Electricians question experience of casuals

Source:The National, Wednesday July 22nd, 2015

FOUR private electrical contractors operating in Enga are concerned about the casual labourers engaged by the PNG Power Limited in Wabag to do electrical work.
The certified electrical contractors are Wantok Electrical, Jet, Waile and Ben Dan Electrical.
They have called on the PNG Power management in Port Moresby to send inspectors to check the qualifications of the casuals.
Ben Dan of Ben Dan Electrical said only certified and trained electricians should be allowed to do electrical work.
“In Enga, we see youths from the village that do not go to school driving around in PNG Power marked vehicle and doing electrical work,” he said. He said the risk of these casuals being electrocuted or making wrong connections could cause accidents.
Dan said there were safety measures and procedures which all certified linesmen, inspectors and private electrical contractors must follow.
On June 11, he said a 21-year-old from Teremanda village in Wabag nearly got killed after he was engaged by PNG Power to fix a faulty line at St Paul’s Pausa Secondary School in Wapenamanda.
Dan said for public safety, people must only engage certified electricians.
The PNG Power manager in the province was away in Port Moresby last week and could not be reached for comment.

Women Petition Hospital Management

Source: The National, Wednesday July 15th, 2015

WOMEN’S groups in Porgera, Enga, are calling on the Government to take over the Porgera Hospital which is operating as a private institution.
More than 3000 members of the 12 women’s groups in Porgera-Paiala last month petitioned the Department of Health to look into the future of the hospital when the Porgera mine ends its operation.
The women are members of the district council of women, special mining lease-affected women association, Paiala-Hewa Women Association, Mt Kare Women Association, Porgera Red Wara Women Association, Public Servants Women Association, Porgera Urban Women Association and SDA Women Association.
They claimed that because of no funding from the Porgera Development Authority, the hospital management and directors had decided to reduce its operation.
Porgera District Women Association president Maria Kensary said the women’s groups were united and wanted the Government to respond to their petition. “This is the only major service we have,” she said.
“We want this to become a public hospital as we are concerned about the people of Porgera.”
PDA director Opis Yandapake said the hospital was established under the Porgera mine agreement but there was no source of funding.
Yandapake said the authority had been using its Special Support Grant and Mining Agreement funds from the Government to fund the hospital in the past 25 years.

Elections in Enga end without major setbacks

Source: The National, Monday September 9th, 2013

ENGA provincial election steering committee chairman Samson Amean has thanked government authorities for their contribution in ending the local level government elections with little problems.
Amean, who is also provincial administrator, said although the Electoral Commission had failed election for the president’s seat in Tsak LLG while Kandep district did not conduct polling due to the ongoing tribal conflict, he was happy that the relevant parties involved in the elections worked together to end the election on an encouraging note.
He commended Governor Peter Ipatas for approving more than K1 million to assist the Electoral Commission complete counting.
“It has been a difficult two months of elections but I am happy that certain government authorities have done more than expected to minimise problems.
I would particularly like to thank our governor for approving more than K1million to see the elections through without serious setbacks,” he said.
Amean said Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen and other senior government authorities in the national government including Chief Secretary Sir Manasupe Zurenuoc deserved praise for exercising maturity in making responsible decisions in the interest of the people during counting and declarations to prevent serious problems.
“On the same note, I would like to thank the provincial police commander Superintendent Philip Welia and his men and women, provincial election officials and the village leaders for working together to minimise problems during polling and counting periods,” he said.
Trawen commended Enga provincial authorities last Friday when receiving the writs for 371 council wards and presidential seats from assistant returning officer Jacob Kiponge for their assistance in completing the elections without much problem.

Councillors, presidents take oaths

Source:The National, Monday September 9th, 2013

MORE than 370 ward councillors and 18 presidents took their oaths of office last Friday in Wabag, Enga, following the local level government (LLG) elections.
Senior provincial magistrate Wialu Sakatao officiated at the ceremony for the councillors and presidents from the Wabag, Wapenamanda, Kompiam-Ambum and Lagaip-Porgera districts.
The Tsak LLG did not take part in the ceremony after the president’s seat was declared a failed election by Electoral Commissioner Andrew Trawen.
However, the LLG’s ward councillors were sworn in as polling and counting were completed without any problems.
Kandep district’s ward and Kandep local level governments also did not take part in the ceremony after they did not conduct polling because of widespread tribal conflict in the district.
Governor Peter Ipatas, who witnessed the ceremony, told the newly elected councillors and presidents at the Messiah Gutnius Lutheran Church in Wabag to put aside their political differences and work with him to provide leadership in the community.
“You have been given the mandate by the people to live with them and provide leadership.
“Don’t leave the people and go looking around for money in towns,” he said.
Ipatas also thanked provincial government and Electoral Commission officials who were involved in the successful elections.
“I am happy to acknowledge the work of the provincial election steering committee led by provincial administrator Dr Samson Amean, provincial police commander Supt Philip Welia, provincial election manager Henry Kiakas and all the election officials for a job well done,” he said.
According to Electoral Commission, supplementary elections would be held for the LLGs that had been failed

Ipatas backs agreement

Source: The National, Wednesday August 7th, 2013

 
ENGA Governor Peter Ipatas has backed the asylum seekers’ deal signed with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, saying PNG stands to gain greatly from it.
“Critics of this deal are ignoring the immediate benefits of the deal, and the opportunities it will open up for Papua New Guinea,” he said.
“Immediately, Manus will get developments projects funded by the Australian and PNG governments, that it would not otherwise get for some time.
“Manus is isolated, and often forgotten, so this deal is providing opportunities that come with hosting the processing centre”
Ipatas said Australia had always stood by PNG when it was in need, so it was right to accept a request from them to help address a growing global problem of human smuggling and illegal migration.

Ipatas beats poll petition

Source: The National, Wednesday July 17th, 2013

By PHILIP KEPSON

 

AN election petition filed against Enga Governor Peter Ipatas by a losing candidate was dismissed by the National Court in Mt Hagen yesterday.
This followed an objection to competency submission by Ipatas’ lawyer Paul Mawa two weeks ago.
Mawa told the court during the objection hearing that the entire petition was “structurally defective” and it should be thrown out as it would not make any improvement if was allowed to proceed to trial.
Justice Salatiel Lenalia said when handing down the decision that petitioner Sandy Talitia, who was the runner-up in the Enga Regional seat race, had failed to plead his allegations of illegal practice including omission of voters’ names and bribery under section 108 and 109 of the Organic Law and National and Provincial Government Elections.
Lenalia said it was not the role of the court to make corrections on defective petitions as election petitions were serious matters that tested the election victory of a leader who was chosen by the majority of the people through a secret ballot.
He added that it was the work of the lawyers of the petitioner to tighten up the material facts of the allegation to convince the court.

Talita: Please maintain peace

Source: The National, Tuesday July 9th, 2013

 

By ELIAS LARI
THE people of Enga have been urged not to cause any problems or take the law into their hands as the election petition between Sandy Talita and Governor Peter Ipatas is yet to be finalised.
Petitioner Sandy Talita said in Mt Hagen the matter was before the court, which would determine the outcome.
He said in the meantime the road from Wapenamanda to Wabag would not be disturbed as he was from that electorate.
He said the same would happen when people from Wapenamanda travelled to Wabag.
“Ipatas and I are leaders so we do not want any of you to take this matter and act beyond our control,” he said.
“Maintain peace at all times.
“That goes to Ipatas’ and my supporters.
“We are not encouraging you to use the case to do anything.”
Talita said cooperating and allowing the law to take its course would end problems in a peaceful way.
Talita said what he and Ipatas were doing was for the good of the people and the province.
“I, as your leader, am appealing for peace at this time when the case is before the court,” he said.
“I know you will behave but it would be better if we take extra care and the court case ends in a very peaceful way.”
Talita said Engans had to take ownership of everything and maintain peace as he was exercising his freedom to challenge Ipatas’ election win in court.
“But that does not mean that people have to go and create problems here and there,” he said.
“I want us to maintain peace at this time and be law-abiding citizens.
“We must know that what we do will always paint a picture of our province and the people,” he said

Ganim praised for well documented budget plan

News	Friday 31st May 2013

By PHILIP KEPSON

WABAG MP Robert Ganim has been praised for coming up with a well documented budget of K10 million for his District Services Improvement Program funds.
Enga Provincial Administrator Dr Samson Amean told a provincial management team last week that it was the first time for him in the last five years to see Mr Ganim and his Joint district planning and budget priorities committee coming up with a budget plan which had realistic priorities on spending the DSIP funds.
Mr Amean said he was particularly happy with the Wabag MP’s allocation of funds in line with development targets of the national government’s vision 2050 and various medium term strategies. He said the province would go a long way if all districts did the same. “I am happy that the MP for Wabag has come up with a well documented budget plan that reflected the aspirations of the national government’s long and short term plans,” he said.
He said it was the role of the district administrators to advise the MPs on procedures involved in coming up with plans on using public funds, to ensure that the small people in the villages were the ultimate beneficiaries.
Dr Amean’s comments were made in light of public speculations that many MPs in the country were coming up with shopping lists on spending the DSIP funds, without following proper procedures in terms of holding correct meetings to consider vital spending guidelines.
It’s understood that service delivery and project implementation programs in at least one district in the province has come to a standstill because the particular MP has not held his first meeting since he was elected to office to allow for the district treasury to expand funds earmarked for this year.
A district senior public servant, who did not want his name mentioned, said the acting district administrator for that district was still waiting for the MP to go home to organize the operation of the district, while other districts and provinces in the country were ready to undergo their second quarterly budget review.
Governor Peter Ipatas raised concerns two weeks ago about at least one MP’s decision to engage Western Highlands Provincial authorities to administer road redevelopment programs in his district. He told a gathering in Wabag that it was only proper for leaders to utilize public finance procurement process in Enga to carryout projects in the province.

Judge rules to hear case in Waigani

Source: The National, Wednesday 24th April 2013

By ADRIAN MATHIAS

 

A JUDGE has ruled that an election petition filed against Wabag MP Robert Ganim be heard in Port Moresby instead of Wabag town.

Justice Colin Makail made the ruling following an application by petitioner and former MP Sam Abal to hear the case outside Wabag because of threats on his witnesses by Ganim’s supporters.

Makail allowed the petition to be heard in the National Court in Port Moresby.

Abal claimed that six of his witnesses were threatened by Ganim’s supporters.

Makail said: “I accept that the witnesses for each party are based in Wabag and if the trial is to be held at Waigani National Court, it would be costly for the parties to transport them down and also to accommodate them in Port Moresby.

“But the security of witnesses is equally important. In this case, I am satisfied that witnesses have been assaulted, threatened, intimidated and harassed such that a fair trial is not possible if the petition is fixed for trial at Wabag National Court.

“I fix the trial at Waigani National Court.”

Abal is arguing in his petition about improper polling at Teremanda village, the returning officer’s decision to count five ballot boxes from two polling places despite objections based on illegal practices, and Ganim’s failure to resign from his position as a public servant before contesting the election.

Makail also changed the venues for election petition trials because of security reasons in the Gumine open seat in Chimbu between Nick Kopia Kuman and Lucas Dawa Dekena and in the Imbonggu open seat in Southern Highlands between Pila Niningi and Francis Awesa.

MP urges govt to back Mt Kare mine

Source:The National, Thursday 21st February, 2013

By JEFFREY ELAPA

LAGAIP-Porgera MP Nixon Mangape has urged the government to support the Mt Kare mine by renewing Indochine’s exploration licence for another two years.
He also called on the people to support the company so that the Mt Kare project would start in the next two years as they have missed opportunities over the past 20 years due to landowner feuds.
Mangape, who comes from the area, said Indochine had discovered gold resource of more than two million ounces so far and needed to do more exploration.
He said he supported the extension and renewal of their exploration license.
Mangape added that leaders in Enga and Hela supported the Mt Kare project as the developer would partner with them to deliver infrastructure, services and benefits to the two provinces and their people.
“I call on the landowners to support us to work together for the benefit of the people.
“I appeal to all so-called landowners living in Port Moresby and Mt Hagen to stop grumbling and waste time in the media.
“I urge you to go back home and support Indochine mining.
“You have missed opportunities because of your tribal fights but now it’s time to change,” Mangape said.
“I’m also a landowner and a mandated leader. I represent the voices of the people and therefore I want the people to support me and the company to get the mine operating.”

Enga alcohol, drug cases on decline, says Lakari

Source: The National, Thursday 31st January, 2013

 

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
ALCOHOL, homebrew and marijuana-related problems in Enga are on the decline.
Former provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said things had calmed since New Year and the province was quiet.
Lakari said abuse of homebrew, marijuana and alcohol in the province was hopefully a thing of the past.
He said social problems associated with substance abuse had declined dramatically, resulting in people settling down well in their communities.
“I want to commend the people for cooperating with the police and listening to their leaders to give up their bad habits and live a peaceful life,” Lakari said.
This, he said, paved the way for developments, delivery of goods and services.
Lakari said as the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had declared this year as the “year of implementation” and news that more than K10 million would be given to each district to provide goods and services, there was an air of anticipation to see services reach the people.
“I think the people of Enga have at last decided to settle down and prepare to work with their local MPs towards receiving goods and services,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lakari also appealed to the community and church leaders to continue working with the police to prevent trouble.

Mangape happy court battle is now over

Highlands Region

Thursday 24th January 2013

Laigaip-Porgera MP Nixon Mangape says he would now focus on delivering tangible services in his electorate following his recent election petition victory.
His election win was disputed by former MP Philip Kikala but during a competency hearing, the National Court at Wabag dismissed the case after it found that the petition was incompetent and did not warrant a trial.
A relieved Mr Mangape said the election petition had interrupted his work plans for his electorate and he would now focus on delivering services to his electorate.
He said in a statement that Laigaip-Porgera was a large electorate with a population of more than 100,000 and many issues to attend to.
The issues such as the mining review for the Porgera Gold Mine, outstanding MoA commitments and law and order issues. He said his first task would be to develop a five-year-development plan for his electorate.
As per the Prime Minister’s declaration of 2013 as year of implementation, he said he would focus on indentifying significant impact projects in the electorate and engage suitable people to implement those projects.
He said he would also consider capacity in the districts before commencing the projects.
He thanked his supporters and family members for their patience during the court challenge

Miner thanked for repairing Wapenamanda road

Source: The National, Wednesday 02nd of January, 2013

By ADRIAN MATHIAS

THE Enga Provincial Administration is grateful to its works department and the Pogera Joint Venture (PJV) for facilitating and maintaining the Wapenamanda section of the Enga Highway that links the province to the rest of the country.
“It is timely as the festive period was approaching, we will celebrate with ease of mind knowing that at least for now the bumpy rides, the sore backs that we have been experiencing travelling this section of the highway and the exorbitant vehicle maintenance cost incurred by operators is minimized,” the provincial government said in a statement on behalf of the people of Enga.
It said this section of the Enga highway had been causing inconvenience for too long to the travelling public and stakeholders in the province and had affected operations of businesses and the livelihood of the people there.
The provincial government thanked provincial works manager Mark Gunua and PJV for maintaining the section of the highway

Enga’s poor health facilities fatal

Source: Post Courier, Tuesday January 8, 2012
By JOHNNY POIYA

THE number of preventable deaths in Enga has increased as rural health facilities, including the Kandep, Laiagam and Maramuni health centres in the mineral-rich provinces are run down.
The deteriorating conditions of these major health facilities have caused patients to travel the long distance to Wabag general hospital, with many of them on the verge of death, over the last 10 years.
The hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Salan Ere said yesterday that the Kandep and Maramuni district health centres were closed for 10 and five years respectively, while the Laiagam health centre was rundown with medical staff using candle light for delivery and other emergency cases.
He said if it was not for the church-run health facilities and the Wabag general hospital, which functions under the national government, the number of deaths in the province would be much higher.
He said Wabag hospital has seen an influx of patients in very critical conditions in the recent years, especially people from Kandep, Laiagam and Maramuni areas.
Enga is privileged to have the Lutheran Church-run Mambisanda hospital in Wapenamanda, the Baptist Church-run Kompiam hospital and the Catholic Church-run Yampu and Londol hospitals in the Ambum Kompiam district.
One of the top hospitals, the SDA-run Sopas hospital outside Wabag town, was closed 10 years ago following a tribal fight in the area, while workers in the Kandep centre fled for their lives as election related tribal warfare raged in the valley.
Mr Ere expressed his concern at the manner in which politicians have not helped health services, adding they were only fit at criticising the operations of the existing facilities.
“We can’t deny that we have people in very critical conditions brought in and they die on arrival. These deaths could only be prevented if all provincial health facilities in the rural areas are fully operational,” Mr Ere said.
Referring to public comments that a lot of deaths were caused by mismanagement, Mr Ere said though Enga hosted a world class open pit gold mine in the world, much of the millions of kina pumped into the provincial coffers were never translated into quality health service for the people.
“We don’t have the equipment except from the national department of Health, there is no internal support,” Mr Ere said.
“Most of these preventable deaths could not have happened if there was efficient provincial health services in the rural areas. We can’t perform miracles if we don’t have the equipment and a well run provincial health service.
“It’s funny that people, especially the Enga provincial government, can easily blame us and say mismanagement by the Wabag hospital is the cause of deaths,” Mr Ere said.

Support Mangape’s good work

Source: The National, Thursday 3rd of January, 2013

LAGAIP-Porgera MP Nixon Mangape is ma­king waves in his electorate.
Although he is a firsttimer in the political arena, many people in the electorate are beginning to call him “Mr Action”.
His latest project – the highway to link Porgera and Tari that costs K10 million – is one of the examples of how he got his nickname.
The road will be a relief for the people of Tari and Porgera.
They have been using the other route to go to Mendi for services such as banks and hospitals.
The new highway will only take one hour for them to reach Porgera since it has all the servi-ces needed.
Tari, on the other hand, is the host of the multi-million LNG project.
Therefore, the people of Tari can always come to Porgera to spend their money or even invest in one of the world’s largest gold mines.
The people of Porgera can also do the same up there in Tari.
It would be good if
Hela Governor Anderson Agi­ru and James Marape were to step in and assist Mangape in this important project as it would be­nefit the people of Hela.
We are the Huli-Openas, so let us work toget­her and make things happen.
I admire the work of my MP Mangape and I truly believe that he is the man that my people and I have been waiting for.
Now that we have the right leader, let us put aside all our differences and work together for the better of Lagaip-Porgera and Enga as a whole.
Izzy Kings
Via email

Focus on other areas too, Mangape

Source: The National, Thursday 3rd of January, 2013

I REFER to the recent report on Lagaip-Porgera MP Nixon Mangape to spend K10 million from the JDP&BPC trust ac­count to construct the Porgera to Tari road. In my view, this allocation of money will not benefit the bulk of the population in the district. The Porgera-Tari road is not really “a must” for the Lagaip-Porgera people because they do not need that road to access basic services such as banks and post offices in Tari. There is also no one li­ving in that particular section between Por­gera and Tari. Instead, we are in dire need of roads linking the rural areas known for their agricultural activities to the main market. Mangape should not be so worried about the Taris benefiting from the ser­vices available in Porgera and avoid the notorious Nipa section when trying to access services in Mendi or Mt Hagen. The initiative should be taken by Hela MPs and Mangape can then show his support. The K10 million ought to be spent on projects that would result in tangible benefits for the bulk of the people living in Por­ger­a, Paiela or Laia­gam linking Wabag via Pilikambi LLG. Mangape should submit a proposal to the Na­tional Executive Coun­cil and other appropriate key stakeholders instead of using the Lagaip-Porgera JDP&BPC funds as the Porgera-Tari road is outside the priority areas.

Tony Sulupin
Lagaip-Porgera

Enga police get tough on drivers

Source: The National, Friday 21st December, 2012

ENGA police are now getting tough on drivers breaking traffic rules in the province.
Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said yesterday from Wabag that police had imposed K1,000 bail on drivers breaking traffic rules.
Lakari said out of 15 drivers arrested for overloading, drink driving and driving around in unregistered vehicles last week, one had to pay a K1,000 bail on Monday.
He said others would appear in the District Court to determine their fate or impose appropriate fines on them.
“I want to reduce fatal accidents in the province because last year and the previous year, we had a lot of fatal accidents during the festive season,” he said.
Lakari said police would ensure only road worthy vehicles travelled on the road.
He said because of the drivers’ carelessness fatal accidents happened and this had to stop.
“I want to warn drivers and vehicle owners to take extra precautions,” he said.
He said anyone seen breaking the traffic rules would face the full force of the law.
Lakari said police set 24-hour roadblocks at the border of Western Highlands and Enga near Kumul lodge and confiscated 100 cartons of beer and seven cartons of dark rum.
He said some people transported the alcohol on trucks into Enga to sell during the festive period when police confiscated them at the roadblock

BSP Wabag system stalls

Source: Post Courier. October 10, 2012

By Peter Saa
The Bank South Pacific’s (BSP) customers in Wabag suffered for more than an hour yesterday after the branch’s banking system stalled. The bank opened normally and business started at 9am. However, at 10am, the electronic system suddenly rejected the bank’s management when it tried to serve its customers.
Customers had no option but to wait in long queues inside and outside of the bank until the system came back to normalcy more than an hour later.
Wabag BSP branch manager, Mr Jerry Marie, felt that the system was to be blamed and not the bank’s management.
Mr Marie said he felt sorry for the bank’s customers for the delay and added that bank staff also relied on the system.
Many customers had already started trips to Mt Hagen to do banking by the time the system was restored.
Mr Marie apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused and stressed his blame of the electronic banking system in place. The Wabag BSP branch is functioning effectively through the current bank manager according to one customer who was interviewed by the Post-Courier yesterday: “comparing with past services provided by the bank, management was very slow in serving its customers. But now, through Jerry Marie, the bank tellers are serving customers quickly.”
The named customer acknowledged the manager’s effort’s and appealed to the current management staff to continue with the same effort.
Meanwhile, BSP is extending its community services to Enga by providing assets and donating in areas like hospitals, schools, police stations, among others. Another customer said that the province needed one more bank, such as ANZ, Westpac or Microbank, to compete with BSP to make life easier for Engans, who often go to Mt Hagen to do transactions with such other banks.

Wabag District vehicles sold: Ganim’s staff

Source: Highlands Region, Post Courier, Tuesday Septemebr 18, 2012

A YOUNG businessman claimed that more than 15 vehicles owned by the Wabag District were sold in Lae, Goroka, Madang and Mt Hagen following the defeat of former MP Sam Abal.
The owner of a nightclub and several stores in Wabag and senior staff of incumbent MP Robert Ganim on Friday alleged that the district was able to recoup five of the vehicles but the rest were still missing.
Kennedy Lemban said the district headquarters was empty with all computers, telephones, furniture and other equipment, ripped off by supporters of the former MP following his downfall.
He said all funds in the district accounts were also removed prior to the election, leaving the district with a zero balance account.
“Mr Abal was a Deputy Prime Minister, Acting Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, front man of the National Alliance Party and a very devoted Christian. The action by his supporters is uncalled for and unbecoming of a man of his status.” Mr Lemban said.
He said the people of Wabag and Enga expected a good handover– takeover ceremony to take place following Mr Ganim’s victory but that never happened when Mr Abal refused to attend the ceremony.
“As a senior leader, Mr Abal has initiated several impact projects including a chicken abattoir and the Wabag town market. As a true leader, he should have congratulated Ganim on the win and advice and support him to continue on with the impact projects. But instead he decided to take Ganim to court and this all indicates the type of leader Abal is,” Mr Lemban said.
He said apart from all its equipment being stolen by Mr Abal’s supporters, the district lacked tangible development over the last 10 years.
“The people of Wabag will not benefit from any court case.
They want services and delivery. Mr Ganim being a man on the ground knows the people’s needs and he should not be disturbed to deliver much needed services to Mr Abal’s people.”

Armed men attack polling officials

Source: The National, Wednesday June 27th, 2012

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
POLLING officials were among people travelling in a convoy of vehicles who were ambushed while on their way to Wabag.
The polling officials were from the Kompiam-Ambum electorate in Enga province.
The polling officials were travelling in the convoy to Wabag town yesterday morning when armed men opened fire on them at Yanda Tunda village.
Provincial police commander Supt Martin Lakari said they were driving into Wabag when supporters of another candidate blocked the road near Merimanda village and attacked them.
Lakari said the whole villagers armed with weapons attacked the passengers and also burnt their vehicle.
He said former MP Dickson Maki was taken hostage before security personnel intervened and rescued him.
Lakari said the security personnels cleared the road and brought the situation under control.
He said three men seriously injured were admitted at the Wabag general hospital.
An eyewitness who did not want to be named said the attack was related to an incident on Monday afternoon in Kompiam.
He said the supporters of some candidates in Kompiam-Ambum had demanded on Monday that presiding officers and assistant returning officers who had connections with particular candidates be replaced.
He said there was a prolonged argument before a fight broke out between supporters of the candidates