AGM deferred, court wants papers filed

By KEVIN TEME
THE planned annual general meeting of the PNG Rugby Football League for tomorrow will no longer be conducted.
The PNGRFL interim board headed by John Numapo will now pre­sent their affidavit in court on Monday despite a court ruling in April to have the AGM no later than Nov 30.
Sources at the PNGRFL yesterday confirmed that their affidavit would be presented on Monday.
Presiding judge Ambeng Kandakasi wanted the parties concerned to appear before the court for Numapo to present an affidavit containing information that would clarify why the interim board was going to have the AGM on Nov 26 which would have meant many leagues would not be represented because the majority had not met affiliation criteria.
Kandakasi said the con­stitutionally-set AGM this Saturday as per the court order in early April was not as important as the wider interests of the code and the people including its stakeholders.
Kandakasi said such in-house politics could not be allowed to jeopardise the work of developing the code.
This would inevitably see the AGM postponed to a later date which would also have an effect on the court decision made early April which stated that the AGM must be held no later than Nov 30.
What happens next will depend on Numapo’s presentation.
In  related news, league representatives from Kimbe reportedly arrived in Lae yesterday on a ship unaware of the latest decision.
PNGRFL sources said that the postponement would inconvenience some leagues, from Mo­-
mase and the New Gui­nea Islands, which were prepared for the Lae meet.
Attempts to contact Numapo for a response to the court decision were unsuccessful.