Get your facts right, Atiyafa

I WOULD like to respond to Henganofi MP Robert Atiyafa’s attack on Goroka MP Bire Kimisopa for not acknowledging millions of kina committed to Eastern Highlands by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
He also criticised Kimi­sopa for raising the NPF saga.
I would like to tell  Ati­yafa the following:
l    O’Neill made these commitments as a token of appre­ciation as he grew up and was educated in Goroka, which was his home. It is a give-and-take thing. Goroka provided for him during his schooling years and, to show his appreciation in true Melanesian way, he committed the funds;
l    The NPF saga is a national issue that cannot go unsolved. It was created by humans and will be resolved by humans. It caused a great deal of pain to its victims. As a national leader, Kimisopa is using his mandated privilege to speak on behalf of these silent people (victims). He is not attacking the prime minister but setting the record straight;
l    His (Atiyafa) experience as a premier may have given him knowledge on the prevalence of corruption but we need a leader to eradicate such corrupt practices embedded in our public and private sectors;
l    He should not rush to table the private member’s bill but to explain to the people why he wants to do it. At this stage, many of us do not know the full nature of his proposed bill.
As such, I call on our MPs to stop making baseless attacks but start developing community-based service delivery mechanism in their districts and provinces.

Namera Tusi Xa’ ga
Port Moresby