Calm restored after protest by motorcade officers

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
A senior Asia-Pacific Economic Joint Security Task Force commander has calmed down after a threat by 300 motorcade officers to pull out from providing escort for the Apec leaders over their allowances.
“Let’s put our grievances aside first. We have to deliver a successful Apec. The world leaders are coming.” JSTF motorcade planner Inspector Philip Koliadi said.
The police traffic officers staged a sit-in protest over their allowances, saying that they would withdraw their services from motorcade escorting if they did not get their full allowances of K200 per day by today.
They also protested that they had not been allocated all the vehicles that they need to provide a full escort during the Apec leaders meetings this week. However, Koliadi told them at the National Capital District Police Traffic Office at Boroko on Friday that their allowances were fully taken care off.
“All the names of the security personnel involved in the JSTF are with the Apec Coordination Authority (ACA).You all will be paid straight into your own bank accounts. You all will be sorted out,” he told them.
Koliadi, who was the former NCD Traffic Officer in-charge, said that he had requested ACA to provide them two busses during the Apec week.
“However, ACA provided those buses to the logistics people involved in ACA. But we can make arrangements with logistics to use those buses if we need them. We can also work with the Security Close Protection Officers to use some of their vehicles. Afterall, these security officers and motorcade officers are the frontline officers in providing escort services to the Apec leaders.”
Koliadi said that they had a shortfall of 23 vehicles and 23 motorcycles to provide a full motorcade for each of the Apec leader.
Meanwhile, the disgruntled officers said they were happy to deliver a successful Apec.
“But we don’t want to be cheated by the national government. We have been engaged in similar big events like the national elections. We are being promised allowances of K200 per day. And after delivering a successful event, we find out that we are been paid K100 or even K50 per day,” one of the officers said.