No-show by PM disappoints crowd

More than 1,000 people including men, women and school children who lined up the streets to get a glimpse of the Prime Minister were disappointed as they were not given the opportunity, sparking calls for the resignation of West New Britain Governor Peter Humphreys over this protocol blunder.
Hundreds of people waited in vain at Independence Park hoping that the founding Prime Minister will at least address them but were dispersed by heavy rain as the Prime Minister was spirited in a tinted vehicle into the provincial assembly building for the National Executive Council meeting.
Hoskins LLG president Felix Umarie yesterday called on Mr Humphreys to resign over what he called “a deliberate protocol blunder”.
“More than 1,000 people waited at Independence Park the whole day and the Prime Minister was not given the opportunity to address them about what was going on with the country,” he said.
The people again waited yesterday hoping for some words from the Prime Minister but it was not in the programme and Mr Umarie described the security arrangement as “a Hitler-type operation”.
He said the PM was driven in a tinted vehicle and hundreds of school children who wanted to see the PM, did not get the opportunity.
Mr Umarie said the presidents, as heads of LLGs, were left out from the programme to meet the PM and his Cabinet ministers.
“This goes to show that the provincial government has no recognition of the LLGs,” Mr Umarie said.
He said the LLG presidents, who have the mandate of the people, were not included in the programme and did not have the opportunity to meet the PM.
He said that the 11 LLG presidents were not invited to a dinner hosted by the governor that was attended mostly by public servants.
He said the governor must resign because he was not accountable and transparent about government business since becoming the leader of the province.