Pruaitch back with Govt

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By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
NATIONAL Alliance Party (NA) leader Patrick Pruaitch has rejoined the Government with four of his party MPs after an unsuccessful motion of no confidence against Prime Minister James Marape.
Pruaitch also announced yesterday that he was withdrawing his nomination for alternative prime minister, made before last November’s no-confidence-motion vote, and that his party would not support any such motion until next year’s national elections.
Pruaitch announced that he had rejoined the NA faction that was with the Marape government along with Kairuku-Hiri MP Peter Isoaimo, Huon Gulf MP Ross Seymour, North Bougainville MP William Nakin and West Sepik Governor Tony Wouwou.
The late Kerema MP, Richard Mendani, had been with the group.
The NA faction that remained loyal to Marape during November’s political impasse, resulting in the unsuccessful motion of no confidence, were Namatanai MP Walter Schnaubelt, Kavieng MP Ian Ling-Stuckey , East Sepik Governor Allan Bird , South Bougainville MP Timothy Masiu and Angoram MP Salio Waipo .
“Now we are reunited with the NA faction that was in the Government,” he said.
“We now consolidated our numbers to be part of the Marape-Basil government till the 2022 national elections.
“I also want to announce that I have written to the Parliament Speaker Job Pomat withdrawing my nomination as the alternate prime minister from the Opposition side.”
Pruaitch said that another factor that led to NA’s reunion was Prime Minister James Marape’s decision to reopen the Porgera gold mine after shutting it down for one year.
“The reopening of the mine is what NA stands for and that is direct foreign investment to improve the national economy, not only for the reopening of that mine but other foreign investment projects.”