Government should be held liable for virus at borders: MP

THE Government should be held responsible for any incursion of the Covid-19 through Western and West Sepik which share the border with Indonesia, Opposition Leader Belden Namah says.
“The number of the Covid-19 cases in West Papua (Indonesia) is increasing and our two provinces share a common land and sea border with them,” Namah said.
“Western and West Sepik should have been hotspots (for PNG) from day one.
“Most Government resources ought to have been mobilised to these two provinces very early in our response.
“It is now May.”
He said millions of kina had already been spent on the Covid-19 response plan but the two border provinces were neglected.
He said it was exposing the people of PNG to immediate danger “for which the prime minister and his government must be held responsible”.
He rejected Prime Minister James Marape’s recent explanation on the delay in the payments.
Namah, the Vanimo-Green MP from West Sepik, said the Government was exposing PNG to the coronavirus now spreading in Indonesia.
“Last week, in response to my call on him to pay attention to the border provinces, Marape apologised for not allocating money to Western and West Sepik.
“He said money would be allocated soon and apologised again,” Namah said.
“The people have been calling on the Government to lock down all border areas and ports of international entry by declaring them hotspots.
“The Government has not done this yet.
“We don’t accept his (Marape’s) apology because he had exposed the people in the two border provinces to a serious health risk.
Namah also thanked fellow MPs from West and East Sepik in Government and Opposition who had mobilised resources to launch an immediate response to the pandemic.