Hagen mayor: Dispute may affect services

By YVONNE HAIP
SERVICE delivery in Mt Hagen city may be affected by a row over the city manager’s post, lord mayor Fred Kure said.
Kure raised the concern after the city manager Victor Megao and his deputy Wak Kewa were locked out of their office on Monday.
The locks to their offices were changed last weekend.
Megao and Kewa turned up for work only to find their offices being occupied by two other officers.
Pius Pim is now occupying the office of city manager.
Peter Noki was appointed deputy during a finance executive committee meeting chaired by Kure.
The members sacked Megao and Kewa over certain allegations which they said had been brought up by the two and voted in the new managers.
However, in a letter addressed to provincial administrator Malcolm Culligan, Kure advised that the officers were occupying the office “illegally”.
Kure said he had asked the two twice to vacate the office but both had ignored him, saying they were voted in by the full finance committee.
Kure said in the letter that this was a “hijack of power by a group of desperate councillors and like-minded men who have no respect for authority and government institutions”.
He urged the administrator and local MP William Duma, the provincial police commander, the district treasury, and relevant authorities to look into the matter.