Rioting makes Mendi not safe to work

National

THE civil service in Southern Highlands cannot function because of riots and law-and-order issues in Mendi town.
Southern Highlands provincial health authority chief executive Dr Joseph Birisi said that it was not safe to work there.
He said the problem had been created by “wanna-be leaders”.
“How can we call ourselves leaders when we cannot maintain peace and normalcy in the province, town or community for that matter?” he asked.
Birisi said that because of the violence the Mendi Provincial Hospital had been using only a few staff members at night for six weeks and they were already over-worked.
“Security for my staff is not safe anymore,” he said. “We might need to shut the place down. That will apply to other health facilities which are currently affected by election-related issues.”
He said people from other provinces working in Mendi were feeling unsafe.
He said schools, businesses, banks, the post office and other services were being affected.