Law and order committee visits Mamose

The National National
Assistant police commissioner, Northern command, Peter Guinness addressing the Parliamentary Committee on Law and Order in Lae yesterday.– Nationalpics by JIMMY KALEBE

By JIMMY KALEBE
THE Parliamentary Committee on Law and Order is currently conducting a week-long inquiry and consultative meeting for Mamose to get views from stakeholders on how to best address law and order in the country.
The meeting started yesterday in Lae and called for effective participation from the provincial administration of Morobe, Madang, East and West Sepik as well as other stakeholders.
Committee chairman and Koroba-Lake Kopiago MP William Bando in his opening remarks said the views that different stakeholders gave during the meeting would help the government better address law and order problems.
“We are faced with all sorts of law and order issues from the rural level to urban areas nationwide.
“The government cannot make decisions on its own to address these issues, so it needs collective ideas from you,” Bando said.
Committee member and Bogia MP Robert Naguri said the rise in law and order issues in the country had the government established the committee to advise it on how best those issues could be addressed.

Committee member Robert Naguri (Bogia MP), chairman William Bando (Koroba-Lake Kopiago MP), Morobe Governor Luther Wenge and committee member Elias Kapavore (Pomio MP) during the opening of the week-long meeting in Lae. – Nationalpics by JIMMY KALEBE

“As we go around from region to region and province to province, we will get views from people of different backgrounds, from public servants, from mothers and women, youths, from law breakers themselves to businesses, churches and non-governmental organisations,” he said.
Naguri said the main aim of the committee in convening the meetings for the four regions of the country was to gather the views and information from a broad cross-section of society and present it before Parliament for deliberation.
Naguri also commended Morobe and its capital for recording fewer crimes in recent months.
“The committee now would like to know what steps were taken which has resulted in minimal number of offences being committed lately,” he said.
Naguri explained that the meeting was open to all to give their ideas which would be taken on board and considered in its final report.
Meanwhile, the committee will travel to the Highlands for their next leg of the inquiry, after completing this week in Mamose.