we will end up with, almost certainly an entirely new set of Councillors before these projects have completed.

I have many visitors to my office, architects, developers officials and the general  public all to say hello and a little chat but last week one character made off with my lovely touch screen phone that I was given at xmas – seems a shame too when you have to treat everyone as a potential criminal but there we are!

Never mind, had a good weekend, lots of work done and a salmon salad at the Resort looking out at the islands and reading a book about an adventurer crossing Africa on foot.

 Kalibobo Drive

 Tree survey

 New restaurant at Madang Lodge