Lawyer suggest pay increase for village magistrates, mediators

By JAMES APA GUMUNO
A MT Hagen-based lawyer has called for an increase in salaries and entitlements for village court magistrates, land mediators, peace and good order committees and ward councillors in Western Highlands province.
Danny Gonol, a senior lawyer with Paulus Dowa Lawyers, made the comment while addressing a peace ceremony between the Muntika tribe of Mul-Baiyer and the Kalapka tribe of Tambul-Nebilyer district at Gihawu village, outside Mt Hagen, on Saturday.
He said the backbone of law and order in communities and villages rested with the village court magistrates, peace and good order committee members, land mediators and ward councillors.
Gonol said these people were the first group to attend to problems and resolve disputes.
He said if they were not around to stop conflicts small problems would escalate into bigger problems, causing large scale destruction and loss of lives.
He said the K50 to K70 monthly allowances paid to them were not adequate and not equivalent to the work they did to maintain peace and harmony in their communities.
Gonol called on the provincial and national governments to seriously look into this issue with the view to reviewing and increasing their salaries and entitlements.
He said these officials did all the hard work to maintain peace and harmony without complaining and the government needed to appreciate their efforts by compensating them properly.
He said the allowance they received had not changed for more than a decade and should be raised to match the increasing prices of goods and services.
The Monjika tribe of Mul-Baiyer paid K94,000, nine pigs and cows to the Kalapka tribe of Tambul-Nebilyer.
Paulus Dowa, principal of Paulus Dowa lawyers, and a leader of the Kalapka tribe, in accepting the payment, declared that the Muntika and Kalapka tribes were no longer enemies.
Dowa said they would build a peace monument at Gihamu village where the ceremony took place to remember the peace ceremony.
He urged the members of the tribes not to create trouble but live peacefully.
Joseph Mangbi, a young leader of the Muntika tribe who organised the ceremony, expressed the same sentiments.