Top Papua New Guinea government officials refered to Ombudsman Commission

By Gelab Piak*

Three top leaders of the Papua New Guinea Government will be referred to the Ombudsman Commission by Opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta after the long adjournment of Parliament yesterday. The three top leaders to be refered are Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, Speaker Jeffery Nape and Leader of Government Business Paul Tiensten.

“We in the Opposition will be referring three leaders to the Ombudsman Commission. Speaker (Nape) for entertaining the motion, Prime Minister as the leader of the executive arm for engaging the house to vote for its adjournment and the Leader of Government Business for moving the motion,” Sir Mekere said. National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop joined in the MP's political rally announce that they were considering taking the Government to court for breaching and not fulfilling the 63-day sitting days as required.

They sat for 41 days, according to records and still need at least 22 days to fulfill Parliament sitting requirement days. “What happened today, when the Government adjourned Parliament to November, is an outrage. It confirms what the parties in Opposition have been saying for months, that the ruling clique is a law unto itself.

They are clearly scared of facing a vote of no confidence, so they have shut down Parliament,” Sir Mekere said.Parliament has not sat the required number of days stipulated by the Constitution. The Government’s action to shut down Parliament yesterday was unconstitutional,” he said.

The Opposition members said for seven years, the National Alliance Government had used the Speaker’s office as a political tool when this office was supposed to be impartial. They claim that clearly the reson for the MP's Political revolt and the Vote of no confidence is simply that the Somare Government has not delivered much, and when MP's want to take responsibility and fill in the void created by the Government, they are hampered the Somare Regime using Project funds and Funding to threaten or manipulate them, and their decisions they make on the floor of Parliament.

* Piak is a student at the Divine Word University in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea

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