Law and order situation at Porgera ‘very serious’

POLICE have described the deteriorating law and order situation at Porgera as very serious.
Deputy Commissioner of Police and chief of administration Raphael Huafolo, pictured, recently visited Porgera to assess the law and order situation there.
“We have a very serious law and order problem here in Porgera,” he said.
“We have been running operations after operations. But there is no change.
“People are not valuing the lives of others in Porgera.
“People are just being killed in the valley.
“We actually lost policemen operating here.”
Huafolo said one of the contributing factors to the lawlessness in the valley was the consumption of marijuana and alcohol.
“It created a chain of social issues in the community, resulting in killings which developed into tribal fights.”
Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas agreed that law and order was the biggest issue.
“When we are talking about economy, how to grow the economy, how to improve our people’s lives, it boils down to security,” he said.
“Our people don’t feel safe.
“The small people in the villages don’t feel safe anymore.
“So I think it’s the duty of the Government to really focus on addressing law and order.”
Huafolo met with Porgera Joint Venture management to discuss issues affecting the business.
He said disruptions to the Hides Tower Line supplying power to the Porgera gold mine from Hides in Hela and illegal mining were increasing and affecting mine operations.