Manning issues 13 orders on extension

By Rebecca Kuku
Thirteen new State of Emergency orders have been issued as the state of emergency is extended for two weeks.
State of Emergency Controller and Police Commissioner David Manning told The National yesterday that the orders include the lifting of curfews, roadblocks and public gatherings.

The orders also include the extension of the ban on nightclubs, gambling, betting shops and the sale of alcohol on weekends.
“They will continue to be enforced in the next two weeks,” he said.
Manning said they were drafting a Public Health Bill for Parliament to approve.
“This is basically to enforce the new normal which will include things like the Wash (water, sanitation and hygiene) programme, social distancing in schools, workplaces and in public transport vehicles,” he said.
“The new normal will also place more emphasis on personal hygiene to stop transmission in communities, because as long as the Covid-19 (exists), it still poses a threat to the country.”
Manning said the two-week extension was necessary to put in place necessary measures to protect lives “as the country transits into the new normal when the state of emergency ends”.
Parliament will be sitting for the next two weeks.

O’Neill, PNC MPs to join Opposition

PETER O’Neill and his 17 People’s National Congress Party MPs have agreed to withdraw from the coalition government led by Prime Minister James Marape.
They will now join the Opposition “so that we can confront this failing Marape leadership”, O’Neill said in a statement.
He said Marape forgot that the PNC had given him the numbers in Parliament to form his coalition government in May last year.
“This was after he had been rejected by every party leader during the formation of his government,” O’Neill said.

He said Marape “has never honoured any of his commitments” to the PNC during the formation of the coalition government.
“It is our duty to bring to light the terrible and depressed state of the government under his authority,” O’Neill said.
“PNC in the Opposition will work with our parliamentary colleagues, including the increasing number in the middle benches, to promote real alternative policy to get the country out of the Marape mess.”
O’Neill said Marape “failed on each of the key performance indicators he set for himself in his so-called manifesto”.
“To make things worse, when he is under pressure over his failures, Marape resorts to misusing the name of God to justify himself and his political inaction,” he said.
No comment could be obtained from Marape last night. But he said on Monday that PNC MPs “continue to participate in the government caucus but speak as opposition to my government”.
“It is only fair that (O’Neill and his MPs) oppose formally from the opposition benches.”

Good hygiene practices to feature in new normal guidelines, says Wong

By REBECCA KUKU

THE nation will re-open its doors for business with “new normal” guidelines prioritising basic hygiene practices, says Health and HIV/AIDS Minister Jelta Wong.
Wong told Parliament yesterday that the Covid-19 pandemic had not just claimed the lives of people around the world but also left countries on the brink of economic disaster.
“People have lost their jobs in unprecedented numbers and livelihoods have been hugely affected. People have been living in fear and uncertainty and edging closer to poverty.
“And our country is not exempted from these effects,” he said.
He said the Covid-19 had also “driven home the importance of a quality health system”.
“We must make health care a priority. Our hospitals and health professionals have been starved of support for too long. So this is a wakeup call,” he said.

Eastern Highlands Governor Peter Numu called for the state of emergency to be lifted but called for more control measures on international borders.
Numu said there had been no more Covid-19 cases in past weeks.

MADANG Governor Peter Yama wants the state of emergency to be lifted to allow his province space for economic recovery.
He said the Madang people had lost most of their income-generating avenues.
“We can maintain the SOE in our border provinces and our ports of entry but allow our people to earn their living,” he said.

Bird criticises lack of probe into eight confirmed cases

By HELEN TARAWA
EAST Sepik Governor Allan Bird has called on the Government to spend money on investigating the eight cases of the Covid-19 in the country.
Bird told Parliament that more investigations should have been conducted on the eight people.
“I requested humbly when we first met to pass the bill on the SoE that those responsible must present data.
“It’s a constitutional requirement and I’m standing here totally disappointed that it hasn’t been done,” he said.
“We’ve been presented with evidence of what’s been happening overseas. But we need to understand what’s happening in our own country. We need to make decisions based on data from our own country. This is what I would have expected from the two months of shutdown.”
Bird said he was concerned that no one else apart from the eight had been sick, and that should have been investigated.
“Why is it that we could not detect anyone (else)? I’m disappointed because the mothers in my province were assaulted by police using (national emergency) powers,” he said.
Bird said he and West Sepik Governor Tony Wouwou funded the Institute of Medical Research to carry out anti-body tests.
“We tested people in four villages, the Moem Barracks and the hospital and found out that 50 people actually got sick and have recovered,” he said.
“And that was out of a test sample of 1,153 people. Provide evidence and respect our mandate because we are concerned about our people.
“This is unacceptable and it’s insulting that you have so much money. But where is your study?”
Police Minister Bryan Kramer said it was incorrect to say that police used state of emergency powers.
“There’s no such powers that give any police officer the right to violate people’s rights. Those actions by officers were their own and the governor can report it,” Kramer said.

Pomat wants allegations against him investigated

By REBECCA KUKU
SPEAKER Job Pomat is willing to step aside to allow an investigation into fraud-related allegations made against his office involving K59 million.
He told Parliament yesterday that he would be writing to the Ombudsman Commission and the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate inviting them to investigate the allegations.
“In the event that I am investigated, I will step aside and allow them to investigate the allegations,” Pomat said.
He said the allegations “have tarnished my name, my father’s name, my family’s name, my party’s name”.
“I will also invite the auditor-general to come and audit the books,” he said.
A complaint was lodged with the police fraud squad in November last year by a former employee of Parliament, implicating Pomat and “his executive staff” of alleged misappropriation and abuse of office.
According to documents obtained by The National, fraud and anti-corruption directorate director Chief Superintendent Matthew Damaru told the complainant that an officer had been assigned to investigate the complaint.
Pomat told Parliament yesterday that he would be writing to the Ombudsman Commission and the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate to have the allegations investigated “to clear my name”.
Pomat said the Speaker’s office was one of the highest offices in the country and an investigation must be conducted to clear his name.