Chairman Dadi Toka Jr | |
---|---|
Chairman | |
Assumed office 26 October 2018 | |
Preceded by | Miria Naime Ikupu |
Constituency | Motu Koita Assembly |
Deputy Governor | |
Assumed office 26 October 2018 | |
Constituency | National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) |
Personal details | |
Born | Papua New Guinea | 8 August 1977
Political party | Independent |
Alma mater | Queensland University of Technology |
Profession | Business |
Dadi Toka Jr (born 8 August 1977) is a Papua New Guinean businessman and the Chairman of the Motu Koita Assembly,a traditional landowner representative group established as an Assembly by an act of the Parliament of Papua New Guinea. [1] The Chairman of the Motu Koita Assembly is also Deputy Governor of National Capital District,which was established on the lands of the Motu and Koitabu people.
Toka Jr is the youngest child of a large Motuan family and is named after his father,who was among the first council members to be elected after the Motu Koita Assembly was established in 1991. [2] He attended international school in Port Moresby,followed by Anglican Church Grammar School from 1991 to 1995. He attended Queensland University of Technology,graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration. [3]
Toka Jr has mostly worked in private enterprise and is director of a number of companies,including Tura Sports. In 2011 he was elected Chairman of the Port Moresby General Hospital board. He was also Chief Executive Officer of the Papua New Guinea Cancer Foundation from 2013 to 2018. With Bryan Jared Kramer,he is a former member of the Organising Committee of the Miss PNG franchise of the Miss Pacific Islands beauty pageant.
Toka Jr successfully contested the Chairmanship of the Motu Koita Assembly in 2018,running a campaign focused on generational change under the Motu slogan "Ita eda nega" (It's our time). Of the 17 members elected in 2013,only three were returned,Toka Jr having campaigned hard on a platform of long term neglect and mismanagement of the Assembly and its assets. [4] Toka Jr won with a majority of votes. [5] The outcome of the election was seen as a strong endorsement for generational change and improved rights for Motu Koitabu people. [6]
After his election,Toka Jr quickly re-established essential services [7] and has sought and secured partnerships with development agencies to benefit his constituents. [8]
Toka Jr has campaigned strongly for improved recognition of Motu and Koitabu people,the traditional owners of the land on which Papua New Guinea's capital,Port Moresby,is situated within the National Capital District territory. [9] In early 2019 this brought him into conflict with Governor of Central Province,Robert Agarobe,who called for National Capital District (NCD) to be recognised as part of Central Province. [10] Toka Jr has refuted these claims,primarily on social media,causing tensions but reinvigorating a discussion about ownership and management of traditional lands in the nation's capital. [11]
During the COVID-19 crisis,Toka Jr led the response in Motuan and Koitabuan villages,installing handwashing stations and Motu language education materials before the rest of the country. As PNG instituted a betelnut ban,to stop the prevalent spitting of chewed nuts to limit spread of the disease,Motuan villages were at the forefront of smuggling efforts into the lucrative Port Moresby market. Despite the potential for violence,Toka Jr and the MKA successfully stopped the escalation of unrest. [12]
Papua New Guinea,officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea,is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia. It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and it is directly adjacent to Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital,located along its southeastern coast,is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country,with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).
Port Moresby,also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby,is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua,on the south-western coast of the Papuan Peninsula of the island of New Guinea. The city emerged as a trade centre in the second half of the 19th century. During World War II,it was a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43 as a staging point and air base to cut off Australia from Southeast Asia and the Americas.
Central Province is a province in Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast of the country. It has a population of 237,016 people and is 29,998 square kilometres (11,582 sq mi) in size. The seat of government of Central Province,which is located within the National Capital District outside the province,is the Port Moresby suburb of Konedobu. On 9 October 2007,the Central Province government announced plans to build a new provincial capital city at Bautama,which lies within Central Province near Port Moresby,although there has been little progress in constructing it.
Motu is a Central Papuan Tip language that is spoken by the Motuans,an indigenous ethnic group of Papua New Guinea. It is commonly used today in the region,particularly around the capital,Port Moresby.
Kerema is the capital of Gulf Province,Papua New Guinea. It is located on the coast of Gulf of Papua. The Gulf region is aptly named for its concave coastline with large deltas. The Gulf area is a riparian region where many rivers from the southern slopes of the highlands drain into.
Hanuabada is a coastal village in Papua New Guinea in the outskirts of the nation's capital,Port Moresby. It is the biggest village in the Motuan tribe and is often known by its locals as "HB".
The 2015 Pacific Games,also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015,was held in Port Moresby,Papua New Guinea,from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby.
The monarchy of Papua New Guinea is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Papua New Guinea. The current Papua New Guinean monarch and head of state,since 8 September 2022,is King Charles III. As sovereign,he is the personal embodiment of the Papua New Guinean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations,each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result,the current monarch is officially titled King of Papua New Guinea and,in this capacity,he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Papua New Guinea. However,the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
Vabukori is a Motu Koitabu coastal village located in the Moresby South electorate of Port Moresby,the capital city of Papua New Guinea. Vabukori is one of the villages in Central Province that speaks traditional Motu language along with other villages like Hanuabada and Porebada.
Kila Haoda is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was the Governor of Central Province from 2012 to 2017.
Lakatoi are multiple-hulled sailing watercraft of Papua New Guinea. They are named in the Motu language and traditionally used in the Hiri trade cycle.
General elections were held in Papua New Guinea between 24 June and 8 July 2017. The writs for the election were issued on 20 April,and candidate nominations closed on 27 April.
Robert Agarobe is a Papua New Guinea businessman and politician. He was the Governor of Central Province and a Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea,but was unseated by Rufina Peter in the 2022 Papua New Guinean general election.
The Motu Koita Assembly is the landowner representative body of the Motu and Koitabu people,established as an Assembly by an act of the Parliament of Papua New Guinea. It is the only Assembly of its kind in Papua New Guinea. The current Chair of the Motu Koita Assembly is Dadi Toka Jr. The Chair of the Motu Koita Assembly also holds the office of Deputy Governor of National Capital District.
Sir Percy Chatterton was an English-born Papua New Guinean educator,clergyman and politician. He served as a member of the House of Assembly from 1964 to 1972.
Sir Anthony Siaguru was a Papua New Guinean civil servant,lawyer,international diplomat,politician,sportsman and anti-corruption campaigner.
Sir Joseph Nombri was a politician,administrator and diplomat in Papua New Guinea (PNG). He played an important role in events leading up to PNG's independence in 1975 and later became the country's ambassador in Tokyo.
Lohia Boe Samuel is a Papua New Guinean Member of Parliament,representing the constituency of Moresby North-West surrounding the nation's capital,Port Moresby.
Kessy Sawang is a Papua New Guinean politician and former senior civil servant. Until her election and that of Rufina Peter to the National Parliament in August 2022,Papua New Guinea (PNG) had been one of only three countries without a woman in parliament.
Events in the year 2022 in Papua New Guinea.