Agiru urged to return home

SOUTHERN Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru has been urged to return to the province and fulfill his election promises.
Community leader Robert Paia, who spoke by telephone from Mendi, said Agiru must return home to serve his people instead of continuously attacking Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
Paia said the people of Southern Highlands voted Agiru to serve them and bring goods and services to the province.
“We have voted you so that we want you to address the LNG project and its benefits, the law and order issues, free education, effective public service machinery and importantly to deliver basic goods and services like infrastructure, health and education services to the 650,000 people of the province, including Hela.
“We need you in the province to fix many of the issues in regard to LNG landowner benefits which forced many landowners out from the province to be stranded in Port Moresby and camping day to day at the Vulupindi Haus,” Paia said.
He added that other issues like employment opportunities and business spin-off benefits were yet to be addressed as Agiru has been sitting on them for a long time.
He said the province was yet to make a comeback after the state of emergency was declared and all services came to a standstill in 2006.
Agiru has been frequently attacking O’Neill in the media since last August.
“Governor Agiru has a lot of things to do in the province instead of attacking the prime minister who is also from Southern Highlands.
“The people want to know what Agiru did with the funds for the Tari water supply, the Tari International Airport and the Tari International Hospital funded and parked in trust accounts and have never being implemented,” he said.
Paia said Agiru’s continuous outburst and media attack on O’Neill has not gone down well with the people of Pangia who had voted Agiru in as Governor.