Minister plans to table corruption commission bill

By HELEN TARAWA
JUSTICE Minister and Attorney-General Davis Steven plans to table the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) bill in Parliament in next month’s sitting.
He said Prime Minister Peter O’Neill wanted the bill tabled.
“I had discussed this several times with O’Neill and he expressed that this bill ought to be brought forward,” he said.
He told The National that department secretary Dr Eric Kwa was talking to Chief Secretary Isaac Lupari and government agencies involved in the preparation of the bill to have it ready for tabling in the May sitting.
He blamed the bureaucracy for delaying its tabling.
“The situation is such that our officials (bureaucrats) seem to have lost track of where it is,” he said.
“Let Parliament debate the bill. It’s a very poor way of running the country.”
He said the Alotau Accord approved after the 2012 general election had placed priority on the anti-corruption agenda, and O’Neill in his maiden speech said he wanted the bill introduced.
He said since assuming office, he had presented the bill to the public for scrutiny and comment.
“One of the efforts made was a public debate in the main lecture theatre of the University of PNG where I invited Transparency International to air their critical view,” he said.
“Since then, the process had lost its way in the Waigani bureaucracy.”