PM makes ‘tough’ decision

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PRIME Minister James Marape said it was tough to cast aside friendship for the greater interest of the nation in coming up with his new 33-member Cabinet.
“After careful considerations, I decided to go ahead with the Cabinet changes to forward the country’s socio-economic development.
“I had to drop the three ministers from the (Peter O’Neill-led) Peoples National Congress Party (PNC) because the party leader’s attacks from within the Government Caucus had become intolerable,” he added.
After the swearing-in of four new ministers into his cabinet on Friday, Marape said the changes were unpleasant but “at the same time I have to bring in National Alliance Party (NA) and United Resource Party (URP) leaders into Cabinet.
“Government needs a cohesive and coherent mindset and because I was leading a big coalition of over 105 MPs in the last five months, I was kept busy managing politics than the country due to differences of opinions from amongt different political parties.
“Due to continuous differences in opinions, I had to let a few go, including Pangu Pati, detaching from alliance with PNC. The Pangu caucus had continued to give hope of a sincere relationship with the PNC leadership. But the continual evidence of PNC’s interest in Opposition Leader Belden Namah’s present court case against my election in Parliament on May 30, this severe in relations between Pangu and PNC was imminent.
“I am sacrificing my relationship with PNC and more so leaders I am close with but this is nothing tribal or personal but a national strategy to stabilise political numbers to get me and the Government security and cohesiveness to do what is right for our country,” he said.
Marape said: “I want to be an agent of change as the CEO of the country. I want to see ministers perform in serving the nation cohesively with vision to empower Papua New Guineans.
“I do not plan to serve long in this office but to start a chain of changes that will progress our nation to a better and brighter future. And so, whatever time I have, I want to start by growing the socio-economy of this country.”
Former prime minister Peter O’Neill said it was regrettable that PNC ministers and members had been subjected to intense political intimidation and pressure in the past six months.
The PNC leader said while it accepted that the appointment of Cabinet members was the prerogative of any sitting prime minister, “political arrangements are not for convenience but for the good and interest of our people, country and good governance”.
O’Neill said in a statement in response to the Cabinet shake-up and dropping of ministers from PNC: “The PNC is mandated by the people in the 2017 General Election.
“And through our coordination and consultation, PNC gave Marape the numbers to form his Government.
“It was this confidence in our capacity that made Marape move out of Laguna to the Grand Papua Hotel so that we could build the numbers for him to form the Government.
“Marape would not be prime minister today if PNC did not bring together the grand coalition that voted for him.
“PNC is also the party that trusted and promoted Marape through the ranks of ministers, and gave him immense authority over the economic governance of our nation for the past eight years.
“He held very senior roles in Government but now he has chosen his path for at least the next year. In PNC, we are humble and we are very forgiving, and we will live with his decisions that allow the people to decide at the next general election.
“The time for the blame game is over. His Government has been in place for nearly half a year and he must start to move beyond the mess of political instability that he created.”

One thought on “PM makes ‘tough’ decision

  • IF the rumor circulating around the country is fruitful in the current camp then every Pangu Party policies are rhetoric.The Prime Ministers James Marape has failed his first policy as he said earlier that deputy post will look in to the legal system of the country and Prime Minister himself will looked in to the financial flow and the business sector of the economy.The question I have here is ;What is current Deputy Prime Minister’s trade if the change was true?

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