O’Neill heaps praise on Tsak Valley people

Source: The National, Wednesday 18th April 2012

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill is pleased that people in rural districts such as Wapenamanda, in Enga province, are taking part in the debate on the Judicial Conduct Act.
O’Neill’s comment follow a report in The National yesterday that a group of people from Tsak Valley, Wapenamanda, had walked 10km last Friday to present a petition calling for the law to be rescinded.
They also wanted Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia and Justice Nicholas Kirriwom to be reinstated.
The group wanted the decision to defer the general election rescinded and for O’Neill and his deputy, Belden Namah, to step down.
“I have said publicly that this law must be read, understood and debated by all interest groups in the country.
“I am pleased that this group from Task Valley is taking part in the exercise,” O’Neill said.
“I have not received the petition as yet, but I welcome it.
“The issues raised appear to be the same and I will respond to them once I receive the petition.
“I commend people in Tsak Valley and Wapenamanda district for taking part in this debate and awareness exercise
on an issue of national importance.
“Wapenamanda, like my home Pangia, is a rural district.
“But it boasts an impressive record of producing national leaders like pioneer national pilot Capt Nat Koleala (deceased), Sir Salamo, former MPs Masket Iangalio and Sir Pato Kakaraya, engineer Watao Kare, lawyers Rimbink Pato and George Yapao, former MRDC CEO Dan Kakaraya and businessmen Ben Wia, Johnson Tolabi and Robert Rasaka to name a few.
“The district has a strong background in religion and prides itself in education and business, hence your solid contribution to national development over the years.
“Regarding the Judicial Conduct Act, I want to assure the people of Wapenamanda that I have nothing personal against Sir Salamo.
“My concern is about judges who pay scant regard to the issue of bias and perception of bias regarding their own conduct and the cases they are sitting on.”

Laiagam road gets K251m

Source: The National, Wednesday 18th April 2012

PEOPLE in Enga’s Laiagam-Porgera district will no longer travel on a bumpy road.
The government had allocated K251 million for the upgrading and sealing of the 65km road between Laiagam station and Porgera.
Porgera community leader Thomson Kulara described it as the biggest development undertaken by the government. It was an important and vital service.
He said a better road network would allow other services to reach them.
Kulara said their land was quite fertile and the road would help them transport their goods to markets.
He appealed to the surrounding communities to take ownership of the project and not to demand compensation from the contractor

Yakam: Kandep is neglected

Source: Letters, The National, Wednesday 28th March 2012

THE Kandep electorate in Enga province has not received much service and support from the provincial government since 2007, a councillor says.
Paul Yakam, from the Kinup clan, Kambrip tribe of Kandep, claimed other electorates had been benefiting while Kandep had been left out.
Yakam claimed the provincial government, under the leadership of Governor Peter Ipatas, did not do enough for the electorate.
He said schools, hospitals and road were basic services people needed but they had been missing out.
“Where is Kandep?
“Is it in another province? We have been missing out on receiving basic services from our provincial government,” Yakam said, adding that the Enga government had failed its people.
He said if this continued the Task Force Sweep to investigate money meant for Kandep had been kept.
He said things must be done in an honest way so that people benefitted.
Yakam said they had been complaining but were being ignored.
He said Ipatas should check on his public servants because services were not reaching people in remote areas.
He claimed there were no roads or health services funded by the provincial government in his electorate.
Yakam said Ipatas needed to explain where the people of Kandep were from.
He said several request had been sent to the provincial headquarters at the Ipatas Centre, seeking support for projects but there had been no response

Ipatas moves with aim be next PM

Source: News, Postc Courier, April 23, 2012

By RAMCY WAMA

THE people of Enga have been urged to release their action Governor Peter Ipatas to vie for the Prime Minister post after elections.
Governor Ipatas who has served three consecutive terms has asked the people of Enga to release for the PM post.
Mr Ipatas sought his peoples’ blessing during the launching of the People’s Party National Convention held at Engal Capital, Wabag on Friday last Week.
Mr Ipatas said with the current trend the country is going and with decisions made over night by Member s of Parliament and the government to suit their own personal interest shows that the PNG needs visionary leaders.
“Papua New Guinea needs leaders who can make decisions for the good of seven million people of this country and not for few interested groups. Sir Michael Somare had led PNG for the last nine years but the wealth of the country was not served equally and now O’Neill has lead PNG for only nine months but his decisions are made to suit his government and not the rest of Papua New Guineans. We need leaders who can distribute the wealth of the nation equally and make decision plan and for the people of Papua New Guinea for the short term and the future,” Mr Ipatas said.
He said he is raising his hands for the PM post to deliver equal distribution of services in terms of infrastructure and to take lead in fighting corruption and other social illness in the country. Mr Ipatas said he would not have any problem in leading the people of Papua New Guinea as he has vast leadership experience in which he started as a village councillor up to the governor seat for the last fifteen years. He is now vieing the PM post.
“To lead doesn’t need a doctorate degree or millions of kina or wealth but it only needs how much you love for the people and the attachment you have with the people. Our country is going through problems after problems because the leaders do not love their people, they are not attached to the people. Therefore every decision made is to suit the leaders’ needs and not the peoples’ needs,” he said. Mr Ipatas said People’s Party is now endorsing candidates with four current MPs like himself, Usino Bundi MP Samson Kuli, Samarai Murua MP Gordon Wesly, and Kompiam Ambum Mp John Pundari..

Loko inspires Mioks

Source: The National, Monday 23rd April 2012

By KEVIN TEME

ENGA Mioks and Kumuls rugby league star David Loko led the Enga provincial government franchise to a second straight victory after beating the Agmark Rabaul Gurias 18-6 in Wabag yesterday.
Loko who had a quiet match against Lahanis last week was back to his best as a wide-running backrower.
Both sides were equal to the task however Loko showed his experience to open the score book with halfback Roger Laka converting to take an early 6-0 lead.
An unfazed Gurias came back strongly through right centre Chris Jerry to level the score with a converted try.
Both sides threw everything into the fray with Gurias five-eighth Dion Aiye steering Radaz boys while for Mioks it was former Port Moresby Paga Panthers halves combination of Laka and Charlie Simon.
The pair starred for the Mioks in the first round of the Digicel Cup against defending champions Bintangor Goroka Lahanis in Goroka and continued that form against the Gurias at Johnson Siki Oval.
And it was a team effort that kept the Gurias scoreless in the second half.
The Gurias seemed to run out of ideas against the home side’s resilient  defence
Minutes into the second half, Miok’s dummy half Bernard Tatsen scored before Loko crashed over for his second try.
Little general Laka converted both tries for a perfect record with the boot to give his team a 18-6 lead which they maintained till the final hooter.
Gurias coach Michael Marum was satisfied with his side’s efforts but said the muddy conditions was another factor that apart from causing handling errors did not allow his side to play their natural game.
“My boys tried their best and we stayed in touch at the break at 6-6 but basic errors in the wet and muddy conditions kept us from playing our game,” Marum said.
In Mt Hagen, TNA Simbu Lions made their debut in the competition going down 14-6 to the Mt hagen Eagles.
Lions coach Jean Vandome said he was happy with his side’s first game   and highlighted their defence as an area they had excelled in.
“It was a good performance especially in defence considering they (Eagles) were bigger and very physical.
“It was a brave effort away from home and I knew they gave their best – so I am happy,” Vandome said.
Lions prop Essau Siune, No.6 Supa Takai and halfback Willie Guambo stood up for the Lions against  an Eagles team led by Francis Ray and Jason Tali.

O’Neill makes U-turn on election

Source: The National, Monday 23rd April 2012

By JEFFREY ELAPA
PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill has gone back on his own assertion that neither parliament nor the National Executive Council has any powers to defer the general election.
That power, he had said, was vested solely in the electoral commissioner.
Answering questions last Friday, O’Neill said parliament had spoken when, by an absolute majority, it decided to defer the election by six months.
O’Neill was responding to questions raised by Madang regional MP Sir Arnold Amet who said if cabinet had a separate decision to defer the election by three weeks, then the decision had to be brought back to parliament for a motion to rescind the earlier decision.
He also said parliament had been wrongly advised on the effects of section 105(1)(c ) of the Constitution and the use of that section for the motion to defer the election by six months was wrong.
O’Neill said the decision to defer the issue of writs by three weeks was made by Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen in accordance with the powers vested on him to make such decisions and not the National Executive Council.
He said the NEC remained with what the parliament had decided because the NEC observed that the electoral commissioner was not ready.
He said it was ethically and morally right for the electoral commissioner to be honest and tell the people of PNG.
“We will still go to election but the electoral commissioner must be honest and tell the people the truth,” he said.
He said funds had been released to support the Electoral Commission but the rolls were not ready

Kapris escape report tells all

Source: The National, Monday 23rd April 2012

By FRANK SENGE KOLMA
CRIMINAL mastermind William Kapris and 11 others “walked out” of a jail system that had long ceased to serve its purpose of rehabilitating prisoners, a report into the January 2010 escape reveals.
Indeed, the “strictly confidential” report concluded that long periods of neglect, maladministration and a serious break-down in command and control had led to a situation where the jail system served as a “criminal recruiting and training ground” from where they escaped at will.
Single prisoner escapes occurred daily throughout the country and were not reported, according to the investigation report.
“The problems are now entrenched in the prison system to the extent that the concept of correcting and rehabilitating criminal behaviour has taken the backstage,” the report stated.
“Instead, our prisons have become training and recruiting grounds for organised criminal gangs. The situation is such that the biggest prison in the country, Bomana, is now referred to as the ‘Bomana university’ where young men jailed for minor offences are trained and mentored into hardcore criminals by the time they are released or break out.”
The report said crime syndicates had developed within the jail system involving Correctional Service officers, members of the police force and criminal masterminds such as Kapris which “threatens the disintegration of the entire prison system” and had placed the “entire prison system in serious trouble”.
“This had significant bearing on general law and order and national security of the country,” the report said.
The National Security Advisory Committee, which advises the National Executive Council and the prime minister on national security issues, commissioned the report on Jan 13, 2010, one day after Kapris and 11 others walked out of the separate confinement unit (not maximum security unit as is popularly known).
The report, entitled “Report on Investigations into the Bomana Prison Escape of William Nanua Kapris and 11 Others”, now formed part of a policy submission to cabinet to reform and build capacity in the country’s Correctional Service.
The escape itself was well planned and executed with assistance from within the jail and outside, the report revealed.
Indeed, the collaboration and assistance provided to Kapris seemed to extend to two previous escapes. And information contained in the report seemed to compromise the previous command structure (see above story).
Police, National Intelligence Organisation and CS’s own intelligence officers informed the CS command of an impending major jail-break but no preventative action appeared to have been taken.
On Jan 11, a day before the escape, a duty CS officer climbed the communication tower and turned off the communication jammer, making it possible for inmates to communicate by mobile phones with people outside prison. And it is plausible that Kapris did so.
On Jan 12, an epileptic fit by a juvenile inmate effectively provided a perfect opportunity for the acting security manager and several other critical officers to be absent from the SCU area where the escape was staged for several critical hours.
After the escape, police arrested and charged three CS officers with assisting in the escape.
The escape car (a blue Fifth Element Reg. No. BCE 451) was parked within the inner boom gate area close to the SCU exit gate at 10.30am. And, although the officer in charge of reception was informed of the suspicious presence of an unauthorised vehicle, no action was taken.
Helen Mark Kuipa, who was initially identified as Judy Nandape, walked from the car casually to the prisoners’ kitchen area and later walked straight to the outer gate.
She was allowed without question into the SCU area. The escape was triggered at that point.
The time it took for the escape was between 9.30am and 10.45am when the alarm was raised. But the planning took longer.
Twelve prisoners escaped as if to coincide with the date - Jan 12

Debate on poll chief heats up

Source: The National, Monday 23rd April 2012

THERE is growing evidence that the government may sack Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen, removing a steadfast obstacle to parliament’s vote to suspend the June election by six months.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said last Friday the government appointments committee was investigating an alleged discrepancy in Trawen’s reappointment as head of the commission in 2010 by the government of Sir Michael Somare.
O’Neill said he had received legal advice that the appointment of Trawen was flawed.
He said he had advised the chief secretary to look into the matter and report back to the appointments committee.
If the appointment |was flawed asadvised, then the committee would make the appropriate decision.
“If it is not addressed, then everyone will take the matter to court.
“Therefore, we will do what is right to ave the integrity of the Electoral Commission.
“We did not want to make any decision as we did not want people to misconstrue our intentions and accuse us of doing it for our benefit.”
O’Neill was responding to a question raised by Kundiawa-Gembogl MP Tobias Kulang, who wanted to know if the government was aware of an article in The National of the flawed appointment of the electoral commissioner.
Documents received by The National revealed that Trawen had reached 55, the normal public service retirement age, but was reappointed in February 2010 for a five-year term

Poll date still in limbo

Source: Post Courier, April 19,2012
Trawen ready to go, DPM still for defferral

By GORETHY KENNETH

PARLIAMENT and the Electoral Commission are still at loggerheads over the timing of elections.
Deputy Prime Minister Belden Namah and part of his Cabinet Ministers, including all Highlands MPs still want the elections to be differed for six months or three months – the least because of “a failed Electoral Roll” they predict will cause chaos in the Highlands Region. They also said yesterday that the motion to defer election in Parliament has not been repealed and still stands. But Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen yesterday was adamant and will not back down from his May 18, 2012 election date.
He said he has made his stand and he will advise the Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio to issue the Writs on May 18, 2012. Trawen said he is 93 per cent complete and ready with his Electoral Roll and adamant elections will be held in June and a new Government declared then.
His counterparts, the Police Commissioner Tom Kulunga and PNGDF Commander Francis Agwi maintained they were ready with their security plans, pledging their support for Mr Trawen.
“In summary, for the nation as a whole, data for a total of 5745 wards has been received and processed out of the 6164 wards in PNG.
The Commission is continuing to work 24 hours a day to complete these data entry and printing tasks for the remaining 419 wards,” Mr Trawen proudly read out.
“In percentage terms, this represents 93 per cent of all Preliminary Rolls for their entire country completed – just seven percent of the Wards remain and the Electoral Commission wishes to again assure the public that the Roll Improvement Program will be completed in time for the General election in June.”
But Mr Namah who led his entourage, barked and continuously asked Mr Trawen to declare that he was not ready with the Elections, especially given that the failure in the completion of the Electoral Roll in the Highlands not in order.
Mr Trawen gave a run down and update on where the Electoral Roll was (see story above) and MPs, Ministers and Foreign Dignitaries were also privileged to listen to the PNGEC legal advisor defend his head Trawen – and why the elections should not be differed and the Constitutionality surrounding it.
Mr Namah spoke specifically about the motion passed by Parliament asking for a clearer explanation of Section 105 -1 (c) and Section 105 (2) of the Constitution, which talks about the elections.
“On the absence of the Constitution and in relation to the deferral of elections, (especially with the motion still intact), what is the power of the motion?” Mr Namah continuously questioned Trawen. PNGEC legal team still maintained that the Electoral Commissioner still had the precedence over Parliament especially in calling the elections and changing of the dates.
But most of the MPs and Ministers that attended the briefing yesterday claimed the PNGEC Electoral Roll was not at all ready and that Parliament’s motion to defer the election for six months should be upheld.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was noticeably not in Parliament and at the briefing yesterday. Questions were also raised why he was not at the briefing but advise sought claimed he had other commitments to attend to.

Sir Arnold fights changes in law

Source: The National, Friday 20th April 2012

FORMER chief justice Sir Arnold Amet has filed a Supreme Court reference challenging the constitutional validity of the Supreme Court (Amendment) Bill passed by parliament on Tuesday.
The Madang MP said in a joint media briefing with opposition leader Dame Carol Kidu that the government had removed the inherent powers the people of Papua New Guinea vested in the Supreme Court.
Sir Arnold said the government was undermining the Supreme Court and its action
was fundamentally flawed and unconstitutional.
“It is a major amendment that deals with the powers and functions of the judiciary that was passed by voices only. It should be passed by a vote.”

No one has powers to defer general election, says Amet

Source: The National, Friday 20th April 2012

By ISAAC NICHOLAS

PARLIAMENT, government and the electoral commissioner do not have constitutional powers to defer elections, Sir Arnold Amet said.
The former chief justice and Madang regional MP said at a media conference that the Constitution (section 105) was explicit that the life of parliament was fixed for five years and could not be extended.
Sir Arnold said section 105 set three timeframes to set dates for an election. The first was the ordinary five years such as now that elections were due.
He said the second occasion for the Electoral Commission to fix dates was in the last 12 months of parliament where a vote of no-confidence was successful against a prime minister. The House is then dissolved.
Sir Arnold said the one that was relied upon wrongly was the deferral of election for six months using section 246 of the Constitution on the extension of the term of parliament.
He said the extension could only occur when, on the National Executive Council’s advice, the head of state declared a national emergency or when there was a declaration of war with another country.
Sir Arnold said what was advised by the electoral commissioner was okay as long as the dates of polling and the return of writs were fixed.
“The electoral commissioner does not have the inherent powers to defer the election. He only has powers to fix the dates for the issue of writs.”
Meanwhile, opposition leader Dame Carol Kidu said the government had itself to blame because, in the past, parliament rose in March to give MPs time to check the common roll and help the Electoral Commission to work on the rolls.
“Now the intending candidates are submitting names and sitting MPs are sitting unnecessarily in parliament passing draconian laws which is destroying our Constitution,” she said.

ELECTION DATES SET

Source: Weekender, Post Courie, April 14-15 2012

THE Electoral Commission will go ahead with the 2012 National General elections following a revised election program.
In a media statement, Electoral Commissioner said it was the constitutional mandate of the Electoral Commission to conduct free, and fair elections as required under Section 126 (1-8) of the Constitution and Section 15 of the Organic Law on National and Local-Level Government Elections.
This is despite Speaker Jeffery Nape maintaining that the motion to defer elections for six months still stands.
Parliament voted 63-11 last week to defer elections by six months. Prime Minister O’Neill and his Cabinet decided for a one month deferral on Easter Monday but Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen announced this week that the Issue of Writs would only be delayed for three weeks, setting the new issue of writ date to May 18, but maintaining the June election dates.
Speaker Nape this week announced in a statement that Parliament would need to repeal the six month motion and reintroduce the three weeks deferral of elections with absolute majority of 55 votes to enact it.
He also told Parliament that he was seeking legal advice as to who is responsible for setting dates for elections.
“I have to advice members of the NEC including Prime Minister and the public servant (Electoral Commissioner) to simply come to Parliament and rescind the motion and that will require the support of 55 members to effectively remove the motion and on laws made by Parliament, you have to do a repeal bill to repeal laws,” Mr Nape said.
Let me inform the Honorable House that the action taken by the NEC and its public servant (Electoral Commissioner) is deemed unlawful. Let me also clarify that the Electoral Commission, who is a constitutional office holder is a public servant and cannot make any decisions contrary to the decision of Parliament.
“If the Electoral Commissioner is reluctant to complete the electoral process, Parliament will advise the Head of State to perform the duties of the Electoral Commission to set the new dates for the 2012 General Elections. The Electoral Commissioner cannot set dates for elections but can conduct elections only according to dates set by the Parliament. “I am also in the process of seeking court clarification on who has the power to call elections – the Parliament or the public servant (Electoral Commissioner). Also I will be doing a detail statement during the week.
“I, as the Speaker of Parliament am duty bound to ensure that the due process of the decision of Parliament is completed and I would like for the Electoral Commissioner to do this duty by setting new dates for the 2012 General Elections.”
However, the media statement by the Electoral Commission on Friday April 13, stated that the 2012 National General Elections would proceed with the new dates set.