Govt urged to suspend secretary

LANDOWNERS living along the Highlands Highway from Eastern Highlands, Western Highlands, Southern Highlands and Chimbu are calling on the government to suspend Works secretary Joel Luma.
They claimed Luma had failed to carry out his official duties in an honest and transparent way.   
The landowners are blaming Luma for problems with the Highlands Highway redevelopment project in the five highlands provinces.
Through their landowners association, they will present a seven-page petition to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill today on his visit to Chimbu.
They said Luma should not be allowed to hold office because “he is using his position to jeopardise and impede the highway project payouts which are likely to have a serious setback on major economic activities like the PNG LNG gas project and the Porgera gold mine”.
They said that the highway redevelopment project was a sensitive issue that needed to be handled with care and without Luma’s involvement.
The landowners claimed Luma had abused his duties and responsibilities under section 5 of the Public Management Act.
They claim that on several instances, Luma failed to comply with and execute ministerial directives.
The landowners claimed Luma had failed under the PNG Ministers (delegation) Regulation Act, 1975, section 2, sub-section 1, 2, clause (a) and (b) to identify and allocate funds when analysing its departmental review budgets and to allow for such ministerial commitments accordingly.
They said they had waited for the past six years for the state to pay them their money but Luma had repeatedly frustrated the landowners.
The landowners said before the issue of writs for the 2012 election all state-sanctioned claims must be paid.
That includes K68.7 million for Chimbu sections 9, 10 and 11 and Southern Highlands sections 13 and 14.