Eoe charts new way to make PNG safer

By PETER ESILA
This year has been declared the year of implementation which will focus on the “prevention is better than cure” approach to address social issues in the country.
The move is to help improve understanding of the root causes of some of social issues that beset the country, including gender-based and sorcery-related violence, said Minister for Youth, Religion and Community Development Soroi Eoe.
“Our aim is as much as possible to go out in a big way to address these issues, public awareness is very important.”
He said awareness efforts must be driven to the communities using all forms of media and communication tools to address the issues head on.
His ministry has been discussing with the legal and justice sector committee how the ministry can take a prominent role in how we deal with social and law and order issues as a country.
“Now interestingly, the Attorney General has been talking to secretary (Anna Solomon) and I,” Eoe said.
“It is on issues of prosecution. We have what is called a legal and justice sector committee, which is a ministerial committee that looks at all issues related to law and order in the country. We are more like an appendix to this committee.
“What happens in a courtroom is an end result, so we must address youth, families, law and order problems, gender-based violence, sorcery issues.”
Eoe said the issues must be addressed and minimised to prevent people committing crimes and facing the consequences.
“If we are to keep on touching the lives of our people in their rooms, in their house, in their lounges, our programmes must go in and raise those concerns where it really matters before one of them or some of them end up in jail,” he said.
“When they go into jail and when they come out, whose responsibility is that?
“Again it comes back to what we are doing in the churches and community at large, so government focus is changing and realising that if such violence is occurring then maybe the dynamics of doing things should change.”