PM denies accusation

PRIME Minister James Marape has denied former prime minister Peter O’Neill’s accusations that he had blamed landowners for the closure of Porgera gold mine.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. I addressed a large crowd in Porgera on Monday, while campaigning for my Pangu Pati candidate for Porgera-Paiela Nixon Mangape. And they all applauded my efforts to give them more for Porgera,” Marape said.
“No one has blamed landowners for the continued closure of the mine. O’Neill should be ashamed of disrupting our efforts to reopen the mine.
“He continues to play politics over every issue in our efforts to develop our country.”
Marape said O’Neill was not qualified to talk about Porgera as he tried to do things for less national benefit from the mine in 2019.
“O’Neill is the last person who should be talking about Porgera,” he said. “He knows why he visited the Chinese company Zijin Mining in April 2019, instead of allowing the SML application filed in July 2017 to be dealt with.
“His heart was not in the right place for Porgera, which was why some of us, including Enga Governor Sir Peter Ipatas, resigned from his self-serving government in 2019.
“Today, we have gained 51 per cent from what was five per cent in the old Porgera under O’Neill.”
Marape said Barrick and Kumul Mining were finalising the opening of the mine that would need landowners and the Enga government’s endorsement.
“I appeal to all parties to expedite the process. If O’Neill was in power, he would have sold Porgera out, but under our ‘Take Back PNG’ philosophy, we have reached a win-win deal in favour of PNG,” he said.
“Let me correct his wrong notion of me shutting down the mine. The fact is that the lease expired and the application to renew the lease was on the same terms as the last 30 years. So I had to make hard decisions to get back Porgera to negotiate for better terms for our country.
“Finally, O’Neill should not tell me how to run the country because he ran it into recession, when Porgera was operating. Look at the records. The country’s gross domestic product was negative zero point three per cent in 2018.
“Over the last three years, without Porgera, we grew the economy by K30 billion compared to O’Neill’s K35 billion growth over eight years.”

Marape vows to quit politics if he loses seat

By PETER WARI
PRIME Minister James Marape has reiterated that he will resign from politics if he fails to retain his Tari-Pori seat in Hela in the 2022 General Election (GE22) or does not become the prime minister.
He told the people in his rival Peter O’Neill’s electorate of Ialibu-Pangia in Southern Highlands that he would resign and let young leaders take over the reins.
He was addressing a crowd at Maya village near the Pangia station yesterday, urging the people to pray to God to give them a positive mind to elect good leaders in the GE22.
“We have communities and in those communities are churches and families who must stay together, pray that God will give us leaders that are God-fearing and have a heart for the people,” he said.
“Leaders are anointed by God. People must look at candidates with leadership qualities that will make good decisions for the nation, province or electorate.”
In the three years as prime minister, he said his Government’s focus was on empowering the people though business activities and economic empowerment.
Marape assured the people that the Government would deliver a free, fair and peaceful election, with soldiers and the police to provide security to prevent violence.
“I am getting old, this nation is also getting old and good leaders must be elected for economic empowerment and good governance,” he said.

Vote for change: Pangu candidate tells people

PANGU Pati candidate Stanley Liria, who is contesting the Ialibu-Pangia seat held by Peter O’Neill, has urged the people to “vote for change”.
“I come here to tell you that I am ready, willing and able to serve you,” he said. “But the power is in your hands. You voters will decide. All I ask is that you vote for change.”
Liria said the power to form the government was with the people.
Liria, a lawyer by profession, was one of the nine candidates who contested the seat in 2017.
Finschhafen MP Rainbo Paita, who was also in Pangia to support Liria, said it was time for change.
“Everything changes. The only thing that doesn’t change is God. So do not be afraid to vote for change,” he said.
“Vote for the future of your children, vote for economic independence, vote for change.”

Tari-Pori MP campaigns for Pangu candidate in Ialibu-Pangia

By Rebecca Kuku in Pangia
PANGU Pati leader James Marape campaigned for his party candidate to contest the Ialibu-Pangia seat against Peter O’Neill, and explained why he resigned from Cabinet in 2019 and formed a new government. Marape said he had supported O’Neill for eight years.
“I left to form the new government in 2019 because of policies,” he said. “We advised him (O’Neill), we stood by him, but we got fed up and left. When others left him, I stood by him.
“But he did not want to listen to our advice. We wanted change.”
Marape campaigned in Ialibu-Pangia for Stanley Liria, who also stood against O’Neill in 2017.
“It’s not about Hela or Southern Highlands. It’s nothing personal – just politics and the fight for a better PNG,” he said. He said when the Pangu was first set up, it stood for one people, one country.
“That is what we still stand for. We want to empower people to become economically independent and help PNG businesses grow,” he said.
“Instead of giving government contracts out to foreigners, the Pangu-led government has given out contracts to local businesses.”
Marape said Pangu wanted to do away with the “cargo boy mentality”.
It is why he is working with young leaders, he said.