Juffa: I will clean up Northern

By LESLIE OMARO
GOVERNOR-elect Gary Juffa is determined to clean-up Northern with law and order one of his top priorities.
Juffa, who is in Eastern Highlands supporting one of his People’s Movement for Change candidates, said yesterday there were many important issues concerning his people he wanted to address urgently. 
“Firstly, I will make a bush line assessment of the province starting with the situation in the province, the demography and the living standards of the people and understand them well,” the former Customs commissioner said.
“Other urgent issues that must be addressed will be to put a cooperative plan in place and I will be putting a team to achieve the objectives that we set out.
“I want to clean up the province and improve the public service.
“I want to make it a professional.
“I want it to be cohesive so it can function well.
“I want to address law and order issues, education and health, which have deteriorated in the past couple of years.
Juffa made it clear he was not in Eastern Highlands camping but there with Morobe governor Kelly Naru and other like-minded leaders to discuss how best they could represent their electorates and people in parliament.
“There is so much rumour and rhetoric in the media that I would like to substantiate and spell out some facts about my part and role in what is happening in Eastern Highlands.
“Firstly, I am not part of the Eastern bloc, I am here to support my regional candidate Samuel Si-i.
“I am here with governor-elect for Morobe Kelly Naru.
“Naru is a friend and we embrace certain values and principles, much of which the members here do as well.
“We are collectively concerned about certain national issues such as the granting of citizenship to Djoko Tjandra and, in my specific case, the Naima rice monopoly project and the seabed mining project and such other issues which we have spoken about and are concerned about.
“I am not forming a group as an alternative government and I am not lobbying for the prime minister’s job … I am just speaking to like-minded elected leaders and discussing how best to approach our common concerns and how best we can represent our people in our electorates, our province and our country.
“I am not with John Kerenga Gul.
“And with due respect to him and his group, have my own stance that I will take into parliament.
“And again, I do not intend to deviate from what I believe in and have spoken against here or anywhere,” Juffa said.