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By PETER KORUGL
THE recent changes to laws by Parliament to remove local level
governments from provincial assemblies and governments have caused
confusion in provinces.
Senior provincial government officials said provincial administrations
were bewildered and confused because they were implementing illegal
decisions by the current provincial assemblies and governments that were
replaced by another administration system.
The District Authorities Act and the amendments to the Organic Law on
Provincial and Local Level Governments (OLPLLG) effectively changed the
structure and composition of the provincial assemblies and governments
that some provinces will not functions.
According to documents obtained by The National, provinces like Manus
will not function because the membership of its provincial assembly and
government was effectively reduced to three.
Apart from Manus, the changes to the laws effectively reduces membership
of the provincial assemblies in Gulf, New Ireland, Oro and West New
Britain to four, Western to five, Central to six, East New Britain,
Milne Bay, Sandaun and Enga to seven, Simbu and Madang to eight, Western
Highlands to nine, Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands to 10 and
Morobe to 11 members.
The changes came into effect on Jan 30 but were not implemented,
creating confusion in the provinces and their administrations.
“What this means is the current provincial assemblies are operating
illegally as all decisions they have made are null and void.
“And Papua New Guinea has two provincial government systems operating
parallel to each other at the moment,” a provincial departmental head
said last night.
The documents showed that the consequential effect on the provincial
government structure and the committees were drastic.
The shocking news was delivered to the governors by Department of
Provincial and Local Government Affairs Secretary Gei Ilagi at a meeting
last Thursday in Port Moresby.
Last August, former Opposition leader Peter O’Neill introduced and
Parliament passed the District Authorities Act.
As stated in the Act, its purpose was to bring Government funding and
resources directly to the people within the district by district
authorities whose membership will be drawn from the heads of the local
level governments.
As the law governing district authorities was an ordinary Act of
Parliament, it could not be enforced because the provincial government
system was set up under the OLPLLG, which is a superior legislation.
The enabling legislation was passed last November by Parliament. It had
to amend Section 10, 18 and 72 of the OLPLLG, thereby effectively
removing presidents, lord mayors and mayors from the provincial
assemblies and governments and replacing them with national MPs.
The laws brought in district authorities as part of provincial and local
level administrative system and the district administrators came under
the authorities.
Documents show that as of Jan 30, the new membership of the provincial
assembly should be made up of the provincial MP as governor, all open
national MPs and one nominated women representative.
 
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