Take ownership Mr Civil Servant

Letters

On Oct 8, a senior civil servant hosted his birthday party at his house in a gated community at 8-Mile, Port Moresby.
This is normal as every resident or homeowner hosts a party once in a while and there are no issues with that.
However, the rowdy and unruly behaviour of his intoxicated children and guests was  appalling.
His children and some guests were travelling at high speeds to and from his house during the day and into the evening.
One of them, a female, believed to be the daughter of an MP, almost hit a child – a near-miss.
Her passenger, one of the civil servant’s sons, heavily intoxicated, was yelling obscenities at homeowners.
Later, another guest, driving a Government vehicle, ran over and killed a homeowner’s  dog.
When concerns were raised, the civil servant’s children and guests threatened to hit the pet owner and swore at her.
The nuisance continued until concerned residents set up a roadblock and apprehended a speeding vehicle and summoned police intervention.
A commotion occurred between the civil servant’s children and concerned residents, but was quelled.
When police arrived, the children and guests of the civil servant attacked two uniformed officers, prompting reinforcements to arrive.
At the Gordon police station, Mr Civil Servant was adamant that the actions of his children on a “public road” outside his house and was not his problem as they were adults.
He did not take responsibility for his adult children’s  actions  as a concerned parent and senior public servant.
Mr Civil Servant, for your information, the public road you referred to is considered an easement.
An easement is not a public road. An example of an easement is a shared driveway in a gated community like Skyview.
In gated communities, all homeowners must respect each other to maintain peace and harmony.
That means respecting others and driving sensibly and slowly.
Speeding kills, what if an actual child was killed?
It would have been a totally different story.
Your children’s actions and your inaction also bring disrepute to your office.
As a public servant, your conduct should be guided by the Code of Conduct as directed by the Public Services Management Act.
An item under the code states that public servants must at all times “avoid all behaviour and all situations which may harm the integrity of the public service”
Please get your grown up children to respect others and respect will be given in return – it is a two-way street.
We have all made investments and we all deserve better, and we kindly ask you to kindly take ownership.
Our collective aim as a community is to maintain peace and harmony and a conducive environment for our families and our children.

Concerned homeowner,  
Port Moresby