MPs call on government to accept court ruling

THE four MPs of Western led by Governor Taboi Awi Yato are calling on the Government to accept the ruling of the Singapore High Court on the PNG Sustainable Development Programme (PNGSDP) fund.
Yato, Middle Fly MP Roy Biyama, South Fly MP Seki Agisa and North Fly MP James Donald, in a joint statement urged Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to stop attacking PNGSDP but work with the directors and the provincial government to ensure that the fund is used for development in Western.
“We urge the prime minister to accept that PNGSDP does not belong to the Government. Its duty is legally and morally to the people of Western,” the statement said.
“Its principal objective is to use the long-term fund for sustainable development in Western, which we strongly support and wish to protect.
“We are pleased with the court’s outcome and are of the view that the Government should not waste money on further legal action, which will not only be fruitless but also continue to cost both the Government and the company millions of kina in legal fees.”
The MPs said the court decision now allowed the PNGSDP to plan how to spend the annual interest it received from the K5 billion investment on social and economic development in the province.
They also urged the PNGSDP to start using funds to raise the living standards of the people of Western.
“People are dying from preventable diseases, children are not being educated properly, services such as road accessibility, power, water, banking and communications are inadequate.
“Our infrastructure is falling apart, law and order is failing and we have so many other problems that needs to be addressed.
“With the court case now over, PNGSDP is now free to support our needs and ambitions so our people can see and benefit from the company’s programmes.”
The MPs thanked former prime minister and Moresby North West MP Sir Mekere Morauta for his role in the court case in Singapore.